Karl's Reading List

Published in an omnibus edition, 'Treasury of World Masterpieces: Herman Melville': 'Moby Dick'; 'The Confidence Man'; 'The Piazza Tales'; 'Billy Budd' by Octopus Books Limited: London, 1984. First published individually 1851. A number of years ago, when I was working as a milk runner, I used to listen to audiobooks while working, and one of the books I listened to was Moby Dick. I remember enjoying it quite a bit, and "getting" some of the choices the author made. For example, a number of chapters in Moby Dick stop following the plot entirely in order to instead talk about different species of whales, or the physical characteristics of a whale, or the history of whales, or to give a sermon about whales.... all of these could be seen as slowing down the book and giving unnecessary and somewhat dull details. But when I was listening to it all those years ago, I completely understood why they were included. Moby Dick is about obsession. A...

Published by Penguin Books/The Penguin Group: London, England, 2005. First published as Frygt og Baven in 1843. Translated from Danish by Alistair Hannay, 1985. If I told you I "got" all of this book, I would be lying. There are definitely aspects that went over my head, even if I thought I got the gist of them. It is not an easy book. It is interesting, though. Which makes sense. Søren Kierkegaard is a philosopher who fascinates me, because of the way in which he chose to write: under different pen-names that each took a different position on what he was writing. This book, for example, is written under the name 'Johannes de silentio' (John the Silent), and is a meditation on the faith of Abraham, particularly regarding the sacrifice of Isaac. It is also the only Kierkegaard book I have ever successfully read the whole way through (so far). I think this is because "John the Silent" is a writer that appeals to me, being interested in what we can learn about ...

Published by Oxford University Press: Great Britain, 1992 (1987). First published in 1894 (The First Jungle Book) and 1895 (The Second Jungle Book). I probably could have broken this "book" in half, considering that it consists of both "The First Jungle Book" and "The Second Jungle Book", but as both Jungle Books are really just a collection of short stories - many of which (though far from all) are about Mowgli - they work together as one larger collection. Though, considering the whole collection as one book  did mean I messed up my reading challenge slightly (see the previous entry). What surprised me about the Jungle Books as a whole is that there are so many non Mowgli stories. We get a tale about a mongoose, a few from the perspective of humans that can't talk to animals, and even a few set in the Arctic region - which really stretches the idea of "jungle"...! Each of them feels a little like a folk tale or fable, and apparently some of...

Published as an audiobook by Recorded Books, 2000. Narrated by Barbara Caruso. First published 1886. The sequel to ' Little Men. ' This is the last book in the series that began with Little Women , and, like the book before this one , focuses more on the next generation, particularly the boys who attended the school run by Mr and Mrs Bhaer (that latter of whom began life as Jo March). Now those boys have grown up, and as such this book has the distinction of being the only book in the series to almost exclusively focus on adult characters (unless you count Good Wives as its own entry, rather than part 2 of Little Women ). This really changes the feel of Jo's Boys, and unfortunately it is not always for the better. Good Wives at least had the ongoing relationship issues and tight family unit of the Marches to focus on. Jo's Boys, on the other hand, has a number of boys, now young adults, who have gone their own way and don't have much interaction with each other. Thi...

Published as an audiobook by HarperFestival, 1 November 2002. Narrated by Eric Idle. Followed by 'Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.' First published 1964. We found this audiobook to put on the background while we washed dishes. I think we finished it about a week later. Roald Dahl and Eric Idle - what a match! The narration being done by a member of Monty Python really highlights the ludicrous nature of Dahl's writing. This is one of Dahl's most popular stories, for a reason. The scaffold of the chocolate factory tour and the slowly reducing number of contestants helps to focus in some of the author's more eccentric story-telling habits (something that is much more on show in the sequel, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator ,  that Elise and I are now listening to!), and even the bizarre additions to the story are all quite on theme - like the 'square sweets that look round'. Having not read the story in years, I forgot how much the early half of the boo...

Published by Collins (Wm. Collins and Co. Ltd.): London and Glasgow, date unknown. First published in 1871. The sequel to ' Little Women/Good Wives. ' Followed by ' Jo's Boys. ' Two random points of information to note regarding this particular entry on the list: 1) This is the first book that Elise and I have finished together this year! I think this is the longest we've taken to finish something since we've been married, and that reflects mostly on the busy-ness (and resulting lack of energy) of life with a baby. 2) When we finished this book, I read out 'The End' and Elise queried my pronunciation of the word 'the.' This led us down a rabbit hole in which we suddenly realised that we all pronounce 'the' differently depending on whether it is followed by a vowel or a consonant! How have I reached this age and not realised that before!! Anyway... Little Men is the sequel to Little Women (and Good Wives, if you count Good Wives as a s...

