Penguin Classics!

Hello, everyone!

I just received The Picture of Dorian Gray Oscar Wilde from the Book Depository, and I thought I'd share a picture of it in case you're thinking about getting it too!

It cost me €15, which I don't think is bad considering it's a hardback.

I've been wanting to read this book for a long time, and with this book in my bookshelf it won't take long until I'll just have to pick it up and read it.

I'm definitely buying more books in the Penguin Classics series. I've seen there are other books by all sorts of writers, ranging from Homer to Austen to Dickens.

The title page

What do you think?

If you've read the book, did you like it?

- Charlie.

The Complete World of Greek Mythology by Richard Buxton

I decided it was time I learned some more about Greek mythology, and my order from the Book Depository just arrived with this lovely hardback:

The Complete World of Greek Mythology by Richard Buxton is a complete guide for those interested in learning about Greek mythology. The book takes you through famous stories and characters in addition to showing you maps and illustrations.

Though I haven't had much time to read it yet, the language used seems simple and easy to understand. I probably won't be reading this book from cover to cover, but rather look up a couple of things from time to time.

If you're interested in Greek mythology, I definitely recommend this book. It's not that expensive in the Book Depository, either, considering the quality of it and especially considering it's a large hardback with lots of colored pictures.

Are you interested in Greek mythology? Do you have any other books like this one that you would recommend?

How I feel about Murakami

I don't know how I feel about him.

So far I've read three books by him: After Dark, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World and Norwegian Wood. To be honest, the only one I liked was Norwegian Wood.

I read all three books in Norwegian, which may explain why I sometimes felt like the language didn't quite live up to my expectations. All the books I've read by this publisher have been terribly translated and I'm never buying a book translated by them ever again.

I generally like the storylines of the books I've read so far, and I often like the main characters of the novels. Sometimes, however, the characters are just a bit too unrealistic, making me fall out a bit.

I've heard a lot of good things about his new trilogy, 1Q84, though. I'm planning on ordering it soon and see whether I like this one. After having disliked two of the three books I've read by him, I'm afraid of having to make a gamble every time I open another one of his novels.

People either love him, or they think he is overrated. There doesn't seem to be anything in between. I guess I'll just have to make up my mind.

What do you think about Haruki Murakami? Do you love everything he has ever written? Are you like me, and can't make up your mind?

And last, but not least, do you recommend 1Q84?

- Charlie.

How Should I Organize my Bookcase?

Hello everyone!

If you're anything like me, you also wonder how to organize your bookcase. There are several ways to go: you can organize your books by name of author, genre, date of publication or even by color! How is it possible to decide?

I used to organize my book shelves by the first letter of the authors' surnames, but after a while I decided to organize according to genre. At the moment, these are what my various book shelves contain:

• British classics like Shakespeare, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens
• Wordsworth classics
• Classics by foreign authors (like Fyodor Dostoyevsky, Leo Tolstoy and Henrik Ibsen)
• Books that look old-fashioned (just because they look good together, sigh.)
• Books I don't plan on reading right away (gifts etc.)
• Fantasy.

How do you organize your books? Are you satisfied with the way you've organized them?

- Charlie.

Let There Be Change!

So I've been thinking about the blog and whether it should only consist of book reviews - the answer is no.

From now on, the blog will also give you updates in my life related to books. I will try to make the blog more interesting for you as a reader, and I hope you will enjoy my future posts!

- Charlie.

Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984) by George Orwell: War is Peace, Freedom is Slavery, Ignorance is Strength.

 

I don’t get why I hadn’t read this before. After having received it for Christmas last year, I thought I’d give it a try. The book was a delight.

            Nineteen Eighty-Four was written by George Orwell and published in 1949. It is set in Great Britain, now known as Airstrip One, in the super state Oceania. The state is controlled by the Party, led by “Big Brother”; the great leader who may not even exist. This society is constantly monitored by the Party, where a single sign of independent thinking is considered “thoughtcrime” and must be punished. Whenever the Party claims something which is contradicted in any article or historical work, the texts must be changed to fit with what is currently being stated by the Party. In addition to doing this, the Party is also determined to change the way the citizens speak, to entirely remove individualism and any sense of justice or freedom. Controlling historical works and the way people speak, the Party’s plan is to control people’s minds too; a totalitarian society.

            The main character of the novel is Winston Smith. He is a member of the Outer Party and works on changing newspapers and writing new newspaper articles. In the novel we see how Winston tries to resist the Party and Big Brother, creating the plot of the book.

            The novel is full of descriptions of how the Party works, which is probably why it’s so scary to read. It seems as if Orwell is justifying the realism of the scenario. A lot of the argumentation makes sense, and we even see some traces of doublespeak in euphemisms used today (saying “neutralize” instead of “kill”, etc.) Seeing the realism of it is probably the scariest part of this book.

            The language is smooth and simple. Orwell’s simple use of language may be to show how much Winston’s range of thought has narrowed down because of the Party. It may also have been to get the message across to as many people as possible; the easier the language is, the more people will understand.

            The book was extremely exciting. It didn’t feel like reading at all. I couldn’t wait to find out more about Winston and his fate; whether he could find a way to destroy the Party. The novel is intriguing and so original that you just have to keep going.

 

Image from the movie adaptation, Nineteen Eighty-Four (1984). The person on the screen in the middle of the picture is Big Brother.

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed Nineteen Eighty-Four, and I give it 5/5.

- Charlie.