I'm Currently Reading...Bleak House by Charles Dickens

I'm reading the Signet Classics version, but it doesn't say 150th Anniversary Edition on mine.  I don't know if there is any difference though.

Currently reading: Bleak House by Charles Dickens

Author: Charles Dickens

Written: Between 1852 and 1853 in 20 monthly installments.

Reason: I really like most of the Dickens books that I read, and my sister has been wanting me to read this one.  Since winter break is coming up and school is starting to slow down for me, I thought this would be the perfect time for me to read it.

Chapters read so far: 1 - 6.

I'm Currently Reading...Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (Final Review)

  As I have stated over and over again, I first read Gone With the Wind when I was 12 or 13 (I've actually forgotten - isn't that the  mark of being old?).  I remember I thought it was absolutely well written, extremely long, romantic, and even a little scandalous to my then unworldly mind (sometimes I wish I didn't know as much as I did. >:/ )  I had been wanting to reread the story at my then mature age of 17, so when I discovered Fanda's read along for the book, I decided to dive in.  I will also warn you that the following review has some spoilers like my updates for this story.  Just thought I'd let you know! :)

  Gone With the Wind was first started in 1926 when Margaret Mitchell was bored during convalescence after an auto-crash.  She wrote the final moments of the book at the very beginning, and then built off that.  After an editor saw her work and found it to be a great story, it was published in 1936. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award.  Of course it also was made into an award winning film staring Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh. 

I'm Currently Reading...Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (Part Four)

Part Three:  A lot of random stuff happens in this part, which I had completely forgotten.  Scarlett does desperate things in an attempt to pay the taxes on Tara, and becomes even more and more unpopular with her friends.

   Will informs Scarlett that she must find some way to pay the taxes on Tara.  Scarlett has a talk with Ashley, and a lot of things are said that shouldn't have been.  Scarlett goes to Atlanta to find Rhett, knowing that she will do absolutely anything to get the money from him  When she finds Rhett, he is in jail, and he refuses to give her the money.  Scarlett meets Frank Kennedy on her way home, and Scarlett devises a way to marry him for his money regardless of her sister Suellen's feelings for him.  Distracted by Scarlett's feminine charms, Frank does indeed marry her.  Frank becomes sick with a cold, and Scarlett begins to check over the account of the shop he owns.  She sees that many customers have not paid their money,  so she takes over his business.

I'm Currently Reading...Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (Part Three)

Part Three: In this part of the story, Scarlett has to take on much more responsibility because of the war.  Her headstrong ways and committed spirit have made everyone look up to her and, though glimpses of the old Scarlett shine through, this new no-nonsense version dominates.

Part Three shows the effects that the war is having on Atlanta, where Scarlett is staying alone with a pregnant Melanie after Pittypat flees the area.  Scarlett is relieved that Prissy, her slave, has knowledge of "birthing babies" since Melanie tells them she is sure the baby will be coming any day now.  But, when the baby is due and Melanie is struggling to stay alive, Prissy reveals that she really knows nothing about it, and Scarlett rushes to find Dr. Meade.  Dr. Meade, however, is busy with   tons of wounded soldiers and sends her away.  Scarlett herself, with the unhelpful aid of Prissy, delivers Melanie's baby.  Rhett helps the women, the baby, and Wade escape a burning Atlanta to Tara, where Scarlett's mother and sister's are sick and there is no telling whether or not the Yankees have burned the house at Tara to the ground.  Rhett leaves Scarlett on her own awhile into the trip because he is going to join the military, and, through many dangers and terror, Scarlett arrives safely at Tara to find her mother has died, her father is going crazy, and the whole place is in shambles though their house has survived everything.

  Scarlett learns how to overcome pride, learns how to make money, murders a Yankee soldier and hides him with the help of Melanie, and also meets a new friend named Will Benteen, a wounded soldier who stays with them and helps on the plantation while falling in love with Scarlett's sister Careen.  At the end of Part Three, Will is sitting on the ground holding onto Scarlett's skirt, keeping her from running to Ashley when Ashley arrives home from the war.  He says "After all, he's her husband, ain't he?", and Scarlett knows that he has figured out everything about her feelings for Melanie's husband through his quiet, soft spoken ways.

