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simplyalexandra's Reviews (890)
Like most bookworms, I have an extensive list of books to read in my lifetime. I'm guessing that in addition to this we likely each have a few books that are sort of the big kahunas. You know, the ones that are really intimidating, often thick and you've over-seen them being read by people you thought really cool or brainy... well for me one of the biggest was Anna Karenina.
I remember seeing it probably for the first time when I was about 14. I was at a friend's house, in this super cool library type loft that had tons of books, floor pillows, candles, maps.. the whole nine yards. I picked up the book and was mesmerized by the gorgeous cover photo. I had heard of the name before and never realized how huge it was. I told her that I really wanted to read it, and she explained that her older brother would be impressed and probably let me borrow it. Woah, that's a lot for a not-actually-that-literary-reader, not to mention boy-crazy 14 year-old to handle! Needless to say, I put it back on the shelf, quickly brushed it off saying "oh, that's ok. I probably won't have time to read it for a while anyway."
I finally purchased a copy for myself on a walking trip from our (now old) apartment to the nearby bookstore. I bought a used copy and was very excited. Purchasing it was a really big step, I never imagined that I would read it before I turned 40 let alone while within the year I bought it!
I had heard that a movie version was being made that had both Kiera Knightly and Jude Law in it. I was pretty excited about it and took it as a challenge to start reading it in time for the movie. Where we live, we get independent/foreign/non box office-y movies for a very limited period of time and only two at a time. I began the book despite the fact that I was about to finish my senior year as an undergraduate.
Once I picked up the novel, I could barely set it down. I made a goal to read just 2 chapters per day, and when I would get behind I would catch up as much as possible within a day where I wasn't so busy. This strategy kept me interested and also from forgetting what was going on in the plot. As I read, I came to find that this whale-of-a-book was actually quite accessible and much more quickly paced than I had expected.
During my reading, I found myself reflecting on some of the over-arching topics quite a bit. For one, I just felt extremely grateful that my husband and my "Mister" (?), lover, are one-and-the-same. I just feel so terribly for anyone involved in an affair. After that I found myself (surprisingly!) sympathetic for Anna's character. How awful to live in a society where you have very little to no control over your relationships. She had no options when it came her relationships. How awful not to have any options especially not to divorce. In this case I felt that and her husband (in my interpretation) was pretty absent and not meeting her needs. To be fair, it was very possibly completely unknown to him. But his affection for her wasn't really noticeable in the book.
Read More Here, Including C&C with 2012 film: http://simplyalexandramyfavoritethings.blogspot.com/2013/05/conquering-anna.html
I remember seeing it probably for the first time when I was about 14. I was at a friend's house, in this super cool library type loft that had tons of books, floor pillows, candles, maps.. the whole nine yards. I picked up the book and was mesmerized by the gorgeous cover photo. I had heard of the name before and never realized how huge it was. I told her that I really wanted to read it, and she explained that her older brother would be impressed and probably let me borrow it. Woah, that's a lot for a not-actually-that-literary-reader, not to mention boy-crazy 14 year-old to handle! Needless to say, I put it back on the shelf, quickly brushed it off saying "oh, that's ok. I probably won't have time to read it for a while anyway."
I finally purchased a copy for myself on a walking trip from our (now old) apartment to the nearby bookstore. I bought a used copy and was very excited. Purchasing it was a really big step, I never imagined that I would read it before I turned 40 let alone while within the year I bought it!
I had heard that a movie version was being made that had both Kiera Knightly and Jude Law in it. I was pretty excited about it and took it as a challenge to start reading it in time for the movie. Where we live, we get independent/foreign/non box office-y movies for a very limited period of time and only two at a time. I began the book despite the fact that I was about to finish my senior year as an undergraduate.
Once I picked up the novel, I could barely set it down. I made a goal to read just 2 chapters per day, and when I would get behind I would catch up as much as possible within a day where I wasn't so busy. This strategy kept me interested and also from forgetting what was going on in the plot. As I read, I came to find that this whale-of-a-book was actually quite accessible and much more quickly paced than I had expected.
During my reading, I found myself reflecting on some of the over-arching topics quite a bit. For one, I just felt extremely grateful that my husband and my "Mister" (?), lover, are one-and-the-same. I just feel so terribly for anyone involved in an affair. After that I found myself (surprisingly!) sympathetic for Anna's character. How awful to live in a society where you have very little to no control over your relationships. She had no options when it came her relationships. How awful not to have any options especially not to divorce. In this case I felt that and her husband (in my interpretation) was pretty absent and not meeting her needs. To be fair, it was very possibly completely unknown to him. But his affection for her wasn't really noticeable in the book.
Read More Here, Including C&C with 2012 film: http://simplyalexandramyfavoritethings.blogspot.com/2013/05/conquering-anna.html
