Category Archives: Classics

Recently Read

Posted by Ayesha in Classics, Contemporary Fiction

Hey everyone, I know I’ve been away getting married and all, but that doesn’t mean I stopped reading! Now, I’m not going to pretend that I read high-brow literature when I was avoiding last minute wedding projects or traveling to Costa Rica, but it was fun to relax and read books that have been on my lost for a while. Here’s what I’ve read and am currently reading.

1. Divergent

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2. Insurgent

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3. Commencement

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4. The Tower, The Zoo and The Tortoise

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4. Anna Karenina (halfway)

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6. Paris, My Sweet (just started)

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Reviews are coming soon!

Currently Reading

Posted by Ayesha in Classics, Contemporary Fiction

You may think I have forgotten that this blog started off as a book review blog, but I haven’t! I have been pretty busy with other life matters (my upcoming wedding!), but I do get time to read on the train, between blogs and rounds of Scramble with Friends, of course!

I am currently reading:

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That’s right, I am diving into the art of the great Russian novel. I am actually enjoying it very much, probably because of my recent infatuation with Europe in the 1910s and 20s. Thanks, Downton Abbey. It’s nice to read from a different country’s perspective. I am reading the Louise and Aylmer Maude translation, which was highly recommended in reviews. I like that I am challenging myself with a classic, and since there is likely an absence of pedophilia (my failure with Lolita), I am hoping to make it to the end.

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I received this book, The Tower, the Zoo, and the Tortoise, by Julia Stuart, in the book exchange of my bridal shower. My friend from kindergarten brought it to the shower, and I am so glad I got it, because she has great taste in books! Plus, I’m glad no one tried to steal it from me, white elephant style. Although, I don’t think anyone would steal from the bride! This book takes place in London, specifically the Tower of London. E and I studied abroad in England and went to London often, so it’s nice to be brought back there in a story. And hello, there’s a giraffe on the cover! I am not that far into it, but it is a nice departure when I am feeling bogged down by the 1000+ page Russian novel above.

I have tons of books on my shelf to read, and the pile just keeps growing. It’s probably going to take a while to get through these with my current life distractions, but I am enjoying life and enjoying the books I’m reading.

What are you reading right now?

 

I Have a Problem.

Posted by Ayesha in Classics, Contemporary Fiction, Discounts, Lukewarm, Retail

I have Book ADD again.

I think I’m in the middle of six and about to start another one. I blame the fact that I work in a bookstore and cannot control myself. OK, seriously. No more purchasing books until I am done with all the reads I have in line. Oh, whoa. This could take a while or I could just hunker down and do it.

The list, with books I have started first, and books I have yet to start at the end:

  • Lolita
  • The Book Thief
  • Cutting for Stone
  • American Wife
  • Something Blue  (I may abandon this ship.)
  • The Lacuna (Another pursuit I may abandon shortly)
  • Admission (My current read, liking it thus far. It may be the one to cure me.)
  • My Korean Deli (I must read this is two weeks, a lend from work.)
  • Lunch in Paris (Lent to my FMIL while in the middle of it, because she was going to Paris.)
  • The Postmistress
  • Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
  • A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius
  • Reading Lolita in Tehran

OK, seriously? The list looks way worse now that I have actually written it out. I will not buy another book for one month. In that one month, I need to finish these books. What is wrong with me? I think I have a problem. I think I am addicted to buying books.

A Classic Adventure

Posted by Ayesha in Classics and tagged with

So, we have begun our Lolita adventure. It’s early yet for an opinion, but I like it so far.

I thought I might drop by and put that list of books down that C and I are going to work on in the next year or so. We’ll alternate them and not go in any particular order.

Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov (Yay! We’re already reading this.)
Inferno by Dante Alighieri
Othello by Shakespeare
Hamlet by Shakespeare
Macbeth by Shakespeare
King Lear by Shakespeare
Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
Night by Elie Wiesel
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Achebe
Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
Persuasion by Jane Austen

I actually read four of these books in high school. Thanks Ms. F! I really liked those reads, but wish I had paid more attention instead of speeding through them at ungodly hours just to get some content and not be lost in class. The life of an over-achieving high-school student is exhausting. I’m excited to re-read the ones I have read, and I am happy to expand my literary education with the new ones!

I’m open to suggestions!

Taking on the Classics!

Posted by Ayesha in Classics, Education

I would like to take a moment to thank the teachers in my life that encouraged good literature. For the most part, I was too busy to actually take the time to get the most out of the literature we read in high school. But I really did like most of the things we read. BF C, 5th Roomie D, and I were at dinner at Disneyland last night (so fun) and of course, our conversation shifted to a reading list. It started with me wishing I had read more Shakespeare. Then, we moved into other books we have or haven’t read.

