The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I found that I had to be in the right mindset to 'get into' this book. After a long day's work, this can be difficult because Nathaniel Hawthore uses quite dense language. Once I broke it up by listening to chapters on audiobook I enjoyed the story much more. It is wonderful to see how far womens' rights have come since that period of time, and I find the view points of the characters to be fascinating, especially when compared with modern views. I would recommend this book if you have the mental energy to spare.



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Valentine's Day Thoughts.

I'm not really one to buy in to the whole Valentine's Day thing. To my mind, there is nothing romantic about buying you girlfriend an over-priced bunch of roses because you're scared she'll get mad at you if you don't. What is more, I do not want to be in the kind of relationship where the only day you do something nice for each other is Valentine's Day.

I have to admit, though, it was really lovely going down to my local park for a picnic (I did celebrate Valentine's Day with a picnic, so I am being slightly hypocritical here) and seeing all the elderly couples walking along hand-in-hand, or sharing the contents of their picnic baskets. I also saw a young family having a photo shoot in the beautiful surrounds. What a lovely idea!

Perhaps the lovliest gesture I saw this year was a young man who bought his mother an enormous bouquet of flowers, and some jewellery for his sister, because they are the ones who put up with him all year round. It was a sort of thank you gesture that brought a tear to my eye.

I don't know, I guess I just get upset by the consumerist side of Valentine's Day. Does anyone else, or am I alone in this?