Read for college. Not particularly useful for my needs. Bit wishy washy. 

Read for an essay on CBT. It's missing some clarification on Communication Counselling being an umbrella term under which CBT exists. Other than that, very useful. 

Borrowed from a friend. Read for college. 

I read Doll's House a few years ago so this was my second venture into the work of Henrik Ibsen. I really enjoyed this! The way that Ibsen pits a individualistic main character against society at large is really interesting. 

Dr Stockmann is such a fascinating multifaceted character, one that I'm not even sure now if I have completely made up my mind about. I believe he meant well at the start, but the sting of rejection from the people he was most interested in helping ultimately changes his views on humanity in general, for better or for worse. He also shows quite a condescending side to his character by the end of the play, which I'm not entirely sure how I feel about but I can see how he got there even if I don't agree with his views. 

Just like Doll's House, Enemy of the People tells a story that is just as relevant and timely now as it was when it was first written and performed...maybe even more so with the threat of global warming,climate change and world wide political instability. Science and politics are as much at odds in our current world as they were in Ibsen's. 

Fran is absolutely hilarious and just oozes intelligence and wit. I'm so glad i found out about her work through Martin Scorsece's Pretend It's a City. However, while I enjoyed each piece in isolation, I found the collection a little repetitive after a while. Some essays I found absolutely brilliant and her dry sarcasm and wit defintely made me laugh a lot.

As a whole, each essay makes way more sense consumed as part of a magazine or newspaper column where you get one essay per week...which was the way its intend to be read so maybe it was my fault for reading it all at once. 

Still, I would definitely recommend this alongside a scout through her talks that are available on YouTube. Fran is the grumpy badass icon we should all aspire to be at 70 something :) 

Read for college. Very useful for an essay on CBT. Outlined the theory and implementation of the therapy really well. 

Read for placement.

I really really liked this play. Although it centres on the Salem Witch Trials, the story of lies, deception, power, powerlessness and mob mentality transcends time and place—from the 1600s, to McCarthyism in the 1950s, right up to today. 

John Proctor is such a great anti-hero who I wasn't completely rooting for but was interested in following. I also found Abigail Williams (every bit as complex and morally grey) really compelling as she attempted to seize power in a town that had systemically abused her by any means necessary. 

Read for college. 

While the first half took me nearly a month to get into, everything kind of came together in the latter part and I ended up finishing it in a day. Really well written, creepy, suspenseful and eerie. I'm not surprised Hitchcock was the one to adapt Rebecca. 

The main character was fascinating....written as the heroine with a rich interior world but is without a past or even a name of her own. She's irritating at times, but i still found her relatable with her imagination and tendency to catastrophise. 

Also, the reoccurring image of Rebecca still being mistress of the house beyond the grave is such a haunting one. 

However, I did kind of guess the plot twist before it happen due to the general sketchiness of the characters involved. Still a brilliant creepy read though :)