Little Women - Louisa M. Alcott

A discussion over dinner with a friend the other night led me to pick up Little Women - a book I had thought I had read before but I think I have actually only ever seen movie versions of the novel. A recent version with Christian Bale playing Laurie is a firm favourite!
I have a gorgeous old copy of the book which belonged to my mother - with a delightfully kitsch cover reminiscent of the 1960's I feel. I can't actually find a publication date anywhere on the book but that would be my guess.
The story, as I'm sure most of you know, is about 4 young girls - Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy and their trials and tribulations growing up in the Boston area during the American Civil War in which their father is involved in as a Chaplain for the Union Army.
The character of Jo is an autobiographical portrait - and to me the most engaging character in the book - feisty, fun and full of life.
As I was coming to the end of the book I realised that some of the significant events that I knew to be a part of the story where not going to happen - no marriages or deaths to be seen. When I looked up the novel through Wikipedia I read that the book was actually originally published in 2 parts - the second part coming along after publishers realised that the first was so popular - and the copy I was reading only consisted of the original first part of the novel.
Feeling very cheated I will have to go looking for the second part - or simply watch the movie again!

The Chunkster Challenge 2009

I've taken a big, deep breath and have decided to dive into this challenge - well, more like dip my toes in the shallow end!

The Chunkster Challenge 2009 is all about reading chunky, big books. Not something I am necessarily adverse to - it's just that my reading hasn't exactly been flowing along lately and with a new full time job and a PhD to consume most of my time I'm not sure how much dedicated reading time I am going to have this year. Having said that though - I want to give it a go.

Here is the run down of the challenge from Think Pink Dana:

HERE IT IS! As promised! The Chunkster Challenge 2009 Edition!
SIGN UPS END MARCH 1st
There have been a few changes to the rules so please read closely:
*A chunkster is 450 pages or more of ADULT literature (fiction or nonfiction) Don't complain folks, I read all thousands of pages of the Twilight series and they were good, but not a challenge. A chunkster should be a challenge.
*If you read large type books your book will need to be 525 pages or more I asked around and the average LT book is 10-15% longer or more so I think that was a fair estimate.
*No Audio books in the chunkster. It just doesn't seem right. Words on paper for this one folks.
* You may start any time after signing up. You must complete your reads before or on Nov 15th.
*Short Stories and Essay collections will not be counted.
*Books may crossover with other challenges (see option 4 for a collaborative effort with TBR challenge)
*Only option 4 requires that you make a set list of books to complete the challenge
Those are the basics. Here are your options:

*The Chubby Chunkster - this option is for the reader who has a large tome or two to read, but really doesn't want to commit to more than that. 2 books is all you need to finish this challenge.
*Do These Books Make my Butt Look Big? - this option is for the slightly heavier reader who wants to commit to 3-5 Chunksters over the next ten months.
*Mor-book-ly Obese - This is for the truly out of control chunkster. For this level of challenge you must commit to 6 or more chunksters OR three tomes of 750 pages or more. You know you want to.....go on and give in to your cravings.

And lastly, in an intriguing collaboration with the wildly popular Miz B of

the TBR Challenge we have:
*Too Big To Ignore Anymore - this option is for those chunksters on your TBR list. You may select any number of books over 450 pages but you must LIST THEM to complete the challenge and they must be on your TBR list as well (honor code folk, I don't have time to be the challenge police)

I am going to ease myself into this challenge and sign up for the first option - The Chubby Chunkster. The two books I am going to commit to are:

1. The Annotated Version of Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen and David M. Shapard (739 pages)

2. A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth (1488 pages)

Both books I really, really want to read so hopefully I will make it to the end of this challenge!

Pondering 2008 Meme

I saw this meme over at Jen's blog and thought I would give it a go...

What did you do in 2008 that you’d never done before?
Blogging!

Did you keep your New Year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I tend not to make new year's resolutions - it only ends badly! I try to concentrate more on my goals for the year (not sure what difference the different terms make but I seem to like it!).

Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes! 1 new niece and 2 new nephews; Evie, Edward and Isaac all born in 2008.

Did anyone close to you die?
No, thankfully.

What places did you visit?
Not too much travel in 2008 but did manage trips to the South Coast of NSW (Kiama - simply beautiful), Melbourne and Sydney.

What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?
International travel - which will happen in September 2009 with our trip to England and Ireland.

What date from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory?
13th January - my 7 year anniversary with my boy - and no itch in sight!

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
I think finally getting some clarity in regards to my professional life - very satisfying to know where I would like to head at last.

What was your biggest failure?
I don't think there were any major failings - although still not having finished the scrapbook for my beautiful little man, Sammy is one regret. It was supposed to be a present for his 1st Birthday and he has now just turned 3!!

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major at all thankfully.

What was the best thing you bought?
Books, books and more books! Oh, and the perfect bra!

Whose behaviour merited celebration?
All of us!

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
No one comes to mind...

Where did most of your money go?
Books, food and the (very) occasional pair of shoes

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Planning my next overseas trip and my Birthday trip in December. Having dinner at the top of Sydney Tower was also pretty exciting.

What song(s) will always remind you of 2008?
Black and Gold by some guy whose name I can't remember - my partner absolutely hates the song but I love it!

