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Posts from the ‘Classic’ Category

29
Sep

Classic: Dutch writer W.F. Hermans

  • Author: W.F. Hermans
  • Title: Nooit Meer Slapen
  • Published: 1966
  • Language: Dutch ( available in translation: Beyond Sleep)
  • #20BooksOfAutumn
  • #ccbookreviews
  • Trivia: W.F. Hermans  is considered one of
  • ‘The Big Three’ 20th C  writers in Dutch  literature.
  • You can read more about W.F. Hermans  HERE
  • List Reading Challenges 2018
  • Monthly planning
  • Classic Club Master list


Conclusion:

  1. Dutch is my second language.
  2. It was time I started 20 books by Dutch authors
  3. …considered 20th C must reads.
  4. W.F. Hermans is the first one on the list.
  5. Ch 1-12 were very slow...but if you keep reading the
  6. book picks up steam ch 27 until the end.
  7. Main character: geologist Alfred is obsessed with ‘discovering something new’.
  8. He wants to prove to his deceased father he has not wasted his life.
  9. Hermans uses the philosophy of Wittgenstein (3 references) and the
  10. Symbol: a compass to help Alfred find his direction
  11. …physically (during a failed expedition on a Norwegian glacier)
  12. …and spiritually (start a new life.)
  13. It is a good book….but not great.
  14. The war novel The Dark Room of Damocles
  15. is the author’s ‘chef’ d’oeuvre
  16. W.F. Hermans was member of the Dutch resistance WW II.
24
Sep

Classic: Pensées

 

 

Conclusion:

  1. Difficult, difficult..very difficult to read in French!
  2. I realized the edition I had was more than just Pensées.
  3. Of the 736 pages I read the first part (pg 5-257)
  4. …and that was enough!
  5. But, no matter how difficult this book was
  6. …I never gave up.
  7. I knew there had to be some ‘gems’
  8. of wisdom waiting for me.
  9. Pascal was a genius in his time.
  10. He excelled in science and mathematics
  11. …before his turn to religion.
  12. Pensées captures his insights in elegant
  13. pithy (difficult) phrases.
  14. His words at times went over my head (existential)
  15. …but at other times his words went straight to my heart.
  16. I will end with one of his most famous quotes:
  17. “Le coeur a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point”
  18. The heart has its reasons which reason does not know.

 

Last thoughts:

  1. Yes, I had thoughts….about Pascal’s thoughts!
  2. Here are a few things I jotted down while reading.
  3. This is a  #Classic…and I am glad I can
  4. …say I have a general idea what it is about!

 

Humor: (pg 51)

The causes and effects of love:
… if Cleopatra’s nose had been shorter
….it would have changed the face of the world!

 

Faith: …beautifully said! (pg 55) 

Faith is in our heart and
makes us NOT say I know….but I believe.

 

Literary devices:

Chiasmus: (pg 66)

The sentence is grammatically the same, even when it is reversed!

Peu de chose nous console parce que
Peu de chose nous afflige

A few things console us because
A few things distress us

 

Confession:

I skipped a few long discussions
about imagination vs reason….it was just too long
too complicated. (pg 66-73) Forgive me…
pyrrhonism – I skipped pg 113 – 119… Forgive me…
disproportion of man – I skipped pg 161 – 171… Forgive me…
These are not ‘short thoughts’ (pensées)…they are small essays!
that are difficult in English…not to mention in French.

 

Style Pascalienne:

Pascal uses (…what I call) 1-2-3 — 3-2-1 logic!

The words are reversed to give another meaning.
This ‘redoubles’ its complexity!
I have to read these fragments very slowly and let the thought sink in!
Here is an example:

Il soit force (1) d’obéir (2) à la justice. (3)
Il soit juste (3) d’obéir (2) à la force. (1)

It is forced to obey justice
…it is just to obey force.   (pg 93)

 

Amusement (pg 121)

Men attempt to forget their misery
rather than find true happiness.
Only amusement permits him to flee
…his tragic existence.

Religion: (pg 151)

  • There are a few true Christians.
    There are those who believe
  • …but through superstition.
    There are those who do not believe
  • …through the lack of moral restraint.
    Few are in between

Religion: (pg 154)

Faith says what the senses cannot say

….but
not the contrary of what they (senses) say.
Faith is well above…and not against.

 

Thought: (Pensée) (pg171)

Our dignity is contained in the mind (pensée)
It is there that we pick ourselves up again….
Try to think.

 

 

22
Sep

#RIPXIII Classic: E.A. Poe “The Raven”

Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Genre: poem
Title: The Raven
Published: (1845)
Table of Contents: 18 six-line stanzas (108 lines)
Published by Penguin Books
Theme: remembrance vs forgetting

 

Just   LISTEN  to the poem…..goosebumps!

 

Introduction:
“The Raven” is a narrative poem by the American writer and poet Edgar Allan Poe.
It was published for the first time on January 29, 1845, in the New York Evening Mirror
Noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere,
This is one of Poe’s best known and most reviewed poems.
I hope to find something interesting to mention about this classic!

 

Story:
The poem describes the tale of a student, desolated by the death of his beloved,
He is visitied on a stormy `bleak December´ night by an ominous bird´.
It traces the student´s slow descent into madness.

 

Strong point: Alliteration: is the repetition of the initial sounds of adjacent words.
While I nodded nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping
Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before
Followed fast and followed faster….
On this home by horror haunted…
And the Raven, never flitting, still is sitting, still is sitting.

