Top 5 Popular Series That I’ve Never Read (and Probably Never Will)

I got this idea from the brilliant @ May’s Book Vault, so please check out her post after mine! I thought this was the perfect follow on from my childhood favourites series, because instead of hearing about the books I have read, you get to hear which ones I haven’t!

I’ve decided to just focus on popular series that I haven’t read, but I might do a similar post for stand-alone books in the future.

Without further ado, let’s begin looking at the big gaps in my reading of popular literature!

The Divergent Series

This series followed The Hunger Games (which I have read) to dominate popular culture when I was a teenager. I actually own all the books, but I just never got round to them. I was told not to watch the films until I’ve read the books, and subsequently I’ve completely missed the Divergent series.

I think it was purely just a timing problem, because I think I bought them at the same time as the Maze Runner series, which went on to being one of my favourites. I don’t really see why I would read these now, especially considering I remember hearing some more negative things about the later books. This was definitely a series I should’ve read in my teenage years.

The Mortal Instruments Series

This is one I am quite sad that I missed, and once again it is a simple matter of timing. I actually borrowed City of Bones from the library, but I was reading Pride and Prejudice at the time so I had to return it before I got the chance to start it. I’ve seen rave reviews about it, and everyone on BookTube was obsessed with these books years ago, so it really is on me.

The main reason that I wouldn’t read this series now is because I think I’ve outgrown them. It’s also a matter of buying books that aren’t my favourite genre just for the sake of it (I’m really trying to reduce my book buying). I’d never say never, but my never reading them is as close as possible.

The A Song of Ice and Fire Series

A.k.a The Game of Thrones series. What could be more popular in modern times that this TV show? Unfortunately, I never started watching it, and by the time I realised it was something I should watch it was far too big of a task to catch up. The same applies for the books; it’s not my favourite genre, and the books are all very long, so I’ve just never felt the urge to read them.

I know a lot of people read the books because of the TV show, so I think it’s quite logical that I would have not read them. I’m not too sad about missing out on this one, because I know they wouldn’t be my favourite. There are a lot more long books out there for me to tackle that would be more to my taste, so I think I’m fine with avoiding these!

The A Court of Thorns and Roses Series

I know, booktok is going to hate me for this one. I’ve heard a lot of people praising this series as being amazing, and I’ve had a lot of people urge me to read them, but I just can’t see it happening. I’m not really a series reader anymore, and honestly I don’t think I’d ever reach for them.

Fantasy is something I don’t read much of anymore, and if I do I like to stick to stand-alones. I think if this series had been popular in my early teens I would’ve read them for sure, but unfortunately I think that time has passed for me.

The His Dark Materials Series

Finally, we move onto the series I feel most guilty about not reading. I really don’t know what went wrong with this series, because I do own The Golden Compass. Maybe it was the film that didn’t click with me and put me off reading the book, or maybe it was starting with the second book in the series. Whatever it was, I begrudgingly have memories of being actively disinterested in this series when I was younger.

For similar reasons that I’ve mentioned above, I just don’t see myself ever reading this series. Now when I read literature aimed at younger age groups, it tends to be re-reads or by authors I know I like. I just don’t see where these books would fit into my tbr, and if they did I think they would just consistently be pushed to the bottom.

I hope you enjoyed reading about the series I’ve managed to skip over the years. I’m sorry if your favourite was listed- try and convince me otherwise in the comments!

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Book Review: Wuthering Heights

If all else perished, and he remained, I should still continue to be; and if all else remained, and he were annihilated, the universe would turn to a mighty stranger.

I had a lot of high hopes for this classic because it seems to be a lot of people’s favourites, and I’m a lover of 19th century Gothic writing. I’m not quite sure I would place this in my top spot.

Spoiler-Free Thoughts

My opening statement probably sounds quite disparaging, but I really do think this is a good classic. It feels particularly accessible because of the plot and writing style, so if you’re new to classics and you like spooky romances, this would probably be a good place to start.

That being said, I wasn’t blown away by Wuthering Heights. That might in part be because of my high expectations, but I was left feeling a bit disappointed.

