Victober 2021: Official TBR
Sep. 6th, 2021 08:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
theophania After some thought on the matter and what I want to read, I have narrowed down on a few books that I wish to read this year. Just to remind everyone what the prompts are for this year's challenge, we have the following:
1. Read a Victorian sensation novel
2. Read a Victorian book set in the countryside AND/OR the city
3. Read a Victorian book with a female main character
4. Group challenge: Read a popular Victorian book you haven’t yet read (how you define popular is up to you – could be popular now, popular on Booktube, popular in the Victorian period itself)
The books I have officially selected to read for this year's reading challenge are:
1. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins- This is going to be my first Wilkie Collins work and I am super excited to get into it. I heard that Collins is an outstanding author of his period, and that The Woman in White is a prime example of its genre and type. Besides, the cover and summary of my edition gives me spooky October vibes, so I am definitely looking forward to sitting down and reading this book. I feel that Wilkie Collins and I will be best of friends by the time I am finished this book.
2. I am still rather on the fence about the book that I want to read for this prompt, but I have chosen two books that I will have to decide upon later. The first is written by a male author and the second is written by a woman. I suppose I'll pick up a book depending upon my mood by the time Victober season comes along, but I have decided to mention both of the titles and discuss why I want to read them.
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy. Hardy and I have a somewhat complicated relationship. I feel that many people love his works, but as somebody who wants more out of an author outside of overhyped nonsense, I have never forgiven him for The Return of the Native which had been recommended to me by multiple people who are ardent Hardy fans, and which I didn't like. However, I am willing to give Hardy a second chance and out of all of his works, I feel that The Mayor of Casterbridge has the most fascinating premise. Besides, it is set in the rural countryside of England, and I find that to be a charming setting.
Which leads us to the second book that I want to read for this prompt which is North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. The only work that I have read by Gaskell is The Old Nurse's Story, which is a horror short story that was part of a collection of Victorian ghost stories that I had read and enjoyed. As a matter of fact, it was the aforementioned story that first brought Gaskell to my attention as a writer and I am curious to read North and South, which is the only book by her that I have on my shelves. I am very interested to see Gaskell as a novelist as opposed to a short story writer, and have heard amazing things about North and South specifically.
3. Villette by Charlotte Brontë. This book was chosen based solely on the premise and summary of the book. I am not too familiar with the Brontë sisters or their work, and normally never select their books as a go to read from my shelves. I am hoping to add Jane Eyre to my shelves as my copy had fallen apart due to age and I was hoping to find The Professor also- which I think is a short novella in comparison to both Jane Eyre and Villette. However, as Villette is from the perspective of a woman character and has themes that I think are very important to read and discuss, I've decided that this is the book that I am going to read for the prompt it is for.
4. Dracula by Bram Stoker. I have a confession to make here, and it is an embarrassing one. To the best of my knowledge, I have never read Dracula before, unless I read an abridged version of the book as a child and can't remember the reading experience. It is said that Bram Stoker's idea of a vampire has had a lot of influence upon the literary vampire scene, and has also inspired countless film and play adaptations of both Dracula and the ideal vampire.
Now, I have read some classic vampire stories years and years ago, starting when everyone in my friend circle was in the Twilight phase, and I wanted to read the possible influences that Stephenie Meyer had. I never got past the second book in this quartet, but I did read The Vampyre (1819) by John William Polidori, Carmilla (1872) by Sheridan Le Fanu, and La Morte Amoureuse (1836) by Théophile Gautier.
I definitely have read more vampire fiction, but was turned off the genre after I read a book that I believe was titled A Candle for d'Artagnan, and of course the mess that was the Twilight saga really made me not like anything to do with vampires for a long time. So, I am really excited to sit down and read Bram Stoker's Dracula. I've heard that it is an outstanding literary work, and I can't wait to read it.
The Group read this year is Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell, which I suppose contains Gaskell's horror stories. I do not own this book in a physical format, but will be open to finding a copy to read on Gutenberg.
Those are the books I am reading for this years Victober. To those participating in this years challenge: what books have you decided to read? Did you find it difficult to narrow down what you wanted to read this year? To those that are not participating, what books are you going to be reading for the month of October?
2. I am still rather on the fence about the book that I want to read for this prompt, but I have chosen two books that I will have to decide upon later. The first is written by a male author and the second is written by a woman. I suppose I'll pick up a book depending upon my mood by the time Victober season comes along, but I have decided to mention both of the titles and discuss why I want to read them.
The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy. Hardy and I have a somewhat complicated relationship. I feel that many people love his works, but as somebody who wants more out of an author outside of overhyped nonsense, I have never forgiven him for The Return of the Native which had been recommended to me by multiple people who are ardent Hardy fans, and which I didn't like. However, I am willing to give Hardy a second chance and out of all of his works, I feel that The Mayor of Casterbridge has the most fascinating premise. Besides, it is set in the rural countryside of England, and I find that to be a charming setting.
Which leads us to the second book that I want to read for this prompt which is North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. The only work that I have read by Gaskell is The Old Nurse's Story, which is a horror short story that was part of a collection of Victorian ghost stories that I had read and enjoyed. As a matter of fact, it was the aforementioned story that first brought Gaskell to my attention as a writer and I am curious to read North and South, which is the only book by her that I have on my shelves. I am very interested to see Gaskell as a novelist as opposed to a short story writer, and have heard amazing things about North and South specifically.
3. Villette by Charlotte Brontë. This book was chosen based solely on the premise and summary of the book. I am not too familiar with the Brontë sisters or their work, and normally never select their books as a go to read from my shelves. I am hoping to add Jane Eyre to my shelves as my copy had fallen apart due to age and I was hoping to find The Professor also- which I think is a short novella in comparison to both Jane Eyre and Villette. However, as Villette is from the perspective of a woman character and has themes that I think are very important to read and discuss, I've decided that this is the book that I am going to read for the prompt it is for.
4. Dracula by Bram Stoker. I have a confession to make here, and it is an embarrassing one. To the best of my knowledge, I have never read Dracula before, unless I read an abridged version of the book as a child and can't remember the reading experience. It is said that Bram Stoker's idea of a vampire has had a lot of influence upon the literary vampire scene, and has also inspired countless film and play adaptations of both Dracula and the ideal vampire.
Now, I have read some classic vampire stories years and years ago, starting when everyone in my friend circle was in the Twilight phase, and I wanted to read the possible influences that Stephenie Meyer had. I never got past the second book in this quartet, but I did read The Vampyre (1819) by John William Polidori, Carmilla (1872) by Sheridan Le Fanu, and La Morte Amoureuse (1836) by Théophile Gautier.
I definitely have read more vampire fiction, but was turned off the genre after I read a book that I believe was titled A Candle for d'Artagnan, and of course the mess that was the Twilight saga really made me not like anything to do with vampires for a long time. So, I am really excited to sit down and read Bram Stoker's Dracula. I've heard that it is an outstanding literary work, and I can't wait to read it.
The Group read this year is Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell, which I suppose contains Gaskell's horror stories. I do not own this book in a physical format, but will be open to finding a copy to read on Gutenberg.
Those are the books I am reading for this years Victober. To those participating in this years challenge: what books have you decided to read? Did you find it difficult to narrow down what you wanted to read this year? To those that are not participating, what books are you going to be reading for the month of October?