Review of Anna Karenina

This is a different version of the one I have because mine is so old.

From the back cover of the one I own:

Tolstoy's genius for viewing social classes in the largest possible context and for sketching the subtlest human gestures becomes most evident in Anna Karenina. To this novel he brought his troubling conviction that at his moments of most intense experience Man is closed to Death. This double drama of Anna and of Levin. Sensual, rebellious, Anna renounces respectable marriage and fine position for a passionate involvement which offers a taste of freedom and a trap for destruction. Levin, an eccentric and melancholy young nobleman, surrenders his individuality to live as a peasant.

Applauded as the greatest novel of modern social realism, Anna Karenina contains the nucleus of Tolstoy's program for nonviolence and abstention form worldly riches- a program based on personal interpretation of the Gospels that made him one of the world's most venerated teachers.


My Review:

The novel opens with Dolly learning of her husband Stiva's affair. She is devastated. His sister Anna comes to visit her brother and his wife and pretty soon she had an affair with Vronsky. She then goes on to leave her husband for Karenin for him. This story goes on about the lives of these 4 people along with Kitty and Levin's relationship. I really don't want to spoil it for you.

From the beginning this novel captivated me and kept my attention. Although it is a long novel it does not seem that way. It took me a month to read it but then again I was reading several other novels along with it. Tolstoy captures the human emotion and you begin to feel what the character were feeling. This is easily one of my favorites and I would recommend it to anyone.

Some of the meaningful quotes in the novel are:

All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

That is so true. I think so true every family has problems that can make them unhappy but the the way they deal with their unhappiness varies and is unique.

The last one I would like to quote is this one:

"Respect was invented to cover the empty place where love should be. But if you don't love me, it would be better and more honest to say so"

I think a lot of people can relate to this line from Anna to Vronksy. I think people have experienced that feeling in one of their relationships in life I know I have that is why its very meaninful to me.

Rating 5/5

Review of War of the Roses by Alison Weir

From the Back Cover:

Lancaster and York. For much of the fifteenth century, these two families were locked in battle for control of the English throne. Kings were murdered and deposed. Armies marched on London. Old noble names were ruined while rising dynasties seized power and lands. The war between the royal Houses of Lancaster and York, the most complex in English history, profoundly altered the course of Monarchy.

My Review:

The author starts out giving the background of the two families. The she goes on to tell why the War was started. She gives details on the major battles and who perished in them. She gave a little insight to what was going on in each character's head.

Here writing was not dry at all, in fact more like a novel than a work of non-fiction. The author research was well done. She gave statements to back up her claims. I have read other works by this author and her histories are never dry. Which has made me a big non-fiction fan.

My rating for this novel is 4.5/5

This month I will be starting the sequel to this novel the Princes in the Tower. About the sons of Edward IV.

Review of Women in Love

• Paperback: 576 pages
• Publisher: Modern Library (January 4, 2000)
• Language: English

From the Back cover:

Written during the desperate years of the First World War. Women in Love is the story of two sisters, Ursula and Gudrun , and the men with whom the fall in love. The tew couples yearn for fulfillment and meaning in their romantic lives, yet struggle in a modern world that is is increasingly violent and destructive a struggle that ultimately ends in the demise of one of the intimates. Rich in symbolism and lyrical prose, Women in Love is a complex intellectual meditation on the meaning of love.

My Review:

While this book had no plot, It basically described and question many types of love. I found the language beautiful but hard to understand at times. Basically its about tow sister Ursula and Gudrun. Ursula falls for Birkin and he asks her to marry him. Meanwhile Gerald and Birkin have an intmate affair with each other. This book was probably banned because of the homosexuality in the novel. Lawrence can be bold and sometimes offensively sexual for his era.

I really did not like this book because it jumped around a lot. I was told that I would have probably would have like it if I had The Rainbow first. The best part of this novel would have to be the end because it was shocking I had to reread the last chapter to get over my shock.

Overall rating 3/5

US Presidents Reading Project.

The rules are simple:

1. Read at least one non-fiction book about each of the U.S. Presidents
2. Take as much time as you need
3. Have fun learning about U.S. history and its leaders






1.
2. John Adams by David McCollugh
3.
4.
5.
6.
7. American Lion by Jon Meacham
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23.
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25.
26.Mornings on Horseback by David McCollough
27.
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33. Truman by David McCollugh
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43. Yes We Can A Biography of President Barack Obama by Garen Thomas

Books I bought Today

I went book shopping and I bought several books. I don't know how to post the pictures without having to do a long process of saving the image etc. I also don't know how to name link.

From Borders:

Andrew Jackson in the White House American Lion by Jon Meacham
Lipstick Jihad A Memoir of Growing Up Iranian in America and American in Iran by Azadeh Moaveni

From Barnes and Noble I bought:

Candy Girl A year in the Life of an Unlikely Stripper by Diablo Cody
Because They Hate A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America by Brigitte Gabriel
Testimony by Anita Shreve

From Walmart I bought:

You'll Never Find my Body by Don Lassetter
Stolen Innocence by Elissa Wall
Multiple Bles8ings byJon and Kate Gosselin and Beth Carson

From Amazon I bought:

The Middle Ages by Antonia Fraser
The Wars of the Roses by Antonia Fraser
The Hapsburgs by Andrew Wheatcroft
The House of Windsor by Antonia Fraser
John Adams, Truman, Mornings on Horseback, The Course of Human Events by David McCullough
(Purchased with Amazon Gift Card)

Friday 56

Rules:
* Grab the book nearest you. Right now.
* Turn to page 56.
* Find the fifth sentence.
* Post that sentence (plus one or two others if you like) along with these instructions on your blog or (if you do not have your own blog) in the comments section of this blog.
*Post a link along with your post back to this blog.
* Don't dig for your favorite book, the coolest, the most intellectual. Use the CLOSEST.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

This is from the book Candy Girl by Diablo Cody

"Darling," I sighed, employing my favorite term of endearment for the boy. "You'll be the ruin of me."

Thursday Thunks

Welcome to the May 7th version of Thursday Thunks!
(which we always seem to post on Wednesday)
Where we make you think a little bit before you blog!

We pick a subject, and your job is to interpret it anyway you want. Write about it on your blog... simple as that. Maybe you can interpret it as a picture - we don't care!
Please only leave a link if you have written a Thursday Thunks post. Please mention us in your post, and link back to the blog here.
Don't forget to go visit the other participants' blogs. Read and comment about all their Thursday Thunks! Thats what all this is about afterall, isn't it? We'll have so much fun and become lifelong friends....

This week we will answer some crazy questions brought to you by Berleen & Kimber via Skype, the color cranberry (is that a color?) and the number 1,999,784,926,901.

1. Why the heck did you come back this week to do this meme? Its fun.

2. Ever whiten your teeth? Yes,

3. Do you drive the speed limit? Over

4. Did the dog eat your homework? No

5. How many bites does it take to get to the center of a watermelon? Don't know

6. Did you eat paint chips as a child? No

7. If someone rang your doorbell/knocked on your door at 1am, would you answer it? No

8. "Amazingly Smooth" makes you think of what? My daughter's skin

9. What was the last stupid thing someone said to you? (not counting this meme's questions) That the President is not an American citizen

10. Would you eat a stick of butter for $100? No

11. Find the nearest fabric tab, not counting your clothing you are wearing. What does it say the object is made of and where was it made? 100% cotton, Made in Indonesia

12. What is the strangest name you've ever heard someone name their child (or a person you met... however you want to answer it)? Alize

13. Why is some toilet paper really soft and others are really hard? Don't know but I do know the cheaper the product the hard the toilet paper.