Teresa

Emma is a novel by Jane Austen. It is a story of the upper class woman known as Emma Woodhouse who thinks she understands love and who will be the best life partners. Most of her match-maker abilities are focused on her companion, Harriet Smith. Emma means well, however miscommunications, misconceptions, and personal conflicts abound in the town of Highbury where the book takes place. Emma's well meaning schemes and misunderstandings of love lead to many mismatched relationships.

Emma gives off a sense of someone who has been spoiled, isolated, and has had her ego strokes just a tad too much. The town of Highbury always flatters her and seems to follow her every word. This is exemplified by the character of Harriet Smith, a lower class girl who cannot seem to have a thought of her own unless Emma approves of it, or even suggests it. This leads Harriet to some heart break.

Emma does come to the realization of what she done with her schemes. However, this comes through jealousy. In all her schemes, Emma has unknowingly schemed against herself. She now regrets trying to “arrange every body's destiny” and acknowledges her machinations to be mistakes. Admitting to being “doomed to blindness”.

I enjoyed this book it was quite intriguing on who would finally get together with who. Also wondering when Emma would come to her realization. However, the language barrier was a problem, which is understandable as this novel was written in 1815. Jane Austen wrote in a time where complex sentence structure was the norm. Some of these sentences can go on for half a page or more. Also, Austen wrote in a very formal language. Some of the wording can be confusing if you read this book quickly. This book is to be read slowly and savored.

All in all, this was an enjoyable book and I highly recommend it. The themes of marriage and courtship, social class, miscommunication, and misperceptions are readily apparent in this book. Experience is important. Humbleness is important. One can do the wrong thing while meaning to help others if understanding is not present. All of these can come from experience and the willingness to listen.

An enjoyable book that took me back to my childhood. The main character, Meg, catastrophizes and is not at all patient. Meg's adventure with her brother and friend, Charles Wallace and Calvin, to Camazotz helps her grow as a person. She learns that being different is good because love can only exist between people who are unique.

A fictional account of a correspondence between two demons on how to influence humans. This book shows the Christian perspective on evil and how it affects humans. The influence is not overt. It's a little bit here and a little bit there that really gets most of us in this end.

An excellent story that deals with temptation and the duality of human nature (good and evil). Some things should not be studied. The curiosity of a person's identity, lead to the separation of that identity. What was once a blend became two entities, one good and one evil. When evil is indulged, that side of our identity grows stronger and can overshadow the good. Evil cannot be controlled. It can be suppressed.

The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins, is a mystery in a mystery. It is a mystery novel that follows the story of a diamond from India that is not only stolen from its original custodians, but from a family in England that comes into possession of it. There are several questions that will be answered: How did the diamond come to England? How was the diamond stolen from the family? How did the diamond get to London? Does the diamond return to India or does it remain in England?

The Moonstone is one of the first modern mystery novels that helped create the genre and set the rules for mystery/detective fiction. It is written in a series of letters by the characters to understand what has happened. The story might be a bit slow in certain places (situations need to be set up), but it is an enjoyable read as both a mystery and an exploration of how the modern mystery began.