Review: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Challenge 3: 100 Best Book Entries

Challenge Description: Choose one of the lists below and go to the link provided. Choose a book to read from the list that you haven't read before. Read the book and write about it.

From the list I chose 100 Best Mystery Novels early in the year but hadn't really decided which book until August when I was participating in the readalong for A Woman in White and suddenly realised this book must surely feature on that list. It does - at No 32.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Considered to be among the first mystery novels and an early example of detective fiction The Woman in White is widely regarded as one of the first (and finest) in the genre of 'sensation novels'.

Written in 1859 it was first serialized and then published in book form in 1860.

It's a Classic!

Don't let that Classic label put you off. Allow a little time to get used to the 19th century writing style and it's as suspenseful and exciting as any modern day thriller. Wilkie Collins uses multiple narratives to tell the story. The longer ones told by the main characters are real page turners building the suspense through the events that are happening and then , exactly when you need it, there is a break. Lesser characters come to the fore and tell of the same events from their viewpoint. It's an excellent format as it gives the reader time to reflect and look for clues and work out for themself what is going on.

Plot and Characters

I don't want to give away too much of the plot but Wilkie Collin's characterisation is brilliant and every individual is not only fascinating but has a voice in their narrative that totally expresses their different personalities.

Walter Hartright is a drawing teacher who is tired of living in London and takes up new employment in Cumberland at Limmeridge House owned by Mr Frederick Fairlie, a totally self-absorbed invalid and recluse.
Walter is to teach Laura Fairlie, heiress and orphan............and the typical pretty, fragile Victorian heroine.
Marian Halcombe is Laura's half sister and companion.........very plain, but intelligent and resourceful......and now one of my alltime favourite woman characters.

Walter and Laura fall in love, but alas, he is poor and she is promised to another.......Sir Percival Glyde, a most devious man who is only after her fortune. Walter goes away, Laura marries and Sir Percival and his friend, the grossly obese and eccentric Italian Count Fosco set their evil plans in motion.

And of course there is the elusive Woman in White.

Mystery and intrigue, numerous twists and turns, constant cliffhangers - it's not hard to imagine Victorian readers eagerly awaiting their weekly installment - and a background rich in period detail made this one of the most unexpectedly satisfying reads this year.

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Typically British Challenge

Suspense/Thriller Challenge

Chunkster Challenge

Colourful Challenge

Monthly Roundup - August 2010

Farewell August - Welcome September

The daffodils nod their heads around the pond and the weeping willow is about to burst into leaf. Although the weather is still cold the first signs of Spring are visible and a sight to gladden the heart.
It's been a busy month in real life and not likely to change much before the end of the year. Our son and his family are in the process of probably moving back to this part of the country and at present are spending much of their time staying with us. So I'm definitely not going to make any predictions about this months reading and blogging. I'll take it as it comes and try not to worry about reviews needing to be done and books waiting to be read.

Books read in August = 13

Wolfsangel by M.D.Lachlan
Peony in Love by Lisa See
We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver
Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh
Trespass by Rose Tremain
Queenmaker by India Edghill
Lifeblood by N.J.Cooper
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Lavinia by Ursula le Guin
The Sand Fish by Maha Gargash
One Child by Jeff Buick
Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
Eternal on the Water by Joseph Monniger

DNF = 3
The Island Beneath the Sea - Isabel Allende .........not the book's fault in any way. I like this author but I couldn't give it the attention it needed so returned it to the library and I'll try again another time.
Perfection by Julie Metz.........I read most of it but then tired of it.
The Wives of Henry Oades by Joanna Moran .........Part of this book is set in NZ which was why I chose to read it but I didn't care for the writing style ........I got bored.

Aug 1 - 16 were the final two weeks of the Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen readalong hosted by Jennifer at Reading with Tequila. I really enjoyed both the book and the readalong for which we all did weekly posts.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins was hosted by Lydia at The Lost Entwife throughout the month. I loved the book but struggled to find the time to contribute as much as I would have liked to the discussion threads. I plan to do a review of this one very soon.
Lydia will be hosting another in September - North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell if anyone is interested.

I do enjoy readalongs and think they're a great way to actually read some of those books , particularly the classics, that seem to be perpetually on the 'one day I'll read that'  list. This month I'll take a break - I have a copy of The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton which I want to read.

Challenges
I passed the 100 library books read earlier this month so have completed the Support Your Local Library Challenge. When 95% of my reading comes from the library and I know I'll read more than 100 books it was the challenge that wasn't a challenge and the result of new book blogger overenthusiasm.
I hope to finish at least two more challenges during September and one thing's for sure.........I'm going to be far more restrained and selective next year. The thought of being able to read and review exactly what I want to becomes more appealing every day.

