Betsie Ann > Recent Status Updates

The pace has temporarily slowed: in the middle of the book. But there is so much here that isn't in the film adaptation- which shouldn't surprise me, but for some reason it does.

I am savoring this. It has some truly beautiful parts. And then some that give me pause. But everything's interesting.

Fascinating. This is finally living up to its' potential.

This is actually disturbing. And not in a good way.

This has been on my TBR for a while, so I'm happy to be finally reading it. So far, my feelings are mixed though.
The fact it is an incomplete series actually doesn't bother me at all. I am used to creating endings in my head anyway, so no problem.

Well, the social experiment of reading Twilight is over. And, believe it or not, I found I liked the last book the most. Book 2 and 3 are boring, and book 1 is approximately a tie with 4. But all of them are not my cup of tea. I could dissect them in review form, but are they worth it...?

I am reading Water Moon at the moment, and I have to share this delightful tidbit.
"Did that eagle just move?" Keishin asked.
"Of course it did. It is a statue. They are supposed to move."
"You'll be very disappointed by statues in my world then."

There is a tiny bit of slowness in the not quite middle of the book, but then the pace picks back up with a vengeance. (Pun unintended.)😄

I am very slowly making my way through this behemoth. But I am annotating like mad, so hopefully I am learning something new this time around!
I just hope I can finish it by the end of the year, as I wanted it to be my last review of the year. So, I'd better hurry up.

I have reached my reading goal of 200 books! Now, we'll see how many books I'm able to add in December. I'm leaving my options open, as it's such a busy month. The Oppenheimer bio was an appropriate finish, but my rating is indecisive: the book was equal parts fascinating and infuriating.

Just finished Frankenstein, and I have so many thoughts, but I don't know if I'll review it right now or not. Definitely not a book you read for the realism and the chance to believe in the characters as real people, but a very intellectually stimulating story. Taken as a commentary, not only on the author herself, but of the relationship between God/man, creator/created, free will/sovereignty-- very interesting.

Katie Hanna's very different take on this book inspired me to reread it. Expect a monster review once I'm finished!

Continuing with historical inaccuracy #3, although this one has a tiny bit of wiggle room, unlike the previous. In Tides of War by Stella Tillyard, she refers to an army surgeon as 'Dr'. This particular character does have some formal education, so there is a small chance he would have a formal title, but during this time period-- the Napoleonic Wars, army surgeons were almost exclusively referred to as Mr.

Continuing the tradition of spotting historical inaccuracies that (possibly) no one cares about, I just finished An Hour Unspent by Roseanna M. White and found this-- The book is set in 1915, and she references the Luftwaffe: the Luftwaffe did not exist until the mid 1930s. Until October 1916, the German air force was called Die Fliegertruppen des deutschen Kaiserreiches. Then it was shortened to Luftstreitkrafte.

Just finished Bethlehem by Karen Kelly, and really enjoyed it, but there was a galling mistake I have to call out. One of the main characters and her mother-in-law are talking about the German Reformation, and the MIL says John Wycliffe was burned at the stake for translating the Bible into English. I think she meant William Tyndale, but that is an obvious mistake that should never have made it through editing. Ugh!

Well, I knew what was coming, and the last chapter still made me tear up. For the first two thirds Daniel was so different from the adaptation, which is my reference point because it's great, and it felt like he was never even close to being in love with Gwendolen-the adaptation deceived me! But Eliot wrote Daniel so convincingly in the last third that she turned all my previous opinions around. Truly a great book.

Similar to Crime and Punishment, the first half of this was boring, and too dense, and now it has picked up, and is fascinating. Also, I am intrigued by the differences between book and adaptation. Andrew Davies (the screenwriter) changed motivations and scenes throughout, and I am really liking reading the original author's intention. And while Daniel is the titular main character, Gwendolen has more 'screen' time.

So far, the only characters I'm interested in are Catherine Arrowpoint and Herr Klesmer. Not what I was expecting, as they're minor characters, with very little screentime in the 2002 adaptation.
My favorite quote so far, by Catherine Arrowpoint- "But I will not give up the happiness of my life to ideas that I don't believe in and customs I have no respect for."

This is going to be 4 stars, yay! The first half was a slog, but the second half has been much better. For a while I was afraid I was going to agree with that 1-star review that said something like-- "This book was a crime to write, and a punishment to read."

I am truly surprised by this, but right now I am thinking this may be a 3-star for me--something I never thought I would say about a Dostoevsky book.

I don't know if I'll review this book once I'm finished--probably not, so I couldn't resist making note of this little nugget.

On page 20, "Has Lord Shigeru been found?"
"Yes, he's in the armory."
"He has weapons?"
"He's a samurai, and he's in the armory. What do you think? Yes, he has weapons. In fact, he has all the weapons. We have none, except for what we are able to improvise."

My favorite passage from Shirley so far--

From page 122, 'her white dressing gown assumed, her long hair loosened and falling thick, soft, and wavy to her waist; and as, resting from the task of combing it out, she leaned her cheek on her hand and fixed her eyes on the carpet, before her rose, and close around her drew, the visions we see at eighteen years.'