I thought I’d read this before but since I can’t find any evidence that I have, I waited till July to read Lady Susan even though this cloth-bound version was almost too cute to resist (and also, I was rereading quite a bit of Austen in June)! Lady Susan is part of Austen’s juvenilia, or… Read More Book Review: Lady Susan by Jane Austen
I am here with another classic! This time by Dostoevsky, whose last book I read was Notes from Underground and The Double in 2021. What I remember of Dostoevsky in general is that his words have a pessimistic, dark quality about them, which makes them harder for me to read than say, Tolstoy (though I’ve… Read More Book Review: Winter Notes on Summer Impressions by Fyodor Dostoevsky
I first heard about the German epic, the Nibelungenlied, from an episode of the BBC In Our Time podcast. The discussion really intrigued me so I sought out a translation of the epic – this time, I found the Hatto translation (though to be honest, I didn’t really do a deep dive into the translations… Read More Book Review: The Nibelungenlied translated by A.T. Hatto
I have no idea why I bought this book. It’s probably a combination of having heard about Trollope and liking the cover. Probably. Anyway, The Warden is the first book of Trollope’s that I’ve read. It’s about two good men – The Warden, who believes that he has done what is right to the men… Read More Book Review: The Warden by Anthony Trollope
I was under the impression that it’s been a long time since I read Rebecca, but turns out it was just four years! But because I watched the Alfred Hitchcock adaptation of the book and wanted to refresh my memory. Plus, I found a copy of Rebecca for 1 euro and it’s autumn so I… Read More Rereading: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
A long time ago, before this blog and even before I joined Goodreads, I tried reading Dostoevsky. I had this weird habit where every National Day, I’d spend the time leading up to the evening NDP parade tackling a long Russian book. I read Crime and Punishment, Anna Karenina, and a few others, but to… Read More Book Review: The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky
I have referenced my book haul far too many times, but I’ll probably continue to reference it because I’ve not finished reading! One of the books I bought was A Study in Scarlet, the first Holmes and Watson novel. While I was reading this book, I kept thinking back to the first episode of Sherlock:… Read More Reading A Study in Scarlet after watching Sherlock
Since this is the advent season, I thought it would be timely to read this beautiful manuscript edition of A Christmas Carol. To my surprise, I realised that I don’t remember the last time I read the original. I’ve definitely got some impression of Scrooge McDuck as Scrooge and I remember the Phua Chu Kang… Read More Book Review: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
It feels a bit weird to be calling a Victorian-era book a page turner, but The Woman in White is definitely one. I got this partly because it was cheap and partly because it was famous, so I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it. The Woman in White starts with Walter Hartright, getting… Read More Book Review: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Yes, we’re back for another Classic Remarks, hosted by Pages Unbound! I’ve been preparing for this since June, when I reread both The Secret Garden and Little Lord Fauntleroy. This week’s prompt: During her life, Frances Hodgson Burnett received more acclaim for Little Lord Fauntleroy than for The Secret Garden. Today the reverse is true. What do you… Read More Classic Remarks: Why is The Secret Garden more popular than Little Lord Fauntleroy?