Pride and Prejudice
But anyway. Since everyone and their kid brother knows the story (and if you don’t, you should), I won’t go into it here. I was most amused by Lydia’s obliviousness and Lady Catherine’s snobbery, though many of the characters had their moments. The romance between Elizabeth and Darcy was ultimately a lot more believable than I’d expected at the beginning.
Some of the naming conventions confused me. None of the men were ever called by their first names, not even by their wives. Married women lose their first names as well, to the point where Lydia refers to “my aunt Philips” at least once. People refer to their relatives as “my” even when speaking with a joint relative; this would be like me talking to my sister about “my parents,” as if they weren’t hers as well. “Miss Bennet” was thrown around seemingly at random; at one point Jane and Lizzie were referred to as “Miss Bennet and Elizabeth”. Very strange.
Where does all the money come from? I get that people inherit their wealth, but nobody works, so surely the money runs out after a finite number of generations. I also noticed that it could be kind of stressful as a woman, since no matter how wealthy your father is, you have to marry well or go join a convent. Charlotte’s open-eyed decision to marry for financial security instead of love was a little sad but totally understandable. Anyway, it was kind of fun to read about the petty little dramas of the idle rich, and it’s a good book to have read, if only to recognize the allusions that show up in so many other stories.
A note on the audio: Reading’s character voices were subtle but quite distinct. I hope she reads other classic novels.
Also posted on BookCrossing.
by Sophie Kinsella: A cute book, but I had a bit of a problem swallowing the premise: a woman on a turbulent plane ride, fearing death, blabs all her secrets to the man next to her. (The man turns out to be the founder of the company where she works, and remembers everything she said.) What kind of nitwit responds to stress by telling a stranger how she finds g-strings uncomfortable? If you can get beyond that, it’s a pretty fun little book. I liked that I didn’t know where it was going, that I didn’t see the Big Drama coming a mile away. I mean, it wasn’t exactly a twist ending or a big mystery or anything, but it was amusing enough to keep me entertained the whole way through. I just wish I’d had a little more sympathy with the main character. I just don’t see the point of lying about your interests in order to impress somebody. If they don’t like you for who you are, what are the odds of having a good relationship with them?
by Stephenie Meyer (unabridged audiobook read by Kate Reading): A couple friends told me this was actually a pretty decent science fiction story, so as an