Leslie Dunnett
My husband and I recently moved to the Northwest Territories, when he was posted to a military detachment. I was unemployed, trapped indoors by the frigid temperatures, and watching way too much internet television. And I still had five more months of winter.
So how does a gal avoid cabin fever?
During one of my many Google marathons, I came across the BBC Book Challenge, 100 novels everyone should read. I did a scan of the list and realized that I've seen most of the movies, but never read the books. A little embarrassing. Then I looked through my home library and that was even more embarrassing. Apparently, I was unemployed and intellectually lazy. Seems like one might be causing the other...
Ever since I graduated from university, I have actively avoided challenging novels. If I wasn't being graded on it, I drifted towards the "chick-lit" genre, easy to follow and entertaining. Plus, I loved all the pretty pink covers. And that sentence right there is excatly the problem, yes?
But what if I took on the Book Challenge? What if I forced myself to read the kind of books I was too scared to attempt? Maybe I don't need an English degree to understand the point of Moby Dick. What if I were to read my way through the entire list and gave an average person’s take on the story?
So I'm starting the Housewife Challenge; 100 books, in two years. I'm going to see if you need to be a literary genius to appreciate these works, and if the stories live up to their fame.
Latest Articles
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The Housewife's Challenge: Atonement
Two lovers are torn apart by a well-intentioned lie in McEwan's descriptive story of one young girl's biggest regret.
Apr 21, 2011
- Leslie Dunnett
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The Housewife's Challenge: Dracula
Stoker's classic horror story proves that if a strange man wants to conduct business in his creepy, isolated castle, you might want to turn down the job.
Mar 26, 2011
- Leslie Dunnett
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The Housewife's Challenge: To Kill A Mockingbird
The Finch family struggles to understand and overcome the cruel racism of their hometown in 1936.
Mar 10, 2011
- Leslie Dunnett
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The Housewife's Challenge: Memoirs of a Geisha
The passionate story of a young girl's struggles to find her place in a mysterious and fascinating world of Gion's geisha district is hauntingly beautiful.
Mar 3, 2011
- Leslie Dunnett
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The Housewife's Challenge: Brideshead Revisited
A remarkable friendship is tested by the powerful forces of religion and family in Waugh's intriguing novel about the bonds of love and desire.
Feb 26, 2011
- Leslie Dunnett
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The Housewife's Challenge: The Great Gatsby
How far would you go to capture your heart's desire? F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel shows the folly and consequence of chasing the dreams we've outgrown.
Feb 15, 2011
- Leslie Dunnett
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The Housewife's Challenge: Wuthering Heights
This week, I read the original tale of Catherine and Heathcliff. Is it a wild and passionate love story? Or is it the story of two disturbed individuals?
Feb 10, 2011
- Leslie Dunnett
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The Housewife's Challenge: The Count of Monte Cristo
The enjoyably vindictive tale of Edmond Dantes shows us that living well is not necessarily the best revenge.
Feb 2, 2011
- Leslie Dunnett
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The Housewife's Challenge: 1984, by George Orwell
Orwell's unsettling vision of the future raises some uncomfortable questions about the human spirit and the price we'll pay for our own survival.
Jan 25, 2011
- Leslie Dunnett
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Housewife's Challenge: Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding
Can a woman past her "sell-by-date" find love? Or is it all downhill after thirty? Fielding takes an honest look at modern relationships and "Singletons".
Jan 18, 2011
- Leslie Dunnett
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