 

Strong point: Rhythm
Repetition of words to give the poem a ‘throbbing’ rhythm….like a heart
“rapping, rapping”- tell me, tell me – “still is sitting, still is sitting”

 

Strong point: Rhyme
The structure of the poem is based on: A-B-C-B-B-B
Every 2nd – 4th lines rhyme – the 4th – 5th and 6th lines rhyme

 

  1. Line 1: Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, A
  2. Line 2: Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore – B
  3. Line 3: While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, C
  4. Line 4: As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door – B
  5. Line 5:”‘Tis some visitor,” I muttered, “tapping at my chamber door – B
  6. Line 6: Only this and nothing more.” B

 

Strong point: meter with surprises!
In this poem Poe has used ‘meter’ in 3 different ways:
lines 1st – 3rd lines of evey stanza have 16 syllables
lines 2nd – 4th – 5th of every stanza have 15 syllables
line 6 of every stanza has only 7 syllables

 

Symbol: The Raven
There are some very subtle hidden meanings in the poem about the raven.
Finding these words is the most difficult part of reading poetry.
Line 38-40: The Raven enters the room. He is ‘stately’ and has a ‘mien of lord or lady’ – this suggests an image of a king.
Line 45: The Raven is not ‘craven’ ( cowardly).
The allusion to ‘crest be shorn and shaven’ refers to medieval tradition of head shaving of a coward.
Line 48: The Raven ‘quoth the Raven, Nevermore’ –
The student ‘marvelled’ (line 49) to hear the bird speak.
After 10 x repetitions of this utterance the narrator slides into a maddend, frenzied state.
Line 85: The narrator call the raven a ‘prophet’ believing he foretells the future.
Line 105 – 108: Final image of the bird is a ‘demon that is dreaming’
casting a ‘shadow that lies floating on the floor’.
Narrator is terrified

 

Symbol: bust of Pallas (line 42 and 105): –
symbol of wisdom meant to imply the narrator is a student
Symbol: Night’s Plutonian shore (line 48 and 98) –
allusion to the Roman god of the underworld
Symbol: nepenthe ( line 83-84)
allusion to a mythological drug that you might take to forget your grief and sadness.
Symbol: chamber door is repeated 11x
This refers to room and the chamber of the heart ( feelings)

 

Conclusion:
This is a poem for people who don’t like poetry!
It is one of my favorites and was FUN to ready and analyse.
The student “shrieked’ ‘take thy beak from out of my heart’.
But the bird ‘still is sitting, still is sitting’.
The beak keeps pecking at the heart repeating ‘Nevermore’
Theme: those we have loved and who become lost to us…
…can never be forgotten.
It may be painful to remember them….but it is more painful to give them up.

 

Last thoughts:    Depressing stories can be uplifting.
It all depends on the writing skills…
Edgar Allan Poe is a master of words and chilling images.

16
Sep

#Classic: Patrick Kavanagh Irish poet

P.  Kavanagh

(photo) https://www.davidcostellophotography.com/

  • This lifelike statue of him seated on a bench
  • on the bank or the Grand Canal in Dublin.

Analysis:

  1. This is a poem of greater emotional complexity
  2. The tone is sombre even meditative.
  3. The poem attempts to renew in the face of experience
  4. light-hearted attitude that has disappeared.
  5. The poet Kavanagh lived in a boarding house on
  6. Raglan Road between autumn 1944 – October 1945.
  7. The poem records his unrequited romance with Hilda Moriarty,
  8. a twenty-two years old medical student at University College Dublin.
  9. Hilda was acclaimed as one of the most beautiful women in the city.
  10. Kavanagh was infatuated with her and often stalked her.
  11. From early 1945 she was desperately trying to escape his obsessive attention.

  1. One day in May 1945 Patrick and Hilda arrived at the railway station in Drumree
  2. …a couple of miles from Dunsany castle.
  3. Every May, serried ranks of bluebells nod their heads.
  4. That first image of walking through the bluebells
  5. made a profound impression on the poet.

The bluebells are withered now under the beech trees

The bluebells are withered now under the beech trees
And I am there – the ghost of myself – alone
Trying to remember a truth I once had known
Poking among the weeds on bare knees
Praying, praying poetic incantation
To call back life to that once-green plantation.

A score of grey ungrowthy stumps stand up
Like an old graveyard in my mind: Dingle, Cooleen
A shadowed corner of Saint Stephen’s Green
A noisy corner of the Country Shop
All chilly thoughts that bring no exaltation
No green leaf love to the beautiful plantation.

I dreamt it in my heart, it was not real
I should have known that love is but a season
Like spring. The flowers fade. Reason
Knows it cannot find its old ideal
And yet her breath still blows some undulation
Of leaf and flower to charm my dream plantation.

Last thoughts:

  1. I am very impressed with Kavanagh’s poetry.
  2. He did not have the posh education at Blackrock College in Dublin
  3. as did his friend Flann O’ Brian.
  4. But still Kavanagh produced some wonderful
  5. works based on his rural backround and
  6. …determination to educate himself.




											

				

							

					

						
7

						
Sep

					


					
					

						
Classic:  Mary Wollstonecraft

						



 


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Mary never had a formal education and she taught herself by

reading and working for a Scottish publication ‘Analytical Review’.

She wrote in her ‘peak’ 30 reviews per issue. Now that is a lot of reading…thinking….and writing. I guess she did like ‘namedropping’ .

Mary thought education/understanding (SENSE) was the touchstone…the standard by which judgement was made….and not as was the case by many women

being influenced by a gush of emotion! (SENSIBILITY)

This book needs a good eye to skim the ‘padding’ and get the Wollstonecraft’s important message. chapters 1-5 are the longest….then is it much easier.

One of my favorite chapters was 11 ‘Duty of Parents ( easy read and very short)

“The parent forms the heart and enlarges the

understanding of his child, has given the discharge of a duty.”


 


Introduction:


    

  1. A Vindication of the Rights of Women 
    2. 

  2. …is a document of 85.000 words (13 chapters, 222 pages)
    3. 

  3. Wollstonecraft is an unusually repetitive writer
    4. 

  4. ….and  a lover of long quotes from Rousseau!
    5. 

  5. This work could be condensed by 90 % 
    6. 

  6. …with no great amount of her sense lost.
    7. 



 


Who was Mary Wollstonecraft?


    

  1. An in depth portrait of the author can be found  here
    2. 

  2. A self-taught London teacher, Mary 
    3. 

  3. ….and her sister Eliza became convinced
    4. 

  4. that the girls they attempted to enlighten
    5. 

  5. were already enslaved by a social training
    6. 

  6. that subordinated them to men
    7. 

  7. At the heart of Vindication of the Rights of Woman
    8. 

  8.  are the twin virtues of freedom of thought and devotion to family. 
    9. 



 


What is The Vindications  in a nut shell?


    

  1. The document is a response to the many 
    2. 

  2. ‘Conduct Manuals’ circulating at the time.
    3. 

