Day 43: 322 days left…88 books to go! The One with the "To Kill A Mockingbird" Review

To Kill A Mockingbird  by Harper Lee

  I enjoyed this novel...however, it didn't blow me away as I thought a Pullitzer Prize winning novel would...I can't see myself yearning to read it again....but here are the highlights for me:

• "Lawyers, I suppose, were children once."  Charles Lamb
• "Thus we came to know Dill as a pocket Merlin, whose head teemed with eccentric plans, strange longings, and quaint fancies."
• "I would be starting a school in a week.  I never looked forward more to anything in my life."
• "Miss Caroline told me to tell my father not to teach me any more, it would interfere with my reading."
• "Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read.  One does not love breathing."
• "Atticus don't ever do anything to Jem and me in the house that he don't do in the yard," I said, feeling it my duty to defend my parent."
• "...it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.  Mockingbirds don't do one thing but make music for us to enjoy...they don't do one thing but sing their hearts out for us.  That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
• "I had received the impression that Fine Folks were people who did the best they could with the sense they had, but Aunt Alexandra was of the opinion, obliquely expressed, that the longer a family had been squatting on one patch of land the finer it was."

The One with the Review of "On the Road"

On the Road

Another belated review here...trying to get caught-up...

I didn't enjoy this book as much as "Brave New World"...I can't imagine ever reading it again...but it's a classic, and now I've read it!  Just a very abstract novel with not much of a point, as far as I'm concerned....some good writing dispersed throughout...a lot of narrative about what he calls "the beat generation"...here are a few quotes I enjoyed...

• "...and I shambled after as I've been doing all my life after people who interest me, because the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'"  Chapter 1, Pages 5 &6
• "I was halfway across America, at the dividing line between the East of my youth and the West of my future, and maybe that's why it happened right there and then, that strange red afternoon." Chapter 3, Page 15
•  "A pain stabbed my heart, as it did every time I saw a girl I loved who was going the opposite direction in this too-big world."  Chapter 12, Page 81
• "Just about that time a strange thing began to haunt me.  It was this:  I had forgotten something.  There was a decision that I was about to make before Dean showed up, and now it was driven clear out of my mind but still hung on the tip of my mind's tongue.  I kept snapping my fingers, trying to remember it.  I even mentioned it.  And I couldn't even tell if it was a real decision or just a thought I had forgotten.  It haunted and flabbergasted me, made me sad.  It had to do somewhat with the Shrouded Traveler...We pondered it.  I proposed it was myself,  wearing a shroud.  That wasn't it.  Something, someone, some spirit was pursuing all of us across the desert of life and was bound to catch us before we reached heaven.  Naturally, now that I look back on it, this is only death; death will overtake us before heaven.  The one thing that we yearn for in our living days, that makes us sign and groan and undergo sweet nauseas of all kinds, is the remembrance of some lost bliss that was probably experienced in the womb and can only be reproduced (though we hate to admit it) in death."  Chapter Four of Part Two, Page 124
• "Every now and then a clear harmonic cry gave new suggestions of a tune that would someday be the only tune in the world and would raise men's souls to joy."  Chapter 10 of Part Three, Page 242 

It's interesting that after flipping through the book and re-reading everything I underlined and typing-out above my favorite lines...I do have a greater appreciation for the novel...there really is some great writing in this book...I just still don't necessarily appreciate the intent or overall theme of the book....I understand why it's a classic though...trying to get into "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyer now is painstaking!!! 

The One with the Review of "Brave New World"!

 Brave New World
This review is coming a few days past when I actually finished reading the book...simply because I've been procrastinating putting my thoughts & exerpts "down on paper"...or blogged!  Here we go!
      I enjoyed this book.  It lost me in a few parts, but the ideas of the future Aldous Huxley presents are mesmerizing...I can see myself reading this book again down the road...it wasn't simply a checkmark on my challenge list!  Here are quotes that stood out...

