Tag: Conspiracy Theory

Books

Book 365: The Brontë Project – Jennifer Vandever

Geoff W

Vandever, Jennifer - The Brontë ProjectI’m not sure what it is about Brontë fan-fiction, but they’re just not as whimsical as the Austen fan-fiction. Looking at the subject matters and general ambiance of the works and the author’s lives it is fairly obvious, but when you think about it the options for fan-fiction are limitless. I picked this book (Amazon link) up in late 2012 and have finally gotten around to reading it.

The only other Brontë fan-fiction I’ve read include Solsbury Hill and The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Brontë and they were both a bit ho-hum. I did enjoy the vilification of Charlotte in Michael Thomas Ford’s Jane Fairfax trilogy (here, here and here), but that could be the problem. Emily and Anne died so early and Charlotte had so much time to cultivate/purge their images in society that it’s all about Charlotte and not the rest of the family. (“What’s more, she [Charlotte] has become adept at spinning her own legend and constructing her image before the public.” (59) – and I would even argue spinning Emily and Anne’s images, obviously). Even this novel, whose main character, Sara, is in love with Wuthering Heights ends up being predominantly about Charlotte.

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Books

Book 270: Who Murdered Chaucer? – Jones, Yeager, Dolan, Fletcher & Dor

Geoff W

Jones, Terry - Who Murdered ChaucerI know I say this often, but what a fascinating read, but what’s most exciting is that this is a work of nonfiction. I don’t generally read a lot of nonfiction, but after reading about this on a site ages ago (at least a year ago) and having just finished A Burnable Book, I knew this was a great time to read it. Needless to say I absolutely plan on finding a full biography of Chaucer.

Who Murdered Chaucer? focuses on the last 20(ish) years of Chaucer’s life, but more so on the political climate, which is vital to interpreting Chaucer’s writings and why so few survived, I found. And come on, the man lived 150 years before and is considered the father of English poetry, why does Shakespeare get all the credit? I mean sure Shakespeare wrote A LOT, but just this next paragraph should make you want to learn more about Geoffrey Chaucer.

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Book Group, Books

Book 82: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – Stieg Larsson

Geoff W

I decided with this novel that I would include re-reads in my reviews unless I have reviewed them in the past year. The only exception will be books I read somewhat frequently like At Swim, Two Boys or Harry Potter.

I re-read Stieg Larsson’s The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for the book group, Books into Movies, Caroline and I joined at the Somerville Public Library. I’m glad I re-read it, but wish I had time to re-watch the Swedish version of the film and to re-read the other two novels (which I may still re-read).

As I was re-reading the novel, the two things that struck me about it were the timeliness of the subject matter and the sheer bad-ass-ness of Lisbeth Salander. I mentioned in my review of The Girl who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest that Salandar is an awesome feminist character and I stand by that. Although we are only introduced to her character and get a hint at her hostility towards those who mistreat women and children, the reader gets a good sense that in fighting the systemized failure she faced (and continues to face) that she has internalized a very particular and clear brand of right and wrong.

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Books

Book 13: The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon #3) – Dan Brown

Geoff W

I first read Dan Brown’s novels when I was in High School, right before The Da Vinci Code exploded and was everywhere. I actually read all four of his books before they even considered making a film or the Da Vinci Code had been on the bestseller list for however many record-breaking weeks it was there for. I’ve always enjoyed them because of their conspiracy theory vibes and ties to history.

Now I’m not sure about the factual basis of the book or even the conspiratorial basis of the book, but overall I enjoyed it as a light read to pass the time. We once again found ourselves with the middle-aged Harvard professor Robert Langdon tied up in a beyond the ordinary, generally unbelievable sequence of events that reveals a seemingly earth shattering concept. This novels dealing with the Freemasons and the various traditions and legends associated with them.

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Books

Book 6: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest – Stieg Larsson

Geoff W

I first want to say it irks me that the title is grammatically incorrect on the US version (Hornet’s versus Hornets’). It is a nest of hornets not one hornet’s nest.

I read this book in just under 48 hours, and it was well worth the time and wait it took to get a hold of a copy. I first read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo as part of a book group we started during my year of AmeriCorps. Although the book was originally scheduled for after the group disbanded, I still wanted to read it. I read both Tatto and The Girl Who Played With Fire as fast as Hornets’ Nest.

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