Sound Alike – 2 – Awakening

Posted by kay on July 28, 2009 2:22 am in Features | 7 comments

Have you ever asked for a book of a specific title and ended up with the wrong one?

In a similar fashion to “The Artsy Shelf” and other covers’ look-alike features across the blogosphere, “Sound alike” will present books with similarities… but in their titles. Some books share incredibly similar names, and sometimes – gasp! – they’re exactly the same!

If you come across books with similar titles you’d like me to feature, don’t hesitate to tell me or e-mail me, and I’ll add your suggestion to the list! 🙂

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Considering my recent or upcoming reading, I should stay awake for a very long time. “Awakening” is a popular word in literature; take a look at this!

It all began a few weeks ago when I decided to read The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, considered to be a classic of literature.

This story of a woman’s struggle with oppressive social structures received much public contempt at its first release; put aside because of initial controversy, the novel gained popularity in the 1960s, some six decades after its first publication, and has since remained a favorite of many readers. Chopin’s depiction of a married woman, bound to her family and with no way to assert a fulfilling life of her own, has become a foundation for feminism and a classic account of gender crises in the late Victorian era.

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Soon after, I was excited to read The Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, Laurie Viera Rigler.

Rude Awakenings tells the story of Jane Mansfield, a gentleman’s daughter from Regency England who inexplicably awakens in Courtney’s overly wired and morally confused L.A. life. For Jane, the modern world is not wholly disagreeable. Her apartment may be smaller than a dressing closet, but it is fitted up with lights that burn without candles, machines that wash bodies and clothes, and a glossy rectangle in which tiny people perform scenes from her favorite book, Pride and Prejudice. Granted, if she wants to travel she may have to drive a formidable metal carriage, but she may do so without a chaperone. And oh, what places she goes!

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Then, yesterday, I started reading The Vampire Diaries by L. J. Smith. But, oh wait, this first tome was first published as two seperate books, titled The Awakening and The Fury.

Elena
Searching for the ultimate thrill, she vowed to have Stefan.

Stefan
Haunted by his tragic past, he struggled to resist her passion.

Damon
Driven by revenge, he hunted the brother who betrayed him.

The terrifying story of two vampire brothers and the beautiful girl torn between them.

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The funny thing is, I hesitated a good moment between The Vampire Diaries and The Summoning, by Kelley Armstrong. And how do you think the second book of this series is titled? You’ll never guess!

If you had met me a few weeks ago, you probably would have described me as an average teenage girl—someone normal. Now my life has changed forever and I’m as far away from normal as it gets. A living science experiment—not only can I see ghosts, but I was genetically altered by a group of people who call themselves The Edison Group. What does that mean? For starters, I’m a teenage necromancer whose powers are out of control: I raise the dead without even trying. Trust me, that is not a power you want to have. Ever.

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There is a bunch more titles with “awakening” in the title : Spring Awakening, Awakening the Buddhist Heart, etc. Lucklily for me though, these are the “only” awakenings I have on my hand!

Have you read any of these? Or is there one – or many – tempting you?