The Content Reader

The Classic Club  continues to keep us busy, and they are doing it with bravur. While we are enjoying our scary classics for the month of October, here are 13 questions to answer about scary classics. To come in the mood, I am sitting here in my empty flat, lights out, except one at my desk. The corners are getting dark, the shadows are up and soon the autumn darkness will fall upon us. Hoooo! Since I have to go down to the cellar, I think I will do that first before answering the questions! Well, I am back and because the cellar is also the garage it is really well lit! I did not have to worry. Back to the questions. 1. Which classic book has scared you the most? Well, first of all I hardly read scary books in general, less so in classics. However, I found Uncle Silas by Sheridan Le Fanu rather scary. Mostly, because the heroine was so helpless, once she figured out the truth about her uncle. She tried to get away, but was blocked everywhere. A sense of being trapped a...

This meme is hosted by Guiltless Reading . This week's bookmark, I found in the local book shop. It is formed as a pencil, with an opening in the middle where you can see the line where you should start reading. It is not too long, so I hope it goes into the page, over the text! It is very cute though, so could not resist it.

This meme is hosted by Guiltless Reading and is all about bookmarks. Hmm, or a postcard to be used as a bookmark. This week I share with you what I found in Apsley House, the grand home of the Duke of Wellington. Having lived in Brussels and not too far from the field of the Battle of Waterloo, I found it apt to visit the Duke of Wellington's house in London. It is called Apsley House and situated very central by Hyde Park Corner. Passing by the house you almost miss it. It is a rather grey, enormous, monument that does not look like a mansion of one of the most famous men in Britain. However, opening the doors you enter into a glorious house and beautifully decorated rooms. It took about 1,5 hours to walk around the house with the audio guide. It presented the dining room, ball room and rooms containing a huge collection of his paintings, urns and other artefacts. Not to mention the fantastic silver and porcelain tableware collections which were gifted to the Duke. To be i...

The book beginning and the Friday 56 this week comes from a favourite author; Umberto Eco, The Island of the Day Before. It takes a little bit of time to get into his books, but once you are there, it is really great. I have had this one for many years. I picked it out of my shelves, to fit in the title in one of my challenges, Alphabet Soup Reading Challenge. You read a book starting on one of the letters in the alphabet. I might not be able to finish all letters, the tricky ones are left.  Book beginnings on Friday hosted by Rose City Reader " I take pride withal in my humiliation, and as I am to this privilege condemned, almost I find joy in an abhorrent salvation; I am, I believe, alone of all our race, the only man in human memory to have been shipwrecked and cast up upon a deserted ship. Thus, with unabashed conceits, wrote Roberto della Griva presumably in July or August of 1643." The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice " Meanwhile the emperor...

Six Degrees of Separation is hosted by Kate at Books Are My Favourite and Best . This month it starts with a classic teen novel, The Outsiders  by S.E. Hinton. I have not read the book, or for that matter, heard about it. When checking the net, I find it is about troubled teenagers. Reading the summary, I immediately thought about East of Eden  by John Steinbeck. I have not read it, but seen the movie. So much connected to James Dean, I think you sometimes forget that it was written by one of the great American writers. That leads me to another James Dean movie and American writer with Giant , written by Edna Ferber. From Study.com I find the following introduction to the book. " Edna Ferber is the author of Giant, the book that caused one of the greatest scandals in Texan history. You may be familiar with the book's movie adaptation because it was James Dean's last role. Regardless of the narrative's presentation, the content inside of Ferber's novel crea...

Bev at My Reader's Block  is reminding us to check in with the altitude where we are at present. It is all about climbing a mountain of your choice and highlight the altitude in connection with the number of books you have read from your TBR shelves. Well, I am afraid I have not got that far since the last check in, but let's see if I have advanced a little bit at least. Last time I reached 4,545 m with 34 books. Another two took me to the top. Had to rest a little bit up there before starting my descent. The very next day I started to climb Mt Ararat. It is        5. 137 m high. I have now read 37 books (only three since July), which leaves me at 107 m. My goal is Mt Ararat, which leaves me another 11 books to read.  Who has been your favourite character so far? Why? Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time  by Mark Haddon. Christopher sets his own rules and does it with bravur.  Pair up two of your reads, but go f...

This meme is hosted by Guiltless Reading . It is all about bookmarks. This week I have been visiting the Sherlock Holmes' shop in London. The queue to the house was too long though, so that is for another time. As usual in the museum shops in England, there are so many nice things to buy. One just have to try to limit oneself. I bought the usual bookmark and added a story of Sherlock Holmes' adventures. I have only read one book, A Study in Scarlet, and here I will find a few others. Beautiful cover for the book.