Book Meme

[kungfuwaynewho]

19. Your favourite picture, junior fiction and Young Adult books

I don't really remember many picture books.  I started off with Berenstain Bears and He-Man/She-Ra books, but beyond that, I don't really remember.  (I actually still own all those books, and had them in my bookcase along with all my regular books.)  Some of my favorite kids and YA books:  Invitation to the Game, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Singularity, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, and of course old stand-bys like the Anne of Green Gables books, Little Women, etc.  The ones that I linked to are all books I've continued to reread over the years as an adult, and they're all great - I totally recommend them.

20. Least favourite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise

I'm not at all a fan of the love triangle.  AT ALL.  It is incredibly difficult to make work, it tends to make the central character, the one torn between two others, into some kind of irresistible Mary Sue (because that character is usually a woman), it overwhelms the plot (or becomes the plot), and it just generally bores me.  I hated it in The Hunger Games, it drives me to distraction in the Sookie Stackhouse books (especially when it's not a love triangle but it's instead a love rectangle or pentagon), and I haven't read Twilight so I probably can't complain about it (and wouldn't enjoy the books otherwise, I'm sure), but hey, why not.  I'm sure there are books out there with interesting stories about someone caught between two lovers or something, but for the most part?  Eh.

21. A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving

I just now read Jane Eyre for the first time.  I won't say I didn't think I wouldn't like it, but I expected to just read it, and have my "classic I've never read before" book out of the way for this year.  And I LOVED IIIIIIIIIIITTTT.  So, so good.  Even though I knew the basic plot ahead of time, I still found myself reading late into the night so I could see what happened next.  And I was just incredibly impressed with the character of Jane, who became a confident, intelligent, completely independent woman who knew her own heart and mind and refused to let anyone, not even the wealthy Mr. Rochester, change that.  (If you want to talk about things that are depressing, compare Jane Eyre to Bella Swan.  Yeah.)  I just finished watching the 2006 BBC miniseries (which was perfect and wonderful and Ruth Wilson and Toby Stephens I LOVED THEM YESSSS), will watch the 2011 film this weekend, have the 90s film with Ciaran Hinds (mmmmmmmm) to watch after that, etc.  I'm sort of consumed by it atm.

Comments

[jerusha]

I read Jane Eyre for the first time back in college, and I LOVED IT. I don't normally like classic fiction, since I lean heavily towards fluff and genre fiction, but that book is like crack. Once I finally convinced xphilehb to read it, she said the same thing. And Jane remains one of my favorite heroines of all time.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

I'm actually glad I didn't read it earlier, like in high school, because I'm not sure I would have followed it as well, or it would have had the same impact. I sometimes think we try to force the classics on young readers who aren't equipped to really appreciate them.

[hollywobbles.livejournal.com]

I completely agree with this statement.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

Speaking of which, the kids' summer reading lists. Yes, made a fourteen-year-old read the Iliad, straight up, no help, over the summer. That will really instill a love of reading. (I read the Iliad when I was 21, after a decade of reading Greek mythology, knowing the story front and back...and still struggled with it. I mean, Jesus, it's the Iliad.)

[la-loony.livejournal.com]

I second the love triangles and would like to add the couples who make it in the end though they shouldn'tXD

Oh Jane Eyre...I have to get it back to finish it, I started it for my class last semester but couldn't go on during exam time and than borrowed it to a friend. I saw the BBC miniseries to know the plot and have to get my hands on the movie asap, though it will probably take some time to get it in Germany :/

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure when the movie is coming out on DVD; probably not till this fall. :(

[la-loony.livejournal.com]

Than it will take ages until it's out here :/

[xphilehb.livejournal.com]

OMG. I looooooooooooooooooooooooooooove Jane Eyre. I love it more than I love Pride and Prejudice. In fact, for my birthday, I am making the boy watch the 2011 film with me tomorrow night. I'm a little nervous about it, though, because I love, love, love, love, love the Ruth Wilson/Toby Stephens version SO MUCH.

OK, geek out over.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

I think it's so apples and oranges when it comes to comparing it to P&P (or my favorite Austen, Sense and Sensibility). Just very different books. I love them both, but for different reasons.

I'm not sure about the movie, because they both look too pretty, LOL. Ruth Wilson is EXACTLY what I pictured Jane Eyre to look like when I read.

[celamity.livejournal.com]

The Timothy Dalton version of Jane Eyre from 1983 is my favourite.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

I'll have to see if I can get a copy of that one; I've heard it's the most faithful to the original text.

[styromgalleries.livejournal.com]

I've been wanting to reread The Witch of Blackbird Pond for a long time now, I just never get around to it. I remember loving it. I'm glad to hear it stand up to rereads.

With you on the love triangle thing. Granted, I don't read a ton of fiction that involves that trope, but when I have, it never seems to be handled all that well.

JANE EYRE!!!! So much love for that story. The miniseries is so wonderful, you're right. I could watch Ruth and Toby forever.

[kungfuwaynewho.livejournal.com]

The Witch of Blackbird Pond is totally rereadable. I think I actually like it more now that I have more historical context than I did when I was 10.

Ugh, your icon is gorgeous.

[hollywobbles.livejournal.com]

JANE EEEEYYYYYYYYYRE. Srsly my favorite book ever ever ever. It just jumps off the page and she is so fabulous and the story is so fabulous and IT IS SO FABULOUS.

(rrrrrrr, stupid comment box i wasn't done yet.)

I'm not a big fan of the love triangle either. Blarg.

Edit #2 (sorry): I loved Witch of Blackbird Pond and (especially) Charlotte Doyle. I actually bought and reread Charlotte Doyle a couple years ago -- still very good.