Yet Another Period Drama Tag

I know I've done period drama tags before but there's another one out there and I'm bound and determined to do it!

What's your favorite period drama movie?

I know it's a mini-series but forever and always the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice.

What's your favorite period drama series?

TV series I'm thinking they're meaning? Either Call the Midwife or Lark Rise to Candleford. I love them both. Merlin is also kind of a period drama show though and I love that one too so... Don't make me chose! 

Which period drama do you dislike the most?

It's a tie between the 2005 Pride and Prejudice and the 2007 Mansfield Park. I loathe them pretty equally. 

Anne of Green Gables or Little Dorrit?

An incredibly unfair question! I grew up with Anne of Green Gables and It's always been a part of my life so I have very sentimental feelings for it. However, Little Dorrit I was only introduced to in the last couple years. Nevertheless I think Little Dorrit is the better show. 

Your favorite period drama dresses?

These two! I basically love everything in Molly Gipson's and Elizabeth Bennet's wardrobes. 

Who's your favorite period drama character? (okay pick at least five)

Ladies- Elizabeth Bennet, Molly Gipson, Amy Dorrit, Esther Summers and Anne Shirley. 

Men- Mr. Darcy, Mr. Knightley, Gabriel Oak, Sir Percy Blakeney and Henry Tilney. 

If you could join a royal ball, which dress would you go in? (pick a period drama dress) 

I don't know! There's not any specifically "ball dresses" that stick out to me so I'm going with this one of Molly's from Wives and Daughters. 

What's your favorite Jane Austen movie?

Well obviously as mentioned above the 1995 version of Pride and Prejudice but since I've already used that once I'll mention my second favorite which I think would be the 2007 version of Northanger Abbey though I also really enjoy both the 1995 and 2008 versions of Sense and Sensibility. 

Downtown Abbey or Call the Midwife?

As I haven't seen any Downtown Abbey I'll have to go with Call the Midwife. :) 

Sybil Crawley, Jenny Lee, Emma Woodhouse or Marian of Knighton?

Jenny Lee hands down! 

Which couple from a period drama do you like the most? (pick at least four) 

So many! I narrowed it down as best as I can. 

Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from Pride and Prejudice

Molly Gibson and Roger Hamley from Wives and Daughters

Amy Dorrit and Arthur Clenham from Little Dorrit

Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe from Anne of Green Gables

Alfie and Minnie from Lark Rise to Candleford

Shelagh and Patrick from Call the Midwife (I also love Chummy and Peter but I only wanted to include one of the couples so I sided with Shelagh and Patrick)

At last, which period drama villain do you like the most? 

Probably Lady Catherine de Bourgh. She makes me laugh. 

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Top Ten Tuesday- Freebie

This week's Top Ten Tuesday theme is a freebie so I'm going with my Top Ten Literary Couples! :)
When I'm reading a book or watching a movie a lot of what I look for in a couple is respect and a great sense of humor. :) I think that is reflected in this list. :)
Obviously I couldn't just stop at ten! So here you go in on particular order!

1. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
2. Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
3. Mr. and Mrs. Gardiner from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
4. Eowyn and Faramir from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings
5. Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland from Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey
6. Mr. Knightley and Emma Wodehouse from Jane Austen's Emma
7. Fanny Price and Edmund Bertram from Jane Austen's Mansfield Park
8. Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth from Jane Austen's Persuasion
9. Elinor Dashwood and Edward Ferris from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility
10. Marianne Dashwood and Colonel Brandon from Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility
11. Molly Gibson and Roger Hamley from Elizabeth Gaskell's Wives and Daughers
12. Anne Shirley and Gilbert Blythe from L.M. Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables and others
13. Arthur Clenham and Amy Dorrit from Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit
14. Mr. Thornton and Margaret Hale from Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South
15. Beatrice and Benedict from William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing
16. Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series
17. Sir Percival Blakeney and Marguerite St. Just from Emmuska Orczy's The Scarlet Pimpernel 

And for the fun of it.... movie and TV show favorites as well! 

1. Parker and Hardison from the TV show Leverage
2. Amy and Rory from the TV show Doctor. Who
3. The Doctor and River Song from the TV show Doctor. Who
4. Martha and Mickey from the TV show Doctor. Who
5. Nick and Nora from the Thin Man movies
6. Han Solo and Princess Leia from the Star Wars movies
7. G.W. McLintock and Katy McLintock from the movie McLintock
8. Patty and Canoe from the movie That Darn Cat
9. Marjorie Winfield and Bill Sherman from the movies On Moonlight Bay and By the Light of the Silvery Moon.
10. Dr. Bradford and Paula Bradford in the movie The Ex-Mrs. Bradford

I'm sure I missed some great ones so comment and remind me! 

