Lord of the Flies by William Golding is about the disintegration of civilisation My Book Review Rating: 3 stars – an intriguing but shocking novel about a tribe of boys stranded on a desert island. This was another book that I picked up for the Classics Challenge, and I can’t actually believe I’ve reached the wise old age of 32 without reading it! I always thought Lord of the Flies was just a book about a group of young...

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen is about… a nice, normal girl called Catherine cursed with an overactive imagination. My Book Review Rating – 3 stars: A classic novel with a modern feel I picked up Northanger Abbey as part of the Classics challenge (which I failed miserably to complete). I wanted to challenge myself to read a Jane Austen novel as my only encounter with her previously had been in the first couple of chapters of...

Great Expectations by Charles Dickens Rating 4 stars – a challenging read — but worth it in the end Great Expectations is about… A boy called Pip, who has a chance encounter with an escaped convict, is given into service of the ancient Miss Havisham, and comes into some great expectations which change his life for ever. Well, it feels like I have been reading this book forever; I think I started it in July – with an...

Rating 4 stars – a tale of friendship and tragedy Description The plot centers on George Milton and Lennie Small, itinerant ranch hands who dream of one day owning a small farm. George acts as a father figure to Lennie, who is large and simpleminded, calming him and helping to rein in his immense physical strength. Why did you choose to read this book? Honestly? Today is the last day of the July Book Blowout and this was the shortest...

Animal Farm Buy a copy of Animal Farm from amazon Rating 4 stars – Orwell’s classic explores utopia and corruption through the eyes of farmyard animals Description It is the history of a revolution that went wrong – and of the excellent excuses that were forthcoming at every step for the perversion of the original doctrine Why did you choose to read this book? My attempts to read a classic for the Classics Challenge have...