Books read in January

Here are the books I read in January, including the date finished. The Common Room had a post about reading good books, and not reading twaddle, which prompted me to write a little intro.

However much I might agree with the principle in general, I have a hard time not reading twaddle, because some of it is so good. ;) I suppose the definition of twaddle would be any books that do not have a powerful message well written. That is hard, though, because there are so many good books whose message is good but not powerful. Well, I try to read extensively, therefore "improving my mind", and this is only the books I finished, not all the ones I'm reading (some classics take a lot of time), so I guess I can't feel too guilty. No, wait, I can. :)


Count of Monte Cristo (reread) by Alexandre Dumas (Jan 2)

Arabella (reread) by Georgette Heyer (Jan 3)

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Jan 4)

Mr. Darcy’s Daughters by Elizabeth Aston (Jan 5)
Not very good at all

Anne of Green Gables (reread) by L. M. Montgomery (Jan 9)

League of the Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (Jan 10)
A collection of short stories, quite good.

Pride and Prejudice (reread) by Jane Austen (Jan 11)

Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin (Jan 11)
Despite the fact the I normally dislike autobiographies (so arrogant that they write about themselves?), I do not see how this book ever became a "classic"

Postmodern Times by Gene Edward Veith (Jan 11)
Excellent book, one of my favorites.

Reading Between the Lines by Gene Edward Veith (Jan 11)

Very Good Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse (Jan 12)

Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams (Jan 13)
Not nearly as good as the first book.

Nonesuch by Georgette Heyer (Jan 14)

Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams (Jan 15)

What Jane Austen Ate and What Charles Dickens Knew (reread) by Daniel Pool (Jan 16)

Jane and the Unpleasantness of Scargrave Manor by Stephanie Barron (Jan 21)
A mystery with Jane Austen as detective. Some of the people she meets are the "inspirations" for some of her characters.

Soul of The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe by Gene Edward Veith (Jan 22)

These Three Remain by Pamela Aidan (Jan 24)

Powder and Patch by Georgette Heyer (Jan 25)

Jane and the Man of the Cloth by Stephanie Barron (Jan 27)
Not nearly as good as the first one.

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
This is the first "Gothic" novel, and only worthy of being remembered for that fact. How did this genre become popular?

Villette by Charlotte Brontë (Jan 29)
Would I be offending Bronteites if I said that I thought Monsieur Paul Emmanuel cute? He's cute; that is, he is someone "not quite laughable" but "small, helpless, futilely supporting something, or oblivious, therefore making you want to hug them, say 'Aww', giggle, or all of the above" Short volatile people tend to do that to me. ;) I like him best of all Brontë's heroes so far, though.