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emilymknight's reviews
146 reviews
Prince Caspian by C.S. Lewis
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.25
When I read this a few years ago I only got halfway before I forgot about it and never picked it up again. So I’m glad to have read it in its entirety now.
This is probably an example of a book where, for me, the film is better than the book.
I feel like the pacing was a little off, the main parts of the story where the it was more ‘tense’ and ‘action-packed’ were over quickly whereas other more unimportant parts were so slow and a little unnecessary. Also, the part where Caspian meets them all is so anticlimactic, Peter listens to their conversation secretly for agessssss (meanwhile war is imminent) and then Caspian is kinda like oh hey everyone.
Despite that, it was of course a fun and easy read. And now going forward, though I have seen the Voyage of the Dawn-Treader film, the last 3 books are all completely new reads for me.
This is probably an example of a book where, for me, the film is better than the book.
I feel like the pacing was a little off, the main parts of the story where the it was more ‘tense’ and ‘action-packed’ were over quickly whereas other more unimportant parts were so slow and a little unnecessary. Also, the part where Caspian meets them all is so anticlimactic, Peter listens to their conversation secretly for agessssss (meanwhile war is imminent) and then Caspian is kinda like oh hey everyone.
Despite that, it was of course a fun and easy read. And now going forward, though I have seen the Voyage of the Dawn-Treader film, the last 3 books are all completely new reads for me.
Euripides: Medea by Euripides
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
4.25
My first time reading Euripides and I'm now confident it won't be the last!
It was a quick read, and the lack of stage directions threw me a bit at first but I soon got used to it. It was a short play and easy to breeze through.
I am familiar with Medea and her myth a little bit, though this play is set after what most people know her for (helping Jason get the golden fleece, and killing her brother in an insanely barbaric way). It was enjoyable - a little sad and quite dark, but I already knew that going into it so it was nothing super surprising in terms of the plot.
I must note though that it's almost hard to believe this was written by a man. Especially at time and place (5th century BC Athens) when women had little to no rights, had to be accompanied in public, and were likely not even allowed to watch this play be performed.
For a play written by a man, performed by men, to audiences of men... I think it's quite a daring play. Jason is an insufferable and highly irritating man (some of the stuff that man said, oh LORD) and Medea is no better, but you do find yourself siding with her - more so for the arguments she makes, not for what she actually does in the end.
I'll be studying this for uni so may update when I've learnt more about it!
It was a quick read, and the lack of stage directions threw me a bit at first but I soon got used to it. It was a short play and easy to breeze through.
I am familiar with Medea and her myth a little bit, though this play is set after what most people know her for (helping Jason get the golden fleece, and killing her brother in an insanely barbaric way). It was enjoyable - a little sad and quite dark, but I already knew that going into it so it was nothing super surprising in terms of the plot.
I must note though that it's almost hard to believe this was written by a man. Especially at time and place (5th century BC Athens) when women had little to no rights, had to be accompanied in public, and were likely not even allowed to watch this play be performed.
For a play written by a man, performed by men, to audiences of men... I think it's quite a daring play. Jason is an insufferable and highly irritating man (some of the stuff that man said, oh LORD) and Medea is no better, but you do find yourself siding with her - more so for the arguments she makes, not for what she actually does in the end.
I'll be studying this for uni so may update when I've learnt more about it!
"But we are women too:
We may not have the means to achieve nobility;
Our cleverness lies in crafting evil."
"For this one short day forget your children;
Then mourn: though you kill them,
You did love them. Mine is a hapless woman's fate."
Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
4.0
Though not my favourite play of Shakespeare's, I can definitely appreciate the importance of this political play and its exploration of what can ensue in a rebellion against the 'monarch', or rulers.
I do find it interesting to know it was widely believed in 16th century England that the Trojan, Brutus, founded Britain - it makes you think about the impact this play would have had on audiences back then.
I think for me, it was just a bit too heavy and not as engaging as other Shakespeare plays I have read, and so I didn't really get into it.
I do find it interesting to know it was widely believed in 16th century England that the Trojan, Brutus, founded Britain - it makes you think about the impact this play would have had on audiences back then.
I think for me, it was just a bit too heavy and not as engaging as other Shakespeare plays I have read, and so I didn't really get into it.
"Men, at some time, are masters of their fates.
The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,
But in ourselves, that we are underlings."
Metamorphoses by Ovid
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Wow! 1 month and 15 'books' later.
