Every now and again there is a book sale in our village hall , it started with the introduction of an informal lending library in the church porch during Covid and people bring books they have read/don't want and they are sold for about 50p each and the profits go to the church, I think ? . I usually take a bag full of paperbacks round to lessen the piles of books that threaten to overwhelm the house - with instructions from Mrs K not to bring any back as replacements . This usually works and I return feeling virtuous , however this time I fell into conversation with the vicar and she pointed out the above books as being the literary equivalent of the sad eyed puppy that nobody wants - now they are NOT my taste in literature - I did Thomas Hardy at school (So long winded) and Orwell (who I enjoyed) but scorned what I thought as 19th cent. 'chic lit' . however I started feeling guilty - so I gave the Vicar a £1 for them both and have brought them home to read. I've seen the TV versions of them but it will be interesting to see if I can get into them - wish me luck !.
It's all for a good cause Tony! And who knows, you may like them! Especially Charlotte Bronte, she and her siblings utilized wooden TOY SOLDIERS as the basis for many of the stories that they wrote as children! The soldiers were known as "The Twelves" and seemed to be the spark that launched the children into the world of writing! It's a very interesting story!
ReplyDeleteYes I've heard of their figures and the make believe wolds they had .
DeleteI'm afraid I have to take the opposite stance to Brad; can't be doing with the Brontë's, but Jane Austen is my novel goddess. Read all of them, including the unfinished / unpublished works - loved them all but Emma was my favourite.
ReplyDeleteFunnily enough I also did Hardy (Madding Crowd) at school and found it sooo wordy, but on re-reading it (for exams) I was surprised to realise I liked it. Something similar happened with O'Brian's Jack Aubrey novels which at first I found very slow but once acclimatised to the pace consumed the lot with relish (Mauritius Command being the favourite).
Re-read 'Far from the Madding Crowd' recently and thought it had improved with age (my age I think) - we where taken to see the original film - a ploy I think to get at least some of the tale into our heads -Julie Christie !!!! - I would have walked on hot coals for her ! - teenage crush .
DeleteMy sympathies. In college, I could never tell for sure if the eng Lit prof was trying to enlighten us or torture us. Mind you, they made War and Peace seem like an entertaining read.
ReplyDeleteI'll give them a go and see how I does ! , Don't think English Lit was meant to be fun .
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