Friday Book Beginnings

Friday Book Beginnings is a meme hosted by Rose City Reader. Go here to add your link and see what others are reading.  http://www.rosecityreader.com/search/label/Book%20Beginnings


Pride and Prejudice, again

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

The first line of my all-time favorite book.  I read it in my teens, and I loved it.  I have just re-read The Annotated Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen annotated and edited by David M. Shapard.  The annotations were extremely interesting and informative and though much of the explanations of certain customs and word usage of the period were no longer new to me as I've since read many novels that take place in the early 19th century, I still enjoyed reading them and did not skip over any of the annotations.

I didn't think it was possible to enjoy this book more the second time, but I actually did.  It is the only novel that I have ever read twice.  I have always thought that with all of the books out there to be read, I couldn't possibly find the time to read the same one twice.  But I am so happy that I did. I will probably go on to read it many more times now that I've realized that it gets even better.  I didn't realize how much humour was in the book the first time around because I was so busy deciphering the meaning of certain phrases.  But when the language is no longer unfamiliar, or seemingly awkward, this story flows like nothing else I've ever read.  I could go on and on lauding this book, but I won't.  I know this is a favorite of many so my adoration is nothing new.

Friday Book Beginnings

This Meme is hosted by A Few More Pages and will be up all week.
Post the first line or first few lines of your current read.

Title: Dragonfly in Amber
Author: Diana Gabaldon

"Roger Wakefield stood in the center of the room, feeling surrounded."


Oh, don't worry. He's not in danger. He's only surrounded by books.
So far, I'm enjoying Dragonfly in Amber, admittedly not as much as the first book in this series, Outlander, but nevertheless, it's very good.
Any fans of Outlander out there?

Reading Update

I have been completely negligent since January. My excuse is that I have an ancient laptop and despite a very, potentially fast Internet connection, getting online is similar to the olden days of dial-up, watching the little AOL man dashing in stages while you waited for that last bing-bing sound and lo! You were ONLINE! Only it's slower. Much slower. So I avoid turning the computer on, and I loathe to write here on my iPhone.
But it's my only option until I bite the bullet and get a new computer.
For the record, I don't know how to put titles in italics with this phone, so be forewarned: book titles will not be italicized.

I recently read Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. I came across it by chance and loved it and went on to discover it has legions of fans. People are completely devoted to the main characters. Just google "James Fraser" or "Jaime and Claire". Lots of people speculating when a movie will come out and who will play the part of their favorite kilt-wearing, highland warrior James Malcolm Mackenzie Fraser and his beautiful, fiery, intelligent love, Claire.
I loved this time travelling story. And I couldn't wait to get my hands on the sequel, Dragonfly in Amber, but my local bookshop didn't have a copy so I ordered from the library and it came in a few days. I'm slowly making my way through it. It's very good but has not completely captured me and that could have something to do with 1 or 3 things. The first being that I have an idea of what's to come at tè end of the story and I'm loathe to see it happen, and also because I purchased The Wolf Gift, the new Ann Rice novel, and I couldn't have it in the house with me and not read it. I really truly enjoyed it but unfortunately it did not have the same mysterious effect on me as that of Interview with a Vampire and The Witching Hour. I read these books so very long ago that, possibly, this one is just as good, but that I have changed. Don't get me wrong, it's a great story and I recommend it highly. I loved so many things about it. But one particular important character was lacking for me and that's the wolf's love interest. I hesitate to write anything more because I really don't want my disappointment with this aspect of the novel to sway anyone else's take on it.
Despite that disappointment, I eagerly await a sequel. There's got to be one! It's Anne Rice after all.

In the midst of my reading Dragonfly in Amber, I overheard an interview on NPR with the Scottish author, Margot Livesey, who has written a new novel, The Flight of Gemma Hardy, that is a re-telling of sorts of Jane Eyre. The premise of the story, it's nod to Jane Eyre, and the connection to the author's own past, made this a 'must read immediately' for me. So, I ordered a copy at my local book shop. In the meantime, I read Eva Moves the Furniture, a book by the very same author, which I read in one day, and cried my eyes out at the end. A beautiful story it surely is but beware Faint of Heart! (or especially new mothers of very young children-or scratch that--mothers in general).

