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An acclaimed bestseller and international sensation, Patrick Suskind’s classic novel provokes a terrifying examination of what happens when one man’s indulgence in his greatest passion—his sense of smell—leads to murder.
In the slums of eighteenth-century France, the infant Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is born with one sublime gift—an absolute sense of smell. As a boy, he lives to decipher the odors of Paris, and apprentices himself to a prominent perfumer who teaches him the ancient art of mixing precious oils and herbs. But Grenouille’s genius is such that he is not satisfied to stop there, and he becomes obsessed with capturing the smells of objects such as brass doorknobs and fresh-cut wood. Then one day he catches a hint of a scent that will drive him on an ever-more-terrifying quest to create the “ultimate perfume”—the scent of a beautiful young virgin. Told with dazzling narrative brilliance, Perfume is a hauntingly powerful tale of murder and sensual depravity.
It was my in-person bookclub’s September BOTM. This is a reread for me and I remember enjoying it very much the first time too.
The Quotes
“Odors have a power of persuasion stronger than that of words, appearances, emotions, or will. The persuasive power of an odor cannot be fended off, it enters into us like breath into our lungs, it fills us up, imbues us totally. There is no remedy for it.”
“He who ruled scent ruled the hearts of men.”
“He had preserved the best part of her and made it his own: the principle of her scent.”
“And because people are stupid and use their noses only for blowing, but believe absolutely anything they see with their eyes, they will say it is because this is a girl with beauty and grace and charm.”
The Narrator(s)
Nigel Patterson. No complaints! I enjoyed listening to the narration.
My Thoughts
I remember the first time I read this book; I was in my “scentology” phase and I was fascinated with the sense of smell. I’d been reading a few other books on smell as well, one I remember is The Scent of Desire by Rachel Herz. Obviously unlike The Scent of Desire, this book is fiction, but they were both very interesting.
I also really enjoyed the movie based on this book even if I don’t remember much of it anymore. I might watch it again soon! Our BOTM theme for September is Banned Books, and I have a feeling that the movie version I watched might have been edited as well, especially since I watched it in the cinema when I was living in Malaysia.
Rereading it this time, once again I loved how beautiful the writing is. I love how immersed in smells we get. The description of the scents, all the different ways to evoke them in our imagination; the book was written so well! Even though we were reading about a really creepy murderer, it was still so fascinating to see his journey from his birth, his perfumery apprenticeship, his obsession with possessing scents and using them in very interesting ways, until the very end. Some parts of the story seem a little bit fantastical but they are still very entertaining to read about, and at the end of the day, I just love how smell-y the book is! So worth reading!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
Raskolnikov, a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with a suspicious police investigator, Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck. Only Sonya, a downtrodden sex worker, can offer the chance of redemption.
I’d been wanting to read more classics, hence the reason I joined The Classics Club, and I’d been wanting to read Dostoevsky, and this happened to be one of the buddy reads in my online bookclub, so it all worked out and made me read a book I would’ve otherwise kept putting off.
The Quotes
“To go wrong in one’s own way is better than to go right in someone else’s.”
“Existence alone had never been enough for him; he had always wanted more. Perhaps it was only from the force of his desires that he had regarded himself as a man to whom more was permitted than to others.”
“The man who has a conscience suffers whilst acknowledging his sin. That is his punishment.”
“What do you think, would not one tiny crime be wiped out by thousands of good deeds?”
The Narrator(s)
Will Poulter. I was very pleasantly surprised by his narration. I loved that his narration was so clear and easily understandable, and I was surprised with his voices for the characters. It was really easy to listen to because of his narration. And I say this after sampling a couple of other narrators for this book.
My Thoughts
I had been intimidated by this book for ages and thought it would be difficult to get through, but it’s surprisingly easy – maybe because I listened on audiobook with Will Poulter narrating, but whatever helps is good, right? I did get confused with the names and nicknames, as is normal for Russian literature and fantasy novels with made-up names and places, but I was mostly able to follow along with the story and characters. I did have to refer occasionally to the physical book to clear some of the confusion though.
As for the story itself, I have to say that I don’t really connect to the characters and their motivations. A lot of it didn’t make sense to me; why they do the things they did, why they talked so much and did so little, a lot of things happened in their head and in conversations. There were a lot of thinking, and wondering, and existential crises.
