Welcome to my weekly Saturday feature here at Erin Reads, where I highlight new books that have entered my life, what I’ve been reading, and what’s happened on Erin Reads over the past week.
New Acquisitions
No vlog this week; weather has kept me out of town longer than planned. Definitely scroll down and check out Marcel the Shell, though, who is taking my place in this week’s video.
I did, however, (re)acquire some books while helping my parents clean out some boxes! Many of the books I read in high school and hated will most likely be revisited during the course of my Classics Reclamation Project. Here’s what I’ve rediscovered:
- Heart of Darkness and The Secret Sharer by Joseph Conrad
- Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand (does anyone else remember the Wishbone version of this one??)
- Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy (not originally mine, but one I’m hoping to read!)
TBR Additions
I’ve been helping my parents this week, so I’m still woefully behind on my blog reading. If you’ve reviewed something that’s not to be missed, I’d like to invite you to leave me a link in the comments so I make sure to check it out!
Read This Week
I have actually managed to get a little book reading done this week. I finished (and LOVED) The Bee-Loud Glade by Steve Himmer, then A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen. I also started The Appointment by Herta Müller for this month’s Reading Buddies.
On audio, I’ve been working on Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts. I’m finishing up disc 9 of 35, but I’m in no way bored. In fact, I’m completely blown away by the narrator’s ability to do accents from different countries! Humphrey Bower himself is Australian, so his accent works well for the main character. He even has a slightly different way of speaking depending on whether he’s narrating or conversing within the narration. On top of that, so far he’s done several versions of Indian accents, Canadian, Swiss, French, German, and American accents. It’s amazing!
Erin Reads Recap
- I started the week with a Sunday Salon post in which I talked about learning how to read.
- On Tuesday I compared two books that disappointed me.
- Wednesday’s Classics Reclamation Project post looked at A Doll’s House, the first of four plays by Henrik Ibsen I’m planning to read.
- Finally, yesterday, I shared my discussion post for The Appointment by Herta Müller, the first Reading Buddies book for March.
Bonus Video
Marcel the Shell is one of my family’s favorite videos. I hope you enjoy it as well!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF9-sEbqDvU
Your Turn!
How was your reading week? Do tell!
Heart of Darkness is one of my favorite books, which always feels weird to say since I hated it so much the first time I read it in high school. But it’s really grown on me, and it’s the book that I think really taught me how to analyze literature.
I loved Wishbone — I do remember the Cyrano de Bergerac episode!
I read Heart of Darkness in high school and very greatly disliked it. I’ve never ever had any desire to read it again – but now seeing Kim’s comment… maybe I should try it again?
That video is so awesome. Thanks for sharing!
I really like Heart of Darkness but it was one of those books that I had to listen to and read at the same time. And Tess of the d’Urbervilles is one of my favorite books. Ever.
Heart of Darkness is one of the three books I so severely disliked in high school that I actually kept them on the shelves to remind myself to never read them again. 🙂
I love that you’re going to revisit books you hated at school. I hope to do that, and it’s only my knowledge that I didn’t like them that’s putting me off, stupid really. It’s been a while since I first read A Doll’s House but thinking about it recently I’ve come to appreciate it better than I did.
Wishbone!!! OMG, I loved him and I loved that episode. 😀
I read Heart of Darkness a couple years ago and surprised myself by loving it. But I read Tess in middle school and loathed it; I’ve finally decided to give Hardy another chance this year (with Far From the Madding Crowd) after rediscovering Willa Cather (another author I didn’t like in high school) last year. Let’s hope it goes well!
Marcel is likely going to be a family favourite here too: thanks for bringing it to our attention!
Somehow I avoided Heart of Darkness in school, but I’ve been thinking of re-reading it this year, with the intention of re-reading Timothy Findley’s Headhunter, in which one of the characters from HOD escapes. I attempted it many years ago on a bus trip, but couldn’t penetrate it: likely poor timing!