Introducing Rochester

Growing up with two brothers and one sister can be tough sometimes. It definitely is when all of them would preferably spend the whole day in front of a screen, the younger ones playing computer games and the older one working for school and surfing the internet, especially when there is only one ancient computer at home.
I usually have to write my posts in the middle of the night because that's the only time when said computer isn't occupied and whenever I try to shoo my brothers away from their games during the afternoon in order to do my homework the scenario surprisingly much resembles World War II.
However, it doesn't matter anymore because yesterday I have received the most amazing Easter/very early birthday present ever:

Ta-da-da-dam! This is my new Acer Aspire, a laptop which belongs to nobody but me! Apparently I have been moaning about needing a computer successfully, so when my father was shopping in an electric shop and saw the special offer everything played out more than well.
His name is Rochester, paying homage to Jane Eyre, and yes, my wallpaper is a picture of the University of Cambridge...if my classmates find out!
That I have received Rochester means three things:

1. There will probably be more life signs from me (posts, comments etc.),
2. I have finally created a Goodreads profile,
3. Saying that I'm happy would be the understatement of the year.

Should there be anyone whom I have not yet bombarded with friendship requests on Goodreads, please add me. I hope you are all having as nice a weekend as I do and a belated Happy Easter!

Passion, Mystery and Death: Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

"Nevertheless, life and death are mysterious states, and we know little of the resources of either.”

Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla was one of the first vampire stories ever written and whoever reads it and Dracula afterwards will immediately detect how much Bram Stoker was influenced by this novella.
The story follows young Laura who lives with her father in an isolated castle in the dark Styrian woods and whose lonely life quickly becomes more thrilling than appreciated when a mysterious and attractive young lady becomes her companion after suffering a carriage accident.

Carmilla unites all traits and qualities typically associated with vampires: she is unbelievably beautiful, young, but seems sometimes inexplicably old, does not talk of her past and is subject to strange mood swings, she leaves her locked room at night unnoticedly to sleep in her coffin and she is melancholy but also falling in love.

Carmilla as a vampire is the incarnation of the world's two biggest mysteries, love and death. She hides an inexpressible sadness, belonging to the world of shadows for almost 200 years already, and while she is pursuing the goal of ultimately killing sweet, innocent Laura, she also feels an unearthly passion for her.

“You will think me cruel, very selfish, but love is always selfish; the more ardent the more selfish. How jealous I am you cannot know. You must come with me, loving me, to death; or else hate me, and still come with me, and hating me through death and after. There is no such word as indifference in my apathetic nature.”

Of course Carmilla, whose real name is Mircalla Countess Karnstein, is the story's villain, but I can not help feeling a very sad sympathy with her. She did not choose her existence, she is a victim herself and while she is technically alive the sadness of death clings to her all the time. I sometimes got the impression that Carmilla wanted nothing more than to pretend to be just like Laura, carefree and living.
She loves young girls because she searches a connection with life and perhaps because they remind her of who she once was, but since she doesn't belong to this world anymore she can only bring them death.
Nonetheless, I hoped for her to escape from the vampire hunter who is introduced when the story reaches its climax.

Carmilla is an extraordinary gothic novella, which is outstanding mostly due to its haunting atmosphere and beautiful writing, and also because the subject of the vampire, as it is introduced here will fascinate almost every reader. It is not so much scary as it is melancholy, but reading it by candlelight in the middle of the night sent more than a little shiver down my spine and anxiously turning the pages I felt as if I was seeing the beautiful Carmilla in the dark castle with my own eyes.