However, there were discussions in the buddy read for this book that helped me understand some things better in regards to how the story relates to the beliefs and values of the time and place, and while I’m still not sure that I like the book, I can absolutely see why it’s considered a masterpiece. I also intend to reread this book again because I’m sure that I’ll get more out of it every time I read it, so maybe I’ll have more to say next time.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars. 4 stars because I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook, participating in the discussions for the book, and because I think it’s really well-written despite my disconnect to the characters.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
Anne’s own true love, Gilbert Blythe, is finally a doctor, and in the sunshine of the old orchard, among their dearest friends, they are about to speak their vows. Soon the happy couple will be bound for a new life together and their own dream house, on the misty purple shores of Four Winds Harbor.
A new life means fresh problems to solve, fresh surprises. Anne and Gilbert will make new friends and meet their neighbors: Captain Jim, the lighthouse attendant, with his sad stories of the sea; Miss Cornelia Bryant, the lady who speaks from the heart—and speaks her mind; and the tragically beautiful Leslie Moore, into whose dark life Anne shines a brilliant light.
I started Anne of Green Gables and loved it and just had to continue with the series!
The Quotes
“The woods call to us with a hundred voices, but the sea has one only — a mighty voice that drowns our souls in its majestic music. The woods are human, but the sea is of the company of the archangels.”
“Even when I’m alone I have real good company — dreams and imaginations and pretendings. I like to be alone now and then, just to think over things and taste them. But I love friendships — and nice, jolly little times with people.”
“But pearls are for tears, the old legend says,” Gilbert had objected. “I’m not afraid of that. And tears can be happy as well as sad. My very happiest moments have been when I had tears in my eyes—when Marilla told me I might stay at Green Gables—when Matthew gave me the first pretty dress I ever had—when I heard that you were going to recover from the fever. So give me pearls for our troth ring, Gilbert, and I’ll willingly accept the sorrow of life with its joy.”
“Thank goodness, we can choose our friends. We have to take our relatives as they are, and be thankful…”
The Narrator(s)
Beth Kesler. Loving the narration!
My Thoughts
For some reason, the Anne of Green Gables audio collection I bought skips the fourth book right to the fifth. That’s okay though, it doesn’t look like we miss much in terms of Anne and Gilbert’s life together. We see Anne’s House of Dreams here, and we meet Leslie Moore and Captain Jim. I love both these characters so much!
I love seeing Anne and Gilbert making a life together, but I also got so invested in Leslie’s story. I think even with how light and whimsical all the Anne of Green Gables books are, there’s always some important life lesson to be learned. And at the end of the day, life is meant to be lived with joy and happiness. I just saw that the last time I read these books was almost a decade ago! That’s way too long. I need constant reminders of Anne and her joy!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
New adventures lie ahead as Anne Shirley packs her bags, waves good-bye to childhood, and heads for Redmond College. With her old friend Prissy Grant waiting in the bustling city of Kingsport and her frivolous new friend Philippa Gordon at her side, Anne tucks her memories of rural Avonlea away and discovers life on her own terms, filled with surprises . . . including a marriage proposal from the worst fellow imaginable, the sale of her very first story, and a tragedy that teaches her a painful lesson. But tears turn to laughter when Anne and her friends move into an old cottage and an ornery black cat steals her heart. Little does Anne know that handsome Gilbert Blythe wants to win her heart, too. Suddenly Anne must decide whether she’s ready for love.
I started Anne of Green Gables and loved it and just had to continue with the series!
The Quotes
“All life lessons are not learned at college,’ she thought. ‘Life teaches them everywhere.”
“I’ve loved you ever since that day you broke your slate over my head in school.”
“I do know my own mind,’ protested Anne. ‘The trouble is, my mind changes and then I have to get acquainted with it all over again.”
“When you’ve learned to laugh at the things that should be laughed at, and not to laugh at those that shouldn’t, you’ve got wisdom and understanding.”
The Narrator(s)
Beth Kesler. Loving the narration!
My Thoughts
I’m still loving the series! We meet Phil in this book, and Patty’s Place, and Gog and Magog! I love them all! Somehow Anne living her everyday life is just so much fun to read about. The people she meets, the things she does, all the joy she takes in the world. She’s starting to grow up, but she’s still as dreamy and whimsical as ever, and I love that!
