I recently finished reading the book "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. I took me a while to get through it, but it was worth it.
The book has 2 love stories in it; one between Jane and Charles and the one between Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. The more recognised one is the one between Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth.
Elizabeth is the second daughter of Mr and Mrs Bennet, she is the most sensible and intelligent and very down to earth. On the other hand, Mr Darcy is a rich gentleman from a wealthily family that is self conceded and a bit arrogant. Mr Darcy never falls for the lower class but he ended up falling in love for Elizabeth Bennet and he exposes his feelings to her. As Elizabeth judged his wrongly, she does not accept his offer for marriage but then afterwards realises that she loves him too. They eventually get married in the end.

I really enjoyed this book because it is a very different kind of love story to the ones that I usually read because of the separation of the upper class and the lower class. Being rich is what defines you during that time, so that is how people decided who they were going to marry.
I liked the fact that I could feel the connection between Mr Darcy and Elizabeth from the get go. If i had no idea what the story was about when I ready it, I would have know that Elizabeth and Mr Darcy would have ended up together.

I would most definitely recommend this book to everyone that has a decent level in English.

Tess of the D'Urbervilles pt2

Since Tess's father is unable to go and pick his daughter up because of his drunkenness, Tess goes in search of her father and mother. In this chapter, Mrs D'Urberville reveals to Tess that she has been diagnosed with a serious heart condition: this introduces the topic of astrology and superstition. At the moment, a lot of information is being revealed and many topics are being introduced such as the ones mentioned previously and the topic of purity (first shown at the May Dance).

Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy

I have recently started this book by Thomas Hardy, the same author of The Mayor of Casterbridge. An uneducated and poor family in rural England, the Durbeyfields, finds out that they may have noble blood and their name is actually D'Urbervilles. Meanwhile, the eldest daughter of this family, Tess, is at the May Dance where she meets a boy but due to bad timing they're unable to dance together. I am quite taken by this novel and will hopefully be able to finish it this term, so I'll keep you all updated as the story progresses.

The tenth man

The Tenth Man

The novel The tenth man was the first book I read this term. The story takes place in France, where one in ten prisoners is executed. Once the prisoners are told this rule, it is up to them to choose who will be the one to die. There are no volunteers so, in order to avoid conflict, they decide to draw lots. One of the chosen men is a rich lawyer. Therefore he offers the others a deal: If any of them agrees to take his place and die instead, their family will receive all his fortune. Surprisingly, one of the prisoners accepts the deal. A few years pass and the lawyer is released. However, he now has to face the life in Paris with no money, nor a home. This is very difficult, therefore he decides to visit his old house and see whether somebody lives there (presumably the family of the executed prisoner). He uses a false identity and begins work there. He is offered a salary, as well as a place to live. Will the family realise that he is to blame for the death of their relative?

I enjoyed this book so much for many reasons. Firstly, it is fairly easy to read, the language is not too sophisticated, as well as it is easy to follow. Furthermore, there is so much action happening and there is so much suspense that the interest of the reader is present at all times. There aren't too many descriptions either. The story is very interesting and the reader has no idea what will happen until the end. There is also a plot twist.

I strongly encourage you to read this book, because it is truly interesting and you will finish it very quickly.

"Stung" by Joss Stirling

I am reading the book Stung right now and I am nearly finished. I am really enjoying this book. It has got so much action in it so it never gets boring and the story line is amazing. You never know whats going to happen next!

The book is about a girl called Kate who used to be a part of a secret spy association for teenagers (YDA) until she had a mission in Jakarta that went horribly wrong. Her partner completely turned on her and she ended up being framed for several murders which were actually done by the Scorpions which is a huge gang of murderers, kidnappers and drug dealers. She had been on the run for 2 years until Nathan was assigned by the YDA to track her down and bring her back to there. Nathan eventually found her. It was hate at first sight. Kate couldn't think of anything worse than going back to the people who thought that she was a murderer and kept trying to escape from Nathan though eventually he talked some sense into her. She then started to listen to him and he told her that the YDA wanted her to be safe and to make sure that she was ok. Kate then explained what had happened in Jakarta and added that she thought that there might be a double agent in the YDA working for the Scorpions...

The rest of the story revolves around the mystery of who the double agent might be and romance between Nathan and Kate.

I am absolutely loving this book and I really can't wait to find out who the double agent might be. I recommend this book mainly to girls as there is some romance in it although there is a lot of action and mystery in it as well.