Google Reader
First thing in the morning, a cup of tea and google reader - I love it but it's not until you go away for a few days that you realise what a monster it can be. Since returning from our daughters I've been making changes and removing some feeds . I've been monitoring what I really look forward to , the blogs that write what I want to read, that share my reading tastes etc and I did have a few in my reader that don't. I also don't like the new giveaway forms so too many of those appearing and sorry - too annoying especially when you're not even eligible to fill them in.

Looking forward to another great month of reading and blogging in September. Happy reading everyone!

My Top Picks - Thriller/Crime/Mystery 2010

2010 has been a year where I've been disappointed in several of my long time favourite authors but have also discovered some new and exciting names. The thriller/suspense genre covers a wide range of categories , from cosy mystery to hard core serial killers , police procedure to amateur sleuthing, contemporary and historical , it offers something to suit everyone's tastes.

My pick from what I read in 2010 (in no particular order)

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

The adventures of the precocious eleven-year-old sleuth, Flavia de Luce - original, funny and delightfully entertaining.

The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny

In the heart of the forest, two men sit at midnight, haunted by fear of discovery. In a few hours' time, one of them will be dead, his secrets following him to the grave...
When C. I. Gamache is called to investigate a murder in picturesque  Three Pines, he finds a village in chaos.

My favourite series never disappoints and this was the best yet!

An Empty Death by Laura Wilson

London during WWII provides the background for DI Stratton's police work. A compelling exploration of identity, memory and trust and a look into the mind of a killer.

British crime at its best!

So Cold the River by Michael Koryta

Great reading! It's the perfectly balanced mixture of an interesting setting, fascinating secondary themes and characters and a well-paced central story with just the right amount of horror and supernatural elements to make it exciting.

Michael Koryta went right to the top of my favourite authors with this one!

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Don't let that Classic label put you off.  

Considered to be among the first mystery novels and an early example of detective fiction this tale has as much mystery and intrigue, numerous twists and turns and constant cliffhangers as any modern story.

Faithful Place by Tana French

There is a mystery and crimes to solve but dysfunctional family dymanics take centre stage in this book.

Great writing and great characterisation make for a compelling page-turner.

The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman

Phil Rickman leaves the modern world behind to venture into writing a historical crime mystery set in Elizabethan England but takes his distinctive mix of suspense and the supernatural with him.

My favourite historical mystery of the year!

The Bodies Left Behind by Jeffery Deaver

Jeffery Deaver at his very best in this stand alone novel about a woman Deputy and the friend of a murdered couple , hunted through the depths of a State forest. Fast paced and full of twists and turns it had me guessing right until the last page.

Unfortunately, I never did get round to reviewing it.

Started Early, Took My Dog by Kate Atkinson

The latest in the Jackson Brodie series but the first I'd read.
Beautiful writing, wonderful characters, humorous, sad , and hugely entertaining.

Another new favourite author!

Take Another Chance Challenge

January 1 - December 31, 2010

Hosted by Jenners at Find Your Next Book Here

There are three participation levels and you can change at any time. Check out the challenges at the host site.

A Small Gamble: Complete any 3 of the 12 challenges described below.

A Moderate Gamble: Complete any 6 of the 12 challenges described below.

Gambling It All: Complete all 12 of the challenges described below.

Each challenge you complete and link up in the correct Mr. Linky spots (which will be posted on January 1, 2010) will earn you entries into a prize drawing at the end of the challenge. Some of the challenges are harder and will earn you more entries. If you complete all 12 challenges, you will earn 5 extra entries into the drawing.
The prize is a book of the winner's choice from Amazon (worth $25 or less).
Crossover books from other challenges is fine.

This sounds like a real challenge but I'm going to take a chance and Gamble it All. I'll add the challenges and my chosen reading as I go.

Challenge No 1 - Read Your Doppelganger

Challenge Description: Find an author who has either the same initials, the same first name, the same last name, or the exact same name as you. Read a book by this author and write a post about it.

A Pale Horse by Charles Todd

Challenge No 2 - Blogroll Roulette

Challenge Description: Find a blogroll at either your book blog or another that has at least 15 blogs on it. Go to Random org. and enter no 1 for min. and 15 for max. and generate a number. Find the blog that is that number on your blogroll. Go to that blog and pick a book from those they have reviewed.

The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein

Challenge No 3 - 100 Best Book Entries

Challenge Description: Choose one of the lists below and go to the link provided. Choose a book to read from the list that you haven't read before. Read the book and write about it.

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Challenge No 4 - Prize Winner Book

Challenge Description -Pick one of the major literary awards from the list below. Click on the link for the award you picked. You will find a brief description of the award and links to past winners. Pick one of the past winners, read the book and write about it.

•Booker Prize•Caldecott Medal•National Book Award•National Book Critics Circle Award•Newbery Medal•Nobel Prize for Literature•PEN/Faulkner Award•Pulitzer Prize•Commonwealth Writers' Prize •EMMA Awards

Someone Knows My Name by Lawrence Hill

Challenge 5 - Title Word Count

Challenge description: Go to Random.org and, using the True Random Number Generator, enter the numbers 1 for the min. and 5 for the max. and then hit generate. Find a book to read that has that number of words in the title. Read the book and write about it.

Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese

Challenge 6: Genre Switch-Up

Challenge Description: Go to this list of book genres and pick a genre that you have NEVER read before. Find a book from that genre, read it, and write about it.

Showdown at Yellow Butte by Louis L'Amour

Challenge 8: Real and Inspired

Challenge Description: Many authors or books inspire others to pay homage to them by writing another book inspired by the original work. For this challenge, read both an original work and a book inspired by that original work. Write about both books in one post.

Jane Austen :
Sense and Sensibility
The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen

Challenge 9: Same word, different book.

Challenge Description: Find two books that have the same word in the title. Read both books and write about them. (Worth 2 entries because you have to read two books).

Heart's Blood - Juliet Marillier
Blood Royal - Vanora Bennett

Challenge 10: Become A Character
Challenge Description: For this challenge, you can read any book you want. However, you have to write about the book as one of the characters from the book. The character can comment on his/her treatment by the author, other characters, the “untold story,” what happened next, and so forth.


The Colour by Rose Tremain

Challenge 11: All in the Family

Challenge Description: The writing gene often runs in the family. For this challenge, you need to find two authors from the same family (either by blood or by marriage) and read a book by each of the authors and then write about both books.

The Shadow of Your Smile - Mary Higgins Clark
Cursed - Carol Higgins Clark

Challenge 12: Author Anthology Pick

Challenge Description: Find an anthology of your choice. Read at least 5 entries in the anthology. Of the 5 entries you’ve read, pick your favorite one and then find a book by that writer and read it. (If your first choice doesn’t have a book, then pick your next favorite until you find a writer that has a book.) Write about the anthology, your favorite pick from the anthology, and the book you read by your favorite pick.

Roger Caras' Treasury of Great Cat Stories
The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern by Lilian Jackson Braun

Cruise Reviews - Crime/Suspense x 3

Started Early, Took My Dog

Kate Atkinson is the author of this crime mystery published by Transworld, 2010.

It's about an ex-cop turned private investigator called Jackson Brodie who has been hired by a woman in New Zealand to trace her birth parents. His search takes him back to his home county where on one particular day he rescues a dog and also witnesses a peculiar exchange that takes place between Tracy Waterhouse, security chief of the Merrion Centre and another woman. This brief encounter will have fear and danger waiting for them at every turn.

Overall I absolutely loved it! Kate Atkinson, where have you been until now! 

I liked loved everything about this book. Beautiful writing and a cleverly constructed plot - the crime has it's beginnings back in the 1970's and the story moves between then and now. As do the thoughts of the three narrators and it's this internal dialogue that gives the story something special. Wonderful characters and very real people -  Jackson, Tracy and Tilly, an aging actress in the first stages of dementia.........each of them different but all dealing with the passage of time and the loneliness of aging it is at times very funny and at times very sad.  Add a four-year-old in a tattered pink fairy outfit and a cute dog called The Ambassador to the mix and it all adds up to one of the most entertaining books I've read this year.

I didn't like . N/A

I got this book from the library and chose it because I read a review by Jenners of one of Kate Atkinson's other books. I was surprised to find the library had several but they were all out except for this new one which was about to be put on the shelves. In hindsight I probably should have waited and read the series in order ........I'll miss the dog!
I would recommend this book to anyone. 
I rated it 4.5.

A Room Swept White

Sophie Hannah is the author of this Crime/Suspense novel published by Hodder & Stoughton, 2010.

It's about : TV producer Fliss Benson receives an anonymous card at work: sixteen numbers arranged in rows of four - numbers that mean nothing to her. On the same day, Fliss finds out she is going to be working on a documentary about miscarriages of justice involving cot-death mothers wrongly accused of murder. The documentary will focus on three women who have now been freed and the child protection zealot, Dr Judith Duffy, who did her best to send them to prison for life and is now under investigation for misconduct.

Overall I didn't think this was as good as other books I've read by this author so I was a little disappointed.

I liked the choice of subject around which the story is told and the many issues surrounding cot death, media reporting, professional witnesses and the personal stories of the mothers made for interesting reading. 

I didn't like: I almost gave up around halfway. I found the writing and the story heavy going ( the second half did pick up the pace) and at one point wondered why the author hadn't done something to give it a lift. It was only afterwards I realised she had attempted to with Fliss - I think her exploits are meant to provide comic relief but it didn't work for me. The girl was an irritating idiot and her boss, who she imagines herself in love with, is a moron. There were also a lot of loose ends left floating around which made for an unsatisfactory ending.

I got this book from the library and chose it because suspense/psychological thrillers are one of my favourite genres.
 I wouldn't recommend this book..........I don't recommend what I don't care for. 
I rated it 3.

The Missing

Jane Casey is the author of this psychological suspense thriller published by Ebury Press, 2010. 