It's so difficult to rate a book which is just a tonne of short stories but I'll do my best. Firstly, I feel like this is definitely one of those books which you don't get a lot out of when you read it for the first time - I'll explain... I'd say about 25% of Metamorphoses is myths or characters which you either know of or have heard of, while the other 75% is a load of mumble jumble that you try to keep up with. So, for me, there were times when I was super engaged and invested, while on the other hand, for a lot of the rest, it was a lot of names and places and I wasn't too sure what was happening, nor did I care.
I'd say it's one of those books that you revisit throughout your life, for example I read Circe by Madeline Miller a few months ago and so a lot of the characters and myths in that, I recognised in Metamorphoses, so I could make little notes on things which I knew. So, I think as you go through life and come to learn different pieces of different Greek and Roman myths, whether that be from books, film, art, studies, conversations even, you can go back to Metamorphoses and read Ovid's account of that particular myth or character, and over time, more and more of it will piece together and become understandable in a way that makes sense to you.
The stories that I knew of and so enjoyed hearing were 'Narcissus and Echo' (B3), 'Pyramus and Thisbe' (B4), 'Scylla and Minos' (B8), 'Daedalus and Icarus' (B8) and 'Orpheus and Eurydice' (B10). And then some that I didn't know much of before reading but really enjoyed were 'Phaëthon (2)' (B2), 'Perseus (2)' (B5), 'The Death of Orpheus' (B11) and 'Galatea and Polyphemus' (B13).
I love love love aetiological myths, specifically ones to do with nature, so with that being a main 'theme' if you will, every myth that included this aspect was just music for my soul - even if a lot of it was after heavy and intense themes of rape, murder and incest :')
And now for my favourite quotes, with there being 15 books, this was hard to choose from, but here are some that I particularly liked...
It's so difficult to rate a book which is just a tonne of short stories but I'll do my best. Firstly, I feel like this is definitely one of those books which you don't get a lot out of when you read it for the first time - I'll explain... I'd say about 25% of Metamorphoses is myths or characters which you either know of or have heard of, while the other 75% is a load of mumble jumble that you try to keep up with. So, for me, there were times when I was super engaged and invested, while on the other hand, for a lot of the rest, it was a lot of names and places and I wasn't too sure what was happening, nor did I care.
I'd say it's one of those books that you revisit throughout your life, for example I read Circe by Madeline Miller a few months ago and so a lot of the characters and myths in that, I recognised in Metamorphoses, so I could make little notes on things which I knew. So, I think as you go through life and come to learn different pieces of different Greek and Roman myths, whether that be from books, film, art, studies, conversations even, you can go back to Metamorphoses and read Ovid's account of that particular myth or character, and over time, more and more of it will piece together and become understandable in a way that makes sense to you.
The stories that I knew of and so enjoyed hearing were 'Narcissus and Echo' (B3), 'Pyramus and Thisbe' (B4), 'Scylla and Minos' (B8), 'Daedalus and Icarus' (B8) and 'Orpheus and Eurydice' (B10). And then some that I didn't know much of before reading but really enjoyed were 'Phaëthon (2)' (B2), 'Perseus (2)' (B5), 'The Death of Orpheus' (B11) and 'Galatea and Polyphemus' (B13).
I love love love aetiological myths, specifically ones to do with nature, so with that being a main 'theme' if you will, every myth that included this aspect was just music for my soul - even if a lot of it was after heavy and intense themes of rape, murder and incest :')
And now for my favourite quotes, with there being 15 books, this was hard to choose from, but here are some that I particularly liked...
"Oh, how I wish that I and my body could now be parted,
I wish my love were not here! - a curious prayer for a lover.
Now my sorrow is sapping my strength. My life is almost
over. Its candle is guttering out in the prime of my
manhood.
Death will be easy to bear, since dying will cure my
heartache.
Better indeed if the one I love could have lived longer,
but now, two soulmates in one, we shall face our ending
together."
"Yet God helps
those
who help themselves, remember, and fortune favours the brave."
"Don't think me ugly because my body's a bristling thicket
of prickly hair. A tree is ugly without any foliage;
so is a horse, if a mane doesn't cover his tawny neck;
birds are bedecked in plumage, and sheep are clothed in
their own wool.
...
I've only one eye on my brow, in the middle, but that is as
big
as a fair-sized shield. Does it matter? The Sun looks down
from the sky
on the whole wide world, and he watches it all with a single
eye."
"Our bodies also are constantly changing and never
at rest;
what we were once and we are today, we shall not be
tomorrow."
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.75
Very very odd and not what I expected.
It started off okay but then it lost me towards the end. No idea what to even say - I just don't think it was my cup of tea, though I don't doubt that it's a well-written novel and a unique idea.
