It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (13)

Happy Monday everyone! Just wanted to let you all know that this week is going to be very busy for me, so I might be a little "dead." I apologize in advance.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey in which we bloggers share what we have read in the past week, and what we're currently tearing through this week.

Last Week I Read:

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

Currently I'm Reading:

The Wake of the Lorelei Lee by L.A. Meyer

Book Blogger Hop (5)

It's the weekend, which means time for another hop! Hosted by the lovely Crazy-For-Books.

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read!

This week's question comes from Christina who blogs at The Paper Back Princesses:

When you read a book that you just can't get into, do you stick it out and keep reading or move to your next title?

When I have the unfortunate chance of picking up a book that doesn't exactly go over well with me (which only happens to me every once in a blue moon, thank goodness), I always try and stick it out till the end. That is, unless I have a huge pile to get through, but I usually don't. I like to give the book a fair chance.

Teaser Tuesdays (3)

Greetings and happy Tuesday. I'm pleased to share with you today a small teaser from my new book, The Wake of the Lorelei Lee. Enjoy!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
Grab your current read
Open to a random page
Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers:

"So anyway, here I am with this fine ship all outfitted and ready to go, awaiting word from my darling Jaimy, back in London, that my name has been cleared of all charges against it and that I am back in the good graces of the King, upon which word I shall immediately set sail for Merrie Olde England and--finally!--marriage to Leutenant James Emerson Fletcher. Hooray!"

--pg. 10, The Wake of the Lorelei Lee by L.A. Meyer

Book Haul: Borders

I am happy to report the findings today of two new novels to add to my library. I can't wait to dive into these two... I bow down to both of these authors. They have been on my wishlist for so long! Here's a sneak peak...

The Wake of the Lorelei Lee: Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, on Her Way to Botany Bay by L.A. Meyer (Y.A. Historical Fiction)

Jacky Faber, rich from her exploits diving for Spanish gold, has purchased the Lorelei Lee to carry passengers across the Atlantic. Believing she has been absolved of past sins against the Crown, Jacky docks in London to take on her crew, but is instead arrested and sentenced to life in the newly formed penal colony in Australia.
To add insult to injury, the Lorelei Lee is confiscated to carry Jacky and more than 200 female convicts to populate New South Wales. Not one to give in to self pity, Jacky rallies her sisters to "better" their position--resulting in wild escapades, brushes with danger, and much hilarity. Will Jacky find herself a founding mother of New South Wales, Australia? Not if she has anything to do about it!


Cate of the Lost Colony by Lisa Klein

Lady Catherine is one of Queen Elizabeth's favorite court maidens—until her forbidden romance with Sir Walter Ralegh is discovered. In a bitter twist of irony, the jealous queen banishes Cate to Ralegh's colony of Roanoke, in the New World. Ralegh pledges to come for Cate, but as the months stretch out, Cate begins to doubt his promise and his love. Instead it is Manteo, a Croatoan Indian, whom the colonists—and Cate—increasingly turn to. Yet just as Cate's longings for England and Ralegh fade and she discovers a new love in Manteo, Ralegh will finally set sail for the New World.
Seamlessly weaving together fact with fiction, Lisa Klein's newest historical drama is an engrossing tale of adventure and forbidden love—kindled by one of the most famous mysteries in American history: the fate of the settlers at Roanoke, who disappeared without a trace forty years before the Pilgrims would set foot in Plymouth.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (12)

Happy Monday everyone! I hope you all have a great start to your week. And more importantly happy Columbus Day!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey in which we bloggers share what we have read in the past week, and what we're currently tearing through this week.

Last Week I Read:

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Currently I'm Reading:

The Once and Future King by T.H. White

Book Blogger Hop (4)

Time for another hop! Hosted by the lovely Crazy-For-Books.

In the spirit of the Twitter Friday Follow, the Book Blogger Hop is a place just for book bloggers and readers to connect and share our love of the written word! This weekly BOOK PARTY is an awesome opportunity for book bloggers to connect with other book lovers, make new friends, support each other, and generally just share our love of books! It will also give blog readers a chance to find other book blogs to read!

This week's question comes from Suko who blogs at Suko's Notebook:

What's your favorite beverage while reading or blogging, if any? Is it tea, coffee, water, a glass of wine, or something else?

Well, considering that I am not over 21, wine is definitely out of the question. I ususally don't drink anything while I'm reading/blogging. I guess if I'm in the right mood and I want to feel super booky and romantic, I'll make myself a cup of tea and be fancy. But that's on rare occasions.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

GENRE

Classic Literature / Fiction (194 pgs.)


SYNOPSIS

Oscar Wilde brings his enormous gifts for astute social observation and sparkling prose to The Picture of Dorian Gray, his dreamlike story of a young man who sells his soul for eternal youth and beauty. This dandy, who remains forever unchanged—petulant, hedonistic, vain, and amoral—while a painting of him ages and grows increasingly hideous with the years, has been horrifying, enchanting, obsessing, even corrupting readers for more than a hundred years.
Taking the reader in and out of London drawing rooms, to the heights of aestheticism, and to the depths of decadence, The Picture of Dorian Gray is not only a melodrama about moral corruption. Laced with bon mots and vivid depictions of upper-class refinement, it is also a fascinating look at the milieu of Wilde’s fin-de-siècle world and a manifesto of the creed “Art for Art’s Sake.”


MY REVIEW

I have always wanted to read this book. I had heard from many others that this was a great classic fiction read, and being the classic fiction afficionado that I am, I just had to try it.

The Picture of Dorian Gray, to put it frankly, is one huge mind game. This philosophy in here will literally blow your mind. The way our main antagonist, Lord Henry Wotton thinks--how he views the world--is absolutely astounding. This heavy philosophical factor was both a good and bad thing... on one hand, it makes the reader really think, really presents them with a new perspective. But on the other hand, during some passages, I actually had to stop and comprehend what I was reading, which got a bit tedious at some points. But I really enjoyed that element of the book.

I loved Lord Henry Wotton's character. He's the kind of man who you should be best friends with, and whom you should never be enemies with. His witty quips and his philosophies about life are amazing. In some ways, by bringing out your "bad self," he makes you show your true character, your true colors. And I quite enjoyed that about him.

Poor Dorian Gray. If that's not a tortured soul, I don't know what is. He starts off a perfectly, well, perfect human being, but thanks to the corruption of Lord Henry, he becomes a dark, twisted being who drives people to suicide on more than one account and is capable of murder. His hunt for eternal perfection, eternal youth ends up killing him in the end. Such a tragic man, but such a dynamic character at the same time. He stands for so much in this story.

I loved the fact that just because this novel is set in Victorian England doesn't mean its tea parties and balls all of the time. Oscar Wilde did an outstanding job with writing the scenery in this novel. It's really reflective of Dorian Gray's character. In the beginning, when Dorian was still "pure," the sceneries are lush, romantic, typical Victorian-esque settings. But when Dorian turns darker, so does the world around him. London becomes a dark place... it becomes less of the prim and proper, and more seedy taverns and opium dens. I really admired Wilde's writing of the setting... it just brought everything together.

The ending is so epic! It couldn't have ended better in my opinion. This is one of those times where I have to say, "you just have to read it for yourself."

Overall, Dorian Gray was quite a twisted story. Don't go into reading this book thinking it's a typical classic Victorian novel... it is far from that. The dialogue is mind bending, the scenery fantastic, and the characters incredibly dynamic. If you are a classic literature lover, this is a must read! In fact, it's a must read for everyone!

MY RATING

5*****