REVIEWS FROM HALEIGH DEROCHER
Some Banned Classics for Banned Books Week
Did you know that this week (9/26-10/2) is Banned Books Week? The purpose of Banned Books Week is to highlight current and historical attempts in the US to censor books in schools and libraries. I'm taking it a slightly different route, though. Censorship has been...
A Polemic Against Cancel Culture in the Book Community
A Polemic Against Cancel Culture in the Book Community Cancel Culture, or "Accountability Culture" as it's proponents like to call it, is a movement that capitalizes on public shaming: Ostracism until demands have been met is its ultimate purpose. In the book...
Some Non-Fiction Book Recommendations
I have read a few lovely non-fiction books lately. Each of these books provided me with much needed encouragement, but in different areas of life. A good non-fiction book just can't be beat, and is sometimes just what the doctor ordered. So, I feel compelled to share...
Review: Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
"Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings had not darkened because of her grief." Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This has been my favorite read of...
Review: Summer by Edith Wharton
"These things were hers; they had passed into her blood, and become part of her, they were building the child in her womb; it was impossible to tear asunder strands of life so interwoven." I've decided that now when people ask for my recommendation of which Wharton...
Review: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
"I had the sense that the deeper meaning of the story was in the gaps." I own more copies of Ethan Frome than any other book, and I can easily say it's my favorite novella I've ever read. But I also feel like I'm constantly defending my love for it, because it is...
Review: Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
"One always begins to forgive a place as soon as it's left behind." Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, Before my review of the novel, I'd like to go into a little history. Charles Dickens' father, John, was always a poor manager of his finances - so poor, in fact, that...
Review: Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery
"If it's in you to climb you must - there are those who must lift their eyes to the hills - they can't breathe properly in the valleys." Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery, I feel like this is the book of my soul, guys. The prose is breathtaking and the narrative is...
Review: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known" A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, ⭐⭐⭐⭐ It might not stay at four stars though, judging by my history of reading Dickens. AToTC is...
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier I spent a good portion of a day trying to sort out my feelings about this book. Basically ??. While I don't like it quite as much as Rebecca, it had the same haunting quality that I just cannot get over ?? . . SYNOPSIS: Ambrose...
Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton
"Good books, good music, and good talk had been their daily food..."Glimpses of the Moon was published in 1922, seventeen years after Wharton's great success with House of Mirth. I decided to read this in conjunction with House of Mirth (both were rereads) because the...
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
"You have been in every line I have ever read." ✨Favorite quote✨What a wild ride this was for my first Dickens (other than A Christmas Carol). For my whole life I've been curious about Dickens but too scared to actually follow through and finish any of his books. And...
Little Women Movie Review
All right, y'all. I finally saw the new Little Women movie last night and let me just say... I LOVED IT . When I found out they were doing a new adaptation for this book (one of my faves ever) I have to admit I was skeptical for a myriad of reasons. I don't have much...
The Reef by Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton does it again with this biting novel of love, deception, and social mores. Synopsis: Two seemingly happy couples join in France to announce their engagements. But things begin to unravel as secret pasts come to light. What are the effects of a casual...
Hudson River Bracketed by Edith Wharton
I've read many of Wharton's books and this is perhaps my favorite. While vastly different from her novels of New York, I found it most similar in style to Summer. This saga follows the life of burgeoning writer Vance Weston. Over the course of many years (five or six...
REVIEWS FROM HALEIGH DEROCHER
Some Banned Classics for Banned Books Week
Did you know that this week (9/26-10/2) is Banned Books Week? The purpose of Banned Books Week is to highlight current and historical attempts in the US to censor books in schools and libraries. I'm taking it a slightly different route, though. Censorship has been...
A Polemic Against Cancel Culture in the Book Community
A Polemic Against Cancel Culture in the Book Community Cancel Culture, or "Accountability Culture" as it's proponents like to call it, is a movement that capitalizes on public shaming: Ostracism until demands have been met is its ultimate purpose. In the book...
Some Non-Fiction Book Recommendations
I have read a few lovely non-fiction books lately. Each of these books provided me with much needed encouragement, but in different areas of life. A good non-fiction book just can't be beat, and is sometimes just what the doctor ordered. So, I feel compelled to share...
Review: Tess of the d’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
"Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings had not darkened because of her grief." Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ This has been my favorite read of...
Review: Summer by Edith Wharton
"These things were hers; they had passed into her blood, and become part of her, they were building the child in her womb; it was impossible to tear asunder strands of life so interwoven." I've decided that now when people ask for my recommendation of which Wharton...
Review: Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton
"I had the sense that the deeper meaning of the story was in the gaps." I own more copies of Ethan Frome than any other book, and I can easily say it's my favorite novella I've ever read. But I also feel like I'm constantly defending my love for it, because it is...
Review: Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens
"One always begins to forgive a place as soon as it's left behind." Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, Before my review of the novel, I'd like to go into a little history. Charles Dickens' father, John, was always a poor manager of his finances - so poor, in fact, that...
Review: Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery
"If it's in you to climb you must - there are those who must lift their eyes to the hills - they can't breathe properly in the valleys." Emily of New Moon by LM Montgomery, I feel like this is the book of my soul, guys. The prose is breathtaking and the narrative is...
Review: A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known" A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens, ⭐⭐⭐⭐ It might not stay at four stars though, judging by my history of reading Dickens. AToTC is...
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne Du Maurier I spent a good portion of a day trying to sort out my feelings about this book. Basically ??. While I don't like it quite as much as Rebecca, it had the same haunting quality that I just cannot get over ?? . . SYNOPSIS: Ambrose...
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"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing."