Tag: William Makepeace Thackeray

2017 is here!!

As I sit here typing this in Pensacola, I hear the sound of the train passing outside. It definitely has been a year to remember. I never knew how much I enjoyed reading. And medical issues aside, 2016 is over and I know how much God provides in every way possible. I’ve learned more about myself and the world from  eyes of each book that I read. It all leads back to God, his greatness and wonderful plan. I can see their views on our creator. When I go back to the Word, I enjoy it more!

I managed to read 32 books last year. And I will give credit, where credit is definitely due for my book reading inspiration. From a friend and her blog @ Take It or Tweak It with this particular post.

It has been quite a fun year enjoying classic literature, and a few others. I want to inspire you dear reader to challenge yourself, and pick out a number of books to read. And set your course and stick to it. Classics, are a perfect place to start. Most are referenced in other literature, and it gives you connections and a way to start a good conversation. So, you will be up to date, when an author references one of these.

Here is a link to a good place to start from Clifton Fadiman’s lifetime reading list, which I mentioned in my post at the beginning of last year.

Top three books in 2016!

1) Moby-Dick 2) Middlemarch 3) Count of Monte Cristo.
—–
And I will add a 4) Night by Elie Wiesel, because it is captivating and it gives me a deeper appreciation as I read back through the Psalms and other scripture. You will have to read it for yourself (I will eventually add a review another day)

[Updated book list at end of this post]    

Medical related update for 2016:

MRI Femur/CT Chest, followup: Result for 2016 is good!! 3 year milestone was reached.

MRI Brain, followup: Results are stable, no growth which is always good.

Abdominal pain referenced in a previous post is gone now. But doesn’t mean possible surgery is still not in future. Which I’ve decided not to do for the time being.

Having bacterial pneumonia at the end of November though initial days of December is not fun. I am better now. But I haven’t got rid of a headache that has started since then. It comes and goes with time.

Eye related issue, that I had was rescheduled to this month, because of the above sickness interference with the scheduled appointment.

But 2017 is a new year. I look forward to what is to come this year. Another year behind and a new year is now on the frontier. And more books on the horizon.  : – )

          [UPDATED BOOK LIST]

Week 22-30: Ambassadors by Henry James – 463 pages
Week 29: Rebecca and Rowena by William Makepeace Thackeray – 104 pages
Week 30-33: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy – 415 pages
Week 34-35: Jude the Obscure by Thomas Hardy – 452 pages (Bought 8/8/16 after MRI)
Week 35-37: Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas – 1100~ pages
Week 37-39: Little Women by Louise May Alcott – 504 pages
Week 39-41: Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde – 253 pages
Week 41-44: Paradise Lost by John Milton -300 pages~  ( Bought 9/14/16 after MRI/CT)
Week 44: How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill – 246 pages
Week 45: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson – 210 pages
Week 45-46: A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Wolfe – 138 pages
Week 46-47: Break of Day by Colette – 168 pages
Week 46-47: Memoirs of Mary Wollstonecraft by William Godwin – 133 pages
Week 47-51: Moby-Dick; or, The Whale by Herman Melville – 615 pages
Week 51-52: Night by Elie Wiesel – 120 pages
Week 52: Twelve Baskets of Crumbs by Elisabeth Elliot – 173 pages

13000~ pages according to Goodreads among these 32 books.

 

I’ve neglected to provide another update on my delve into a world of books.
Below is my latest list.

Week 9-12: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray [3/5-3/23] 754 pages
Week 12-14: Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton [3/24-4/4] 304 pages
Week 14-17: Adam Bede by George Eliot [4/5-4/26]  483 pages
Week 17-19: Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell [4/27-5/9] 1037 pages
Week 19-22: Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton [5/11- 6/2] 414 pages

Adam Bede, should have been finished faster. I was reading a 127 year old copy of the book from 1889. Especially, taking great care with this older edition, is one reason.

The second being the in the hospital from 4/15-4/17. I went into the emergency room on that Friday morning at 7 AM. I wasn’t feeling well the previous day. Then when I threw up that morning, it did not look normal. It was was old blood, which was black.  The diagnosis was LA Class D Esophagitis. I feel okay now, currently taking medicine to heal it. I have a followup EGD on Monday to check on the healing of my esophagus.

Last week, I went to an ophthalmologist and she performed a laser treatment on the retina. It was done to help prevent retina detachment down the road, because of symptoms I was experiencing. A burst of green laser to the left eye, while seated with head and chin strapped in. It was hard to reply to the doctor, while a laser is flashing into your retina. It was no big deal. I’ve been through a lot in my life, so this was a minor inconvenience to myself. Basically, the treatment was plugging the small hole in the retina. Follow-up for that is next month.

Okay enough of that chapter into my life.

Gone with the Wind, is a wonderful book. It has become one of my favorite books now. There is so much in the book to say which can’t be confined in the few lines that I am giving here. Scarlett and Rhett both have dynamic characters. You will either love or hate, Scarlett. And of course the book is better than the movie. Too much is left out in the movie, because of time (haha). If you haven’t watched the movie. It is three hours and forty-five minutes.  Read this book now.

Custom of the Country. This book has been on my bookshelf for a few years. I actually forgot that I owned it. I noticed in January, while perusing my book shelves. Another great book by Edith Wharton, written in 1913. It is fun to compare and contrast characters from your other books to the one you are currently reading. I read one short review comparing the main character to the  one in Thackeray’s Becky Sharp. And that’s why picked it up finally.  Undine Spragg is… Well, you will have to find out for yourself.

Adam Bede, was enjoyable from the first few pages. I read this book, because it was written by George Eliot. As usual, her characters come to life. Quite a lot to say. If you have enjoyed reading Eliot, read this one as well.

Age of Innocence. Another great book by Wharton.

Vanity Fair. Great book. Am I overusing this word??? A character you will get to know is Becky Sharp. Quite a terrible character. You will see her antics in the first few pages.Vanity Fair, has also been called a book without a hero.

Thackeray has a lot of good commentary. Have you built your castles in the air lately?[You will not understand, until you read this book] One more thing. He has written a short parody of Ivanhoe in 1850, called Rebecca and Rowena. Which I need to add my to-read list. I will give an update later.

I didn’t originally attend to put mini review of these books. It was a pleasure reading through them. Quite enjoyable indeed.

Reading classics will broaden your mind and outlook on life. There is a lot to learn. Until next time.

Another month of books has passed on by. And another has already begun.

week six(1of2): Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather.
week six(2of2): To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf
week seven: Middlemarch by George Eliot
week eight(1of2): Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
week eight(2of2): Mill on the Floss by George Eliot
week 9: Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray [currently reading]

Where will I end. Who knows. I’ve been reading slower at a snail’s pace this week, it seems. This current book (754 pages) is about equal in length to Middlemarch.

I have to say now that George Eliot’s Middlemarch has become my favorite book of all time. I immensely enjoy Eliot’s intellectual mind that comes across in her writing.  I was originally considering reading Middlemarch at some point this year. While reading, To the Lighthouse, Woolf casually drops the title in her book. I knew from that point, that I should read Middlemarch next. It may be a longer book than most people are accustomed to reading.  Definitely does not disappoint.

After finishing her book, I went on eBay and bought an 1875’s?? edition of the book, that came from across the pond. I didn’t stop there!! HA.  I now own other late 1800’s editions of her other novels.

I was looking upon my bookshelf last week. I noticed I have a book, Poems of George Eliot. !!!!!
I remember buying this book several years ago. I failed to realize who she was then. She is not known for her poems.

Page after page after page. Reading is quite a pleasure and enjoyment for the mind.  : -)