•   "Chronic remorse, as all the moralists are agreed, is a most undesirable sentiment.  If you have behaved badly, repent, make what amends you can and address yourself to the task of behaving better next time.  On no account brood over your wrongdoing.  Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean."  Foreword, Page 7   I'm very surprised that the last line hasn't caught-on as a famous quote...at least it's not one I recognized...it has such a ring to it...
• "...Brave New World is a book about the future and, whatever its artistic or philosophical qualities, a book about the future can interest us only if its prophecies look as though they might conceivably come true."  Foreword, Page 9 
• The pregnant part of me reacted to this line..."And in exceptional cases we can make one ovary yield us over fifteen thousand adult individuals."  Chapter One, Page 19  That ovary could definitely land its own reality show!
• Keeping the children of certain cloned castes away from one of my very obvious favorite things..."They'll be safe from books and botany all their lives"..."though he could see quite well why you couldn't have lower-caste people wasting the Community's time over books, and that there was always the risk of their reading something which might undesirably de-condition one of their reflexes, yet...well, he couldn't understand about the flowers"...Answer:  "A love of nature keeps no factories busy." Chapter Two, Page 29  I better watch how much & what I read, or I might accidentally de-condition myself as well!
•  ..."everyone belongs to everyone else."  Chapter Three, Page 45  One of the many mottos of the new world...and apparently, an expectation of promiscuity....!
  
•  Another fun quote against reading..."You can't consume much if you sit still and read books."  Chapter Three, Page 50
• "Accompanied by a campaign against the Past; by the closing of museums, the blowing up of historical monuments (luckily most of them had already been destroyed during the Nine Years' Way); by the suppression of all books published before A.F. 150."  Chapter Three, Page 50 & 51  A.F. stands for "After Ford" ...the term "ford" replaces "God" in this novel....they revere Henry Ford for his manufacturing of cars and model the manufacturing of human life after his model....craziness!
• "Walking and talking- that seemed a very odd way of spending the afternoon."  Chapter Six, Page 77
• My favorite character, Bernard expresses what is in the book, a most unnatural human emotion of..."I want to know what passion is...I want to feel something strongly."  Chapter Six, Page 80
• My favorite scene is described here..."'That'll teach him,' he said to himself (the director).  But he was mistaken.  For Bernard left the room with a swagger, exulting, as he banged the door behind him, in the thought that he stood alone, embattled against the order of things; elated by the intoxicating consciousness of his individual significance and importance.  Even the thought of persecution left him undismayed, was rather tonic than depressing.  He felt strong enough to meet and overcome affliction, strong enough to face even Iceland."  Chapter Six, Page 84
• Great lines about motherhood here..."The spectacle of two young women giving the breast to their babies made her blush and turn away her face.  She had never seen anything so indecent in her life"... But Bernard sees it differently..."What a wonderfully intimate relationship...And what an intensity of feeling it must generate!  I often think one may have missed something in not having had a mother.  And perhaps you've missed something in not being a mother, Lenina.  Imagine yourself sitting there with a little baby of your own..."  Chapter Seven, Page 93
• "It was a masterly piece of work.  But once you began admitting explanations in terms of purpose- well, you didn't know what the result might be.  It was the sort of idea that might easily decondition the more unsettled minds among the higher castes- make them lose their faith in happiness as the Sovereign Good and take to believing, instead, that the goal was somewhere beyond, somewhere outside the present human sphere; that the purpose of life was not the maintenance of wellbeing, but some intensification and refining of consciousness, some enlargement of knowledge.  Which was, the Controller reflected, quite possibly true.  But not, in the present circumstances, admissible. "  Chapter Twelve, Page 141
• "Actual happiness always looks pretty squalid in comparison with the over-compensations for misery.  And, of course, stability isn't nearly so spectacular as instability.  And being contented has none of the glamour of a good fight against the misforture, none of hte picturesqueness of as struggle with temptation or a fatal overthrow by passion or doubt.  Happiness is never grand."  Chapter Sixteen, Page 174
• I hated the ending...but wasn't surprised by it...if I had to live in "The Brave New World", I'd have likely ended-up with the same fate......
  

Day 25: 340 days left…93 books to go! The One with the "Keep on Standing" Review!!!

Keep on Standing:  The Story of Krystaal by Darlene Polachic

  I am so blessed by reading this book.  It was 100% worthwhile to have ensured I read some books with Christian influence along this book challenge journey...

  This book was...Moving, Stirring, Compelling...Enlightening...We think if it's not happening to us, in our country, it's part of the 3rd World problem which is too big of a problem for us to do anything about....and we think of all people in the 3rd World, including the politicians, leaders & professionals are still inferior to North American politicians, leaders & professionals...But when Mobutu Sese Seko was President of Zaire beginning in 1960, he became the 4th richest man in the world, amassing a fortune that was big enough to wipe out his country's national debt. 

  The Lwamba brothers spent 5 years in refugee camps before what seems like random events led to them being immigrated to Saskatoon, SK Canada...and now their music has touched people all over the world. They are an inspiration....and everyone involved in getting them to where they are today are equally inspiring...the U.N. affiliates who run the refugee camps, the Doctors Without Borders who volunteer there day after day in terrible conditions, the North American churches who apply to sponsor families to immigrate, and the people at the Open Door Society here in Saskatoon who made such a huge difference.....this story reminds me that I must do more..."To whom much is given, much is expected"....
 

  Quotes that stand-out...

• "When God wants to save you, He does miraculous things."  Michel Lwamba Chapter Five, Page 56
• "At one point Michel happened to catch a French program from Radio Canada.  It talked about the rich country that Canada was and the good education system it had.  Michel vowed, if he ever had the opportunity, he would go to Canada." Chapter Six, Page 67  This quote brought tears to my eyes...so humbling...how fortunate we are to be born in Canada and live in true affluence by many standards...and we take SO much for granted... 

  Please check-out Krystaal 's website.....

Day 22: 343 days left…94 books to go! The One with "the Catcher in the Rye" Review!!!

The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger

  I have finally read this book...being meaning to for ages...and it was pretty much what I thought it would be....it actually drew many resemblences for me to a 2002 film favorite of mine, Igby Goes Down starring Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, Ryan Phillippe, Susan Sarandon, Bill Pullman, Amanda Peet & Jeff Goldblum.....over 50 years after the novel was published, I found the character of "Igby" very similar to "Holden" in this novel.  It's narrated by a wealthy sixteen-year old and tracks his life over the course of just a few days in New York City...I'm really only glad I read it so I know what all the fuss is about and can check it off my list now...but here are a few notable quotes:

• Opening Paragraph:  "If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.  In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."  Chapter 1, Page 3
• I actually share the same pet-peeve with this next statement:  "That's something that drives me crazy.  When people say something twice that way, after you admit it the first time."  Chapter 2, Page 15  I can't stand it when people rail you for something you've just made yourself vulnerable to...it's rubbing salt in the wound...it's just mean...
• Window into Holden's soul; personal quote:  "I'm the most terrific liar you ever saw in your life."  Chapter 3, Page 22
• I did respect Holden for his general philosophy about women..."I think if you don't really like a girl, you shouldn't horse around with her at all, and if you do like her, then you're supposed to like her face, and if you like her face, you ought to be careful about doing crumby stuff to it, like squirting water all over it."  Chapter 9, Page 81
• I appreciated the respect & warmth Holden felt for his younger sister...
• "If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who gives a ____ if she's late?"  Chapter 17, Page 162
• Advice Holden received from his teacher about life..."The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one."  Wilhelm Stekel
• The End
  

Day 21: 344 days left…95 books to go! The One with the "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" review!!!

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies  by Seth Grahame-Smith

• I enjoyed this book!  It was very entertaining!  Absolutely, all of the brilliance in the writing was Austen's and this piece of work does not come nearly as close to my heart as the original...but I'm glad to have read this adaptation nonetheless!  Here are some of my favorite exerpts!
• "The business of Mr. Bennet's life was to keep his daughters alive.  The business of Mrs. Bennet's was to get them married."  Chapter 1, page 9
• Upon hearing Mr. Darcy's original comment of, "She is tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me; I am in no humor at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men."  Elizabeth Bennet surmises..."The warrior code demanded she avenge her honor."  Chapter 3, page 13  Ha, ha!  A great reaction to his arrogant snub!  This scene was immediately followed by an attack of zombies which the girls fought bravely!
  

• "...and I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.  I dare say I would've cut this throat had not the unmentionables distracted me from doing so."  Chapter 5, page 19
• "Remember, Charlotte- she is a warrior first and a woman second."  Chapter 6, page 20