It started off okay but then it lost me towards the end. No idea what to even say - I just don't think it was my cup of tea, though I don't doubt that it's a well-written novel and a unique idea.
The Spanish Tragedy by Thomas Kyd
Having studied ancient Roman epitaphs last year, I'm not surprised to see that this quote is noted as being inspired by lines from the works of Lucretius, Virgil and Ovid.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.75
The Spanish Tragedy. The first of it's kind and known to have inspired the likes of William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe. The starting point for tragedies to come and one of the first to use blank verse.
Once again, I'm kicking myself at how accessible this was. I read this because I am studying it for university, and for me this has now opened up the door for 16th century plays other than those of Shakespeare's.
I just can't believe how much I enjoyed this. The language was BEAUTIFUL and simultaneously heart-breaking. Though the extreme desire for revenge drove this play, it was laced with love and sadness and shame and guilt. I thought the inclusion of the Ghost of Andrea and Revenge watching from the after-life was great because it provided little breaks amidst the chaos, and they also helped to round off the end of the play.
I also think that the alternate, or rather extended, title of this play being 'Hieronimo is mad againe' is interesting because instead of our first thought about the play being 'tragedy', it brings it back to Hieronimo who went through this multitude of extreme emotions, not only for the need of revenge but also the temptation to just give up and die and be with his son again. His grief mixed with lust for revenge was labelled by Lorenzo as fits of insanity in order to hide his own sins - which was ultimately Lorenzo's downfall because he underestimated Hieronimo.
2 deaths by hanging, 6 murders (7 if you include Horatio's hanging) and 3 suicides - wow.
Once again, I'm kicking myself at how accessible this was. I read this because I am studying it for university, and for me this has now opened up the door for 16th century plays other than those of Shakespeare's.
I just can't believe how much I enjoyed this. The language was BEAUTIFUL and simultaneously heart-breaking. Though the extreme desire for revenge drove this play, it was laced with love and sadness and shame and guilt. I thought the inclusion of the Ghost of Andrea and Revenge watching from the after-life was great because it provided little breaks amidst the chaos, and they also helped to round off the end of the play.
"Sweet lovely rose, ill plucked before thy time,
Fair worthy son, not conquered, but betrayed:
I'll kiss thee now, for words with tears are stayed.
And I'll close up the glasses of his sight,
For once these eyes were only my delight."
Having studied ancient Roman epitaphs last year, I'm not surprised to see that this quote is noted as being inspired by lines from the works of Lucretius, Virgil and Ovid.
"And so shall I never again, my life, see those eyes of yours,
and has everlasting sleep sealed up your light of life?
I shall perish with you; thus, thus would it please me to go to the shades below.
Nonetheless I shall keep myself from yielding to a hastened death,
lest in that case no revenge should follow your death."
As You Like It by William Shakespeare
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
4.25
"I met a fool i' the forest."
I read alongside watching the 2009 Globe on Screen stage performance and I enjoyed this play a lot! It was light-hearted, humorous, easy to read, relatively short and in general just another fun play to read. The themes weren't heavy which was refreshing and I also found the subtle links to the bible was done well - with the Forest of Arden seeming a lot like Eden, and the exile of Duke Senior, mirroring that of the Christian values of slow-living and 'restoration' away from the court.
My only criticism would be that the ending seemed a little rushed, I don't know whether it was because I was expecting there to be one last hurdle, but it all seemed to work out well in the end, quite quickly.Suddenly they find out Duke Frederick decided to go and live in a monastery... I guess that was a bit of a plot-twist, which I like, but it was a little random.
I think my favourite character was Jaques the melancholy man, he was funny and his lines broke up any tensions that may have amassed in certain scenes.
I read alongside watching the 2009 Globe on Screen stage performance and I enjoyed this play a lot! It was light-hearted, humorous, easy to read, relatively short and in general just another fun play to read. The themes weren't heavy which was refreshing and I also found the subtle links to the bible was done well - with the Forest of Arden seeming a lot like Eden, and the exile of Duke Senior, mirroring that of the Christian values of slow-living and 'restoration' away from the court.
My only criticism would be that the ending seemed a little rushed, I don't know whether it was because I was expecting there to be one last hurdle, but it all seemed to work out well in the end, quite quickly.
I think my favourite character was Jaques the melancholy man, he was funny and his lines broke up any tensions that may have amassed in certain scenes.
"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players;
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages."
Girl With a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
4.25
The premise of this book intrigued me a lot and I don't think I've read anything like it. It's a fictional story based around the life of the real 17th century painter, Vermeer, and his painting 'Girl with a Pearl Earring'.
