Jane Eyre

Kitabın Adı: Jane Eyre

Orijinal Adı: Jane Eyre

Yazar: Charlotte Bronte

Sayfa Sayısı: 480

Değerlendirmem: 4/5
Ben bu kitabı okurken...: ... Hafta sonu tatilinde İzmir'e gidip geldim.

NEDEN BU KİTAP?
Geçen sene kızkardeşimin önerisiyle Emily Bronte'den Rüzgarlı Tepe (Uğultulu Tepeler diye de bilinir) okuyup beğenince, kardeşim Jane Eyre'i okuyup okumadığımı sormuştu. Kendisi de o sırada Bilkent D&R'da çalışıyordu part time. Jane Eyre'i okumadığımı öğrenince de bana bu kitabı hediye etmişti.

KONUSU:
Halası tarafından büyütülmek istenmeyen öksüz ve yetim Jane Eyre genç yaşta dini bir yatılı okula yerleştirilir. Yatılı okuldaki hayat şartları hiç de kolay değildir ama genç Jane elinden geldiğince kurallara uymayı başarır. 18 yaşına geldiğinde ise okuldan ayrılır. Edward Rochester'ın evinde Edward'ın kızının öğretmeni olarak çalışmaya ve yaşamaya başlar. Edward ve Jane arasındaki ciddi yaş farkına rağmen birbirlerine aşık olurlar. Sonrasında ise evlenmeye karar verirler. Düğün gününde Jane Edward ile ilgili can acıtıcı bir sırrı öğrenir. Jane'in bu sırrı öğrenmesi ikisinin de hayatını değiştirir.

Jane ve Edward arasında sonrasında neler olduğunu öğrenmek istiyorsanız kitabı okumanız gerekiyor.

DEĞERLENDİRMEM:
Kitabın başlarında sıkılacağımı düşünmüştüm ama hiç de beklediğim gibi olmadı. Her ne kadar Jane'in hayatında olanların büyük kısmı ve Jane'in genel ruh hali kitap boyunca bende bir şeylere müdahale etmem gerektiği ihtiyacını yaratsa da 5 günde kitabı okuyuverdim. Kitabı bitirdikten sonra da okurken yaptıkları beni rahatsız etmiş olsa da hem Jane hem de Edward karakterlerini sevdiğimi fark ettim.

Kitapta hoşuma giden bir başka unsur da kitap boyunca Bronte'nin yazdığı dönemin yazarlarından ve kitaplarından satır aralarında bahsetmesi oldu.

Jane Eyre esasen otobiyografik bir roman. Charlotte Bronte kendi yaşam öyküsünden hareketle romanı yazmış ama benim naçizane tavsiyem Charlotte Bronte'nin yaşam öyküsü kitabı okumadan önce kesinlikle okumamanız. Benim okuduğum versiyon yukarıda kapak resmini de gördüğünüz Antik Yayınları'ndan çıkan versiyon ve kitabın başında Charlotte Bronte'nin yaşam öyküsü var. Ben romana başlamadan okumuş bulundum. Aman siz yapmayın!

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Original Title: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Turkish Title: Otostopçunun Galaksi Rehberi
English Title: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
Author: Douglas Adams
Pages: 246
My Rating: 4/5
While I was reading this book…: … I was asked if I was reading the Quran.

WHY THIS BOOK?
Being a late comer to the great world of sci-fi literature, it’s been a must-read book for me for quite some time. I bought the whole series long ago but I didn’t started reading it. Thanks to a book challenge, I read it finally.

THE STORY:
It is the story of Arthur Dent who ends up leaving the Earth seconds before the Earth is demolished. Of course, Arthur didn’t do on his own. Ford Prefect, an outsider who happened to be in Earth at the time to make research for the latest edition of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, helps him. Arthur and Ford start an adventurous journey through the galaxy. They come across many interesting characters, like two-headed, three-armed Zaphod Beeblebrox, Zaphod’s girlfriend, Trillian, Marvin (the most depressed android ever). If you want to learn about why we die or why we are born, you should read this book.

