Top Five: Underrated Classics

Everyone has heard of (and many have read) the likes of Dickens, Austen and the Brontes. But there are a lot more amazing classics out there that just don't get the same level of attention. So I've decided to give them a little more. Obviously, this list is limited to my personal reading experience, so if I've missed any (and I'm sure there are many), feel free to rant about it in the comments. 

Meme created by Hyperbole and a Half

1. Anything by Elizabeth Gaskell
If Dickens and Austen’s books had a baby, this would be it. Meshing romance and strong female characters with social commentary and serious issues (even death!), Gaskell’s stories are often heart-wrenching, frequently hilarious and always awesome. Definitely worth a read – and a viewing, if you haven’t already seen the amazing BBC adaptations of North and South, Wives and Daughters and Cranford. 

2. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
OK, I know The Moonstone is his most beloved work, and here I am writing a list of underrated classics without having read that one. Awkward. But I HAVE read The Woman in White, so I’m going to rave about that instead. I originally picked it up after reading the blurb on the back about Dickens mentoring Collins – and I was completely blown away by the contents. It’s a beautifully constructed mystery that was hard to put down (not always the case with the classics!). 

3. Evelina by Frances Burney
Written and published at a time when it was unthinkable for a young woman to read much, let alone write, Burney’s epistolary novel is a charming, funny and touching account of life in 18^th century aristocracy. Evelina gets herself into so many awkward situations, she's easy to relate to - even 200+ years on! Plus, her love interest, Lord Orville, is totes book boyfriend material.
 
4. The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy
There's been a bunch of adaptations of The Forsyte Saga, so I'm always surprised at the number of people I speak to who haven't read it or even heard of it. Spanning three novels, and multiple decades and generations, Galsworthy's masterpiece both satirises and humanises the British middle-class with the money-obsessed, eccentric Forsytes. There are so many amazing characters to love - and love-to-hate.
 
5. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
Thanks to the musical, everybody has heard of The Phantom of the Opera. Plenty have seen it. But not too many seem to have read it. Which is a shame, coz it's an awesome book! And way creepier and more heartbreaking than anything the musical has to offer (and I LOVE the musical).


Which classics do you think get neglected?

Top Five: Books That Make Me Go "Awww"

So it's Valentine's Day. Y'know, in case you hadn't noticed from the 367 smug updates in your Facebook newsfeed (what, was that just mine?). Whether you're a lover or a hater, it's a good excuse to talk love stories. These are some of my fave feelgood reads...

Source: Hark! A Vagrant

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. As if any love story list would be complete without Elizabeth and Darcy. Do I even need to explain why? I'll just leave this quote here to simmer:

"The happiness which this reply produced, was such as he had probably never felt before; and he expressed himself on the occasion as sensibly and as warmly as a man violently in love can be supposed to do. Had Elizabeth been able to encounter his eye, she might have seen how well the expression of heartfelt delight, diffused over his face, became him; but, though she could not look, she could listen, and he told her of feelings, which, in proving of what importance she was to him, made his affection every moment more valuable. They walked on, without knowing in what direction. There was too much to be thought, and felt, and said, for attention to any other objects."

2. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins. I've been whoring this book out since I read it back in July. It's got everything you need for the perfect romance: A relatable, awesome heroine; an adorable, smart, funny, devoted guy (with the bonus of a cute accent); an obstacle (or two) to overcome; a beautiful setting; strong secondary characters and a helluva lot of sexual tension. Le sigh.

"Is it possible for home to be a person and not a place?"

3. The Princess Bride by William Goldman. Sure, Buttercup might be a complete idiot, but Westley is amazeballs enough for the two of them - and hey, it's True Love. Westley comes back from the dead for it - twice. Buttercup... er, jumps off a ledge and... almost stabs her "perfect breasts" for it. Ahem. Like I said - True Love.

"I've been saying it so long to you, you just wouldn't listen. Every time you said 'Farm Boy, do this' you thought I was answering, 'As you wish', but that's only because you were hearing wrong. 'I love you' was what it was, but you never heard."

4. Persuasion by Jane Austen. I know I probably shouldn't make two out of five books in this list by Jane Austen - but frankly, they're worth it. I love Persuasion almost as much as Pride and Prejudice - which is saying a lot. The relationship between Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot is a little more angsty than Darcy and Lizzie's, but it's perhaps even more beautiful and powerful because of it. Plus, Persuasion contains one of the greatest love letters to ever grace the pages of fiction.

