Happy Sunday! Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. But, as I said in my last post, I don't want this to feel like a chore, so I'm back now because I felt like it!

You may remember the 'BBC Top 100 Books Challenge' I've been doing in preparation for my English Lit degree (which I have now officially applied for, woo!)  Well, I've decided that I don't want to restrict what I read to just one list, so I'm pushing the boat out and am just going to read whatever I fancy! I thought it was a bit silly to confine myself, seeing as there are so many books I've always wanted to read. I'm still going to be documenting my really brief thoughts on each book, but it's not going to be under the 'BBC Top 100 Books List' title anymore (see new and exciting graphic above!).

So I've just finished Jane Austen's Emma, which was a really fun read.  I'm still not really sure whether or not I liked Emma as a character, something that was evidently foreseen by Austen when she wrote to a friend saying that Emma is "a heroine whom no one but myself will much like".  But the truth is, I couldn't really help but like her.  While she's a fairly spoilt and self-righteous young woman, she's also just a 21 year-old girl who makes mistakes, falls in love and meddles in other people's business.  As well as this, Austen cleverly uses free indirect speech, which means that the narrative is told from Emma's perspective in the third person, while Austen still hold the reigns as the narrator.  This is incredibly effective, as we can sympathise and identify with Emma, at the same time as benefiting from Austen's hilarious wit and way with words.

All in all, Emma is one of those classics you just have to read.  If you've read Pride and Prejudice, then you'll fine that this is really similar, only funnier, and that Emma is a little more complex and developed than Elizabeth Bennet. (Not to put a downer on P&P though- yet another of Austen's masterpieces!).

I've got a stack of books to choose from next, so not sure what it will be yet.  Any suggestions from English Lit students would be very much appreciated!

Harriet x