Sunday, November 18, 2007

Classics Challenge Completed


I've officially completed the Classics Challenge hosted by Crazy Cozy Murders. Finished it up last night with C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters which I owe a review on. I liked it well enough though to be honest it was one of those books that I read sometimes and then thought "wait a minute what did those last 10 pages say?" Hate it when that happens...Anyway, this one was a success overall. I really enjoyed Rebecca which replaced The Age of Innocence which I just couldn't get through and I loved The Death of Ivan Ilyich. I'm going to try to read some more Tolstoy next year if there's time.

  1. Siddhartha by Herman Hesse
  2. The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis
  3. The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy
  4. Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
  5. The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

19 comments:

DesLily said...

I loved the movie Rebecca.. and after having just seen it and then your review I ordered that book myself.. right now though.. sheesh, I am building a bigger tbr pile than I've ever had in my life! And a number of them are tombs! ..and I want to do some re-reading! argh! I should be able to do this lol. ..
You sure are doing good reading considering all the writing you are doing!!!

chrisa511 said...

Deslily, I guess I'm doing good, lol...it took me another 6 days to read this last book and it was only 209 pages! That's sad! My TBR pile is so embarrassing that it's not funny...seriously, it's not funny :p I have at least 150 unread books sitting in my room waiting to be read. I actually have a TBR bookshelf! Now that's not the wishlist, these are books that I actually own that I'm waiting to read! Sheesh is right! It's getting bad, huh Pat, lol!

DesLily said...

I am beginning to think that anything more than 3 or 4 tbr books is actually bad for us.. I think we see that pile and "read fast" to bring it down and sometimes we don't take our time and enjoy them as much as we should (considering how much money they cost!) That thought just came to mind as I read your comment. I could see you trying to read faster and realized I do that ! No matter what that pile looks like we really need to slow down our reading and inhale them a bit more... I actually don't keep tabs on how long each book takes me to read, maybe that's a good thing? ah well..

I'm betting anyone in your family WON'T give you books or gift certificates from book stores for Christmas! lol... I wish you lived close to me! I could use you as a library! hahaha..(just teasing!)

DesLily said...

just me again.. went to you nano site..

wow! you passed the 30,000 mark!!!Congrats baby boy! You be doing fantastic!!!

chrisa511 said...

Deslily, I usually do take my time with my books. It's not that I rush to get through them, otherwhise I'd be hyperventilation at the sight of my shelf! I actually enjoy having that many books lying thre waiting :p I just know my normal reading speed and it's slowed tremendously! I really don't know why that bugs me, but it does for some reason...strange. But you're right, for $15-$20 a piece for the hardcovers, we should be enjoying them for as long as possible!!

On the NaNo front, I had no idea that I was going to go over 30,000 yesterday, but I got a good little story going all of a sudden and typed away, then when I checked the count, I was suddenly over 30,000! That made me feel good :)

Stephanie said...

Congrats on completing this challenge! It looks like you really did read some great books!!

Debi said...

Congrats, Chris! It's a great feeling, finishing up a challenge, isn't it? Especially when you read some great books along the way!

Eva said...

Congrats! Go Tolstoy! ;)

chrisa511 said...

Stephanie, I enjoyed this one over all. For the most part the books were good and it got a few off the shelf that have been there for waaaaay to long!

Debi, It's definitely a great feeling to finish a challenge...especially when you're signed up for so many! One down, nine to go :/

Eva, Three cheers for Tolstoy ;) This is the one that got me wanting to read War and Peace...now to get that nice, heavy, new edition...

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed this challenge which I finished a little while back. I will be interested to read your CS Lewis review as I have only read his Narnia series.

Kailana said...

I got my book! But the hand did not make it :(

chrisa511 said...

Rhinoa, I hope I get around to reviewing it eventually. To be honest, I was pretty uninspired by it though I know so many people who loved it...maybe I just read it at a bad time...

Kailana, Oh no! Did it break or was it just not there at all? I know I packed it in there...That's so sad :(

Kailana said...

It broke, it only has two fingers left :(

chrisa511 said...

Kailana, Oh no! That's so sad...It's because I shipped it in that stupid white envelope...I forgot that the hand was in there too and didn't pad it...crap! I'm sorry :( I'll make it up to you next time I order a poppet..if she includes another hand bookmark, I'll send it to you packed nicely!

DesLily said...

checked Nano first thing this morning ... good boy!! You did good Chris!! 9 days to go!..

Carl V. Anderson said...

Congrats!!!

As I think I said previously, I'm thrilled that you liked Rebecca. I really enjoyed the classic film except for the fact that they shied away from the real reason that the first Mrs. deWinter was killed. The BBC version is my favorite.

chrisa511 said...

Carl, How can they shy away from the reason she was killed?! That's crazy! I'll have to check them both out. I'm glad you told me about the BBC version. I would've never known about it if you wouldn't have told me!

Bellezza said...

Phew, another one done! I loved the Screwtape letters. One part I'll never forget is the passage which read to keep the person in the past because they can't do anything about it, or in the future because it's always ahead, but never in the now. That's true, I think, that the enemy is victorious if he keeps us from enjoying today. I look forward to reading your thoughts, and in the meantime: Happy Thanksgiving!

chrisa511 said...

Bellezza, Happy Thanksgiving to you too :) Honestly, not too much stood out to me in the Screwtape Letters...I think I read it at a bad time which was unfortunate, but the part that you mentioned definitely did stand out and I think that it's a wonderful point. It's easy to get stuck in the past or worry about the future...I'm famous for doing that, but it's so important that we do enjoy today and live for today :)