It's about  - Two missing children sixteen years apart. When Sarah Finch was a little girl, her older brother went out to play and never came home. Not knowing what happened to Charlie ripped the family apart. Now a teacher, Sarah's back home, trapped with an alcoholic mother. Then twelve-year-old Jenny disappears and it's Sarah who discovers her pupil's body, abandoned in the woods. As Sarah becomes more involved in the enquiry, suspicions are aroused. But it's not just the police who are watching her.

Overall I found this quite a page turner and a very good debut effort.

I liked the writing style and the pace and there are plenty of twists and turns in the double plot to keep one guessing and wanting to know what happens next. I also liked the study of the affects of a tragedy on a family and the sad relationship between Sarah and her mother. I didn't find it hard to connect with Sarah and although she makes mistakes they are understandable and very human. It's a book that takes a look at some of the not so nice things that can happen in today's society ,particularly to children, which makes sad and disturbing reading.

I didn't like: I thought it was a bit too long and I thought the ending spoiled it. It was way too over the top and suddenly turned a very good story into an unbelievable and ridiculous melodrama.

I got this book from the library and chose it because it's a favourite genre. 
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a good psychological/crime thriller. 
I rated it 3.5 ( would have been higher if not for the ending).


Thanks to Lynne from Lynne's Book Reviews for the Cruise Reviews format.

2010 Support Your Local Library Challenge

January 1 - December 31, 2010

You can sign up at J. Kaye's Book Blog

There are four levels:

--The Mini – Check out and read 25 library books.

--Just My Size – Check out and read 50 library books.

--Stepping It Up – Check out and read 75 library books.

--Super Size Me – Check out and read 100 library books.

As most of my reading comes from the library I'm going for the Super Size Me.


January:
1. Roadside Crosses - Jeffery Deaver - review
2. The King's Daughter - Christie Dickason - review
3. A Pale Horse - Charles Todd - review
4. The Book of Unholy Mischief - Elle Newmark - review
5. Relentless - Dean Koontz
6. The Neighbour - Lisa Gardner
7. A Thousand Orange Trees - Kathryn Harrison - review
8. Grave Secret - Charlaine Harris - mini review
9. Devil's Brood - Sharon Penman - review
10. The Art of Racing in the Rain - review
11. A Time to Dance A Time to Die - mini review
12. The Gathering Night - Margaret Elphinstone - review
13. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie - Alan Bradley - review

February

14. Year of Wonders - Geraldine Brooks
15. The Tudor Rose - Margaret Campbell Barnes
16. The Murderer's Daughters - R S Meyers
17. Daughter of the Forest - Juliet Marillier
18. Someone Knows My Name - Lawrence Hill
19. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation - Lauren Willig
20. The Rose of Sebastopol - Katherine McMahon
21. The 19th Wife - David Ebershoff
22. The Tea Rose by Jennifer Donnelly
23. A Year to Learn a Woman by Paddy Richardson

March:

24. The King's Mistress - Emma Campion
25. Son of the Shadows - Juliet Marillier
26. A Reliable Wife - Robert Goolrick
27. The Pirate;s Daughter - Margaret Cezair-Thompson
28. The Brutal Telling - Louise Penny
29. The Mistress of Nothing - Kate Pullinger
30. Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts - Lucy Dillon
31. Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - Lisa See
32. From Harvey River - Lorna Goodison
33. Prophecy of the Sisters - Michelle Zink
34. Faro's Daughter by Georgette Heyer
35. Mao's Last Dancer by Li Cunxin
36. An Empty Death by Laura Wilson

April

37. Nana by Emile Zola
38. Relics of the Dead - Ariana Franklin
39. Heart's Blood - Juliet Marillier
40. Evidence - Jonathan Kellerman
41. The Italian Woman - Jean Plaidy
42. The Moon Spun Round - Elinor Gill
43. The Heretic's Daughter - Kathleen Kent
44. The Swan Thieves - Elizabeth Kostova
45. Still Alice - Lisa Genova
46. My Lady Judge - Cora Harrison
47. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger
48. The House of a Thousand Lanterns by Victoria Holt
49. The Shifting Fog by Kate Morton
50. Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
51. Columbine by Dave Cullen
52. Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother by Xinran

May

53. The Taste of Sorrow - Jude Morgan
54. The Wilding - Maria McCann
55. The Life O'Reilly - Brian Cohen
56. I Can See You - Karen Rose
57. Fragile Things - Neil Gaiman
58. English Trifle - Josi Kilpack
59. Angelology - Danielle Trussoni
60. The Strangers in the House - Georges Simenon
61. Ngaio Marsh; Her Life in Crime - Joanne Clayton
62. Vintage Murder - Ngaio Marsh
63. 206 Bones - Kathy Reichs
64. Mistress of Rome - Kate Quinn
65. Black Ships - Jo Graham
66. Abandoned - Cody McFadyen
67. The Convent
68. The Loving Spirit - Daphne du Maurier
69. The Bodies Left Behind - Jeffery Deaver

