Review: Sense and Sensibility

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Published: 1811
Number of Pages: 409
ISBN: 9780141439662
First Line: "The family of Dashwood had long been settled in Sussex."

See the Goodreads description HERE.

This is a story about a family, of a mother and three daughters, as well as their extended family of cousins, step brothers and sisters-in-law and their current love interests. There is selfishness and greed; there are parties and laughter; there is music and books and love; there is heartbreak and deceit. It seems a formula for success.

The eldest daughter, Elinor, is the only rational one. Her next sister, Marianne, is a silly, selfish flighty girl who cares nothing of anyone else’s problems and wants everyone to focus on her own. The third sister barely gets mentioned, as she is not old enough to fall madly in love with the wrong guy and then make a scene about it when he doesn’t love her back.

The brother and sister-in-law are greedy and care only about money, even though they have plenty and don’t share it with the rest of the family. The cousins are only focused on parties and gaiety and fun.

My impression of this book was that they spend the whole time having parties and looking for a husband. They fall in love with men who are unfaithful and they act quite silly about it upon realizing the man doesn‘t love them. The men are all fickle and quite rude about it, pretty much ignoring the girls once they have had enough of them and never communicating with anyone.  I almost didn’t like them until I recollected that this book was written roughly 200 years ago and times WERE different then. However, I find it hard to relate and also to distance these girls from our modern times. If they were here right now, they would be completely out of place. I would tell them to shut up or to stand up for themselves for God’s sakes!

This is an era where men and women still marry for money and class. An era where your mother can arrange your marriage to a “suitable” beau. An era where the women didn’t work and then men were landlords as an occupation. It is an era that I do like to read about and would like to understand, but that I have a hard time relating to. Maybe it’s Austen’s style of writing. Maybe it’s just the era.

However, for such an old book, it is sometimes amazing how much things really haven’t changed. I think this quote still holds true today.  “Shyness is only the effect of a sense of inferiority in some way or other. If I could persuade myself that my manners were perfectly easy and graceful, I should not be shy”.

This one just cracks me up. “Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition”.  So she didn’t argue with him. She was snubbing him by not giving him the satisfaction of an argument. I love it. What an insult!

But the best quote is this one at the end, which redeems Marianne. She finally turns around and realizes that she is not the only person in the world and the learns to respect and care about other people. She realizes that the man she loved when young was worthless and the one who has stood by and loved her for years is priceless.

“Marianne Dashwood was born to an extraordinary fate. She was born to discover the falsehood of her own opinions, and to counteract, by her conduct, her most favourite maxims. She was born to overcome an affection formed so late in life as at seventeen, and with no sentiment superior to strong esteem and lively friendship, voluntarily to give her hand to another!”

I cannot say I really liked this book as much as I thought I would. From hearing what other people have said, I thought it would be absolutely great. It was just okay. I have found that there are several classics that I feel about this way. Maybe the hype is just too much. My expectations are too high. Or maybe I am just not into this style of book. I will keep trying however.

I give it a 3 out of 5. I liked this book but I did not love it.

PS. I have not seen the movie, but saw the cover of the book. Does Hugh Grant play Willoughby? I hope he's not Brandon. He's definitely more of a rouge. Also, if Kate Winslet is Marrianne, I am not sure I agree with that one either. I guess I will have to watch it.

Have you read Sense and Sensibility? Do you want to be part of the discussion? Please join us over at KT's Refinishing School for a link up and discussion of this book. While there, you can also vote for our April BBC book club read.

Review: Around Africa on my Bicycle

Around Africa on my Bike by Riaan Manser
705 Pages
ISBN: 978-1-86842-351-4
Published 2007 by Jonathon Ball Publishers

The back flap reads:

“In a world first, almost incredibly, Riaan Manser rode a bicycle right around the continent of Africa. It took him two years, two months and fifteen days. He rode 36,500 km (22,500 miles) through 34 different countries.

In [this book] Manser tells the story of this epic journey. It is a story of blood sweat, toil and tears. It is a story of triumph and occasional disaster. Of nights out under the stars, of searing heat and rain, of endless miles of Africa and of pressing on and never surrendering whatever the odds.