  3. Jean-Jacques Rousseau: Emilius; Or, An Essay On Education. (1763)
    4. 

  4. Dr. James Fordyce: Sermons To Young Women (1766)
    5. 

  5. Dr. John Gregory: A Father’s Legacy To His Daughters (1774)
    6. 

  6. Baroness De Stael: Corinne (1807)
    7. 

  7. Mrs. Piozzi: Letters To And From The Late Samuel Johnson LL.D. (1788)
    8. 

  8. Madame De Genlis: Adelaide And Theodore (1783)
    9. 

  9. Hester Chapone: Letters On The Improvement Of The Mind (1773)
    10. 

  10. Catherine Macaulay: Letters On Education (1790)
    11. 



 


Reading strategy:   16 hours total reading


    

  1. Read the chapters preferably early in the day
    2. 

  2. …with some strong coffee
    3. 

  3. …when your mind is fresh.
    4. 

  4. Wollstonecraft defends women
    5. 

  5. against anti-feminist poets, clergymen,
    6. 

  6. physicians and philosophers!
    7. 

  7. She had read them all!
    8. 

  8. Ch  1-3  – I took it slowly…just one chapter a day. = 5 hours
    9. 

  9. Ch 4 – 5 = 5 hr
    10. 

  10. Ch 6-7-8-9  took only 2,5 hours to read.
    11. 

  11. I’m learning to skim..many extra paragraphs that 
    12. 

  12. are written to illustrate a single point 
    13. 

  13. example: ch 8: men becoming soldiers and statesmen
    14. 

  14. or women who need representative is government. 
    15. 

  15. MW loves to elaborate on a proverbs 
    16. 

  16. …and more episodical observations.
    

    17. 

  17. Ch 10-11-12-13 = 3,5 hr
    18. 



 


Trivia:


    

  1. Novels, music, poetry, and gallantry,
    2. 

  2. all tend to make women the creatures of sensation.
    3. 

  3. Wollstonecraft: rejected the sentimental novel’s depiction of women
    4. 

  4. silly shallow creature of emotion.
    5. 

  5. Jane Austen: never mentioned Wollstonecraft by name
    6. 

  6. …but several of her novels contain positive
    7. 

  7. allusions to Wollstonecraft’s work….especially  Sense and Sensibllity!
    8. 

  8. Wollstonecraft:
    9. 

  9. “ …reason is absolutely necessary to enable a woman to perform any duty properly,
    10. 

  10. .. and I must again repeat, that sensibility is not reason!”
    11. 



 


Conclusion:


    

  1. This was a great read….it really was!
    2. 

  2. Warning: You just cannot rush the reading…it is too dense!
    3. 

  3. I had to get used Wollstonecraft’s style
    4. 

  4. She uses the ‘ask questions style.
    5. 

  5. chapter 5 – 75 questions
    6. 

  6. chapter 12  –  (31x)
    7. 

  7. chapter 13 – (29x)
    8. 

  8. You have been warned!
    9. 

  9. After reading 8 chapters
    10. 

  10. ….I realized Wollstonecraft’s book
    11. 

  11. is filled with self-indulgent verbiage.
    12. 

  12. It is exasperating to read at times.
    13. 

  13. Now I’ve decided to read the chapter
    14. 

  14. selecting the CORE idea from each paragraph.
    15. 

  15. I’m letting the rants against Rousseau flits by.
    16. 

  16. Redundant questions per chapter
    17. 

  17. …are getting only a glance from me.
    18. 

  18. I get it….Wollstonecraft and Rousseau
    19. 

  19. ….will never see eye to eye!
    20. 

  20. I’ve finally finished A Vindication of the Rights of Women
    21. 

  21. …and feel sad. 
    22. 

  22. I only wish I was given this piece of literature as a 
    23. 

  23. sophomore in high-school.
    24. 

  24. It would have enlightened me more than the
    25. 

  25. Catholic nuns who were part of the
    26. 

  26. “pestiferous purple (pg 83)…which renders the
    27. 

  27. progress of civilization a curse, and warps the understanding.”
    28. 



 


    

  1. Wollstonecraft was well-read..for a woman of her times!
    2. 

  2. Here are a few on the items she mentions:
    3. 

  3. Milton
    4. 

  4. Lord Francis Bacon
    5. 

  5. Shakespeare: Hamlet
    6. 

  6. Thomas Day: British author
    7. 

  7. Job 38:11
    8. 

  8. Matthew 25: 14-30 the parable of the five talents
    9. 

  9. Philippians 4:7
    10. 

  10. Mr David Hume
    11. 

  11. S. Richardson (Clarissa)
    12. 

  12. King Louis XIV
    13. 

  13. Dr. Adam Smith: Scottish philosopher (Theory of Moral Sentiments, 1759)
    14. 

  14. Gottfried von Leibniz (1646-1716) German philosopher
    15. 

  15. Sir Edwin Sandys, English politician
    16. 

  16. Lord Chesterfield’s Letters: (on education)
    17. 

  17. Dryden
    18. 

  18. Vicesimus Knox (1752-1821) essayist, headmaster, Anglican priest
    19. 

  19. Lucretia: ancient Roman noblewoman
    20. 

  20. Cerberus
    21. 

  21. Dr. S. Johnson
    22. 

  22. John Locke
    23. 

  23. Jonathan Swift
    24. 

  24. Charles James Fox, politician (1749-1806)
    25. 

  25. Alexander Pope: 1743, Epistle to a Lady
    26. 

  26. Cato
    27. 

  27.  WHEW!!
    28. 



 

											

				

							

					

						
6

						
Sep

					


					
					

						
Classic:  The Pillow Book

						



 


Notes:


    

  1. The tone and content of these ’thoughts’ seem very modern in outlook,
    2. 

  2. full of interesting comments about pleasures 
    3. 

  3. (visiting, dinners, getting ready for important people) 
    4. 

  4. humour, historical commentary and analysis of
    5. 

  5. processions, festivals and events, descriptions of nature, and
    6. 

  6. compassion for misfortunes heard about other people.
    7. 

  7. It’s a unique and personal diary of a 10th C lady-in-waiting in Heian Japan.
    8. 

  8. Sei Shonagon writes for her personal
    9. 

  9. amusement about things that
    10. 

  10. delight and also disgust her!
    11. 



 


Who is Sei Shonagon?


    

  1. Sei Shonagon herself is a fascinating character.
    2. 

  2.  She is obviously educated, but at times sounds silly and petty. 
    3. 

  3. Her loyalty to her Empress is very touching. 
    4. 

  4. At the same time she is cruel and cold towards “ordinary” people. 
    5. 

  5. She seems to pay too much attention to the court dress and elegant verses. 
    6. 

  6. Being at court is the highest honour and achievement in life for her.
    7. 



 


I especially liked pg 148:

Things that make the heart lurch with anxiety…

watching a horse race…

the voice of a secret lover in an unexpected place…

when a parent looks out of sorts…

when someone you detests arrives for a visit…!


