Reflections of July

I reviewed ten books in July.

Letters from a Father to his Daughter by Jawaharlal Nehru (Rating: 5 out of 5) 

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (Rating: 4 out of 5)

The Sky is Falling by Sidney Sheldon (Rating: 3 out of 5)

Good Idea, Amelia Jane! by Enid Blyton (Rating: 4 out of 5) 

Heidi by Johanna Spyri (Rating: 5 out of 5)

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks (Rating: 4 out of 5)

Nothing Lasts Forever by Sidney Sheldon (Rating: 4 out of 5)

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (Rating: 5 out of 5)

The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis (Rating: 5 out of 5)

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie (Rating: 4 out of 5)

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Beginnings/ Endings of books

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

Some books have an excellent ending but sadly not-so-excellent beginning. Again some books have an excellent beginning but a rather disappointing ending. And again, some books have excellent ending AND excellent beginning. I'm listing ten of my favorite beginnings/endings.

                                  Beginnings

 1. Emma by Jane Austen: The book starts with the reader being introduced to Emma Woodhouse, ''handsome, clever, and rich''. The writing style, humor, and lightness immediately made me VERY engrossed to the book. And now it's one of my favorite books!

2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte: The first few pages of the book introduce us to the protagonist, Jane, the orphan who is mistreated by her aunt and cousins. Charlotte Bronte's vivid and engrossing portrayal of the young Jane, is amazing. The whole book is excellent, suspenseful, and sweet.

3. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl: Roald Dahl introduces us to Charlie, his family members, and the poverty they live in. I love this book. Both the beginning and the ending, are excellent.

4. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone by J. K. Rowling: I love the whole Harry Potter series. And the beginning of the series was perfect. More, much more than perfect, actually.

5. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte: In the first couple of chapters, Mr Lockwood, one of the narrators of this novel, introduce us to the mysterious Heathcliff and his mysterious household. Mr Lockwood becomes curious about the identity and history of Heathcliff's family members, the identity of Catherine (whose diary Mr Lockwood happens to read while he spends the night at Wuthering Heights), and very soon Nelly Dean, the housekeeper at Thrushcross Grange, tells Lockwood about the sad and haunting history behind all these.

                                                            Endings

 6. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins: The middle part of Suzanne Collins's ''Mockingjay'' was filled with lengthy war descriptions, which were not that much attractive to me. However, the ending... oh, the ending, it was so excellent!!! It has become one of my favorite endings! It was so wonderful, so touching, so powerful.

7. The Murder is Announced by Agatha Christie: Amazing solution to the mystery! :)

8. The Railway Children by Edith Nesbit

9. Roots: The Saga of an American Family by Alex Haley: Amazing, amazing, amazing, the whole book was! The ending was no exception!

10. Safe Haven by Nicholas Sparks. The wonderful twist near the end was, umm, wonderful. :P The entire book was amazing. Touching and thought provoking.






 

''The Murder of Roger Ackroyd''- Book Review

Author: Agatha Christie
Published: 1926

Genres: Novel, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review

The narrator in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd is Doctor Sheppard. One evening he is invited to dinner to Fernley Park, the residence of Roger Ackroyd. Ackroyd reveals to Sheppard a hidden fact, centering the late Mrs Ferrars and her late husband. Doctor Sheppard leaves the house after conversing for some time with Ackroyd.

At his house, Doctor Sheppard gets a phone call. It is from Parker, the butler at Fernley Park. Parker informs him that Ackroyd is dead! Sheppard runs to Fernley, but Parker denies having made any such phone call. They break into Ackroyd's study, and discover that Roger Ackroyd is... dead.

The magnificent Hercule Poirot steps into the case, and taking Doctor Sheppard as an assistant, he starts investigating.

Who can have murdered Roger Ackroyd? In this case there are so many suspects. A stepson who has been missing since the death of Ackroyd. A butler with mysterious behavior. A maidservant. The housekeeper. Ackroyd's sister-in-law and niece, with whom he was never generous with money. 

I was amazed with the twisted ending. Just AMAZED. I could have never even guessed it! It was so unpredictable. So unexpected. So amazing. Great twist, great ending!!!