The story itself was quite interesting, and I think if you go into it playing less attention to it as a romance you’ll get a lot more out of the book. There are a lot of different themes and ideas going on that get quite lost if all you focus on is the central characters and their relationship to one another.

I did really like the darkness of this book, and the fact it doesn’t shy away from the bad parts of life and human nature. Sometimes reading classics can feel like a very idealised version of life, but Brontë manages to capture negative experiences in a way that is realistic and yet intriguing.

The characters for me are where my disappointment largely lies. I wasn’t really invested in any of them, and so whilst I could pass judgement based on the morality of their actions i didn’t really care what happened to them. Not to say that they’re not well-written, but something just didn’t click for me.

I’m going to discuss the book in more specific detail, so if you don’t want to see any spoilers scroll to the bottom of this review to find my rating and concluding thoughts.

In-Depth Thoughts (Spoilers!)

As I said above, I really don’t want to be too down on this book, because it is popular for a reason. I enjoyed Bronte’s writing a lot, and I think this is a great example of classics addressing the same topics and classes of people whilst being accessible to a modern reader. Her descriptions of the landscape and spaces that the characters inhabit were very vivid and captured the Gothic feeling of the novel perfectly. I think the scene she creates helps to set the bleak and tumultuous tone that permeates the story, and reinforces the atmosphere of isolation.

In terms of the plot itself, I did find it slightly anti-climactic. I feel quite indifferent to the narrative choice of having Heathcliff and Catherine’s history being relayed to Lockwood by Nelly, and him recording it in his journal alongside his own narrative. I think it served its purpose of showing how interlinked the characters were and it did keep the mystery of what happened suspended for longer, but it did just seem like a convenient way to explain how the story was coming to be told. The main events of the novel are undeniably dramatic, covering everything from cross-generational child abuse, violence, romantic betrayal, impossible desires and insanity. For whatever reason, though, the full force of these never really connected with me. Maybe that’s because I’ve read books that cover similar topics that are far more extreme, or maybe I just never invested in the characters beyond a basic moral judgement.

Following the transition from Heathcliff being welcomed as an orphan into the Earnshaw’s home, to his suffering under Hindley due to jealousy that his late father came to prefer an orphan over him, to his running away after Catherine’s engagement definitely makes for an interesting but tragic character development. I definitely liked the fact that Bronte avoided creating a stereotypical villain who is evil for no reason, but rather explained a history of abuse and betrayal that corrupted him. I think what was missing for me from the characters of Wuthering Heights was a slither more of humanity and warmth. I know the focus on abuse and violence means that this coldness was appropriate, but I felt like there was a lack of a spectrum. Catherine was forced to make choices that went against her feelings, but she also felt unnecessarily cruel and cold throughout the novel. Her relationship with Heathcliff had far less high stakes because the passion they had for each other felt unrealistic considering their wider characters. That is probably just down to a personal preference, and I do think that after studying the book more I could change my perspective on this.

I did quite like how Linton and Young Catherine’s relationship mirrored their parents, but how the situation was reversed: whilst Catherine felt forced not to marry Heathcliff, Young Catherine is trapped and forced to marry Linton. I think this is one of my favourite aspects of the novel because of the clever aligning and reversing of each generation’s fates. Whilst Catherine was forced to leave Wuthering Heights, Young Catherine is forced to stay there with Heathcliff. In this sense, not only does Catherine haunt the space in which he lives in his mind and spectral visits, but also physical in Young Catherine’s DNA.

For me, Heathcliff’s decline into insanity and his death on the moors wasn’t the best end to the novel. I felt like Bronte didn’t want to full commit to a supernatural element to her story, and this ambiguity really diffused the tension that had been created. For such a prominent and emotional character, I would have expected a few more dramatics. I did like the way he died though, as it did reinforce their relationship for me.

Concluding Thoughts and Rating

Overall, I think this just wasn’t the book for me. It is partially my fault, because I went in with certain expectations that left me disappointed. I do think this is a great classic for people to read, especially if you enjoy Gothic-style narratives or if you want something that’s a bit more accessible in terms of writing style and language.

If anyone loves this book and has anything that might make me understand or connect with this book more, please do let me know in the comments! I really want to be proved wrong on this one.

I’m rating Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte as 3 stars.

