Top Ten Books for Readers who like Character Driven Novels

I don't normally pay attention to whether books are plot driven or character driven (or whatever other "driven" they are) so this prompt actually made me really think about that.

1. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling- The characters in my opinion are some of the best aspects of the novels. :)
2. Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
3. Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maude Montgomery
4. Any Charles Dickens novels- Special thoughts towards Little Dorrit, Nicholas Nickelby and David Copperfield, as I remember them having especially interesting characters. 
5. All Jane Austen novels- My favorite obviously being Pride and Prejudice. :)
6. The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
7. P.G. Wodehouse novels- Jeeves and Wooster... enough said. :)
8. Huckleberry Finn and Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain (Samuel L. Clemens)
9. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
10. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

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Book Review- Our Mutual Friend

Our Mutual Friend was another great read by Dickens for me this summer. It was incredibly long (probably the longest of all of his books) but still quite a good read. If you're familiar with Dickens you'll know how he tends to have many side stories and tons and tons of characters and Our Mutual Friend was no stranger to this trend and indeed it probably had the most side stories and characters of all of his novels. It was actually Dickens' last completed novel.

Here is the synopsis from Goodreads: A satiric masterpiece about the allure and peril of money, Our Mutual Friend revolves around the inheritance of a dust-heap where the rich throw their trash. When the body of John Harmon, the dust-heap’s expected heir, is found in the Thames, fortunes change hands surprisingly, raising to new heights “Noddy” Boffin, a low-born but kindly clerk who becomes “the Golden Dustman.” Charles Dickens’s last complete novel, Our Mutual Friend encompasses the great themes of his earlier works: the pretensions of the nouveaux riches, the ingenuousness of the aspiring poor, and the unfailing power of wealth to corrupt all who crave it. With its flavorful cast of characters and numerous subplots, Our Mutual Friend is one of Dickens’s most complex—and satisfying—novels.

Writing this review is a little hard as there are a lot of little twists and turns in this novel (and a big twist at the end!) and I don't like to give spoilers. I really liked the characters, especially Bella Wilfer. How the book looked at power and money was intriguing and well done. Though there were tons and tons of side characters, they all had an interesting story and it was cleverly crafted how they all were connected. All in all I enjoyed it, though it was sometimes tediously long.... then again that's Dickens. ;)
I hear there is a good miniseries of Our Mutual Friend that I'm going to try and watch soon. I'm excited to see the characters come to life.

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Book Review- Little Dorrit

Little Dorrit just about my favorite of Dickens novels and I am shocked it is not more popular and as talked about as others of his works. To bring you up to speed with a little of what goes in the book here is the synopsis off of Goodreads. 

When Arthur Clenham returns to England after many years abroad, he takes a kindly interest in Amy Dorrit (Little Dorritt), his mother's seamstress, & in the affairs of Amy's father, William Dorrit, a man of shabby grandeur, long imprisoned for debt in the Marshalsea. As Arthur soon discovers, the dark shadow of the prison stretches far beyond its walls to affect the lives of many, from the kindly Mr Pancks, the reluctant rent-collector of Bleeding Heart Yard, & the tipsily garrulous Flora Finching, to Merdle, an unscrupulous financier, & the bureaucratic Barnacles in the Circumlocution Office. A masterly evocation of the state & psychology of imprisonment, Little Dorrit is one of the supreme works of Dickens's maturity.

All of the characters have a great amount of depth in the story. I fell in love with Arthur and Little Dorritt and ground my teeth at Mr. Dorritt, his children and Mrs. Clenham. The story touched me and humored me at the same time. All in all it had everything that I want in a book. While it was long, as Dickens books often are, I was kept engaged throughout. Amy reminded me a lot of Fanny Price from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. I have always loved Fanny for her sweetness, patience and kindness and I love Amy for the same reasons. Arthur stuck with me as someone who always was trying to do the right thing by people and continued to love and visit his mother even though she rejected him countless times. The circumlocution office made me laugh several times and sometimes it humorously but sadly reminded me of my job at the pig farm. :)

I watched the 2008 BBC miniseries soon after reading the novel and I enjoyed it a lot as well. It differed but a little from the book and only once where it annoyed me. All in all it is a great adaptation and I would highly recommend it. It effectively brought to life the characters much as I imagined them and also showed me aspects of their personalities that I had missed in reading the novel. 

Little Dorrit was one of the easiest of Dickens' novels to read actually so if you're looking for one to start out with I'd highly recommend it. 