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Top Ten Books You would Classify as All Time Favorites from the Last Three Years

Thankfully I've been using Goodreads for about three years now so I'm actually keeping track of what I've read what year. Unfortunately, though, that won't help me with narrowing this list down to ten favorites. I have linked my reviews if I wrote one. So here we are in no particular order.

1. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger- I just read this book a couple months ago and it was an instant favorite. It's a different kind of book but I love it! :)
2. The Children of Húrin by J.R.R. Tolkien
3. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton
4. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
5. Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow by Orson Scott Card
6. Wives and Daughters and North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
7. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
8. The History of the Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and Christopher Tolkien- This books was fascinating for anyone who's a Tolkien geek (like me) or is interested in writing (like me). No wonder I loved it. ;)
9. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak- I actually prefer the movie but the book is also great. 
10. Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
11. Little Dorrit and Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

Okay so in the end I couldn't choose just ten and I'm not really sorry. There has been a large number of incredible books I've read in these couple years and it didn't feel right to leave any of them out. 

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Top Ten Favorite Heroines from Literature

For Broke and Bookish's Top Ten Tuesday meme, this week's theme is my Top Ten Favorite Heroiens from literature. Choosing favorites is always hard but here goes in no particular order. :)

1. Elizabeth Bennet from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. Fanny Price from Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
3. Anne Elliot from Persuasion by Jane Austen
4. Elinor Dashwood from Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
5. Anne Shirley from Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
6. Amy Dorrit from Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
7. Lady Jane Grey from Coronation of Glory by Deborah Meroff- Kind of cheating because she is a real historical figure that I admire but there's a book about her so there! 
8. Molly Gipson from Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
9. Precious Ramotswe from The No. One Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
10. Luna Lovegood from The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling- I know she isn't exactly the heroine of the story but I actually kind of prefer her to Hermione. 

You may notice a Jane Austen theme here and I do not apologize. ;) She is my favorite author. :)
P.S. If you haven't already be sure to check out my newest project: The 1000 Book List!

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TBR Pile Challenge Wrap up Post

I read a wide variety of books this year for my TBR Pile Challenge hosted by Roof Beam Reader (be sure to check out the 2015 challenge!). It was tons of fun to finish up books that had been on my TBR list for years as this forced me to finally read them and many of them have become new favorites. Be sure to check out the links below to read my reviews! :)

1. War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

2. The Warden by Anthony Trollope (was an alternate)

3. Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara

4. The Princes Bride by William Goldman 

5. Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens

6. Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank

7. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

8. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

9. King Solomon's Mines by H. Ryder Haggard

10. The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper

11. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo

12. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton

Have a great end of the year and here's to the new one! :)

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2014 Book Kaleidoscope- Day 5

The theme today for the Book Kaleidoscope is my top five books. I hate it when I have to rate my top books. I feel sorry for the ones I left out! I feel like they need mentioning too! And, as always, I somehow cheat on my list... today is no exception. ;) Links take you to my reviews if I wrote one. So in no particular order... enjoy! :)

1. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell- A very Pride and Prejudice like story with strong memorable characters and a moving pollen. 
2. Our Mutual Friend and Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens- Both great Dickens works with the standard unforgettable characters that only he can create. :)
3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett- This was a modern classic for me. The characters and the plot line moved me. 
4. Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machem- A great piece of non-fiction work that is just as true today as it was when it was written over ninety years ago. 
5. Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther by Roland Bainton- A truly magnificent biography of Martin Luther that was captivating throughout. 

So yeah I got six in there but I'm sure nobody will notice. ;)

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2014 Book Kaleidoscope- Day 4

Today for the Book Kaleidoscope I have a freebie theme! I'm going to go with top five heroines! :) So here you are in no particular order.

1. Amy Dorrit from Charles Dickens's Little Dorrit
2. Bella Wilfer and Lizzie Hexam from Charles Dickens's Our Mutual Friend
3. Margaret Hale from Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South
4. Mary Poppins from P.L. Travers' Mary Poppins series- A re-read this year but I love this eccentric nanny! 
5. Agnes Grey from Anne Bronte's Agnes Grey

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2014 Reading Year in Review

Lianne at Caffeinated Life hooked me up with this link up hosted by Perpetual Page Turner and I liked how it looked so I thought I'd give it a try too. :)

Number Of Books You Read: 62
Number of Re-Reads: 13
Genre You Read The Most From: Classics

 

1. Best Book You Read In 2014?

(If you have to cheat — you can break it down by genre if you want or 2013 release vs. backlist)

• Best Non Fiction-Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen
• Best Classic- North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
• Best "modern" book- The Help by Kathryn Stockett
• Best Re-read- Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers and Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

2. Book You Were Excited About & Thought You Were Going To Love More But Didn’t?

• Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper 

 3. Most surprising (in a good way or bad way) book you read in 2014? 

• I was pleasantly surprised by Kathryn Stockett's The Help. 