We see a lot more of Anne and Gilbert’s romance here, which I am so here for! The journey can be heartbreaking at times, but as long as we get our Happy Ever After, I can weather the storms with a brave face. There are some other sad parts as well, but I think that’s part of the beauty of these books; we grow up with Anne, and we come across difficult things in life as we grow. That doesn’t mean we give into sadness, but only that we continue to find joy despite the sad things. Onwards to the next books!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
When twelve-year-old Anne Shirley came to Avonlea, she quickly won everyone’s heart. Now, she’s five years older, almost a woman, and about to embark on a new adventure: becoming the teacher in her old Avonlea school. It’s an exciting year as Anne struggles to win over all her students, welcomes two new members to her family, and feels the first stirrings of love.
I started Anne of Green Gables and loved it and just had to continue with the series!
The Quotes
“Well, we all make mistakes, dear, so just put it behind you. We should regret our mistakes and learn from them, but never carry them forward into the future with us.”
“One can’t get over the habit of being a little girl all at once.”
“The future is yet an untrodden path full of wonderful possibilities.”
“Of course, I knew there are no fairies; but that needn’t prevent my thinking there is.”
The Narrator(s)
Beth Kesler. It was a bit of an adjustment coming from Rachel McAdams in the first book to a different narrator, but I ended up really loving Beth Kesler’s voices for the characters and the narration.
My Thoughts
What I love about this book is the children; Paul, Davy, and Dora are all wonderful to read about, and I love witnessing Anne’s interactions with them. I think the best thing about having children in your life is that they help you see the world with childlike wonder, and that’s the best thing about this book too. I also really love Miss Lavender because even though she was an older woman, she was still so childlike and sweet.
Now that I’m older, I feel like there’s no reason to stop being childish and carefree just because you’re all grown up. I know there are people who disagree, but I’ve been serious and somber as an adult, and I’ve been childish and playful as an adult, and I can tell you I’m much happier when I can be childish and playful. Mind you, when I say childish and playful, I don’t mean immature and irresponsible. People need to know the difference!
I also love that Gilbert and Anne are friends in this book, although we don’t see as much of Gilbert as I want. But there’s still the next book to look forward to!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
As soon as Anne Shirley arrives at the snug white farmhouse called Green Gables, she is sure she wants to stay forever . . . but will the Cuthberts send her back to the orphanage? Anne knows she’s not what they expected—a skinny girl with fiery red hair and a temper to match. If only she can convince them to let her stay, she’ll try very hard not to keep rushing headlong into scrapes and blurting out the first thing that comes to her mind. Anne is not like anyone else, the Cuthberts agree; she is special—a girl with an enormous imagination. This orphan girl dreams of the day when she can call herself Anne of Green Gables.
I was just casually browsing the Audible Plus catalog and came across this book, narrated by Rachel McAdams. I love this book and I love Rachel McAdams and I was just curious, so I listened to a sample. And just kept going!
The Quotes
“It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.”
“Kindred spirits are not so scarce as I used to think. It’s splendid to find out there are so many of them in the world.”
“I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
“The world calls them its singers and poets and artists and storytellers; but they are just people who have never forgotten the way to fairyland.”
The Narrator(s)
Rachel McAdams. I love listening to her voice, it’s so distinctive! And so expressive too! I thought she was such a wonderful voice for Anne.
My Thoughts
This was one of my favorite childhood books, but I honestly thought I had read it enough for now and wasn’t planning to come back to it for a while. I sampled the audiobook just to see how Rachel McAdams sounds as Anne, and ended up getting sucked back into the wonderful nostalgia of childhood.
I love this world with Anne; looking through her eyes, falling in love with Green Gables and with the Cuthberts, being so happy about simple things, always looking out for kindred spirits, letting the imagination run wild and free. Oh! It makes me want to live there permanently! And it makes me wonder why I don’t.
Why can’t we keep falling in love with our homes and the people around us every day? Why can’t we be happy about the simple things? Why can’t we keep ourselves open to kindred spirits? Why can’t we let our imagination run wild and free once in a while? I used to do it all the time, but I have forgotten to hold on to the magic the longer I’m an adult. Anne keeps my inner child alive and reminds me that even though I’m older now, there can still be magic in this world. I want to bring that magic back.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
When Jerusha Abbott, an eighteen-year-old girl living in an orphan asylum, was told that a mysterious millionaire had agreed to pay for her education, it was like a dream come true. For the first time in her life, she had someone she could pretend was “family.” But everything was not perfect, for he chose to remain anonymous and asked that she only write him concerning her progress in school. Who was this mysterious gentleman and would Jerusha ever meet him?
This is one of my favorite childhood books but I have never listened to it on audio. And then I find out that Julia Whelan narrates it! Of course I had to listen!
