BBC 2014

And… once again… a year+ has passed since my last post.  Lots of water under the bridge! Rather than try to summarize all those months, I thought I’d give an update on my BBC book project.  So in order read, to the best of my ability to remember, here we go…

War and Peace

I read Tolstoy’s masterpiece entirely on my iPhone, using the Kindle app.  Maybe I’m crazy, but hey, it works for me!  As for the book itself, boy is it long!  I liked the “Peace” parts, not so much the “War.”

The Lovely Bones

Alice Sebold’s 2002 novel was one of my favorite reads yet!  I had heard of the movie but knew nothing about the plot.  I was astonished by how hauntingly beautiful this book is — I highly recommend this story of a family trying to rebuild after suffering a tragedy, told by an unexpected narrator.

The Wasp Factory

I had never heard of this book by Iain Banks until this project.  I found it to be a truly horrible book — not in the sense that it is poorly written, but in the sense that the subject matter is horrible, horrifying, brutal.  These are not characters you want as best friends.  At the same time, the world Banks creates in this book is mesmerizing and vivid — so I can see why it would be on a book list like this.  I do not want to read this book again.  Am I glad I read it?  I’m not sure.  If you like movies like Silence of the Lambs, you might like this book.

Possession

Written by A. S. Byatt, this is a perfect book for a literature major like myself.  It starts out slowly but builds into an unconventional romance/mystery story.  The two main characters are academicians who follow a paper trail to discover a hidden romance between two prominent Victorian writers.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book — if you like the academy, mysteries, or novels dealing with postmodernity, this book is for you.

Gone with the Wind

I did NOT expect to like this book at all.  In fact, the only reason I read it now (rather than putting it off for last) is because I could get it cheap on my Kindle app…  I don’t like the movie version of Margaret Mitchell’s novel, I’m not particularly enamoured of the south, I loath the Scarlett O’Hara portrayed by Vivien Leigh in the movie, and I don’t really like Clark Gable either.

But to my surprise, I love the novel!  The characters are much more likeable in the novel, especially Scarlett.  I loved the way Mitchell portrays characters that are seriously flawed with compassion and not condemnation.  And I confess, now I have a literary crush on Rhett Butler…

The Shadow of the Wind

I’m still not sure what I think about this book, written by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.  I was prepared to like it, because it is a favorite of a friend of mine, Chris Marchand.  And I loved the preamble!  Actually, I think I liked the preamble so much that when Chapter 1 began and changed directions from where I thought it was going, I was majorly disappointed.  Someday I should read the book again and see if I enjoy it more.

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Currently, I’m working my way through A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry.  Including that one, I have only 16 books left to read!