OK, I know I am useless at anything that requires trying new things and am a self confessed technophobe but I will change....
this summer I have read:
*The picture of Dorian Gray - this is my brother's favourite book and is also one of mine too, for it is excellent. I love Oscar Wilde's plays with A woman of no importance topping the list. This could fall into the theme of love in the sense of vanity, being in love with the self, and also idealism, being in love with a certain concept, with this being youth and beauty. But then again maybe this is straying away a little. Regardless, it was fantastic.
*Wuthering Heights - obviously, I'll post what I thought etc when I am less tired
* Brideshead revisited - I actually read this last summer but when Becky said she was going to read it I gave it another go. I guess its a novel that is fundamentally about religion, and love of God is irrelevant in the exam as I read on Mrs Sim's notes, but actually its quite a good one to read following on from Breakfast at Tiffany's. Breakfast at Tiffany's explores the power of platonic love and this is also key to Waugh's novel as this is central to his novel.
*Lady Chatterley's Lover - Tash will be pleased - a bit of D.H Lawrence. This book was banned due to its explicit content. This is probably the one to read when looking at sexual love. Lawrence wrote to liberate the generations who found sex as merely an embarrassment and a mechanical art. Lawrence said about his work, 'To me it is beautiful and tender and frail as the naked self is'.
*Much ado about nothing - this has always been one of my favourite Shakespeare plays, even though it is considered his least ambitious. Oh well! The language of Beatrice and Benedict is so carefully constructed to make the other look a fool.
*A Room with a view - actually a fantastically funny look at the English manner. One of Forster's favourite themes was the 'undeveloped heart' of the English. Lucy is torn between Victorian society and what her heart tells her. I actually read this book because i remembered watching the film at about the age of seven and finding Cecil completely hilarious.
Right, I'm tired and hate staring at the computer screen. I will write again. I promise. xxxxxx