….pg 150

Repulsive things:

back of a piece of sewing…

hairless baby mice tumbled out of a nest…

the inside of a cat’s ear…rather dirty place in darkness…


…pg 204

Things that just keep passing by:

A boat with its sail up…

People’s age…

Spring. Summer. Autumn. Winter


…pg 204

Things that no one notices:

The inauspicious days…

The ageing of people’s mothers…




Conclusion:


    

  1. While reading …the song
    2. 

  2. “These are a few of my favorite things” from
    3. 

  3. The Sound of Music keeps…popping into my head.
    4. 

  4. That is what Sei writes about….her favorite things,
    5. 

  5. especially how people are dressed in 10th C imperial court.
    6. 

  6. There is the emphasis on the art of communicating
    7. 

  7. one’s feelings by writing a poem.
    8. 

  8. It was considered a valuable art.
    9. 

  9. Lovers, queens, a lady-in-waiting all revel in poetic thoughts.
    10. 

  10. Sei also…mentions painfully embarrassing things
    11. 

  11. disconcerting, dispiriting and horribly startling things.
    12. 

  12. Some of her complaints and delights are very 21st C!
    13. 

  13. People never change!
    14. 



 


Last thoughts:


    

  1. It’s fun to visit the members page of The Classics  Club
    2. 

  2. …to see what other people are reading
    3. 

  3. I was inspired by Karla Strand’s Classic Club List
    4. 

  4. to read The Pillow Book.
    5. 

  5. Karla  has selected some impressive examples
    6. 

  6. …of classic women’s writing!
    7. 

  7. #TakeALook  at the ‘Members Page’
    

    8. 

  8. …you can discover some great book!
    9. 



 




 

											

				

							

					

						
2

						
Sep

					


					
					

						
Classic:  The Life of Johnson

						



 


Samuel Johnson:


Johnson was a national icon who

epitomised the idea of English character and language

He loved wit more than wine and

men of genius more than sycophants!


 


Masterpiece: Johnson’s Dictionary is his masterpiece.

He once said: “Dictionaries are like watches.

The worst is better than none, and

the best cannot be expected to go quite true.”


Masterpiece: In 1755 Johnson struggled and ultimate triumphed to ‘fix’ the language

This proved to be one of the English language’s most significant cultural monuments

Johnson sometimes introduced his own humorous opinions:

Lexicographer: a writer of dictionaries, a harmless drudge.


 


STYLE: a union of force, vivacity and insight

TONE:  common sense and controlled ridicule

POLITICS: – unquestioning belief in monarchy and violent distrust of its critics


 


CONVERSATION: Johnson considered conversation a contest “…I do not mean the victor must have the better argument…but is superiority of parts and knowledge must appear.”

Who was the conversationalist who could best challenge Johnson? Johnson admits that is is always Edmund Burke. Johnson considered him an extraordinary man. “His stream of mind is perpetual.”


 


PAMPHLET: Samuel Johnson wrote a famous political pamphlet for the North ministry.

Taxation, no Tyranny in reference to fellow-subjects in America.

It was thought wisest to omit some bitter taunts against the colonists .

OPINION: Johnson favors neither conciliation or separation of America

but a return to patterns of imperial discipline!


 


WIT: I enjoyed Johnson’s good humored wit.

For example he teases Boswell with the differences between England and Scotland!

Johnson gives you a forcible hug and shakes laughter out of you whether you will or not.


 


WIT vs WRITERS: Johnson is a man with humor at the tip of his tongue

He has a witty comeback to follow every statement.

His spoken words are not always found in favour regarding his opinions.

Johnson did not have a high regard for two eminent writers:

Henry Fielding and Samuel Richardson!

Historians: “…the verbiage of Robertson or the foppery of Sir John Dalrymple.” OUCH!

But Johnson praised…John Bunyan. “His Pilgrim’s Progress has great merit…”


 


The Netherlands: I was stopped in my ‘morning walk tracks’ when I heard that Johnson was interested in book written in the dialect of my province Friesland The Netherlands! . Boswell even mentioned the University of Vranyker ( Franeker, The Netherlands). It was a seat of great learning 1585-1811. I was married in Franker and lived there for 7 years!


 


What do Samuel Johnson and Nancy have in common?

We both learned the low Dutch language!

Dutch has been a civilized language for

…more than a thousand years and has a rich literature.

Dutch is the third Germanic language after English and German.

Perhaps I should read the classic Thomas à Kempis

…in Dutch as Samuel Johnson did! (pg 835)


 


RUNNING JOKE: –> Samuel Johnson vs Mrs. James Boswell

Johnson continues to end his letters to James Boswell with a special salutation to Boswell’s wife:

1775: My compliments to Mrs. Boswell, who does not love me.

1775: I know that she does not love me; but I intend to press in wishing her well till I get the better of her!”

1776:  I hope my irreconcilable enemy, Mrs. Boswell, is well. Desire her not to transmit her malevolence to the young people.” (Boswell’s children)

1776: “If Mrs. Boswell would be friends with me, we might now shut the temple of Janus.” (temple in Rome that opened in time of war….closed in time of peace.)


 


WHAT IS THIS ALL ABOUT?

This alludes to Johnson’s old feudal principle of preferring male to female succession!

Johnson has great fun ‘teasing’ Mrs Boswell in this manner.

Reconciled:

1777: Boswell writes to Johnson that his wife begs he accept her compliments….and will send him some home-made orange marmalade. Just read Johnson’s reply….he still is teasing her!

“Tell Mrs. Boswell I shall taste her marmalade cautiously at first. “Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes.” (Virgil, Aeneid ) “I fear the Greeks, even when they bring gifts.”


 


ENEMIES: Not everyone was enamoured by Samuel Johnson. After a scathing review of Soame Jenyns’ essay (1756) the writer clearly believes  revenge is a dish best served cold.

He wrote this sarcastic epitaph for the deceased Samuel Johnson:


Here lies poor Johnson. Reader, have a care,

Tread lightly, lest you rouse a sleeping bear;

Religious, moral, generous, and humane

He was—but self-sufficient, rude, and vain;

Ill-bred and over-bearing in dispute,

A scholar and a Christian—yet a brute.