The Woman in White: Initial Thoughts

The Woman in White Readalong is starting today and before we dive into the book we are supposed to record what we already know about it.
Well...Frankly it's pretty miraculous just how little I know about this book. I thought it was some kind of ghost story, but obviously I'm a Philistine since it's not (but come on: The Woman in Black is about a ghost and The Woman in White is not? That's neither fair nor logic). My only comfort is that spying on looking at the other participants' posts they don't have much knowledge ahead of me. This book is a mystery!
Anyway, I am just going to summarise what I know about the author and you should not be surprised that most of it is Dickens-related since it all comes from a Dickens biography:

• Wilkie Collins wass no woman (you might think this information is unnecessary, but trust me, it's not. I am experienced.)
• He was obviously a very close friend of Charles Dickens, which is more or less the reason I am interested in him
• He wrote a play about an Arctic expedition called The Frozen Deep. In this play two men fall in love with the same woman and the one who is not chosen by her ultimately sacrifices his life so that the other one can survive. Does this sound familiar? Exactly, because it was what influenced Dickens so heavily that he wrote A Tale of Two Cities and created the character of Sydney Carton.
•  Dickens and Collins appeared in the two starring roles of The Frozen Deep.
•  The play was so successful that they took it on tour and Queen Victoria demanded a special performance.

And that's it. Next monday I will have read everything until the end of Hartright's Narrative, though presently I have no idea who that is and you, my dear readers will be enlightened with me. Let's find out whether good old Wilkie deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence with Dickens.

April, month of chunksters

Today is the first day of April, which means that one quarter of the year is already over. Easter is advancing fast and everything is changing; moving forward, at least in my perception.

It's unalterable: when the birds start singing and the winter jackets disappear into the wardrobes to rest half a year I grow restless. My head is full of travelling plans, but since I am not financially independent I have to transfer my planning to other areas of life, books namely. During the first three months of this year I didn't finish more than nine books (a post on the last one, Carmilla, which I finished last night by candlelight is coming up soon). I have also been reading about the first quarter of Les Misérables, which was surprisingly enjoyable, but plunged me into desperation for a while nonetheless, simply because I didn't see any progress. I am looking forward to intensifying my work on it, because with this book I want to read more and more once I pick it up, but since it is not very plot-driven I do not pick it up as often as I should. My intention is to finish it in April.

I have signed up for Reading Rambo's The Woman in White Readalong starting tomorrow. I am really looking forward to exploring this book, after all Wilkie Collins was a close friend of Charles Dickens and also, since the ominous woman in white is obviously no ghost my curiosity demands to know who she is to get a whole book named after her.
My edition has 500 pages, so considering my slow reading pace I will be busy with that.

This month is going to be dedicated completely to these two big projects, as well as to a third chunkster. Stone of Tears by Terry Goodkind is a fantasy novel a friend wants me to read. I am not too eager to do so, but she and I usually have pretty similar tastes, so probably I will enjoy it.

What is most important is that I am dying to read: I am so excited to explore new books and putting together my list for The Classics Club has opened my eyes to the multitude of amazing books in the world. I am so hungry to read at the moment and every day a new book catches my fancy. Today I came across the trailer for Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami and it has really tried my determination to stick to my chunksters-only reading plans.
Perhaps I'll give in when I am doing well with my regular reading schedule, we'll see. Until then I am just going to hit the repeat button on Youtube.

Finally The Classics Club

I feel like I am the last person in the world to join this, but here is my list

for The Classics Club, the most amazing project ever, hosted by lovely Jillian.

It took me quite long to put this list together and you can't

imagine how many titles were crossed out again and replaced by others,

but I am now so arrogant as to say that once I have read everything on it, I

shoud have gained a tiny little overview of literature.  At least it should

provide me with some knowledge for my further explorations. 

My goaldate is 29/7/2016, chosen because it is my twentieth birhday.

The rules also say we should think of a reward for ourselves. There are

currently exactly 111 titles on my list and I am going to treat myself when

I have read more than half of them, meaning 56. It's in the rules, right?

