Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy.

Having just read another classic of literature, I see a trend in my reading habits.
Once again I will not presume to rate this novel.

This was the first time I have read anything by Hardy, although I have seen movie adaptations. For those not aware, Hardy’'s novels are mostly tragedies. If you are looking for a happy ending don’t read Hardy. Despite that I found much of value in this book. Set in the Victorian Era, it explores how positive characteristics (physical beauty and innocence) are overcome by lust, greed and moral rigidity.

The title character, Tess is beautiful and smart but achingly naive. Despite her intelligence she is maneuvered into forfeiting the only value a woman had in that time. As a ruined woman she accepts her fate but is tricked back into hope only to be cast aside again. The book’s plot urges us to take responsibility for moral judgment and consider what is truly good.

Blink by Malcom Gladwell (nonfiction/not rated)

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell.

Since this is nonfiction I cannot use my regular rating system. I want to point out some of the positives of this book and would welcome any guidelines for rating other nonfiction works I may review in the future.

Blink concerns the instant judgments that we seem to make without realizing. These unconscious processes can be extremely helpful but are also influenced by prejudice and can be disabled when under severe stress. Some other interesting topics that are introduced in the book include research on indexing facial expressions, how to change your racial stereotypes and how to influence behavior with the insertion of seemingly random adjectives.

Overall this book was a fascinating read and filled with real life examples.

Delirious Summer by Ray Blackston (7 out of 10)

Delirious Summer by Ray Blackston

I just read another pseudo-sequel but it didn’t seem to negatively affect my enjoyment of the story. (It just has some of the same characters as Flabbergasted.) This book concerns a young missionary’s desire to find a wife. He travels from Ecuador to Greenville, NC where he meets a quirky group of characters. I liked this novel because even though it qualifies as Christian fiction the themes are realistic and not overly preachy.

Originality-8

Characters-7

Themes- 6