BF C and I are actually embarking on our Lolita and Reading Lolita in Tehran adventure! We tend to have ambitious reading lists. Like The Iliad. Oh, Homer translated by Robert Fitzgerald.

Don't call a chariot a "car." Just don't.

That was disappointing. Let me just say if you think the big event that you know happened in the Trojan War happened in The Iliad, you are sorely mistaken. Ugh. It took so long to read this epic poem. And there was no epic ending like I thought there would be!

So, in order for us to actually finish Lolita, we plan to take it slowly with happy reading interspersed. We’re going to see how we feel about the first chapter, and proceed from there. Mostly because BF C and I are kind of chicken, and the graphic subject matter may be more than we can handle. I will be blogging about our adventure as well. If you would like to join us, we will be reading from the version pictured below. So, stay tuned. And I will get the list we compiled from BF C, and post it soon.

Published by Vintage, ISBN: 978-0679723165

The Power of Sisterhood and William Shakespeare

Posted by Ayesha in Classics, Contemporary Fiction, Inspiration and tagged with , , ,

Apparently, I have been doing well at my Lenten goals because I haven’t spent very much time on the Internet at all. I have been reading ferociously, doing two crosswords a day, working, and practicing yoga. So, I haven’t been around on my blogs. But the good news about reading ferociously is that I have a book to tell you about!

The Weird Sisters by Eleanor Brown is a story about sisters all returning home to face their great weaknesses and to break free from their own self-imposed limitations. This family is a different brand, and they warn you about that in the Prologue. These three sisters were raised by a Shakespeare expert and his brilliant, but often distracted, wife. All of them read as much as they breathe, and almost all of their conversations are punctuated by the Bard’s words. They quote him all the time, without pause. So, if you love Willie, you’ll appreciate this book. The girls are named Rosalind (Rose), Bianca (Bean), and Cordelia (Cordy). (Five points to the first person that can name they plays their names come from!)

Like I said, each girl is struggling with an internal battle, and their sisterly relationship certainly intensifies when they are thrown back into close quarters in their home in a small university town in Ohio. There’s Rose, who never really left, always controlling the situation, then Bean, who left New York in a frenzy after she did a bad thing, and finally, Cordy, the wanderer who decides that she’s grown out of her nomadic lifestyle. These girls go through a heck of a spiritual journey together, and I’m so glad I read this book. I have sisters, and I very much understand the characters and where they’re coming from. I also recognize a lot of myself in one sister in particular. Also throwing in a bit of Shakey never hurts. Some of their quotes remind me The King’s Speech when Lionel does a scene for his boys to name. I loved it! I loved it so much that I have new insights that I will most certainly write about next time!

Book Hunting

Posted by Ayesha in Classics, Contemporary Fiction and tagged with , ,

I had a great weekend, which involved a lot of shopping, and you can guess that also meant book shopping.

Back story: Best friend C came into town, and we spent Saturday exploring book stores. She was looking specifically for books about music for children. We looked in good ole Barnes and Noble, but didn’t find much. She did find out about an educator discount card, though. I think all my teacher friends should sign up for that! C is also working on a reading list that alternates a contemporary read with a classic. So, we also looked for affordably priced classics. And we decided that, together, we will read Lolita and Reading Lolita in Tehran, which fits into the classic/contemporary pattern. We then decided to move on to a used book store, since classics can be found everywhere.

Katz Alley is new in Redlands on the corner of Sixth and Redlands Blvd. If you park as if you’re going to Augie’s, walk the other way to Katz Alley. They have a ton of books, but they have just opened, so they’re working on an organization system. I would give it a couple of weeks, but they have a great collection, and the paperbacks in the back room are only a quarter, as I understand it. We didn’t find Lolita, but we did find a lot of other great books.

As a kid, I read and loved Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. It was one of the books that I read multiple times. My sister’s class read The Giver by Lowry, and I never got to it. I believe she really liked it, but by then I was “beyond” reading that type of literature. Well, now I’m not. I suggested both to C,  which she bought for a whopping 50 cents. I will also be reading The Giver, which I am hoping to find at the library across the street. I am learning to take more advantage of these resources, especially in my time of unemployment.

I’m excited at the prospect of reading new things with a friend along for the ride. I’m excited for used bookstores, book exchanges, and libraries!

PS- I’m also excited for the other shopping we did, with two more friends, H and R: wedding dresses! No pictures though, no buying, but really fun and possibly more exciting than book shopping!