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Book Buying #2

One of my very first posts on this blog was a mini book haul, which I named ‘Book Buying #1’. That suggests that there would be more than one, so I’m finally giving it a sequel. I don’t tend to buy multiple books in one go (largely to save my bank account from a huge hit), but I think it’s nice to update when I do.

This book haul definitely has a gothic theme to it, which is particularly fitting considering October is the designated spooky month. The three books I bought are:

• We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
• Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
• The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

I’ve read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson and really enjoyed it, so I definitely wanted to give another one of her novels a go. I chose this one because I think it could also have some relevance to my dissertation, so it’s killing two birds with one stone. I’m excited to read this, and it’s the shortest book in my tbr so I’ll definitely be getting to it this month.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin is a book I need to read for one of my modules, and to be perfectly honest I don’t know much about it. I’ve really enjoyed the other books I’ve read for this module, so I am quite optimistic, but this book is around 600 pages long and I definitely should have read it over summer. I’m very nervous about being able to read it in time, but clearly not enough to make a start on it yet. I’m sure my fellow literature students will be able to relate.

Finally, The Mysteries of Udolpho is another way for me to get some gothic literature into my October reading, whilst helping my dissertation research. Ann Radcliffe is one of the big names of the Gothic in the 18/19th century, so it feels only right that I should finally read it. I have read A Sicilian Romance before and I liked that, so I think I’ll enjoy this. Much like Uncle Tom’s Cabin though, I didn’t realise how long this book is- 600 pages too! I seriously need to consider how I’m going to coordinate this reading soon.

I hope you enjoyed reading about my recent book purchases. If you have read any of these books and want to let me know your thoughts, leave them in the comments!

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Book Review: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstein

The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not. Within the black-and-white striped canvas tents is an utterly unique experience full of breathtaking amazements. It is called Le Cirque des Rêves, and it is only open at night

The Night CIrcus

Spoiler-Free Thoughts

Let me start off by saying, I do not read a lot of fantasy. At some point during my transition from YA into adult literature the genre got left behind, and now it’s very rare I get to pick up a fantasy book.

For me, though, this book just has such an alluring premise. I’ve included the quote above because I think it perfectly captures the mystery that surrounds this book. The idea of a circus that magically appears and opens only at night, with a name as beautiful as ‘the Circus of Dreams’, is almost irresistible. If you’re reading this as an adult, Morgenstein really captures the feeling of being a child, and staring in wonder at all the things that are beyond understanding and therefore must be magic.

It’s set in an ahistorical Victorian England, and I think Morgenstein really uses the mystery that we perceive the past to be cloaked in to enhance her story. As you travel across countries with the circus and its characters, she creates a world that is slightly unfamiliar to you, never allowing you to fully decide whether the difference is because it is a past version, or because of magic. The same can be said for time in the novel, as Morgenstein manipulates the passing of time so that everything feels a little bit distorted.

Her descriptions of the circus itself and the wonders within the tents is where the true literary magic of this book lies, and it really does alight a childish curiosity in you. I thought the characters were well-written and complex, and their relationships to one another felt very genuine and real. If you get into this book because of the concept, you will very quickly become invested in the characters and their various fates.

If you don’t want to see any spoilers, scroll to the bottom of the review to see my concluding thoughts and my rating!

In-Depth Thoughts (Spoilers!)

We start the book with a very enchanting description of the circus, and I actually did like the POV sections that intermittently interrupted the narrative. Sometimes it felt a bit disjointed, but I think in a fantasy book that’s so set on fully emerging you in the world you can get away with it.

At first I found the initial stages before the circus was established a bit confusing. I kept getting confused about whether Celia was with Prospero or Mr A.H. and vice verse with Marco, but once I had my characters straight I really enjoyed it. I liked having an insight into the two different teaching styles because it really cemented the point of the competition beyond it just making for an interesting plot.

Now, I have seen a lot of people say that they were disappointed because it wasn’t a typical duel per se, but I didn’t have that expectation and therefore wasn’t disappointed. I thought the drawn out, passive duel was actually really unique and fit the novel far better. It was very cool to see how their tents reflected their personality and also their relationship with each other, both as competitors and later romantically.

