Friday, June 26, 2015

Feature & Follow Friday #4: Required Book That You Actually Loved




Welcome to Feature & Follow Friday!!

This weekly hop is hosted by  
Rachel @ Parajunkee's View, and 
Alison @ Alison Can Read!!


You can find the rules at the links above.
Join in the fun and make new blogging friends!


Every week, 1 or 2 new blogs 
are featured!

Today's Featured Blogs!!

Hazy Reads
&
The Boundless Booklist




Here is this week's question:

Is there a book that you were
required to read in
school that you actually loved?


Contributed by

Natalie Hearts Books






https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/168080.Jane_Eyre


I was required to read several literary classics in high school. Among them were Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, Wuthering Heights, by Emily Brontë, The Catcher In The Rye, by J.D. Salinger, Jane Eyre, by Charlotte  Brontë, and Billy Budd, by Herman Melville. But only one really stands out as my favorite. That book is most definitely Jane Eyre.

I loved everything about this book! Jane, the main female character, is a very strong-willed young woman. She's had to make her own way in the world, for the most part. Orphaned as a baby, she is then 'raised' by a very cruel aunt until the age of 10, when she is sent to a charity school for orphans. She leaves the school at 18, and is hired as the governess (nanny/tutor) to a little girl at the mysterious mansion known as Thornfield Hall.

What happens to Jane at the mansion is one of the great stories of classic literary fiction. This novel is not only a coming-of-age tale, but also a passionate love story, full of drama, mystery, and the clash of wills between Jane and her employer, Edward Rochester. Their relationship, though stormy, is also beautiful and romantic. 

Jane is the narrator, so we get to know her personality very well. She is a feminist, which means that the author was well ahead of her time in writing this book.

Jane Eyre is also a great Gothic novel, full of brooding tension and symbolism. Brontë handles the suspense masterfully, as well, and the prose style is beautiful and lyrical.

We were assigned to do book reports on this novel  in high school, and I thoroughly enjoyed doing so! 

I love this book so much that I hosted a read-along, together with my blogger friend Brian @ Babbling Books, from September to November of last year. You can access the first post of the read-along HERE. My review can be found HERE

If any of you out there decide to read this great novel, you won't regret it!  I loved it from the very first time I read it.






 What book did you enjoy reading
in school, even though it
was required reading?



Next Week's Question

What is the first book you
remember reading?

Contributed by
Bookish Findings





These are my follow preferences.
The links are in my sidebar.







 Be sure to visit the rest of the
participating blogs!!


 

24 comments:

  1. I adore this book!!! I had to read it in both high school and college and I've read a few times since :) It's so haunting, with a bit of romance and a lot of mystery. Just loved it all :)

    Here's my FF!

    New Follower via Bloglovin :)

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  2. This is a great topic Maria. Thanks for the mrntion.

    I would fond this one almost impossible to answer as, at least in retrospect there were so many books that I was assigned in school that IO came to love.

    I do think Jane Eyre is a great choice. As I recall I read based upon your suggestion for our read along. I loved it when I was reading it. As a little time has gone by my esteem for it is actually growing and I am trending towards calling it one of the greatest novels ever written.

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  3. Hi, Lillian!

    I agree with everything you say!! Although I've read this novel only twice, in the times between the two readings, I have often dipped into it to re-read favorite passages.

    Of course, I'm planning to read it again in the future!

    Thanks so much for the comment and the follow!! : )

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  4. Hey, Brian!

    Thanks for the compliment, and you're very welcome for the mention! I enjoyed our read-along tremendously! I especially liked reading your comments, as well as those made by James.

    This novel is indeed one of those that one comes to love more and more as time goes by. I'm very happy that you are now beginning to consider it one of the greatest novels ever written! I totally agree!! I would place a few others I've read in that category, as well (such as "A Tale of Two Cities", "To Kill A Mockingbird", and "Crime and Punishment"), but certainly "Jane Eyre" is right up there!

    Thanks for the great comment!! : )

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  5. I really liked the book Night, and Hamlet in high schools. I feel they're both great classic books and very realistic as well. This is a wonderful topic, I loved Anna Karenina as well! <3 Benish | Feminist Reflections

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  6. Great choice! Wonderful book.

    New GFC follower.

    Please check out my Friday Feature and Follow
    http://thankyoumsbowen.blogspot.com

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  7. Jane Eyre is a wonderful classic for me too. Great pick! :)
    New GFC follower
    My FF

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  8. Hi, Benish!

