*NOT NECESSARILY IN THIS ORDER, THIS IS JUST THE ORDER I THOUGHT OF THEM IN*
- The Princess Bride, by William Goldman (finished yesterday)
- Bleak House, by Charles Dickens
- Little Dorrit, by Charles Dickens
- Wives & Daughters, by Elizabeth Gaskell
- Journey to the Center of the Earth, by Jules Verne
- The Pilgrim's Progress, by John Bunyan
- The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
- A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (in December of course)
If anybody has suggestions please PLEASE PLEASE comment (this is me shamelessly asking for you to comment) I love comments, they remind me that you actually read what I write :)
I don't care if the book is fiction or not, I plan to read much more then this but these are the must reads for me. However, I don't like Fiction with sad endings. (I read fiction to make me happy, why would I want something to make me cry?)
Also I plan to read these Dickens that have sat upon my shelf unread for a looong time... (I am ashamed)
- A Tale of Two Cities
- Pickwick Papers
- David Copperfield
Ta for now, and thanks for reading!
Well, I have a multitude of suggestions, my dear---you must stop me before I write you a book full of suggestions!
ReplyDelete-The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy
-Eight Cousins and Rose in Bloom by Louisa May Alcott
-Not My Will by Francena H. Arnold
-Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes (everybody should read this)
-The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Calico Captive and -The Bronze Bow by Elizabeth George Speare
-Any of the Jeeves books by P.G. Wodehouse
-At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon
-Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (if you haven't already read this, I don't know)
-The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain
-Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Miller
-Anne of Green Gables (the entire series!) by L.M. Montgomery, especially the last one
-Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris (nonfiction)
You are going to LOVE Wives and Daughters! I will caution you about Journey to the Center of the Earth if you don't mind... it is kind of creepy and really, really strange. The ending is... weird. If you're looking for a good book by Jules Verne, I'd recommend Around the World in 80 Days instead.
Just my two cents. :)
If you ever wanted to read Jane Austen fanfiction, one I read recently and enjoyed was 'I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend'. It's about Jane's cousin Jane (or Jenny) Cooper.
ReplyDeleteIf you don't mind reading a book that's children/teen, Running Out of Time by Margaret Haddix is one of my favorites. It's what I call a 'realistic' time-travel book; very exciting, while having old-fashioned stuff in it. =)
Miss Dashwood,
ReplyDeleteThank you so very much for your many suggestions :) Consider them as all added to my list!(save maybe Mark Twain, I don't like what he said about Jane Austen) I have already read Jane Eyre and The Anne series :) I love the last one best too! "Rilla-my-Rilla" *Sigh.
I have also read around the world in 80 days. I very much appreciate your words of caution. I don't mind if its a little bit creepy, but if you think it isn't worth reading I trust you. (I watched the old movie, is it like?)
I don't know how I feel about Austen fanfic, as I haven't really given it a fair try. However, I enjoy children/teen books and will and your suggestions to my list. :)
Thank you both for commenting!
The last paragraph was meant to be directed toward Melody :) sorry
ReplyDeleteI would recommend Cranford, by Elizabeth Gaskell. (Fiction) It is not very long, but it is charming:) Also Surprised by Joy, by C.S. Lewis (Non-fiction) It is a really interesting look at his mental process changing from atheist to Christian. Peter Pan and The Phantom of the Opera are good books that aren't your average stories. I would second Miss Dashwood's recommendations of The Scarlett Pimpernel, Eight Cousins and A Rose in Bloom, and Do Hard Things. I love all of those!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
I find myself stupidly repeating Miss Dashwood's suggestions, and I'd also recommend Lady Susan by Jane Austen, if you haven't read that already. And Journey to the Center of the Earth was weird and pretty boring. I don't think I would have gotten through it if Mum hadn't read it out loud. And I'd suggest 'The Elusive Pimpernel' by Baroness Orczy, after 'The Scarlet Pimpernel, of course. I reviewed it at the TSP blog (here I am, shamelessly self-promoting again).
ReplyDeleteHave a lovely day,
Maria Elisabeth
http://ascarletpimpernelblog.blogspot.com/
HA! I know about Mark Twain! I read a funny thing in Jane Austen for Dummies though; because of the way he worded his rude thing ("ever time I read Pride and Prejudice") the author remarked: 'EVERY time? What's wrong with this picture? If he dislikes it so much why would he keep reading it?' It's her opinion that he said that to annoy a friend of his who admired JA.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that doesn't lessen my prejudice any. :P
Anyways. JA fanfic. The way I see it, some's good, some isn't. (I know that sounded bad grammarish, so keep in mind that it was purposeful.) I rather like reading books actually about Jane Austen, and that one's fun because she was around 15 at the time. Well, it wasn't really about her, but she had a large part of the story. =)
Another book I really like (this one is more children's than teens) is A School Story by Andrew Clements. It's about a 6th grader (I think) who got a book published, and very interesting, especially for aspiring young authors.
~Melody
(Sorry, I'm on a different computer right now and have trouble signing in, but it's still me.)
I remembered this C.S. Lewis quote, after I recommended Surprised by Joy:) “I’ve been reading Pride and Prejudice on and off all my life and it doesn’t wear out a bit.” He talks about loving all of Austen's work which made me smile:)
ReplyDelete-Lauren
Lauren, thank you! I forgot about Cranford and want to read it before I watch it. I will definitely be reading the C.S. Lewis. (I've read Peter Pan, and I'll try The Phantom of the Opera, I have it on my kindle and I'm psyching myself up to read it.)
ReplyDeleteMaria Elisabeth, Feel free to self promote whenever you comment! (haha) Though I have yet to look at your blog because I have yet to read TSP, I'm sure I will soon!
(two negative votes on Verne, so now he goes away...I rhymed, unintentionally I assure you)
Anonymous, *ahem, Melody,
The quote I was referring to (and I paraphrase because I cannot remember his exact words) was "A library without books would be an improvement on a library with only Jane Austen's works." Still, he is entitled to his opinion.
Lauren, I saw your second comment after I posted my first, and I now admire C.S. Lewis all the more! I found this website
ReplyDeletehttp://www.twainquotes.com/Austen_Jane.html
My favorite quote is this one
She makes me detest all her people, without reserve. Is that her intention? It is not believable. Then is it her purpose to make the reader detest her people up to the middle of the book and like them in the rest of the chapters? That could be. That would be high art. It would be worth while, too. Some day I will examine the other end of her books and see.
- "Jane Austen," published in 2009 in Who Is Mark Twain?
Mr. Mark Twain, Yes it was her intention! Thus "No one but myself will much like [Emma]." And yes, she wanted things to change in the middle. and yes, it is high art and if you'd taken the time you'd know that!
ahem, forgive my outburst ladies, please.
Oh Mr. Twain, what could you be thinking? Personally, I enjoyed and agreed with you "outburst" :)
ReplyDelete-Lauren
Ooh, dear, those quotes aren't even as bad as the one I was thinking of!
ReplyDelete"Every time I read 'Pride and Prejudice' I want to dig her up and beat her over the skull with her own shin-bone."
THAT'S what I was referring to. :P I didn't know he said even more than that! Oh dear! Now I REALLY don't like the dude! :P
My, oh my. Besides all that I never found him to be much of a storyteller. He never could gain my attention.
ReplyDelete