A 19th Century Classic - Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell

Books & Chocolate's Back to the Classics Challenge 2017: a 19th Century Classic



This book is beautiful.  Just beautiful.  Why aren't kids reading this in school, instead of the rubbish that's handed out instead?  Seriously!

Ruth is a story about a young woman that has an illegitimate child in the 1800's.  At that time, women that became pregnant out of wedlock were most often forced into horrible situations while the men had little, if any, accountability.  It was very common for those that made mistakes or sinned in ways that couldn't be hidden and were made public knowledge to be shunned and kicked aside.  Never mind that it was very hypocritical of society to do so, illegitimate children were the perfect example of this hypocrisy.  It takes two to make a baby, but only the woman visibly carries it.  We all make mistakes and are in need of kindness and mercy the most at those times. Just because one person's faults were visible and another's were not doesn't make them holier.

This story is about what would happen if someone in those circumstances had support to help guide them back to a good, God-fearing life instead of being cast aside to fall into worse sin and lifestyle.  Ruth goes on to bring light into many lives through her goodness and selflessness.  But even if she hadn't, even if the only two souls brought back to the light had been her own and her son's - wouldn't that be enough? 

These are lessons that still need to be taken to heart and applied in today's world.  Though the reason for casting off those we feel are beneath us may be different and the circumstances of how they are cast off changed, it still happens.  And it still shouldn't.

Till We Have Faces by CS Lewis

I really like this book. I couldn't put it down. As a fan of Greek/Roman mythology in high school, I was already familiar with the myth of Cupid and Psyche. But I never heard of this book by CS Lewis. I know, I know. My adolescence was sorely lacking in someone to guide me to classics despite my voracious reading habits. Thank goodness for book club and better read friends in adulthood!

This book is beautiful. It turns the classic myth on it's head and gives it from a whole new point of view - that of the sister. It comes at morality and love from a perspective that is not common. It rolls you right along with the sister's feelings so well that you don't readily recognize how in the wrong she is until you're supposed to, even if you already know the story of Psyche. And the redemption at the end is also wonderful. It almost feels like CS was linking Cupid's role to that of Christ (something common in many of his works). Which would seem really odd, but in the way this is written - it works. It also plays on many of the class differences, gender inequality, and blindly following a religion without thought that was so common in that era. I found it very enlightening.

I definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the classics, a fan of CS Lewis, or lover of mythology

Persuasion by Jane Austen

I read this for book club.  I have mixed feelings about this book.  On the one hand, I loved being so inside Anne's mind throughout the book. I definitely love her character.  But I would have liked to have known other characters more.  They all seem flat to me, especially Captain Wentworth. However, I expect that may have been purposely done by Austen.  Keeping us so tied to Anne's point of view made it easier to see the satirical commentary Jane was creating about courtship and rank in that era. Over all, a very enjoyable book that I highly recommend to others.

Books Chosen for 2017 Classics Challenge

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Number of Books to Read: 6-12

Here are the books I've chosen to read for the challenge this year:

1.  A 19th Century Classic


2.  A 20th Century Classic 


3.  A classic by a woman author.


4.  A classic in translation 


5.  A classic published before 1800.


6.  A romance classic.


7.  A Gothic or horror classic.


8.  A classic with a number in the title. 


9.  A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title. 


10. A classic set in a place you'd like to visit.>


11. An award-winning classic.


12. A Russian Classic

Back to the Classics Challenge 2017

Sign Up At: Books & Chocolate
Number of Books to Read: 6-12

1.  A 19th Century Classic - any book published between 1800 and 1899.

2.  A 20th Century Classic - any book published between 1900 and 1967. Just like last year, all books MUST have been published at least 50 years ago to qualify. The only exception is books written at least 50 years ago, but published later, such as posthumous publications.

3.  A classic by a woman author. 

4.  A classic in translation.  Any book originally written published in a language other than your native language. Feel free to read the book in your language or the original language. (You can also read books in translation for any of the other categories).

5.  A classic published before 1800. Plays and epic poems are acceptable in this category.

6.  A romance classic. I'm pretty flexible here about the definition of romance. It can have a happy ending or a sad ending, as long as there is a strong romantic element to the plot.

7.  A Gothic or horror classic. For a good definition of what makes a book Gothic, and an excellent list of possible reads, please see this list on Goodreads. 

