Bitsy's Books
Note: I'm uploading my books from Goodreads and since there are like 200+ it's going to take awhile. The uploading seems a bit wonky too, so hang with me as I fix things. Also there may be spoilers until I can make all the appropriate tags.
I'm an ex-English Major who, sick of reading classics after college, decided to read all the trashy books I didn't before because I was too snobby. Since graduating, I've entertained myself with comics, YA, and romance novels, finding out they can not only be decently written, but superbly written. I've since recovered from my classics aversion, but I'm now more open-minded reader willing to read from any genre. If a book has kick-ass heroines and/or witty banter and/or takes place in a different time or place (including fantasy settings), I will most likely fall in love with it. My favorite authors are Jane Austen, Shakespeare, E.M. Forster, Meljean Brook, Sarah Rees Brennan, Rachel Hartman, Catherynne M. Valente, and Aliette de Bodard.
When her father leaves the Church of England, Margaret Hale and her family must move from pastoral southern England to the manufacturing town of Milton. Margaret first suffers from culture shock, but soon finds herself caught up in the politics of the town, and between her sympathy for the poor workers on strike and her feelings for the enigmatic mill-owner, John Thornton.I loved this book, but I just got caught up in other books and lost interest. I liked how Gaskell showed both sides of the strike and showed how both sides were right and wrong. Definitely was interesting to see how businesses were run in early Victorian England, and how unions and worker's rights have changed so much! Margaret was a wonderfully strong heroine and although I might not like his politics, John Thornton was swoon-worthy. Hopefully I'll be able to pick it up again. Maybe I'll be inspired if I watch the mini-series with the lovely Richard Armitage?