INTRODUCING: Classics Decoded

How many times have you sat there thinking, "I'm going to read that classic!" If you're anything like me, that is only ever when i'm forced to (pushy parents/teachers). So what is it that puts you off?
Length? Outdated? Stuffy? Irrelevant? Complicated language?

That's what I think too, but you know what? It's actually not true! Many of the books  we consider as "classic lit" are still very much relevant and worth a read - or so Caragh tells me. Over the course of the year we are going to try to decode 6 classics - 2 of which YOU can choose! We will read the books for you and break it down, try to make it more accessible and tell you why it actually is relevant. Whatever your reasons are for avoiding the classics, we hope we can inspire you (and ourselves!) to finally pick up that classic that you've always wondered about without getting your brain in a muddle.

The first book we're going to look at is Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'. Our post about Dracula will be up in February so feel free to read along with us before we reveal what we've found next month!

Leave comments with suggestions for the 2 classic lit books YOU want US to read and decode!

Review // Twelfth Night - William Shakespeare

Twelfth Night, the well loved play by William Shakespeare needs no introduction.

I have read this play multiple times, and this particular time was for University.
As is often seen in Shakespeare plays, Twelfth Night features mistaken identities, tragedies, comic relief/moments/scenes, memorable characters and perhaps most importantly, the resolution.

I love the dramatic irony that features throughout Twelfth Night. The reader/audience of the play are fully aware that Cesario is in fact Violet and therefore there are plenty of cringe moments!

That's all i'm going to say on this play, other than I think it's well worth a read for any literature lover!

Goodreads Challenge 9/50

Chick Lit Challenge 0/5
Debut Author Challenge 1/5
Dystopian Challenge 1/5
Paranormal Fantasy Challenge 2/5

Book Haul!

As part of my promise to keep this blog regularly updated, here is the tale of my most recent book haul!

I went shopping last week with a friend and we went into The Works just to have a look around. We went upstairs to the arts & crafts, and book section to see if there were any gems waiting to be had - and I was lucky! At the back of a dusty shelf, hidden by Arthur Conan Doyle, was The Hunger Games Trilogy for £5!
I think the RRP for these books is over £5 each, so to get all three books for that price pleased me a lot!!

I also received another book a few days ago as a late Christmas present, Wizard's First Rule, which takes my total of new books to 4 :) I'm especially happy with this as i've recently started watching 'Legend of the Seeker' which is the TV adaptation of Terry Goodkind's Sword of Truth series

Book Haul:

1. The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins
2. Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins
3. Catching Fire - Suzanne Collins
4. Wizard's First Rule - Terry Goodkind

I have 2 book reviews coming this week, so watch out for them :)

Books Read in 2012 - 3.
Currently Reading - Nothing yet.

Love a challenge? Need an incentive? This blog is for you!

Hey Readers!

We're a couple of days in to the new year and I came across some amazing challenges on my internet travels that I thought I would share with you!

Sometimes, no matter how much you love reading, you have a lot of trouble mustering up the motivation to actually pick up a book and read. Well whilst having a good search of Goodreads I came across some other challenges that you may be interested in!

The Young Adult Book Club have some fabulous challenges that you can take part in! :D

I have joined:

The Debut Author Challenge
Chick-Lit Challenge
Dystopian Challenge
Paranormal and Fantasy Challenge

The reason I decided to take part in these challenges is because other than books I read for my literature degree, I find myself reading the same type of books. There's nothing wrong with that obviously but for 2012 I want more variety to make my reading experiences interesting!

Let me know if you decide to sign up for any challenges.

Books Read in 2012 - 0!
Currently Reading - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - David Levitham

The Books of 2011

Happy new year!

As promised, here's the full list of everything I read in 2011.

