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A Classic Couple: Robinson Crusoe and The Martian
As is often the case with books I’ve been forced to read for school, I was one of the few people in my class who genuinely enjoyed reading Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. In fact, I wrote my first ever college paper on the conflict between savagery and civilization in Crusoe’s construction of a new… Continue reading
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THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy | Review
Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road tells the story of a father and son as they struggle to survive in an apocalyptic world not too unlike our own. The sun doesn’t shine, food is scarce, and few people have survived—yet our protagonists travel onward, relentlessly trudging along the same never-ending road. Filled with a desperate hope… Continue reading
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A Classic Couple: GREAT EXPECTATIONS and A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY
In a past Top Ten Tuesday post I paired Charles Dickens’ classic novel Great Expectations with the more contemporary novel A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving. Many people expressed interest in hearing more about the connection I see between these two works of literature even though they seem very different at a first… Continue reading
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NORTH AND SOUTH by Elizabeth Gaskell | Review
Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South is the second novel I had to read for the Victorian Literature tutorial I’m taking at Oxford during my first term. It’s fitting that this follows Dickens’ Hard Times on our summer reading list because Dickens was actually the editor of the magazine that Gaskell’s novel was initially serially published… Continue reading
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Top Ten Tuesday: Books to Pair with Classics
Happy Tuesday!! August is coming to a close, which means it’s time to start thinking about going back to school. This week’s Top Ten Tuesday topic is back-to-school themed, which means I’ve decided to focus on classic literature. Classics definitely get a bad reputation from required reading lists in classrooms; however, I think looking at… Continue reading
1984, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Classics, Donna Tartt, English Major, Gone Girl, Illuminae, literature, On the Road, The Broke and the Bookish, The Catcher in the Rye, The Goldfinch, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Road, The Woman in White, Top Ten Tuesday, We Were Liars -
HARD TIMES by Charles Dickens
Hard Times by Charles Dickens is the first book I was assigned to read over the summer to prepare for the English Literature 1830-1910 tutorial I’ll be taking during my first term at Oxford. I was thrilled when I saw this title on the list because I’ve been meaning to read more by Dickens since… Continue reading
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GO DOWN, MOSES by William Faulkner | Review
As my summer of reading Faulkner continues, I’ve found myself continually stumbling upon some under-rated, under-discussed gems that deserve more time in the bookish spotlight. Though a large amount of literary criticism has been written about Faulkner’s works, it’s relatively rare to see his works being discussed beyond the usual classroom studies of As I… Continue reading
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TO THE LIGHTHOUSE by Virginia Woolf | Review
Months ago when I was choosing what tutorials I’d like to take at Oxford I asked my roommate if she knew anything about Virginia Woolf. She said that she had a really interesting life, particularly the circumstances of her death (she committed suicide and left a note). Based on my roommate’s vague interest alone I… Continue reading
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I Visited Willa Cather’s Grave
One day while reading a short bio of Willa Cather I stumbled upon the fact that she’s buried in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, only an hour and a half from where I live. As you can imagine, I was ecstatic. I was shocked when I learned she’s buried in NH because I knew she was born… Continue reading
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EMMA by Jane Austen | Review
Last year I saw the movie Clueless, a comedy based on Jane Austen’s classic novel Emma, for the first time. My immediate reaction was: I need to read this book. Set in Austen’s Victorian England, this novel follows Emma as she attempts to set her new friend Harriet up with a suitable man to marry.… Continue reading
About ME //
i’m holly — former english major, current twenty-something book lover, allergic to nuts. drop me a line at nutfreenerd@gmail.com or on instagram.
nut free nerd 