Fourth semester (Spring 2024)

I have divided my reading into 3 categories, each category representing one artefact. So that in first category I include 1984 by George Orwel, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.

Artefact 1

I will start chronologically with Frankenstein. When reading Frankenstein’s story, I felt pity for him and his ordeal, at the same time I could not help but feel a little annoyed and disgusted by him. In any case, I enjoyed reading the book, I found the language very sophisticated yet still understandable. Moreover, the topic is still relevant even today.

Next, I read Picture of Dorian Gray. After a slow start, the story gained momentum and I could appreciate how fast Dorian managed to succumb to moral decay and ruin the lives of people around him. I find Oscar Wilde insightful and observant.

Lastly, 1984 is an immortal book, often mentioned and recommended. I can understand why, not only is the topic still relevant but some of the prediction came at least partially true. I believe that almost everyone knows what Big Brother means. What I find appalling is the way they treat information. And do not get me started about the end of the book, the level of torture they applied to prisoners is just abhorrent.

Artefact 2

When watching Netflix I came across a series called Brave new world. As it was in British English, I decided to watch it and only later found out that it was based on a book by Aldous Huxley from 1932. Honestly, I was slightly shocked for I did not realize that the genre of dystopian novel dated so far back. Although the stories in the series and the book differ, I appreciated them both.

I ended up reading Bridget Jones’s Diary by Helen Fielding and The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole Aged 13 ¾ by Sue Townsend thanks to an online course on translation. While I appreciated reading Bridget Jones from a woman’s perspective, I especially enjoyed Adrian Mole. For me, it is an example of the dry English humour. Moreover, through Adrian, I could experience certain historical moments such as the marriage of Princess Diana and Prince Charles.

Treasure island by Robert Louis Stevenson I read for the language course in Fryšták, the topic is unsurprisingly Pirates. I might have read the book before, for I am familiar with the characters of Captain Flint and Long John Silver. The story is quick-paced and adventurous and appealing to readers of all ages. I had a little trouble with passages when the pirates talked in their own vernacular, this, however, did not hinder my overall understanding, hopefully.

Artefact 3

Even though Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë is on the list for state exams, we were not required to read the book this term. I have, however, decided to refresh my memory having read Jane Eyre several times before. This time around, I could analyse the story being aware of the historical context.

In between those upper mentioned books, I managed to go again through Amber Saga by Roger Zelazny, an American sci-fi and fantasy author. I would call Amber Saga my comfort reading, for I use reading as a form of relaxation any time of the day and preferably before going to sleep.

Third semester (2023)

Apart from reading books that I already know, I managed to finish Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen for the literature course. I am familiar with the story from the movie starring Keira Knightley, which I liked very much. I also came across a tv series starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth. Even though both adaptions do justice to the book, I prefer the book because it gave me more detail on relationship of Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy and on other characters as well. However, I found it at times challenging to follow the elaborate speaking style.

Jane Austen: Pride and prejudice

Second semester (2023)

I included Outlander series by American writer Diana Gabaldon., in last 2 years I’ve managed to go through the whole series of 7 books multiple times. At the moment I’m reading the newest book of the series number 8. As it’s in paperback, I read it sporadically when in kitchen. However, most of my reading is done on an e-book reader that I keep by my bed. It’s easier to read because you can adjust settings as the light, background, font size, … That’s why before bed I read different books, at the moment the second book of The Hunger games series, Catching fire (2009)

Outlander series

Hunger games series