MY COMMENTS:
It is the funniest, most enjoyable sci-fi book I read till now. It’s a classic and one of 1001 books you should read before you die. It was a perfect summer read for me. I laughed quite a lot throughout the book even though I was reading the Turkish translation. Douglas Adams wrote such a masterpiece that not even a tiny bit of laughter gets lost in translation.

I ended up reading this book as it was published in the year I was born: 1979. I loved the dose of sci-fi content. I liked the sarcasm. From time to time, I got a bit disconnected with some of the characters but it wasn’t a big deal as I quickly found my way. I loved the android with manic depression. Wouldn’t you like it?

It was nice to get away from the regular plots I have been reading lately. It was a nice summer refreshment. An entertaining book I recommend to all (even those who think they wouldn’t like sci-fi).

APPLICABLE CHALLENGES:
It was my first Douglas Adams novel so I can count it for New Author Challenge.
This was one of the books I picked up as time travel for WFTM Science Fiction Reader Challenge.
I chose this book for Semi-Charmed Summer 2012 Book Challenge as “a book written in the year I was born”
This book was also in my list for The Classics Club.

The Graveyard Book

Original Title: The Graveyard Book
Turkish Title: Mezarlık Kitabı
English Title: The Graveyard Book
Author: Neil Gaiman
Pages: 284
My Rating: 4/5
While I was reading this book…: … the twins of one of my dearest friends turned 4 :)

WHY THIS BOOK?
Being a constant follower of Neil Gaiman’s web site and having read two of his masterpieces already (Neverwhere and Coraline), I knew that I’d like this book. I didn’t hesitate for a moment when my hand reached the shelf in Dost Bookstore in Ankara.

THE STORY:
It is the story of Nobody Owens who escapes to a graveyard when he is a toddler after his family is murdered by an assassin named Jack. Bod is given the graveyard freedom by the inhabitants of the graveyard. His graveyard family teaches Bod how to see at night, to haunt, to fade, to dreamwalk, etc. They protect him from the outside world and from Jack.

The Graveyard Book is the tale of how Bod survives. When he learns about his past, he vows to seek revenge on Jack.

MY COMMENTS:
A couple of days ago, I shared the opening paragraphs of this book just to show that it’d attract me even if it wasn’t written by Neil Gaiman. It did attract me as I expected.

The Graveyard Book consists of a collection of interconnected stories and these stories are presented in a chronological order. When I was reading Neverwhere and Coraline, I liked both the characters and the plot in the same way. This time, however, I liked the characters more than the plot. Bod was such a loveable character for me and as I approached the end, it was truly sad for me to say goodbye to him.

The book is written for young adults. Still, Neil Gaiman states in his Newberry acceptance speech that he didn’t write a book about childhood, he wrote a book about parenting. That’s why he converted the good, old saying of “It takes a village to raise a child” to “It takes a graveyard to raise a child”. Gaiman simply made possible the impossible idea of a boy brought up by the inhabitants of a graveyard. When I was reading it, I truly felt the difficulty Bod’s foster ghost parents experienced.

My only disappointment about the book was the facts about Jack. I was expecting a deeper story and I kept waiting for him to reappear throughout the book. When he appeared towards the end, it was not satisfactory enough for me. That’s the only reason behind my 4 stars.

Finally, I love the way Gaiman writes and I completely agree with what Paulita earlier told me and here I quote “It’s good to find an author you love who is still writing”.

APPLICABLE CHALLENGES:
This was a book I chose for “a book that could make me as happy as once “Neverwhere” made” so I count it for Summer Reading Challenge 2012.
This was the book I chose for “Hugo winner” category of 2012 Sceience Fiction reader Challenge 2012.

