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Bookreports as promised
91. Charles Dickens - Oliver Twist
I had read Christmas Carol at some point in my life, but never the original version. I realized that I actually
hadn't read anything by Dickens then. Still he is considered one of the greatest of all times. A swap in New
Zealand helped me to an omnibus. having to wait in Perth gave me plenty of time to start it. I had heard about
Dickens being interesting, historically relevant and a brilliant author.
But nobody told me about the wit, about the sarcasm and irony. Nobody told me about the underlying political
message. I discovered it all through this book. And I enjoyed reading Dickens. It was good to have a book that
reads slowly once in a while. Everybody knows the story of Oliver, be it from a children's book version, be it
from a film or musical. But who has actually read the book? The original version I mean. I'm glad I did. Even
though it did drag on a bit, nearly 300 pages is quite a lot for such a simple story, I have to say that this book
has raised my appetite for more Dickens. Anybody interested in reading a classic? Reading about the 19th
century? A story that is more than just that? A book that can be read by both children and adults? Say yes to
any of these questions and Dickens might be your answer.
92. Kate Llewellyn - Gorillas, tea and coffee
A travel book again, this time about Africa. The Australian author travels through a few countries in South and
Central Africa. Her style of writing isn't mine. Her way of traveling isn't either. It makes the reading of this
book a bit of a task. There were just too many things that annoyed me while reading it. Too often she isn't a real
traveler, but a rich tourist who spends shit loads of money on private tours, guides and posh hotels. I don't think
one can really get to know a country that way, therefore you can't write about it properly. In the end I kept
reading it because the countries (South Africa, Tanzania a.o.) interest me enough to keep going. It wasn't all
negative. Sometimes not even she has a choice. Sometimes even shoestring travelers have to take tours. Life
isn't as black and white as I sometimes want it to be. Nor can I say this is a bad book. She has published several
books with travel stories already. It is easy for me to criticize and consider my own stories to be better. All I've
got to show at the moment is a hard disk with dozens of stories, waiting to be edited, dozens of others on paper,
waiting to be typed and edited. It'll take a while before they are a book together. And I'm not even talking about
publishing yet.
I had read Christmas Carol at some point in my life, but never the original version. I realized that I actually
hadn't read anything by Dickens then. Still he is considered one of the greatest of all times. A swap in New
Zealand helped me to an omnibus. having to wait in Perth gave me plenty of time to start it. I had heard about
Dickens being interesting, historically relevant and a brilliant author.
But nobody told me about the wit, about the sarcasm and irony. Nobody told me about the underlying political
message. I discovered it all through this book. And I enjoyed reading Dickens. It was good to have a book that
reads slowly once in a while. Everybody knows the story of Oliver, be it from a children's book version, be it
from a film or musical. But who has actually read the book? The original version I mean. I'm glad I did. Even
though it did drag on a bit, nearly 300 pages is quite a lot for such a simple story, I have to say that this book
has raised my appetite for more Dickens. Anybody interested in reading a classic? Reading about the 19th
century? A story that is more than just that? A book that can be read by both children and adults? Say yes to
any of these questions and Dickens might be your answer.
92. Kate Llewellyn - Gorillas, tea and coffee
A travel book again, this time about Africa. The Australian author travels through a few countries in South and
Central Africa. Her style of writing isn't mine. Her way of traveling isn't either. It makes the reading of this
book a bit of a task. There were just too many things that annoyed me while reading it. Too often she isn't a real
traveler, but a rich tourist who spends shit loads of money on private tours, guides and posh hotels. I don't think
one can really get to know a country that way, therefore you can't write about it properly. In the end I kept
reading it because the countries (South Africa, Tanzania a.o.) interest me enough to keep going. It wasn't all
negative. Sometimes not even she has a choice. Sometimes even shoestring travelers have to take tours. Life
isn't as black and white as I sometimes want it to be. Nor can I say this is a bad book. She has published several
books with travel stories already. It is easy for me to criticize and consider my own stories to be better. All I've
got to show at the moment is a hard disk with dozens of stories, waiting to be edited, dozens of others on paper,
waiting to be typed and edited. It'll take a while before they are a book together. And I'm not even talking about
publishing yet.