As I said in my review of Peter Rabbit's Storytime Collection , I am wanting to find a way to acknowledge the books I read to Ezekiel without adding individual picture books to my reading list - I feel that would dilute it a bit much. So in this post, I've decided to look at a group of picture books all together. I've picked five picture books that I like (with a notable and noteworthy exception), and also asked Elise for five picture books she is  enjoying reading to Ezekiel. It's interesting (and helpful for this list) that our lists haven't overlapped at all this time around. So, here are ten picture books (plus one bonus 'book') that Ezekiel has been exposed to in the first 7ish months of his life: Karl's List Bunnies on the Bus - Philip Ardagh and (illustrator) Ben Mantle. Published by Walker Books Ltd: London, 2020 (2019). This is one of my favourites among our current picture books. A group of bunnies hijack a bus and hurtle through the town on th...

Published by Frederick Warne & Co./Penguin Group Ltd: Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England, 2001. Stories originally published between 1902-1918. Ever since our son Ezekiel was born last year, I've been wondering how to acknowledge the books I read with him. As a general rule, things that end up on this list take 'a while' to read; I don't include articles, or comics (sorry Asterix ), or picture books, because they are too short, and would also bulk this list out too much. But, reading to Ezekiel is a privilege, and is something I quite enjoy, and I would love to be able to share some of that enjoyment here. So, as a beginning, I've decided to include some of the 'larger' storybooks I read to Ezekiel. And maybe I might also include groups of picture books as a single entry, especially when they are ones that we really enjoy. ...When I say 'we' I mostly mean myself and Elise for now. At present Ezekiel's level of 'enjoyment' is based arou...

Published by Penguin Books/Michael Joseph: Middlesex, England, 1986 (1954). First published 1951. A classic title by a classic sci-fi author, The Day of the Triffids is one of those books that I know the premise of - to a degree - but am not entirely sure whether I have read it before. I thought I had, but there was a lot I didn't remember.  To my knowledge, the premise was 'a world where everyone goes blind and killer plants (triffids) roam around preying on the blind humans.' That is true, but a surprisingly large amount of the runtime doesn't focus on the titular triffids at all - or if it does, they are more in the background. This seems to be largely because Wyndham has resisted the urge to 'over-humanize' the plants; they are not 'plotting' against people, they are simply taking the most of the opportunity presented by the blinding of humanity in order to do what they do best. Although they are shown to 'communicate' to some degree and gath...

Published as an audiobook by Audible Studios.  Uploaded 14-08-2018. Narrated by Rosamund Pike. Originally published 1811. After listening to Rosamund Pike's audiobook version of Pride and Prejudice Elise and I were keen to listen to the other Austen book she has narrated. Sense and Sensibility was Austen's first published work, and there are occasions where that comes through a little - some scenes go on a little long and the book as a whole takes a while to find its rhythm - but some individual scenes are brilliantly written and quite funny, showing the strength of Austen's writing.  The book follows the Dashwood sisters, primarily Eleanor (aged 19) and Marianne (aged 16), although a younger sister Margaret, who is 13, does feature on occasion. At the beginning of the book the sisters and their mother are pledged financial aid when the girls' father dies, however their sister-in-law manages to talk their easily-led brother into reneging on his promise in a fairly comi...

Published by Transatlantic Press: Amersham, Bucks, UK: 2012. First published 1726. Another book that I picked up as I was researching for Worlds and Journeys.  Gulliver's Travels is a true classic, but also one that has a number of versions of it, most of which cut out the vast majority of the original story. Anyone familiar with the various movie versions will be aware that Lemuel Gulliver is shipwrecked on the island of Lilliput, where the inhabitants are all miniscule compared to Gulliver, but less well known are the subsequent lands he visits: Brobdingnag, where Gulliver is now the only small-scaled person in a land of giants; Laputa, a flying island populated with impractical scholars who make life difficult for their ground-based subjects; and the land of the Houyhnhnms, sentient horses who rule a relatively peaceful society while the humanoid 'Yahoos' are the beasts of burden. Other lands briefly visited by Gulliver include Luggnagg, where a small population of immor...

