Austen and Sea Monsters

One might not think of sea monsters as having a place in regency England. Much like Quirk Classic's zombies enriched the story of Pride and Prejudice the sea monsters have livened up Sense and Sensibility.


Another Austen tale of English ladies and their suitors has been altered thanks to the wonderful writers that Quirk Classics has managed to dig up. The original Sense and Sensibility follows the lives of the Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. When their father passes away the estate goes to their older half brother and his cold and selfish wife. The older Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters seek another home at a distant relative's estate and thus experience romance, love, and heartbreak.


Elinor is attached to Edward, the brother of her sister-in-law. She is also introduced to and courted by Colonel Brandon who is nearly twenty years older than she. Elinor thinks that loving and marrying a man so many years older is grotesque but does decide that being friendly with Colonel Brandon would be acceptable.


Marianne is swept off her feet by a wealthy adventurer after falling while out for a walk. John Willoughby is dashing and very similar to Marianne and many mutual friends believed them to be engaged.


Through the course of the story both girls have their hearts broken. One girl gets her happy ending after some turns of events take place, and another finds that what she thought she wanted was not correct anymore at all.


That's all that should be said in hopes of not ruining the book.


Sense and Sensibility is a little dry, much like most other books written in and around the 1790s. The story often lags on talk of money and how so-and-so has so many pounds a month and how no one could possibly wish to marry into so little amount and so on much like the talk in Pride and Prejudice. However, the story was definitely worth reading with its themes on emotion vs. sense, money, propriety, love, and many more. The ladies Dashwood and the gentleman acquainted with them all learned something by the end of the book, and the outcomes were suprising and in some aspects a little disappointing.


Now, Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters used the same story line with subtle and not so subtle additions of tentacled beasts, water dangers, and facial disfiguration. In Sea Monsters, all places in the story are either near water or under water and many hours each day are dedicated to keeping sea monsters at bay. Estates were fortressed, weapons skills were mandatory, and traveling too near or over water was usually met with death by at least one character of little consequence. Instead of the Dashwoods traveling to London at one point they travel to an underwater city called Sub-Marine Station Beta. In addition to romantic intrigue, family drama, and sisterly bickering and love is the giant tentacled monsters and oversized lobsters out for human blood.


Sea Monsters, no matter how entertaining, loses something of the story when all changes were said and done. Colonel Brandon with a tentacled face, Willoughby as a treasure seeker, a lady competing for a gentleman's attention as a witch, and a sea creature large enough to disguise itself as land detract from the Dashwood daughters and their personalities and choices made.


In doing some research it can be found that though Pride and Prejudice and Zombies had 90% of the original novel's content with only about 10% additional content added; Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters started with only 60% original content with 40% added (source for Sea Monsters numbers, but cannot re-find the Zombie's numbers at this time).

In conclusion, whereas Pride and Prejudice and Zombies was worth reading because the integrity of the story did not change; the same cannot be said for Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters. In this case it is best to stick to the original.

New Purchases

I'm a horrible blogger, I know. I have been reading and I have been buying books though. I've just been a little wrapped up with work, sleep, and Netflix. :)

Recent book buys:

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters (another QuirkClassics interpretation of Austen)
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky

My roommate has made a number of purchases recently too. I have a nice stack of things to read that she's finished already. I love that it's winter and I'll have more inside time to read too.

I hope to get my desk cleared off so I can sit and write a few reviews in the VERY near future. To anyone following, I'm happy you're here and sorry that I'm not a little more punctual with the updates.

A revelation

I arrived at a moment of revelation the other day. I may have a goal of reading the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die" plus personal additions. However, if I am doing this for enjoyment there is no reason to complete books that I abhor.

Recently I've been trying to read Madame Bovary. I detest this book. I have no sympathy for the main character. She's a whiney brat that knew what she was getting in to. Rumors from friends who did read the book for some class or another lead me to believe that I will detest her more and more. I hate this book because I hate this character and I'm wondering where the point is.

I've decided not to finish Madame Bovary. I also may not finish Gulliver's Travels. The story is good, but the language (or more the poor grammar and random capitalization and punctuation) is driving me batty.

So, from now on I allow myself to quit a book if I want to. It makes no sense to not have fun doing something that is supposed to be fun. I can make myself read the awful things later IF I ever take a class that requires them.