 


CONCLUSION:


READING PLAN: I had difficulty at the beginning of the book. I had to adjust to Boswell’s style.

He relates facts and leaves little room for analysis. During the conversations with Johnson many illustrious writers, historians, (Hailes) poets, (Dryer) publishers (Dodsley), literary critic (John Dennis) and even an actor (Garrick) and Scottish physician/writer (Cheyne)

are mentioned. I checked names on Wikipedia. Only this way could I enjoy the jibes Johnson made about many people.

I found once I reached page 554 (Kindle edition) with 50% still to read….I finally felt the pulse of the book. Johnson was unleashing his ‘bon mots’ that were a product of his quick imagination and his eloquence and total mastery of the English language.


 


BE WARNED: As in all books of biography that are very long

your eyes will glaze over at a certain point. Mine did.

I choose to skim over long letters about non-literary issues  and various discussions about lengthy judicial cases or the problems of getting books published. My interest was in Johnson’s comments with Boswell about books and writers and their correspondence between Johnson and Boswell.


 


LAST THOUGHTS:    Great quote: wine


Johnson’s cup runneth over with wise observations.

Boswell: You said once to me not to drink wine was a deduction of life.

Johnson: …it is a diminution of pleasure to be sure but not of happiness. There is more happiness in being rational.

											

				

							

					

						
1

						
Sep

					


					
					

						
R.I.P.   Readers Imbibing Peril

						
 




 


The R.eaders I.mbibing P.eril challenge, otherwise known as R.I.P. takes place every September 1st through October 31st.


The purpose of the R.I.P. challenge is to enjoy books that could be classified as Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Dark Fantasy, Gothic, Horror, or Supernatural.


There are multiple levels of participation (Perils):


    

  • Peril the First – Read four books, any length, that fit the definition of R.I.P. literature.
    • 

  • Peril the Second – Read two books of any length.
    • 

  • Peril the Third – This Peril involves reading one book.
    • 

  • Peril of the Short Story – You can read short stories any time during the challenge.
    • 

  • Peril on the Screen – This is for those of us who like to watch suitably scary, eerie, mysterious, gothic fare during this time of year. It may be something on the small screen or large.
    • 

  • Peril of the Review – Submit a short review of any book you read.
    • 



 


This year I will do


    

  1. Peril the First
    2. 

  2. Peril of the Short Story
    3. 

  3. Peril of the Review if I find some time.
    4. 

  4. All my selections are from my TBR that I am trying desperately to reduce.
    5. 

  5. These are all potential reads….it all depends on my ‘spooky’ mood.
    6. 

  6. Hashtag:  #RIPXIII
    7. 



 


My list:


    

  1. Hawthorne – Henry James  – READ (essay) 
    2. 

  2. Frankenstein – M. Shelley – READ (Gothic novel)
    3. 

  3. Dark Entries – R. Aickman – READ (short stories)
    4. 

  4. The Raven – E. A. Poe –  READ (poem)
    5. 

  5. Aletheia – J.S. Breukelaar – READ (horror)
    6. 



 

											

				

							

					

						
26

						
Aug

					


					
					

						
The Classics Club: 50 questions

						


    

  1. This is the largest library in Ireland.
    2. 

  2. It was founded alongside Trinity College in 1592.
    3. 

  3. The 200-foot main chamber shelves 200,000 books and
    4. 

  4. …is lined with marble busts like the one above.
    5. 

  5. So  while I dream of being in a library like this one…
    6. 

  6. …it is time to complete this list of  50 questions about classic books
    7. 

  7. …for The Classics Club,
    8. 

  8. I will keep my answers short. (booktags)
    9. 

  9. #cclubgames
    10. 



 


50 Club Questions: 


    

  1. Share a link to your club list.  Book LIST 1 –  Book LIST 2
    2. 

  2. When did you join The Classics Club? 2012
    3. 

  3. How many titles have you read for the club? completed 1 list of 50 +  11 in 2018
    

    4. 

  4. What are you currently reading? Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
    5. 

  5. What did you just finish reading and what did you think of it? Un Vie (de Maupassant) review
    6. 

  6. What are you reading next?  East of Eden b/c I need an audio book for train commuting
    7. 



 


    

  1. Best book you’ve read so far with the club, and why?
    

    2. 

  2. Mme Bovary (G. Flaubert) – Mme Bovary  was my first French classic for my “read French for a year’ challenge. It took me three months to finish the book.. Some days I could just read 6 pages! At times I would take a deep breath and as myself …is it worth the effort? I did not give up and have kept on reading French.
    3. 



 


    

  1. Book you most anticipate (or, anticipated) on your club list? – Sentimental Education. I’ve never rad another book by Flaubert since 2012 Mme Bovary. That book was my nemesis.  I can still see the cover on Goodreads….it sends chills down my spine. Oh. how I struggled with that book. Now after many years of reading French I want to see if I can manage Flaubert ‘s vocabulary without the feeling of exasperation. Can I master his language….ever?
    2. 



 


    

  1. Book on your club list you’ve been avoiding,  Why?
    2. 

  2. Any book by Virginia Woolf.
    3. 

  3. I have no rational reason for this aversion.
    4. 

  4. I hope to discover why so many people love her books.
    5. 

  5. To the Lighthouse is on my  classics list 2.
    6. 

  6. First classic you ever read? The Tale of Two Cities, C. Dickens
    7. 

  7. Toughest classic you ever read? Don Quixote 
    8. 

  8. …this was a challenge to read… very long one.
    9. 



 


    

  1. Classic that inspired you? or scared you? made you cry? made you angry?
    2. 

  2. Inspired: St. Augustine’s Confessions
    3. 

  3. I read it and listened to an audio explanation via
    4. 

  4. Audible.Com series The Great Courses.  I would recommend both!
    5. 

  5. Scared:
    6. 

  6. Dracula by B. Stoker – shape-shifting creatures
    7. 

  7. …vampires.
    8. 

  8. Horror is not a genre like a western or crime fiction
    9. 

  9. ….it is pure emotion! This is a classic not to be missed!
    

    10. 

  10. Cried:
    11. 

  11. The closest I came to tears was reading
    12. 

  12. …the last pages of Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton.
    13. 

  13. When it comes to women’s feelings….Edith nails it.
    14. 

  14. Angry:
    15. 

  15. The Next Time Fire by J. Baldwin
    16. 

  16. …b/c nothing has changed since the 1960’s
    17. 



