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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
A fun read. However, yet another book that has expanded my "to-read" list. Alas!
I give it between at 2 and 3 for me. I loved the idea of this book, but just didn't find it as engaging as I hoped.
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
This was an engaging memoir about the author resonating with different literary characters through adolescence into adulthood.
I enjoyed reading about parallels to believed or well-known characters and how she used their characteristics to become a stronger version of herself. However, this did read a bit indulgently.
If books and characters are deeply embedded in your personal identity and self-awareness, this may be worth checking out.
I enjoyed reading about parallels to believed or well-known characters and how she used their characteristics to become a stronger version of herself. However, this did read a bit indulgently.
If books and characters are deeply embedded in your personal identity and self-awareness, this may be worth checking out.
How to Be A Heroine, Or What I Learned From Reading Too Much by Samantha Ellis just sounded like too much fun to pass up.
The author reviews the literary heroines that influenced her during different life stages. She discusses how she perceived the heroines at the time she was drawn to them, then how the 'wisdom of age" has brought new insights.
I loved reading about the books I knew well (Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre). She offers enough information about the books I had not read (Valley of the Dolls) to understand her point.
I had not expected to learn so much about the author herself. Duh. The whole point of the book was how these heroines influenced her expectations, self-image, and life choices. Sometimes for the better, and often for the worse. Catherine Earnshaw is not really a good role model after all. Nor is Sleeping Beauty--unless your life's goal is to be beautiful victim so a prince can save you and marry you!
Random House first published the book in Britain in January of this year, with the American printing coming in February, 2015.
I received a free ebook in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
The author reviews the literary heroines that influenced her during different life stages. She discusses how she perceived the heroines at the time she was drawn to them, then how the 'wisdom of age" has brought new insights.
I loved reading about the books I knew well (Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, Jane Eyre). She offers enough information about the books I had not read (Valley of the Dolls) to understand her point.
I had not expected to learn so much about the author herself. Duh. The whole point of the book was how these heroines influenced her expectations, self-image, and life choices. Sometimes for the better, and often for the worse. Catherine Earnshaw is not really a good role model after all. Nor is Sleeping Beauty--unless your life's goal is to be beautiful victim so a prince can save you and marry you!
Random House first published the book in Britain in January of this year, with the American printing coming in February, 2015.
I received a free ebook in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.
informative
reflective
slow-paced
I loved this book! Ellis has been a life-long reader and rereader of novels, and she takes us along for a ride. It's part memoir, part literary criticism (mainly a blend of feminism and reader response but with a dash of Marxism and Freudianism at times).
Ellis herself is the daughter of imigrants/refuges from Iraq--Jewish Iraqis to be more precise. Her parents settle in London, and their history is part hers. She spends years trying to claim her own identity amid the pressures inherited from her home cultures. She moves through novels and overanalyzes them.
As a Mormon woman who overanalyzes literature myself, it was right up my ally!
Ellis herself is the daughter of imigrants/refuges from Iraq--Jewish Iraqis to be more precise. Her parents settle in London, and their history is part hers. She spends years trying to claim her own identity amid the pressures inherited from her home cultures. She moves through novels and overanalyzes them.
As a Mormon woman who overanalyzes literature myself, it was right up my ally!
This memoir is the fantastic journey of a daughter of Iraqi-Jewish refugees, growing up in London and making her way in the world - book in hand. (Well, a lot of books, actually.) This thoughtful story is packed full of delightful character studies (of both those in the books and those behind the books). The testing of youthful impressions with a more-experienced perspective is engaging and fun. Even the parts related to books I haven't yet read were interesting. If you are a book-lover, you'll enjoy this one.
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Pretty repetitive and too long. But I liked her writing style.