Ivanhoe movie review...

After reading and enjoying the book Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott, I watched the movie for the Period Drama Challenge that is taking place over at Old-Fashioned Charm blog. This is my first review for that challenge. If you are interested in my thoughts of Ivanhoe, here is my review of the book. I watched the made for tv version with Sam Neil made in 1982. The movie is a lot faster than the book, but in doing this it leaves something out when trying to introduce all of the characters. This takes place during the 12th century in England. If you do not know about the background of the reasons for the dislike between the Saxons and Normans or at least some parts of history, there maybe a tad bit of confusion as to what is going on. There are joust tournaments, kidnappings, ransoms, battles, antisemitism , and even charges of witchery with the threat of burning at the stake. The movie did add more of a  love interest I thought between Ivanhoe and Rebecca compared to the movie. I probably wouldn't watch this version again. My next period drama challenge review will be Oliver.

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!

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.

Results of Classic Club Readathon....

This was the end result of the 24 hour Classic Club Readathon for me.

What book(s) did you read during the event?
I read Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

What book(s) did you finish?
My original goal was to either get halfway or finish. I was not able to accomplish this as I was not feeling well. However, I did get to read about 115 pages.

What did you like about our event?
I enjoyed seeing what others were reading and spending time with a good book.

Do you have suggestions for future Readathons through The Classics Club?
Perhaps it should be for the whole weekend

Would you participate in future Readathons?
Yes I would.

Classics Club Readathon Today!

It is The Classics Club Readathon today, here are my answers to a few questions posed over on the Classics Club blog.

Name and Blog: Crafts4others

Snacks and Beverages of Choice: tea, water and perhaps some coffee. I previously didn't think too much about snacks.

Where are you reading from today? at home snuggled with a nice paperback book.

What are your goals for the Readathon?  I hope to either get halfway through or even finish one or two books.

What book(s) are you planning on reading? Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott and perhaps Wives & Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell.

Are you excited? Yes, although I haven't been feeling good today so hopefully that will change soon, so I will be able to accomplish my goals.

If you want to feel out the survery or participate in the readathon follow this link.