Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

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Jane Eyre
Charlotte Bronte

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Jane Eyre is a classic, every one knows that. The last classic I read was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and I'll be honest, I didn't think much of it. After that no so pleasant experience, I was a bit hesitant to read another classic. I'm very glad I did though, because I absolutely loved Jane Eyre!

Jane Eyre is about a girl with the same name, and tells of her struggles as an orphan and growing up in a house with no love. The story follows her from 10 years old into early adulthood, and it is so well written you basically feel as though you're right there in it.

There are many good moral stories in Jane Eyre. One being that it doesn't matter how much money you have, or how many people live in your home, you can still feel lonely and depressed if it is not a loving home. Another; despite Jane's love for Mr. Rochester, she stood by her morals and did what she thought was right, even if she didn't want to.


I'm finding it hard to put into words how brilliant Jane Eyre is. I guess it's one of those books that you can't really do justice, and you need to just read it to understand why it is so good, and one of the best classics.

Pretty much from page one I was sucked into the world of Jane. She is a very relatable character, and the story is so well written that you really feel everything she's going through. It's one of those books where you forget your surroundings and just get sucked right in.


I thought that it was particularly good for the time it was written as well. There are some pretty twisted plot moves that keep you hooked again and again. Some things were just so unexpected, and you had to keep reading to find out what was going to happen! If I didn't have such a busy life, I could probably have read it in one sitting.

Seriously, I'm not doing this book justice. If you haven't read it yet, I would say make it a priority, it's just that good!


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The Wee Librocubicularist

The Lord of the Rings 1: The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien

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The Lord of the Rings 1: The Fellowship of the Ring
J. R. R. Tolkien

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After reading The Hobbit I was excited to start the The Lord of the Rings trilogy. I have never seen any of the films, so I don't really know any of the stories. Before I read The Hobbit I didn't even know what the ring did!


The Fellowship of the Ring sees Frodo leaving The Shire with Sam Gamgee in an attempt to destroy the ring. Along the way they gain more companions; men named Aragorn and Boromir, an elf called Legolas, a dwarf named Gimli, another two Hobbits; Merry and Pippin, and of course the great Wizard Gandalf. They must travel a long way to reach Mordor in order to destroy the ring! During their travels they must decide whether to continue to Mordor, or aid Minas Tirith in the coming war, or separate.

"Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie."

The Lord of the Rings books are so popular it's hard not to hear or read other peoples opinions on them, and the comparisons with The Hobbit. I had heard a lot of people saying that they really enjoyed The Hobbit, but no matter how hard  they tried, they just couldn't get into The Lord of the Rings. Personally, I don't understand it myself. I thought The Fellowship of the Ring was just as good as The Hobbit, and found it easy to get back into the style of writing and the characters after taking a break to read another two books.

I did feel that the pace of the story was beginning to slow nearer the end of the book, and I have also heard that from the second book and into the third that the pace is very slow, and a lot of readers have found this dull and tiresome. I hope I don't find this to be true, but all I can do is read to find out!

I'm finding in difficult to figure out who my favourite character is. At the moment I'm leaning towards Aragorn/Strider. My other choice would be Frodo or Samwise, but there is something lacking with Frodo (not quite sure what yet), and I don't really know Sam yet either. So far I've not really come across any characters that I don't like (besides the enemy, of course) apart from Boromir at the end of The Fellowship of the Ring. 

I have just started The Two Towers (and what a coincidence, I started reading it on Tolkien Reading Day; March 25), so hopefully I will have a better understanding of the characters by then!

I am a few books behind with this blog, as in, I have read them but not written them up yet, but I am slowly catching up! :D

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Thanks,

The Wee Librocubicularist

Anita Blake 22: Affliction by Laurell K. Hamilton

Anita Blake 22: Affliction
Laurell K. Hamilton

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 "Sometimes love isn't about being smart. Sometimes it's about being stupid together."