  This was a really interesting part, I thought.  Scarlett seems to grow a lot, and actually has to take responsibility for others as much as herself.  I love Will - I think he's a great character, though I'm sorry to say I'd forgotten about him since the first time I read it.  I've already started on Part Four, but I think Part Three was a lot better.

Picture from Google Images.

I'm Currently Reading...Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell (Part Two)

Part Two: This update is way overdo lol.  Sorry it took so long!  And yes, I am using images from the movie version of the book because it has no illustrations.  Hope that's okay with everybody. ;)
 
  Part Two describes the realization Scarlett begins to have that she is no longer a damsel training to "catch" a husband.  No; she is a widow with a son.  Scarlett resents this fact, taking it out on Melanie and even her baby Wade.  She also behaves in ways that embarrass her family.  She sees the harsh reality of war and the terrible consequences it has on the families around her.  But Scarlett, being the self-centered belle she is, can only see her own petty problems.  Romance begins to bud between Rhett and her as well, and the forbidden romance between her and Ashley continues.

  I liked reading this part, but when I got about halfway through with it I remembered that I hadn't liked it as much as the first part (and still didn't).  I feel a little bit like Scarlett in the fact that reading about the ultra-Southern "party" times is more interesting than the war.  Also, as other school projects and responsibilities have doubled for me, I've had less time to read.  But I'm already on Part Three, which has presented plots I'd forgotten about.  Onward! :)

Picture from Google Images.

I'm Currently Reading...The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (Part 4)

Okay, I'm going to highlight the main events that happened in the last 3 books:

Book Five: Wheat and Tares: - Maggie starts meeting Philip in the woods, without anyone knowing.
-  Tom finds out about Maggie seeing Philip (surprise surprise), and Maggie swears she'll never see him again without Tom's permission
- Tom pays of his father's debt.
- Mr. Tulliver beats up Mr. Wakem and, after Maggie stops him, Mr. Tulliver becomes sick again and dies.

Book Six: The Great Temptation: - A few years later, Maggie comes to stay with cousin Lucy and meets Stephen Guest, Lucy's boyfriend.
- Maggie asks Tom for permission to see Philip, who will be coming to Lucy's house.
- Philip is still in love with Maggie, and Lucky knows it.  She automatically wants Maggie and Philip to be together, and is doing all she can to settle the dispute between the Wakems and Tullivers.
-  Maggie and Stephen, however, are falling in love.  Stephen convinces Maggie to elope with him.  But Maggie, though she knows now everyone will be angry with her, changes her mind about marrying Stephen and goes home.


Book Seven: The Final Rescue: - Maggie returns to the mill, and Tom has this to say:

"Tom did not hear the gate; he was just then close upon the roaring dam; but he presently turned, and lifting up his eyes, saw the figure whose worn look and loneliness seemed to him a confirmation of his worst conjectures. He paused, trembling and white with disgust and indignation.

I'm Currently Reading...The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (Part 3)

  Book Three: The Downfall: The Tulliver family really starts going downhill in Book 3.  Tom and Maggie argue with their aunts and uncles for not giving them much help in their time of needed.  Maggie gets angry with Tom for seemingly taking their mother's side against their father - Maggie feels her mother is being petty about her furniture and other items being sold instead of worrying about Mr. Tulliver.  However, Mr. Tulliver begins to slowly recover. 

Tom also finds that Latin and other things he's learned while at school are not very useful for a job where he must make a good amount of money.  Their father tells Tom to sign him name in the bible for what Maggie feels is wicked:


  "Tom entered with his usual saddened evening face, but his eyes fell immediately on the open Bible and the inkstand, and he glanced with a look of anxious surprise at his father, who was saying,–

  "Come, come, you're late; I want you."

  "Is there anything the matter, father?" said Tom.

  "You sit down, all of you," said Mr. Tulliver, peremptorily.

  "And, Tom, sit down here; I've got something for you to write i' the Bible."

