The Classics Book Tag

Hi guys. So today I'm doing the Classics Book Tag. This tag was created by book blogger Vienna over at It's a Books World. I decided to do this tag partly because I love classics but also to give some recommendations to those of you who might be interested in discovering classics but who aren't too sure where to start. 

Note: I’ve skipped three questions, including two related to TV and Movie Adaptations of classics because I’ve not really watched any of those. Check out the original post for all the questions should you wish to do this tag.

1. An overhyped classic you really didn't like

Emma by Jane Austen. Okay, I've said it before, but I really have a hard time enjoying Jane Austen's books. In Emma, the titular character is a rather shallow girl whose main hobby is, wait for it, match-making. My main problem with this book, and a few others by Jane Austen, is that the heroine has little ambition other than bagging the right husband. I think that this book, or this author in general, is overhyped because there are many more classics out there with more interesting female characters and deeper plots. Team Brontë forever! 

2. Favorite time period to read about

Dubliners in the Everyman's Library Edition without the dust jacket

Although I enjoy books from different time periods, I do have a preference for 20^th century literature. My favorite period setting has to be the early 20th century Dublin from Dubliners, a short story collection by James Joyce. The book offers a very realistic portrayal of Irish middle class life while retaining a pleasant narrative pace, and it was one of the books that first really got me into classics.

3. Favorite fairy-tale

The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen. The original story is so sad and yet so hauntingly beautiful. I own the French edition of Andersen's tales and this book is full of gorgeous watercolor illustrations. I wish I could show you some of the other illustrations but the one I've included here is definitely among my favorites. 

4. Top 5 classics you would like to read (soon)

While my new copy of Jane Eyre hasn’t arrived in the mail yet, this is the classic I'm most dying to read and it'll in fact be a re-read. The other books I plan on reading soon are The House Of Mirth by Edith Warton, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and A Room With A View by E.M. Forster. I've tried to refrain from reading these books' blurbs because I prefer discovering new stories without knowing too much about them. 

5. Favorite modern book/series based on a classic

I haven’t read much of those so I’m picking what I think is the only one I've actually read. The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, written by Gabrielle Zevin, is loosly based on Silas Marner by George Eliot. In Silas Marner, a recluse old man one day loses the treasure he's amassed over the years, only to find an abandoned baby shortly after. As this unlikely father decides to keep the baby, this whole life begins to change. In The Storied Life, there is indeed the loss of a treasured possession followed shortly by the apparition of the abandoned baby but that's as far as the similarities go. In The Storied Life, the 'recluse old man' becomes a sarcastic and bitter bookseller and the main story is set in a bookshop. This book is basically a must-read for book lovers and it's full with book quotes and references. 

6. Favorite edition(s) you'd like to collect more classics from

Found @ Books in Wernicke

I fell in love with classics around the same time I discovered the books from the Everyman's Library Edition. While I don't own any yet, I did read quite a few of those books because my uni library has practically the entire collection. These are very elegant hardbacks which come with a plain white cover and the traditional black spines with a portion in white containing the author's name and the title of the book. Lined up together, they look amazing on bookshelves. I hope to be able to get a book in this edition soon. 

7. An underhyped classic you'd recommend to everyone

Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë. It seems like I can't stop talking about this book and justly so. This is the first book by Anne, the lesser known of the Brontë sisters. It follows the story of Agnes, a young woman who spent all her life confined to the familiarity of her home, until she decides to take up a job as a governess. She sets out, rather excited to finally earn her own living, only to be confronted to the realities of the world out there. This is a rather short book, so it's perfect if you're trying to read classics but don't want to commit to chunky ones yet. 

So that's it for this tag guys. If you enjoy classics, then consider yourself tagged! 

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July Wrap-Up (11 books!)

I read 11 books in July, which is crazy since I've actually been super busy this past month. I was also very lucky to pick up some amazing books this month. Most of these are 4 stars or 5 stars book that I would absolutely recommend. If you've read these books too, I'd love to hear your thoughts about them!  

The Classics 

The first classic I read this month was Agnes Grey by Anne Brontë and I absolutely loved it. I gave it 5 stars. After a poor investment leaves her father heavily impoverished, Agnes Grey decides to take up a job as a governess to bring financial support to her family. Agnes has however no experience with the job and a secluded life confined to her family’s company has left her with little awareness of the real world out there. While she is initially enthusiastic to start working and earn her independence, the disdain of her employers and the indiscipline of their children soon bring her to a much harsher reality than the one she had envisioned. This beautifully written little book shows the struggles of an unmarried woman at a time where women had almost no job prospects save for the trying and often ungratifying task of the governess. A must read for all Brontë fans.

