04/26/2025
This one was my top read of the semester! Though all of the books had themes that are still relevant today, this one had a plot that could play out even today with no changes. The plot follows the story of a young woman who falls in love with a man only to realize too late that he's not quite the man she thought he was. There were moments where I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what would happen next! I don't want to give too much away, but I can't recommend this book enough.
04/12/2025
Before taking this course, I didn't even realize there was a third Bronte sister. It turns out that may have been intentional on Charlotte's part, as the one survived the longest out of her siblings. Charlotte thought that Anne's books were too "coarse" for the public and tried to essentially bury them. This first one, Agnes Grey, actually reminded me a lot of Jane Eyre but with a stark realism and unflinching look at what the life of a governess is like. I liked the book, but not as much as some of the other ones I'd read during the semester.
03/28/2025
I had so many feelings about this book, and I think I'm still trying to sort them out properly. I think first and foremost it's important to acknowledge that this book is a revenge story with a romance element and not primarily a romance. All of the characters were interesting in the fact that none of them were really likeable in the same way that Charlotte's characters (with the exception of Lucy Snowe) tried to be. I think it also helped that the story was told from an outsider's perspective so even though we think we know what the characters are thinking we don't actually have a concrete read on their psyche. I also loved Heathcliff's ending. Brilliant novel, definitely one of my top reads of the year.
03/13/2025
I absolutely adore Toni Morrison. I found a copy of The Bluest Eye at a little booksale at my local library where all the books were fifty cents. That's also where I ended up getting a copy of Agnes Grey, which I needed for later in the semester for my Bronte class, so that really worked out! This was the third Morrison book I've read, but the first one I read outside of a class. The book is short, but despite its conciseness it's rich and complicated in a way that only makes everything that happens to Pecola cut even sharper. After finishing it I felt empty. What a book to end spring break!
03/11/2025
This was a book I read for my Bronte class, it's a sort of modern take on Wuthering Heights set in a high school and playing with the idea of Catherine choosing Heathcliff over Edgar. I don't read a lot of YA books, but I liked this one for the most part. I think it was also good that I read this one before reading Wuthering Heights, because I think my opinion of this book would be incredibly different in that case. The characters definitely read like teenagers, which is a really great thing for this book and can be difficult to accomplish! This was a quick and dramatic read for me. I'd be curious on seeing what Brownlee would do with writing a sequel...
03/10/2025
I got this book for Christmas, and I had the opportunity to read it over spring break! It was short, but intense. The story follows the life of a girl whose friend is taken by a stranger and never seen again. Then, on her birthday, that same stranger comes to her with a proposition. If she does what he asks her to, he might tell her where to find her friend. It's a really quick read and also incredibly dark. I loved reading the descent of Laura's psyche as she fell into this toxic manipulation from a predator. Great read.
03/08/2025
Villette was my favorite of Charlotte Bronte's books! Lucy Snowe was such an intriguing and complex character. She appears cold and aloof but it's a mechanism to mask the intense loneliness she's felt her entire life. This book almost feels like a more tragic version of Jane Eyre to me. If you've read Jane Eyre and wanted another Charlotte Bronte book to check out by her I would definitely recommend this one. I will say though, the ending is the least happy out of I think any of the Bronte books I've read for this semester.
02/20/2025
Shirley, while not being the worst book I've read, was probably my least favorite of the year so far. I liked a lot of the characters and I thought the themes in the story were really interesting and cool, especially the parts about gender and the march of progress leading to the mechanization of labor and how that effected the different social classes. This book was tackling a lot of subjects and had a lot of different characters, and I think that was its downfall. If the book had been divided into a series where we could have focused on the specific issues or character's stories more thoroughly then I think it would have been even better. Some of the dialogue was really fun and there were some dramatic twists that I absolutely loved.
01/31/2025
This spring semester, I took a class on the Bronte sisters. I'd never read any of their work before despite them being classics, and I thought it was high time I sink my teeth into them. It took me awhile to get into Jane Eyre, but that may have been because I wasn't used to that style of literature as I am more of a modern reader. There were, of course, parts of the book I already was aware of, but there was also a lot that I was in the dark about. Over all, it was a good book and a good introductory to the class! Jane is such an interesting character, while she does have a fiery passion that burns in her, she is also willing to forgive others even when they probably don't deserve it.
01/15/2025
I actually stumbled upon this book while watching a youtube series called The Story Foundry. While I have always considered myself a horror fan and have always been interested in Barker's work, I hadn't read anything by him and I wasn't sure where to start. Imajica seemed like a great starting point! The book was a little over 800 pages- quite the size but not one I was shy to approach after reading the unabridged version of The Stand last summer. The book utilized all its pages well, between all the interweaving plots there was never a dull moment. The settings were all varying and beautiful, and even the parts that took place on Earth before we entered the Imajica still had this ethereal quality to them. Honestly, I could have read a whole 800 pages just about Judith and Gentle's disastrous relationship and still been happy with it. The characters and the way they existed in the world really made the story alive to me and I'm so glad I finally got to read this book! I'm looking forward to reading more of Barker's work in the future. Absolutely beautiful.