I'm Currently Reading...The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (Part 2)

  Book Two: School-Time: Tom is at Mr. Stelling's school, and isn't enjoying it too much.  He's struggling with Latin and, although he won't admit it, misses Maggie.  I think this is because he feels smarter than her and she's always impressed with him - things that just aren't happening at school.
Back at the Mill, Mr. Tulliver's going at it with Pivart, who is apparently infringing upon the rights of the Tulliver's water supply because of irrigation.  I'm a little unsure about this whole dispute, but the main point is that Wakem (Pivart's lawyer) is thought to be a crook by Mr. Tulliver.  Tom finds out that Wakem's son Philip is coming to school with him and feels a loyalty to his own father against him.  Philip is deformed with a hunchback from an accident at birth and Tom for some reason is suspicious of Philip because of this as well.  The boys don't have the best of a relationship because of these prejudices.  However, Philip is very kind to Tom when Tom hurts his foot, and Maggie, who was visiting at the time, was very grateful to Philip for this.  I sense a budding romance between these two. ;)  Tom and Philip go back to being somewhat enemies though after Tom's foot heals.

  Tom and Maggie don't realize how good their lives have been until Tom's last day of school when he is 17 and Maggie is 13 (approximately - I've noticed that is seems like their ages tend to keep changing because at one point Tom is said to be 15).  Maggie tells him their Father has lost the lawsuit - and has lost the Mill, too.  He has also fallen off his horse and lost his senses, only occasionally recognizing Maggie.  Tom and Maggie set off for home.

  The books seems like it's moving kinda slowly by this point.  It's a bit repetitive (Maggie gets in trouble, Tom is too proud, Tom can't get  along with Philip, Maggie tries to be good to everyone, rinse and repeat).  However, I'm much further ahead in the book since I've written this review, and it seems like it has finally picked up some speed.

Picture from Wikipedia.

I'm Currently Reading...The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot (Part 1)

 This is the version I'm reading.

Currently reading: The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot

Reason: I really liked Middlemarch and Daniel Deronda by George Eliot, and I’d like to study what else she’s written.

  Book One: Boy and Girl: The story begins by describing the Floss, and then Dorlcote Mill, the main scene for the whole story.  I didn’t really consider (for some reason) that George Eliot wrote a lot of provincial novels like this one, but she did - like Adam Bede and Silas Marner.  In my head her literature was more like Charles Dickens or William Makepeace Thackeray and although her later stories that I read were more like that, her writing is much more soft and easy to understand than I thought.  This story, so far, reminds me of Little Women where it has foreshadowing and hefty descriptions of things, but contains a lot of dialogue for most of the book.  

  At the beginning we’re introduced to Mr. And Mrs. Tulliver, who have decided to send Tom (a young lad of 13)  to study at a different school.  Maggie, a high spirited young girl of 9 years old, has missed her brother terribly, and they are very close.  One thing I’ve noticed when reading it is that it seems like Tom does things to purposely get Maggie upset, and then Maggie gets in trouble.  Maggie though is VERY dramatic and impulsive (I mean, she cuts off all of her own hair when her family is talking about how pretty her cousin Lucy’s hair is).  I find them kind of irritating as children, so I hope they get better as they get older.  

    Anyway, Maggie and Tom have lots of adventures while he is home from school, including Maggie’s escape to the Gypsies down the road when Tom is paying more attention to  Lucy and not her.  That was pretty hilarious.  I’m expecting something really bad to happen to one of them in the upcoming chapters.  It’s like Eliot is just hinting at something, enough for you pick up on it but not clearly enough to know what it is.

  This is going to take me awhile to finish I think, even though it is only 500 some pages, because I'm working on a craft swap project on the American Girl Playthings Board, as well as practicing the piano and getting ready for my first year of college (YIKES).

I'm Currently Reading...Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens (Part 6)

Chapter the Seventy-Third - Chapter the Last: Soooooo it turns out that Sir Chester is Hugh's father after a fling with a Gyspy woman.  That was unexpected.  Also, Barnaby is not hanged (he's saved by Gabriel) but Hugh and Dennis are.  I'll give the Wikipedia summary of the end:

  "Joe and Dolly are married and become proprietors of the rebuilt Maypole. Edward Chester and Emma are married and go to the West Indies. Miggs tries to get her position back at the Varden household, is rejected, and becomes a jailer at a women's prison. Simon Tappertit, his legs crushed in the riots, becomes a shoe-black. Gashford later commits suicide. Lord George Gordon is held in the Tower and is later judged innocent of inciting the riots. Sir John Chester, now a Member of Parliament, turns out to be the father of Hugh and is killed in a duel by Geoffrey Haredale. Haredale escapes to the continent. Barnaby and his mother live out their years tending a farm at the Maypole Inn."

