Top Ten Books On My Spring To-Be-Read List

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and you can find more about this meme here. This week is the top ten books on my Spring TBR. I don't really know how much reading I'm going to get done this Spring as next month I have my final exams, but here's my list anyway!

1. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
I'm pretty sure this was also on my Winter TBR...I just haven't gotten to it yet. It's reached that point where I really, really want to get this read just because I'm sick of constantly putting it on my TBR.

2. Crome Yellow by Aldous Huxley
This is a really small one, so I reckon I could knock it off pretty quickly. Like Anna Karenina, it's also on my list of 14 books I wanted to read this year.

3. The Sweet Far Thing by Libba Bray
This is another one on that list. I read the first 300 pages or so earlier this year but I put it down for some reason. I'm going to try and get this done as soon as possible.

4. Amy and Matthew by Cammie McGovern
I bought this one at the Melbourne meet-up a few months back, and I've since heard that this is a little disappointing...I just want to get it read now.

5. The Enemy by Charlie Higson
I've been reading this one for MONTHS. I'm really enjoying the story, but I have to be in a certain mood to read it. Hopefully I can get it done this season.

6. Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin
I've been reading this for literally a year and a half. The thing is, when I'm actually actively reading it I'm really enjoying it and I'm getting through it quite quickly but then I put it down for something else...

7. Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell
I've had this one out from my Uni library for months now. Considering the year is almost over, I should probably read it and return it!

8. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins
OKAY, CALM DOWN! This is a re-read for me but I really, really need some Etienne St Clair in my life right now.

9. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
No, I haven't read this one yet. Yes, I know how good it is. I'll get it read as soon as I can!

10. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
Okay, so I don't actually expect to finish this one this Spring but I'd like to at least start it. If all goes to plan, I'd like to read the entire Lord of the Rings this summer.

So yep, that's it! I expect some of you to laugh at my ambitious goals...I know I am. Let me know which of these I should read first. Until next time...

Top Authors I've Only Read One Book From But NEED to Read More

Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, and you can find more about this meme here. This week is the top ten authors I've only read one book from but need to read more.


1. Philip Pullman
I read The Golden Compass/Northern Lights last year for the first time and adored it. Despite that fact, I haven't read the rest of the trilogy yet even though I've owned them since I finished the first.

2. Kody Keplinger
I read The DUFF this month and words cannot describe how much I loved that book- I really, really adored it. Obviously that means I have to give one of her other books a try!

3. Jessica Spotswood
This is the same deal as Philip Pullman, but I only read Born Wicked this month. I loved the book and I've got the second one waiting for me as soon as I finish one of the many books I'm currently trying to read.

4. Kristen Britain
So yes, a lot of these are authors of series that I've read the first book of and haven't gotten to the rest of the series yet, and Kristen Britain is no exception there.

5. Neil Gaiman
I am absolutely desperate to read another Gaiman after I read Coraline. A few people have told me Stardust is the best one to try next but I'm open to other suggestions!

6. John Flanagan
I read the first book is the Ranger's Apprentice series a few months back and I've just been waiting to start on the rest of the series. I just have to go and steal them off my brother's bookshelf...

7. Elizabeth Gaskell
After reading North and South I kind of became a bit of a Elizabeth Gaskell fangirl and I just constantly stalk out editions of her books. I currently have both Wives and Daughters and Cranford out from my Uni library but I haven't gotten around to either of them.

8. Elizabeth Wein
I read Rose Under Fire...last year, I think, and I loved it (and also hated it because I cried so much) so I've been desperate to read Code Name Verity ever since. I keep putting it off because I don't know whether I'm ready for that kind of pain again.

9. Markus Zusak
The Book Thief was one of the first books I read this year and, of course, I loved it. I don't know whether his other books will affect me in quite the same way which is why I guess I'm avoiding them...

10. Suzy Zail
Look at that- three authors who've written books about World War Two in a row! anyway, Suzy Zail is an amazing fellow Melbourne author and I adored her book The Wrong Boy. Her newest one- Alexander Altmann A10567, just came out this year and I am desperate to read it!

REVIEW: North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell

Title: North and South
Author: Elizabeth Gaskell
Genre: Classic.
Publication Date: June 1st 1996 (first published 1855)
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Format: Paperback
Pages: 451
Rating: 4/5

'How am I to dress up in my finery, and go off and away to smart parties, after the sorrow I have seen today?'

When her father leaves the Church in a crisis of conscience, Margaret Hale is uprooted from her comfortable home in Hampshire to move with her family to the north of England. Initially repulsed by the ugliness of her new surroundings in the industrial town of Milton, Margaret becomes aware of the poverty and suffering of the local mill-workers and develops a passionate sense of social justice. This is intensified by her tempestuous relationship with the mill-owner and self-made man John Thornton, as their fierce opposition over his treatment of his employees masks a deeper attraction. In North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell skilfully fused individual feeling with social concern, and in Margaret Hale created one of the most original heroines of Victorian literature.

In her introduction, Patricia Ingham examines geographical, economic and class differences, and male and female roles in North and South. This edition also includes a list for further reading, notes and a glossary.

I’m not going to lie, I watched the BBC miniseries in conjunction with reading this book and I think it might have taken me a while longer to finish this book if I hadn’t. I adore this book, really I do, but it took me a little while to get into it. I was interested with the story, but I felt it was kind of slow to get started and so to inspire myself I watched the miniseries. This saved the book for me, I would have continued reading even without the miniseries, but because I did watch it I fell in love with the characters and the story.

(I couldn't resist this GIF)

I think Margaret has become one of my favourite classic heroines. I don’t really know why I love her so much, but I just think she’s brilliant. She definitely has her flaws, but I liked how she was a bit too proud at times, it made this so much more entertaining. Let’s not even start with Mr Thorton. He’s definitely in my top classic men now. I didn’t think I’d like him at the start, he’s not really talked about like Mr Darcy and Mr Rochester are, but I prefer him over both of them. Again, I don’t know why that is but I love him so very much now. There are some characters I’m not so fond of, mainly Margaret’s cousin, Edith. I don’t know why but she really got on my nerves. I honestly don’t know how Margaret put up with her!

I really, really like how this is written. While most of the story focuses on Margaret, sometimes she slips into the mind of Mr Thorton or someone else briefly. I realised when I was reading the book, that I kind of do the same thing in my own writing. I don’t know if the fact that I liked it makes me sound a little bit arrogant, but it kind of made me feel a bit more confident about my writing and that’s always a good feeling! 

The only thing that kept this from being five stars for me was that I felt it dragged in some bits. I love the majority of the book, but there were some parts that I felt really weren’t necessary for the story. Those late couple of pages though…I was dying to see Mr Thorton come back into it again!

However, I did really love this book. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go rewatch the miniseries until the end of time.