I enjoyed reading the book. Well, Agatha Christie is always amazing. And so is Hercule Poirot. I guessed now and then throughout the book, but none of my guesses actually matched. Just as I was so amazed and delighted with the ending, it also took me some time to accept the twist. But however, the whole novel is excellent, and it brings me again and again into commenting about the ending, which was just unpredictable and excellent.

4 out of 5

''The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe''- Book Review

Author: C. S. Lewis
Published: 1950

Genres: Novel, Adventure, Fantasy

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was really a magical read for me. Absolutely magical. It was a quick read, but it was indeed a wonderful reading experience.

Siblings Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy are sent, during the World War II, to live with an elderly professor, to a huge and mysterious house. The professor himself has suspicions that this house is filled with odd and fantastical things.

One day, in a spare room, Lucy finds a wardrobe, and entering it, she finds herself in a separate world! A world with magical creatures: fauns, giants, centaurs, and many, many other magical creatures. She meets a faun, who tells her that the name of this world is Narnia. He also tells her that the world is being ruled by an evil witch, who claims herself as the Queen. It is because of the witch's magic that it is always winter in Narnia; summer and spring never arrive.

None of Lucy's siblings believe about her discovery of a world at the other side of the wardrobe, but eventually, circumstances make ALL FOUR OF THEM to get into Narnia. There they come across the fact that it had been predicted long ago that four humans will one day come to Narnia, and they will become the Kings and Queens of this world. And the witch is after them to kill them, so that they can't seize the power from, her. Moreover, Edmund gets on the witch's side because of his greed for the delicious food that the witch had given him. Will Peter, Susan and Lucy be able to save Narnia from the cruel hands of the evil witch? Will Edmund understand his mistake? Will the the witch be ever defeated?

This was a quick read and was really fascinating. Narnia's description is so wonderfully given. (The change from winter to summer as the Witch's magic was weakening- was really fascinating). The characters are so interesting. My favorite characters were Lucy and Aslan. The evil witch is well portrayed, and readers grow to hate her. I loved the overall story. It was magical and suspenseful. I loved the ending. And I eagerly look forward to read the sequels soon!

4 out of 5!

''Pride and Prejudice''- Book Review

Author: Jane Austen
Published: 1813

Genres: Novel, Romance

Rating: 5 out of 5

Review

I first read this novel a couple of years ago. To tell the truth, that time I didn't really appreciate this novel that much. Perhaps I was too young at that time to appreciate the beauty of this novel, this beautiful love story. This time I read it. And I loved it. I really, really, really loved it. Not as much as Austen's Emma though. Emma is my favorite Austen novel, and Pride and Prejudice has, undoubtedly, become my second favorite Austen novel.

Mr and Mrs Bennet have five daughters: the mild, gentle Jane, who is so timid that she cannot find fault in anyone; the beautiful but headstrong Elizabeth; the intellectual Mary; and silly and insensible Catherine (Kitty) and Lydia. Jane and Elizabeth are the only members of the family having the values to mix with the upper class, elegant society. Mrs Bennet is silly, and Mr Bennet, though sensible, is unsocial. All the family estate and wealth are to be passed to a distant male cousin after Mr Bennet's death, and Mrs Bennet is eager to get all her five daughters married to wealthy men.

Mrs Bennet gets a wonderful scope for her goal when the rich Mr Bingley comes to live in the Netherfield Hall.  Mrs Bennet is eager to get Jane married to Mr Bingley. Mr Bingley arrives, and brings with him Mr Darcy, a close friend. Mr Darcy seems to be overly arrogant and haughty, and everybody takes a dislike in him. Both Elizabeth and Mr Darcy take a dislike on each other. On the other hand, Jane and Mr Bingley become close and it is evident that they are in love.

Elizabeth's dislike for Mr Darcy becomes stronger when Mr Wickham, a man belonging to the regiment that has come to the area, tells her how Mr Darcy had deceived him. Mr Bingley leaves Netherfield, and Elizabeth becomes suspicious that Mr Bingley's sisters and Mr Darcy was persuading him to break his relation with Jane, because of the low connections of the family. But the mutual dislike, between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy, must turn into love, because of the incidences, misunderstandings, and revelations that follow. Impressions will change, love will be gained, trust would be lost and gained. Impressions, this word is an important theme in this novel.