"You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago."

5. Anne of Green Gables series by L. M. Montgomery. From the moment Anne breaks her slate over Gilbert's head, I fell head over heals in love with her - er, I mean, Gilbert did. Seriously, though - it's a fantastic beginning to an amazing relationship. Their attraction-turned-hate-turned-competition-turned-friendship-turned-love is one of the loveliest love stories ever.

"As she held out her hand, their eyes met and all doubt was swept away in a glad certainty. They belonged to each other; and, no matter what life might hold for them, it could never alter that. Their happiness was in each other's keeping and both were unafraid."

What are your favourite happily ever afters?

Reading Icons: Cary Grant

"Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant." - Cary Grant.

Bookish Buys: Love Is In The Page

Sure, Valentine's Day is a cheesetastic, corporate-created holiday, but it does provide a nice reminder to appreciate those we love. With gifts, if that's what floats your boat. I know bookish gifts like these certainly float mine...

Personalised anniversary/wedding frame from Suzy Shoppe

10 Things I Love About You Notebook from I Love It All

Alphabet Of Our Love scrapbook from I Love It All

Vintage paper flowers from Creation Faeries

Valentine's Day cards from Conversationals

Cupcake toppers from Kiwi Tini Creations

Letterpress poetry from Presse Dufour

Love blocks from Uniquely Different Too

A Love Story pop-up from Love and Found

Book of Love from 3 Little Pixies

Love print from Print Press by FMT

I Love Books And Tea print from Flourish Campaign

Mini book of love from AMB Jewelry

My Book Boyfriend: Tom Mackee

As soon as she saw I was reading The Piper's Son by Melina Marchetta, Jo from Wear the Old Coat predicted that Tom Mackee would be my book boyfriend very, very soon. She also said I'd have to fight her for him. Well, Jo, this one's for you...

Ahem, now about Tom... He's a total blokey slob on the outside, but underneath he's really sweet, sensitive and smart (natch). He turns into an a-hole when his heart gets broken, taking his hurt out on those around him (and himself). But eventually he comes around and does some very romantic things (in an ordinary, believable way). He's flawed but awesome. Oh, and did I mention he can play the guitar? Instant hotness points. I pictured him as Benedict Samuel.

Swoon-Worthy Quotes

"She's tired and leans her head on his shoulder, which is the resting place for all their heads, but when Justine and Siobhan and Francesca use his body so shamelessly he doesn't feel the need to turn his head and press his mouth against their hair."

"Thomas Mackee on the dance floor is totally uninhibited and is hysterical to watch.  Despite his lanky slobbiness, he moves well.  He makes the most ridiculous faces as he twists, his mouth in an O shape and we're laughing so much our stomach hurt."

"He kisses her and wants to beg her and the others to never give up on him. Ever. But he gets a feeling that he would be preaching to the converted."

“'Don't let anyone take care of you. Can you maybe leave that for me to do? I mean, take care of you? Feel free to take care of me in return... because I think I'll need you to do that.'”  

 

 

Thanks to Missie from The Unread Reader for creating/hosting this awesome meme.

Image sources: One, Two, Three, Four.

Bookish Fun: Finnick, Annie and The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

These have been kicking around for awhile but I think they're still cool enough to post. The first video is from a web series by Mainstay Pro, the peeps who created the Second Quarter Quell fan vid. This time they've tackled the Finnick/Annie back story, and while I wasn't a fan of the first few clips, episodes 4-6 are pretty sweet. I hope there's plenty of Finnick (and Annie) in the actual movies!

The next video is part of the promo for the US version of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. It's a faux Hard Copy story on the disappearance of Harriet Vangar. It's done pretty well and makes me super excited for the film. If you haven't seen it yet, check it out. I love the attention to (dodgy) detail.

Reading Icons: Charles Dickens

"My father had left a small collection of books in a little room upstairs, to which I had access (for it adjoined my own) and which nobody else in our house ever troubled. From that blessed little room, Roderick Random, Peregrine Pickle, Humphrey Clinker, Tom Jones, the Vicar of Wakefield, Don Quixote, Gil Blas, and Robinson Crusoe, came out, a glorious host, to keep me company. They kept alive my fancy, and my hope of something beyond that place and time..." - David Copperfield by Charles Dickens

If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't) by Betty White

Obligatory name-dropping moment: I picked up this book when I met Betty Freaking White in New York. The fiance and I were just doing the tourist thing, wandering around Barnes and Noble on Fifth Avenue one day, when I saw a sign stating she'd be there for a book signing the next day. I can't remember what we'd had planned for that day, but we (I) pretty much canceled those plans immediately. As a massive Golden Girls and Betty fan, I couldn't miss this opportunity to meet her. So we got down there early the next morning to get a good spot in the line. We went to the front of the store and saw that the line went right around the corner. So we followed it... and kept on following it... and kept on following. It reached around the whole block.