The Tiger's Wife

Original Title: The Tiger’s Wife
Turkish Title: Kaplanın Karısı
English Title: The Tiger’s Wife
Author: Téa Obreht
Pages: 355
My Rating: 4/5
While I was reading this book…: … two-time Wimbledon champion, Rafael Nadal was beaten by world number 100 Lukas Rosol in a second-round match: The biggest shock of Wimbledon 2012.

WHY THIS BOOK?
Thanks to Goodreads, I learned about this book. When a book is about the Balkans or takes place in that region, I always ended up reading it. Why I read is this simple.

THE STORY:
Natalia is a young doctor in the Balkans. She has just lost her grandfather while she and her friend try to help sick children in a kind of orphanage. As she interacts with children and their families, priests, farmers and other doctors, she starts to remember the stories her grandfather used to tell her, especially the one about the deathless man and the tiger’s wife.

Natalia’s grandfather had a thing for jungle animals, especially tigers. His interest was a result of his obsession with Rudyard Kipling’s well-known book, “The Jungle Book”. He used to tell Natalia about the first tiger he ever saw, as a child in his small village. He told her the tiger had a wife — a deaf, mute woman who was accused of killing her very husband, Luka. Together with this story, Natalia also remembers her grandfather’s tale about the deathless man.

Meanwhile, war goes on in the Balkans. Natalia tries to help as many children as she can, while she tries to make sense of what is real in her grandfather’s stories and what is not.

MY COMMENTS:
There were two things about this book that kept my interest at top throughout the whole story. One of these is the fact that everything has taken place in the Balkans. The other one is the fact that Natalia’s grandfather’s favorite book is one of my childhood favorites as well. I read The Jungle Book several times and I watched the cartoon hundreds of times so all of the characters of this book, including the tiger Shere Khan are like my childhood friends. I mean, I had a positive opinion about the book from first page on.

The Tiger’s Wife was the second novel I read this year from “magical realism” genre. (First was Big Fish) I kind of liked it in both books. I liked the act of embedding magic and fantasy in real life stories. In this book the story of “deathless man” was my favorite. It took me almost a week to read the book and I wanted to have someone around me who read this book as well so that we could discuss but there was no one…

When you are reading The Tiger’s Wife you go backward and forward amongst the magical stories. Many readers say they were lost. Well, I did not so I ended up liking the book. Here I should also thank to Siren Publishing of Turkey for the creative cover they used in Turkish edition.

APPLICABLE CHALLENGES:
It was a debut novel so my first Téa Obreht read so I can count it for New Author Challenge.
Thanks to Sher Khan, I can count it for What An Animal Reading Challenge.
It was my free book for Summer Reading Challenge 2012.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children

Original Title: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine, #1)
Turkish Title: Not available
English Title: Original Title: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children (Miss Peregrine, #1)
Author: Ranson Riggs
Pages: 352
My Rating: 4/5

WHY THIS BOOK?
I came across this book first on Leslie’s website: Working for the Mandroid. I found the title of the book really interesting. After googling the book a bit, I saw that it was a novel together with really eccentric photos. Then, I asked my coworker who helps me get e-books for my kindle and in less than a day, there it was, waiting for its turn to be read on my kindle. Similar to Starters I read earlier this year, I started reading it short after I got the book.

THE STORY:
It is the story of Jacob (16). He is a funny, curious, intelligent boy who has a close relationship with his grandfather. His grandfather always told him fantastic tales about an orphanage in which he grew up. His tales are generally supported with odd old photos. As Jacob becomes a young adult, he loses interest in his grandfather’s stories about his earlier magical life.

As Jacob’s grandfather is aging day by day, he gets murdered one day and Jacob’s life turns upside down. He sees something hard to believe and starts to question his grandfather’s magical stories. Meanwhile, Jacob’s parents worry about his mental health. So as to help Jacob deal with his grandfather’s sudden and unexpected loss, his father takes him to Cairnholm Island in Wales. That’s where the main story starts. Jacob has much to discover on the island about himself and about his grandfather’s magical fantastic world.

