Average rating of novels 111-120 – 3.8 stars (out of 5)
116. ★★★★ The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
117. ★★★★ The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
118. ★★★★ An Antarctic Mystery (The Sphinx of the Ice Fields)
117. ★★★★ The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket
118. ★★★★ An Antarctic Mystery (The Sphinx of the Ice Fields)
Favorite: Waterhship Down
Honorable Mention: Bleak House
Least Favorite: The Idiot. I’m ordinarily a fan of Dostoevsky, but not this time.
Best Hero: Hazel from Watership Down
Best Heroine: Esther from Bleak House
Best Villain: General Woundwort from Watership Down
Most interesting/Complex character: Mike the computer from The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Marvelous wordplay on the name. The sentient computer is named Mike, by his human friend Mannie, Mike is short for Mycroft (as in Mycroft Holmes). Mike the computer is a High-Optional, Logical, Multi-Evaluating Supervisor, or HOLMES mark IV.
Best Quotation: A fool with a heart and no brains is just as unhappy as a fool with brains and no heart. ~ Elizabetha Prokofievna from The Idiot
Best film adaptation: I really liked the 2018 Watership Down CGI, with some big names doing the voices. It was less traumatic than the 1978 animated version.
Worst film adaptation: I didn’t see film versions of most, so I’ll have to go with the 1941 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde with Spencer – though it wasn’t terrible.
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I just read your review of The Idiot. First of all, what a bummer, given the size of the commitment! I wonder, have you tried checking reviews from other "bookies"? After I read a book, I sometimes visit book vloggers on YouTube to see what they thought - if maybe I missed something - which I usually did. Frankly, I think you have very good judgment, and I'm not saying "Joseph, you obviously don't know what you're talking about." But sometimes when I dislike a book and I hear someone else's perspective, it softens my viewpoint so that I end up thinking differently about the book that left me feeling negatively. Just a suggestion, but I have a feeling you have good reason to think this way. Makes me want to put it off longer...years longer.
ReplyDeleteI always do that exact thing...compare my thoughts with other book bloggers (especially, those I respect and enjoy...such as yourself). And other's thoughts have from time to time improved my opinion of a book...but not this time. Even reading from those who loved it didn't change my opinion. I definitely wouldn't want to sour anyone from reading it though. 3 Stars is the exact middle of my scale, so I didn't hate it; I just didn't love it like I expected to.
DeleteNice stats! I want to read The Narrative of Arthur Pym of of Nantucket and then read Pym! by Mat Johnson. I'm a sucker for that kind of literary linking.
ReplyDeleteI've only read your favorite and honorable mention title but they would both also be at the top of any list I made. I think, in fact, that Bleak House might be my favorite Dickens...if I had to choose one!
Hmmm...I'm not familiar with Johnson's sequel, but there is another sequel to Poe's novel...An Antarctic Mystery by Jules Verne.
DeleteThen I need to read ALL THREE! :D
DeleteIncredible! This blog looks exactly like my old one!
ReplyDeleteIt's on a entirely different topic but it has pretty much the same layout and design. Superb choice of colors!
Hey, you used to write wonderful, but the last few posts have been kinda
ReplyDeleteboring... I miss your tremendous writings. Past few posts are just a bit out of track!
come on!