June:

70. Roses - Leila Meacham
71. The Lost memoirs of Jane Austen - Syrie James
72. Avalon - Anya Seton
73. A Note from an Old Aquaintance - Bill Walker
74. New York - Edward Rutherfurd
75. Cursed - Carol Higgins Clark
76. The Shadow of Your Smile - Mary Higgins Clark
77. Savage Lands - Clare Clark
78. The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag - Alan Bradley
79. The Vintner's Luck - Elizabeth Knox
80. Run For Your Life - James Patterson/Michael Ledwidge
81. The Captive Queen - Alison Weir
82. The Steppe and Other Stories - Anton Chekhov
83. Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell
84. Daughters of the House - Michele Roberts
85. The Thief Taker - Janet Gleeson
86. Lady of the Butterflies - Fiona Mountain

July

87. Star of the Sea - Joseph O'connor
88. Fields of Gold - Fiona McIntosh
89. The 9th Judgement - James Patterson
90. So Cold the River - Michael Koryta
91. My Name is Memory - Ann Brashares
92. A Thousand Splendid Suns - Khaled Hosseini
93. Lord of the Changing Winds - Rachel Neumeier
94. Cutting For Stone - Abraham Verghese

August

95. Wolfsangel - M.D. Lachlan
96. We Need to Talk about Kevin - Lionel Shriver
97. Angels' Blood - Nalini Singh
98. Northanger Abbey - Jane Austen
99. Trespass - Rose Tremain
100, Queenmaker - India Edghill
101. The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
102. The Sand Fish - Maha Gargash

The Colour by Rose Tremain

Challenge 10: Become A Character

Challenge Description: For this challenge, you can read any book you want. However, you have to write about the book as one of the characters from the book. The character can comment on his/her treatment by the author, other characters, the “untold story,” what happened next, and so forth. You could even have two characters interviewing each other! Your imagination is the only limit. Because of the difficulty level of this challenge, it is worth two entries.

The Colour by Rose Tremain

It's been many years since I returned to China......home to my wife and son, but some things never change and I have always liked solitude. I like to sit beside the shore of Heron Lake and listen to the green frogs gurgling and watch the water buffalo in the fields.
Old man's dreaming.
Old man's memories.
Sometimes my beloved grandchildren and their friends gather by my knees....."Tell us a story, Grandpa" they cry...

and I tell them tales of long ago........of the time when I was young and went off to seek my fortune. Across the seas to that distant and beautiful land , to the goldfields of New Zealand.  I tell of the mountains and rivers, the seashore and the bush........and stories of adventure and exploring.........but there are many things I cannot tell them for they would not understand how it is.................how it is when you are different.

My name is Chen Pao Yi .........they called me Jen or Scurvy Jen, Johnny Chinaman, a Chinky. Those rough, discourteous white men who rushed to the goldfields in droves, greed in their hearts for the colour and contempt in their eyes for the 'yellow man' who sold them vegetables. For that is what I did........I went to New Zealand in the hope I could make enough money to return to China and build a better life for the wife and son I left behind. A year in Otago and then to Hokitika, to the Kaniere field ,and planted my garden away from but within walking distance of the camp. I didn't go looking for gold but I found it.
As big as my thumb it was.
Lying there under the seventeenth spring onion.
I hid it carefully.

Old man's memories.
In the quiet moment..
Hal-Yet.
Hal-Yet............how she would laugh at my inability to pronounce her name. No place for a woman on the goldfields, not even one as strong and courageous as my Hal-Yet. She came because she had to , looking for the husband she never loved to tell him of his mother's death. And that man sent her upriver, secretly ,to look for the colour alone , across the river from my garden, and she would come and buy from me.

Then the fresh came.........that sudden deluge of water down from the hills, destroying everything in its path.
I found her half drowned in my fishing net and took her back to the cave, tended to her until she was well.
And she stayed.
And we loved each other through the long winter...............knowing that our time together would be short, knowing that the world would disapprove and would attempt to destroy our love........and knowing I must go back to my wife and son.
When we found the colour we knew the time had come to say goodbye.

I think of my Hal-Yet dreaming like myself, on the verandah of the home I know she would have built back in Canterbury. and I wonder.....
Does she remember?

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I love Rose Tremain's writing and The Colour was special for me because it is about New Zealand and the history surrounding the early settlement of Canterbury and West Coast goldmining in the 1860's. It always makes a difference when you're familiar with the actual places an author is writing about.

The Colour is the story of Joseph and Harriet Blackstone who emigrate from England in search of a new life as pioneers in Canterbury. Then Joseph becomes obsessed with making it rich on the goldfields.

I chose Chen Pao Yi as my character because he represents the non-European immigrant. Many thousands of Chinese came to the goldfields and there was great deal of racial tension between them and the European.