I'm Currently Reading...Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens (Part 5)

Chapter the Forty-First - Chapter the Seventy-Second:  I've been so busy reading Barnaby Rudge that I havent taken time to give a proper update about reading it.  Obviously all my reading shows how very fond I am of everything that is happening.
I've found the descriptions of the Gordon Riots very haunting, Hugh's character quite hilarious, some of the riot business and talks about the prison a little confusing, but the whole story overall intriguing.  Since a ton has happened since my last update, I'll give a summary of the most important parts:

- Emma does not know where Mr. Haredale is, and Dolly has been staying with her.  It turns out he's been staying at Mrs. Rudge's house.
- Haredale has an encounter with some Protestants, including Sir John and Gashford, and informs everyone that Gashford is basically a cad.
- Mary Rudge is living in a cottage far away with Barnaby.  She is told by a visiting blind man that this same stranger she's been escaping from needs money.  She gives the blind man all she has for the stranger, and says she'll get him the rest.  She and Barnaby flee.
- Barnaby is talked into becoming an advocate of the Protestants.  I hated this part because Barnaby is just so sweet and good and wants to make his mother proud so badly that he thinks joining this group will impress her.
- The "No Popery" group takes a petition to parliament to try and have the rights of the Catholics revoked, but it's rejected.  This causes mayhem.
- The Maypole basically gets destroyed.  The stranger comes and poked around it.
- Mr. Haredale - gasp! - finds Mr. Rudge (OMG HE'S ALIVE) and sends him to jail for the murder of Rueben Haredale.

I'm Currently Reading...Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens (Part 4)

Chapter the Thirty-First – Chapter the Fortieth: Well, Joe signed up for the military and, according to p. 261, bought himself a roll.  I guess it was a celebratory one.  In Chapter the Thirty-First he also tried to get some kind of emotion for himself out of Dolly, who is way too (as Dickens describes it) “coquettish”.  That was a really annoying part, because then she cried after he left.  I was like “Gurrrrl, decide what it is you want.”

 Edward Chester and his father by Phiz.

  Next comes Edward’s misfortunes, which was so expertly described:

“Misfortunes, saith the adage, never come singly. There is little doubt that troubles are exceedingly gregarious in their nature, and flying in flocks, are apt to perch capriciously; crowding on the heads of some poor wights until there is not an inch of room left on their unlucky crowns, and taking no more notice of others who offer as good resting-places for the soles of their feet, than if they had no existence. It may have happened that a flight of troubles brooding over London, and looking out for Joseph Willet, whom they couldn’t find, darted down haphazard on the first young man that caught their fancy, and settled on him instead. However this may be, certain it is that on the very day of Joe’s departure they swarmed about the ears of Edward Chester, and did so buzz and flap their wings, and persecute him, that he was most profoundly wretched.” – Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens, p. 266

  Mr. Chester kicks Edward out of his house, after Edward is trying to talk to him about their problems.

  Problems also arise at the Maypole, when Solomon reports hearing a voice at the graveyard – as he said, “It came upon me all at once that this was the nineteenth of March,” which is apparently the night someone died long ago (probably Reuben Haredale and Mr. Rudge).  John tells everyone to keep this story quiet, but then tells Mr. Haredale so as to show how wise he is.  It's funny how Mr. Haredale mentions that he doesn’t trust Hugh because it looks like he has an evil eye.

  On the way back, Willet and Hugh meet three men – Lord George Gordon, his secretary Mr. Gashford, and John Grueby – who are looking for a place to stay. Lord Gordon was a real person in real life (true story), and had to do with the Gordon Riots that this book portrays (which is coming up shortly).  You can read it about it here.

  We also meet Dennis, another gruff Protestant who is prejudiced against the Catholics.  I actually didn’t care much for the last few chapters of this section that dealt with Lord Gordon, although I did find the history about the Gordon Riots interesting.

