• Home
  • About Me
  • 5* Elements
  • 2019 Reading Challenges
    • Other Reading Challenges
    • 2013 Reading Challenges
    • 2014 Reading Challenges
    • 2015 Reading Challenges
    • 2016 Reading Challenges
    • 2017 Reading Challenges
    • 2018 Reading Challenges
  • My Bookish Lists
    • My Classics Club List
    • Reading the Newberys
    • Reading My Own Books
Smiling Shelves

Recent Classics Club Reads

3/23/2017

2 Comments

 

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Picture
All I knew about this book going in was that there was a guy who didn't age because his portrait did instead. So I was a little confused when the first half of the book read as a typical Victorian novel. It could have been Dickens or Trollope that I was reading, not a creepy Oscar Wilde story. But the second half got weirder and creepier, and I was quite glad to finish the book. It was a well-told tale and would not have been out of place around a campfire with a flashlight shining on your face. I can't say I exactly enjoyed it, because creepy stories are really not my thing, but I am glad I had the experience of reading it.

Howl by Allen Ginsberg

Picture
I wanted my Classics Club list to branch out from the standard canon (although I could easily read Victorian novels all year long). So I added a couple modern "classics" - and I'll admit right up front that the only reason Howl made the list was because that was the book that Jess stole from Rory's room and returned with margin notes in Gilmore Girls. (Really, who can resist a boy who does that, even if we don't like writing in our margins??) The version of Howl ​that my library had was actually a graphic novel, with the illustrations coming from a movie based on the poem that was made in 2010. I know I got a lot more out of the poem by reading it this way (although because of the rather mature nature of the poem, sometimes I got more than I bargained for). I don't know a lot about the Beat movement, but Howl gave me some insight into the thoughts and feelings of those who lived that life.

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Picture
How have I never read Treasure Island before? My only experience with this story is through Muppet Treasure Island, which is by far my favorite of all of the Muppet movies. But the book is quite a bit different. There's a lot more killing, for one thing (and fewer funny moments). It's actually quite violent on the island as the two factions are battling it out. But it's not terribly graphic, either, so I still wouldn't hesitate to hand this book to a eleven-year-old boy. There seems to be something about pirates that is endlessly fascinating to us (let us all witness the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which apparently never ends), and Treasure Island probably played a large part in why this is so. It's a fabulously adventurous tale, and I look forward to sharing it with my little boy in the future.

Picture
2 Comments
Christine @Buckling Bookshelves link
3/24/2017 01:43:46 pm

I love this short-review format for Classics Club reads! If I went this route, I might actually get a few more posts done!

Reply
Julie @ Smiling Shelves link
3/26/2017 09:53:27 am

Yeah, no reviews would get written if they had to be longer than a paragraph. Short and sweet works well for me now! :)

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture
    My name is Julie, and I own a lot of books. As in, they are stacked on the floor because I've run out of room on the shelves. And those shelves? There are so many books on them that they smile -- not sag; smile. This blog will cover book reviews and all manner of other bookish things.

    You can contact me at julie@smilingshelves.com.

    Picture
    What are 5* Elements all about?

    Picture
    Picture

    RSS Feed

    Follow on Bloglovin

    Enter your email address:

    Delivered by FeedBurner

    Picture
    Picture
    Picture

    Currently Reading

    Clara and Mr. Tiffany
    A Little Folly

    2019 Reading Challenge

    2019 Reading Challenge
    Julie has read 9 books toward their goal of 75 books.
    hide
    9 of 75 (12%)
    view books

    Archives

    November 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013

    Categories

    All
    5* Atmosphere
    5* Characters
    5* Learning
    5* Learning
    5* Meaning
    5* Plot
    5* Plot
    5* Voice
    5* Voice
    5* Writing
    Book Club
    Book Club
    Challenges
    Children's
    Classics Club
    Fiction
    Historical Fiction
    It's Monday
    It's Monday
    Library Loot
    Life
    Newbery Reading Challenge
    Nonfiction
    Read A Thons
    Reading
    Review
    Saturday Snapshot
    Smiling Shelves Soapbox
    Stacking The Shelves
    Top Ten Tuesday
    Travel
    Young Adult


    Picture