Much of it due to the usual cultural misunderstandings but also the diggers were resentful that the Chinese often preferred to make their 'fortune' by providing a necessary service as Chen Pao Yi does by growing and selling vegetables.

2 Challenges Completed

I've completed two challenges, both of which were hosted by Carolyn at Book Chick City.

Typically British Challenge

Any book format counts. Must be fiction not non-fiction and British authors - I chose the Cream Crackered Level which was to read 8 books.

Books Read

1. Lost Dogs and Lonely Hearts by Lucy Dillon

2. An Empty Death by Laura Wilson
3. The Wilding by Maria McCann
4. The Taste of Sorrow by Jude Morgan
5.Lady of the Butterflies by Fiona Mountain
6. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
7. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
8. Trespass by Rose Tremain

My signup post has the list with links to reviews.

*************

Thriller & Suspense Challenge

Read TWELVE (12) thrillers in 2010

Books read

1. Roadside Crosses by Jeffery Deaver

2. The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
3. A Year to Learn a Woman by Paddy Richardson
4. The Brutal Telling by Louise Penny
5. An Empty Death by Laura Wilson
6. I Can See You by Karen Rose 
7. English Trifle by Josi Kilpack 
8. The Lake of dead Languages by Carol Goodman 
9. Run For Your Life by James Patterson/Michael Ledwidge
10. So Cold the River by Michael Koryta
11. Faithful Place by Tana French
12. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

My signup post has the list with links to reviews.

I was also lucky enough to win one of the monthly draws and received three great new mystery/thrillers.

Many thanks Carolyn - I enjoyed both these challenges immensely.

2 Challenges Completed

Colourful Challenge

Read 9 books during 2010, each with a different color in the title. The books I read ....

1. A Thousand Orange Trees by Kathryn Harrison

2. The Secret History of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig

3. Black Ships by Jo Graham

4. Fields of Gold by Fiona McIntosh
5. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
6. The Scarlet Contessa by Jeanne Kalogrides
7. Showdown at Yellow Butte by Louis L'Amour
8. The Greenlanders by Jane Smiley
9. Blue Diary by Alice Hoffman

Thanks to Rebecca at Lost in Books for hosting this fun challenge. I enjoyed hunting down titles with colours in them and two of my favourite reads for this year are on the list ( 1 + 8).

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Chunkster Challenge

February 1, 2010 - January 31, 2011

I chose Level 2 - Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to 4 Chunksters ( any adult book with 450 + pages) over the next twelve months.

I read.......

1. Blood Royal by Vanora Bennett - 578p

2. New York - Edward Rutherfurd - 1017p
3. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins - 574p
4. Mushashi by Eiji Yoshikawa - 970p

Thanks to the host Caribousmom for a great challenge.

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Shirley Country: A Visual Tour

Gomersal and the Spen Valley

" They looked down on the deep valley robed in May raiment; on varied meads, some pearled with daisies, and some golden with king-cups. Today all this young verdure smiled clear in sunlight; transparent emerald and amber gleams over it. On Nunnwood - the sole remnant of antique British forest in a region whose lowlands were once all sylvan chase, as its highlands were breast-deep heather - slept the shadow of a cloud; the distant hills were dappled, the horizon was shaded and tinted mother-of-pearl; silvery blues, soft purples, evanescent greens and rose shades, all melting into fleeces of white cloud, pure as azury snow, allured the eye as with a remote glimpse of heaven's foundations. The air blowing on the brow was fresh, and sweet, and bracing.
'Our England is a bonny island,' said Shirley,' and Yorkshire is one of her bonniest nooks.'

Shirley is set in the Spen Valley around the village of Gomersal in West Yorkshire. Six miles south of Haworth it was an area Charlotte knew well as her friend Ellen Taylor lived there at The Red House which is now a museum. In Shirley it is called Briarmains and is the home of the Yorke family.

The Red House, Gomersal, West Yorkshire

" It whitened the pavement in front of Briarmains ( Mr Yorke's residence), and made silent havoc among the tender plants in his garden, and on the mossy level of his lawn. As to that great tree, strong-trunked and broad-armed which guarded the gable nearest the road..."

" Those windows would be seen by daylight to be of brilliantly stained glass, purple and amber the predominant hues, glittering around a gravely tinted medallion in the centre of each, representing the suave head of William Shakespeare, and the serene one of John Milton."

A great many of the novel's characters were drawn from life, including the Yorkes who Charlotte based on the Taylor family she knew so well. If she thought she was safe in her anonymity she was mistaken and it didn't take long for the community to recognise themselves. Described as ' a large, gloomy censorious woman ' it is not surprising that Mrs Taylor took offence.

Also now a museum is the Elizabethan manor, Oakwell Hall, - Shirley's home, Fieldhead.

Oakwell Hall, Birstall, West Yorkshire

" If Fieldhead had few other merits as a building, it might at least be termed picturesque. It's regular architecture, and the gray and mossy colouring communicated by time, gave it a just claim to this epithet. The old latticed windows, the stone porch, the walls, the roof, the chimney stacks, were rich in crayon touches and sepia lights and shades. 