Pictures from Google Images.

I'm Currently Reading...Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens (Part 3)

  Chapter the Twenty-First – Chapter the Thirtieth: The part where Dolly is traveling through the woods and Hugh scares here – oh my gosh, it was so creepy.  He was like, seriously a stalker.  I like this part:

 “ ‘I wish to get back as quickly as I can, and you walk too near me, answered Dolly.’
‘Too near!’ said Hugh, stooping over her so that she could feel his breath upon her forehead. ‘Why too near? You’re always proud to me, mistress.’
‘I am proud to no one. You mistake me,’ answered Dolly. ‘Fall back, if you please, or go on.’
‘Nay, mistress,’ he rejoined, endeavouring to draw her arm through his, ‘I’ll walk with you.’
She released herself and clenching her little hand, struck him with right good will. At this, Maypole Hugh burst into a roar of laughter, and passing his arm about her waist, held her in his strong grasp as easily as if she had been a bird.
‘Ha ha ha! Well done, mistress! Strike again. You shall beat my face, and tear my hair, and pluck my beard up by the roots, and welcome, for the sake of your bright eyes. Strike again, mistress. Do. Ha ha ha! I like it.’”  – Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens, pp.176 - 178

Hugh and Dolly in the woods by Phiz.

  Oh…it seems like pushy guys have always existed.  Anyway, he threatens her and the people she loves so that she doesn’t reveal who has ha harassed her in the woods.  She calls for Joe, who comes to her aid, and doesn’t see Hugh (who has run off).  He asks her who upset her, and she cries and lies about the person.  But she does tell him she lost her letter (from Emma to Edward) and bracelet.  And who does Joe call in to assist him in looking for these things she’s lost? HUGH!  Oh my goodness, I could have died.  Later, Sim and Miggs are talking about Joe.

I'm Currently Reading...Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens (Part 2)

  Chapter the Eleventh – Chapter the Twentieth: The next couple of chapters follow the arrival of Mr. Haredale, as well as the conversation between him and Mr. Chester.  As far as I can tell, the two old men never liked each other (for some reason, which I’m sure will be revealed later).  They do not want Edward (Mr. Chester’s son) to carry on a relationship with Miss Emma Haredale (Mr. Haredale’s niece).  I like both Mr. Chester and Haredale – the former for his humorous creepiness, the latter for his strong, silent personality.  Their personalities are so different, in fact, that it is no wonder they can’t get along.  Hugh also begins to play a larger role in the storyline, and seems to be a bit of a creepy (which is my word today), loser rascal.

Hugh by Phiz.

  

   The next part shows that Joe has taken his only day off to spend with Dolly.  I think this part, concerning the flowers he has brought Dolly, is hilarious:

  “ ‘Well, well!’ said the locksmith. ‘We must be patient, Joe, and bear with old folks’ foibles. How’s the mare, Joe? Does she do the four miles an hour as easily as ever? Ha, ha, ha! Does she, Joe? Eh!—What have we there, Joe—a nosegay!’

  ‘A very poor one, sir—I thought Miss Dolly—’

  ‘No, no,’ said Gabriel, dropping his voice, and shaking his head, ‘not Dolly. Give ’em to her mother, Joe. A great deal better give ’em to her mother. Would you mind giving ’em to Mrs Varden, Joe?’

  ‘Oh no, sir,’ Joe replied, and endeavouring, but not with the greatest possible success, to hide his disappointment. ‘I shall be very glad, I’m sure.’

  ‘That’s right,’ said the locksmith, patting him on the back. ‘It don’t matter who has ’em, Joe?’

  ‘Not a bit, sir.’—Dear heart, how the words stuck in his throat!

  ‘Come in,’ said Gabriel. ‘I have just been called to tea. She’s in the parlour.’

  ‘She,’ thought Joe. ‘Which of ’em I wonder—Mrs or Miss?’ The locksmith settled the doubt as neatly as if it had been expressed aloud, by leading him to the door, and saying, ‘Martha, my dear, here’s young Mr Willet.’

