TBR Readathon- Midpoint

While yesterday's update on my TBR Readathon (hosted by Wishful Endings) showed little hope for the future, I hope today's brings you just a little. ;) I stayed up till almost 2:00 last night finishing The Help! I really wanted to find out what happened... really, really bad. Considering the fact that when I started in reading last night I was only half way through, I'm not really sure what I was thinking. That's okay though, I often feel that way. ;) However, now I'm done and I really enjoyed it. Five stars on Goodreads but if I could do half stars I would say four and a half. Hopefully I can whip out a snippet of a review sometime. Now I really want to see the movie. :)
So that's ONE book done for the readathon but my goal is five books so I need to get with it! The unhappy fact that I have a test this coming Friday means I won't have as much time to read but hopefully I can at least get a couple more books read. I have started Christianity and Liberalism but I'm not finished with it yet. I keep getting sidetracked with my re-read through Harry Potter, which doesn't even count for this readathon! Another instance of me not knowing what I was thinking... told you it happened often. ;)
So that's what's up with me and my current readathon.... how about you?

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TBR Readathon: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday update

Not so great! I read some more of The Help last evening but Wednesday and Thursday all I read was from Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which is a re-read and therefore does NOT count for this challenge. I knew that but I still read it. Bad Lois!
Anyways that's all my update for now. Must study!

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Book Review- The Bridge on the River Kwai

I watched the movie a long time ago and remembered very little about and I certainly didn't remember loving it. However, for my Back to the Classics challenge there was a "classic about war" category and seeing this book on the shelf, I thought I'd try it out. Before I read it I imagined it being a heavily historical boring war book. Oh my was I wrong!

Here's the synopsis from Goodreads: 1942: Boldly advancing through Asia, the Japanese need a train route from Burma going north. In a prison camp, British POWs are forced into labor. The bridge they build will become a symbol of service and survival to one prisoner, Colonel Nicholson, a proud perfectionist. Pitted against the warden, Colonel Saito, Nicholson will nevertheless, out of a distorted sense of duty, aid his enemy. While on the outside, as the Allies race to destroy the bridge, Nicholson must decide which will be the first casualty: his patriotism or his pride.

From the very beginning, The Bridge on the River Kwai was making me smile with it's satirical wit. All of the characters impressed me with how well they were developed so quickly and it was easy to understand each decision they made. It always kept me engaged and I skimmed through it in just two days. There were a lot of great themes of duty, loyalty and pride mixed in throughout this story but for me mainly it was an adventure novel.
I would highly recommend it as a fun and exciting read that still delivers some history and food for thought. :)

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Tackle your TBR Readathon- Monday and Tuesday Update

I decided to do every other day updates for the Tackle your TBR Readathon cause I'm busy and don't feel the need to write a post every day. :)
Anyways, I'm currently reading Christianity and Liberalism, which I'm three chapters into, and The Help, which I'm about three chapters into as well. I'm liking them both a lot so far. I'm pleasantly surprised with The Help. I'm not much of a person for modern books but I'm really enjoying it. Christianity and Liberalism is very deep and therefore more difficult to read but it has a lot of great food for thought in it.
So that's what's up with me right now! I have to go to my psych clinicals now so I must bid y'all adieu! Don't pity me... at least not yet. ;)

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Top Ten Underrated Children's Authors

The theme for this week's Top Ten Tuesday (hosted by The Broke and the Bookish) is Top Ten Underrated Authors or Books in X genre. In my opinion there are many great underrated children's authors that I loved growing up so I'd like to share them with you. :)
Some of these I know may be more on your horizon but I think they're under-read so I included them too.
These are at varying reading levels but I would estimate that I read these all in the younger elementary grades.
So, to repeat, these are all great books and in my opinion if a children's book is really great it is not only enjoyable for a kid but also for an adult and all of these I continue to re-read even though now I'm a "grown up".

1. Maud Hart Lovelace- Wrote the Betsy-Tacy series
2. Sydney Taylor- Wrote the All-of-a-Kind Family series
3. Carolyn Haywood- Wrote the B is for Betsy books
4. Lloyd Alexander- Wrote the Chronicles of Prydain
5. Betty MacDonald- Wrote the Mrs. Piggy-Wiggle series
6. Michael Bond- Wrote A Bear Called Paddington series
7. Arleta Richardson- Wrote the In Grandma's Attic series
8. A.A. Milne- Wrote the Winnie the Pooh series
9. Walter R. Brooks- Wrote the Freddy the Pig series
10. Thornton Burgess- Wrote Old Mother West Wind and others

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Monday and Reading

This past week I kind of just ambled along with my reading and didn't make tons of progress until the end of the week and then I finished all three of my books in the space of about three days!  I signed up for another readathon which starts Monday (today) so hopefully that will get me a little more motivated. :)

Finished

• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (re-read) by J.K. Rowling
• Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie
• The Time Machine by H.G. Wells

Currently Reading 

• Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (re-read) by J.K. Rowling

Coming Soon (hopefully)

• The Book of Lost Tales Part II by J.R.R. Tolkien
• The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
• Christianity and Liberalism by John Gresham Machem

Book Review Posted This Week

• North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Linking up with Sheila at Book Journey. 

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Book (Play) Review- Hamlet

I've read many children's or abridged versions of Hamlet but have never gotten the full story until now. This was an intriguing story for me.

