August 2013 Reading Round-Up
Posted 2nd September 2013
Category: Round-Ups Genres: N/A
10 Comments
So, August. It was nicer weather than was first expected and I read a lot. It just doesn’t look like I did. The reason? Take a look at the first book on the list.
All books are works of fiction.
The Books
Margaret Mitchell: Gone With The Wind – A vain, selfish, ignorant girl goes through life in a war-torn country careless of everyone else, even the hero. It wasn’t as Rhett-and-Scarlett focused as I thought it would be (the famous film poster was in my head) but it is a very decent book.
Ruth A Casie – The Guardian’s Witch – A man tries to save his new lands and win the heart of his wife at the same time. Terrible.
It’s pretty obvious that Gone With The Wind was my favourite this month, and The Guardian’s Witch a waste of a few days reading time I can’t get back. Ironically I pondered getting the book for a long time before I decided to, and I wish I hadn’t got it. Mitchell’s book left me much to think about, in fact I’ve written a ‘further thoughts’ post on what happened to the characters where I skip quickly between points, much as I did my post on identity in Du Maurier’s classic. I can sense impulsiveness being a theme of those sorts of posts. My usual writing style goes out the window.
Quotation Report
If you are having an argument with Rhett, the sort in which you should be slamming doors, rest assured he will do it for you.
I feel out of the loop with my own reading, having pretty much read one book the entire month, but it was somewhat according to plan so it isn’t so bad. At the start of summer I decided I’d like to read Mansfield Park as I had a lot of success with Austen in previous summers, but try as I might I just couldn’t get into it. Mitchell’s book was a good substitute, especially as I’d been meaning to read it for the couple of years I’ve had it. And now I’ve finally done it. I will miss the summer, I’m not a winter person at all, but I’ve read lots, read well, and been on numerous day trips.
What was your favourite book this month (or week if you round-up each week)?
September 2, 2013, 10:41 am
Well done for reading Gone with the Wind I’m very daunted by the size of it. My favourite read I think of August was the epic A Clash of Kings by George R R Martin…although it probably wasn’t as epic as Gone with the Wind!
September 2, 2013, 12:57 pm
I should do a monthly wrap-up, but I don’t. My favorite book was The Last Summer of the Camperdowns by Elizabeth Kelly, but I haven’t written my review yet. Too bad about The Guardian’s Witch, but sometimes it’s good to read a bad one to remind you of all the work that goes into writing a good book!
September 2, 2013, 1:31 pm
I seem to have lost my big book mojo — my favourite this month was the very short Double Indemnity by James M. Cain.
September 2, 2013, 1:40 pm
Looking forward to Gone With the Wind! It’s a mammoth of a book; I tried watching the film the other day but got put off by the length of it.
September 2, 2013, 4:41 pm
I disliked the movie of Gone with the Wind so much that I never ever considered reading the book. I know it’s probably much better than the movie, and won’t have Clark Gable, who I don’t care for, but enh. I just don’t think I’ll care for it.
September 2, 2013, 6:53 pm
I haven’t read Gone with the Wind yet – not sure if I will although it does sound like a great read. I’ve had a very slow reading summer myself, but one of the books I read will probably make it to my top reads (Eleanor and Park), and I enjoyed the other two a lot, too, so it wasn’t exactly a bad month for reading, just a bad month in terms of number of books read!
September 2, 2013, 7:23 pm
I love Gone with the Wind so I’m glad to hear you liked it and I’ll look forward to your further thoughts!
September 3, 2013, 5:43 am
I’ve been thinking about reading Gone with the wind since a long time ago, but you know, it’s a book that scares me because I think it is so dense and heavy.
I don’t have a copy and I was thinking about reading it in English, but I don’t know if it would be so complicated for my level of English…
So sumarizing, I don’t know what to do with this book!
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September 2, 2013, 10:06 am
Wonderful to know that you read ‘Gone with the Wind’ and liked it, Charlie. I read it years back and liked it very much. For a long time it was longest book that I had ever read. Now, after reading your thoughts, I want to re-read it again. I hope you can write a longer post on the book.