• "Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her.  He really believed, that were it not for the inferiority of her connections, he should be in some danger of falling in love, and were it not for his considerable skill in the deadly arts, that he should be in danger of being bested by hers- for he had never seen a lady more gifted in the ways of vanquishing the undead."  Chapter 10, page 42
• What Mrs. Bennet says about poor Charlotte Lucas..."...since she is an unmarried woman of seven-and-twenty, as as such should expect little more than a crust of bread washed down with a cup of loneliness."  Ha!  My single friends in their mid-late 20's would LOVE that sentiment!  
• Of some unmentionables they pass on the road, "Let them burn...Let them have a taste of eternity.  You see, Mr. Collins...God has no mercy.  And neither must we."  Chapter 15, page 58  What a violent Elizabeth Bennet we have in this adaptation!
•  Elizabeth hates Miss Bingley in the original work, but check out what she says in this one, "There are few people whom I really love, and still fewer of whom I think well.  The more I see of the world, the more am I dissatisfied with it; and every zombie confirms my belief that God has abandoned us as punishment for the evils of people such as Miss Bingley."  Chapter 24, page 103  Them's fighting words Miss Bennet!!!
• "I believe the Crown more pleased to have me on the front lines than at the altar."  Chapter 26, page 115
• "...but the presence of a woman who had slain ninety dreadfuls with nothing more than a rain-soaked envelope was an intimidating prospect indeed."  Chapter 29, page 124
• Undoubtedly my favorite liberty that Seth takes in the whole book is this..."Elizabeth presently drew her Katana and cut off Lydia's head, which fell into the open hatbox."  Chapter 39, page 176  I laughed out loud at this...only to read on that Elizabeth simly day-dreamed she'd taken care of the prattling Lydia this way....Ha, ha!!!  What a riot!
• "On the contrary, there is something pleasing about his mouth when he speaks.  And there is something of dignity in the way his trousers cling to those most English part of him"  Chapter 43, page 206  Jane Austen would NEVER have added that 2nd statement!  Ha, ha!
• "...as we are each commanded by His Majesty to defend Hertfordshire from all enemies until such time as we ar dead, rendered lame, or married."  Chapter 47, page 226
• "It taught me to hope, as I had scarcely ever allowed myself to hope before.  I knew enough of your disposition to be certain that, had you been absolutely, irrevocably decided against me, you would have beheaded Lady Catharine without a moment's hesitation."  Chapter 58, page 299

• And the very final chapter of this book...."England remained in the shadow of Satan.  The dead continued to claw their way through crypt and coffin alike, feasting on British brains.  Victories were celebrated, defeats lamented.  Adn the sisters Bennet-servants of His Majesty, protectors of Hertforshire, beholders of the secrets of Shaolin, and brides of death- were now, three of them, brides of man, their swords quieted by that only force more powerful than any warrior.  THE END"  Chapter 61, page 317 
  

Day 18: 347 days left…96 books to go! (The One with the "Gone with the Wind" Review!)

Day 16:  349 days left...96 books still to read....

  I just realized that at this point, it has taken me an average of 4.2 days to read each selection....which is a little more than I was hoping for...need to get cracking down & already I've had reactions from my roommates that all I do is read....ahh!  "Gone With the Wind" is the longest book I've read in this challenge so far, and it did take me a good 5 1/2 days to finish....but it was worth it!  Here is what I have no doubt will be a very long breakdown of my favorite passages!

• Part One, Chapter 1 starts right off by telling us about Scarlett O'Hara that, "...her true self was poorly concealed."  Beneath the seemingly well-manicured, well-bred exterior...
• I love the quote on page 6, "They had the vigor and alertness of country people who have spent all their lives in the open and troubled their heads very little with dull things in books."  Ha, ha!  Not kindred spirits with me, I suppose....not that I speak as someone who is well-read.....but I love troubling myself with books!
• Alright...I just brought myself to the reality that I have highlighted quotes on almost every of the 1024 pages of this book so expanding on all of them would take HOURS!!!  For much better time efficiency, I'm going to quote just a few more & assume you all understand how much I enjoyed this book!  

•  Mostly....this novel is an account of the life of Scarlett O'Hara....but the title refers to the loss of the Southern way-of-life where landowners grew rich from slave-labour & archaic customs....but customs the South cherished nonetheless and mourned the loss of greatly.  It's a richly written novel with hundreds of notable passages that I will surely read again in my lifetime, inspite of the volume of the novel....Here are just a few more quotes that I can't help but share with you...