MY COMMENTS:
Putting the story aside, I really liked the photos used in this book: They were truly peculiar like the children themselves. I also liked to learn the fact that the photos were real and gathered together from various collectors (including a few shots by the author himself).

When I started reading the book and showed my friends the cover and some of the freaky photos, many found it quite disturbing rather than interesting. I am known to be a fan of weird books so they were not surprised by the fact that I would read and enjoy it. They were right. It was a joyful read for me. The book was mysterious starting from page 1. I was not certain about where the story will take me and most of time I felt like I myself was actually in Jacob’s peculiar world. Although I read many books and watched many TV series & movies about people with supernatural powers or eccentric talents, I still enjoyed learning about the gift/talent of each and every child in Jacob’s grandfather’s orphanage (namely, Miss Peregrine’s Home).

I found the book really well-paced. I think it is mainly because the author had already writing a sequel in mind so he didn’t rush. There were almost no holes in the plot. As I expected, it was mysterious and creepy.

Unlike many early readers of this book, I knew that the author had the intention of writing a sequel to this book so I was expecting such a final chapter. Now I hope to learn more about what Jacob’s grandfather had been through in the second book. I’m also happy to learn that Ransom Riggs has already started collecting photos for his sequel.

APPLICABLE CHALLENGES:
It was my first Ransom Riggs novel so I can count it for New Author Challenge.
It wasn’t until this book I knew that the word “peregrine” was actually a kind of falcon so I can count this book for What An Animal Reading Challenge.
I chose this book for Summer Reading Challenge 2012 as “a book I judged by the cover”.
It turned out to be a book about time travel so I can also include it in my list for WFTM Science Fiction Reader Challenge.

A Clockwork Orange

Original Title: A Clockwork Orange
Turkish Title: Otomatik Portakal
English Title: A Clockwork Orange
Author: Anthony Burgess
Pages: 168
My Rating: 5/5

WHY THIS BOOK?
Because it is one of those books that make me think: “Everyone has read this book but me…”

THE STORY:
It is the story of a teenager becoming an adult in a futuristic, criminal world. The teenager, Alex is the lead “droog” in his gang. Alex and his gang do anything violent one can think of ranging from beating people up to killing them, from raping to robbing, etc. Alex and his droogs’ violent nights are the first few chapters. Then, “government intervention” comes into scene. Government claims to find a solution to violence in the society. Alex plays a key role in this intervention. I will leave it to prospective readers to discover themselves how he does this.

MY COMMENTS:
This was the most ultra-violent book I have ever read. There are long descriptions of all sorts of crime. Burgess managed to drag me into the world of Alex where I felt what he had been through. Especially in the second half of the book, I moved with Alex: I cried with him, I felt his horror and pain although he had a really annoying personality. I liked the Turkish translation of the slang used by Alex (My sincerest thanks to the translator).

This is a perfect novel about free will and it is a must read for every lover of modern classic stories. It is not easy to write something new about this book as it has been reviewed by hundreds of readers. It was one of the most enjoyable reads of 2012 for me and I strongly suggest it to all bookworms.

APPLICABLE CHALLENGES:
I finished reading it on June 18 so I can count it for Spring Reading Thing 2012.
It was my first Anthony Burgess novel so I can count it for New Author Challenge.
It was dystopian so I can count it for The Dystopia 2012 Challenge.
This was one of the books I picked up as sci-fi modern classic for WFTM Science Fiction Reader Challenge.
I chose this book for Summer Reading Challenge 2012 as “a book from Modern Library’s 100 Best Novels List”
This book was also in my list for The Classics Club.

Ender's Game

Original Title: Ender’s Game (Ender’s Saga, #1)
Turkish Title: Ender’in Oyunu (Ender Serisi, #1)
English Title: Ender’s Game (Ender’s Saga, #1)
Author: Orson Scott Card
Pages: 295
My Rating: 3/5

WHY THIS BOOK?
I don’t really remember how many times people suggested this book to me. Being a sci-fi lover, I had to spare some time for Ender.