Synopsis from Goodreads: Hamlet is the story of the Prince of Denmark who learns of the death of his father at the hands of his uncle, Claudius. Claudius murders Hamlet's father, his own brother, to take the throne of Denmark and to marry Hamlet's widowed mother. Hamlet is sunk into a state of great despair as a result of discovering the murder of his father and the infidelity of his mother. Hamlet is torn between his great sadness and his desire for the revenge of his father's murder.

The most interesting part for me of the whole play was that the line "sweets for the sweet" comes from it. Who knew? If I had been told that it came from a Shakespeare play I certainly not have guessed a tragedy. Speaking of tragedy, Hamlet is just about the most tragic story I've ever read. It's depressing! Everybody dies! Oops spoiler! But at leas I didn't say who died... just that everyone does. ;) 
Overall I think it is a good story and one that has most obviously inspired other writings including (I'm given to understand though I haven't watched it) the Disney film The Lion King. There are a lot of good lines in the play, besides the one I mentioned above, such as the famous "to be or not to be" speech.  I would like to watch a film version to see how Hamlet is played out on screen to get a better feel for it but in my opinion it gives you a lot of food for thought though it is very tragic. 

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Book Review: North and South

I don't know how on earth I missed writing a review of North and South but I did. I read this two months ago people! Knowing how much you've been waiting for this exemplary review.... I'll try to make it exemplary. ;)

So here's the synopsis from Goodread to start us out: When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man, John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction. In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell skillfully fuses individual feeling with social concern, and in Margaret Hale creates one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature.

A few years ago I first watched the miniseries of North and South and enjoyed it quite a bit. In this review I will be having some comparison between the miniseries and the book. Later on my mother read it. She told me that the first scene where Margaret and Mr. Thornton meet in the movie doesn't exist in the book! I was mad! I hate that scene in the movie so I'm really glad it isn't in the book and mad they had to put it in the movie. I think it was to make you dislike Mr. Thornton more so you could relate with Margaret's dislike of him. In my opinion though that just was not necessary. As you read the book, you begin to realize that Margaret is really very rude and prejudiced against Mr. Thornton. You still like her though, despite her faults, as you like Mr. Thornton despite his faults. In my opinion, in the movie Margaret's faults aren't as clear shown as his in the miniseries, which I think is unfair as Margaret works through a lot and matures a lot through the story.

North and South has strong characters that drive the story. While the main cast is great, it is the side characters that make the story in some ways so interesting. Nicholas Higgins is one of the most interesting characters in the novel and he gives a lot of perspective as to the mill workers situation. Dixon is another great secondary character. Margaret's parents leave me conflicted. Often I am frustrated with her mother and I feel sympathetic to her father but sometimes it's the other way around. They are both good people though and Margaret cares for them, you care for them.

I think North and South is a really great story much in the same vein as Jane Austen's novels. In fact, it has many similarities to Pride and Prejudice though I read that it also has likenesses to Charlotte Bronte's novel Shirley but I have not read that novel yet so I personally couldn't speak to that.

Besides my above complaint with the miniseries, I do like it. There only a few other minor differences from the book otherwise. The ending is slightly different but I've learned to get over that. The casting is well done and the scenery is magnificent as well. :) I think Richard Armitage was perfect for the role... especially now having read the book.

All in all I recommend you read the book and then enjoy the miniseries. :)

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Tackle Your TBR Pile Readathon

I had a lot of fun with the last two readthons I did and I found they really encouraged me to read so I'm signing up for another one! This one is called "Tackle Your TBR Pile Readathon" and is hosted by Wishful Endings. You can check out their blog to see the rules or sign up! :) The readathon runs from September 8th- 20th.

Goals

• I want to read five books off of the below TBR pile list. 
• I want to read at least one hour per day.

TBR Pile List (First four are off of my TBR Pile Challenge list)

1. The Last of the Mohicans
2. The Hunchback of Notre Dame
3. King Solomon's Mines
4. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther
5. The Giver 
6. Rebecca 
7. Peralandra
8. This Hideous Strength
9. Arsenic and Old Lace 
10. The Lost World
11. Dracula
12. The Help
13. Peace Like a River
14. Through Gates of Splendor 
15. Wuthering Heights
16. Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
17. Christian Love by Hugh Binning
18. The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes
19. The Rare Christian Jewel of Christian Contentment

This should be fun! Join me if you like. :)

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Top Ten Book Characters that would be Sitting at my Lunch Table (back to school theme)

I've been back to school for two weeks now! This back to school thing is a lie! ;)
Anyways...
Here are my top ten book characters that I would be super duper happy to have sitting at my lunch table. Maybe not all of them at the same time though. :)

1. Elizabeth Bennett- From Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
2. Henry Tilney- From Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey
3. Mr. Knightley- From Jane Austen's Emma (I would be able to have a serious conversation with all three of these Austen characters listed here and above but they would still interject witty comments in occasionally to make me laugh.)
4. Bertie Wooster- From P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves and Wooster novels (Who knows what Bertie will say!) 
5. Anne Shirley- From L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables series 
6. Bilbo Baggins- From J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (His stories, songs and poetry will be one of my favorite parts of the table conversation)
7. Sherlock Holmes- From Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories (He'll annoy everyone at the table with making deductions about them.)
8. Mr. Collins- From Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (I know he's really annoying but he's also really funny because of that!)
9. Mr. Bennet- From Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice (He'll mostly sit and listen but every once and a while he'll pop up with a witty comment that will make me laugh.)
10. Luna Lovegood- From J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series (I'm sure I'd hear about some interesting things from her.) 

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