“She read, with an eagerness which hardly left her power of comprehension . . .”
My mom’s sister and I are pretty close. We share a love of reading, and for many years she would take me to Borders or Barnes and Noble for my birthday and we’d buy a ton of books . . . she would recommend authors she was enjoying, and we’d fill in on classics that I had missed. On one of those trips, she bought me a paperback copy of Pride and Prejudice. I put it on my shelf, but I didn’t get around to reading it for a couple of years.
My high school is on the 4/4 system, which means that I took four classes one semester and four the second semester. AP English is always for second-semester seniors, and my senior year was no exception. Just before spring break, we were given a choice of five books to read and write papers on. Since I knew I had a copy of P&P, I went with that one - even though I’m a librarian, I prefer having my own copies of books and always have.
That spring break was pretty special - I was going on a big trip. To Daytona? No. To Myrtle Beach? No. To Ocean Isle? Not even that. Actually, I went to Nashville with my dad. Oh, yeah, I’m cool! Spring break trip with my dad! hehe. One of our other AP English assignments had to do with finding resources on a career. I thought I wanted to do marketing with Christian bands, so my dad got some appointments for us in Nashville. We went to the Smalltown Poets’ release party at Rocketown, toured EMI, and saw some great bands perform. It was a good time.
But, back to Pride and Prejudice. I took it on the trip, expecting to read it during the week and get it done by the time I was back. What I didn’t count on was being completely hooked. On the way there, my dad kept trying to get me to drive, and I kept telling him no, that I had to keep reading. I had a feeling that Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy would get together, but his first proposal completely shocked me. I gasped so loudly that my dad was sure something was wrong. Arrogant Mr. Darcy in love with Elizabeth Bennet the whole time!? It was unbelievable. And unbelievably romantic.
The problem was that I finished the book on the way there. So, during the week, I read it again. And finished it again. Luckily, I drove most of the way home, so I didn’t have to start it for the third time in a week. When I got back to school, some of the other girls (I think all the girls chose P&P, but none of the guys did) were having trouble getting into the language, and I kept encouraging them to stick with it. My excitement was contagious, and it was fun to watch the story unfold for them just like it had for me.
It’s hard for me to believe I was 17 before reading it. I had read the Bronte sisters (and I honestly am not a huge fan of Wuthering Heights or Jane Eyre) and Jane Austen and the Brontes are often stepping-stones to one another. Somehow I missed that connection. Now I re-read Pride and Prejudice on a regular basis, and Mike was good enough to buy me the DVD series. One of the things I love about him is that he likes the miniseries, too. I’ll catch him saying things like, “She is tolerable, I suppose,” or, “Then go to it!” He also loves to imitate Mrs. Bennet. He even started reading the book, and was getting into the language and the story more than he expected.
For me, reading is often about that experience. What was I doing when Mr. Darcy proposed to Elizabeth Bennet, or when Sherlock Holmes first kissed Mary Russell [in the kitchen, reading while eating chips and salsa]? How about when Harriet Vane finally gave in to Lord Peter and they passionately embraced in the middle of the road [in bed reading one Saturday morning at my aunt's house]? What about when I fell in love with Anne Lamott’s self-depricating style [taking a bubble bath after a long day when Mike was out of town]? Not only does re-reading take me back to those familiar characters - it also takes me back to where I was when I first discovered them.
April 7th, 2004 at
I’ve never been particularly interested in reading that book, but I might give it a consideration after reading this entry.
The Spring Break trip sounds fab, btw.
April 7th, 2004 at
where was I when Saul Bellow took me on a trip to africa with henderson the rain king… in my flip flops on the back porch at my parents house…
how about when garrison keillor first told me about hiding a nudy magazine inside his science digest… the 3rd night after we bought our new house..sitting on my matress in the middle of the living room floor..
how about when Chris Offutt told me that Morehead State University was not a college.. but a highschool with ashtrays.. in “No Heros”… eating lunch at 3rd Ave. cafe…
its funny.. I never thought about how I connect memories and reading…
April 7th, 2004 at
you leave my copy of P&P alone roomie, I have to reread it now! By the way Kari, do you take highlighers to your books? Its something Ive been doing this past year.
oh and taking trips with my dad is cool. heck, my trip to Va started with this conversation:
Me: “No way! Caedmons isnt coming to the west coast this tour!Stinks!”
Dad: “Well how about you and I take a plane trip somewhere to see them, like Texas, arnt they from Texas? They’d have shows there right?”
Me: “Im sure they would! Let me check some dates…”
After long time planning, my dad was never able to get work off to take me to a Caedmons show, so thats how the one in Va worked. My dad is cool.
April 7th, 2004 at
Arthur Dent began his misadventures in the booth by the window at Chu’s Express Chinese restaraunt.
I thought Pippen was crushed to death under a troll at my kitchen table.
a group of dwarves invaded the home of a fat little hobbit on a cold february day in Panera.
I read things or hear about parts in stories and immediately think of where I was when I read it.
April 8th, 2004 at
I am glad I am not the only one who does this.
Alisa, I don’t write in my books. I am not all that careful about the spine of a book, but I don’t like to write in them for some reason.
April 8th, 2004 at
you give me hope for finishing P&P.
and myrtle beach is not all its cracked up to be, i had gone there last weekend. the nashville trip sounded awesome!
April 9th, 2004 at
I write in books.
I also like Jane Eyre.
April 9th, 2004 at
What do you like about Jane Eyre? I like it much much better than Wuthering Heights, but it’s not one that I re-read very often.
June 1st, 2004 at
[...] e I realize who exactly the man who saved Scout and Jem is. -Pride and Prejudice. I have already detailed my feeli [...]
February 13th, 2005 at
I do write in books when I have to work with them, otherwise I don’t see the need. I’m very careless with the way my books look, as I like reading wherever I am (bathtub, underground, restaurant, …). The books I like best look worst bec they had to suffer a lot when being read and re-read. Like P&P.