Annual Classic - DONE!

I did it. And I did it early this year.

I've read my classic novel for 2010. This year's selection was "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Through The Looking-Glass"

I really enjoyed these two short books, and I was impressed how much of it was actually included in the Disney "Alice In Wonderland". (I suppose that's because the Disney movie was made before everything had to be censored to avoid damaging the fragile minds of children).

Anyway...

I loved the weird Wonderland-logic and all the play on words. I loved the poetry and nonsensical songs, and I loved reading the notes in the back to see how Carroll incorporated snippets from Alice's life into his story. I can only imagine how delighted Alice must have been.

I also discovered a song in "Alice's Adventures In Wonderland" that I learned in choir when I was in grade 1 or 2. I could only recall the first verse, so I was pleasantly surprised to see it in the book I was reading!

So, I give the movie ten stars, and the books ten stars (out of five, of course), and highly recommend them both.

And since I finished my classic so early this year (and since I kinda cheated and picked a really short one), maybe I'll read another ... but after I work through my current growing list of fiction!

Next on my list: a book inspired by Wonderland called "The Looking Glass Wars"

Annual Classic

Every year, I try to read a classic novel. Last year was "The Count of Monte Cristo" (which I'm still impressed I finished) and this year is proving to be a toss up. Here are my choices:

"Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass" by Lewis Carroll

Yes, there's movie hype, but I've been wanting to read this one for a while. I've seen the Disney-fied version of the story, and I'm dying to see the new Tim Burton version, but I'd also like to know the original. I remember as a child watching a live action version of "Through the Looking Glass" that scared the pants off me! My best friend and I would make a pillow fort, get big bowls of strawberry ice cream, and watch the dragon scene.

"Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austin

I have been very resistant to Jane Austin my whole life. I've never seen the movie versions, I've never read the written versions, and honestly I'm not 100% sure what they're about. And since I can't remember why I detest Jane Austin so much, perhaps I'll give this one a go this year. I've heard good things, and it would pave the way for this :

"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" by Victor Hugo

This has been sitting on my shelf for a while, waiting to be read. At first, I thought this would be my classic of 2010, but I've been reading a lot of Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas, so I thought perhaps I'd branch into a different author this year. This is another classic where I've seen the Disney-fied version and would like to know the true one!

So those are my choices. What do you think? What should I read?