 


    

  1. Longest classic you’ve read?  Herodotus The Histories .
    2. 

  2. The book is bigger than the bible.
    3. 

  3. I was not looking forward to this read…but I started…and got through it.
    4. 

  4. This book left me physically exhausted.
    5. 

  5. The version I selected on Goodreads is the best translation and includes many maps.
    6. 

  6. Without the maps I never would have understood it all!
    7. 

  7.  Longest classic left on your club list? Dumas, Alexandre – Count of Monte Cristo
    8. 

  8. Oldest classic you’ve read?  Early Bronze Age (3rd millennium B.C.)
    9. 

  9. Myths of Mesopotamia. Here is my review (quickscan).
    10. 

  10. Oldest classic left on your club list? Suetonius 
    11. 

  11. (Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus)
    12. 

  12. Twelve Caesars (De vita Caesarum) – 2nd C AD
    13. 

  13. Favorite biography about a classic author you’ve read?
    14. 

  14. Tennessee Williams: Mad Pilgimage of the Flesh by J. Lahr.
    15. 

  15. The definitive biography of America’s greatest playwright by 
    16. 

  16. the longtime drama critic of The New Yorker. Excellent book!
    17. 



 


    

  1. Which classic do you think EVERYONE should read? The Scarlet Letter why?
    2. 

  2. There is so much symbolism, irony and characterization (especially Biblical references)  in the book that one tends to miss many of  the literary puzzles. I would never have understood the impact of this book at the age of 15 years when I had to read it for high-school. This is just another example that some great books are worth re-reading after you have had more reading experiences.I would strongly recommend this book as  an example of a great American Classic.
    3. 



 


    

  1. Favorite edition of a classic you own? A rare small format hardcover of Tale of Two Cities published by Könemann, Köln Germany.
    2. 

  2. I found it in a second-hand bookstore in Groningen The Netherlands.
    3. 

  3. ISBN 3829008805. (foto)
    4. 

  4. It was my first classic book and I wanted to remember it with this beautiful edition.
    5. 

  5. Favorite movie adaption of a classic? Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by T. Williams .
    6. 

  6. Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman are the stars.
    7. 

  7. Their performances  just ‘jump off the screen” …so powerful
    8. 

  8. Classic which hasn’t been adapted yet which you wish would be adapted to film.
    9. 

  9. Any book by Charles Dickens that hasn’t
    10. 

  10. …already been made into a movie or  BBC series!
    11. 

  11. Least favorite classic? Why?
    12. 

  12. The Ginger Man by B. Donleavy.
    13. 

  13. It is just vulgar, honestly…so crass filled with gutter jibes and sexual innuendos.
    14. 

  14. How did this book get on Modern Library’s 
    15. 

  15. …TOP 100 novel list of the 20th C…is beyond me!
    16. 



 


    

  1. Name five authors you haven’t read yet whom you cannot wait to read.
    2. 

  2. The Sorrows of Young Werther by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
    3. 

  3. Vanity Fair  by William Makepeace Thackeray
    4. 

  4. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
    5. 

  5. The Palace Walk by  N.Mahfouz (Nobel Prize winner)
    

    6. 

  6. Effi Briest by T. Fontane
    7. 



 


    

  1. Which title by one of the five you’ve listed above most excites you and why? 
    2. 

  2. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood.
    3. 

  3. Due to the very popular TV series  (2017)
    4. 

  4. I want to read the book about dystopian future
    5. 

  5. …before I watch the series with Elisabeth Moss.
    6. 



 


    

  1. Have you read a classic you disliked on first read
    2. 

  2. …that you tried again and respected, appreciated, or even ended up loving?
    3. 

  3. Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice (review 2018)
    4. 

  4. Samuel Johnson is credited with saying that
    5. 

  5.  “A book should teach us to enjoy life or to endure it.”
    6. 

  6. I think Jane Austen succeeds on both counts!
    7. 

  7. I’m not a dyed-in-the-wool Jane Austen fan
    8. 

  8. …but I’m going to toss aside all my preconceived  notions about her books.
    9. 

  9. I have moved on. I have enjoyed life but at times had to endure it.
    10. 

  10. Opinions formed beforehand in my youth) are without adequate evidence.
    11. 

  11. I will read Jane Austen and let her…speak to an older and wiser Nancy.
    12. 



 


    

  1. Which classic character can’t you get out of your head?
    2. 

  2. The main character in the book The Knot of the Vipers (1933).
    3. 

  3. François Mauriac (1885-1970) French writer,
    4. 

  4. winner of Nobel Prize in Literature in 1952.
    5. 

  5. If you are ‘Reading the Nobels’
    6. 

  6. …this is an excellent book to put on your list.
    7. 



 


    

  1. Which classic character most reminds you of yourself?
    2. 

  2. Margret Schlegel in Howard’s End. Margaret is chatty, vociferous.
    3. 

  3. Subtly Margaret changes.
    4. 

  4. Margaret saw more clearly what a human being is.
    5. 

  5. Margaret was silent. Something shook her life
    
….in its inmost recesses and she shivered. (pg 340)
    6. 



 


    

  1. Which classic character do you most wish you could be like?
    2. 

  2. Melanie Hamilton in Gone with the Wind.
    3. 

  3. She was the kindest character I ever met!
    4. 



 


    

  1. Which classic character reminds you of your best friend?
    2. 

  2. Constance Baines in The Old Wives’ Tale by A. Bennett. It is strange how fate has changed the lives of the sisters Sophia and Constance. Constance’s had remained, her father had wanted, quiet and the model of consideration. She lived at St. Luke’s Square in Bursley her entire life.
    3. 



 


    

  1. If a sudden announcement was made that 500 more pages had been discovered after the original “THE END” on a classic title you read and loved, which title would you most want to keep reading?
    2. 

  2. The Old Wives’ Tale.…this is truly an underappreciated classic!
    3. 



 


    

  1. Favorite children’s classic?  E.B. White’s Stuart Little
    

    2. 

  2. Who recommended your first classic? Freshman year English teacher
    3. 



 


    

  1. Whose advice do you always take when it comes to literature? 
    2. 

  2. ….I always listened to my sister.
    3. 

  3. I had moved to The Netherlands and in the days before internet
    4. 

  4. …when I would visit home I let my sister 
    5. 

  5. select 10 books I MUST read from
    6. 

  6. …the Barnes & Noble bookstore we always visited!
    7. 