8.  A classic with a number in the title. Examples include A Tale of Two Cities, Three Men in a Boat, The Nine Tailors, Henry V, Fahrenheit 451, etc. An actual number is required -- for example, Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None would not qualify, but The Seven Dials Mystery would. 

9.  A classic about an animal or which includes the name of an animal in the title.  It can be an actual animal or a metaphor, or just the name in the title. Examples include To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, The Metamorphosis, White Fang, etc. If the animal is not obvious, please clarify it in your post.

10. A classic set in a place you'd like to visit. It can be real or imaginary: The Wizard of Oz, Down and Out in Paris and London, Death on the Nile, etc.

11. An award-winning classic. It could be the Newbery award, the Prix Goncourt, the Pulitzer Prize, the James Tait Award, etc. Any award, just mention in your blog post what award your choice received.

12. A Russian Classic. 2017 will be the 100th anniversary of the Russian Revolution, so read a classic by any Russian author. 

Atlas Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a hard book to rate. There were parts that I really enjoyed and parts that I hated. Parts that I wholly agreed with and parts that I vehemently disagreed with. It was definitely the most difficult book I have ever read. I decided on four stars because even the parts that I didn’t necessarily enjoy or agree with were still excellently written when one thinks of terms of what was her point. But when one thinks of terms of literary excellence and things like character development, there was a bit lacking. My dissatisfaction more came from the fact that I have never really enjoyed being lectured when I already agree with the point being made (and there is a sixty page monologue that is a lecture towards the end of this).

Atlas Shrugged is fairly pertinent to today’s political atmosphere and a good read for that reason alone. True, it shows things in extreme, but that is often the best way to make a point in fiction. It is very obvious that Rand was an atheist at the time she wrote this – and there was where most of my disagreement with her was rooted. I don’t agree with her viewpoints on pride, sexual morality or those that believe in God. On a non-religious note, I didn’t agree with her portrayal of farmers. I firmly believe that if this country were to fall apart, the farmers that own their land would be one of the few groups not to starve. They might learn to live w/out certain luxuries, but I don’t think being unable to sell their crop would cause them to starve. Most farmers I know are very practical and would use their land to grow food for their family if things got this bad.

But I whole heartedly agree with Rand’s viewpoints on capitalism vs. socialism. Those that think socialism is the way to go will hate this book. But as I’m a capitalist, I agreed with and enjoyed reading much of it. She cuts right to the heart of what socialism is and does to societies – and some people just hate to hear the truth.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Dover Thrift Editions) by Jules Verne
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I've finally read a Jules Verne book. And I have to say, I am unimpressed. It's like he had a encyclopedia of ocean life next to him and regurgitated it back to me with a bit of story to wrap it up. The story was interesting, but page after page of description of undersea life was, frankly, overdone and boring. I enjoy descriptions, loving the imagery painted in my mind by authors such as Tolkien. But Verne doesn't use common vernacular to describe his scenery, he uses all scientific terms. So I spent a good deal of time looking up various terms while reading this book, which would make it ideal for reading while studying marine biology. But it was not at all pleasant to read for enjoyment.

Kindle Edition: Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea

Stuart Little

Stuart Little by E.B. White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

We just finished this book as a family. The story is written very clearly, so that the children were able to make pictures of what was happening easily in their heads. They enjoyed the adventures that Stuart went on, but couldn't get over the fact that it was just 'weird' for a human to have a mouse for a baby. They also didn't like the ending much, as it was our first introduction as a family to open-ended stories. They argued a bit afterwards about what have must happened, until I convinced them that could have their own individual ideas of what happens. I think this book might appeal to boys more than girls, as my girls thought some of the things Stuart does are just odd. They also didn't like how often we were introduced to a new character and then have them disappear just as we were starting to really get interested in them.

Over all, a good book. Probably one we will read again when our babies are old enough to listen.

Three Barnyard Tales

Three Barnyard Tales (Once-Upon-a-Time) by Marilyn Helmer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This is a very basic book - no surprises, no disappointments. The stories of "The Little Red Hen," "The Ugly Duckling," and "Chicken Little" are told straight-forward with no crazy twists to the traditional plots. The artwork is large, colorful and a good representation of the various parts of the tales. This is a very good book to introduce these classic stories to young children.