Book #17 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Progress Book # 28 of 100

I may be a little biased (I have one whole bookshelf- 5 shelves of books filled with P&P variations, sequels and alternate endings), but Pride and Prejudice is the best book ever!  When I saw that this book was on the list I was tempted to read it first, but thought I should wait a little while until I go though a few of the other novels.  Daniel and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary at Disney World and I decided to take this book as my vacation read.  I don't know how many times I've read the novel, but it's truly an enjoyment each time.

Here are some of my favorite lines which start in the first sentence:

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

When Elizabeth and Caroline Bingely are walking around the room Mr. Darcy says:
"You either choose this method of passing the evening because you are in each other's confidence and have secret affairs to discuss, or because you are conscious that your figures appear to the greatest advantage in walking- if the first, I should be completely in your way- and if the second, I can admire you much better as I sit by the fire."

“A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment.”

Lady Catherine comments on Elizabeth's piano performances, despite not playing herself:
"There are few people in England, I suppose, who have more true enjoyment of music that myself, or a better natural taste.  If I had ever learnt, I should have been a great proficient....to come to Rosings every day, and play on the pianoforte in Mr. Jenkinson's room.  She would be in nobody's way, you know in that part of the house."

The novel takes place in Regency England, when women didn't inherit the land from the men in the family.  Mr. and Mrs. Bennet have five daughters and this weighs heavily on Mrs. Bennet.  She is obsessed with getting them married off to anyone she can including the officers in Meryton, their cousin Mr. Collin's, and the rich Mr. Bingley.  After all as she says to Jane her eldest daughter "I was sure you could not be so beautiful for nothing!" 

The novel is Elizabeth Bennet's story.  Lizzie's first encounter with Mr. Darcy is the worst "First Impression" two people can have. She judges him on that first meeting, rightly so since he was so mean, and then spends most of the novel mis-understanding him and his actions.  Of course things work out in the end, and that not a spoiler because if you are reading this then you know me and I've probably made you watch at least one P&P movie.

I give this book A+ 100%

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

The first thing to say about The Magicians is that you shouldn't judge it by its cover. The cover is just a picture of a tree and I don't think it even supposed to be one of the magic trees very briefly described in the book. This book has nothing to do with trees... but it does have a lot to do with magicians. The book follows Quentin a young man that finds out magic is real when he is recruited to go to a school for magic (think Hogwarts for college students). The first half of the book follows his years as a student. After graduating and having a bit of an existential crisis on what is is to be a real magician, Quentin discovers that the magic land of Fillory is a real place and not just a something that exists in novels (think Narnia). So basically it is part Harry Potter and part Chronicles of Narnia (except that it is very American).

So while it may not sound like the most original thing, it is actually very entertaining (especially with all the allusions to the Narnia series). Quentin and his friends are all well rounded characters and I really cared about what happened to them at the end of the book. The school portion of the book is a bit episodic but there are some important story points that pay off by the end of the novel. And of course the ending leaves the reader wanting to read the next book in the series, The Magician King. I'll give it an A-.

Also it mentions Wuthering Heights, Harry Potter, Frankenstein, and Alice in Wonderland.

Mystery Book # 19 - The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories by Agatha Christie

After reading And Then There Were None, I wanted to read some more Agatha Christie and then I just happened upon The Witness for the Prosecution and Other Stories in the quarter bin at a library used book sale. I was curious to see how her short stories would compare to her novels. The first story, The Witness for the Prosecution was really good and had a nice twist ending that was memorable. Now I'll have to re-watch the movie  to compare it...  But then after that the other stories weren't quite as good. I enjoyed them all but they didn't really stand out as anything special. Maybe I expected a bit more cleverness out of them. As a whole, I give the collection a B+.

Horror Book # 47 - The Hellbound Heart by Clive Barker

Clive Barker is another author that I somehow never got around to reading before. The Hellbound Heart basically tells the story of this guy Frank who thinks that by opening a mystical puzzle box he'll find ultimate pleasure for himself. However when he opens it he unleashes the Cenobites, who are weird beings that find pleasure in torturing Frank. Somehow Frank's spirit remains in the room where the box was opened...  and later when blood is spilled in the room he slowly begins to reform his body. So he gets his sister-in-law to bring unsuspecting men back to the room to be murdered so that he can become whole again. Overall it was a good creepy story and was the basis for the first Hellraiser movie which is fairly faithful. The whole thing with weird mystical beings and objects reminded me of a Lovecraft story (but with way more gore), so extra points there. I'll give it an A-.