The next couple of books I read were books 1 and 2 in the Sherlock Holmes series by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In A Study in Scarlet, a man is found dead in the bloodstained room of an abandoned house and Sherlock Holmes is called to assist the police in unraveling the mystery. The book also shows how Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson came to meet, setting the stage for one of the best bromances in literature. I loved this book and gave it 4 stars.

Book 2, The Sign of the Four, didn't disappoint either. It’s been a while since Sherlock Holmes has had any mystery to solve and he has sunk in a deep melancholy, resorting to cocaine-induced hazes to overcome his idleness. Everything changes though the day a beautiful young woman comes to him with a mystery unlike anything he’s ever faced before. Thus ensues a mystery involving a wronged woman, a stolen Indian treasure, a wooden-legged ruffian and even the beginning of a love story. I also gave this one 4 stars. 

The YA Books

This month I also read The Walled City by Ryan Graudin. This book was definitely one the best I've read so far this year. The Walled City is home to chaos. It’s where girls are pitilessly banished to brothels and gangs rule with fear and violence. In a place where trust is an open invitation to backstabbing, three people will find their lives unexpectedly interwoven. Dai is trying to escape a dark past. He has one shot at escaping the Walled City forever and starting a new life elsewhere but to get that, he has to fulfill a very dangerous mission for someone else. Jin, whom everyone believes to be a boy, is actually a girl who had to resort to disguise to escape the gangs and brothels of the city. For two years, she’s been surviving in the streets of the Walled City, while also trying to find her lost sister. Mei Yee has been trapped in a brothel for two years, dreaming to escape but afraid to do so. She’s prepared to give up of her dreams of freedom until one day, she sees a face at her window. I gave this book 5 stars.

I also read More Happy Than Not by Adam Silvera, which I also really enjoyed. Life hasn’t been easy for Aaron Soto. Dealing with his family’s poverty and his father’s recent suicide has taken a toll on him. Although his girlfriend has been by his side throughout all of his ordeals, Aaron still can’t shake off the pain and haunting memories inside him. Then, one day, he meets Thomas. Suddenly Aaron has someone with whom he can fully be himself and at first, he feels like he might have at last found a path to happiness. But when his new friendship with Thomas start to turn the people in his life against him, Aaron decides to do something about the new person he’s become. If he can’t change the people around him, then he’ll change who he is. And thus, one day, he decides to try the Leteo Institute’s new and revolutionary memory-alteration procedure. This book was really well-written and fast-paced. I can't recommend it enough! I gave it 4 stars. 

The Children Books

Inkheart by Cornelia Funke, was also one of my favorite books this month. Meggie lives a quiet life with her father, a bookbinder. Father and daughter are very close, even sharing a common love for books. One day though, a mysterious visitor arrives with strange news and Meggie begins to realize that she doesn’t quite know her father the way she always thought she did. Indeed, her father has a secret he’s been keeping from her for years. He has an extraordinary magical power. A power that gives life to words and stories. Someone now wants this power for himself and sends his forces after Meggie’s father. And thus begins an adventure like those she always thought only happened in books. If you love books, then you need this one in your life. I gave it 5 stars. 

Isabelle Day Refuses To Die Of A Broken Heart, by Jane St. Anthony, follows the story of a young girl who moves in a new town with her mother after her father passes away. Isabelle is still pretty shaken by her father's death and at first finds it hard to open up to the new people in her life. Over time though, as new friendships develop, Isabelle begins to slowly become herself again. I gave it 3 stars. It was quite pleasant to read but ended in a rather abrupt and unsatisfying way. 

The Nowhere Emporium by Ross MacKenzie is about a young boy, Daniel, who stumbles one day across a shop unlike anything he's seen before. He is soon recruited by the owner, Mr Silver, and thus enters the magical universe of the Nowhere Emporium. Despite some similarities with books like Harry Potter and The Night Circus, I found this one quite fun to read, hence a 4-star rating. 

The Illustrated Children Books

These two books can both technically qualify as picture books, although they do come with a narrative text. My favorite was The Specific Ocean by Kyo Maclear. It's the story of a little girl who's unhappy to be spending her holidays in a lonely beach house with her family, until the the ocean begins to reveal its hidden magic to her. I found the artwork simply gorgeous, hence a 4-star rating. If you have kids or young siblings, you might want to get this book for them. 

