52 new things: 11 - Read a book for a book club
Tess of the D'Urbervilles, to be specific.
This was the first time I'd voluntarily (*) read a "classic" in a long, long time. Will save my comments, such as they are, for emma_in_oz's scheduled discussion, but
1) I have to admit I found it hard to settle down to a long book. The internet has done nothing for my powers of paying attention.
2) I always enjoy the look at day-to-day existence in the 19th century described in books like that, and this one particularly appealed to me in that regard because it depicts isolated rural, outdoor life. Last night I reread parts of Sons & Lovers, my favourite "classic", for the descriptions of Paul's working life. (The sentence "The day in the factory was just twelve hours long" has always stayed with me since I read it in high school.)
3) What an awful ending. It was like the book took a sharp turn into complete unreality.
I'm hoping to repeat this exercise every month or nearly every month for the rest of the year.
* For that value of "voluntarily" that means "under mild duress caused by wanting to live up to a standard set by a friend who's much more accomplished in this area than you", which is the kind of duress I like to be under.
This was the first time I'd voluntarily (*) read a "classic" in a long, long time. Will save my comments, such as they are, for emma_in_oz's scheduled discussion, but
1) I have to admit I found it hard to settle down to a long book. The internet has done nothing for my powers of paying attention.
2) I always enjoy the look at day-to-day existence in the 19th century described in books like that, and this one particularly appealed to me in that regard because it depicts isolated rural, outdoor life. Last night I reread parts of Sons & Lovers, my favourite "classic", for the descriptions of Paul's working life. (The sentence "The day in the factory was just twelve hours long" has always stayed with me since I read it in high school.)
3) What an awful ending. It was like the book took a sharp turn into complete unreality.
I'm hoping to repeat this exercise every month or nearly every month for the rest of the year.
* For that value of "voluntarily" that means "under mild duress caused by wanting to live up to a standard set by a friend who's much more accomplished in this area than you", which is the kind of duress I like to be under.