Member: literarysarah

That is exactly my complaint about The Woman in White - I don't care about any of these weak people. And the great passion that these two clucks seem to have conceived for one another is a mystery to me. She has just agreed, with beaucoup tears, to marry Sir Percival (where did ol' Wilkie get this quintessentially bad-guy name - tres hokey!) and Hartwright is now off to Central America and I find that the "great moment" when they fall in love apparently went whizzing right by, utterly unseen by me. I'm thinking that it couldn't have been that momentous. I wish Collins would get on with the mystery part before I lose interest completely.
I have had that Dumas book on my wishlist for some time. Will be interested to hear what you think about it.

posted by Fourpawz2 at 12:09 am (EST) on Apr 22, 2009

No, Sarah, I haven't read any other Ackroyd books, although I think that I have London on my wishlist. Dickens only lived into, what, his fifties? With that in mind, I'm guessing that Ackroyd's treatment of London will most likely weigh about forty pounds in hardcover.
I am glad that you assigned Dickens to me or I might never have made it through as quickly (?) as I did. I must admit that I had to make it a rule to read x number of pages a day. And being unemployed for most of the winter helped. My current assignment is The Woman in White and it's turning into a bit of drag for me. Part of the reason is that I am not a 'mystery' kind of person (a shortcoming that I'm trying to cure myself of) and the rest of my problem with the book is that I haven't yet found a character that I care about. I haven't checked your library for this book - have you read it and if so, what did you think of it?

posted by Fourpawz2 at 11:37 pm (EST) on Apr 14, 2009

Hi Sarah:
I see that you have rated Ackroyd's Dickens the same number of stars that I did. Beyond that, what did you think of it?

posted by Fourpawz2 at 3:46 pm (EST) on Apr 9, 2009

You're very welcome, Sarah. I, myself, have not read any James (yet), but I was still surprised that no one had done a review. Hope I chose something good for you. Thank you for the info about the Amazon button. Now it is 100 times more convenient to drool over my almost-books.

posted by Fourpawz2 at 1:58 pm (EST) on Sep 24, 2008

I just browsed your reviews and they are great - short and sweet, but capturing a flavor of what to look for and what you enjoyed most. I hope you review lots!

posted by tjsjohanna at 10:12 pm (EST) on Aug 13, 2008

Hey Sarah -- thanks for your comment about The Woman in White. I have since heard some say that Colllins was/is praised for writing about an unattractive yet worthy woman, an ugly heroine -- but I am just not sure I buy into that. I write my reviews mainly for myself, so much so that I almost forget others read them and am pleasantly surprised when someone comments and agrees. Delightful!

Jen

posted by jhowell at 7:18 pm (EST) on Sep 22, 2007

Hi Literarysarah, Just read what you said about Wuthering Heights, takes courage but your right, its awful! It's the same story told twice and it was not good in the first place.

Love what you say about "old friends on shelves"

Stay nice

posted by Novak at 11:45 am (EST) on Sep 12, 2007

I'm reading the Life of Johnson (I'm in 1760 now). It's a bit dry, as you say. I regret there are not more anecdotes about the writing of the Dictionary.

I came to read this book after having read Boswell's London Journal 1762-1763. If you're interested in Boswell, I found his journal very funny. I wonder how such a lively fellow (Boswell) came to discipline himself to discuss with Johnson who wasn't particularly humorous (at least, it seems to me...)

posted by Pepys at 7:53 am (EST) on Mar 10, 2007

Just read your comment about the Simon Schama book, "The embarrasment of riches".
Wish I hadn't.
I've just spent money on Amazon I could not afford.

But thank you for making me aware
Best wishes
L..r

posted by lizzier at 5:12 pm (EST) on Dec 11, 2006

I'm so glad you included Pickwick Papers in your "brilliant" category. I have to admit I'm not as disciplined as you are when it comes to shelf space. My shelves are crammed with unread treasures and good intentions.

posted by FiedReads at 3:17 pm (EST) on Mar 23, 2006