Zombie Mayhem reviewed

I finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies a few days ago. I must say that all in all it was wonderful. The original integrity of the story Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy is maintained with small additions to the characters. All of the Bennet girls are Chinese trained zombie slayers as is Mr. Bennet. Mr. Bingley is a pansy who loses his dinner at the sight of zombies consuming brains. Mr. Darcy is quite skilled at zombie slaying, as is his aunt Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

I found only a few things unnecessary. First and foremost was the sexual innuendos. Sure a comment about "his most English parts" in his trousers or a play on words while tossing about gun ammunition (balls) is ok. But, there were a few places where the additions took away from the stry somewhat. They altered the perception of Elizabeth Bennet's proper decorum. The second thing that I had issues with was Charlotte turning into a zombie. It added nothing to the story and actually seemed silly in some places.

Other than just a few areas that I thought could do without the additions it was still very much the same story. The zombie mayhem actually made the story progress faster than the original because there was action to spur a reader on.

I give the book 4 out of 5 stars. It was a few sexual innuendos off from a perfect rating in my book.

In telling an acquaintance about the book I recieved the following comment: "Jane Austen is probably turning over in her grave!" My response is: Perhaps she wants to join in the brain munching mayhem.

A moving story

It has been a while since a book has touched me in a way to make me cry while reading. The last I remember is a few years ago when I read My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult (which I hear was made into a really awful movie). I'm sick at home and decided to spend some time reading when I wasn't napping. I managed to read the whole of Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook this evening. I must say that near the end I choked up and cried. I spent a good ten minutes once I read the last page just sitting with tears running down my face. The love between Allie and Noah is so amazing. It makes me long to find even a fraction of that in my own life. I can't wait to see the movie version to see if it lives up to the book.

ZOMBIE MAYHEM!

I totally bought Pride and Prejudice and Zombies at Borders a few days ago. All I can say is that all classic literature needs a little zombie mayhem (or vampires, frankensteins, etc) to lend a little action and make things more interesting. So far the integrity of the original has not been affected. I'm excited to see how it progresses.

A tasty read

Who doesn't like chocolate? (If you answered that question saying that you don't, you don't count because chocolate is perfect and everyone should love it.) Well the book Chocolat by Joanne Harris is not really only about chocolate.

Vianne Rocher and her young daughter Anouk are free spirits that settle down for a time in a small town in France. They come right at the beginning of Lent and start turning the town upside down with their chocolatier shop and different ways. Vianne becomes the nemesis of the town priest Reynaud as he thinks she is leading his sheep astray. In truth, he's battling his own demons of memory and shame. Near the end of the story the big Easter Festival is planned and prepared for, and Reynaud plots to sabotage it. Does he succeed? I'll not tell, it would spoil the book.

The main themes play on right and wrong, good an evil, catholic and pagan, and a great many others. The classic underdogs are working hard to have something of their own and looked down on by the high and mighty.

The book is a quick read. There's a bit of female empowerment going on, a great deal about friendships, and a taste of love.

I hear it's been made into a movie. I should check that out now that I've read the book.

Word of the moment

mon·de·green

noun-- A series of words that result from the mishearing or misinterpretation of a statement or song lyric. For example, I led the pigeons to the flag for I pledge allegiance to the flag. [After (Lady) Mondegreen, a misinterpretation of the line (hae laid) him on the green, from the song "The Bonny Earl of Murray".]

Pride and Prejudice

Once upon a time I tried to read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (and Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre) and failed. I could grasp the language and cadence of the writing. I was not engaged in the story or the characters. Granted, the fact that I attempted all of these books at the age of 12, and again at 16 or so was possibly part of my problem.

This time around I found that it took only a few pages to be completely enamored by the Bennet girls, Mr. Bingley, and Mr. Darcy. Seriously, who can't understand a family where the mother is constantly trying to marry off her girls and the girls who are hoping for something better than just a marriage of convenience. Of course, most families don't have five girls to marry off; or the manners that most of the Bennet girls possess.

Truly the story is mostly about Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy who supply the roles of protagonist. It is an intense distaste that they have for each other's company that eventually leads them both to find that they truly love each other; though not without some fighting on both of their parts. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy both have witty, quick tongues that are as likely to bestow praise as they are barbs.

Of course, the one minor annoyance with this story is that I find myself using similar language. As I had spent a better part of the day reading about the Bennet girls before heading to work, I found myself being pulled over by a police car. As I was trying to ascertain whether or not I was speeding and come up with an excuse before he came up to the window, I found myself thinking through my head words that are not often used in casual conversation. I checked myself and made a few simple phrases in response to the officer's questions figuring that my original thoughts would have earned me a breathalyzer. (I wasn't ticketed, I just had dirt obscuring my expiration date. Guess the cop was bored at 11pm on a Saturday night.)

