Showing posts with label The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Teaser Tuesdays

Miz B and Teaser Tuesdays asks you to: Grab your current read. Let the book fall open to a random page. Share with us two sentences from somewhere on that page. Be careful not to include spoilers. You also need to include the title and author of the book that you're getting the "teaser" from... that way people can add it to their TBR lists if they like the teaser you've given.


The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement by Jean M. Twenge, Ph.D. and W. Keith Campbell Ph.D.

" Narcissists also love to be know-it-alls, which psychologists call "overclaiming." You say to your know-it-all friend, "Have you heard of jazz great Billy Strayhorn?" or "Do you know Paul Klee's paintings?" or "Do you know when the Treaty of Versailles was signed?" and the know-it-all says, "Of course." You might be tempted to ask him, "Have you heard of jazz great Milton Silus?" or "Do you know John Kormat's paintings?" or "Do you know when the Treaty of Monticello was signed?" to see if he still answers "of course" - even though none of these things actually exists. That's overclaiming. One study had people answer 150 questions, including thirty made-up items. Narcissists were champion overclaimers - they were so smart they even knew things that didn't exist." p. 43


The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte

"But I was in no humour for jesting. I carelessly turned to the window, and stood looking out upon the desolate garden, leaving her to talk to Rose for a minute or two; and then, telling my sister it was time to go, shook hands with the little gentleman, coolly bowed to the lady, and moved towards the door. But, having bid adieu to Rose, Mrs. Graham presented her hand to me, saying, with a soft voice, and by no means a disagreeable smile, - 'Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, Mr. Markham. I'm sorry I offended you by my abruptness.' "






Wednesday, December 30, 2009

All About the Brontes Challenge 2010

As 2009 quickly draws to a close, I find myself adding one more challenge to my list for 2010. This challenge is hosted by Laura's Reviews.

The All About the Brontes Challenge runs from January 1-June 30 2010. In this challenge you can read a book, listen to the audio version or even watch a TV or movie adaptation. Any texts related to the Bronte sisters in any manner are acceptable. Participants are encouraged to reread past favourites. The goal is to read, watch or listen to 3, 6 (or beyond) anything Bronte.

I reread Jane Eyre this summer and found that it is one of those classics that gets better and better each time it is read. I was assigned the novel in a Victorian literature class in University, but that was close to 20 years ago now. I know that I really loved the novel back then, but wonder if I truly absorbed all that it had to offer. You know when you watch a movie multiple times and think, "How could I have missed that part, that nuance, that 'look'...?" I was particularly enthralled with the first half of the novel where Jane endures a horrific childhood with Mrs. Reed and then later at Lowood School. For me, the most poignant part of the novel was Jane's relationship with Helen Burns. I could barely breathe through the section where Jane snuck into Miss Temple's room to see Helen as she was dying. It was so much more than one little girl should have to endure. I also wish that Charlotte had written some more about the demise of the Reeds. I'm not sure that I felt completely vindicated on Jane's behalf. How I wanted to hear more details of the downward spiral of Mrs. Reed and her detestable and abusive son!

I also reread Vanity Fair by Thackeray which is another all time favourite. Becky Sharp is the ultimate (anti) heroine. I'm also considering returning to novels I did not enjoy and the top of that list would be Tess of the d'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy. How I plodded through that novel at the time... but did I miss out on a terrific story?

I love Dickens and Austen and Charlotte Bronte, but the Bronte's as a family, I have largely neglected. I believe I read Wuthering Heights in High School but do not remember much of it which is surprising because I love grand, gothic, moaning, on the wild untamed moors, type tales.

Here is my list for the challenge:

Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
Villette by Charlotte Bronte
Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte