Short Story and Novella Recs

I'm a fan of classic cartoons, anime & animations. So here's a ten of my favorite characters in classic series.

Which are your favorite classics? You be the judge!

1. Star Force Megaman

2. Ryo Sanada (Inferno Armor)

3. Red Eyes Darkness Dragon

4. Blade Liger

5. Duskmon

6. Draco

7. Rex

8. Jessica Rabbit

9. Predaking

10. Armored Mewtwo

I know its really late and I had originally wanted to make a video, but I really want to share my favorite books of last year. Maybe you will all still get a video at some point, but for now you get this master post! 

I’m  making this post in order of publication date, the oldest to the most recent. I have written reviews for each of these books which are linked. 

Daphnis and Chloe by Longus  ~ (150 AD) 

This is an Ancient Greek piece of writing about young love. It is a lovely and amusing story of the innocence of young love complete with gods and goddesses and the enchanting pastoral setting of the island of Lesbos. I found this to be a world of the past to get lost in and an enjoyable sweet story.

http://katiesclassicbooks.tumblr.com/post/173363848356/review-daphnis-and-chloe-by-longus

Middlemarch by George Eliot ~ (1871) 

This is a Victorian novel about a town called Middlemarch, it’s inhabitants and the complex web of their relationships. This is an epic novel about everyday life filled with fantastic characters and their aspirations, familial drama and romantic relationships. I found this to be one of the most relatable classics I’ve read in a long while with such perceptive insight into relationships. 

http://katiesclassicbooks.tumblr.com/post/169794990606/review-middlemarch-by-george-eliot

Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu ~ (1872)

This Victorian novella was written by an Irish author and is a vampire story that predates Dracula. This story however is about a female lesbian vampire. It was wonderfully atmospheric, it’s two female characters were great and the theme of suppressed female sexuality was very interesting. 

http://katiesclassicbooks.tumblr.com/post/179124167841/review-carmilla-by-j-sheridan-le-fanu

Kusamakura by Natsume Soseki ~ (1906)

This Japanese classic is written from the perspective of an artist who goes on a journey to have the ultimate artist’s experience and only experience things from a detached artist’s standpoint. This book was like a word painting and was utterly beautiful. This was a book about art, beauty, nature and the old Japan coming to terms with the new. This was such an introspective and refreshing book and there were so many great quotes that I wrote down as I was reading.

http://katiesclassicbooks.tumblr.com/post/175279046096/review-kusamakura-by-natsume-soseki

The Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham ~ (1925)

This novel follows a beautiful and shallow woman named Kitty Fane living in Hong Kong with her husband Walter. When her husband finds out she was having an affair, her punishment is unusual and severe. She must accompany him to mainland China to help out in a Cholera epidemic. What follows is a story of Kitty’s spiritual awakening.She starts to appreciate real beauty, she gains compassion for and insight into other people’s feelings, she opens up to a more spiritual dimension of life, she realizes why she acted the way she did and she tries to make amends and ultimately find peace. This novel had great character development and I didn’t expect it to be as profound as it was. 

http://katiesclassicbooks.tumblr.com/post/175657280916/review-the-painted-veil-by-w-somerset-maugham

How Green Was My Valley by Richard Llewellyn ~ (1939)

This novel is set in a Welsh mining community and follows a man named Huw Morgan as he looks back at his life. This is a story filled with memories of love and family. Quite simply this was one of the best family stories I have read and the Morgans will always stick out in my mind as one of the best literary families

http://katiesclassicbooks.tumblr.com/post/172079242116/review-how-green-was-my-valley-by-richard

Brideshead Revisted by Evelyn Waugh ~ (1945)

This novel is about a man named Charles Ryder looking back at his youth when he became friends with a young man named Sebastian and became involved with his family and their estate Brideshead. This was a nostalgic novel about the loss of innocence and youth, complicated and disappointing love, charm and ultimately religion and how it can save you and haunt you with guilt. This was a book filled with rich writing that impacted me emotionally. I became so attached to these characters. I didn’t even agree with everything in this book especially on matters of religion, but I loved it regardless which is unusual for me

http://katiesclassicbooks.tumblr.com/post/174952967816/review-brideshead-revisited-by-evelyn-waugh

The Once and Future King by T. H. White ~ (1938-1958)

This is a retelling of the legend of King Arthur starting when he was a boy and ending right before his death. After having read the very classic Le Morte D’Arthur in 2017 I very much appreciated this retelling. It really brought the legends to life. At times it made me think deeply and at others it had me laughing out loud. White made Arthur’s ambitions for the round table seem noble. To use the might that was so popular at the time for right, yet to question the ways of the world and why wars were even fought in the first place. I love how the legends of King Arthur can be used to explore different issues and this version I found really aligned with me and I tremendously enjoyed it. 

http://katiesclassicbooks.tumblr.com/post/170067974316/review-the-once-and-future-king-by-th-white

I just realized a lot of my undead cat backstory is related to my love of the nameless cat in Breakfast At Tiffany’s. Holly Golightly doesn’t own the cat, and vice versa. They just hang out together.

It isn’t until the final scene that Holly realizes she loves the cat, and wants to belong with someone (oh and the love interest, too I guess) and runs out into the alley in the rain to find the cat that she had just rejected.

The cat is a better LI than the human guy, just saying.