This is my type of book - a little bit of fantasy, a little bit of wackiness - that would naturally drawn me in but somehow I started it, stopped, started again, stopped, never returned to it. I may have seen a few move adaptations that may have repelled me from reading the book. I think I know the story because of so many references to it.
I thought I wanted to read this but then I found there seemed to be different versions and also, the original is written in older English (properly not the correct term) and is probably not as easy to understand so I tried the 'Grey Translation' and I got past maybe a few chapters and then just couldn't mustered the interest to continue. Another book that is sort ruined by watching a couple of movie/tv adaptations and hearing how great the book is and how people constantly referencing this book and how great Shelley is. Maybe I should try again but perhaps read the original version.
This should've been a book I could have breezed through (like the other Austen novels I had read) but I never finished it even trying to read it three or maybe four times. I have a paperback version which I still have a bookmark in it. And sometimes I just pick it up and check to that bookmarked page and then tried to read a few words and then gave up.
I think if I had not seen the 1999 movie adaptation which put me off reading the book for years, I might have already read this. But it's the ending, the conclusion to the romance of Fanny (the main character) and a certain gentleman that annoyed me in the movie which I'm sure will annoy me in the book. Mostly, I found this boring and tedious and long and why is it so boring to read about a bunch of rich, spoiled people trying to put on a play?
This is the first book in a series which it's exactly the type of book I would like but somehow I never could finish reading it. And yes, I also saw a movie adaptation which may have influenced me to read the book. The book was slow-moving and somehow it just seemed like there are a lot of boring parts to get through along with politics which I never liked.
The main character was so unlikeable which shouldn't deter me from reading this book but it did. At the beginning of the book, when Walter (the main character) came across a woman in white, he was thinking he could possibly do something to her (ie, assault her) and no one would know. Sorry, what? If a man thinks he can do whatever he wants to a woman simply because there is no one around, then that guy is an a-hole. And then he just becomes much more unlikeable when he met the unpretty sister who was kind and courteous to him but he keeps wishing he was meeting the pretty sister. I know you don't have to like characters to read a book but I just could not stand to be in this guy's head.
I think I would have easily devoured this and even liked it if I had read it earlier and if I have never seen the 1994 movie. And knowing what happened to Beth makes it less enjoyable because I found her end so depressing that I really didn't want to read that part. This is probably why it's a bad idea to watch a movie before reading the book.
What books you like to have read but didn't?
I generally prefer reading the book before I see the movie. Usually, the book is superior. However, I did watch a movie that was better than the book. This happened only once. It was "The Searchers." The John Wayne movie was better.
ReplyDeleteAl Penwasser: Sometimes I don't even know a movie is based on a book so it's not always possible to read the book before seeing the movie but it's a good idea.
DeleteThank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.
Little women is a classic from my childhood-christine cmlk79.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteChristine: I guess you liked the book when you read it in your youth. I think I would have liked the book if I did read it when I was young.
DeleteThank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.
I can't think of any books I would have liked to read but didn't. Usually if I want to read a certain book, I will. I have read Little Women and the follow up books Good Wives and Jo's Boys, but the movie of Little Wonmen annoyed me a lot. I haven't read any of the others you list here. I have seen the movie The Golden Compass and didn't like it, same with Frankenstein, several versions, none I remember as being good.
ReplyDeleteRiver: Which Little Women movie did you watch? The 1994 I mentioned did sort of annoy me. The Golden Compass movie I saw wasn't that good either. I suppose the book is probably better.
DeleteThank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.
I would either read the book or see the movie. They are often different enough that the differences bother me. In general, I would rather read the book.
ReplyDeleteLive and Learn: Movie adaptation aren't always faithful but sometimes the changes they make does make you either love the movie or or the book.
DeleteThank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.
I'm pretty sure PBS broadcast a film of "A Woman in White" not too long ago (i.e. within the past 5 years).
ReplyDeleteDebra: I'm sure there is a few version of A woman in white adapations somewhere but I'm not sure I want to watch them. If I come across the PBS version, I might watch it.
DeleteThank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.
Lots of classics on your shelf. I have actually read most of those. I was a better reader in my youth. LOL
ReplyDeleteSamantha: I didn't realize these were classics until I put them together into a list. I think I might have enjoyed most of these if I had read them when I was young. You really do get a different impression of a book when you read them in different times.
DeleteThank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.
"I know you don't have to like characters to read a book but I just could not stand to be in this guy's head."
ReplyDeleteI hear you! You have to root for/empathise with the main character, at least to an extent, to enjoy their story. To think that I actually read The Woman in White for an English course, but I remember ZERO about it...
I guess knowing how the book ends because you've seen the movie makes it pointless to read it. On the other hand, one is more likely to be curious about the way the book was translated into a movie. I mean, I don't like movies...but I'm guessing 😉.
Roberta: I guess the woman in white didn't make an impression on you or else you might remember something. I read a lot of books in school that I had zero memory of.
DeleteSometimes it is a bit pointless to read a book you know the ending to but movie adaptation isn't always faithful but most of the time, they keep the same ending. Some books translate really well to movies while others not so much so I do sometimes get curious of a book if a movie is particularly good.
Thank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.
I have read all of your books except for His Dark Materials. And I read the original Frankenstein.
ReplyDeleteI wasn't too pleased with Alice in Wonderland but liked all the others.
Still, I think you don't have to read or finish a classic only because it is a classic. None of them are everybody's cup of tea.
Marianne: Sometimes it's just nice to have read them. But you're right, these are probably not everybody's cup of tea. I have noticed people are willing to read re-tellings of these books but not the original.
DeleteThank you for dropping by. Have a lovely day.
You are right there. And sometimes those retellings are quite good but if they get too far away, I am not so happy about it.
DeleteI really liked "Demon Copperhead" which shows David Copperfield in a modern light.
https://momobookblog.blogspot.com/2024/02/kingsolver-barbara-demon-copperhead.html