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Christopher Douce

Preparing for the summer: A233 reading list

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At the start of October 2023 I will be studying A233 Telling stories: the novel and beyond. I usually take a few books on holiday with me. To give myself a bit of a head start, I’m going to get through some of the books that feature on A233 reading list.

What follows are list of books that will be discussed within A233, in the order that I understand they are studied. Where possible, I’ve provided a link to a version from Project Guttenberg which can be downloaded to an eReader.

If you do make use of the Guttenberg version, do note that there may well be significant differences between the text that is officially recommended by the module team, and the downloaded version. The editorial that the officially recommended text may well be useful.

Hardy, T.: Falck-Yi, S.B. (ed) Far from the Madding Crowd, Oxford World's Classics, ISBN 9780199537013

Wharton, E.: Orgel, S. (ed) The Custom of the Country, Oxford World's Classics, ISBN 9780199555123

Smith, A. Hotel World, Penguin, ISBN 9780140296792

Blunden, E. Undertones of War, Penguin, ISBN 9780141184364

Roy, A. The God of Small Things, 4th Estate, ISBN 9780006550686

Perrault, C.: Betts, C. (trans.) The Complete Fairy Tales, Oxford World's Classics, ISBN 9780199585809

A direct equivalent to this text isn’t available through Project Guttenberg, but there is a collection that has the title: The Fairy Tales of Charles Perrault by Charles Perrault

Grimm, J. & Grimm, W.: Crick, J. (trans.) Selected Tales, Oxford World's Classics, ISBN 9780199555581

I’m assuming that Grimm is read at the same time as the other texts that relate to fairy tales. A direct equivalent isn’t available through Project Guttenberg, but there is a different collection that is available: Grimms' Fairy Tales by Jacob Grimm and Wilhelm Grimm

Andersen, H.C. Hans Andersen's Fairy Tales: A Selection, Oxford World's Classics, ISBN 9780199555857

Like with both Grimm and Perrault, there isn’t a direct equivalent in Project Guttenberg, but there is a broader collection which can be downloaded: Andersen's Fairy Tales by H. C. Andersen

Carter, A. The Bloody Chamber, Vintage, ISBN 9780099588115

Armitage, S. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Faber and Faber, ISBN 9780571223282

Gaiman, N. & Vess, C. Stardust, DC Comics (Vertigo), ISBN 9781401287849

Le Guin, U. The Dispossessed, Gollancz, ISBN 9781857988826

Shakespeare, W.: Orgel, S. (ed) The Tempest, Oxford World's Classics, ISBN 9780199535903

Although the raw text of The Tempest is readily available for download, it is worth nothing that the introduction and the editorial comments from these Oxford World’s classics versions are really useful in terms of figuring out what is going on.

A233 has a ‘book club’ section, where students will choose one book from the following:

Smith, A. Girl Meets Boy, Canongate Books, ISBN 9781786892478 

Sassoon, S. Memoirs of an Infantry Officer, Faber and Faber, ISBN 9780571064106 

Hardy, T. Wessex Tales, Wordsworth Editions, ISBN 9781853262692 

Anand, M.R. Untouchable, Penguin, ISBN 9780141393605

Wharton, E.: Orgel, S. (ed) The Age of Innocence, Oxford World's Classics, ISBN 9780199540013 

A disclaimer. I’m going on what I understand was covered during the previous presentation of A233. Future presentations may well present things differently, and use different texts.

Looking forward: when I get started with A233 properly, I’ll be using this blog to share my study log. I’m sharing this, so I can hold myself to account.

Acknowledgements: this reading list has been directly liberated from the A233 module website. 

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Christopher Douce

Preparing for A230

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Edited by Christopher Douce, Wednesday, 16 Feb 2022, 15:14

Over the last two years I’ve been studying A111 Discovering the Arts and humanities and A112 Cultures. I’ve really enjoyed both of them, especially the literature sections. The next module I intend to study is A230 Reading and studying literature

One recommendation that I have read from the module reviews has been: get ahead! Specifically, do try to read as many of the set texts as you can. 

A couple of years ago, I bought a new eReader since my original version of the Amazon Kindle gave up the ghost. I’ve written a couple of articles that relate to eReaders. Remembering these articles, I realised that it might be possible to download some of the A112 set texts from Project Guttenberg which would allow me to get started. I wouldn’t be able to benefit from the notes that accompany the recommended editions that go with the module, but I could buy those separately if I needed to.

What follows is a summary of all the set texts I can find from Project Guttenberg, listed in alphabetical order. 

I download each book to the desktop of my laptop, connect my eReader, which then appears as USB device, and copy the epub file into the reader’s filestore. It’s clear that I have a lot of reading to do!

There are three other books I need to get: a book by Friel, another by Selvon, and a further one by Sebald.

Where should I start? I read Charlotte Bronte whilst studying A112, so I might start with Emily. I then go onto Shelly, and then onto Joyce. After that, I'm not quite sure.

Good luck to everyone who is studying A230!

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