  Now, Mrs Varden, regarding the Maypole as a sort of human mantrap, or decoy for husbands; viewing its proprietor, and all who aided and abetted him, in the light of so many poachers among Christian men; and believing, moreover, that the publicans coupled with sinners in Holy Writ were veritable licensed victuallers; was far from being favourably disposed towards her visitor. Wherefore she was taken faint directly; and being duly presented with the crocuses and snowdrops, divined on further consideration that they were the occasion of the languor which had seized upon her spirits. ‘I’m afraid I couldn’t bear the room another minute,’ said the good lady, ‘if they remained here. Would you excuse my putting them out of window?’

  Joe begged she wouldn’t mention it on any account, and smiled feebly as he saw them deposited on the sill outside. If anybody could have known the pains he had taken to make up that despised and misused bunch of flowers!—“ – Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens, p. 117 -118

  Joe gets caught spending the whole time with the Vardens and Dolly (who he doesn’t get a chance to talk to) – which I’m not sure what he thought would happen, But I  guess he couldn’t woo her in her family’s presence.  He leaves dejected, thinking Dolly doesn’t like him.

  Edward Chester’s character becomes a little more developed in Chapter the Fifteenth.  He tells his father that he loves Miss Haredale, and Chester basically says that Emma is not good enough for Edward.  When I was writing this review, I got a little confused because I was unsure whether Chester really thought Emma was not good enough for Edward (“Ned”, as Mr. Chester calls him), or if it was just because he doesn’t like Mr. Haredale that he does not want them together.  I asked my sister, and as she put it, Chester doesn’t think Emma is enough for Edward because she is Haredale’s niece.

   

  The stranger from the road earlier in the story makes another appearance in the story by following Mary Rudge to her house.  Mary seems to be frightened by the man, and doesn’t seem to know him which means, I think, that the stranger Gabriel has been concerned about being at her house is different from this one.  Later, Dolly delivers a letter from Edward to Emma and is almost stopped by Mr. Haredale.  Had it not been for Dolly’s bravery in not handing over the letter, Haredale would not have been impressed and not let her pass.

 

Dolly and Miss Haredale by Phiz.

   I love the sections about Joe, Dolly, and the Vardens.  The parts with the “stranger” are a little confusing because I wonder if I’m missing some implication somewhere.  But even if I am, the mystery should be unraveled later.  I also semi-like the parts with Mr. Chester and Mr. Haredale. Why only semi?  Well, I like their characters but I find myself losing interest in the passages concerning their storylines.

Pictures from Google Images

I'm Currently Reading...Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens (Part 1)

  This is a new series I'm starting on my blog called "I'm Currently Reading...".  This is kind of self explanatory - I'll post a summary and my thoughts and opinions on the book I'm reading as I read it.  It's a sort of continuing review, until I'm completely done with the book.  Feel free to jump in and read the same book at any time - you can always read the previous parts of the review later after you have read that section.  So, here we go!

This is the version I'm reading.

  Currently reading: Barnaby Rudge by Charles Dickens.

  Reason: Charles Dickens is one of my favorite authors and my sister suggested I read it.

  Chapter the First – Chapter the Tenth:  I have been reading Barnaby Rude on and off for a few weeks now, and I’ve generally been trying to get library books during the summer because I was saving the books I own to read at my leisure when I’m busy with college this fall.  But I’ve gotten a bunch of books at the beginning of the season, so the fact that I’ve totally gotten into Barnaby Rudge (plus the unforeseen hectic family schedule) has not bothered me that much.  

  The first pages of the book were a little hard for me to get into because it started with a description of the Maypole (an inn), and the a few guys talking there.  We’re introduced to some of the main characters, though – John Willet, the owner of the Maypole, and his son Joseph (commonly known as Joe).  A stranger comes into the inn and is asking about a man and girl who are revealed to be Mr. Geoffrey Haredale and his niece Miss Haredale.  Solomon Daisy, a man at the inn, is instructed by John to tell the mystery surrounding the murder of Mr. Geoffrey Haredale’s older brother, Reuben, and the murder of the steward Mr. Rudge.   The suspected killer (of both Reuben Haredale and Mr. Rudge, I believe) is the missing gardener, who no one has heard from since. I didn’t realize this until later chapters, but this whole story is I think turning out be a big part of the story.