Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
Re-read for #ffordefeb, with @booksandfrogs
"'On the contrary', replied my father. 'Given the huge timescale of the cosmos, impossible things are commonplace. When you've lived as long as I have you'll know that absolutely anything is possible. Time is out of joint; O cursed sprite, that ever I was born to set it right!'
'You put that in?' I asked, always assuming he was quoting from Hamlet and not the other way round.
He smiled." (368)
After over 10 years of effort, I've finally managed to collect all seven books in this series! When one of my Instagram friends who also loves this world mentioned rereading the series as well, we decided to buddy read it together and open it up to anyone who wanted to join. Thus, #ffordefeb was born!
I very rarely reread. Usually the plot comes back to me within a few chapters and that ruins any sense of suspense. But I'm so happy to say that this reread lived up to my fond memories and I enjoyed it nearly as much the second time around!
Fforde is a wildly inventive writer, with an obvious love of language and literature. Some of his references went over my head, but even having not read the original [b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557343311l/10210._SY75_.jpg|2977639] (for shame, I know), the world is so interesting that it doesn't matter.
It's 1985, in an alternate world where classic literature is beloved and adored by the public. Automated Will Speak machines spout Shakespeare quotes on street corners! Thursday Next is a SpecOps agent in division 27 (SO-27), a Literary Detective or LiteraTech.
Original manuscripts are prime for extortion, because any change to the original manifests in every copy. Acheron Hades, self-styled Criminal Mastermind, kidnaps Jane Eyre as part of a complex plot involving the Big Brother-ish Goliath Corporation.
Thursday's Uncle Mycroft is an eccentric inventor. His major accomplishment to date has been "reengineering" extinct species as domestic pets, most notably the dodo. Thursday herself has one of the early versions, a 1.7 wingless dodo named Pickwick who likes to amble along with her on walks and "plocks" adorably
"'On the contrary', replied my father. 'Given the huge timescale of the cosmos, impossible things are commonplace. When you've lived as long as I have you'll know that absolutely anything is possible. Time is out of joint; O cursed sprite, that ever I was born to set it right!'
'You put that in?' I asked, always assuming he was quoting from Hamlet and not the other way round.
He smiled." (368)
After over 10 years of effort, I've finally managed to collect all seven books in this series! When one of my Instagram friends who also loves this world mentioned rereading the series as well, we decided to buddy read it together and open it up to anyone who wanted to join. Thus, #ffordefeb was born!
I very rarely reread. Usually the plot comes back to me within a few chapters and that ruins any sense of suspense. But I'm so happy to say that this reread lived up to my fond memories and I enjoyed it nearly as much the second time around!
Fforde is a wildly inventive writer, with an obvious love of language and literature. Some of his references went over my head, but even having not read the original [b:Jane Eyre|10210|Jane Eyre|Charlotte Brontë|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1557343311l/10210._SY75_.jpg|2977639] (for shame, I know), the world is so interesting that it doesn't matter.
It's 1985, in an alternate world where classic literature is beloved and adored by the public. Automated Will Speak machines spout Shakespeare quotes on street corners! Thursday Next is a SpecOps agent in division 27 (SO-27), a Literary Detective or LiteraTech.
Original manuscripts are prime for extortion, because any change to the original manifests in every copy. Acheron Hades, self-styled Criminal Mastermind, kidnaps Jane Eyre as part of a complex plot involving the Big Brother-ish Goliath Corporation.
Thursday's Uncle Mycroft is an eccentric inventor. His major accomplishment to date has been "reengineering" extinct species as domestic pets, most notably the dodo. Thursday herself has one of the early versions, a 1.7 wingless dodo named Pickwick who likes to amble along with her on walks and "plocks" adorably
Usually when I go to review a book, I decide if I liked it or not and then go from there, discussing which aspects I liked or didn't as the case may be. However, I truly can't decide how I feel about this book. There were things I didn't like (switches in the narrative perspective even though it was supposed to follow Thursday, feeling like I was lost in this fictional world, Thursday herself at times), but none of them were catastrophic to my enjoyment of the book. I'll likely read the rest of the series, but more out of a sense of duty rather than anticipation.
I've just finished reding The Eyre Affair for the second time. I read it years ago and thought I'd give it another go and I really enjoyed it. I've seen a lot of negative reviews about the book on here, and I can understand them. However, I think the writing style and sometimes cliched plot points are easy to push aside as the overall story is great fun.
I'm not a huge Bronte fan, and have only seen one film adaptation a long time ago, but I love the idea of going into a book and changing things. I'm a big fan of alternate realities, and I really liked that the world built in the book was similar to ours. The fantasy aspects of the Spec-Ops and things like the Dodos being brought back from extinction gave the book a further layer of depth; not only are things the same, there are radical things that make this England different.
I guess I'm easily pleased, and a book where literature is the main focus and is revered like religion was probably always going to appeal to me, but I don't think a book has to be eloquent and descriptive to be a good read, I just think the story needs to be good and you need to care about the characters. I care about Thursday, and I want her to see her Dad more, and I can't wait to read the next book to find out what happens.
(Also, I'm going to be honest, if I ever wrote a book, I would definitely include characters like Paige Turner and Jack Schitt. And Braxton Hicks?! They just made me laugh)
I'm not a huge Bronte fan, and have only seen one film adaptation a long time ago, but I love the idea of going into a book and changing things. I'm a big fan of alternate realities, and I really liked that the world built in the book was similar to ours. The fantasy aspects of the Spec-Ops and things like the Dodos being brought back from extinction gave the book a further layer of depth; not only are things the same, there are radical things that make this England different.
I guess I'm easily pleased, and a book where literature is the main focus and is revered like religion was probably always going to appeal to me, but I don't think a book has to be eloquent and descriptive to be a good read, I just think the story needs to be good and you need to care about the characters. I care about Thursday, and I want her to see her Dad more, and I can't wait to read the next book to find out what happens.
(Also, I'm going to be honest, if I ever wrote a book, I would definitely include characters like Paige Turner and Jack Schitt. And Braxton Hicks?! They just made me laugh)
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Delightfully quirky, loved the characters and the alternate world. It reminded me a lot of the Dirk Gently books.
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
This book was too smug for my liking. I may give Lost in a Good Book a try though, so I must not've hated it that much...
Updated review: Frustrating. I loved the last hundred pages or so, but the 250 before that were, frankly, a bit of a slog. I'd love to read more of his work that's directly literary, because that's where he's most successful--the Jane Eyre parts are so much better than the straight action sequences, which take up more space. What to do about the rest of the series? I can't decide.
I'm finding this sort of disappointing--I was in it for the literary humor, or the references, or something, but it's more action-y and less geeky than I expected. Also, I'm over halfway through, and the Jane Eyre connections have barely shown up. Sad?
I'm finding this sort of disappointing--I was in it for the literary humor, or the references, or something, but it's more action-y and less geeky than I expected. Also, I'm over halfway through, and the Jane Eyre connections have barely shown up. Sad?
Thursday Next is a fabulous character. The book is a fun romp and adventure through literature. Book lovers will definitely love this series. I really enjoyed the twists and turns in the plot and am definitely looking forward to seeing where this goes next!