The next book is The Tea Party in the Woods by Akiko Miyakoshi. Although it did have beautiful illustrations, I found the story to be way too simplistic, hence only a 3-star rating. It takes its roots in Little Red Riding Hood, although it comes with a unique fantasy spin.

This Month's Favorite 

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini totally made an emotional wreck out of me. This book follows the volatile and violent events of Afghanistan’s last 30 years through a very emphatic and human approach. Through the eyes of two women belonging to different generations, we discover the horrors of war, the weight of tragedy and finally the power of hope and courage. We watch these two women survive and grapple for their happiness as their very world falls apart. This book will haunt me for a very long time. I was scared of finding a tragedy-heavy war story and instead I discovered the beautiful and very human story of two women who lived, dreamed and hoped in a time where the world around them had turned to merciless chaos. A five star book, like few I've come across before.

So that's it for this month's wrap-up guys. Have you read any of the books mentioned here? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Chocolate Frogs And Other Harry Potter Treats (HP Month)

Those of you who have read my previous Harry Potter Birthday post know that a few days ago, my little sister turned 18 and to celebrate I threw her a Harry Potter inspired party. Today I'm going to show you the Harry Potter themed treats I made for the party, including little DIY tips and links to the eBay stores where I found some of the stuff I used. So to start, we have the must-have of all HP parties...

Chocolate Frogs 

To make these, I first had buy a frog-shaped mold. I found mine on eBay here but Amazon.com also has these if you're interested. To make my chocolate frogs, I also had to learn how to melt chocolate. Those who've tried it before know how easy it is to screw up and end up with burnt chocolate. Fortunately, I learned a little technique which makes the whole process super easy and practically fail proof. 

Melting your chocolate and making the little frogs

1. The first thing you need to do is break your chocolate into even pieces. Chocolate bars are easy to work with because they are already marked evenly where you're supposed to break them. 

2. Place your chocolate pieces in a microwave safe bowl. Place the bowl in your microwave and set it to 30 secs. 

3. Once the first 30 secs are up, take the bowl out of the microwave and stir the chocolate a little. Since chocolate can actually retain its initial shape even when melted, this will help you know whether or not it's melted. Don't worry if at this stage it's not melted yet. 

4. Put the bowl back into the microwave and set it again to 30 secs. Afterwards, take the bowl out, stir your chocolate and then put it back for another 30 secs. 

5. Repeat this process until you have melted chocolate with a similar consistency to, say, Nutella. You chocolate will really start to melt around the 2nd or 3rd trip into the microwave.

6. Once you have your melted chocolate, you need to work fast because your chocolate will start cooling and hardening quickly. 

7. With a spoon, take your melted chocolate and place it in the mold. 

8. Once the mold has been filled, leave the chocolate to cool. You can start unmolding your little frogs after a bit less than 2hrs. I was terrified of screwing up since it was my first time making anything like this so I ended up waiting for two solid hours before unmolding my frogs. You probably don't have to wait that long though!
9. And here's the final result:

The Chocolate Frog Cards

You can find free printables online including this one. I wasn't satisfied with the designs available online though, so I decided to make my own. I designed these on Microsoft Word with pictures I found online. After printing my cards, I folded then along the middle line and then glued both sides together. And in case you were wondering, the messages are written in French :) If you want more precision on how I made my cards, send me an email and I'll gladly give you further explanations.

The Chocolate Frog Box

You can find free printables of the boxes with the original design from the Harry Potter parks online, such as this one. I even printed one but at some point during the process of building the box I realized that it would end up being too small for my chocolate and card. So I instead downloaded a free printable of a pillow box here and used that as my box. I made a couple of Chocolate Frog labels on Microsoft word and stuck them on my box. And yes, Chocogrenouille is French for Chocolate Frog ;)

Bertie Bott's Flavored Beans 

This one was even easier to do than the Chocolate Frogs because you can just buy jellybeans to use as your Flavored Beans. I got a free printable of the box online here and after putting it together, I just filled it with my jellybeans. The only tricky part was probably getting the pointed top of the box right. 

So that's it for my Harry Potter treats. If you want to know more about any of the items mentioned here, don't hesitate to send me an email! In my next post I'll show you the crafts and DIY projects I made for my sister's HP party. Until then, you can check out my Harry Potter Birthday post to have a look at the crafts and decoration items I'll be talking about in my next post. 

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