Tag: classic
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BR341) “The Hobbit” Book Review
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien. 4/5 rating. 277 pages. Book #3 of 2024. Finished January 19, 2024. This is Bilbo Baggins’ tale about his incredible adventures to slay the dragon Smaug. I feel like by now, this is a modern classic. With all of the re-tellings and adaptations into movies and shows, a lot of…
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BR278) “The Picture of Dorian Gray” Book Review
A Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde. 2/5 rating. 165 pages. Book #45 of 2022. Read December 10, 2022. This book tells the story about Dorian Gray who wishes to keep his youth and instead have his portrait age and reflect his soul. I didn’t really get this book, I felt like it was…
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BR256) “The Wizard of Oz” Book Review
The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. 3/5 rating. 206 pages. Book #23 of 2022. Read May 5, 2022. This is the classic book about Dorothy and her travels in the land of the Wizard of Oz. The story follows a lot of the adventures from the film. It is obvious that this book…
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BR253) “To Kill a Mockingbird” Book Review
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee. 4/5 rating. 181 pages. Book #20 of 2022. Read April 24 2022. This is the classic story of the Finch family in 1930s Alabama. The book deals with the topics of racism, prejudice, and justice. Scout, the young narrator, tells about her life of a few years. Her…
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BR188) “A Room with a View” Book Review
A Room with a View by E.M. Forster. 2/5 rating. 224 pages. Book #24 of 2021. Read March 21, 2021. I couldn’t stand the characters in this book, though the last third or so of the book was just enough of a sappy happy ending to save it from being a 1. I realize that…
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BR184) “Where the Red Fern Grows” Book Review
Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. 4/5 rating. 282 pages. Book #20 of 2021. Read February 27, 2021. This is a touching classic about a young boy, Billy, and his dynamic duo of raccoon hunting dogs. At around age ten, Billy decides that he wants desperately to get a pair of hounds. He…
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BR180) “A Separate Peace” Book Review
A Separate Peace by John Knowles. 3/5 rating. 196 pages. Book #16 of 2021. Read February 11, 2021. This is a favorite of English teachers and I imagine, not really anyone else. This book tells of the narrator Gene’s time at prep school with his best friend Finny. After Gene commits an atrocious act against…
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BR160) “The Death of Ivan Ilych” Book Review
The Death of Ivan Ilych: And Other Stories by Leo Tolstoy. 2/5 rating. 293 pages. Book #85 of 2020. Read December 12, 2020. If Tolstoy’s other stories are like this, I don’t need to read them. The only shared idea between the first 3 stories is that marriage is awful and sets you up for…
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BR154) “How to Win Friends & Influence People” Book Review
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie. 4/5 rating. 224 pages. Book #79 of 2020. Read October 30, 2020. This is an amazing book that should be compulsory reading for everyone as it might bring back some ideas of kindness, compassion, and some semblance of goodwill towards each other. This is an…
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BR143) “The Great Gatsby” Book Review
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. 4/5 rating. 189 pages. Book #68 of 2020. Read September 29, 2020. This classic book of excess, unrequited love, and loss is really in two parts: the first being very slow, boring, and all about the over-the-top extravagance surrounding the narrator, and the second half showing why this…