Go Set A Watchman Setting

The city of Macomb in Alabama is described very similarly in Go Set A Watchman to its description in To Kill A Mockingbird. In fact, it is one of the aspects that has not changed in the book, with some descriptions being almost word to word. When Jean Louis returns the south, she describes: "Over her breakfast coffee, she watched the last of Georgia's hills recede and the red earth appear, and with it tin-roofed houses set in the middle of swept yards, and in the yards the inevitable verbena grew, surrounded by whitewashed tires". This is the firs description of the book and therefore shows that the setting of the south is a significant element to the book. There is a small aspect of mystery in the description of the south, as Mr Fred explains: "The longer I stayed away the more I missed Maycomb. I got to the point where I felt like I had to come back or die. You never get it out of your bones." 

Although most of these physical looks did not change, Maycomb has changed in terms of the people that reside there. This may be because people changed due to World War Two. However, despite this, there are still hits on the American Civil War. As Uncle Jack explains "No war was ever fought for so many different reasons meeting in one reason clear as crystal. They fought to preserve their identity. Their political identity, their personal identity."

The setting of Maycomb also seems to be attractive to Jean Louise more than simply being the city of her past. Her saying "After I pushed back I realized I'd become a part of it" is often can suggest her being ready to be part of Maycomb once again. 

The few changes of setting that do occur in Maycomb are seen as negative Jean Louise. We find out that Atticus had built a new house after the death of Jem. This might suggest that Jean Louise is more attached to the past than Atticus. 

A History Of Cyprus: General topics

The first inhabitants of Cyprus were those during the Neotholic Age, approximately eight thousand and two hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ. Since, the island has also been inhabited by humans.

During the Iron age, Cyprus was conquered many times and experienced short periods of freedom in between. Eventually, the island fell under Persian domination and subjection, struggling for freedom. However, with the help of the Greeks, the islanders managed to gain freedom and organise their own independent kingdoms.

However, it was not long before Alexander the Great took control of Cyprus (around three hundred years before the birth of Christ) and his successors were later in power. The next ones were the Romans. But the Roman were particularly important to the History of the country, it is under them that the spread of Christianity spread, something that most Cypriots are still proud of today.

Cyprus was then part of the Byzantine empire and later under Frankish rule, with the threat of Muslim Turkey nearby. In fact, Islam grew on the island even more when it became part of the Ottoman empire. But being in a strategic position, Cyprus became part of the British Empire in 1914. This was as agreed in return for British protection of Turkey from the Russians, who were always a threat.

The Cypriots fought for the British Empire during the two world wars, but no no fighting took place on the island, with it seeming to small for the big scale wars. However, many people wanted independence after those wars. This eventually ended in an armed struggle, with Greek Nationalist groups demanding a union with Greece. This immediately put Turkey on alert.

However, the Zurich and London Agreements were signed, creating the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, a democratic independent state. The flag of this country was chosen by a citizen contest, with it not allowed to have any blue (which would represent Greece), red (as it represents Turkey), the Muslim moon and star or the Christian cross. Under the constitution, the President would be an ethnic a Greek and the Vice President a Turk. Additionally, seven ministers would be greeks and three Turks. The Parliament of this Presidential Republic, would have eighty seats, with fifty six being for greeks. The two official languages would be both Greek and Turkish. The British would however, still keep their military bases.

This principle worked well. However, the popularity of the first President, Archbishop Mariakos was rather low. This led to a coup by Greek Nationalists who seized power. The Turks said that this was a clear violation if the Zurich and London agreements. They then invaded the northern part of the island, which is around one third in total, including half of the capital, Nicosia. However, in a few weeks, the Mariakos government was back in power. The turks said they no longer trusted the Greeks and refused to return the land to the Republic of Cyprus, leading to international outage.

Turkey then granted independence to the Northern part of Cyprus, recognising it as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Ethnic and religious tensions were once again present. But the United Nations, negotiating with the two sides established a buffer zone between the two territories to prevent the outbreak of another war. Most Muslim Turks moved to Northern Cyprus and vice versa for the Christian Greeks.

Since then, Republic of Cyprus developed and later joined the European Union, with their Northern neighbours not doing as well. Since them, Cyprus remains a divided island, especially after a proposal was refused by Greek Cypriot voters to unify the island, as the people disagreed with the terms.  But new hope has come, Mustafa Akıncı has been elected as President of Northern Cypruthis year, who said he wishes to negoicate with Cyprus to unify the island...