1984

I have borrowed this book next. I am just about to start it and I am looking forward to it. I've heard mixed reviews about it, but it's 8 on my list so I think I will enjoy it! All I can say is, I can't wait to start!

Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad

Age range - Adults
Rating - *
Will it grip you? It didn't grip me....

I was hugely disappointed by this. This was rated 92 on my list, so I expected a little bit more than some man's ramblings about the African jungle.

'Heart of Darkness' is about a group of sailors waiting for the tide to turn so they can move off again. To pass the time, the captain, Marlow, tells stories from his past, notably when he went to Africa to search for an ivory hunting post that no-one can communicate with.

I admit, I was intrigued by the blurb (talk about bigging something up...). However, this soon disappeared by the end of the first chapter.

I found this incoherent at the most. I found it increasingly difficult to follow and I cannot understand the fascination with the figure of Kurtz. Maybe I didn't get quite get it...and I realise that it must have been voted 92 for a reason. All I can say is, the best bit was it ended, and that it was mercifully short.

Perhaps I would have enjoyed it more if it had been set out in a different way, instead gabbled reminiscences. I can't help feeling I've missed something with this. Surely I should have enjoyed it?

Bartleby by Herman Melville

Audience - Anyone
Rating ***
Will it grip you? I would say intrigue you

This is not on my reading list, however this was the book I did today in my 19th Century Literature seminar. I think this is worth a mention, because before I had to read this, I had never heard of it. Herman Melville is of course most famous for writing 'Moby Dick'.

This is very very short, less than 100 pages, probably around the 50 page mark. So it's really a short story, which could probably be found on the Internet somewhere.

'Bartleby' is about a man who copies out legal documents all day, deciding one day to say 'I'd prefer not to' to his employer when asked to do anything. The result is his boss, the lawyer, getting extremely irate and not quite knowing how to react to this 'deranged' man. The situation escalates, and it is revealed that Bartleby actually sleeps under his desk. When asked to go home he replies, 'I would prefer not to'.

This extremely comic story soon turns to sadness, when the audience realises that Bartleby seems to have given up on life and that he has nothing to live for anymore, so why do anything at all?

I read this on a train going back home, and I was thinking about it for the rest of the weekend. It has a very sad ending, and my lecturer nearly cried when reading the ending out to us. I think if you read this, it would take you by surprise, as it really does turn out to be an intriguing little read.

Dracula - Bram Stoker

Audience -13+
Rating - **
Will it grip you? Yes, at the start...

This book had so much potential. I absolutely loved the first few chapters. They were so exciting! There was tension, and it was genuinely scary.

But as soon as the action moved away from Harker (one of the main characters) it got dull, tied up in it's own story and it's seemingly never ending looking for proof for the existence of Dracula, even though it's staring them in face.

Perhaps if they had done more doing than sitting around endlessly talking about what they could be doing, Dracula could have been killed a hell of a lot faster.

Everyone knows the story of Dracula. Crazed vampire who hungers for every one's blood, except he starts messing with the wrong people. They then go on a hugely overdrawn vampire hunt. I won't spoil the ending for you.

One of the things that irritated me most with Dracula (and I wouldn't say I am a feminist) is the constant repetitions from Van Helsing to Mina Harker about the 'woman's weakness' and how fragile a state of mind she has. She seems one of the most with it characters for heavens sake!!

I am just so disappointed with 'Dracula'. I mean it has SO much potential and after everything I've heard about it I expected so much more. The first few chapters were so gripping and I couldn't put it down. If it had continued in that vein, and not drifted to Plymouth to deal with some random girl called Lucy I may have rated it higher.

The list I'm missioning through

I keep referring to a list of books I have and I've finally tracked it down on the internet. It's from 2007 so it's slightly outdated, but I got given this list in my first ever University lecture so it's a bit of an obsession of mine to work my way through it all. Soon I'll post a list of the ones I've got left to read (quite a few lol....)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2007/mar/01/news

What to read next?

Still got a few chapters left of Dracula. But I'm already wondering what to read next. Something contemporary. Suggestions?

New Dracula film

Not that anything could really top the iconic 1931 film 'Dracula' or 'Nosferatu' but Hollywood are making another Dracula film! It's called 'Vlad' and is set for release in 2012. Think I will have to see it, becuase the book is amazing! Currently halfway through now, been snatching time to read it between lectures.