The Quotes
“I think that the most necessary quality for any person to have is imagination. It makes people able to put themselves in other people’s places. It makes them kind and sympathetic and understanding.”
“I believe absolutely in my own free will and my own power to accomplish – and that is the belief that moves mountains. ”
“It’s much more entertaining to live books than to write them.”
“It isn’t the big troubles in life that require character. Anybody can rise to a crisis and face a crushing tragedy with courage, but to meet the petty hazards of the day with a laugh—I really think that requires spirit!”
The Narrator(s)
Julia Whelan. The GOAT.
My Thoughts
As I was reading, I’m aware of how times have changed and how Daddy-Long-Legs would probably not be a wholesome story for modern times. However, I love this book too much to get too woke about it, and I think sometimes we have to take into account that stories that come from a different time than ours will play into thinking that is different from ours and it’s necessary to not erase them.
Having said that, I just really love this book for so many reasons; I love that it’s so funny, I love that Judy Abbott has such a wonderful sense of humor, I love that she’s honest about herself and her flaws, I love that she discovers herself and stays true to herself, I love that she makes friends and learn new things. I love so many things about it. I love that it’s epistolary; it really ignited my love of writing letters and journals, and it also helped me to develop a irreverent voice for my own journal-writing because of how irreverent Judy is.
I should also mention that another one of the things I love about it is the cute illustrations, but since I’m listening on audio this time around, they don’t come into play. But also, since I’m listening on audio and Julia Whelan narrates it, what I lose out in illustrations, I gain in Julia Whelan’s narration. So it’s win-win either way!
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
In a house full of sadness and secrets, can young, orphaned Mary find happiness?
Mary Lennox, a spoiled, ill-tempered, and unhealthy child, comes to live with her reclusive uncle in Misselthwaite Manor on England’s Yorkshire moors after the death of her parents. There she meets a hearty housekeeper and her spirited brother, a dour gardener, a cheerful robin, and her wilful, hysterical, and sickly cousin, Master Colin, whose wails she hears echoing through the house at night.
With the help of the robin, Mary finds the door to a secret garden, neglected and hidden for years. When she decides to restore the garden in secret, the story becomes a charming journey into the places of the heart, where faith restores health, flowers refresh the spirit, and the magic of the garden, coming to life anew, brings health to Colin and happiness to Mary.
It was available on audiobook and I needed a book with the word “secret” in the title. I thought this would do.
The Quotes
“If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.”
“At first people refuse to believe that a strange new thing can be done, then they begin to hope it can be done, then they see it can be done–then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.”
“Of course there must be lots of Magic in the world,” he said wisely one day, “but people don’t know what it is like or how to make it. Perhaps the beginning is just to say nice things are going to happen until you make them happen.”
“Two worst things as can happen to a child is never to have his own way – or always to have it.”
The Narrator(s)
Carrie Hope Fletcher. It was so lovely to listen to. I really enjoyed her narration.
My Thoughts
This was never one of my favorite childhood books. I read it as a child, I liked it, but I never loved it or thought about it much. I didn’t dislike it, to be clear, it just wasn’t on my favorites list. I decided to reread it recently because it was convenient and it fit a reading prompt I needed to finish, and I am so glad I did! I found that I love this book a lot more now as an adult than as a child.
There were many things about the book I didn’t understand as a child. Mary being neglected and left alone, the fact that not many adults in her life cared for her and she wasn’t parented well. And Colin too. I feel for them a lot more now instead of thinking they were nothing but brats in the beginning. I mean, they were, but it’s not their fault.
I love the transformation of their attitudes and personalities as the garden is also transformed. I love how this book presents the law of attraction in action. I love how the book started so bleak and sad, but ended so hopeful and happy. I love this book so much more now as an adult.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
‘Whether I shall turn out to be the hero of my own life, or whether that station will be held by anybody else, these pages must show’
Dickens’s epic, exuberant novel is one of the greatest coming-of-age stories in literature. It chronicles David Copperfield’s extraordinary journey through life, as he encounters villains, saviours, eccentrics and grotesques, including the wicked Mr Murdstone, stout-hearted Peggotty, formidable Betsey Trotwood, impecunious Micawber and odious Uriah Heep.
Dickens’s great Bildungsroman (based, in part, on his own boyhood, and which he described as a ‘favourite child’) is a work filled with life, both comic and tragic.