1. The Playboy of the Western World - JM Synge
2. New Moan - Stephfordy Mayo
3. The Awakening - LJ Smith
4. The Struggle - LJ Smith
5. Scott Pilgrim Vol 1 - Bryan Lee O'Malley
6. Scott Pilgrim Vol 2 - Bryan Lee O'Malley
7. Booky Wook 2 - Russell Brand
8. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
9. The Fury - LJ Smith
10. North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell
11. The Reunion - LJ Smith
12. Mrs Dalloway - Virginia Woolf
13. Good Morning, Midnight - Jean Rhys
14. The Return: Nightfall - LJ Smith
15. The Doomspell - Cliff McNish
16. The Return: Shadow Souls - LJ Smith
17. Plain Truth - Jodi Picoult
18. The Return: Midnight - LJ Smith
19. Glass Houses - Rachel Caine
20. The Dead Girls' Dance - Rachel Caine
21. Midnight Alley - Rachel Caine
22. Feast of Fools - Rachel Caine
23. Lord of Misrule - Rachel Caine
24. Carpe Corpus - Rachel Caine
25. Fade Out - Rachel Caine
26. Kiss of Death - Rachel Caine
27. Ghost Town - Rachel Caine
28. Bite Club - Rachel Caine
29. Harvesting the Heart - Jodi Picoult
30. Birth of a Killer - Darren Shan
31. Wintercraft - Jenna Burtenshaw
32. Stefan's Diaries: Origins
33. Dating Hamlet - Lisa Fielder
34. Marshmallow Magic and Wild Rose Rouge - Karen McCombie
35. Evermore - Alyson Noel
36. Paper Towns - John Green
37. Blue Moon - Alyson Noel
38. Shadowland - Alyson Noel
39. The Scent of Magic - Cliff McNish
40. Those Left Behind - Joss Whedon
41. Beastly - Alex Flinn
42. Radiance - Alyson Noel
43. Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
44. The Color Purple - Alice Walker
45. An Abundance of Katherines - John Green
46. W.B.Yeats Poetry - W.B.Yeats
47. Dark Flame - Alyson Noel
48. Batman: Year One - Miller
49. Songs of Innocence and Experience - William Blake
50. Night Star - Alyson Noel
51. Everlasting - Alyson Noel
52. The Wasteland - TS Eliot
53. The Franklin's Prologue and Tale - Geoffrey Chaucer
54. A Passage to India - EM Forster
55. Last Breath - Rachel Caine
56. The Saga of Darren Shan Vol. 1 - Darren Shan
57. Diary of a Wimpy Kid - Jeff Kinney
58. The Magic of Christmas - Trisha Ashley
59. Let It Snow - John Green, Maureen Johnson & Lauren Myracle
60. Will Grayson, Will Grayson - John Green & David Levitham

New Tallies!!

Books Read in 2012 - 0!
Currently Reading - Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - David Levitham

50 Book Challenge

I have completed the Goodreads 50 Book Challenge - early!

I thought this definitely needed blogging about. I'm actually really proud of myself for finishing. It's been a tough year for me personally and I felt that my reading had been quite slow but considering everything, it is fantastic! Originally I had planned to post a full list of everything I had read for the challenge, but as I may or may not have explained before, Goodreads isn't the full list. I had forgotten a lot of dates of the things i'd read so they didn't count, unfortunately. I'm actually closer to 60, but still :)

Instead, as i'm still reading and the year isn't over, I decided that i'll post an actual complete list all everything i've read since 1st January 2011 - 1st January 2012 in the new year :)

I enjoy writing this blog a lot, so I have also decided that i'll make it more active. Right now i'm just reviewing a book every so often rather than every one that I read. I'll change that to each book, plus i'll do book haul posts. I have been considering making videos to accompany these blog posts but I certainly don't have a face for the camera so we'll see. I will work something out!

If anyone reading this cares to follow my Goodreads account then it can be found here.
Good luck to everyone else that is frantically making their way to the end of the challenge, and here's to preparing for it all over again in the new year!

Heart of Darkness

Generally regarded as the pre-eminent work of Conrad's shorter fiction, Heart of Darkness is a chilling tale of horror which, as the author intended, is capable of many interpretations. Set in the Congo during the period of rapid colonial expansion in the nineteenth century, the story deals with the highly disturbing effects of economic, social and political exploitation on European and African societies and the cataclysmic behaviour this induced in some individuals.

I read Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad as part of my English Literature degree.
I have to admit, it's the least favourite book I think i've ever read but not entirely because of the actual text. I struggled a lot to get through this book and honestly, I just don't think that I understand it. The context behind the novella is important in relation to reading it and I haven't had the time to research in depth and i'm no expert on the subject matters.

I also disliked the layers of narrating within the novella. The story is told by an unnamed narrator, who is then relaying a story told by a man named Marlow. Marlow's story is mostly about a man named Kurtz. It was very confusing to read and like I said before, I struggled quite a bit.

I feel a little bad that my first review in a LONG time has been negative but I guess it just shows that not every book is a winner but you should at least give it a try :)

Currently reading: A HUGE list that i'm working through as fast as possible!
Books read in 2011: 43