I don’t normally like romance inserted into books that don’t really need it, but here I think it really worked. It was a bit of a basic and predicable star-crossed lover situation, but I fell for it.

The peripheral characters were also really interesting, and I liked the Morgenstein didn’t use the ‘circus freak’ stereotype as a cheap way to make them interesting. They each had their own complexities and depth, and were integral to the narrative even in a minor way. I really enjoyed the Poppet, Widget and Bailey subplot which turned out to be the solution to the competition, and these characters also helped to really activate my childish curiosity by seeing the circus through their eyes.

The ending was quite intense, and I was really rooting for them to find a solution that kept everyone safe. I thought Bailey was a really good choice to continue on the circus, and it emphasised the idea that it is a welcoming and inclusive space for those who feel like they belong. I liked that Prospero’s death wasn’t just a convenient way to make both sponsors abandon their competitors, but rather gave the idea so that Celia and Marco could stay together and escape the bounds of the competition.

Concluding Thoughts and Rating

Overall, this is a great fantasy novel that will make you feel like a child again. It’s a really well-written magical atmosphere, and the characters are easy to invest in. If you love magic and the circus is a setting that intrigues you, you’ll like this book.

I’m rating The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstein four stars.

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Top 5 Surprising Books I’ve Studied at University

When a lot of people think about studying literature at university, they usually think of a very classics-dominated syllabus. Chaucer, Eliot and Dickens are probably among the names that spring to mind. I know this is partially what I was expecting, but I’ve been pleasantly surprised.

Of course, these books are on the syllabus somewhere, however I’ve been lucky enough to go to a uni that allows a lot of flexibility in terms of modules you can take. As a result, there have been times when I’ve been genuinely surprised by the books on my reading list for a multitude of reasons.

I think it would be really interesting to talk about five books that I’ve had to study on my literature course, and I also think it would help to reduce the misconception that all literature courses are narrow and restrictive. I’m sure I have been lucky with my university’s willingness to give us lots of freedom to choose modules that suit our research goals and personal taste, but it might be interesting for you to see the variety of books it’s possible to study at university.

Intellectual snobbery is something I’m very passionate about reducing, so I hope this helps to show that literature is worth reading even if it isn’t a classic!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

We studied this on a module called ‘Law and Literature’, and we focused on the theme of surveillance and control for this novel. Anyone who has read The Hunger Games will know that this book perfectly exemplifies these themes, but for some reason I didn’t think YA would be included on a reading list unless we were specifically looking at YA literature.

I know a couple of my friends on other courses were very surprised when I told them I was reading this in my final year of university, but I honestly think that just shows how far spread intellectual snobbery has gotten. Some of these people barely read themselves, yet they felt comfortable enough to judge the value of a book based on its target audience.

Honestly, as well as the fact I already owned and had read this book, I really liked studying this. It was really interesting to see how the serious messages that Collins included were tailored for a YA audience, and how scarily accurate its take on surveillance and state control compared to things in the real world. It showed how the dystopian genre can be used to highlight problems in our society without directly criticising current governments, and I think that really valuable research could arise from analysing this novel in this area of study.

This is Not a Werewolf Story by Sandra Evans

In a similar vein to the last book, this was surprising to me because it’s written for children. At a masters level, you wouldn’t necessarily expect an academic to choose this for one of the main weekly readings, but it is!

I read this for a module called ‘Evolutions of Popular Literature’ which looks at how popular themes and myths are passed down through the literature of different eras. When you think about that specific research goal, using a children’s book that focuses on a werewolf makes complete sense, and is really valuable in its own right. We are comparing this to stories about werewolves from centuries earlier and looking at how certain elements are dropped or adapted to create a story that is engaging for a modern reader.

Considering children’s literature is a really important part of popular literature, it seems silly that some people would overlook it just because it’s not considered ‘high’ academic work. If you really like figures from myths and legends, looking at children’s literature and its presentations of those figures is a really interesting perspective that not many people have probably taken!

Cloud Nine by Carol Churchill

Okay, so not technically a book, but I studied this play in one of my first year core modules. I’ve included it because, firstly, it shows the different types of literature I got to study, even when I didn’t have the chance to pick my modules.