I’ve been wanting to read more Dickens, and I guess all the raving reviews about Demon Copperhead and the similarities between these two books encouraged me to pick them both up sooner rather than later! It also helped that they fit the 52 Book Club Challenge, and I was also doing The Classics Club challenge!
The Quotes
“I never could have done what I have done, without the habits of punctuality, order, and diligence, without the determination to concentrate myself on one object at a time.”
“There can be no disparity in marriage like unsuitability of mind and purpose.”
“It’s in vain to recall the past, unless it works some influence upon the present.”
“It has always been in my observation of human nature, that a man who has any good reason to believe in himself never flourishes himself before the faces of other people in order that they may believe in him. For this reason, I retained my modesty in very self”
“My advice is, never do tomorrow what you can do today. Procrastination is the thief of time.”
The Narrator(s)
Richard Armitage. Oh, I have such mixed feelings! Intellectually, I feel like the narrator did such an amazing job and is incredibly talented. Emotionally, I hate his voices for some of the characters because they are just so vile and annoying and disgusting! Which are entirely suitable to those characters and brought them to life for me, both a good and bad thing because oh, I hated them!
My Thoughts
It’s weird because my thoughts about this book I think will be forever linked to my thoughts about Demon Copperhead. This book has existed for way longer than Demon Copperhead and has been on my radar before Demon Copperhead was ever written, but since I heard so much hype about Demon Copperhead and ended up reading it first, I almost feel like it’s a duology, each taking place centuries apart.
I had no idea what either book was about, and I had no idea to what extent Demon Copperhead was similar to David Copperfield, so everything was still a surprise to me as I read it. I also thought both books were brilliant, but to be quite honest, my respect and admiration for Barbara Kingsolver has gone up after reading David Copperfield and seeing how she incorporated all the elements of the story into Demon Copperhead. They are both incredible books, and I’m very likely to reread both sometime down the line soon.
My Feels
This is a gorgeous book, and in some ways, I regret not reading it before Demon Copperhead because I would’ve liked to have seen it from a fresh perspective, especially since it came first. But either way, I’m glad I read both. I feel like this book has its ups and downs, but it feels more hopeful, and I love that.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide. Her life story is told in the documentary film And Still I Rise, as seen on PBS’s American Masters.
Here is a book as joyous and painful, as mysterious and memorable, as childhood itself. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings captures the longing of lonely children, the brute insult of bigotry, and the wonder of words that can make the world right. Maya Angelou’s debut memoir is a modern American classic beloved worldwide.
Sent by their mother to live with their devout, self-sufficient grandmother in a small Southern town, Maya and her brother, Bailey, endure the ache of abandonment and the prejudice of the local “powhitetrash.” At eight years old and back at her mother’s side in St. Louis, Maya is attacked by a man many times her age—and has to live with the consequences for a lifetime. Years later, in San Francisco, Maya learns that love for herself, the kindness of others, her own strong spirit, and the ideas of great authors (“I met and fell in love with William Shakespeare”) will allow her to be free instead of imprisoned.
Poetic and powerful, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings will touch hearts and change minds for as long as people read.
This has been on my TBR forever and it was available on audio, so I decided to finally read it.
The Quotes
“Hoping for the best, prepared for the worst, and unsurprised by anything in between.”
“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
“Words mean more than what is set down on paper. It takes the human voice to infuse them with shades of deeper meaning.”
“Without willing it, I had gone from being ignorant of being ignorant to being aware of being aware. And the worst part of my awareness was that I didn’t know what I was aware of. I knew I knew very little, but I was certain that the things I had yet to learn wouldn’t be taught to me at George Washington High School. ”
“Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”
The Narrator(s)
Read by the author herself. I always love it when the author narrates, because you can hear the inflections and emphasis in the places they meant them. She also sings the verses, and they were beautiful to hear.
My Thoughts
This is one of those books that come highly recommended and that you hear referenced all the time. I’ve been meaning to read it for a long time because of hearing so much about it, but I had no idea what I was in for. I’d expected it to be deep and meaningful just from all the references about it, and having an idea of what life must have been like for a black woman in those days, but I have a long way to go for learning and understanding it.
My Feels
I don’t know how Maya Angelou managed to write about her painful and defining moments in such a beautiful and lyrical way. I have no words to describe the feelings, but there were parts I had to stop and just take time to process. This is such a powerful book.
My Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars.
Have you read this book? Would you read this book? Did you like the book or do you think you would like it?