The change of impressions, and the reasons for this change, are so intensely explored in this novel. The change of Elizabeth's feeling for Darcy, from resentment to gratitude to love, is so well developed, so well described, so well explored. The progress of love is so steadily described, that it made me really care for the characters, their feelings for each other. Jane Austen was really a genius author who knew how to create so deep, so lively characters.

The two protagonists, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy, are both flawed characters. The pride and prejudice have great influences in them- influence that they will regret in future. However, the incidences that character come across in course of the novel will make them realize their mistakes,  that will slowly develop the love, the romance. While Darcy and Elizabeth share pride, prejudice and headstrong character,  the other pair of lovers, Jane and Bingley, also share the qualities of gentleness, calmness, timidity, and the quality of easily becoming influenced by somebody. I also admired the supporting characters. Mrs Bennet was funny. Lydia and Lady Catherine were irritating. Mr Collins was both funny and irritating. I also liked Mr and Mrs Gardner.

It is not that Mrs Bennet's intentions can always be blamed. Yes, she is irritating. But she only wants her daughters to be settled, because of their such small inheritance. If we think from this point, then it can be a little bit easier to appreciate the character. I didn't take her as an irritating character. Rather, I thought the character was humorous, I thought the character was really very funny.

Like other Austen novels, wealth and social status play an important role in this novel. The book is set in an era where social status were important for every single marriage to take place. And it affected and influenced so many loves, so many marriages. Likewise, this theme plays an important role in this book as well. I won't go into detail about how it played the role because that would be giving away too much.

There is a lot of humor. A great deal of humor. The response of Mr Bennet after Mr Collins proposes to Elizabeth. Mrs Bennet is herself so very funny. Kitty and Lydia's actions were another source of humor.

 In short, I really loved this novel. Really. I loved the development of feelings, I loved the excellently-developed characters, I loved the humor, and on the whole, I loved this beautiful and touching love story.

5 out of 5!

Feature and Follow Friday

Every week, Feature & Follow Friday is hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read. It is a way to gain new followers and to make new friends. 

Q: What do you do with your books after you are done reading them?

I put them back to my shelves! I may sometimes reread some of the books that I absolutely loved! My shelves are overflowed, so I have to keep them someplace else until I find some more space! 

 

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Top Ten Tuesday: Topics that make me not to pick up a book.

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish.

This week's Top Ten Tuesday is about the top ten words/topics that will make you NOT pick up a book.

I was thinking of as many topics as I can, but only came up with a few:

1. Sports: I've never loved sports. And I've never really involved myself with any sport activities. So I don't understand sports, nor do I love sport related books. I once picked up a sport-related book by R. L. Stine (one of my favorite authors), and I abandoned it after reading just two or three pages! :P

2. Heavy, overly serious nonfiction: History, biography, autobiography and memoirs are the only nonfiction genres that I enjoy. But even overly serious books about history, for example, books that describe historical incidences in so much details and with so much facts, don't impress me. In case of nonfiction, I like a simple read that I can enjoy and at the same time, that can give me knowledge. But if it is overly detailed, then I will not read it. (There are some exception though. There are some historical topics which I am very fond of. And I can read any books about those topics.)

3. Poetry: I have described in the ''Review Style'' page that though I do adore a few poems, I don't really read poetries that much. I will read any poetry written by Robert Frost and a few other poets, because they are so inspirational, but I generally don't enjoy, and don't read, poetry.

4. Typical novels about high school drama: I haven't read many high school books. But I have seen a lot of high school movies. And that made me really uninterested in the genre. The same innocent protagonists, bullies, or mean girls, and the handsome hero. (Some high school films were great, though, for example, The Perks of Being a Wallflower).

5. Economics: The word explains it!

6. Western fiction. Well, this may sound really weird, but I have never read a Western novel nor seen a Western movie. I know that it's horrible to judge a genre without seeing any movies or reading any books belonging to the particular genre, but the idea of this genre just does not fascinate me!

