Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen 
Genre: Classic romance
Age Group: Adults
Publisher: Arcturus
Year: 2010
First published: 1813
Format: Paperback
Pages: 352
Source: Tesco
Buy It: $3 with free delivery
Rating: ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

Pride and Prejudice, which opens with one of the most famous sentences in English Literature, is an ironic novel of manners. In it the garrulous and empty-headed Mrs Bennet has only one aim - that of finding a good match for each of her five daughters. In this she is mocked by her cynical and indolent husband. With its wit, its social precision and, above all, its irresistible heroine, Pride and Prejudice has proved one of the most enduringly popular novels in the English language. - Book Depository

 I started reading this book because I was dying to read Austen for a while. I bought a collection of her works and realised the book was much too heavy to carry around so I bought a single edition and began reading that. So, overall I spent over €20 on this, rather tedious novel. I enjoyed the first 100 pages but after that it got so boring and repetitive.

Mrs. Bennet annoyed me to no end. The whole book was mostly focused on how much she wanted her daughters to get married. She was selfish and annoying. Mr. Bennet was quite the opposite. He didn't seem bothered about his daughters marrying and he was very laid back and boring. Elizabeth is the main character and she was so annoying too. She moaned about how she hated Mr. Darcy throughout the book and then... the ending! What? It was so sudden and ridiculous. Jane was so boring and all nice and pleasing and horrible. Lydia was the only character I semi-liked. She was a typical teenage girl which I loved. I loved how she just left in the middle of the book without telling anyone.

The character development was poorly done. Everyone just so suddenly changed. Well, Jane and Mrs. Bennet never changed but the others, when they changed it was so obvious.

The writing style was okay, it was easy enough to understand but the blanks (which apparently is a 19th century literature thing to make books more realistic) was so distracting and not at all any more realistic than it already was (which was very little).

The plot was very 2D. There was not much to it. I don't really know what I was expecting from this novel but what I got was not what I wanted. It took me 5 days to read this novel when it should have taken only 2-3 days.

I'd recommend this book only if you like classics or Jane Austen.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath  
Genre: Classic literary fiction
Age Group: Adults
Publisher: Faber and Faber
Year: 2005
First published: 1963
Format: Paperback
Pages: 234
Source: Book Depository
Buy It: $7 with free delivery
Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Esther Greenwood is at college and is fighting two battles, one against her own desire for perfection in all things - grades, boyfriend, looks, career - and the other against remorseless mental illness. As her depression deepens she finds herself encased in it, bell-jarred away from the rest of the world. This is the story of her journey back into reality. Highly readable, witty and disturbing, The Bell Jar is Sylvia Plath's only novel and was originally published under a pseudonym in 1963. What it has to say about what women expect of themselves, and what society expects of women, is as sharply relevant today as it has always been. - Book Depository

WOW! That was all I could say when I finished this book. I wanted to constantly talk about it and just express my undying love for Esther Greenwood. But, unfortunatly, I am not surrounded by people who love books, nor am I surrounded by people who even like the sound of my voice. But, that's besides the the point. The point is, everyone should read this book. Everyone!

I'll admit, I was not expecting what I got. I was expecting something more like Girl, Interrupted. I am happy I didn't get that, though. I got something much, much more. But when I received the book in the post I was disappointed at the synopsis. It seemed a bit boring and cliché but nevertheless, I read it and had absolutely no regrets.

It begins with Esther Greenwood on a night out with her friend and they meet two guys. One is very attracted to Esther and one is attracted to her friend but Esther doesn't like him. This is where I sighed, put the book down and didn't touch it until I was forced to stay outside for an hour. I had nothing better to do, so I read this. When I finished the first 100 pages two hours later, I was amazed and couldn't stop reading from there on.

I won't talk too much about what happens in this book. Let's just say, I could relate to Esther a lot. She began to get very stressed and depressed. She described it as 'not being able to read or sleep' which was very worrying for her. I like how Plath doesn't automatically make her depressed, suicidal and every other mental illness possible as some authors would. She simply allows Esther's actions and thoughts to show she is depressed and is slowly spiraling out of control. Esther, as people suffering depression are, very unaware of why they are feeling this way and they begin to disconnect from the world. This was portrayed very well. I think the word 'depressed' was used only once or twice in this book but the illness is still very present.

As I said, it's nothing like Girl, Interrupted so don't be put off by her illness. It's much more than that. It's also about finding her place in society and feeling wanted and worth it. She doesn't have many friends because she doesn't like letting people in, which I can relate to again. It is also not 'the female version' of Catcher in the Rye as many people have compared it to. It has similar aspects to it but it's not that. It's a book all on it's own that deserves no other name put next to it but the title itself.

I also loved the concept behind the title. You'll find that out when you read it. It's not a spoiler but I think you should find out for yourself. Just, please. Stop what you're doing right now and go buy and read this book. Now!

WWW Wednesdays #1

WWW Wednesdays a meme created by Should be Reading. All you need to is answer the questions bellow to participate.

• What are you currently reading? 
• What did you recently finish reading? 
• What do you think you’ll read next?

What are you currently reading?  Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I started it last night.

What did you recently finish reading? The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. I really loved that book. There should be a review coming soon.

What do you think you'll read next? I will probably read Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L James on my Kindle.

Share your answers in the comments!

Teaser Tuesday #1

Teaser Tuesdays is a meme hosted by Should Be Reading. Grab a book you're currently reading and post a teaser (no spoilers) to persuade others to read the book.

Once, on a hot summer night, I had spent an hour kissing a hairy, ape-shaped law student from Yale because I felt sorry for him, he was so ugly. When I had finished, he said, "I have you taped, baby. You'll be a prude at forty." - p. 141 The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. 

What's your Teaser Tuesday? Leave a comment, I'd love to read yours.

Sunday Post #1

Sunday Post is a meme hosted by Kimba @ Kimba the Caffeinated Book Reviewer. It's purpose is to recap over what you did this week and your plans for next week.

This week was pretty busy for me. I had school Monday-Wednesday and had a test on Friday and will proceed to do the rest of my summer tests Monday-Thursday of next week. As of Friday 1st June, I'm finished school for the summer. I have no school until late August so I'll be much more active June-August. 







Books I reviewed:
On Writing  by Stephen King
A is for Alibi by Sue Grafton



Books I bought:

Needful Things

Books I read:   

Thinner

A is for Alibi

Never Let Me Go

I plan to read next:
 The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
 Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Upcoming reviews:
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

Do you have any plans for the week? What did you read last week? Let me know in the comments.