 


    

  1. Favorite memory with a classic? –
    2. 

  2. Last scene in The Tale of Two Cities with Sydney Carton:
    3. 

  3. “It’s a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done
    4. 

  4. … a far, far better rest than I go to than I have ever known.”
    5. 



 


    

  1. Classic author you’ve read the most works by? Charles Dickens (7)
    2. 

  2. Classic author who has the most works on your club list? Émile Zola (20+)
    3. 

  3. Classic author you own the most books by? Zola and Dickens
    4. 

  4. Classic title(s) that didn’t make it to your club list that you wish you’d included?
    5. 

  5. The Third Man by Graham Greene
    6. 

  6. If you could explore one author’s literary career from first publication to last
    7. 

  7. — meaning you have never read this author and want to
    8. 

  8. explore him or her by reading what s/he wrote in order of publication
    9. 

  9. — who would you explore?
    10. 

  10. Virginia Woolf.…I have to read her eventually!
    11. 



 


    

  1. How many rereads are on your club list? NONE…I don’t re-read. I haven’t the time.
    2. 

  2. Has there been a classic title you simply could not finish?
    3. 

  3. Quo Vadis by Henryk Sienkiewicz. I wanted to read it for my
    4. 

  4. Nobel list….but just could not finish it. Bah.
    5. 

  5. Has there been a classic title you expected to dislike and ended up loving?
    6. 

  6. Winesburg, Ohio by S. Anderson (review 2018)
    7. 



 


    

  1. Five things you’re looking forward to next year in classic literature?
    2. 

  2. Mann, T. – The Magic Mountain
    3. 

  3. Classic you are DEFINITELY GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year? –
    4. 

  4. Morrison, T. –  Beloved  (Nobel Prize winner)
    5. 

  5. Classic you are NOT GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year?
    6. 

  6. Stevenson, R.L. – The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (no interest….at all)
    7. 

  7. Favorite thing about being a member of the Classics Club?
    8. 

  8. I enjoy the social contacts with other book lovers!
    9. 



 


    

  1. List five fellow clubbers whose blogs you frequent.
    2. 

  2. Brona’s Books (Brona)
    3. 

  3. On Bookes (O)
    4. 

  4. Classical Carousel (Cleo)
    5. 

  5. One Catholic Life (Nick)
    6. 

  6. The Once Lost Wanderer (Joseph)
    7. 

  7. Favorite posts you’ve read by a fellow clubber? 
    8. 

  8. One of those days...  (Brona)
    9. 

  9. Books to Pull Out of a Reading Slump (Cleo)
    10. 

  10. Silver and Gold   (O)
    11. 

  11. Nick’s Great Book List (Nick)
    12. 

  12. 100 Greatest Novels of all Time Wrap-up (Joseph)
    13. 



 


    

  1. If you’ve ever participated in a read-a-long on a classic, tell about the experience?
    2. 

  2. Read-a-long with Brona’s Books The Lord of the Ring
    3. 

  3. This was a struggle because I’m not a Tolkien fan.
    4. 

  4. But I made an effort to join
    5. 

  5. Brona’s #HLOTRreadalong 2017.  (wrap-up)
    6. 



 


    

  1. I participated in five  #AusReadinMonth @Brona’s Books.
    2. 

  2. Here is my 2017 Q&A Aus Reading.
    3. 



 


    

  1. Read-a-long with  Nick’s One Catholic Life  #LesMiserablesRead-A-Long
    2. 

  2. This is also a struggle to keep on schedule (chapter a day)!!
    3. 

  3. I am thankfully up-to-date and reading is in progress ( reading the book in french)
    4. 

  4. Conclusion:  I need to ask myself if I am a ‘read-a-long’ type of person!
    5. 

  5. I keep struggling.
    6. 



 


    

  1. How long have you been reading classic literature? – 50+ years!
    2. 

  2. Share up to five posts you’ve written that tell a bit about your reading story.
    3. 

  3. #AusReadingMonth 2017 – wrap-up
    4. 

  4. The Classics Club book list nr 1 – completed ( 50 books)
    5. 

  5. List of my French books….I keep reading #NeverGiveUp
    6. 

  6. Monthly Planning ( these are the latest books…)
    7. 

  7. Passègere du Silence ( this is an amazing story about a female French artist…)
    8. 


											

				

							

					

						
25

						
Aug

					


					
					

						
The Classics Club   #1 list (completed)

						


 


Finally this day has come.…I completed my Classics Club list!


I started on March 22 2012 with Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens and I ended the challenge with Rabbit, Run by John Updike on 03 Augustus 2014.


During this challenge I decided to read some classic books in French. I wanted to learn the a third language. I can now read a French book as easily as I do a book in English! I was at times dejected, low in spirits because my reading speed was sharply reduced. It took me 3 months to read Mme Bovary by Gustave Flaubert. Yet I persevered and treated myself to a cold glass of Heineken after every completed French book!


My list contains some classic books in my second language, Dutch. Not many people will recognize the titles but in The Netherlands they are considered classics.


Here are the books I read:


 


16th Century


    

  • De Cervantes, Miguel – Don Quixote
    • 

  • De Lafayette, Mme – Princesse de Clèves (french)
    • 



Don Quixote was a challenge to read. It is a classic, but a very long one.


Princesse de Clèves: I had to first understand the French history that is an important part of the book. That took some time and effort.


 


18th Century


None! I had no idea I had forgotten this century. I’ll have to put some of these books on my second classic list!


 


19th Century: 


A – C


    

  • Alcott, Louisa May – Little Women
    • 

  • Austen, Jane – Persuasion
    • 

  • Brontë, Charlotte – Villette
    • 

  • Conrad, Joseph – Lord Jim
    • 



My favorite was Villette by C. Bronte. The book had beenon my TBR shelf for years. Little Women is not my kind of book. The only redemptive quality was the fact that it led me to a biography about the Alcott, Eden’s Outcasts by John Matteson. That was an excellent book! I read Persuasion as a gesture towards Brona’s Books blog. It is one of her favortries. I read Lord Jim because I admire Joseph Conrad, Polish by birth and learned English and worte great literature. That is quite an accomplishment!


 


D – E


    

  • Daudet, Alphonse – Lettres de mon Moulin (french) 
    • 

  • Dickens, Charles – Little Dorrit
    • 

  • Dumas, Alexandre –  La tulipe noire (french) (tulips!)
    