Well, I can really think of no more! :P 

(And, I should also note that this is my very first Top Ten Tuesday post :D )

''Nothing Lasts Forever''- Book review

Author: Sidney Sheldon
Published: 1994

Genres: Novel, Thriller, Suspense, Romance

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review

Before reading Nothing Lasts Forever, I had read three other Sidney Sheldon novels: The Stars Shine Down, The Sky is Falling, and Are You Afraid of the Dark?. I thoroughly enjoyed reading all three of them, but I must also say that I found none of them excellent. They were sometimes predictable and often silly. But they were very enjoyable reads. I was satisfied with them, but didn't find any of them excellent.

But I am really glad I read Nothing Lasts Forever. It is an impressive novel. And I mean it. It is a really very impressive novel. Though there are sometimes indeed some of the Sidney Sheldon cliches and a few times it did get silly, yet I found it a very pleasant and impressive novel. It was not a masterpiece, but I was really pleased with it.

Set mostly at a hospital, the novel's central characters are three doctors: Paige Taylor, Honey Tuft, and Kat Hunter. They work in the same hospital and live in the same apartment. The novel explores the lives of these three women: their feelings, their passions, their desires, their past, their pain.

The novel begins with a lengthy prologue. Kat Hunter has been murdered. Honey Tuft had almost closed down the hospital (reasons revealed in course of the novel). And Paige Taylor has been accused of murdering one of her patients because the patient had left her a huge wealth. But Doctor Taylor says that it was euthanasia. She knew nothing about the inheritance until after the death of the particular patient.

Most of the novel is told in flashbacks, starting with the time Paige, Kat, and Honey had joined the hospital. It tells the story of their stressful job, struggling personal lives, painful and secret pasts. And their meeting such odd and unfortunate fates.

One of the things that I like about Sheldon is the characterization in his books. In Nothing Lasts Forever the characterizations are definitely effective and deep! Along with the life of the three protagonists, the stressful life of doctors is also very well described in this book. (I really appreciated the epilogue, where what happened to most of the characters, is described).

I definitely enjoyed this one! The last chapter was so very emotional. As I mentioned before, some of Sidney Sheldon's cliches can be found now and then, but the overall novel is impressive and pleasant.

4 out of 5!

Book beginning: Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder

Book Beginning is hosted by Rose City Reader . Here, you share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires.

 The book  I am currently reading is Sophie's World by Jostein Gaarder.

The first line of the book:

Sophie Amundsen was on her way home from school. 

I don't think that this gives any impression on what the book is about, does it! Sophie's World is about Sophie, a fourteen-year-old schoolgirl who one day gets a letter with puzzling question from an anonymous writer. From that time, the writer of the letter starts sending her letters almost everyday, letters that contain lessons on philosophy and the history of philosophy. 
I'm thoroughly enjoying reading this book. Thoroughly. It is like a lesson on philosophy and the history of philosophy!

''The Last Song''- Book review

Author: Nicholas Sparks
Published: 2009

Genres: Novel, Romance

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review

The prologue of The Last Song builds up curiosity and suspense. I became so curious to know what happens, what incidences the characters come across, just while reading the prologue. The Last Song is such an amazing, well-written and touching book!

Ronnie and Jonah are sent to live with their father for the summer. Ronnie is furious at her father because he had left them. She hasn't talk to her father for the last three years. And she hates having to spend the whole summer with her dad. She does her best to ignore him. 

Ronnie comes across Will, a handsome young man. They fall in love and spend much time together. But however, the summer will soon come to an end, and they will be separated. But they know that their love is deep and strong, and their love will always remain strong, despite their distance.

Meanwhile, Ronnie comes to forgive her father and becomes close to her father again. She even starts regretting because of her previous behavior with him. Everything seems perfect.

But fate has planned something else for them. First of all, there is a terrible secret that her father is hiding. Secondly, there is the shadow of a crime apparently committed by Will's friend, Scott. A crime which Will has been covering up.

The novel is told from the perspective of four people: Ronnie, Will, Steve (Ronnie's father) and the novel's antagonist, Marcus.