I am intensely interested in reading another version of Pride and Prejudice. This one is the tradition Jane Austen with additions by Seth Grahame-Smith called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Classic Regency Romance. It's hitting bestseller lists right and left. I guess they've inserted lovely zombie killing sequences throughout while still keeping the integrity of the original story. I hope to get my hands on a copy soon.

More updates to come. Look for Chocolat, Wuthering Heights, The Host, Gulliver's Travels, and Pretty in Plaid in the upcoming few days/weeks.

I'm about one book away from tipping over my house.

I'm pretty sure that I've bought at least 20 books in the last two weeks (many of them on my 1001 Books list!). That in itself is not a bad thing, especially since I picked most up at Goodwill and yard sales. The problem is that I live in a trailer. I'm certain that if not for my roommate's boxes of books stacked against the wall in her room that my whole house would tip over towards the east. That would complicate my life a lot. I'm also perilously close to having no where to put new books. My big book case is full. I'm having to rearrange my 'pretties' into other places and smooshing them all together. Then my headboard is full of borrowed books. I have a stack of books on a corner of the bed. I also have library books on one of the end tables (so I don't mix them in with my other stuff and allow them to be lost). There's a book on the edge of the bath tub that I had intentions of started while immersed in bubbles and Eric Clapton on the stereo but I got caught in games on MyYearbook. Then there are either 3 or 4 books in my purse.

My name is Heatherly and I am a bibliophile.

The Secret Life of Bees

When the movie version of The Secret Life of Bees came out, I was completely disinterested. Now after reading the book, I want to see how they did. I'm adamant about reading books first. I would rather be disappointed in a movie for not living up to the book it is attempting to portray instead of being disappointed in a book because I expected it to follow a movie. Books are always better. Always.

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is steeped in the tension of early civil rights (1964) and the coming of age of an abused 14-year-old girl named Lily Owens. After her African-American, stand-in mom Rosaleen affronts a few racists while in town with Lily and subsequently finds them both in jail; Lily hatches a plan to bust Rosaleen out of jail and run away from her abusive father T-Ray.

On a scrap of hope Lily hopes to find people who knew her mother before she died and in doing so, to figure out who Lily Owens is. She and Rosaleen end up in the care of August, May, and June Boatwright--African-American sisters who keep bees for a living. While there Lily learns about life, love, family, and bees.

Heartbreaking at times, and funny in others I read this book cover to cover in the matter of a few scattered hours. I found myself thinking about Lily and August while cleaning up messes at work, while washing dishes, when I was showering--I finally made myself sit down and finish the story so as to find some closure on the matter.

Bees was a quick read in truth, if not for my busy schedule I would have read it in one sitting. I have my roommate Prose to thank for the lending of this book, though I think I will be adding it to my personal library in the near future.

Look for a post on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in the next few days as I am nearly finished with it as well. I'm sitting on pins and needles to find out if Jane will get Mr. Bingley, if Mr. Darcy will succeed in capturing Elizabeth's heart, and where on earth Lydia has gone off to!

Chick lit and me

I am not usually one for chick lit, but I came across a book called Bitter Is the New Black by Jennifer Lancaster a year or so ago and was so taken with the sarcasm and snarkiness that I became a fan (even on Facebook!). How can you not like a book with a front cover that reads, "Bitter is the New Black: Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered, Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office"? This non-fiction gem details the life of an ex-sorority girl with more money in her closet than in her savings and what happens when her world comes tumbling down on her. Secretly all poor people want the rich(er) people to fall on their ass, and Jen does and tells us all about it in an hilarious way.

In the last week I have read the sequels, Bright Lights, Big Ass and Such a Pretty Fat. There is a fourth book freshly out that I have yet to read, but believe me that as soon as our library calls me and tells me it's waiting for me I'll be in my car to get it clothed or not.

The best part of Bright Lights, Big Ass was the several pages detailing a trip to the gynecologist after a 4-year-hiatus (my new favorite word I guess since I've used it twice in as many days). When Jen started talking about stapling the paper gown back together over her chubbiness I laughed so hard I choked on a pretzel (dipped in chocolate pudding) and almost woke my roommate. There were many other quite humorous parts, but that one took the cake for me. The central part of the story however was her working as a temp while waiting for money from Bitter is the New Black. How can you not laugh at a former big shot collating copies and fetching coffee for $10 an hour?

In Such Pretty Fat, Jen delved more into her weight issues in a funny and snarktastic way. Much as she used to drop off a bad rent check then force herself to waitress her tables for maximum tips to cover it, she signs her publishing contract as a deadline to make herself work to lose her weight. It's an up and down battle with her binging on pie and working out to a pint sized drill-sargent at the gym.