What I am opting for is one of this lovely pendants I have been admiring

for ages: 

Fellow book nerds: they're available here

All of them have literary quotes on them and currently I would go for the one depicted above, but perhaps this project is going to change all my bookish  preferences? Anyway, here's my list (without any particular order within the centuries):

Pre-1700s

1.       The Theban Plays: Oedipus the King, Oedipus at Colonus, Antigone, Sophocles

2.       Don Quixote, Miguel de Cervantes

3.       The Pilgrim’s Progress, John Bunyan

4.       The Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer

5.       The Art of War, Sun Tzu

6.       The Divine Comedy, Dante Alighieri

7.       The Iliad, Homer

8.       The Odyssey, Homer

9.       Paradise Lost, John Milton

10.   The Faerie Queene, Edmund Spenser

11.   Il Decamerone, Govanni Boccaccio

12.   Macbeth, William Shakespeare

13.   Richard III, William Shakespeare

14.   As you like it, William Shakespeare

15.   Henry VIII, William Shakespeare

16.   Much Ado about Nothing, William Shakespeare

1700s

17.  Moll Flanders, Daniel Defoe

18.  Clarissa, Samuel Richardson

19. Tom Jones, Henry Fielding

20.   Nathan der Weise, Gotthold Ephraim Lessing

21.   Die Leiden des jungen Werther, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

22.  Gulliver’s Travels, Jonathan Swift

23.   Candide, Voltaire

24.  The Last of the Mohicans, James F. Cooper

1800s

25.  The Devil’s Elixir, E.T.A Hoffman

26.  Persuasion, Jane Austen

27.  Emma, Jane Austen

28.  Lés Miserables, Victor Hugo

29.  The Count of Monte Christo, Alexandre Dumas

30.  The Three Musketeers, Alexandre Dumas

31.  Madame Bovary, Gustave Flaubert

32.  The strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson

33.  Good Wives, Louisa May Alcott

34.  Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë

35.  The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Brontë

36.   Villette, Charlotte Brontë

37.  Crime and Punishment, Fjodor Dostojewski

38.  The Brothers Karamasow, Fjodor Dostoyevsky

39.  The Complete Sherlock Holmes, Arthur Conan Doyle

40.  Middlemarch, George Elliot

41.    North and South, Elizabeth Gaskell

42.  Faust, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

43.  Far from the Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy

44.  Tess of D’Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy

45.  The House of the Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne

46.  The Portrait of a Lady, Henry James

47.  Moby Dick, Herman Melville

48.  Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott

49.  Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy

50.  War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy

51.  Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray

52.  Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe

53.  The Picture of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde

54.   A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Mark Twain

55.  Walden, Henry David Thoreau

56.  The Fall of the House of Usher & other short stories, E. A. Poe

57.  Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens

58.  David Copperfield, Charles Dickens

59.   Nicholas Nickleby, Charles Dickens

60.  Hard Times, Charles Dickens

61.   Our Mutual Friend, Charles Dickens

62.  The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Charles Dickens

63.  The Woman in White, Wilkie Collins

1900s

64.  Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell

65.  The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka

66.   Collected Poems, W.B. Yeats

67.   Ulysses, James Joyce

68.   A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, James Joyce

69.   I know why the Caged Birds sing, Maya Angelou

70.   A Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood

71.   A Clockwork Orange, Anthony Burgess

72.   The Good Earth, Pearl Buck

73.   If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler, Italo Calvino

74.   Heart of Darkness, Conrad Joseph

75.   Rebecca, Daphne Du Maurier

76.   As I Lay Dying, William Faulkner

77.   The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald

78.   I Capture the Castle, Dodie Smith

79.   The Sun also Rises, Ernest Hemingway

80.   Brave New World, Alduous Huxley

81.   1984, George Orwell

82.   To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee

83.   One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez

84.   The Waste Land, T.S. Eliot

85.   The Heart is a lonely Hunter, Carson McCullers

86.   Beloved, Toni Morrison

87.   Siddharta, Hermann Hesse

88.   To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf

89.   A Room of One’s Own, Virginia Wollf

90.   Mrs Dalloway, Virginia Woolf

91.   The Age of Innocence, Edith Wharton

92.   Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton

93.   The Hobbit, J.R.R.  Tolkien