I found it a really wonderful and touching read. Nicholas Sparks is really wonderful. The romance between Ronnie and Will, and also the relation between Ronnie and her father- both are beautiful. But I have to say that the prologue made me expect something much more, but in the end, it didn't completely meet my expectations. Despite that, it was a beautiful read. Touching, sweet, and heartbreaking, The Last Song is amazing!

Nostalgic reads...

For everybody, there are books that bring back so many memories when you read them again. Memories that make you smile, feel sad, and remember the time when you first read that book! There are many books reading which I feel so nostalgic! Here are some of them: 

Jane Eyre is one of those books that made me fall in love with reading! I still clearly remember the time when I first read this novel. I loved the beautiful story, the romance, the elements of suspense and horror. I love this novel. And every time I reread this, those beautiful feelings that I experienced when I first read this novel, still haunt me!

 

''Wuthering Heights'' is indeed my favorite book of all time. I love everything about it. I love the characters. I love the beautiful story. I love the haunting tale of love, the haunting tale of revenge, the haunting tale of the power of true love! This is a novel that has beauty in every lines, this is a novel so beautiful that I'd absolutely recommend it to everybody!

Vanity Fair is not quite one of my favorite books. But however, I do love this novel. And every time I read it, it also brings back so many great, fresh memories! Wonderful novel about flawed characters, ambitions, and the result of such high ambitions.

I first read this when I was just eight years old. I absolutely love Anne Frank and her diary. Anne Frank is so inspirational, and her diary is certainly one of the most inspirational books I've ever read.

Of course, I adore Harry Potter. Both the books and the movies! And whenever I read the series (ANY of the seven novels!), or watch ANY of the Harry Potter films, I feel nostalgic.

There are so many other books like this, books that bring nostalgia, that bring so many dear memories whenever I reread them!
 

''Heidi''- Book review

Author: Johanna Spyri
Published: 1880

Genres: Novel

Rating: 5 out of 5

Review

I hadn't read Heidi for a while (the last time I read it was in 2009 or 2010), so it was definitely a joy to read this beautiful novel again! I love Heidi. It is such a comfortable, such a nice little story! 

The story is about Heidi, who is only a little orphan girl when she is sent to live with her grandfather, a man who lives all by himself in a little hut and doesn't quite mix with the society. However, Heidi begins to love her grandfather and the hut, and everything around her. She loves the mountains, the flowers, the goats. She becomes friends with Peter, a goatherd. She also becomes close to his family. Life in the beautiful place becomes extremely peaceful and happy.

But then things change as Heidi's aunt- who was her previous guardian- come and take her to Frankfurt, to be companion of Clara, a girl who cannot walk. Heidi longs for going back to home. But she also becomes close to the members of the household, particularly with Clara, a servant called Sebastian, and Clara's grandmother, who occasionally comes to Frankfurt for a long visit. But her heart longs for going back to home. And ultimately, because she experiences sleepwalking and weakness and weight loss, Clara's father sends her back to live her grandfather.

Heidi's life becomes as it had been before she had gone to Frankfurt. She talks with Grandfather, plays with the goats, visits Peter's Grannie. But however, the friendship she had made while she had been in Frankfurt will always remain intact, and in this beautiful, green place full of natural beauty, a miracle waits for Clara...

This was a simple and comfortable read. I absolutely loved it! I loved the characters. I loved Heidi. I liked Clara. I liked Grannie. I haven't much to say about WHY I loved this book. I loved this book simply because it was a simple, touching, and wonderful story! I loved it because the characters, especially Heidi and Clara, were so loveable! Overall, I'd absolutely recommend this book!

5 out of 5!

Six Word Saturday

Six Word Saturday is hosted by Show My Face
Want to play along? All that's necessary to participate is to describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words. 

Two class tests tomorrow- feeling busy! :(

How is your Saturday today? I wish everybody a very happy Saturday and of course, happy reading! :D 

''Good Idea, Amelia Jane!''- Book Review

Author: Enid Blyton

Genres: Short stories

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review

After a busy week full of class tests, I really needed something light and funny to read! Good Idea, Amelia Jane! is just what I needed!

Enid Blyton is one of my favorite children's authors, and I've read several of her adventure novels. Good Idea, Amelia Jane! is the first non-adventure book by Blyton that I have read!

Amelia Jane is a naughty doll, living in a toys' cupboard with various other toys . She always irritates and troubles the toys with her naughty pranks. The book is filled with stories about the pranks of Amelia Jane, and about how the other toys teach her a lesson! In some stories, Amelia understands her mistakes and repent for it. A few stories also tell how Amelia Jane is also, along with being naughty, a helpful doll.

This was certainly a funny and enjoyable book! I enjoyed it so much that I finished it in one sitting! 

4 out of 5

 
 

''The Sky is Falling''- Book Review

Author: Sidney Sheldon
Published: 2001

Genres: Novel, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller

Rating: 3 out of 5

Review

While I thoroughly enjoyed reading Sheldon's The Sky is Falling, I won't really say that it was a great read because it wasn't. However, it's an exciting, suspenseful and adventure-filled quick read that would be worth a read. However, don't expect anything too good from this book because it can be very predictable and sometimes slightly silly. But despite that it is a fun, exciting and suspenseful read!

The Winthrops are one of the most prominent and famous families of America. However, great tragedies occur- within a year, all five members of the family is dead, apparently because of accidents.

Our protagonist is Dana Evans, a famous anchorwoman for the press. Viewers simply love her. She has just returned from Sarajevo and has adopted an orphan, Kemal, whose family members had been killed because of a bomb. 

After coming to know about the co-incidental death of all the five members of the family, Dana is curious to know more, and becomes suspicious that it might be more than accidents, that it might have been murders. Her growing suspicion leads her to personally investigate more about the matter, and she herself falls in danger. Because of her investigations, someone is planning to have her killed. She can understand that she is being watched all the time. Her life is in constant danger. Who is innocent and who is not? Who is against her life and who is not? She continues her investigations, even with the grave perils lurking everywhere around her, and ultimately comes across revelations- revelations that has dangerous results.

Obviously I enjoyed reading this novel! It was a fast paced and quick read! But however, as I mentioned before, it was very predictable and slightly silly. For example, I could easily understand who were the villains and who weren't just by seeing the incidents and the behaviors of the characters. Characters are well developed, but it was easy to guess who was evil and who was innocent. Really.

Last month I had read another Sheldon novel, The Stars Shine Down, which I liked but also felt was irritating at times. However, The Sky is Falling was absolutely not irritating! Rather, it was really interesting and enjoyable!

''Sense and Sensibility''- Book Review

Author: Jane Austen
Published: 1811

Genres: Novel, Romance

Rating: 4 out of 5

Review

I have read several of Jane Austen's novels this year. I LOVED Emma, and it perhaps has become one of my favorite novels, and also loved Persuasion, and just liked Mansfield Park. And I really liked Sense and Sensibility. This novel has excellently developed characters, incidences, situations, and it was a very pleasant and enjoyable read.

The novel has two heroines: Elinor Dashwood, who at the beginning of the novel, is a matured young woman of nineteen, and Elinor's younger sister, Marianne, who is not as mature as her sister. The novel tells the story of the love, experiences, heartbreaks, happiness, sorrow of the two sisters. Though Elinor is the major heroine, Marianne's love, heartbreak, and most importantly, her becoming mature because of the incidences that she has to go through, is also given equal emphasis.

At the beginning of the novel, Mr Dashwood dies, leaving a widow (who was his second wife) and her three daughters, Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret, and a son from his first marriage, John Dashwood, and John's wife Fanny Dashwood.  John inherits Norland Park, the residence of Mrs Dashwood and her three sisters, and they moved to Norland. Mrs Dashwood is soon disgusted by the attitude of the selfish John and his even more selfish wife, Fanny. Meanwhile, Elinor becomes close to Fanny's brother Edward Ferrars, and it seems apparent that they are in love. Mrs Dashwood heartily appreciates the relation between Elinor and Edward. Soon, Mrs Dashwood and her three daughters moved to Barton, settling at a small cottage belonging to Sir John Middleton, a distant relative.