THE STORY:
Ender’s Game is set somewhere in the future. An alien race attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed mankind. So as to be prepared for a possible new attack, an international battle school was established in which the world’s most talented children are trained for war. Their early trainings are simulated battles in the form of games in a zero gravity area.
Our hero, Andrew “Ender” Wiggin is the most talented, most genius child ever. Ender enters Battle School at the age of six. When everyone is questioning if humanity will win this war against the alien race, Ender grows up fast and develops any skill needed to save humanity.

MY COMMENTS:
The things I liked about this book were fewer than the things I disliked:
The story was told as an internal monologue of Ender himself. This way I was emotionally connected with the main character of the book. I easily followed how Ender dragged himself away from his family and adapted himself to Battle School. The problem for me was I didn’t like Ender.

The author himself stated that he designed the book in such a manner that even those who never read sci-fi feel comfortable reading it. I think Card managed to do this really well. Still, when I checked it with the book lovers around me, I saw that no one was interested in reading it.

The main content of this book focuses on children getting trained for war. The idea of training children for war was so disturbing for me. I didn’t like the conditions in Battle School and the pressure they put on Ender. I was annoyed by the way Battle School students talked, thought and acted like adults although I am well aware of the fact this happens in some parts of the world today. Maybe I was too well connected with the main character that I couldn’t succeed in liking what he went through. I believe those who liked the idea of “adult kids” ended up loving this book. At least, this is what I observed in a good number of reviews in Goodreads.

In short, my failure to like this sci-fi classic was because of the fact that I didn’t manage to read it as a sci-fi book.

APPLICABLE CHALLENGES:
I finished reading it on June 12 so I can count it for Spring Reading Thing 2012.
It was my first Orson Scott Card book so I can count it for New Author Challenge.
It was dystopian so I can count it for The Dystopia 2012 Challenge.
It is a book chosen for the U.S. 2012 World Book Night so I give myself 5 points and count it for Semi-Charmed Summer 2012 Book Challenge.
This is a book I had decided to read for WFTM Science Fiction Reader Challenge.
I chose this book for Summer Reading Challenge 2012 as “a banned or contested book”
This book was also in my list for The Classics Club.

Summer Reading Challenge 2012

Each time I see a new challenge that fits my reading goals, I get excited. My husband says there appears a big smile on my face as if each one is the first reading challenge I have come across in my life.

I didn't think for even a secind when I stumbled upon Summer Reading Challenge 2012 hosted by Reading Writers. The challenge runs from May 28, 2012 to August 31, 2012. The goal is to read at least 8 titles that you have never read before (or 10 titles for a bonus).

Here are the categories and what I'll intend to read:

1. A book in an unfamiliar genre [Read outside your comfort zone!]
For another challenge, a coworker will decide on a book for me to read. We decided that it should be out of my comfort zone. I do not know what she will pick for me so I'll let you know later on.

2. A book that is part of a series
I recently finished off Divergent and the second book in the series, Insurgent is waiting for me on my kindle. I'm sure I'll read it before the end of summer.

3. A book that your friend or wider society has been raving about!
Most of the time I read what my wider society would not even care about. To fulfill this title, I'll pay a bit more attention to what my friends have been reading recently.

4. A book that ‘could’ [This category is open to your interpretation*]
A book that could make me as happy as once "Neverwhere" made. It can be nothing else but another book by Neil Gaiman so I'll read The Graveyard Book by him.

5. A book from the Modern Library's 100 Best Novels List.
A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess.

6. A book that reminds you of your childhood.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.

7. A banned or contested book, OR a book that lied to us.
Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card.

8. A book you judged by the cover. [For whatever reason, the cover attracted you.]
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs.

9.  Bonus: A blog turned book [OR a book turned blockbuster movie]
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

10. Bonus: Free choice!
Well, who knows what I'll read?!?