Last year, I read several books that were ones I felt I should have read in childhood that I never did (for example, Tuck Everlasting). This is another one that I feel everyone read when they were a kid - rounding out their bunny lit with all of the Peter Cottontail books! I didn't realize it was only from 1987 - I would have guessed decades older, in a golden-books kind of way.
But I never did read this one, til I found it for free on my iBooks app (whatever it's called - the one where you can have books on your phone). Things like Kindls are a topic for another post (I hate them), but having a quick bit to read on your phone can be very nice. The Velveteen Rabbit was my phone book.
Oh, to be young and not have this book attack my heart in such a forlorn way. To feel all too Real while reading all about a velveteen rabbit's journey to Real-ness. If it wasn't a part of your childhood, make it part of your adulthood - it's free, and it's available on your phone.
Title: The Velveteen Rabbit
Author: Margery Williams
Published: 1987
Pages: 40
Total Books Blogged: 38
Total Pages: 10,957
Friday 22 January 2016
Friday 15 January 2016
Completed (awhile ago): The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Jekyll and Hyde is one of those things you hear about when you're a kid. Its names are used as characterizations of personality, as a reference for people having split personality-style attitudes. But it's also a book. A book written in fun, older English. Not a long read, and perfect for around Halloween time - which is when I did read it.
How much has the modern 'Jekyll and Hyde' idea strayed from the original? Quite a bit, as far as how much the book differed from my childhood impression of its title characters. I was expecting a Halloween-appropriate, creepy monster. In the end, I was left feeling tremendous sadness for Jekyll and all that he suffered. It is not the classic battle between good and evil that a simplistic modern interpretation makes it out to be. It is a tragedy, a man finding a liberation that ends up being his jailer and his self-inflicted end. The humanity of Jekyll, his trying to protect the world from himself, was both touching and pitiable.
I love Stevenson's writing. I'll read more of him. Kidnapped? Treasure Island?
Title: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Author: Robert Louie Stevenson
Published: 1886 (originally)
Pages: 144
Total Books Blogged: 37
Total Pages: 10,917
Monday 11 January 2016
Completed (ages ago): The Orenda by Joseph Boyden
I started a new degree in September. Oh, yes I did... I started school in September and totally and completed fell off the blog. However, I am proud to say that I did not stop reading. I have, between books for school and books for fun, read seven books to add to the blog. I will try to get to most of them soon, so that I'm caught up. This term I've only chosen one class, instead of two, so I should have a somewhat better balance of time!
The Orenda ended up on my Goodreads list from a Buzzfeed list about 'Books you won't be able to put down'. I often read those lists, and if a book sounds amazing, I'll add it to my to-read list on Goodreads. That list has ballooned to over 150 books. My house contains hundreds upon hundreds that I also have not read. Yet somehow I keep buying books!
I didn't realize that The Orenda was a critically acclaimed book this past year, or that so many of my friends and colleagues were either reading it or wanted to do so. I just felt like getting a good long book, and picked this one.
The Orenda is a journey of astounding composition. I can genuinely say that all Canadians, each and every one, should read this book. It is an important piece of history, though it is historical fiction - it depicts in heart-wrenching detail the truth and the humanity behind the history of early contact between First Nations and Europeans.
Unlike the Buzzfeed list title, I could indeed put this book down. In fact, it took some time for me to get into it (probably the first hundred pages or so), and there were times further along that my heart needed a break. This book is a heavy, difficult read that will add value, knowledge and perspective to the life of all Canadians, especially those who are not familiar with First Nations history. But it is heavy. Even sitting and writing this blog, I think back on some of the book and realize how profoundly and permanently impactful it was. It is not casual reading - it demands your attention, and occasionally stabs you with its reality and truth.
But read it. Please, please read it.
Title: The Orenda
Author: Joseph Boyden
Published: 2013
Pages: 501
Total Books Blogged: 36
Total Pages: 10,773
The Orenda ended up on my Goodreads list from a Buzzfeed list about 'Books you won't be able to put down'. I often read those lists, and if a book sounds amazing, I'll add it to my to-read list on Goodreads. That list has ballooned to over 150 books. My house contains hundreds upon hundreds that I also have not read. Yet somehow I keep buying books!
I didn't realize that The Orenda was a critically acclaimed book this past year, or that so many of my friends and colleagues were either reading it or wanted to do so. I just felt like getting a good long book, and picked this one.
The Orenda is a journey of astounding composition. I can genuinely say that all Canadians, each and every one, should read this book. It is an important piece of history, though it is historical fiction - it depicts in heart-wrenching detail the truth and the humanity behind the history of early contact between First Nations and Europeans.
Unlike the Buzzfeed list title, I could indeed put this book down. In fact, it took some time for me to get into it (probably the first hundred pages or so), and there were times further along that my heart needed a break. This book is a heavy, difficult read that will add value, knowledge and perspective to the life of all Canadians, especially those who are not familiar with First Nations history. But it is heavy. Even sitting and writing this blog, I think back on some of the book and realize how profoundly and permanently impactful it was. It is not casual reading - it demands your attention, and occasionally stabs you with its reality and truth.
But read it. Please, please read it.
Title: The Orenda
Author: Joseph Boyden
Published: 2013
Pages: 501
Total Books Blogged: 36
Total Pages: 10,773
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