Published by Collins Clear-Type Press: London and Glasgow, date unknown. The second book in 'The D'Artagnan Romances.' Preceded by ' The Three Musketeers. ' First published in French 1845. Not as well-known as The Three Musketeers or even the later sequel The Man in the Iron Mask, this second installment of the story of D'Artagnan, Aramis, Porthos and Athos picks up (surprise, surprise) twenty years after the events of the first book. Cardinal Richelieu has died, and a new cardinal, Mazarin, has taken his place as a new antagonist-of-sorts, manipulating the queen and also secretly being her lover. Also making his presence known as the book progresses is Mordaunt, the son of the long-executed Lady de Winter, now seeking revenge against the musketeers and anyone else responsible in his eyes for the death of his mother and the loss of his titles - a list that includes his own father and the king of England, Charles I! By setting Twenty Years After during a time of ...

Published by Hazard Press Limited: Christchurch, New Zealand, 1993. First published 1965. I think I first heard about this book in an article written by Margaret Mahy, or possibly Joy Cowley - two of the great New Zealand children's writers - in which the writer praised this book as being an early inspiration for them. Having now read it, I can see how reading this could help a young writer to realise that New Zealand stories could be told and told well. The Runaway Settlers tells the true (but fictionalised) story of Mary Small, who, along with her six children, escape from life with her abusive husband in Australia, and resettle near Lyttleton in Canterbury, New Zealand. Mary shows a lot of forethought when it emerges that she has been planning their escape for some time, sending small amounts of money to a friend in Sydney and putting it aside to enable the family to fund their escape. She also shows a lot of determination when facing various disappointments, even standing up to...

Published as an audiobook by Audible Studios. Uploaded 08-12-2015. Narrated by Rosamund Pike. First published 1813. I read Pride and Prejudice many years ago and remember finding it funny, but listening to it with Elise has reminded me just how funny it really it. Austen (as well as Rosamund Pike's narration) has a talent for describing both scenes and characters in a way that highlights their eccentricities and draws the most laughs possible from the goings-on. Both Elise and myself had laugh-out-loud moments throughout the story, often at times when either Mr or Mrs Bennett was taking a more prominent role. Austen also makes sure that even her more ridiculous characters, such as Mr Collins or Lady Catherine, have enough 'grounding' that you could picture the character existing - they are more than just one-dimensional punch-lines. This is possibly why Pride and Prejudice remains such a beloved classic to this day; although some language choices show that the story was wri...

Published by Wordsworth Editions Limited: Hertfordshire, England, 1992. First published in 1847. This is my first time reading anything by one of the Brontë sisters, and whoa, its fairly intense! I thought I knew a bit of the plot, but upon reflection I think I might have been thinking of Jane Eyre instead. In this story, we meet Catherine and Hindley Earnshaw, two siblings living in the titular Wuthering Heights, a remote farmhouse in West Yorkshire. At a young age a third child joins their household, 'Heathcliff', a child found by Mr Earnshaw and brought home to be raised with the family. Heathcliff and Catherine are close, and it becomes more and more apparent that Heathcliff is in love with Catherine. These two wander the moors together, and when spying on their neighbours at Thrushcross Grange, Catherine is attacked by the family's dogs and is forced to recover there. This causes an attachment to grow between her and Edgar Linton, the son in the Thrushcross Grange hous...

Published by Wordsworth Classics: Hertfordshire, England, 2010 (1996). Translated from Russian by Constance Garnett, 1913. Originally published in Russian 1868-1869. This was a hard slog. You may have noticed lately that my reading output has dropped. Although I can put some of it down to busyness or other external factors, a good chunk of my actual reading time over the last month (at least) has been devoted to getting through this novel. It is a slightly longer novel than some I've read this year (559 pages), but the style has been the hardest factor - I have managed to get through longer novels far quicker.  I'm still a little torn as to why this is, particularly as I really enjoyed The Brothers Karamazov , which is also by Dostoevsky. For a while I thought it might be the translation, but both novels were translated by the same person, so that also seems unlikely. One thing that might explain it came up when I began looking into the book's creation a bit further after f...

Published by Printer Industria Gráfica: Barcelona, Spain. First published by Hodder & Stoughton in 1913. This classic adventure is set in the era of Revolutionary France. The titular Scarlet Pimpernel is the code-name for a mysterious Englishman who leads a group of young English aristocrats to risk their lives rescuing the aristocracy of France from the guillotine. As the story gets underway, Marguerite Blakeney, the French-born wife of the dim-witted but jovial Englishman Sir Percy Blakeney, finds herself blackmailed by the villain of the piece, the 'accredited agent' for France, Chauvelin. In order to spare the life of Marguerite's brother, Armand St Just, Marguerite must work for Chauvelin to help him discover the Scarlet Pimpernel's secret identity. Only if Chauvelin is able to learn this information will he surrender to Marguerite the letter that incriminates her brother in the Scarlet Pimpernel's schemes.  Marguerite is an interesting character. Being a s...