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Top Ten Favorite Classic Books

Between not having Wifi during the week while I'm at work on the pig farm and going on my mission trip to Costa Rica I haven't really been churning out blog posts. Don't worry, this trend shouldn't continue once the summer is over. :) So for today I'm giving you a top ten tuesday and the theme is my favorite classic books. :)

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen- Duh!
2. Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien- Again... duh!
3. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
4. Persuasion by Jane Austen
5. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
6. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
7. Leave it Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse
8. Little Dorritt by Charles Dickens
9. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins
10. The Golf Omnibus by P.G. Wodehouse

Except the first two these books aren't in any specific order. I was kind of in a hurry making the list so don't sue me over the books I chose. These were just the favorites that first came to mind. :) I love most every classic work of literature these are just my favorites. 

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Book Review- Hard Times

I really like this synopsis of Dickens' novel Hard Times from Wikipeida: The novel follows a classical tripartite structure, and the titles of each book are related to Galatians 6:7, "For whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." Book I is entitled "Sowing", Book II is entitled "Reaping", and the third is "Garnering."It doesn't exactly explain what happens in the book but it explains the message of the book. 
I really enjoyed reading Hard Times and it is now one of my favorite of Dickens books. I'm thinking though that it might just have hit me at the right time and perhaps if I reread it later in life I won't like it as much but at this moment I really enjoyed it. 
It tells the story of a father who raises his two children to live a life dominated by facts and not fancy. No imagination allowed.  The characters in this book were interesting and to be reflected on as is often in Dickens' novels. The plot was insightful and thought provoking and, to me, a book that to continued surprise me as it went on. It was often sad and while the ending was happy it was rather bittersweet. 
I would recommend this book to all fans of the Classics as one of his shorter but not less deeper works. Enjoy. :)

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Favorite Classic Literary Period

This is a link up for the Classics Club March meme.
Do I get two? I want two favorites because it's really not fair that Jane Austen and Charles Dickens are in two separate periods. So I guess my TWO favorite periods are the Romantic Period and the Victorian Period. This choice is completely due to those two authors, though I do enjoy other authors from the Victorian periods such as Charlotte Bronte (Jane Eyre).
So there's my answer plain and simple. :)

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Eight Must Read Books

Today I am linking up again with Mama Kat to talk about eight books that I believe everyone should read in their lifetime. Before I list them, this is just my opinion, there are a lot of books I haven't read, so take it as it is. Some of them, I list one book, but I like all the books by that author so kind of think of it as a set of books. :) Please comment and let me know what books you would put on your list of must reads!

The Bible

As a Christian I obviously consider this to be a must read. It is the word of God and it shows us His will for our lives. I am given to understand, that even non-Christians consider it to be a "good book". 

Pride and Prejudice

Of course… y'all know it's my favorite book. I think all of Jane Austen's books have a lot to teach about human nature. Some of my favorite aspects of her books are how she shows who people really are by what they say, the relationships that she creates between people (not necessarily romantic but also familial) and her strong sense of right and wrong. In Pride and Prejudice, I especially love the witty lines and how it portrays the relationship between Elizabeth and her father. I love all of Austen's other books but especially Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. 

The Lord of the Rings

Another of my very favorites. In this book Tolkien created an incredible whole new world that is breathtakingly beautiful from the majesty of Minias Tirith to the simpleness of the Shire. I also enjoyed The Hobbit, and The Silmarillion. 

David Copperfield

Dickens is considered one of the greatest authors in history. His characters and stories are timeless. David Copperfield isn't my favorite Dickens but I do think it is probably his best. I also enjoy Bleak House, Nicholas Nickleby and Dombey and Son. I know Great Expectations is also considered very great but I watched the movie when I was young and Miss Havishman freaked me out so I couldn't enjoy the book as much after that. 

To Kill a Mockingbird

To be honest, I've only read this once, and I don't very clearly remember the book… though I do remember liking it. However, I very vividly remember the movie as one of my favorite movies ever. This is a great story that goes deeply into issues that still face the world today. 

The Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechism

This made a big impact in my life when I read it during high school as it helped me understand a lot more about what I believe and why it is true. I believe it to be a great tool to help Christians understand what the Bible says… though definitely not a substitute for the Bible.

Killer Angels

I thought I should include something historical as well and I consider this to be one of my very favorite historical novels. It concerns the War between the States. One of my favorite aspects of it is how it shows both sides of the war, allowing you to see and sympathize with the various historical figures. 

The Taming of the Shrew

Okay… this probably isn't Shakespeare's best or most famous… but it's my favorite of his works and I thought some Shakespeare should be included on this list because, well, he is kind of an famous and impactful author. I enjoy his other writings as well… especially Much Ado about Nothing. 

This was an incredibly hard list to make. I had to not think only of what my favorite books are, but what are books that I think important to read. Obviously this isn't an exhaustive list, as there are so many other great books out there that I would highly encourage people to read, but I think this is a good start with a mix of fun and humorous to serious and thought provoking. Again, please comment and let me know what you would consider the the top eight books everyone should read in their lifetime.

Lois Johnson, avid writer, tea drinker, and reader but first and foremost, avid Christian.