To start with the two things I disliked. Firstly, that there was no chapter, just 4 parts (1664, 1665, 1666 and 1676) - for me, this made it difficult to sit and read a substantial amount of the book in one sitting - I just found myself reading a few pages each time instead. And secondly, the pacing - though only 250 pages, it seemed to drag unnecessarily and there was a lot of small things in the plot which I feel like were just not needed.
However, overall, I really enjoyed the story and it was refreshing to hear of his paintings being described, while knowing I was able to search them and actually see what they looked like. It was an interesting account of life in 17th century Holland, and the work of an artist - and it makes you look at art a little differently, thinking about all the possible things that went into its creation.
To start with the two things I disliked. Firstly, that there was no chapter, just 4 parts (1664, 1665, 1666 and 1676) - for me, this made it difficult to sit and read a substantial amount of the book in one sitting - I just found myself reading a few pages each time instead. And secondly, the pacing - though only 250 pages, it seemed to drag unnecessarily and there was a lot of small things in the plot which I feel like were just not needed.
However, overall, I really enjoyed the story and it was refreshing to hear of his paintings being described, while knowing I was able to search them and actually see what they looked like. It was an interesting account of life in 17th century Holland, and the work of an artist - and it makes you look at art a little differently, thinking about all the possible things that went into its creation.
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
4.25
Though Jane Austen is one of the most famous classic authors, my census is that there is a large divide between whether people like or don't like her style of writing. For myself, I feel that I can't completely take one side just yet, having regrettably only read 2 of her novels. Pride and Prejudice was my first experience with her writing, and I thoroughly enjoyed it - so with Sense and Sensibility being the next most rated of her books on GoodReads, I think my standards were just set too high.
Sense and Sensibility was a good novel don't get me wrong. Austen definitely had a good knack for creating complex characters with strong character development - the classic heroes and villains of her romance stories. And I, once again, loved how regular the size of her chapters were - they were short and easily digestible. And while I do find her writing to be interesting and not too dense, the lack of descriptions for me just keep it slightly out of reach so that I can't get get fully absorbed and invested, and when I put the book down, I wasn't itching to keep reading because when I was reading, I was never fully immersed in it. Now, I totally understand that this allows readers to have a lot more freedom in how they choose to imagine the characters and their surroundings, but for me, descriptions could have made it a cosier and more comforting read. There is little to no descriptions of the looks of the characters, the locations, or just any details that would enhance the world we are trying to see into.
The plot itself was interesting, however, it was nothing totally different and exciting - nothing that would, for me, set it apart from other classic romance novels.
Sense and Sensibility was a good novel don't get me wrong. Austen definitely had a good knack for creating complex characters with strong character development - the classic heroes and villains of her romance stories. And I, once again, loved how regular the size of her chapters were - they were short and easily digestible. And while I do find her writing to be interesting and not too dense, the lack of descriptions for me just keep it slightly out of reach so that I can't get get fully absorbed and invested, and when I put the book down, I wasn't itching to keep reading because when I was reading, I was never fully immersed in it. Now, I totally understand that this allows readers to have a lot more freedom in how they choose to imagine the characters and their surroundings, but for me, descriptions could have made it a cosier and more comforting read. There is little to no descriptions of the looks of the characters, the locations, or just any details that would enhance the world we are trying to see into.
The plot itself was interesting, however, it was nothing totally different and exciting - nothing that would, for me, set it apart from other classic romance novels.
"I detest jargon of every kind, and sometimes I have kept my feelings for myself, because I could find no language to describe them in but what was worn and hackneyed out of all sense and meaning."
A Court of Wings and Ruin by Sarah J. Maas
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
4.0
3rd book of the series. I wasn't as impressed with this one as I was with the first two. I don't know whether it was because I was bit fantasy-ed out but I struggled to get into it. I'd say the first half was slow and not that memorable, but in the second half there were definitely some parts which took a quicker pace and were, for me, much more interesting - though annoyingly they were short and over quickly. For the battle at the end - I'm not overly keen on battles in books, I feel like no matter what, the intensity and scale of it can never be fully conveyed or that convincing. I also feel like - okay sue me - there should have been a least one main character death. Hear me out. It's built up that it's going to be extremely unlikely they will survive, and so many things happen to some of them that should have killed them, but oh surprise surprise, they survive. I'm all about good shock factor, so I feel like at least one death - however sad - would have just increased the intensity and impact of the battle so much more.
Overall, not bad at all, and I am definitely curious to see how the series ends, though I may take a little break from the series for now.
Overall, not bad at all, and I am definitely curious to see how the series ends, though I may take a little break from the series for now.