94.   The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien

95.   East of Eden, John Steinbeck

96.   Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck

97.   The Crucible, Arthur Miller

98.   Norwegian Wood, Haruki Murakami

99.   Midnight’s Children, Salman Rushdie

100.Doctor Zhivago, Boris Pasternak

101.Catch-22, Joseph Heller

102.Peter Pan, J.M. Barrie

103.Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury

104.The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky

105.The Power and the Glory, Graham Greene

106.The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath

107.Collected Poems, Robert Frost

108. A Passage to India, E.M. Foster

109. A Room with a View, E.M. Foster

110. The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger

111.The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera

What do you say? Good choices? Bad? Are you joining too? Do we have any titles in common on our lists?

Back Home

It's been exactly two weeks since my last post and any other life sign from me. I do apologise, but there's a reason for my complete disappearance: I have been travelling England, from Gateshead to Morton, but Thornfield Hall was my favourite place by far.
For those of you not familiar with these names: during the last fortnight I have spent every free minute reading what I dare to call one of my favourite books ever, Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.

This book! It's been ages since anything captured me so much, I even read during my piano lessons (don't ask me how that's possible) and I freaked out about it like other girls do about boygroups. Reading slump? What was that again?

There was hardly anything about this book not to love: the passionate and clever heroine, the stormy atmosphere, the mystery, the heartache, the lyrical yet fast paced writing and Mr Rochester of course, oh Mr Rochester!

I normally disapprove of books named after their main characters, but in this case I found it totally justified. Little Jane had my understanding when she hid from her cousins in order to read; by the time she hurt horrible John in defense against his attack with the book she had won me over. I could not get enough of Jane, especially since she reminded me to my immense surprise a lot of myself. Some friends who had read the book also noticed the resemblance; this went so far that I couldn't read in their presence anymore because of all the "Oh, she's exactly like you!", which was really nice considering that Jane is described as plain throughout the book (mind you, I am not saying they weren't right. I'll have to take it like Mr Rochester.) The good side is that I completely agreed with all of Jane's decisions and never got annoyed by them, not even by her hastened departure from Thornfield Hall; which brings us to Mr Rochester.

Leaving aside the fact that my fondness for Byronic heroes should probably start to worry me I cannot help loving this man! Some of his conversations with Jane are downright hilarious and had me laughing out loud. Which other Victorian gentleman discusses fairies with his daughter's governess in all earnestness? At other times he was so sweet that he became the subject of a whole lot of my daydreams. Of course the mysterious ambiance about Mr Rochester added to his charms, but that does not mean that I wasn't angry with him sometimes too, namely then when he needed Jane's help but didn't regard it necessary to impart her his secret (at that time I didn't know what a heartbreaking secret it was). I think I need not mention how shocked I was when I found out how injured he'd been in the fire and neither how almost physically relieved I was when he regained part of his sight.

Along with these two impressive characters came two other to join the Walk of infamy of my most disliked book characters ever. Perhaps you'll be surprised to find that none of the Reed family is included here, cruel as they were, but in my opinion Jane quickly grew so superior to them that they could hardly really harm her. Mr Brocklehurst in contrast I despised with all my heart, perhaps because not only strong little Jane but dozens of other poor girls were completely at his mercy; children whom he should have helped and provided for lovingly, instead he treated them doubtlessly worse than the pets of his own daughters, a fault of his character which did not blight his self-righteousness in the least.

The other man I was not overly fond of -though I didn't dislike him half as much as Mr Brocklehurst- is St John Rivers. He was so cold and hard, and while I (like Jane) admired him for his good qualities at first, his persistency in demanding Jane to marry him repelled me as much as his complete refusal of any other point of view than his own. Furthermore I found it rather presumptuous that he regarded Jane as more or less damned only because she would not join him in his missionary life.