So, here I am having just finished The Wolf Gift, knowing I should get back to Jaime and Claire in Dragonfly in Amber, but with the story of Gemma Hardy calling to me from it's new spot on the shelf.

Udolfo, the Abbey, and the Affair

I can't believe it has been a month since I last posted.  I feel very neglectful.  It's not that I was posting everyday before, but at least once a week.  The good thing is that I have been doing a lot of reading.  I've read the last two Sookie Stackhouse southern vampire books and am eagerly anticipating the next one that is due out in May of 2012.  I've read two more in the Pink Carnation series, The Mischief of the Mistletoe, and The Orchid Affair.  In addition to these, I find myself still plugging along with The Mysteries of Udolpho. I am a fairly fast reader, but this one is taking me awhile.  That's not to say that I'm not enjoying it. 

The interesting thing about The Mysteries of Udolpho is that by chance, it is popping up everywhere in the other books that I'm reading.  I should mention that I have also started Northanger Abbey, in which Austen parodies Radcliffe's gothic novel.  This was completely unkown to me when I checked Northanger Abbey out of the library.  In addition to this, in the book I've just finished, The Orchid Affair, one of the novel's characters is reading Romance of the Forest, yet another gothic novel by Radcliffe.
As if these conincidences were not serendipitous enough, I did a quick check on the word serendipitous, only to find that it was first used by Horace Walpole, himself the author of what is considered the first gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, which novel has been much on my mind of late due to the appearance of a character named Fouche' in The Orchid Affair, who was inspired by the real life Joseph Fouche', Duke of Otranto.  So very, very many connections.

An interesting fact regarding Ann Radcliffe: Despite extensive, and I mean extensive, descriptions of the French and Italian landscape in Udolpho, she had not yet travelled to the European continent. In fact, she never saw Italy in her lifetime. Her descriptive details of the landscape are, at times, overwhelming, but all the more impressive when considering they were inspired solely through her imagination and the artwork of Claude Lorrain and Salvator Rosa.

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily is another fun installment in The Pink Carnation series by Lauren Willig. Initially I found the books in this series a little silly and a bit predictable, but nevertheless, enjoyed reading them. However, over the course of the series, the books just keep getting better and I really look forward to each new installment.

Before beginning this one, I was not looking as forward to reading it mostly because I had read that it took place in India and I was reluctant for them to leave England.
But as it turns out, I loved the setting. It was romantic and exotic and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I'm inspired to find other novels set in early 19th century India. I think I'll give M.M Kaye a try as the main character mentions her name throughout the book.
Has anyone out there read any M.M Kaye novels? I would love to hear from you.

Friday Book Beginnings

From A Few More Pages:
How to participate: There's nothing quite like the anticipation that comes from cracking open a book for the first time! Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence. The link-up will be at A Few More Pages every Friday and will be open for the entire week.

Title: The Betryal of the Blood Lily
Author: Lauren Willig

The food of love isn't music, it's grilled cheese and tomato sandwiches.

This is the sixth bok in the Pink Carnation Series.

From A Few More Pages:
How to participate: There's nothing quite like the anticipation that comes from cracking open a book for the first time! Share the first line (or two) of the book you are currently reading on your blog or in the comments. Include the title and the author so we know what you're reading. Then, if you would like, let us know what your first impressions were based on that first line, and let us know if you liked or did not like the sentence. The link-up will be at A Few More Pages every Friday and will be open for the entire week.

Title: The Mysteries of Udolpho
Author: Ann Radcliffe

"On the pleasant banks of the Garonne, in the province of Gascony, stood, in the year 1584, the chateau of Monsieur St.Aubert".

So far I am really enjoying this book. As you can maybe tell from the first line, the novel has fairly lengthy descriptions of scenery and setting which are setting up the atmosphere of the novel well, but I am in a hurry to get to the juicy parts of this gothic tale! I keep reminding myself to enjoy it all but I have been too eager to read this one. At 25 pages in, I'm getting glimpses of what's to come and I think I'm really going to enjoy it!