18th and 19th Century Women Writers Reading Challenge

This challenge is hosted by Becky at Becky's Book Reviews and is, hopefully, the last challenge I join in for the new year.

Some info about the challenge:

Read books written by women authors that were written and/or published between 1700 and 1900. Contemporary historical books set in this time period do not count towards this challenge! The challenge is to encourage you to read some classics.


I'm such a fan of Victorian literature and when I spotted this great 18th and 19th Century Women Writers Reading Challenge, I loved it. It was just what I absolutely adore and after thinking for long, I decided not to include Austen, Bronte and Alcott, all of whom I love and read a lot. I wanted to experience the writing of other great women writers and here are the two books written and published in the 18th or 19th century that I've picked:

Heidi by Johanna Spyri. This book was published in 1880.

Middlemarch by George Eliot ( Pen name of Mary Anne Evans ). This book was published as a one-volume edition in 1874.

Celebrate the Author Challenge

I'm on a signing-up-for-challenges spree. I just can't resist planning out my bookshelves for the new year and I'm finding some really interesting challenges. Like this Celebrate the Author Challenge hosted by Becky of Becky's Book Reviews.

The basic rules:

12 Books, 12 Months

January - December 2010

The challenge is designed to “celebrate” author birthdays. Choose one author for each month of the year. Read at least one book a month. 12 authors. 12 birthdays. You can read the books in any order. More info can be found at Becky's blog.

My list, subject to overlapping with other challenges and possible changes is:

January - Virginia Woolf ( Born 25 January 1882 )

February - Charles Dickens ( Born 7 February 1812 )

March - Shashi Tharoor ( Born 9 March 1956 )

April - Charlotte Bronte ( Born 12 April 1816 )

May - Arthur Conan Doyle ( Born 22 May 1859 ) - Edit: COMPLETED The Sign of Four

June - Johanna Spyri ( Born 12 June 1827 )

July - Jhumpa Lahiri ( Born 11 July 1967 ) - Edit: COMPLETED Unaccustomed Earth 

August - Guy de Maupassant ( Born 5 August 1850 )

September - Agatha Christie ( Born 15 September 1890 )

October - Oscar Wilde ( Born 16 October 1854 )

November - George Eliot ( Born 22 November 1819 )

December - Jane Austen ( Born 16 December 1775 ) - Edit: COMPLETED Persuasion

The Great Indian Novel by Shashi Tharoor

Rating : 10/10

Yes, it is that good. If you love the Mahabharata and love to discuss Indian politics and haven't read this book yet, go pick it. Now. You'll never regret it!

Review:

One of the first pages of the book has a note from the author which goes:

''A hasty note of disclaimer is due to those readers who may feel, justifiably, that the work that follows is neither great, nor authentically Indian, nor even much of a novel. The Great Indian Novel takes its title not from the author's estimate of its contents but in deference to its primary source of inspiration, the ancient epic the Mahabharata'

This modesty-affected disclaimer isn't quite necessary since this novel indeed is, a Great Indian Novel. The Mahabharata is India's epic and politics, of course, our epic passtime and to bring them both together sounds epic. But can Shashi Tharoor pull it off?

The Great Indian Novel is the song of India- its great epic and its great struggle for independence and (later) democracy, interwoven inseparably. The relevance of epics is oft spoken about, but you hardly get to see the 'relevance' put in front of your eyes like you do here.

With a keen, often too sharp sense of humour, a vivid narrative, often lined with inside jokes, Tharoor has written what is probably the greatest Indian political satire I've read. Thoroughly entertaining, be it verse or words, with unexpected turns of philosophy, wicked humour, breathtaking creativity and a clear sense of emotion and patriotism, The Great Indian Novel and its characters are memorable to say the least.

To the reader who's always been interested in Indian politics, this book could soon become your haven. Tracking references, 'getting the joke', trailing hints, often staring wide-eyed at pages wondering how someone managed to take such liberties in pulling the leg of our 'national icons', The Great Indian Novel has a sort of excitement and thrill that the likes of The Da Vinci Code can never achieve.               

While reading the book, I did think to myself that I should probably not be enjoying the book this much. And even if I did, its not all credit to Tharoor, for the The Great Indian Novel is more or less 'The Mahabharata Remixed'. Isn't it? But no, inter-connecting our mythical/religious heroes and our national leaders in a way that is spell-binding, in a way that would make you sit up, is no easy task ( I can think of a hundred ways how this book could have gone Oh-so-wrong ) and precisely why this book is a triumph.