Mostly however it is the story of one man’s courage and determination to escape the mundane and see the continent he loves and feels so much of a part of. It is the story of the human warmth he encounters, and occasionally human wrath and hostility as he crosses troubled countries and borders.”

The man that wrote the forward for this book (John Robbie) really said it well. He said, “There’s always reason to put off the dream, isn’t there? Too busy, too poor, too lazy. For most people, me included, it’s really a case of being too scared. That’s why for the majority, these fantasies remain daydreams rather than fulfilled ambitions or even attempted ones. Then we get old and regret the fact that we never went for it”.

I read that and knew I would like this book. He is right. We all put off things that we want to do because we make excuses. Because of this, we tend to admire, and envy, people who do what we think is an exciting or adventurous thing. I knew I would admire and be a little bit jealous of Riaan and his round Africa journey. So, the premise was a go.

However, the book is written in a “my journal” format, where the author obviously was trying to write to remember details about things, people and places. However, I personally (as the reader) do not need to know about every single person he meets and the when and the where of it. I don’t need to know every detail of every single border crossing. The book is 705 pages; he could have consolidated it a little!

I would prefer more information and facts about the countries he visited as well as his thoughts and impressions of these countries. I would also have liked to hear more about his feelings. He does give a little information regarding this things, but I want to know more. How did it feel to be all alone in a country that you have never been in before? Were you tired? Were you lonely? How did this affect you mentally, physically and spiritually?

Another thing that bothers me is that he seems like a huge mooch. He gets sponsorships, free gear and money (many of it from nice people who really can‘t afford it). People give him free cell phones. He loses them a bunch of times and people keep giving him new ones! He stays with people all over the place, often getting free lodging. Maybe I am being hard on him, r maybe I am just jealous, but he seems selfish. I hope that after he finished this trip and wrote this book he gave something back to the community and the people that helped him along the way.

Even though I had those few peeves, I really did like the book. Any book that involves travel and a sense of adventure is exciting to me. I can also relate, as I recently went to Africa. He talks about how nice many of the people are and I found the same to be true. I am inspired. I want to bike around my country now!

I give this book a 4/5.

NOTE: If there was a 3.5, I would do that, as I am not sure it’s of the “I really liked it” category. It’s somewhere in between “I liked it” and “I really liked it”.

Book Review: The Lost Symbol

Picture from here.

The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Set in Washington DC, this book is of a tale of murder, revenge and of course, symbolism. However, other than the new setting and a different cult to learn about, this book is the same as the rest of the Dan Brown novels. The main character, Robert Landon, gets roped into helping the CIA stop a madman in the way of deciphering codes and teaching us the way of the Masons.

I do like how I learn something about the city that the book is set in, just as I did with his other novels. I also appreciate learning about the Masons and the symbolism that is behind the Order. The plot was thrilling enough, but as I said before, if you have read any of his other books, you know what is going to happen before Landon does. However, the historical and scientific aspects are interesting.

I give this book a 3 out of 5, because it taught me something new and kept me mostly entertained. However, it was the same cookie cutter book as all the rest he has written.

Books! (A list)

books!
Originally uploaded by kyria!

Note: if you have this in your reader twice, it's because for some reason blogger decided to post this before I was done. So, this one is the real one; the other one was just a draft! 

I wanted to keep a list of the books I have read this year. I may update this every few months. So, as of today, here are the books I have read so far. Like I have said before, when I am on the road, I pretty much read whatever I can get my hands on in English...so excuse me if they are a little strange! I put stars behind the ones I have not or probably will not review (based on 5 star system: 1 - bad, 2 - okay, 3 - good, 4 - very good, 5 - excellent)

January:
Blink - Malcolm Gladwell (review here)
The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown (review on its way)
Big Cherry Holler - Adriana Trigiani **
The Mummy - Anne Rice ***
Twilight - Stephanie Meyer *** (finally read it and surprisingly like it!)
Love Rosie - Cecilia Ahern *** (beach read - romance, fluff etc)
Shantaram - Gregory David Roberts (review to come)

February:
Stories We Could Tell - Tony Parsons **
The Essence of the Thing - Madeline St John **

As you can see, I have slowed down in February. The last two were pretty unexciting and then I tried to read a fantasy book and there were so many names and places and I had no idea what they were talking about. So finally, against my will, I quit in the middle and gave it to a used book store. Seriously. Gave it. They wouldn't even buy it back! It was that bad. And I almost never quit a book, no matter how bad it is.