    • 



I was reading Dickens when I started the classic list. I should read more of his books but got carried away reading in French. Two more Dickens’ books are on the second list. Daudet is an author often overlooked. Lettres de mon Moulin would be an excellent choice to read in French if you wanted to practice your language skills. La tulipe noire is set in The Netherlands…..so I had to read it! I ended planting 80 tulips as a gesture to Dumas!


 


F – H


    

  • Flaubert, Gustav – Mme Bovary (french)
    • 

  • Hawthorne, Nathaniel – The Scarlet Letter 
    • 

  • Hugo, Victor – Notre-Dame de Paris (french)
    • 



Mme Bovary  was my first French classic for my “read French for a year’ challenge. It took me three months to finish the book.. Somedays I could just read 6 pages! At times I would take a deep breath and as myself …is it worth the effort? I did not give up and have kept on reading French. Notre-Dame de Paris was a surprise. I was impressed by the characterization of the Hunchback.  The Scarlet Letter was a book I read in high school. I’m glad I re-read it because I just did not understand all this book had to offer as a teen.


 


J – S


    

  • Maupassant, G. de – Bel-Ami
    • 



Maupassant was my second French classic. In comparison with Mme Bovary I felt I was reading faster than the speed of light! This was my first reward for all my effort while reading Flaubert. I still had to look op 1140 words and 394 verbs.


 


Z(ola) ( all in french) 


    

  • Zola, Émile – La Fortune des Rougons
    • 

  • Zola, Émile – La Curée
    • 

  • Zola, Émile – Le Ventre de Paris
    • 

  • Zola, Émile – La Conquête de Plassans
    • 

  • Zola, Émile – La Faute de l’Abbé de Mouret
    • 

  • Zola, Émile – Son Excellence de Eugène Rougon
    • 

  • Zola, Émile – L’Assommoir
    • 

  • Zola, Émile – Une Page d’Amour
    • 

  • Zola, Émile – Le Rêve 
    • 

  • Zola, Émile –Pot-Bouille
    • 

  • Zola, Émile – Au Bonheur des Dames
    • 

  • Zola, Émile – La Joie de Vivre
    • 

  • Zola, Émile – La Bête Humaine 
    • 

  • Zola, Émile – L’ Œuvre
    • 

  • Zola, Émile –L’Argent
    • 

  • Zola, Émile –Germinal
    • 

  • Zola, Émile – Lourdes
    • 



 


This was the basis for ‘my read French for a year’ challenge. I had read Germinal and could not forget that book. I decided to read the Rougon-Macquart series.  (20 books) I  finished the last R-M  books but are not included on this list.


 


20th – 21th Century:


A – F


    

  • Bolano, Roberto – 2666 
    • 

  • Cheever, John – The Wapshot Chronicle
    • 



2666  It was a chore to read from start to finish, but I gave the book a “chance to prove itself”.  Bolano’s 2666  took me to new ‘reading limits’ and no regets. It was the first book  that I ever read that was  physically exhausting.


The Wapshot Chronicle:  I wanted to read one of the most famous  American writers who suffered from alcoholism. Cheever drank chronically for 40 years and yet was able  to produce great works of literature despite  the  addiction.  


G – L


    

  • Gide, André – I’immoraliste (french)
    • 

  • Grossman, Vasily – An Armenian Sketchbook
    • 

  • Llosa, Mario Vargas – Feast of the Goat
    • 

  • Londres, Albert – Au Bagne (french)
    • 



L’immoraliste sat on my bookshelf for years. I wanted to finally read this book and discover André Gide. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature 1947, yet rarely do you see his books on classic lists. An Armenian Sketchbook was one of my ‘surprise’ books this year. I never heard of the writer and feel in love with his writing. I plan to read more of his books. Feast of the Goat was historical fiction and M. V. Llosa exposed the world of a Central American dictator. Au Bagne was a big disappointment. Londres’s writing style is choppy and dull. I have 2 more of his books on the shelf, they may stay there.


 


M – P


    

  • Némirovsky, Irène – Suite française ( french) 
    • 

  • Némirovsky, Irène – Le vin de solitude (french)
    • 

  • Pasternak, Boris – Doctor Zhivago
    • 



Némirovsky’s books are a pleasure to read in French. Her style is simple and it just flows. I expect she has read Zola because she wrote crowd scenes and described gardens (Suite française) as he did. Némirovsky can sometimes get carried away with the ‘poetic’.  Too much of a good thing can be tiresome in the end. Doctor Zhivago was one of my first classic reads in 2012. It was familiar due to the film. I knew what to expect. I want to read more Russian literature, but not Pasterank.


 


R – W


    

  • Simenon, George – La neige était sale
    • 

  • Shute, Nevil –On the beach
    • 

  • Saluerhoff, Jan – Alle verhalen
    • 

  • Thurber, James – The 13 clocks 
    • 

  • Tillion, Germaine – Ravenbruck (french)
    • 

  • John – Rabbit, Run
    • 

  • Vestdijk, Simon – Terug naar Ina Dammen
    • 

  • Vestdijk, Simon – Pastorale 1943
    • 

  • Wiesel, , Elie –Night
    • 

  • Williams, Tenneesse – Cat on a hot tin roof
    • 

  • E.B. – Stuart Little
    • 



 


I went from the best to the worst with some of these books. I’ll start with the bad news. La neige était sale  was awful. Simenon is not looking for  “le mot juste”.  I rarely found a metaphor  or a simile to give the story some polish. Anything that makes other novels into literature is missing here. The rest of the books were all good news! The Dutch selections are classics in The Netherlands, you probably don’t recognize them. American classics were powerful, Cat On a Hot Tin Roof and Rabbit, Run. I was able to enjoy these book after reading about Williams in Trip to Echo Spring, writers and drinking by O. Laing and Updike in ‘Updike’ by A. Begley. I would recommend reading these books for add information. WW II is the back round for Night and Ravenbruck. Sometimes difficult to read, but one must know the truth. I needed some relaxation after some intense reading and choose to read some children’s classics that have a whiff of literature about them: Stuart Little and The 13 Clocks. They were great reads for young and old!


I remember when I sat down to start a blog. All I needed was a glass of Chardonnay, some determination and a desire to start an incredible journey through some classic books.


Don’t waste your time….. here is the link for The Classics Club. Start your journey because there are so many good books just waiting for you!

											

				

							

					
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