Thanks to my friends for gifting this book for my birthday last month. It's definitely one of the best books I've ever read and probably the best book I've read so far, this year! =)

Awesome Author Challenge (2010) - Edited to Add my Choices!

This is officially the first thing I've planned for the new year. And I think its great. Alyce at At Home With Books is hosting a wonderful challenge - the Awesome Author Challenge from Jan 1, 2010 - Dec 31, 2010. As she puts it:

The idea behind this challenge is to read works by authors who have been recommended to you time and again, yet somehow you haven't managed to read any books by those authors. These are the authors that everyone else tells you are awesome, thus the "Awesome Author Challenge" title.

The Levels:

Easy: Choose three authors and read at least one title from each author.

Moderate: Choose six authors and read at least one title from each author.

Challenging: Choose ten authors and read at least one title from each author.

Over-Achieving: Anything over ten authors.

I'm of course, picking Moderate, having my unpredictable work schedules in mind. It's a great way to finally try out those authors my friends have been recommending and hopefully, to find a new set of favourites! 


The authors I'm choosing to read are:
1. Virginia Woolf
2. Lucy Maud Montgomery - Done 
3. Frances Hodgson Burnett
4. Tracy Chevalier
5. Georgette Heyer
6. Daphne Du Maurier - Done


P.S. It is entirely coincidental that all the authors I've chosen are women =)

Emma - BBC style

Yet another testament to the fact that I can and will watch anything Austen. And try my best to enjoy it. I didn't try too hard in this case. BBC's latest version of Emma, though not their greatest work, is a visually pleasing watch for any Austen fan. Honestly, the first thing that strikes me when I sit to review Emma is the fact that the cinematography was beautiful. And the music. And the costumes.

The actors now: Romola Garai - I think she made a brilliant Emma. Very close to the feisty, very flawed yet lovable Emma that I imagined when reading the book ( After watching this film, a reread is in order!). Jonny Lee Miller's version of Mr. Knightley is quite endearing and I think he can safely pull-off 'chivalry', while Louise Dylan's Harriet is apt. The best performance in my opinion, came from Tamsin Greig as Miss Bates - she was perfect. I didn't particularly like Frank Churchill or Jane Fairfax, but I can put up with them. The Eltons are fabulously comic while the Westons are great in their roles.

Every version of an Austen novel has its own special scene. If I had to pick my favourite scene from this version, it would definitely be Mr. Knightley asking a lonely, deserted Harriet to dance with him. You know what's going to happen, of course, but I thought that scene was set up beautifully and continued very much 'in character' as Harriet jumps up, rushing to dance, a broad smile on her face, while Knightley pulls her back and asks her to wait for their turn =)

I haven't seen the other versions of Emma so I cannot pick a favourite, but this one was definitely worth watching and I enjoyed it. Even if there wasn't anything that stood out for its brilliance, nothing quite does it like a good old, Austen romance, BBC style.

This makes it 7/12 in my Extended Austen Challenge

Pemberley Ball RSVP

Greetings! I'm Lady Cromwell of England. My father, Lord Cromwell travels extensively; his most recent sojourn was in India. Back after his long voyage, he is very much eager to be part of a ball in Pemberley where a Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy will play host. My father is equally anxious to have me attend the ball and make me part with my library and those books that I so inexplicably adore.

As befits any 'young lady' in England, I am expected to make myself presentable for this supposedly grand event and make new acquaintances. I've heard that the beauty of Pemberley is unmatched by any house in the vicinity. So that's one thing to look forward to, along with the much-appreciated collection of books in the famed library there.

This is my gown for the ball:

My Mr. Darcy:

To RSVP for yourself please head on over to Velvet's blog vvb32 reads !

Teaser Tuesdays - October 20

Grab your current read and let it fall open to a random page. Post two (or more) sentences from that page, along with the title and author. Don’t give anything vital away!

I'm now reading: 'India: From Midnight to the Millennium' by Shashi Tharoor

" How can one portray the present, let alone the future, of an ageless civilization that was the birthplace of four major religions, a dozen different traditions of classical dance, eight-five political parties, and three hundred ways of cooking the potato? The short answer is that it can't be done - at least not to everyone's satisfaction. "(Page 8)

119 pages into the book, I'm so impressed by the writing and the brilliant, optimistic, yet honest perspective that Shashi Tharoor offers. Its always exciting to find and read an author whose thoughts and opinions are so close to your own. Reading this book makes me even happier that the author, Tharoor, is part of the Union Cabinet.