Karl's Reading List

Published by Faber and Faber Limited: London, 1981 (1980). I have previously only read one book by William Golding, Lord of the Flies , and that was all the way back in high school, in the year (cough). So, I have vague recollections of the 'feel' of that book. This book 'feels' similar, which I guess makes sense. This book, like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society , is told in an epistolary fashion; in this book, we are reading the journal of Edmund Talbot, also intended as a letter to his godfather, as Talbot travels by ship from England to Australia. This is in the colonist days, and other passengers include the loud artist Mr Brocklebank with his 'daughter' and 'wife', the humanist philosopher Mr Prettiman, and the hapless parson, Mr Colley. Talbot is a fairly arrogant, opinionated, cynical figure with an inbuilt belief in his own class superiority, as well as a distain for established religion, yet the captain of the ship, Captain Ande...

Published by Allen & Unwin: Crows Nest, NSW, Australia, 2008. Book snobs, block your ears. *whispers* I think the movie was better. Okay, book snobs, you can unblock your ears now. *waves to get the attention of book snobs* To be honest, a huge reason why I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society at this moment in time was that I thought it would be funny to have two books with ridiculously long titles appear back-to-back in my list. For anyone who thought that there were super-deep reasons why I picked the books that I did, I hope this helps you see the error of your ways. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (which I am refusing to shorten for the rest of this review) still tells the same story as that in the movie adaptation (also called  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ), but does so in a less gripping (though still interesting) manner. This is for a few reasons: firstly,  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society ...

Published by Bridget Williams Books Ltd: Wellington, NZ, 2017. This book is the life story of Tuai, a now-obscure Māori chief who lived in the era of early European missionary work in New Zealand. As a young man Tuai, along with another young Māori named Tītere, travelled to England, living with missionaries in both London and the district of Madeley and learning much about European culture and beliefs (he often wore European clothing), before returning home and acting as a go-between for his tribe in their dealings with Pakeha. Tuai's ability to speak English made him quite an important and well-known figure in his day, with his death even announced in some English newspapers. Not a lot is known directly about Tuai; what he did is now mostly determined through reading European letters that happen to mention him in passages. The fact that the authors have managed to reconstruct his life from these is quite impressive, although in order to 'pad out' his life to full book len...

Published as an audiobook by Blackstone Audio, Inc in 1998. Uploaded to Audible 18-04-2012.  Originally published as 'An Authentic Narrative of Some Remarkable and Interesting Particulars in the Life of John Newton. Communicated in a Series of Letters to the Rev. Mr. Haweis, Rector of Aldwinckle. And by him, at the request of friends, now made public' in 1764. Updated after Newton's death. Narrated by William Sutherland. Inspired by having heard a bit of John Newton's story in The Roots of Endurance , I decided to give this audiobook version of his autobiography a go. As the extended original title states, this is written as a series of letters from Newton to Reverend Haweis, obviously at the request of Haweis to tell some of his story.  Newton, as befits a man overcome by the grace of God in his life, focuses a lot on God's providence and sometimes as a result (and suiting the style of the day) doesn't go into details about his life  as much as a modern reader ...

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 in an omnibus edition as "The Scarlet Pimpernel Omnibus" containing: " The Scarlet Pimpernel "; " I Will Repay "; "Eldorado"; "Sir Percy Hits Back". Omnibus published 1957 (1930). "I Will Repay" first published 1906. The second novel in the Scarlet Pimpernel series, I Will Repay repositions the Scarlet Pimpernel as a supporting character, instead focussing on Paul Déroulède (a French lawyer) and Juliette Marny, whose brother was slain by Déroulède years earlier (in a fair duel) and has been sworn to revenge against the killer by her dying father. In order to aid her chances as revenge, Juliette manages to ingratiate herself into Déroulède's household, and while there finds herself beginning to fall for her host. Try as she might, however, Juliette cannot bring herself to simply ignore the oath she has taken... This, like its predecessor, is a fairly melodramatic work, with this one even more so. Both Juliette and...

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...

Published by Librivox on 2006-08-18. Narrated by Kirsten Ferreri. First published in French in the 17th Century. This is a short and very well-known book, being a collection of conversations with, and letters from, Brother Lawrence, a 17th Century French monk. As the title suggests, Brother Lawrence believed in 'practicing the presence of God', seeking joy in every moment. This sound likes a very simple idea, and it is, but Brother Lawrence writes about it in such a way as to both challenge and encourage the reader to explore the idea further. The translation published by Librivox includes only the conversations and letters of Brother Lawrence, while some other versions (including a physical book I have) contain other sections, but I didn't know this at the time of listening. I will probably read the physical book at some point, especially as I find it easier to recall individual elements when read as opposed to simply having heard them. Kirsten Ferreri narrates the book we...