"Mr and Mrs Helstone were ushered into a parlour: of course, as was to be expected in such a gothic old barrack, this parlour was lined with oak: fine, dark, glossy panels compassed the walls gloomily and grandly."

" As to the mill, which was an old structure, and fitted up with old machinery, now become inefficient and out of date he had from the first evinced the strongest contempt for all its arrangements and appointments. His aim had been to effect radical reform.....

......He never asked himself  where those to whom he no longer paid weekly wages found daily bread; and in this negligence he only resembled thousands besides, on whom the starving poor of Yorkshire seemed to have a closer claim."

*****

Classic Club 50 Questions Survey

This has been hard work! Originally I thought I'd break the survey down over two or three posts but once I got started I just kept going and have really enjoyed reliving my Classics journey. And I'm loving reading every else's too.

1. Share a link to your club list

My Classics Club list

2. When did you join The Classics Club? How many titles have you read for the club? (We are SO CHECKING UP ON YOU! Nah. We’re just asking.) :)

I joined the Classics Club on the 9th March 2012 and committed to reading 60 classics in five years. So far the total is 38/60.

3. What are you currently reading?

November is AusReading month so at present I'm reading an Australian classic - We of the Never-Never by Mrs Aeneas Gunn.

4. What did you just finish reading and what did you think of it?

I have just finished No Name by Wilkie Collins which I'll be writing a post for this coming week. I did enjoy it  but not as much as his two better known novels The Woman in White and The Moonstone.

5. What are you reading next? Why?

Next up is Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton because it was my Classics Club spin winner.
And for obvious reasons Christmas Stories by Charles Dickens.

6. Best book you’ve read so far with the club, and why?

Germinal by Emile Zola and The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot.

I never like making these choices and there are so many I could name but these two do stand out. Both of them made a big emotional impact on me and both of them I finished knowing I would be rereading some day.

7. Book you most anticipated on your club list?

Definitely Germinal - I'd been reading glowing posts about it for so long yet it still took me two years after buying a copy to finally read it. 

8. Book on your club list you’ve been avoiding, if any? Why?

The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky

It's big and when I think of all those confusing Russian names .....

9. First classic you ever read?

It's so long ago I don't really know - possibly Anne of Green Gables by L M Montgomery but I wouldn't have been aware that it was 'a Classic'

10. Toughest classic you ever read?

Clarissa by Samuel Richardson 

11. Classic that inspired you? or scared you? made you cry? made you angry?

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott did all of those things when I first read it - I was about 12 years old.

12. Longest classic you’ve read? Longest classic left on your club list?

Clarissa by Samuel Richardson

The longest title left on my list is Kristin Lavransdatter  by Sigrid Undset at 1144p.

13. Oldest classic you’ve read? Oldest classic left on your club list?

Oldest I've read would be Shakespeare.

Still on my list - Beowulf.

14.  Favorite biography about a classic author you’ve read?

I love author autobiographies and biographies. Three of my favourites are

• Thomas Hardy: The Time-Torn Man by Claire Tomalin
• Morgan: a biography of E.M.Forster by Nicola Beauman
• The Brontes by Juliet Barker

15. Which classic do you think EVERYONE should read? Why?

When people start telling me what I should be doing I switch off! Not for me to tell anyone what they should be reading.

16. Favorite edition of a classic you own, if any?

My very old edition of Peter Pan retold by May Byron for Little People with the gorgeous illustrations by Mabel Lucie Attwell

17. Favorite movie adaption of a classic?

Gone with the Wind

18. Classic which hasn’t been adapted yet (that you know of) which you very much wish would be adapted to film. 

Nothing I can think of!

19. Least favorite classic? Why?

A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway - I had a feeling I wouldn't like this author and I didn't. 

20. Name five authors you haven’t read yet whom you cannot wait to read.

From my current list Sigrid Undset, John Galsworthy, Sir Walter Scott, Angela Thirkell, William M Thackeray.

21. Which title by one of the five you’ve listed above most excites you and why?

Kristin Lavransdattar by Sigrid Undset is a trilogy - medieval historical fiction set in Norway. I've wanted to read it for a long time but I have to buy a copy and other titles keep taking priority.

22. Have you read a classic you disliked on first read that you tried again and respected, appreciated, or even ended up loving? (This could be with the club or before it.)

I read Charles Dickens when I was young and decided he was too slow and longwinded for me but added him to my CC list and read Our Mutual Friend which I loved and then Bleak House which I also loved. Time changes many things.

23. Which classic character can’t you get out of your head?


Maggie Tulliver from The Mill on the Floss

24.Which classic character most reminds you of yourself?

25. Which classic character do you most wish you could be like?
26. Which classic character reminds you of your best friend?

Never given a thought to questions like this. I'm quite happy being me!

