Re-Reading "Pride and Prejudice"

This is the third time I've read this book, and I enjoy it more every time. And in this re-reading, I find some of the illustrations in my copy most amusing!

(It's hard to see, but the sign over Jane's head reads "Not for Sale.")

What To Read Next? Pride and Prejudice!

 

Home Sweet Home

And so it is with reading Irene Hunt's "Up a Road Slowly" again. 

Simply amazing! 

*sigh*

A Little Something my Mom sent me.

 For Elizabeth and Lydia, regarding the ending of The Treasure of Heaven.

A Rose Named William Shakespeare

Stamps?

          While reading our current book, The Treasure Of Heaven, I came across two one-cent stamps fused onto the page.  At one point someone had clearly tried to remove them but only managed to tear part of the page away.  So my reading is done for tonight, I will borrow one of my fellow society members' copies tomorrow so I do not miss any of the details.  Definitely not something you find every day; the book itself is one hundred and seven years old, I wonder how old the stamps are?

     

From my Favorite Book Club Book so Far

"Better to struggle through life with a broken wing than to have no wings at all."

-- The Dean's Watch by Elizabeth Goudge

Wisdom from Anne Shirley

"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is new day with no mistakes in it yet?"

-- Anne of Green Gables

A Bit of Book Humor. Happy Independence Day!

"O Brave New World . . ."

“O, wonder!

How many goodly creatures are there here!

How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,

That has such people in't!

                   -Miranda from Shakespeare’s The Tempest

          I shudder when I read Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World. Not because of how inhumane, mechanical, and extraordinary the future world of Huxley’s portrays, but how merely eighty-two years later Huxley’s fictional future does not seem so farfetched.  The other day I was perusing around facebook when I stumbled upon these . . .  

          I felt a chill creep up and down my spine.  The scene from Brave New World where John Savage tries to rally a group consisting of dozens of identical faces flashed through my mind.  Bred in bottles to perform mundane tasks these unquestioning people stand puzzled as John begs them to turn against the life they have always known.  John entreats them to turn away from the drugs, sex, a thoughtless and godless existence, but when he starts throwing their precious soma, their drug holidays, out the window a riot ensues.  Individualism creates chaos.  Thinking is dangerous.  Questioning is treacherous. 

          I stop and ask myself, how often do I parrot or pass on what someone else has said to save time?  Do I avoid the inconvenience of forming my own words and ideas?  Do I rely on authorities instead of God?  Would I give up freedom for security?  Do I follow the crowd?  I pray my answer is no.  But I must admit; being different, swimming upstream, taking the road less traveled, it can be very tiring.  Would I change my choices?  Looking back over decisions I have made I do wish I could go back and change some of them.  But each of those choices has shaped me into who I am; the good choices, and the bad ones.  Would I want some person who “knows better” to make all my decisions?  Would I give up faith for facts?  No!  I can learn from my mistakes, I can overcome struggles.  I can handle pain, loss, and disappointment.  Because giving up all that unpleasantness would mean giving up all their counterparts too; love, joy, happiness, faith, and hope.  I am imperfect, but I have free will.  I make mistakes, but I learn.  I am uncertain, but I have faith.  I am an individual.                    

Just Not Brave Enough

Currently reading Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and liking it about as much as I have on previous read-throughs (which is to say, NOT so much -- too scary . . . and sad). Sad that a blatant "warning" against so many attitudes-actions-ideas somehow became a handbook and guide, with great success I mourn. Pardon me if I refrain from applauding the proliferation of Facebook "bumper-sticker" posting mentality. I'm just not Brave enough for this New World, it seems. 

 

 

  feeling sad.

Where Has the Time Gone?

          Oh my, has it really been that long?  I am afraid my neglect has partially been due to blogger issues.  When I previously tried to change the side lists to properly reflect what we were reading it would not let me.  But things seem to be working again, so now I can get things up to date!

          We finished up Huck Finn, it was quite the trip.  Traveling down the Mississippi via raft can lead to many scrapes, close calls, and crazy adventures.  After concluding that book, we deviated from reading just one novel and opted for several short stories by Ernest Hemingway, and also several by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  Two incredible writers with drastically different styles, yet their choice of death, tragedy, and sadness as favorite topics made them very compatible reading companions.

          Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame was our lighthearted antidote, but do not be fooled into thinking it is merely a children’s story; in fact, I would argue that Toad is a very poor example and you should warn young readers to beware of the devious amphibian.  Our book club loved the writing style, very proper English, especially compared to the southern-vernacular writing style used by Mark Twain.  At times, we doubted they were speaking English at all!

          As of this week, we finished up A Year in Provence, a memoir by Peter Mayle sharing, as the title so clearly states, about his first year living in France.  A very enjoyable read, but I should warn you not to read this on an empty stomach, for anything and everything seems to center on food and the author kindly shares the sights, smells, and tiny details of countless feasts.  Our next book, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, will take us out of cozy reading into a very different type of literature -- a much deeper, darker kind of literature . . . dun, dun, dun!

         Well, I think that covers everything so far.  I intend to be much more on top of our little literary place in future.   Till next time, keep on reading!  

Decor 101

Book Moles

We have a creature invading the house.  We believe it is a book mole.  You know, those small creatures that create little book mounds all over the place that seem to grow when no one is looking.  No one has actually seen the creature, but no one will claim the book piles as their own either.  So we either have a book mole, a reading ghost, or several avid readers who do not take the time to put their own books away and just keep adding to the already existing piles.  I am going to stick with the book mole.  

Kite or Spool?

My cousin, recently introduced me to figment.com, and now I am slightly addicted to it.  If you are an aspiring novelist or an avid reader, you need to check out this sight.  Here, I will start you off with a little story that tugged at my heart and delighted my imaginations; Jem and Pearl.  So, I have to ask, are you a kite or a spool? 

Upside, Downside, Downton Abbey

We recently discovered the beautiful, dramatic, heartfelt, secretive, and slightly scandalous series Downton Abbey.  A friend loaned us season one, which we devoured in less than a week, and we are now crawling our way up the library’s waiting list for season two.  I admit I am a junkie when it comes to British period dramas, and having to wait has been a good exercise in patience.  As we are only number five on the list, I will have to pacify myself with another great television series while I wait.  It does not have quite as much drama (and the main characters are orange), but Sesame Street should get me through till Downton Abbey arrives.