Jane Eyre is a book that I see mysel rereading many, many times: I am already tempted to recommence it. I am thoroughly amazed how thrilling and yet romantic it is, and it has proved something essential to me: It is actually possible for a love story to have a plot.

This is a revelation some authors never had (yes, Jane Austen, I am talking about you!).

The Magical 11 - Blog Tag

First off: Thank you all so much for the sweet comments on my reading slump post! I have received a lot of great advise and also encouragement from you, and while I haven't dared to really open a book again yet, I've got this feeling that I won't be able to keep this up for too long...my TBR pile looked at me quite seductively again today.

Anyway, Darlyn tagged me some days ago and since I couldn't think about anything else since then, here are the results of my insane brooding.

The Rules:
1. Post rules.
2. Post 11 fun facts about yourself.
3. Answer questions from the person who tagged you.
4. Make up 11 questions for people you tag.
5. Tag 11 people.
6. Let them know they've been tagged.

The rules command it, so: 11 Fun Facts about myself

1. Whenever I'm giving a presentation my teachers assume I am nervous because I'm speaking so quickly. I am not nervous in the least, I love speaking in front of an audience, I always speak so quickly, I just tend to forget that most people aren't used to my spaeking pace

2. I am a TV series addict. Blame House, it all started with him! I have seen every single episode at least three times and I own all of them on DVD. When there weren't any new episodes available in Europe I began watching other stuff: that's how Bones, The Mentalist, Gilmore Girls, How I Met Your Mother and Scrubs followed.

3. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien was released exactly 42 years before my birth. This is something I take a lot of pride in.

4. I am an absolute expert in Faerie mythology. When I was a little girl I devoured all books about it, so if you want to know something about changelings, glamour or the Otherworld, just ask!

5. Both of my grandfathers were police constables. They knew each other, but they did not introduce my parents to each other. My parents met at as opponents in a competion for shooting-sports.

6. I love Ikea. Seriously. My mum and I go there at least once a month, eat in the restaurant and dawdle through the shop. We hardly buy anything, but I adore the atmosphere. Don't laugh.

7. When I was eight I read a survey about the best universities in the world. That was the day I declared to my parents that I would study in Harvard. Of course things have changed a lot since then. The new goal is Cambridge!

8. I am angry with my parents for not being English. I have actually used that as an argument during discussions. My life would be so much easier if English was my mother tongue!

9. I have an odd relationship with musical instruments. I've always loved music, but didn't play anthing until the age of 13. When I took the entrance exam for piano lessons at the conservatoire I was the oldest applicant. The other kids were all about 6 years old.

10. My brothers, my sister and I were fanatically obsessed with The Lord of The Rings. This went so far that we spent whole days in the woods, fighting with canes and shooting with our self-made bows.

11. What impressed me most on my trip to Ireland were the dry stone walls which cover the whole island. They were built entirely without mortar and some of them are over 5000 years old!

Now, off to Darlyn's questions

1. Did you become obsessed with a boyband in your teen years? If so, which boyband?
Since I am still in my teenage years it would be fatal to answer this one! No, seriously: I am really militant when it comes to music. I ardently love rock, especially alternative rock, but I can't stand pop music. Listening to it makes me cringe.

2. Who is your favourite Austen hero and why?
Oh, this is excruciating! Now I have to admit the ugly truth I have kept secret for years:
I passionately, wholeheartedly and fanatically HATE Jane Austen!
I don't understand what all the fuss is about; the only thing she does masterly in my opinion is stretching a story for 200 pages out over 500!
Okay, to be fair: I have only read one of her books, the much beloved Pride and Prejudice, which traumatised me for life. It took me one and a half year to finish it because it was so plain boring. Yes, Mr. Darcy is a snob and the oh-so-great Elizabeth has to learn to think before speaking, but, honestly, that's just not enough to fill 300 pages.
So, sorry, but I don't have one.

