books: February

5. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen. 1813.

Feb 1-8

AAAAAAAAH MR. DARCY AND ELIZABETH FOREVER AND EVER

It took me a long, long time to come around to reading P&P; I've had the book on my bookshelf for what's probably long past a decade. In a way I think it's a good thing I waited to read this classic novel - for one, the massive literary crush on Mr. Darcy is much less soul-consuming now than it probably would have been when I was in middle school.

As for the novel itself, it was lovely. The characters had humanity, the dialogue was sharp with no line wasted, and the plot chugged along at a nice pace. I found the beginning rather annoying, though it was mostly because I so desperately did not want to like Pride & Prejudice, but when Mr. Collins was introduced he was such an ass that I was fascinated, and by the time the ending rolled around I was deeply, deeply in like of everything about the story. (Particularly Mr. Darcy!) Seeing Elizabeth slowly get over her prejudice against Mr. Darcy was a real literary treat.

The only issue I have is all the Miss Bennetts. There are five Miss Bennetts, can we please just clarify? With first names? The moment there's more than one Miss in a scene it becomes ridiculously confusing trying to keep up in conversation. Other than that minor pet peeve, however, I do find it nice how everyone is called "Mr." or "Mrs." or "Miss". "Mr. Darcy" - it just has a very nice ring to it.

Now that I have adequately hammered people in the head with my Mr. Darcy-obsession, I am finished.

6. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk. 1996.

Feb 13-

Lovely as the book was, I'm going to have to stick by what I first thought when I finished reading - I like the movie better. It's easier to have a visceral reaction to seeing things played out on the screen, and while it can be seen as taking the easy way out, this story is one meant to punch you in the face with the sheer feeling of it all.

Put this off too long, and now I don't remember everything it was I wanted to write. Ugh. I haven't been too good about keeping up with reading, but hopefully I can finish up at least one more book before the end of March.

Still on my to-read list:

1. Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, Steig Larsson
2. Game Change, John Heilemann & Mark Halperin
3. 9-11, Noam Chomsky
4. Heart of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
5. Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond