Tag Archives: September

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Little Book Haul (September 2014)

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Whilst I am currently on a ‘book diet’, along with another lovely BookTuber/blogger named Abbie, a few new tomes have fallen into my possession over the last couple of weeks.  I was aiming to have excellent willpower whilst trying to get through Mount TBR, but all of them came about as purchases because I had to reach a certain amount in order to get free delivery.

1. Mr Toppit by Charles Elton
2. The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren
3. Lysistrata by Aristophanes
4. Collected Works by Nathanael West

Have you read any of these books?  What did you think of them?  Which are the newest books which you have bought?

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Book Club (September 2014): ‘Poems’ by the Bronte Sisters ****

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I have read these poems before, but I enjoyed them so much that I was thrilled when April chose them as our September book club read.  I already had a copy of them on my Kindle, and found myself reading them on Easter Sunday whilst in France – a perfect setting for such beautiful writing.

‘Selected Poems’ by the Bronte Sisters

Each one of these poems, without exception, is beautifully written.  I found myself enjoying those which are non-religious far more, but that is merely personal preference.  I love the way in which the sisters often use history as a backdrop to these works, along with a wealth of other themes, which stretch from life, nature, freedom, writing, philosophy and the changing seasons, to running away, grieving and death.

My favourite poems, split up according to the sister who penned them, along with an example of their work, are as follows:

– Anne Bronte – ‘The Arbour’, ‘Home’, ‘Memory’, ‘The Consolation’, ‘Lines Composed in a Wood on a Windy Day’ and ‘Views of Life’.

From ‘Lines Composed in a Wood on a Windy Day’ (1842):
“My soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring
And carried aloft on the wings of the breeze;
For above and around me the wild wind is roaring,
Arousing to rapture the earth and the seas.”

– Charlotte Bronte – ‘Mementos’, ‘The Wood’, ‘Frances’, ‘The Letter’ and ‘The Teacher’s Monologue’.

From ‘Frances’:
“SHE will not sleep, for fear of dreams,
But, rising, quits her restless bed,
And walks where some beclouded beams
Of moonlight through the hall are shed.

Obedient to the goad of grief,
Her steps, now fast, now lingering slow,
In varying motion seek relief
From the Eumenides of woe.

Wringing her hands, at intervals­
But long as mute as phantom dim­
She glides along the dusky walls,
Under the black oak rafters, grim.”

– Emily Bronte – ‘Faith and Despondency’, ‘Song’, ‘The Prisoner’, ‘How Clear She Shines’, ‘Sympathy’, ‘Death’, ‘Honour’s Martyr’ and ‘Stanzas’.

From ‘How Clear She Shines’:

“How clear she shines! How quietly
I lie beneath her guardian light;
While heaven and earth are whispering me,
” Tomorrow, wake, but, dream to-night.”
Yes, Fancy, come, my Fairy love!
These throbbing temples softly kiss;
And bend my lonely couch above
And bring me rest, and bring me bliss.”

Y soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring
And carried aloft on the wings of the breeze;
For above and around me the wild wind is roaring,
Arousing to rapture the earth and the seas.
Read more at http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/lines_composed_in_a_wood_on_a_windy_day.html#puiEwmDIddJrwt6V.99
Y soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring
And carried aloft on the wings of the breeze;
For above and around me the wild wind is roaring,
Arousing to rapture the earth and the seas.
Read more at http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/lines_composed_in_a_wood_on_a_windy_day.html#puiEwmDIddJrwt6V.99
Y soul is awakened, my spirit is soaring
And carried aloft on the wings of the breeze;
For above and around me the wild wind is roaring,
Arousing to rapture the earth and the seas.
Read more at http://www.poetry-archive.com/b/lines_composed_in_a_wood_on_a_windy_day.html#puiEwmDIddJrwt6V.99

Purchase from The Book Depository

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‘The Ocean at the End of the Lane’ by Neil Gaiman *** (Book Club Read, September 2013)

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In reality, I would award The Ocean at the End of the Lane a three and a half star review, as I was so swept up in its beginning.  I loved the element of magical realism which had skilfully been woven through – perhaps my favourite element of all of Gaiman’s books.  I also loved the creepiness, and the fact that the book was both a relatively comfortable read in terms of its style and rather horrible in its plot.  I felt that this juxtaposition worked wonderfully.

I felt so sorry for the protagonist, that little nameless boy, throughout.  Ursula as a villain was just right to challenge his bravery, and she reminded me somewhat of the ‘Other Mother’ from Coraline.  The tale is well paced and the plot intriguing.  The story is well constructed on the whole, but for me, the ending let it down a little.  I didn’t feel that the story’s conclusion was as clever as it could have been.

With regard to Gaiman’s writing, I enjoyed the almost childish narrative style.  Even though the story is told in retrospect, Gaiman manages to skilfully show how events in the protagonist’s childhood had such a profound effect upon him.  The idea of buried memories coming to the surface was a great one.  Some of Gaiman’s descriptions were very nice indeed, particularly with regard to the colours he employs in his descriptions – for example, a ‘fog-colored house cat’.