 4. Book You “Pushed” The Most People To Read (And They Did) In 2014?

• I don't really push people to read books. However, my best friend did finally read Mansfield Park after years of my telling her too. She liked it. :)

 5. Best series you started in 2014? Best Sequel of 2014? Best Series Ender of 2014?

• I didn't read any series in 2014 but I did RE-read the Harry Potter series which as always was great! :)

 6. Favorite new author you discovered in 2014?

• I wrote a Top Ten Tuesday on this which you can read HERE but I think for favorite I'll go with Pierre Boulle and his book Bridge on the River Kwai. 

7. Best book from a genre you don’t typically read/was out of your comfort zone?

• Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow by Orson Card from the sci-fi genre... which I don't at all normally read. 

 8. Most action-packed/thrilling/unputdownable book of the year?

• Probably Bridge on the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle

 9. Book You Read In 2014 That You Are Most Likely To Re-Read Next Year?

• Well I don't normally re-read books just a year after I read them but if I were going to re-read one of them in 2015 it would be Christianity and Liberalism because I feel there is always more you could get out of this book. 

10. Favorite cover of a book you read in 2014?

The epicness of this cover I think speaks for itself. :)

11. Most memorable character of 2014?

• Good character- Amy Dorrit from Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit
• Bad Character- Frollo from Victor Hugo's Hunchback of Notre Dame 

 12. Most beautifully written book read in 2014?

• The Hunchback of Notre Dame or Last of the Mohicans- Both I complained about their long description and unnecessary tangents but it was beautiful writing. 

13. Most Thought-Provoking/ Life-Changing Book of 2014?

• Dickens Hard Times, Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Grey,  J. Gresham Machen's Christianity and Liberalism and Roland Bainton's Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther.

 14. Book you can’t believe you waited UNTIL 2014 to finally read? 

• A lot, really most of them but I guess I'll go with Anthony Trollope's The Warden, as I read it's sequel Barchester Towers years ago. 

 15. Favorite Passage/Quote From A Book You Read In 2014?

• I'm not very good at keeping track of quotes but this one from Hugh Binning's book Christian Love is very good. 

“Self-love is the greatest enemy to true Christian love, and pride is the fountain of self-love” “He whose sins are covered by God’s free love cannot think it hard to spread the garment of his love over his brother’s sins” “Humility makes a man compare himself with the best that he may find how bad he himself is, but pride measures by the worst, that it may hide a man from his own imperfections”

16.Shortest & Longest Book You Read In 2013?

• Longest- Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
• Shortest- Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

 17. Book That Shocked You The Most

(Because of a plot twist, character death, left you hanging with your mouth wide open, etc.)

• Probably Pierre Boulle's Bridge on the River Kwai... the ending just.... shocked me!
• Also Aldous Huxley's Brave New World shocked me because of the reality it presented. 

18. OTP OF THE YEAR (you will go down with this ship!)

(OTP = one true pairing if you aren’t familiar)

• I don't like the OTP/shipping thing but I suppose I can answer this with Amy Dorrit and Arthur Clenham from Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit. 

19. Favorite Non-Romantic Relationship Of The Year

• Bean and Ender Wiggins from Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow. 

20. Favorite Book You Read in 2014 From An Author You’ve Read Previously

• North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell or Little Dorrit and Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. 

21. Best Book You Read In 2014 That You Read Based SOLELY On A Recommendation From Somebody Else/Peer Pressure:

• Well my brother has been raving about Hugh Binning's Christian Love for the longest time and I finally caved and read it. Probably would never have read it or heard of it if it hadn't been for him. 

22. Newest fictional crush from a book you read in 2014?

• All of these romantic questions! Umm... well I don't really have fictional crushes. I highly esteem men from literature like Mr. Knightley and Mr. Tilney but I don't have a crush on them. I guess though my new favorite "highly esteemed" male for this year would be Arthur Clenham from Little Dorrit. 