27.If a sudden announcement was made that 500 more pages had been discovered after the original “THE END” on a classic title you read and loved, which title would you most want to keep reading? Or, would you avoid the augmented manuscript in favor of the original? Why?

I think I would let sleeping dogs lie unless the original ending had left me completely dissatisfied.

28. Favorite children’s classic?

Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A.Milne

29. Who recommended your first classic?

They appeared every year in my Christmas loot so I guess I can say Santa did!

30. Whose advice do you always take when it comes to literature. (Recommends the right editions, suggests great titles, etc.)

Fellow bloggers.

31. Favorite memory with a classic?

My father reading The Wind in the Willows to us - he did wonderful voices and really made the story come alive.

32. Classic author you’ve read the most works by?

I'm not sure - probably Charles Dickens or Thomas Hardy

33. Classic author who has the most works on your club list?

I tried not to have too many of any authors but Thomas Hardy, Elizabeth Gaskell, Anthony Trollope and Emile Zola all have three.

34. Classic author you own the most books by?

E.F.Benson - I picked up a set of 7 of his books at the Book Fair in 2013.

35. Classic title(s) that didn’t make it to your club list that you wish you’d included? (Or, since many people edit their lists as they go, which titles have you added since initially posting your club list?)

I can't answer this one - my list is in a constant state of change and I've added far too many to list.......even if I could remember which ones they are.

36. If you could explore one author’s literary career from first publication to last — meaning you have never read this author and want to explore him or her by reading what s/he wrote in order of publication — who would you explore? Obviously this should be an author you haven’t yet read, since you can’t do this experiment on an author you’re already familiar with. :) Or, which author’s work you are familiar with might it have been fun to approach this way?

This isn't something I would decide to do without having read something by the author and liking him/her enough to want to attempt it. I would far rather do as I plan with Emile Zola - having read Nana and Germinal I am going to start at the beginning of the The Rougon-Marquart series and read them in the recommended order.

37. How many rereads are on your club list? If none, why? If some, which are you most looking forward to, or did you most enjoy?

I was never much of a rereader before the Classics Club and only added two to my original list. Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre I read as a teenager and thought I might appreciate them more now. I read WH last year and it was nothing I remembered it and I'm seeing the value of rereading more now and will definitely be having more on my second list.

38.  Has there been a classic title you simply could not finish?

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez - I loathed it. Too many people with the same name and so boring!

39. Has there been a classic title you expected to dislike and ended up loving?

• East of Eden by John Steinbeck
• Mrs Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
• Dracula by Bram Stoker

40. Five things you’re looking forward to next year in classic literature?

• Finishing my first CC list of 60
• Joining the readalong of The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy .
• I haven't committed myself yet but I'm seriously considering taking up Fanda's Literary Movement Challenge
• Beginning The Rougon-Marquart series by Emile Zola
• Generally just enjoying all the events held by the Classics Club and by its members.

41. Classic you are DEFINITELY GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year?

The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy

42. Classic you are NOT GOING TO MAKE HAPPEN next year?

I don't have anything that I feel that strongly about.

43. Favorite thing about being a member of the Classics Club?

Being part of a community - it inspires and motivates and keeps my enthusiasm high.

44. List five fellow clubbers whose blogs you frequent.

Jane @ Fleur in her World
JoAnn @ Lakeside Musing

Lisa @ TBR 313

Helen @ She Reads Novels
 o @ Behold the Stars

I never like singling out a few from the many I read and enjoy. :-(  

45. Favorite post you’ve read by a fellow clubber?

No one particular post but a blogger who writes wonderful posts that are always a pleasure to read and I wish I was capable of writing myself - o @ Behold the Stars

46. If you’ve ever participated in a readalong on a classic, tell about the experience? If you’ve participated in more than one, what’s the very best experience? the best title you’ve completed? a fond memory? a good friend made?

I've participated in several readalongs and prefer the longer ones which are an excellent way to read the chunksters that keep getting pushed to the bottom of the TBR. The two best experiences have been Musashi in 2010 and Clarissa in 2012. Both very long books that aren't easy reading but sharing the experience was very motivating and kept me going when I longed to give up.

47. If you could appeal for a readalong with others for any classic title, which title would you name? Why?

The Brothers Karamazov - I'm avoiding it!

48. How long have you been reading classic literature?

All my life on and off  but it's only been in the last six years that I've taken it as something more than just reading. There is purpose and appreciation, the search for understanding - I read so much slower these days which is definitely a good thing.

49. Share up to five posts you’ve written that tell a bit about your reading story. Reviews, journal entries, posts on novels you loved or didn’t love, lists, etc.

The First Classics Club Monthly Meme
Clayhanger by Arnold Bennett - a review
A Classics Challenge Prompt - musing on The House of Mirth
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K.Jerome - say it with pictures
Classics Club - I'm Halfway!

50. Question you wish was on this questionnaire? (Ask and answer it!) Pass!