Tag: Tree Book

  • The Tell-Tale Heart

    This was my first time reading Edgar Allan Poe, I know it is a shame. I’d been planning to read some of his works for a while though, ever after I read Ray Bradbury’s story Usher II in the collection The Illustrated Man. Luckily, this short collection contained two of the stories that were very… →

  • Olalla

    Olalla was my first venture into the literary works of Robert Louis Stevenson and it was not a very good one. I have a lot of friends who keep telling me to get to Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde so I had high expectations of this one, but I don’t know. I don’t think the… →

  • Jason and Medea

    The story of Jason and Medea, in the larger story of the Argonauts, was another one I had seen in class, but never read myself completely. If you’re unfamiliar with the story though, this might not be the best place to start as it sort of start in the middle and these Little Black Classics… →

  • Caligula

    Suetonius and I go way back. In Latin class, we were forced to watch these less than inspiring documentaries on Roman Emperors that were filled with quotes from, among others: Suetonius. As such, I was looking forward to reading this Little Black Classic. Also, because if there ever was a mad man in power, it… →

  • Travels in the Land of Serpents and Pearls

    I hope Marco Polo was a better explorer than he was a writer, because this was not good. I’m now going to tell you what was bad. The writing. I’ve now told you what was bad. The booklet is filled with these completely unnecessary sentences where Polo explains what he is going to say in… →

  • A Hippo Banquet

    This was an interesting read. The Hippo Banquet features travel stories by Mary Kingsley, being an explorer in a time where female explorers were very rare. So for that I found it interesting to read about and she actually writes quite well. However, her views are very Victorian (obviously) and I’ve found that I never… →

  • The Terrors of the Night

    I realize that in a collection of 80 (or 127) works, not everything can stand out. Well, this one did, but unfortunately not in a good way. The blurb, as other reviewers have pointed out, was looking quite good, but doesn’t fit the book at all. I guess if you’re into long Elizabethan ramblings about… →

  • Sindbad the Sailor

    Initial response: Silly me! I accidentally reread this book, and only noticed when I was halfway. Actual review: I didn’t plan on reading it a second time, but because the stories are in fact familiar (and resemble the Odyssey), I only at the final story realized I must have read it before. Since it was… →

  • Cry Fox

    It is no secret I’m a fan of the Rivers of London series and one of the things I like is the multiple ways in which the story is told, e.g. here the graphic novel. Like its predecessors it is good in keeping you entertained while waiting for the next novel in the series. Cry… →

  • Goblin Market

    As I’m slowly making my way through Penguin Little Black Classics, I come across authors that are completely new to me, like Christina Rossetti. In school we skipped the Victorian literary area altogether because our teacher didn’t like Dickens. (So straight from the Romantics to the First World War we went). Goblin Market, the poem… →

  • The Hanging Tree

    One of the things I really worry too much about when it comes to books is their height. I want my series to fit together and have on occasions taken a ruler into the bookstore to make sure I bought the right one. It completely beats me why there are so many different heights available… →

  • The Atheist’s Mass

    These two short stories serve as my introduction into the literary legacy of Honoré de Balzac, and frankly, it’s probably going to stay at that. While both stories were crafted okay, and had a messages of loyalty, I found them rather dull to be honest. It may very well be the translation, I can’t be… →

  • My Dearest Father

    I was looking for a book with a music theme for a monthly challenge and this was the first that came to mind so I skipped a couple of books ahead in the Little Black Classics series to this entry by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, although I think his father wrote at least half of it.… →

  • Black Mould

    I was looking forward to this so much I pre-ordered it three months in advance (something I’m not wont to do). When it finally arrived I was looking for a particular good moment to sit down with it and read it in one go. The comics of Rivers of London are a nice addition to… →

  • Night Witch

    For years I’ve been following Peter Grant around as he manages his business with the Rivers of London and all other magical creatures in London. The comic series, for me, was the latest instalment and after some initial hesitation, I’m really glad I joined in on them. While they are (so far as I can… →

  • Woman Much Missed

    I’m not very experienced in reading poetry. I can say I like it, but always is small portions. Woman Much Missed collects poems Thomas Hardy wrote after losing his wife in 1912. Therefore, they are all dark in sadness, but beautifully so as Hardy struggles with his loss. There was a lot of symbolism there… →

  • The Communist Manifesto

    This was part of the Little Black Classics collection from Penguin I’m reading my way through. And while I’m really glad there is a great variety of different kinds of books in this collection, there have been some disappointments on the way. I was interested in reading The Communist Manifesto, not because of its communist… →

  • Body Work

    I’m a big fan of the Rivers of London series, but I did hesitate a little before ordering Body Work, the first of a series of graphic novels that tell additional stories to the main series. I’m not always pleased with the way an artist interprets characters, so I was not sure I would like… →

  • Femme Fatale

    Femme Fatale combines the title story and three other short stories from French author Guy de Maupassant. I can only say that they felt rather explicit and openly contained lesbianism which quite surprised me since it was being written in Victorian times. Something else I notices was that it had a French-ness that I can’t… →

  • The Beautifull Cassandra

    I read Pride and Prejudice but I didn’t really like it. I know it’s something you’re not supposed to say, but still it’s how I felt. However, when I started collecting the Little Black Classics over the summer, I decided to give her another chance. There are a few very short stories collected in this… →

  • The Dhammapada

    Over the summer I’ve collected Penguin’s Little Black Classics, a collection of 80 little booklets from all parts of world literature. Now, I’m reading them in a random order. This booklet contains ‘Captivating aphorisms illustrating the Buddhist dhamma, or moral system. ‘ I must admit that I read and rated it purely based on reading… →

  • A Slip under the Microscope

    This was one of the first Little Black Classics that I read, way back in 2015! Over the summer I’ve collected all the Little Black Classics that were published by Penguin to celebrate their 80th birthday! Every now and then I’m reading one of them, and my reviews are mostly some thoughts about each of… →

  • To-morrow

    Over the summer I’ve collected all the Little Black Classics that were published by Penguin to celebrate their 80th birthday! Every now and then I’m reading one of them, and my reviews are mostly some thoughts about each of the books. Joseph Conrad was a new author for me, but this short story didn’t disappoint… →