23. Best 2014 debut you read?

• I had to remind myself that I had read two 2014 books this year.  I just don't normally read modern books. My favorite of the two would definitely be Wouldn't it be Deadly, which while not being great was not bad. :)

24. Best Worldbuilding/Most Vivid Setting You Read This Year?

• Frank Herbert's Dune 

25. Book That Put A Smile On Your Face/Was The Most FUN To Read?

• Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors was quite hilarious... given the title I think we can assume it was supposed to be. ;)

26. Book That Made You Cry Or Nearly Cry in 2014?

• I don't cry over books but I suppose the one that made me the saddest was Kathryn Stockett's The Help but Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl was quite sad as well. Also, The Rape of Nanking by Iris Chang. 

27. Hidden Gem Of The Year?

• Iris Chang's The Rape of Nanking... a great book! And also Roland Bainton's Here I Stand: A Life of Martin Luther. 

28. Book That Crushed Your Soul?

• It will take more than a book to crush my soul. ;) Hmmm.... Maybe The Rape of Nanking? 

29. Most Unique Book You Read In 2014?

• The Picture of Dorian Grey by Oscar Wilde
•  The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

30. Book That Made You The Most Mad (doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t like it)?

• Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame- I liked it but some of the characters made me... unhappy. 

1. New favorite book blog you discovered in 2014? 

• I discovered a LOT of great ones! I don't even know where to start... so I won't. :( If I visit your blog fairly often know that I love it and if I took the time to make a list you would be on it. :)

2. Favorite review that you wrote in 2014? 

• I love how in depth I got with this review of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Normally I don't make that much of an effort but I just write a little about what I liked and didn't like then done. I suppose you could say that Hunchback made me think more. :)

3. Best discussion/non-review post you had on your blog?

• I don't know! How about this one? :)

4. Best event that you participated in (author signings, festivals, virtual events, memes, etc.)?

• I love doing the Top Ten Tuesday memes and the It's Monday What are You Reading meme

5. Best moment of bookish/blogging life in 2014?

• Bookish- I'm very proud of the amount of Dickens I read this year and overall so far. Can't wait to get some more read next year! 
• Blogging- I'm up to 36 followers on blogger and 40 followers on Bloglovin'! :) That may seem like a small number but it's a big leap for me. :)

7. Most Popular Post This Year On Your Blog (whether it be by comments or views)?

• My announcement of the 2015 Birthday Month Reading Challenge!!!

8. Post You Wished Got A Little More Love?

• Ummm... awkward! I don't know.... all of them! ;) I suppose I like this post a lot and I feel like it expresses a lot of my sentiments. :)

9. Best bookish discovery (book related sites, book stores, etc.)?

• I love Novel Challenges for finding reading challenges and I'm continually discovering the wonders of Goodreads every day. :) I'm also utilizing Amazon more for buying books... especially used books. 

10.  Did you complete any reading challenges or goals that you had set for yourself at the beginning of this year?

I completed ALL of them!!!!! See my accumulation page of the reading challenges I competed in this year HERE. 

1. One Book You Didn’t Get To In 2014 But Will Be Your Number 1 Priority in 2015?

• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier- I really wanted to read that this year but it didn't get done. 

2. Book You Are Most Anticipating For 2015 (non-debut)?

• Barnaby Rudge, Gone with the Wind and Rebecca. 

3. 2015 Debut You Are Most Anticipating?

• I don't really read or keep track of new books much. 

 4. Series Ending/A Sequel You Are Most Anticipating in 2015?

• I like N.D. Wilson's Ashtown Burials series and I'm hoping the last book is coming out in 2015. I haven't read the one before that though so probably I should get around to that too. ;)

5. One Thing You Hope To Accomplish Or Do In Your Reading/Blogging Life In 2015?

• Write a review of every book I read in 2015. Ambitious I know and I can't believe I'm considering it. 

6. A 2015 Release You’ve Already Read & Recommend To Everyone:

• Again, I don't read modern books much, so no... 

This was fun to fill out and I hope y'all enjoyed it too! 

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Back to the Classics Challenge 2014 Wrap up Post

So I obviously don't pay attention enough or I would have realized I needed to write a wrap up post for my Back to the Classics Challenge that I finished a couple months ago. :( No worries, cause here it is now! :)
I only completed the six required categories this year. It was tons of fun to branch out into books I might not have read if they hadn't fit into those categories. As you all know, I love the classics so this was definitely my favorite challenge this year. :)
So here's what I read.

1. 20th Century Classic: The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
2. 19th Century Classic: The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
3. Classic by a Woman Author: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell 
4. Classic in Translation: Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
5. Classic about War: Bridge on the River Kwai by Pierre Boulle
6. Classic by an Author who is new to you:  War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells

I enjoyed all of the books but I especially enjoyed Bridge on the River Kwai, The Lord of the Flies, The Picture of Dorian Gray and North and South. Overall it was a great year for reading and this challenge made it even better! :)

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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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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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