Oliver Musical Review...

I have watched another movie for the Period Drama Challenge that is being held by Old-Fashioned Charm. This is my second review for this challenge. I watched the musical from 1968. It was a fantastic musical I thought. However, it did change quite a bit from the book, especially at end. Oliver, doesn't get a chance to meet some of his friends from the book, and a few players don't have as big of a role in the musical. It is a one that I think people will enjoy, if they don't mind musicals. I can see myself watching it again and again. The acting was really good. I still want to see another version that is closer to the book though.

Review of Oliver Twist

I think there is so much to learn about society in reading Oliver Twist. The poor tale of Oliver in his upbringing, how some things have changed in the world while some have remained unchanged. There is still poverty in the world, criminals, people of higher power abusing their authority (in thinking they are above the law), etc. It does give one a lot to think about. I often thought perhaps if Dickens himself could see and relate to Oliver as he was writing this book, I guess this maybe answered if I read Little Dorrit. Everyone's life experiences shape who we are in same way, this can of course be either good or bad. Oliver Twist I think also shows the resilience of humans, as far as Oliver never giving up, even though he was not treated kindly by a great majority of people and didn't have much of a support system in several instances. In reading Oliver Twist I wanted to keep reading to see what occurred, and I enjoyed knowing the end of all the characters in such detail. This is a definate reread. I rate this book a 5 out of 5. This is my third book review for the Outdo Yourself Reading Challenge, second for Historical Fiction Challenge, and fifth book for Classics Club.

My next book to read is The Little Princess. I still plan on having movie reviews for Ivanhoe and Oliver soon.

Classics Club Group Check In #2

This is the second group check in so far, and the first for this year of 2013. I feel that I have been able to read more this year, hopefully I will be able to continue this. I have read four books so far, since joining the club in Aug. 2012:

1. Pat of Silverbush by L.M. Montgomery - Finished 10/8/2012
2.The Children by Edith Wharton - Finished Nov. 2012
3. The Cossacks and the Raid by Leo Tolstoy - Finished Dec. 2012
4. Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott - Finished Jan. 2013

Currently I am reading Oliver Twist and really enjoying it. I only have about 80 pages or so far to go, I am determined to read the rest of it over the weekend. In the past, I had tried to read Great Expectations but was never a fan and couldn't finish. Since I have various other works of Dickens on my classics club list, it is a good thing that I am enjoying Oliver Twist. My original goal of each book on my classic club list is to also watch any movies based on  the books. I have yet to watch Ivanhoe but hope to do so soon so then I can watch Oliver (my husband is a fan of both the book and film). I will end up doing reviews on the films to try to compare them to the books. Once I am done with Oliver Twist the next book will be A Little Princess, never read the book but watched the film growing up. If you enjoy reading books and finding new ones, I highly recommend joining the classics club!

Results of Classics Spin....

The number picked for the Classics Spin is number 14, so I will be reading;

I already started but need to finish Oliver Twist first. I have seen the 1995 movie version of Pride and Prejudice but never read the book. While reading a little bit today, I kept on imagining the scenes from the movie, lol.

Ivanhoe Review....

I have never read anything by Sir Walter Scott before.  I vaguely knew  a little bit about this classic book, that it took place during the 12th century in England. During this time the ruler was Prince John (while his brother King Richard was away), of course if this reminds anyone of then Robin Hood (how can it not with the saying the name of Prince John?), combine all of that with a few damsels and Knights is the main setting of the tale. Ivanhoe has just returned from fighting in the Crusades and wants to marry his beloved, Rowena. There is opposition to this and even to who Ivanhoe represents for other people. This book is rampant with the distrust of several groups against each other and even within them; saxons, normans, knights or common people, templars, holy orders, christians, muslims, jews, unbelievers, etc. It brings to mind of the injustices, superstition, and corruption done in history, especially during this lawless time in the medieval era. It was a wonderul read, and I can only say that I am disappointed in not knowing more detail of what happened afterwards to a few characters. I rate this a 4.5 out of 5. The first 100+ is mostly about the history and setting of this story, which some may feel drags on or is boring. I actually enjoyed this part, but I am a huge fan of reading history. After this the characters are talked more of and we are then introduced to more as well, the issue with that is it is harder to remember who was who. The version I had consisted of thee's and thou's among other type of old English language, so just be prepared for that (maybe there are versions without it?).

The version I had also had an index which helped. This is my fourth book review for the classics club and the first for outdo yourself reading challenge as well as my first review for historical fiction reading challenge.  The next book up to read is Oliver Twist.