It was my friend Hazel that first got me into reading the Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton. She had never seen the television series Buffy The Vampire Slayer before (which I knew she would just love), so we came to an arrangement; if I read all of the Anita Blake books, she would watch all of Buffy. And that's exactly what happened. Later she confessed that she thought I had 7 videos of Buffy, not all 7 seasons! (Easy mistake to make. I have a series 1-7 boxset, and they do kind of look like videos.) Luckily she really enjoyed Buffy, which I knew she would, and I quite enjoyed reading Anita Blake. Thus far I have read all the published  books to date;

1. Anita Blake 1: Guilty Pleasures
2. Anita Blake 2: The Laughing Corpse
3. Anita Blake 3: Circus of the Damned
4. Anita Blake 4: The Lunatic Cafe
5. Anita Blake 5: Bloody Bones
6. Anita Blake 6: The Killing Dance
7. Anita Blake 7: Burnt Offerings
8. Anita Blake 8: Blue Moon
9. Anita Blake 9: Obsidian Butterfly
10. Anita Blake 10: Narcissus in Chains
11. Anita Blake 11: Cerulean Sins
12. Anita Blake 12: Incubus Dreams
13. Anita Blake 13: Micah and Strange Candy
14. Anita Blake 14: Danse Macabre
15. Anita Blake 15: The Harlequin
16. Anita Blake 16: Blood Noir
17. Anita Blake 17: Skin Trade
18. Anita Blake 18: Flirt
19. Anita Blake 19: Bullet
20. Anita Blake 20: Hit List
21. Anita Blake 21: Kiss the Dead

The Anita Blake series is set in a world where vampires and werewolves etc, are common knowledge, have rights and live alongside people in society. Anita Blake is an animator, necromancer, U.S. Marshal (preternatural division, of course), vampire executioner, human servant, queen of just about every lycanthrope sect and many, many other things. The books centre around her life with all sorts of different creatures of the night, and her ever increasing collection of jobs and men.

"...love, real love, is full of choices that make no sense, that should go horribly wrong, but you make the choice anyway. Why? Because love is about hope; you hope that this time it will be different."

 

Affliction
Affliction is the twenty-second book in the Anita Blake vampire hunter novels. This one sees her travelling with Micah to see his dad, who is in hospital, and may not have long to live. While there, Anita sets to work as it appears there is a zombie virus spreading. She must get to the root of the problem and stop it before Micahs dad dies.

After not reading the series for a while (stupid having to wait for them to be written :P) it was a bit difficult to remember all of the characters as there are so many! In that respect it took a while to get back into the swing of Anita Blake but after reading for a bit it eventually comes back to you!

I was a bit disappointed with the ending, if I'm honest. I felt that so much more could have been done, especially considering it's one of the longer books in the series; nearly 700 pages. I expected the battle to be bigger and better, but alas, I was let down.

On the whole the book was not bad, just the ending was a bit of a let down.

"Real ghosts are so much easier to deal with than the kind we carry around in our heads. Most people haunt themselves more effectively than any spirit."

 

The series as a whole
I have very much enjoyed reading the Anita Blake series, however, I do feel it's beginning to lose my captivation. My favourite books are probably among the first in the series. I don't mind the sex, but when that's all the book is about it can get a bit boring. I feel there was more story in the earlier books, it wasn't just about her and all the men. I felt the last few books were a bit boring. It just felt like nothing was really happening and Laurell K. Hamilton was just writing them for the sake of writing.

Affliction was a step back in the right direction! More story, less sex. It was much more enjoyable than the last few, and I sincerely hope the next one is just as good!

My favourite characters are probably Micah and Nathaniel. I just love that they are so supportive and just work together. I can't stand Asher. He's probably my least favourite character. He's such a petulant child, who throws a tantrum when he cant get his own way. I miss Richard, the way he used to be. When I was first reading the series and Hazel had already read them, we used to have at length discussions about whom we preferred: Jean-Claude or Richard. Back then I didn't much like Jean-Claude, and wanted Anita to be happy with Richard. I can see now why that won't happen.

"We need hope almost more than anything else, for without it we are lost."

 

Author Laurell K. Hamilton

 

Overall rating

Thanks,

The Wee Librocubicularist