Compared to this time last year, are you:Happier or sadder? Happier Thinner or fatter? I have no idea and for possibly the first time in my life - don't care!Richer or poorer? Richer I hope!

What do you wish you’d done more of?
Travelling and reading - can't get enough of either.

What do you wish you’d done less of?
Working.

What was the best book you read?
The Book Thief

What did you want and get?
Varying experiences.

What did you want and not get?
My own private jet.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
More travel and holidays by the sea.

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2008?
Ballet flats

What kept you sane?
My boy and my cat.

What political issue stirred you the most?
Sorry Day in Australia and the election of Obama in the US.

Who did you miss?
My pop.

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2008
You know what is best for you.

Best Australian Reads - 2008

The ABC Radion program "The Book Show" ran a poll asking it's listeners to send in their best Australian reads of 2008. The fiction list is copied below with the ones I have read in bold:

Addition – Toni Jordan
Breath – Tim Winton
Enigma – Graeme Base
Everything I Knew – Peter Goldsworthy
People of the Book – Geraldine Brooks
Saltwater Moons – Julie Gittus
Sea of Many Returns – Arnold Zable
Tales from Outer Suburbia – Shaun Tan
The Boat – Nam Le
The Build Up – Phillip Gwynne
The Good Parents – Joan London
The Lieutenant – Kate Grenville
The Lifeboat – Zacharey Jane
The Lost Dog – Michelle de Kretser
The Slap – Christos Tsiolkas
The Spare Room – Helen Garner
Wanting – Richard Flanagan

There are still quite a few on this list I haven't read so I think I will make the completion of this list one of my personal reading goals for 2009. Can anyone give me any feedback on any of these I haven't read so far?

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict - Laurie Viera Rigler

Half way through reading Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict I came to the realisation that I had read it before - and I hadn't really liked it all that much the first time around! The reasons for me not enjoying it the first time all came flooding back - although I did keep reading until the end so there must have been something keeping me hanging in there.

First of all, I love everything even slightly related to Jane Austen and the city of Bath in particular. Even though I know all of Jane Austen's letters etc... clearly state she couldn't stand the place I still feel it is my spiritual home! So, when the blurb for Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict talks about trips to Bath and balls in Assembly Rooms, I'm in.

The book is basically a time travel/body swap tale - a modern day LA woman, Courtney Stone (the Jane Austen addict of the title) wakes to find herself in the body of a nineteenth-century English gentlewoman, Jane Mansfield after spending a night drowning her sorrows in a bottle of vodka and Pride and Prejudice after breaking up with her rat of a fiancee.

The premise to the story (I think) is that Courtney/Jane needs to "stop thinking" and give in to her destiny (whatever that may be) in order to find herself back in her own body and century. Now, I can suspend all belief and give in to the time travel thing - that isn't my problem with this book. The problem I have is that Courtney/Jane is annoying, whining and boring! I simply don't care if she does get stuck in 19th century England for the rest of her miserable life! Her constant reflections and self-talk got in the way of the story for me.

I did stick it out to the (predictable) conclusion though - not really sure why! I so wanted to enjoy this book and be taken away to the world of Jane Austen - unfortunately I got stuck in the mental meanderings of Courtney/Jane and I couldn't seem to find my way out.

The Classics Challenge - Not Quite Achieved!

I was really excited and eager to join in the 2008 Classics Challenge hosted by Trish but unfortunately I did not complete the challenge by the end of December 2008.
I did manage to read Wuthering Heights and A Room With A View as well as a future or "should be" classic - Small Island.
I think the time of the year didn't help me - I found I really struggled to read classic novels during the second half of the year when life was a little crazy and hectic - I found myself reaching for "easier", less taxing reads to get me through! So, I would really like to join in this challenge again if it is going to be held again in 2009 - there are many books in this classification I am still very keen to read - just when the time is right!

A New Year - An Improved Blog!

I was thinking (as you do when a new year comes along) about improvements/changes/additions I could add to my blog and along comes Kim at Sophisticated Dorkiness with her 2009 Blog Improvement Project - just perfect!
Here is how Kim describes the project/challenge on her blog:

The 2009 Blog Improvement Project is a year-long challenge that will consist of twice-monthly activities to improve your blog. Every first and third Monday of the month I’ll post an activity here at Sophisticated Dorkiness that will related in some way to making your blog better. Each participant should spend the next two weeks focusing on that aspect of their blog. Possible topics include goals setting, writing better content, building community with readers, getting more readers, and blog layout and design.
If you choose to participate in this project, there is no obligation to participate in every challenge, and you can customize each challenge so it makes sense for your particular blog and goals. Think of the design as similar to Weekly Geeks — participate when it makes sense for you. This is a group effort, because getting better is always easier when you have a support system, but the ultimate commitment remains with you — how do you want your blog to be better by the time we get to December 31, 2009?

This weeks challenge/activity is to look at your blogging goals. When I first started this blog in March 2008 my original goal was really just to become a member of the book blogging community - I was really enjoying what I was reading from others and I wanted to join in. Now I think the blog has also become a really good way for me to keep a track of, and expand, my own reading choices and opportunities. So, I don't really want to quantify my blogging goals too much except to say that I want to keep using my blog as a way to reflect on the reading I do and also a way of challenging the reading I do. I also want to continue to discover new book bloggers/blogs and continue to build blogging relationships with those I have already discovered.