3. What is the weirdest thing about you?
Again a tough one. There's just so much to choose from! I guess it's the fact that I name everything. Literally. My phone is called Jem, my iPod Lorelai, my parents' car Jabi and my sister's mattress Lorry.

4. What is your dayjob?
Student. Very exciting, isn't it? I have two and a half years of school left and no idea what I am going to do afterwards. The dream would be studying English Literature in Cambridge, but my English is just not good enough for that. See Fun Fact number 8.

5. What is your favourite poem?
I like a lot of Robert Frost's and W.B. Yeats's poems, but my favourite one is from The Lord of the Rings:

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken:
The crownless again shall be king.

Anyway, I have to admit that I actually prefer the German translation to the original, probably because I have known it since I was a little girl. I know you don't understand it, but I have to write it down here nonetheless:

Nicht jeder Verirrte verliert sich,
Nicht alles was Gold ist, glänzt;
Die tiefe Wurzel erfriert nicht,
Was alt ist wird nicht zum Gespenst.
Aus Schatten ein Licht entspringe!
Aus Asche soll Feuer loh'n!
Heil wird die zerbrochene Klinge,
Der Kronlose steigt auf den Thron

6. Why did you start blogging?
About half a year ago I came across o's blog completely by chance and was stunned. I had always loved reading, and wanted to read more classics, more "valuable" books, but I had no idea where to start or how to keep it up, since classics were of course great and educating but rather boring nonetheless.
She was so enthusiastic about the classics, she read them for pleasure and all of her posts and thoughts were so sophisticated that I couldn't help admiring her. Some weeks later I had begun working on my own blog.

7. Who is your favourite Disney princess?
Mulan all the way!!! She's tough, she's kick-ass, she's chinese. What's not to love?

8. Who is your favourite actor/actress?
Jamie Campbell Bower. Remember that name! He has had a tiny appearance as Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter, as Caius in New Moon and alongside Johnny Depp in Sweeney Todd. Not only is he cute, an amazing actor and can sing, he will also be the new Robert Pattinson or Daniel Radcliffe in one or to years since he is playing the main character in the movie adaptation of The Mortal Instruments.

9. What is your favourite film genre?
Thrillers and crime movies! Blame my mum, I grew up believing that The Silence of the Lambs was the cherry on the icing of modern cinema.

10. Which Pixar movie do you like best?
Definitely A Bug's Life! This movie makes me laugh every time I watch it, and no, I am not too old for it!

11. The BONUS QUESTION: Answer any question that you really, really, really want people to ask you. Well, then:
What sparked your love of reading?
When I was in kindergarten my mum started reading the first Harry Potter novel aloud to me and my older sister. She read one chapter to us every night and that was the beginning of my love affair with books.
Years later I learned that my mum only chose the Harry Potter novels for her children because there was so much religious controversy about them!

Here are my 11 questions:

1. If you could live in any age (present-day included) you wanted to, which would you choose?
2.  Is there a literary character you identify with?
3.  The world is divided into two different kinds of people: those who plan their own funerals and those who don't. To which do you belong?
4. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be?
5.  How do you manage the balance between reading and going out?
6. What is your favourite quote?
7. The eternal question: Which is better, Oxford or Cambridge?
8. Is there a song which has a special meaning to you?
9. What is your favourite quote?
10. Romantic comedy or thriller?
11. Why do you read?

My victims The people I tag are:

1.  o from Délaissé
2. Diana from Autobiography of an Anglophile
3. Melanie from Dear Helen, Dear John
4. Jean from Howling Frog Books
5. Caro from Reading against the Clock
6. Trish from Desktop Retreat
7. Reading Rambo from Reading Rambo
8. Danny from Reveries on Literature
9. Bear Allen from The Black, White & Read Book Challenge
10. Amanda from Simpler Pastimes
11. Soffi from Nothing worth having comes easy

I hope you don't suffer too much! Have fun!