At Barton, Marianne becomes close to Mr Willoughby, a charming and handsome young man. It seems that they are certainly they are in love. Readers also meet Colonel Brandon, an unmarried friend of Sir John. It is apparent that Colonel Brandon loves Marianne, and it is also apparent that Marianne dislikes the Colonel. For some unclear reasons, Willoughby is forced to go to London, leaving Marianne sad and lonely.

Soon, Marianne and Elinor go to London with Mrs Jennings, Sir John's mother-in-law. There both the sisters come across painful incidences and revelations regarding the men whom they love, bringing sorrow, disappointment and heartbreak to both of them. In the end, will the broken hearts be mended? Will the misunderstandings be cleared? Will everyone be happy?

I really enjoyed reading Sense and Sensibility. I liked the characters. Elinor, another matured Jane Austen heroine, is very likeable. I found Marianne likeable at times and quite irritating at others. For example, when Marianne and Willoughby criticize the modest and decent Colonel Brandon in such a harsh way, it was really very sad and irritating! I also liked Edward Ferrars, though he did not have that much depth that the other Austen heroes have. Like the characters of the novel, I also disliked Willoughby, but I have to admit that his confession near the end of the novel was really pitiable. I also liked Mrs Jennings. She was quite a funny character! Her misunderstanding, misconceptions, and quick decision on who is going to marry whom, was indeed very funny! 

The novel deals with the two heroines' love, hope, fear, hopelessness, disappointment. Marianne Dashwood's becoming more matured through the course of the novel is also quite remarkable! The romance has, however, little depth. The romance is mostly expressed through the sorrow of the heroines after losing, or facing the possibility of losing, the person they love. It was really touching at times.

On the whole, I didn't exactly love Sense and Sensibility, nor will it be one of my favorite Jane Austen novel, but it was certainly quite a delight to read this book! It was pleasurable, enjoyable, and at times, an emotional read!

4 out of 5

Stacking the shelves

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's reviews . It is about the books that you are adding to your shelves.

Bought:

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks

Rising Tides by Nora Roberts

Hard Times by Charles Dickens

Hotel Vendome by Danielle Steel

A Passage to India by E. M. Forster


 

''Letters from a Father to His Daughter''- Book review

Author: Jawaharlal Nehru
Published: 1929

Genres: History, Letter collection 

Rating: 5 out of 5

Review

I have just finished reading this collection of letters by Jawaharlal Nehru and I absolutely LOVED it! This book is a collection of thirty letters that Nehru wrote to his daughter, Indira Gandhi, in 1928. In these letters, Nehru writes about the basic history of the world, the story of civilizations, the story of people. Nehru writes how the world was formed, how life evolved in this earth, about how there is a book of nature, where we can learn about the prehistoric times by observing rocks and fossils. He wrote about how people began forming tribes, how there are so many races and languages in the world, the story of how there are monarchs, how different classes came into being, about the ancient civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, India and Crete, and about Aryans, Dravidian, Mongoloids, and about how trade started. Nehru describes the basic details about all these subjects. 

I thoroughly enjoyed and loved reading this book. It is such a wonderful, perfectly amazing book! The language is simple and there are often beautiful illustrations. It is not that this book is filled with so many details about history. Rather, this book contains the basic details about the subjects mentioned above. I enjoyed reading all these. This book would be GREAT for beginners and preteens who are interested to know about the basic details about history! Nehru's writing style is so simple yet beautiful, and filled with the basic details of the history of our Earth, the people on the Earth, the ancient civilizations.

This is absolutely a GREAT book!

5 out of 5

Really Random Tuesday

Really Random Tuesday is hosted by Suko. It is a way to post odds and ends--announcements, musings, quotes, photos--any blogging and book-related things you can think of.   

 

This Tuesday, I'm going to share two quotes from  two of my favorite books, quotes I absolutely love!

 ''My great miseries in this world have been Heathcliff's miseries, and I watched and felt each from the beginning: my great thought in living is himself. If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger: I should not seem a part of it.—My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being.''

                                                                                  - Emily Bronte (Book: Wuthering Heights)

“In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.''

                                                                - Anne Frank (The Diary of a Young Girl)

Happy Tuesday! Happy reading!