I also think the content of this play is different to what I’d expect from a literature degree. It’s split into two acts, with the first focusing on racist violence and power in colonial times, and the second on homophobia and familial power in modern times.

It’s quite an explicit play, that shows people getting shot, having gay sex and one particularly crude moment where a man receives oral sex on the London Underground. Although talking about this was awkward at first in seminars, it was really great to tackle serious and adult topics after being at school where everything seems a little bit watered down and sheltered.

If you think that classics are the main texts studied on a literature course, it might shock you to hear that a play so explicit and modern would be included!

A Girl Called Eel by Ali Zamir

This book surprised me less because of its content as it’s context. This is a book that was originally written in French by Comoran author Zamir, and was subsequently translated and published in English.

Before I came to university, I had heard that you really had to seek out modules that contained books written by non-White non-British authors. The module I chose wasn’t specifically aimed at this, but instead looked at ‘Literature at Sea’.

We did read the classic Moby Dick, but we also looked at several writings by other authors less well-known. What made me even more surprised about this book was that it was translated, adding even more interesting areas of analysis. We were considering the role of a translator and how important their choices were in terms of shaping the narrative and making comment about certain themes, as well as the original author’s choices.

I think this is probably an area that my university is quite good as, as there are often multiple books on the reading list by authors outside Britain and America.

Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

This is a little bit of a cheat because I technically didn’t study this, but my housemate did so I think it can just about count towards this list.

In final year, there was an optional module that looked at regency and modern romances, and the infamous Fifty Shades of Grey was one of the readings for it. Now, I don’t think it was necessarily picked because of the quality of the book, but that doesn’t mean that it can’t be used to contribute to research in the field!

I think this surprised me for a lot of reasons. Firstly, reading something very sexually explicit with a seminar tutor sounds like an awkward experience, but also that the novel wasn’t just dismissed as smut and cast aside. There are academics who look at modern hits like Fifty Shades to see how a range of trends and conventions have adapted in today’s world.

What I learnt from this is just because the book you’re reading might be about something that doesn’t seem very academic, doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth reading or it can’t have academic value.

I would love to hear from any fellow literature students about your experience of the range of literature you’ve gotten to study! I hope everyone has been as lucky as me, but I know that isn’t always the case, so I’d love to start a discussion about it in the comments!

I’m thinking of making a little university series of blog posts where I talk about other aspects of my degree, so if you’d like that let me know in the comments and give me suggestions for what you’d like to hear!

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October Hopeful Reads

In the spirit of the new month, it’s time to set myself some goals for my reading this month. Last month I did technically manage this, but I had quite a bad month for reading overall, so hopefully I can change that in October.

I’m still going to be keeping my goals fairly vague and not identifying a set tbr, largely because my course reading makes this really difficult. My academic reading has to take priority, which means my tbr can change dramatically week-to-week.

My first goal for the month is, of course, to do all my reading for university. I don’t really have much room to not achieve this one, so it’s a pretty safe bet. I also have quite a lot of poetry to read in the next few weeks, so whilst these won’t count towards my total books read, it’ll give me some nice variety.

My second goal is to keep reading for pleasure at least once a week. I’ve really enjoyed this over the last couple months, and I’m pretty determined to find time in my week to continue. I think I’m going to focus on the gothic genre (as it is spooky season), reading both older and contemporary works. I’ll also be continuing to re-read the Percy Jackson series, which hopefully I can finish by the end of the month.

My aim for total books read in October is 8. I think 2 books a week will be a realistic yet challenging aim, and if I can make half of those reading for pleasure I’ll feel really accomplished.

I’d also really like to listen to at least 1 audiobook this month. My first experience of audiobooks last month was a really nice change in my reading habits, and I think audiobooks will be a really great way to read for pleasure that’s compatible with my studies. If anyone has a good audiobook suggestion please let me know in the comments!

Finally, I just really want to try and read consistently this month. I had quite a few times in September where I just didn’t pick up a book for a range of reasons. If I can try to minimise this, I’ll be really happy.

So there we are, that’s my hopes for reading in October. I hope you all have a great month, and that you’re looking forward to more reading!

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