Book # 62 The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials Book 3 of 3) by Phillip Pullman

The first time I read The Amber Spyglass I felt that it was too long, had too many plot holes and was an unsatisfying end to the series. On my second reading I thought this even more so. At the end of the previous book Lyra gets kidnapped while Lord Asriel continues to build his army to fight God. The story picks up right from there and introduces even more unnecessary subplots.

First off, the whole subplot about a scientist, Dr. Malone, that finds herself in a realm with intelligent creatures that use nuts as wheels goes on forever and is not important and kinda boring. Next, the book never explains how Asriel builds his giant fortress and forms a coalition of beings from different realms so quickly. He goes from not even knowing that these other places even exist to having a fortress and army in just weeks. The book never explains how he even gets between these different realms. Plus I'm not sure if he is supposed to be the good guy or the bad guy. His whole quest to defeat The Authority is never explained sufficiently. How does he even know about the existence and history of the Authority? It makes no sense. Plus after building up talk of this army for two books his story ends with him wrestling the Authority's Regent... Plus Pullman keeps introducing new ideas that don't go anywhere or add much to the story at all. He builds up a plot about an assassin that just fizzles out and some kind of magic bomb that is easily defeated.  Plus after so carefully mapping out the geography of action in The Golden Compass, here he just doesn't pay attention to the geography and how the realms overlap in a way that is consistent. Plus for a book that is so anti-religious and the God of the book doesn't really have any power it never explains what it is that powers the aleithometer or exactly where Dust comes from. The only part I liked was when Lyra had to abandon her daemon Pan to enter the land of the dead. I'm glad I'm done with this one, The Amber Spyglass gets a C.

Should you read the book or see the movie? Part 4

Now for my semi-annual book/movie comparisons:

A Passage to India (1924) by E. M. Forster vs. A Passage to India (1984 film version):  Maybe because I saw the film first, but I think I actually prefer the film over the book. I liked the book but the film is just beautiful and doesn't really remove much from the book, plus watching the film takes far less time than reading the book. Verdict: See the movie.

The Golden Compass (1995) by Philip Pulman vs. The Golden Compass (2007 film) : The movie is okay but completely cuts out an important part at the end of the book. Verdict : Read the book.

Wuthering Heights (1847) by Emily Bronte vs. Wuthering Heights (1939 film) and (2011 film) : This wasn't my favorite book but neither of these film versions quite gets it right. The 1939 film is considered a classic but changes a lot from the book and races through only a portion of the novel. The 2011 version is just horrible. It may be one of the most artsy-fartsy movies I've ever seen. There are countless shots of flowers and animals that go in and out of focus and if you aren't familiar with the story it won't make much sense. Verdict : Read the book.

Great Expectations (1861) by Charles Dickens vs. Great Expectations (1998 film) : The 1998 version tries to update the story by setting it in modern New York and for some reason changing Pip's name to Finn. It is kind of interesting but not close to being as good as the book. Verdict : Read the book.

The Silence of the Lambs (1988) by Thomas Harris vs The Silence of the Lambs (1991 film) : Well the movie is a classic (mostly due to the performances for Anthony Hopkins and Jodie Foster) and the book itself is a fun and fast read with more depth than the book. Verdict : Read the book and see the movie.

And Then There Were None (1939) by Agatha Christie vs. And Then There Were None (1945 film version) : The book was really good and the film was fairly faithful until the last scene which completely alters the mystery and not for the better. Verdict: Read the book.

The Haunting of Hill House (1959) by Shirley Jackson vs. The Haunting (1963 film version): I enjoyed the novel and the film tries its best to remain faithful to the plot and tone of the novel. Both have their qualities. Verdict: Read the book and see the movie.

Doctor Sleep by Stephen King

A sequel to The Shining is something that I would have to read. So when Stephen King announced that he was writing one I was excited to hear that. Doctor Sleep follows up on the life of Danny Torrance, the little boy from The Shining. He's all grown up now... we find him as an alcoholic who is still trying to cope with his gift of shining. And then there's a little girl, Abra,  with an even more powerful gift that needs Danny's help when she finds out that a roving gang of "vampires" that feed on children with the shining are trying to track her down.

Not surprisingly, Doctor Sleep isn't as good as The Shining. Actually it isn't even that scary and there are only a handful of moments when Abra is in any real danger. And while the bad guys are creepy and evil they don't compare to the ghosts from the Overlook Hotel from the original.

I enjoyed reading it but ultimately it is fairly forgettable. C+