Through all of the books she throws in funny stories about her dogs, husband, friends, and even herself to show readers that she (and those associated with her) are real people in the real world.

So, chick lit and I can be friends; just don't expect me to start reading every glossy, pink-jacketed, shoe or flower bedecked book out there. It's not going to happen. Jen Lancaster's next book, Pretty in Plaid has pink and green argyle socks on the cover--so not the same.

back from hiatus

So I realize that it has been a great many months since posting. In that time however I was reading many unexciting things about psychology and the English language as it pertains to 'college writing'. I went back to college after a great many years in hopes of getting in to nursing school. I'm happy to say I've come out of this first semester with a 4.0 GPA (for the first time in my entire life) and a whole lot of nothing done other than school work.

In the few weeks since finals however, I have taken it upon myself to try to tackle the '1001 Books to Read Before you Die'. True, I've already read a few of these books. I can already tell there are a few that I will not read as well. I have no desire to read "Mein Kampf" or some of the books by the Russian guys that are so dry as to make my brain shrivel into a zombified nothing. I will, however, at least read a synopses of each book and give them all a shot. I'm also adding to the list with books I'd like to read, am reading, or have read; and adding in elements of the list from a book I found at Borders with about 500 or so titles in it.

I've managed to make a small chip into the list the past week or so. It would have been a bigger chip if I had not been sidetracked by some 'chick lit' and my re-read of the Twilight Saga. I'll be posting a few blogs soon to document my progress and inform of a few good reads for any readers that I have.

First New Word!

Anfractuous: characterized by windings and turnings.

Synonyms: sinuous, circuitous, devious, oblique, roundabout, tortuous

Use: The road up the cliff was dangerous in it's anfractuous nature.

Book Review #1

My first book in 2009 happened to be a Christmas present that I finished just yesterday. I have long been a fan of John Irving and was gifted a copy of A Widow for One Year.

First the synopsis:

As with most Irving novels, it is written in several parts and covers a span of many years. A Widow for One Year is written in three parts, each covering a different section of time.

The story begins in 1958. Ruth Cole is 4-years old, living with her parents in Long Island during their trial separation. Her father Ted is a children's book writer who hires Eddie, a 16-year-old boy, to be a writer's assistant for the summer. Ruth's mother Marion is a tortured character who has been unable to move past a tragic car accident that killed her sons four years before.

Eddie finds quickly that his job as a writer's assistant leaves much to be desired as he is mostly answering fan mail and running errands. It is in Marion that he finds his summer begin to be more interesting. Eddie and Marion become lovers and they learn more about themselves in their few months together than they ever really learn about each other. It is learned that Ted has a habit of chasing after unhappy, young mothers; and much of his summer is involved with women than it is writing.

At the end of summer Marion leaves taking only the photographs of her dead sons. Her only instructions to Ted is to tell him to keep his drinking to a minimum. She leaves nothing to Eddie, save the sweater that he first saw her in.

The second part of the book is in 1990 and about Ruth, now grown and a writer in her own right. She is at a crossroads in her personal life and as she is on a book tour, she is trying to make a few decisions.While on tour she starts research in the Red Light District where she witnesses something that changes her. She returns home with decisions made and a new turn of life to live.

Part three finds Ruth at 41. She has been recently widowed and left with her young son. The book she began in Amsterdam is finally published and it brings someone new into her life. Time has also changed things and brings a few other people back into the picture.



Now as for my thoughts on the book:

I adore John Irving. I find his books to be about real characters. These characters could be real people. Marion could have been the perfect mother until her sons were taken away and unable to be even a mediocre mother to the daughter she tried to replace them with. Ted could have just been a man-whore, who failed to even try to conceal it once Marion was so disinterested in anything other than their sons' memories. Even Eddie could simply be an average boy that happens to be attracted to more mature women.

Ruth intrigues me. As a woman she is conflicted. She is unsure of what she wants in her relationships. She sees the double standard between men and women where sex is concerned. She is also unsure as to whether she wants marriage and a family. She sees it as something that she should want, but something that she is also afraid of. Her mother leaving her at the age of four left her feeling as if her mother couldn't love her, maybe she couldn't love a child either.

I recommend for anyone to read A Widow for One Year. For me it was a quick read that did not leave the feeling of having wasted my time. This was a book of actual substance. Far from a 'throwaway' book, it is one to put on the bookshelf for many reads to come.