• "I wish to Heaven I was married...I'm tired of everlastingly being unnatural and never doing anything I want to do.  I'm tired of acting like I don't eat more than a bird, and walking when I want to run and saying I feel faint after a waltz, when I could dance for two days and never get tired.  I'm tired of saying, 'How wonderful you are!' to fool men who haven't got one-half the sense I've got, and I'm tired of pretending I don't know anything, so men can tell me things and feel important while they're doing it..."  Chapter 5  So glad women don't subject themselves to that any longer.....
•  "Always providing you have enough courage- or money- you can do without a reputation."  Part II, Chapter IX  Oh Scarlett!!!!
•  This next quote could be applied by many to our present circumstances of war, I'm afraid:  "All wars are scared.  To those who have to fight them.  If the people who started wars didn't make them sacred, who would be foolish enough to fight?  But, no matter what rallying cries the orators give to the idiots who fight, no matter what noble purposes they assign to wars, there is never but one reason for a war.  And that is money."  says Rhett Butler
• One of what I believe to be 2 of the most famous quotes from this movie is the following declaration made by Scarlett:  "As God is my witness, as God is my witness, the Yankees aren't going to lick me, I'm going to live through this and when it's over, I'm never going to be hungry again.  No, nor any of my folks.  If I have to steal or kill- as God is my witness, I'm never going to be hungry again."  Part Three Chapter 25
• And of course, my final note will be the most famous quote from this novel, the classic words of Rhett Butler, "My dear, I don't give a damn."  Part Five  Chapter 63  (Last Chapter)

  All in all, a great read & one I highly recommend...just be sure you have the time set aside to devote to it!

Charlotte's Web!

Charlotte's Web!  by E.B. White

• Such a cute read!  I can't wait to read it aloud to my baby!  There were several things that I'd forgotten about the original tale....such as the fact that Fern can hear the animals talk....that was a pleasant surprise!  Jumping right into my favorite quotes & story-points:
• On killing Wilbur:  "If I had been very small at birth, would you have killed me?"
• "This is the most terrible case of injustice I have ever heard of."
• On Fern receiving Wilbur as her own pet & Avery being jealous..."I only distribute pigs to early risers, Fern was up at daylight, trying to rid the world of injustice." 

• On Mr. Zuckerman's barn:  "It often had a sort of peaceful smell- as though nothing bad could happen ever again in the world."
• "The world is a wonderful place when you're young."  Chapter- Escape
• On Wilbur escaping & then being put back in the barnyard:  "It was good to be home again."

• Wilbur's very busy schedule:  "From eleven to twelve he planned to stand still and watch flies on the boads, watch bees in teh clover, and watch swallows in the air...From two to three, he planned to scratch itchy places by rubbing against the fence.  From three to four, he planned to stand perfectly still and think of what it was like to be alive, and to wait for Fern."

• Upon first hearing Charlotte's voice:  "You can imagine Wilbur's surprise when, out of the darkness, came a small voice he had never heard before.  It sounded rather thin, but pleasant.  'Do you want a friend, Wilbur?' it said.  'I'll be a friend to you.  I've watched you all day and I like you.'"  Chapter- Loneliness
• The first word that Charlotte spoke to Wilbur the next day:  "Salutations!"
• "Wilbur was merely suffering the doubts & fears that often go with finding a new friend."

• "All these sounds made him feel comfortable and happy, for he loved life and loved to be a part of the world on a summer evening."  Chapter- Wilbur's Boast

• "Children almost always hang onto things tighter than their parents think they will."  Chapter- An Explosion

• On Charlotte's writings in the web:  "On foggy mornings, Charlotte's web was truly a thing of beauty."
• First words she wrote in the web:  "Some Pig!"
• "All said they had never seen such a pig before in their lives."
• The pastor about Wilbur:  "He said that the words on the spider's web proved that human beings must always be on the watch for the coming of wonders."

• "People believe almost anything they see in print."  Chapter- A Meeting

• 2nd Word Charlotte wrote on her web about Wilbur:  "Terrific!"
• "There isn't a pig in the whole state that is as terrific as our pig."

• On Fern claiming she can hear the animals talk:  "Perhaps if people talked less, animals would talk more."  Chapter- Dr. Dorian

• 3rd Word Charlotte wrote on her web about Wilbur:  "Radiant."

• Charlotte, on the creation of her egg sac:  "I will show you my masterpiece."

•  4th Word Charlotte wrote on her web about Wilbur:  "Humble."

• On Wilbur & Charlotte's Victory:  "In the last analysis, we simply know that we are dealing with supernatural forces here, and we should all feel proud and grateful."
• "I have the honor of awarding a special prize of twenty-five dollars to Mr. Zuckerman, together with a handsome bronze medal suitably engraved, in token of our appreciation of the part played by this pig- this radiant, this terrific, this humble pig."
• "This was the greatest moment in Mr. Zuckerman's life.  It is deeply satisfying to win a prize in front of a lot of people."