    Are you referring to Eli Wiesel's book? I haven't read that one. I've heard great things about it, but I think it would be too sad for me.....As for Hamlet, that's a very tragic story, but also a great masterpiece. I tried reading Anna Karenina a couple of years ago, and couldn't finish it.....

    Thanks for the comment!! <3. : )

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  9. Hi, Paula!

    I'm glad you like this novel, too!! It's truly an unforgettable book!

    Thanks so much for commenting and following ! I'll be returning the favor!

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  10. Hi, Jess!

    I'm so glad you like it, too! I think this is my favorite classic of all time!

    Thanks for the comment and the follow! I'll be doing the same very soon! : )

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  11. Great Feature and Follow! New Follower here!

    Here is my post: http://rainydayreadingreviews.blogspot.com/2015/06/feature-follow-friday-is-weekly-meme_26.html

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  12. Hi, Courtney!

    Glad you enjoyed the post! "Jane Eyre" is one of the great novels of all time!

    Thanks for the comment and the follow!! : )

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  13. I have seen Jane Eyre mentioned a few times today! This book was definitely one that I loved as well. Old follower :)

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  14. Hi, there!

    I'm not surprised that other bloggers have mentioned "Jane Eyre"! I'm glad you love it, too! It's definitely a GREAT masterpiece!!

    Thanks so much for commenting back!! Hope you're having a nice weekend!! :)

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  15. I've never read Jane Eyre. I don't think I've ever read any of the Bronte sister's books. That's actually kind of terrible.

    My FF: http://onceuntold.blogspot.com/2015/06/feature-follow-friday-required-reading.html

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  16. Hi, Stina!

    Oh, you must DEFINITELY read it!! It's a true masterpiece! Jane is a feminist, too, which is wonderfully uplifting for us women.

    Thanks so much for commenting back!! : )

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  17. Oh, yes, Jane Eyre! It wasn't part of my required reading, but because I loved Wuthering Heights so much I went on to read the rest of the Bronte sister's works. And Jane Austen. Such beautiful stories. I enjoy a lot of the classic Gothic lit. I did a course in Uni because it interested me. :-D Thanks for stopping by my blog, Maria!

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  18. Jane Eyre wasn't required reading at school (we did Pride and Prejudice instead) but I read it when I was in the sixth form. Such an awesome classic - good choice!

    Claire @ Book Blog Bird

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  19. Hi, Baggins!

    I'm so glad you love "Jane Eyre", too!! It's absolutely my favorite all-time classic! I will definitely be reading it again sometime in the near future!!

    I've read "Wuthering Heights" as well, but I don't like that book at all....as for "Pride and Prejudice", I disliked it in high school, but in later years, I read it two more times, and began to appreciate it. I will never love it, though, as I do "Jane Eyre".

    You're very welcome for my visit! Thanks so much for commenting back!! : )

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  20. Hi, Claire!

    This novel is my all-time favorite classic, bar none!! I'm glad you like it, too! I've read it twice, and I know I'll be reading it again!!

    Thanks so much for commenting back!! : )

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  21. Hopping through. Ugh. Billy Budd. Even the memory of it still makes me shudder. Maybe I'd appreciate it as an adult.
    My FF

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  22. I've never read that book but I have read Pride and Prejudice and Wuthering Heights which I disliked.
    I'm a new bloglovin follower.
    Have a great week.

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  23. Hi, Sharon!

    I disliked both of those books as well, when I first read them in high school. In the case of "Pride and Prejudice", I have come to appreciate it, to some extent. It will never be one of my favorites, though. As for "Wuthering Heights", I still dislike it. In fact, I DETEST that novel!! I've given it two more readings since high school, just to see if maybe I hadn't appreciated it well because I was a teen at the time of my first reading. Nope!! I still find the book utterly detestable. I do like the writing style, but that's totally IT.

    "Jane Eyre" is a VERY different story!! Well, you could see that for yourself, from my post! Lol. I highly recommend it to you!!

    Thanks so much for commenting and following back! Hope you have a great week, too!! :)

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  24. Hi, Alison!

    Yeah, "Billy Budd" was SO depressing to read..... I think, out of all the books I mentioned, "Jane Eyre" is most definitely THE BEST!!

    Thanks for commenting back!! : )

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