What I am reading now:
Around Africa on My Bicycle - Riaan Manser
A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens (a FREE ebook from Amazon!)

Additional Note: AubrieAnne over at Who's Your Editor is doing a Bookmark Break Challenge 2011 where you list all the books you read this year. You can find the complete list over on my Pages. I will be updating it as much as I can. If I read more books than she does, I win a prize! Wish me luck!

Book Review: Blink

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Right from the beginning, this book caught my attention. In the first chapter, he talks about relationships and how a psychologist named Gottman can predict the success or failure of a couple's relationship just by listening to them for mere seconds. I found myself going down the list of reasons why he states couples fail and trying to see if my boyfriend and I have done any of the things on it.

Watching a normal conversation such as "should we get a dog or not?" he interprets the couple's facial movements during the conversation and gives them each a code. Disgust for example is a 1. He then translates EVERY second into a number, which then is translated yet again to a complex equation. His success rate is usually above 90%.

The premise of this book is that people can actually make very rational decisions in a very short amount of time. Gladwell believes that you should go with your first instinct, which he calls "thin slicing". He states that sometimes when you over think things, you can actually come up with the wrong decision more likely that you would have if you used snap judgment. 

I found this book very interesting, as even though I consider myself a rational over thinker (I am almost never spontaneous), I realize that even I too make snap decisions. I have picked a book from the shelf without knowing why (the packaging); I have decided I like Coke better than Pepsi (flavor, marketing, packaging); I have decided in the blink of the eye whether I like a new coworker (a certain facial expression, a hidden sneer). There are many things we do without even realizing it.

I would recommend this book and give it a 3 out of 5.

January Self Imposed Read

If you haven’t already read it, read The Time Travelers Wife, also by Audrey Niffenegger. I read it and loved it, which is the reason I decided to read her most recent book, Her Fearful Symmetry. This book is set in London and is about a ghost in a flat near Highgate Cemetery. It is a pretty fast read, interesting enough, but without the pizzazz that The Time Travelers Wife had. When I read The Time Travelers Wife, I couldn’t put it down. I was at my parent’s house for Christmas and I was sleeping in an unheated room in the winter time and I still would lie in bed with my arms and head exposed and freezing cold, reading it until the wee hours of the night. This book is good, but not that good!

I also read Julie and Julia which if you haven’t already heard, is about a young girl just about to turn 30 who decides to cook every single recipe from Julia Child’s famous cookbook, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. In one year. Five hundred and some odd recipes, each with pounds and pounds of butter all cooked within 365 days. And she writes a blog about it.  But the book is about more than just her adventure. It is a story about a girl who has hopes and dreams but is not sure what they are or if she will ever accomplish them. She is bored of her job, her life and her apartment. She takes on a task, a meaning of life, something to look forward to. Its not an easy one; she has some trials and tribulations, but you like her more for them. She is human. She is all of us. I liked her. She makes me want to cook every recipe from MtAoFC. I give it 4.5 stars.

January Book Club Read

So, the January book club read. One by Jodi Picoult, who, if you haven't yet read, is DE-PRESS-ING! However, I am always looking to learn something new, and this book taught me a little bit about osteogenisis imperfecta, otherwise known as "brittle bone syndrom". However, one can only handle so much strife, even though it does provide insite into what it may be like having to be a parent in such a difficult situation. I give it an "okay" but not a "great".

As a side note, I finished the Hemingway and am not in a hurry to read another.

Next up: its a toss up --  Skinny Legs and All, Her Fearful Symmetry or Julie and Julia. What do you guys suggest?

December Book Club Read

I am almost done. I should finish tonight. However, I am not quite sure that I like the way he writes. I feel like I should becuase he is "one of the greatest writers of all time". However, although I like what he writes about, I dont like the WAY he writes. Pamplona just isn't as exciting to me when Hemingway is the one telling me about it. We will see if I change my mind in the next 20 pages.

You can find out what else I have read and suggest books for me on goodreads.

My October Book Club Read

Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table by Sara Roahen


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


View all my reviews >>