• Wilbur to Charlotte about how she saved his life:  "Why did you do all this for me?...I don't deserve it.  I've never done anything for you."
• "I wove my webs for you because I liked you.  After all, what's a life, anyway?  We're born, we live a little while, we die...By helping you, perhaps I was trying to lift up my life a trifle.  Heaven knows anyone's life can stand a little of that."
• "But you have saved me, Charlotte, and I would gladly give my life for you- I really would."

• Wilbur's welcome to her children who chose to stay in the barn:  "Welcome to the barn cellar.  You have chosen a hallowed doorway from which to string your webs.  I think it is only fair to tell you that I was devoted to your mother.  I owe my very life to her.  She was brilliant, beautiful and loyal to the end.  I shall always treasure her memory.  To you, her daughters, my friendship, forever and ever."

• "It is not often that someone comes along who is a true friend and a good writer.  Charlotte was both."  My favorite quote in the whole book & the last line of the story!  

The One with "A Tale of Two Cities" Review!!!

   That's right, I finished  "A Tale of Two Cities"!!!

A Tale of Two Cities

• Personal Status:  Thrilled that I finshed "A Tale of Two Cities" and although by looking through my blog archives, it appears that it took me a week to complete it...I still finished a day early....accoring to my calculations (which I methodically worked-out so that all throughout the remainder of this year, I'll always know if I'm ahead or behind or on track!)  If it hasn't yet been established that I'm a big nerd.....you know now!  Victory is mine!  Not that "A Tale of Two Cities" is a very long book...but it's the longest book I've read in this challenge so far, and @ 520 pages (including the Afterword, which I read & quite enjoyed)....that's not bad....it's also a small copy with very small print!  As I completed it just before midnight on Thursday, I'm starting Day 8's blog with the review...............

• A TALE OF TWO CITIES!!!  by Charles Dickens
• Book The First  Recalled To Life
• "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way-"  One of the most notable & quotable first paragraphs in literary history....sucks you right in!
• So....the novel's a work of fiction with historical references to The French Revolution....and the 2 cities are London, England & Paris, France...
• (I will not be explaining everything that happens with spoilers...mostly I will note portions I highlighted that are worth blogging!)
• "...long yielded to the calm that must follow all storms- emblem to humanity, of the rest and silence into which the storm called Life must hush at last -they came forward to raise the father and daughter from the ground."  And the Father-Daughter pair in this great work of Dickens' are a wonder to behold....

• Book the Second is themed  The Golden Thread  hence the following quote from chapter 4, "She was the golden thread that united him to a Past beyond his misery, and to a Present beyond his misery; and the sound of her voice, the light of her face, the touch of her hand, had a strong beneficial influence with him almost always."  By the Father, Dr. Mannette of his daughter, Lucie....

• "Those were drinking days, and most men drank hard."  Chapter 5
•  "...but France in all such things is changed for the worse." 
• "In this age, he would have been a professor; in that age, he was a tutor."
• Hilarious line that I will use the next time someone asks me a question early in the morning..."I am not going to guess, at five o'clock in the morning, with my brains frying and sputtering in my head.  If you want me to guess, you must ask me to dinner."  Chapter 11
• "And yet I have had the weakness, and have still the weakness, to wish you to know with what a sudden mastery you kindled me, heap of ashes that I am, into fire - a fire, however, inseparable in its nature from myself, quickening nothing, lighting nothing, doing no service, idly burning away."
• "'and what the tongue is, I suppose the man is."  Ha, ha!

• Book the Third  The Track of a Storm   
• "Troubled as the future was, it was the unknown future, and in its obscurity there was ignorant hope."  
• ", he was a man apart."  Question is...did Dickens' coin that phrase?
• "In short, this is a desperate time, when desperate games are played for desperate stakes...Anyone carried home by the people today, may be condemned tomorrow."
• "I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss, and, in their struggles to be truly free, in their triumphs and defeats, through long long years to come, I see the evil of this time and of the previous time of which this is the natural birth, gradually time of which this is the natural birth, gradually making expiation for itself and wearing out."

• I enjoyed this novel more than I expected I would....great 1st Classic of the Challenge to have completed under my belt........Goodnight!