Even I was hesitant at that point. We were only in New York for a week - did we really want to spend half a day in a line? My fiance wasn't overly enthused, but after weighing it up I thought, when else am I going to get the chance to meet Betty Freaking White?! The fiance, bless him, agreed, and diligantly held our spot in the line while I ran into the store to buy If You Ask Me. I rejoined him half an hour later. He'd moved forward about 10 metres. We waited another half an hour and crept forward inch by inch. The fiance spotted a sports store and went shopping, while I progressed another 10 metres. After an hour and half, we finally neared the corner of the store, not too far from the entrance. Staff came out and warned that we might not get to meet Betty as she'd have to leave soon. My heart sunk. We decided to stick around, just in case - we'd waited this long, after all. We got closer and closer to the door. The manager came out and said they were only letting five more people in. I was number six.

There I stood, at the front of the line, 25 years old and about to burst into tears because I was going to miss out on meeting Betty White. All of a sudden, the manager turned around and said, "Ok, you, and you can go in". Me?! ME can go in?! I raced through the door before she changed her mind, the fiance in tow... and we joined another line. Another 20 minutes later, I finally got a glimpse of Betty. We were told to have our books open to the right page and not to ask for pictures, because she had to leave. My turn came, and the loud-mouthed guy in front of me wouldn't stop talking to Betty. They tried to push him away three times before he finally left. I wanted to thump him in the head with my book but all I could do was stare. At Betty. During the two-and-a-half hour wait I'd thought of about 267 things I wanted to say to her. In the end all I managed was a manic "OHMYGOD-I-LOVE-YOU-SO-MUCH". She smiled, said, "Thank you so much for coming to see me, today. I appreciate it SO much." We had a connection. And then I was moved along.

My lovely fiance hung back so he could sneakily snap a few pictures of my moment with Betty....

So close...

Betty is RIGHT THERE, I swear. And I wanted to punch that guy next to me really, really hard.

The Betty Effect.

Anyway, if you're still here after my rambling, you're awesome, and you're also going to finally get to hear what I actually thought of the book. I read it in a couple of hours yesterday. It's a super easy read, but I have to say I was slightly disappointed. I haven't read any of Betty's previous books so I don't know what they contain, but this one gave very little insight into her or her life. It seems to have been written more for people who are already fans of Betty; there's the assumption that you already know her story, her career, her love of animals, and this is just a series of anecdotes about what's been going on with her lately. Like catching up with an old friend. The tone is very conversational, and each chapter jumps from topic to topic with no segue.

It's a lot of fun - just not quite as hilarious or insightful as I anticipated. There were a few highlights for me, like the fact that Betty has a room that keeps her up at night - you know, that room where you just dump things and plan to organise "one day". It makes me feel better about my own semi-hoarding that Betty Freaking White does it too. Her passing reflections on being the last Golden Girl and the loss of her husband, Allen, and her dear pets, are touching and poignant. You finish the book, if not more in touch with the "real" Betty, at least more in awe of her energy, enthusiasm, humour and positivity. She's still going strong - let's hope she stays that way for years to come!

Rating: 3.5/5

February TV Addict Reading Challenge

Leave your 2012 TV Addict Reading Challenge links for February here! If you haven't signed up yet, you can do so here.

Sassi Sam Review: The Maid's Tale by Rose Plummer with Tom Quinn

I've long been an admirer of Sassi Sam's girlie, fun website, so when she asked me if I'd like do book reviews for her I jumped at the chance quicker than, um, something that jumps really quickly (Kangaroos? Tigger? I digress...). My first review for Sassi Sam is now up - check it out if, y'know, you want to. It's a review of The Maid's Tale by Rose Plummer and Tom Quinn, which I highly recommend for Downton Abbey fans. BTW, what I didn't mention in the review is that the book involves tales of old-school vibrators, spitting on cutlery to clean it, and ladies who walked around with bird poop on their shoulders all the time. Fun times!