The Rabbit Hole
Treasure Island (Louis Stevenson)
A pirate novel, for those of you who loved pirates as a kid. Honestly, that's kind of all the description you need. I thought it was funny, but it's probably the only pirate novel I'll read.
Synopsis: A boy who stumbled across an unfortunate situation at a pub joins a pirate crew to find gold.
Lucy's Rating:
O Pioneers (Willa Cather)
This one's a shorter classic. For those of you interested in American history, especially the frontier era, this one's for you. The woman is 100% the girlbossiest you can get in classic literature, and it spans decades, so you really get to see the development of the pioneer experience.
Synopsis: A family moves to the Great Plains after the death of their father at a time where most pioneers are leaving the area due to its harsh conditions.
Lucy's Rating:
O Pioneers (Willa Cather)
This one's a shorter classic. For those of you interested in American history, especially the frontier era, this one's for you. The woman is 100% the girlbossiest you can get in classic literature, and it spans decades, so you really get to see the development of the pioneer experience.
Synopsis: A family moves to the Great Plains after the death of their father at a time where most pioneers are leaving the area due to its harsh conditions.
Lucy's Rating:
Around the World in 80 Days (Jules Verne)
This one's definitely an adventure novel, if you're not into the slice-of-live classics I keep on recommending. I found the character's relationship dynamics to be hilarious. If you're comfortable with the language style, it's really just a sit-and-laugh.
Synopsis: On a bet, a rich Frenchman and his assistant attempt to travel around the globe in just 80 days, meeting various people and obstacles.
Lucy's Rating:
The Secret Garden (Frances Hodgson Burnett)
Another classic coming of age. It's very whimsical, and the character development in this was is especially appealing, at least for me. It felt very whimsical.
Synopsis: A spoiled, sickly girl moves to an English manor after her parents are killed of in a cholera epidemic, and discovers a disheveled secret garden that she helps restore, discovering some family secrets in the process.
Lucy's Rating:
Little Women (Louisa May Alcott)
Can you tell I love these slice-of-life classics? Is it obvious enough? This is the novel I was reminded of when I read Blue Sisters. Maybe it's because I'm a sister, but these hit me especially hard. It's about the way different people live different lives, and there's no one right way to do life.
Synopsis: Four sisters in the mid-to-late 19th century grow from childhood to womanhood, finding love, passions, and different kinds of relationships.
Lucy's Rating:
Paired stuff: I will be illegal --- I did love the movie.
The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Leo Tolstoy)
Definitely DARK. And sad. What I've realized is I actually really like books that reflect on life and what it means to live meaningfully. It felt a bit like a fictional version of Tuesdays with Morrie, except Tolstoy really emphasizes the effects of greed on his character.
Synopsis: A man dying from a chronic illness, who never really reflected on the inevitability of his death before his diagnosis, reflects on his life, which he had spent attempting to climb the ladder of status and wealth.
Lucy's Rating:
Paired stuff: Same as a lot of the others with similar themes, which I'm coming to realize are very prevalent within this collection, but Hannah Arendt I think has been my favorite.
Anne of Green Gables (L.M. Montgomery)
This is one of, if not my favorite book of all time. It’s so cute and whimsical, and just such a relaxing read. It’s very much a spring/summer book. It’s a coming-of-age classic featuring themes of friendship, dreams, family, and imagination.
Synopsis: A little orphan girl gets adopted by a family after a harsh upbringing in a little town. She goes through the seasons, going from around 12 years to 17 years, and the rest of the series explores her entire life.
Lucy's Rating:
Paired stuff: The Will to Meaning, Victor Frankl (and just Frankl in general) — curiosity and imagination as a role in humanity
Mrs. Dalloway (Virginia Woolf)
A bit of an older piece, but this book genuinely had me questioning consciousness and life in a way I seriously don’t think another book has. Not because it’s super depressing, or full of action, but because of the lack of it actually. A book on memory, consciousness, social class, and general complexity of life.
Synopsis: Mrs. Dalloway takes place over a single day. The best way for me to describe it is literally what happens in your brain when you do things, even the most everyday things. Woolf legit manages to turn the mundane into something that will question your existence.
Lucy's Rating:
Paired stuff: Jean-Paul Sartre, “existence precedes essence” and “the look” — what makes up your identity?