Being brutally honest about books

Saturday 1 April 2017

10 Lessons to Take From War and Peace

It's a classic, and my current favourite book. It's old and very very very long, so of course there are plenty of lessons to be learnt, some of which are more obvious than others. Here are 10 messages you can take away from War and Peace.

Don't drink a bottle of rum while sitting on a window ledge and then tie a bear to a policeman and throw them both in the river. 

This is just common sense.

Don't challenge people to duels. 

This is just common sense. 

 

Don't fall in love with your second cousin. 

This is just common sense.

Don't go to war. 

This is just common sense.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/Austerlitz-baron-Pascal.jpg
By François Gérard - L’Histoire par l’image [1], digital version produced by Agence photographique de la Réunion des musées nationaux [2], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=254720

Don't get married, never consummate it, have affairs, get pregnant, try to divorce your spouse, and then convert to Catholicism. 

This is just common sense.

Don't gamble away your family's roubles. 

This is just common sense.

Don't flirt with your daughter's companion. 

This is just common sense.

Don't plan a fake marriage when you're already married to someone else. 

This is just common sense.

When you see a grenade, move. 

This is just common sense.

 

Don't stay behind when your city is about to be invaded by Napoleon. 

This is just common sense.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Napoleon_Moscow_Fire.JPG
By Unknown German - [1], Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=395054

Basically, War and Peace is a novel of what not to do. If you've read it, what did you learn from it?

What are the most important lessons you've learnt from the classics? Do you like your books to have messages?

Oh, and Happy April Fools'!

Friday 31 March 2017

March Wrap Up

  

Life

  • Uni's back in full swing, and I've got all these assignments at the same time. Help!
  • My driving lessons are continuing, but I'll say no more on that point...
  • I had a great reading month with a streak of nine 4-star books!
  • An author thanked me for reviewing his book!

Posts

Read

Click the covers to go to the Goodreads links. 
18456025  7923473  18369509  27833741
24489079  30967830  25322449  3289162
22712093  25493869  25614492  34606519

Around the blogosphere

CW at Read Think, Ponder discussed characters with "difficult" names.
Cait at Paper Fury asked what is the perfect amount of pages for a book?
Puput at Sparkling Letters told us how to figure out your perfect blogging schedule.

As you can see, I had a great reading month this March! What did you get up to?

I'm Alexandria, a 19-year-old reader/writer/blogger from New Zealand. I love language, history, and sci-fi. Hi! I'm always around if you want to talk, which you can do via comments, the contact form, or Facebook.

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