Wednesday, March 3, 2010

#17: Get a head start on your Beach Reading :]

Okay its no shocker that I am a HUGE book nerd, especially when it comes to classic literature. There's just something about it that's so entrancing; not to mention without these amazing works we wouldn't have any of the authors that we have today.

I have several locations where I enjoy reading, including: my bed, the park, and in our AMAZING hammock out back. But my absolute favourite has got to be the beach; I have a feeling that many of you out there feel the same way :] SO I've managed to compile a list of authors and their works that I think anyone could enjoy; whether you like classic literature or not. Lets start with one of my favourite authors Daphne du Maurier:

1.) Rebecca - This book starts out with the famous first line—“Last night, I dreamt I went to Manderly again...”—begins this Gothic, ghostly novel about a young woman who marries and moves in with the handsome and mysterious Max de Winter, only to find that her new home is haunted by the memory of her husband’s first wife. When I say 'haunted' I don't necessarily mean windows slamming and things flying all over the place, you'll have to read the book to see what I mean. This story is more subtle suspense, less blood-and-guts which is refreshing in this 'SAW' era we currently are experiencing. This book will definitely have the hair on the back of your neck standing on end, especially when you discover how freaking scary Mrs. Danvers, the ghostly housekeeper, really is. If there's a literary figure out there more terrifying than her, I don't want to meet her.

2.) Jamaica Inn - The coachman tried to warn her away from the ruined, forbidding place on the rainswept Cornish coast. But young Mary Yellan chose instead to honor her mother's dying request that she join her frightened Aunt Patience and huge, hulking Uncle Joss Merlyn at Jamaica Inn. Right from the first turn of the page we're swept into a world that is wrought with danger, passion and uncertainty. Just as a disclaimer, this book was responsible for many a sleepless night in my house. Du Maurier is a master of suspense and plot twists, this is probably one of the best early example of this.

3.) Frenchman's Creek - Jaded by the numbing politeness of Restoration London, Lady Dona St. Columb revolts against high society. She rides into the countryside, guided only by her restlessness and her longing to escape. One day, chance leads her to meet a mysterious (and freaking HOT) French pirate, hidden within Cornwall's shadowy forests. Dona embarks on a high-seas adventure wrought with danger, excitement and (of course) passion. However her adventures soon come to an end and Dona is faced with a decision: should she sacrifice her lover to certain death or risk her own life to save him?

You can find more Daphne du Maurier here. Now that we've gotten that on the record, allow me to share some other favorites:

Nine Coaches Waiting, Mary Stewart - When lovely Linda Martin first arrives at Château Valmy as an English governess to the nine-year-old Count Philippe de Valmy, everything seems to be a dream come true at first....at first. Little by little, the young governess soon becomes very aware of the iminent danger surrounding the Château Valmy. Little accidents soon turn into life-threatening events. And when an accident nearly kills her charge, Linda soon finds she can't even trust the man she loves; for he is linked by blood to them: Raoul de Valmy.

Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen - Despite being set in a long-ago era when everyone wore funny hats, this novel’s got more drama than any of those crappy shows on Mtv or VH1. Forbidden romance! Illegitimate children! A feisty heroine who sticks it to anyone who crosses her path! If you like the class wars, love triangles, and backstabbing of the teen chick lit universe, you’ll love this book.

Rosemary's Baby, Ira Levin - When it comes to intelligent, sexy horror, this book blows the Twilight series into outer space (where it belongs...never to be discovered again). Rosemary is happily married and expecting her first child until she finds herself tormented by nightmarish visions and vicious cravings for raw, bloody meat. If you’re ready to forget about vampire romance, Rosemary's Baby is a great choice. Plus, there's no dogs for those of you with allergies.

The Bell Jar, Sylvia Plath - This is a largely autobiographical novel. It tells the story of Esther Greenwood's mental breakdown, beginning during a summer internship as a junior editor at a magazine in New York during the early 1950s. Page by page the reader is drawn into her breakdown with such intensity that her insanity becomes completely real, even rational! The real Plath committed suicide in 1963 and left behind this scathingly sad, honest and perfectly-written book, which remains one of the best-told tales of a woman's descent into insanity.

Memoirs of a Geisha, Arthur Golden - Nine-year-old Chiyo, sold with her sister into slavery by their father after their mother's death, becomes Sayuri, the beautiful geisha accomplished in the art of entertaining men, is the focus of this fascinating first novel. Narrating her life story from her elegant suite in the Waldorf Astoria, Sayuri tells of her traumatic arrival at the Nitta okiya (a geisha house), where she endures harsh treatment from Granny and Mother, the greedy owners, and from Hatsumomo, the sadistically cruel head geisha. But Sayuri's chance meeting with the Chairman, who shows her kindness, makes her determined to become a geisha. Under the tutelage of the renowned Mameha, she becomes a leading geisha of the 1930s and 1940s.

A Pocket Full of Rye, Agatha Christie - I am a HUGE Miss Marple fan, and this is probably one of my favourites. When an unpleasant businessman is taken ill at his London office and subsequently dies of taxine poisoning, authorities discover a house full of likely suspects: a young, sexy wife having an affair; a money grubbing son worried about his father's management of the family business; an angry daughter frustrated in love by her father's control. But no sooner do police suspicions begin to form around one of the three than murder strikes again--and then again--in such a way as to leave them baffled. Enter, of course, Miss Marple, who sets about uncovering a killer who may be a psychopath that is killing victims in accordance with the old "Sing a Song of Sixpence" nursey rhyme.

So I think that's a good start, but if you want MOAR, I suppose you'll just have to check back....

At least that's how I see it ;]

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