Watership Down and other classics recently read (Book post!)

[aloysiusweasley]

Well, not much has been going on. I've been catching up on my reading though, ever since I saw this list:
http://www.librarything.com/tag/unread&more=1  (unread books meme)

Long ago and far away (2 or 3 weeks ago), I was going to post up the books *I'd* read off this list, but got demoralized because:
1.) The site was repeatedly down RIGHT when I was

Comments

[evewithanapple]

Yes, it had been censored. Black Beauty? *iz confused*

I started reading the Little House books when I was seven, and I love(d) them, even though, like you, I hated Mary. I actually knew kids like that when I was younger. Between Plum Creek and Silver Lake is when they were living in Iowa, and Laura actually had a little brother for awhile, but he died, and it was never put into the series- probably so as not to upset the kiddies. And oh yeah, TFFY is depressing. The Bests try to buy Laura's daughter with a horse (I'm not making this up), their second baby dies, and some parts are really . . . trippy. Like when she's giving birth, she starts going on about having weird visions and wondering about songs from her childhood, and then she passes out, and when she wakes up, the baby's been born. And there's this weird metaphor the whole time with flies and wheels and something.

I'm something of a Little House nerd, mainly because my mom signed me up for this club thing when I was eight that gave you all these books with background info on the series. Like a songbook with all the songs Pa sang, and a bunch of biographies of Laura, and toys like a little Charlotte doll (with black hair, the way she looked before that bratty Anna kid screwed her up.) and a sewing kit, and stuff like that. Good times. Actually, I think I still have most of that stuff stored away in boxes from when we moved.

[evewithanapple]

And I forgot to mention- what on Earth was wrong with Carrie? There was such a big deal made over how sickly she was in TLW and LTOTP, but nothing ever came of it. And if you read the biographies, she and Laura were the ones who lived the longest out of all their siblings.

Oh, and that was supposed to be "What is there to censor in Black Beauty"?

[aloysiusweasley]

Oh, I figured out the censored question. ;D

You know, I completely forgot about that mention with Carrie! I always thought maybe they were overprotective, and maybe that's what it was, or maybe she had colic more often as a kid. Huh - or maybe she wasn't doing as well as the others with the lack of food? (Speaking of which, I still can't believe how much they glossed over the starvation in TLW!)

[evewithanapple]

Yeah, but this was after the winter, and it wasn't just colic- my cousin Evan had that, and he's fine now- it was actual fainting fits, and I didn't get what on Earth was wrong with her. It just sort of seemed to come and go, mostly around Evil Miss. Wilder.

[aloysiusweasley]

You know, upon further musing, maybe it was some sort of psychological thing when she was around Mary? Failing that, maybe a vitamin deficiency?

[aloysiusweasley]

People who always follow the rules = automatic phail in my book. They invariably have no imagination and take no notice of circumstances. :(
I am sooo glad I'm not the only Mary hater, though, it has definitely made my day! :D

"The Bests try to buy Laura's daughter with a horse.."

WHAT WHAT WHAAAAT?!?! Dare I ask.... why ?

I heard about the little brother. Mostly what I heard about the last book was that everything they tried failed. Oh, and the 'different' proposal, where Laura told Alamanzo she didn't want to marry a farmer, because they'd always be poor (which sounds rather OOC for Laura to me..).

Awwww - I thought the bit with Anna was one of the saddest parts in all the series. Mainly because I have a stuffed critter I'd never give up, ever. I don't think I'll ever be ably to get the mental image out of my head of her all mutilated and frozen in a puddle out of my mind. :*(
I had the first four books when I was younger, but a couple are still in a box somewhere. It was all right - I found new copies at the used bookstore I've been checking out for a dollar or so apiece! Now I just can't wait to get Farmer Boy..
*totally hearts Alamanzo and Laura*

Oh, the bit they cut out of Black Beauty was that one of his grooms was black, and they used the 'n' word a few times. A small thing to be sure, but it always struck me as giving in to the PC nazis - it really irritates me that they multilate classics because a few people whine, and they're (still) trying to do it to Huck Finn.
I also thought they'd cut out the names of a Lord and Lady in it since one was referred to as 'Lord W' or some such, but I guess it's always been that way. I had a fun few minutes trying to figure out what names could be so bad they were bleeped out! XD

[evewithanapple]

"The Bests try to buy Laura's daughter with a horse.."

WHAT WHAT WHAAAAT?!?! Dare I ask.... why ?

Er Boast, not Best. I haven't read the books in awhile. This was when Rose was only a few months old.
TFFY, pg 75:

Mr. and Mrs. Boast lived by themselves on the farm. They had no children of their own, and could hardly make enough of a fuss over Rose.
When at last the visit was over, and Mr. Boast was standing by the buggy to see them off, he started to speak, then hesitated and finally said in a queer voice, "If you folks will let me take the baby in to Ellie for her to keep, you may take the best horse out of my stable there and lead it home."
Manly (Almanzo) and Laura were still in astonishment, and Mr. Boast went on, "You folks can have another baby, and we can't. We never can."
Manly gathered up the reains, and Laura said with a little gasp, Oh no! No! Drive on, Manly!" As they drove away, she hugged Rose tightly, but she was sorry for Mr. Boast as he stood still where they had left him, and for Mrs. Boast waiting in the house, knowing, she was sure, what Mr. Boast was going to propose to them.

It said in one of the newsletters (you got monthly newsletters from the club I was in) that stuff like that wasn't that uncommon, but I'm not so sure. I know kids would go live on the farms of their extended family, but there was always some sort of reason. My Great-Uncle Robert went to live with relatives, but that was because his mother died in childbirth, and his father had to take care of the farm, so there was no one at home to take care of him- all the older kids were in school. But just because the other people (who weren't even related to the parents!) really wanted a kid? I don't know. And kids who went on other farms to work were teenaged boys, not baby girls.

Didn't Laura write TFFY? I thought Rose just edited the other two books- On The Way Home and West From Home, which were both collections of Laura's letters and diaries. Fun fact of the day: Rose Wilder Lane grew up to be friends (or at least shared political opinions) with Ayn Rand.

[aloysiusweasley]

Oh, WOW. I figured 'Best' had to be a new couple they met or something, but it makes it SO MUCH WORSE that the Boast's would ask something that awful! Run Laura, run!!! D: D: D:

Much thanks for typing that up, though - reason #654 not to read that one now. But as for TFFY, it was definitely published after Laura's death, and wasn't even complete or 'polished', hence why it didn't look like the rest of the series. I believe it was just a collection of notes she had that ended up in Rose's hands and got published without editing or anything.

*goes to check facts*
Check THIS out!: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_First_Four_Years_%28novel%29

Turns out it was published after Rose's death too! This explains much...

I've never heard of those last two! I'll have to pick them up! And I haven't jumped onto reading Ayn Rand yet - I've heard so many bad things I've been putting it off. Perhaps I'll pick it up next time a trip to the bookstore come up. I love fun factoids - I should start doing my "things I learned today" bit in my blog again. ;D