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Character Thursday: Octave Mouret
I am three chapters into The Ladies’ Paradise, by Émile Zola, and so far I love it. Set in late-1800s Paris, it is about a clothing shop called the “Ladies’ Paradise”, which threatens to destroy all the other shops in the neighborhood with its business innovations, cheap prices, and unheard-of variety. The shop is currently… Read more >>
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Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
As hard as it has been to mentally distance myself from the Disney movie (an all-time favorite), Jules Verne‘s writing still has the power to leave me enthralled. I’ve visited 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea all over again and found it to be a dark, Gothic, deep book (no pun intended). Psychologically, perhaps the only… Read more >>
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Nightmarish Utopia
I believe Sir Thomas More meant well when he penned Utopia (1516), but it is quite possibly the worst book I have ever read. Given the standard of living for the majority of human beings in the early 16th century, More’s dream of a perfect nation must have sounded as idyllic as it gets. Yet… Read more >>
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Weekend Quote: Sorrow
“Work is the best antidote to sorrow.” – Sherlock Holmes, ‘The Empty House’ This succinct quote has been in my head for some time. In real life I heard someone say a variation of this, about this time last year, and then I experienced it myself. One of the truest, most useful quotes from any… Read more >>
About Me
Hi, I’m Marian—I talk about classics, history, and other books on this blog, as well as on YouTube.
Currently Reading
Recent Posts
- Wuthering Heights: Childhood (Chapters 1–5)
- The Books I’m Bringing on Holiday
- May (Paper) Flowers
- Emo Classics – Bronte, Woolf, and Kierkegaard
- What I’m Reading – It’s Almost March Edition
