This is for the handful of you who were astonished to hear that I have never read Pride and Prejudice. And for the few of you who have been rooting me on through all my vain attempts. It started two years ago when my high school English teacher found out. I'm told this is intolerable--especially for an English minor! With the best of intentions, I bought a copy (for a quarter). I think in my first attempt, I made it as far as page 7 before I got sidetracked, and the book found itself back on the shelf. So over the past 2 years, I have tried at least 6 times to get into that book, each time resulting in increased failures. I never made it past chapter 3. Understand, this is not at all like me. I love to read just about anything I can get my hands on. With each attempt, I grew more proud and prejudiced toward this exasperating book.
After all, this directly defies the "Rules of Readership Satisfaction" #1. which of course states that the first few pages of any book should immediately draw the reader into the story. I fear the second rule was also in danger of being violated. Any book that prompts a reader into a slumber on more than one occasion is thus vanquished to the new function of 'doorstop.'
However, due to the number of gasps I received at the neglect of this precious classic, I am giving it yet another chance. Drum roll please.....I am past chapter 10 and could scarcely put it down in order to write this post.
Those of you who are loyal to the end to this book, please don't have me drawn a quartered for not appreciating it from the start. (I think that is also somewhere in the "Rules of Readership Satisfaction"--something about the proper recourse towards those who refuse to pledge their allegiance to the value of good books).
I will blame my original perception of the book, not on its character which I had thought boring, but on the fact that I must have been too busy. Thus any book of substantial length would have received the same treatment. For all intents and purposes, I am sufficiently hooked and will see this book to the last page (at least once).
4 comments:
Heather,
don't do it.
The book is beneath you - please just admit that it belongs as a doorstop or as a sponge to soak up the water from a leaky roof or anything. But don't read it.
Heather, I can't believe you would do such a thing as reading a book to the finish. Knowing you and how much you "HATE" reading books, HOW DARE YOU?!?!?! Well, to all truthfullness, I never read that book, so I can't be for it or against it. But you know what they all say, ""The book is better than the movie""... I like to be different then, I'd much rather watch the movie than to read the book. That is what sisters and friends are for. If ya watch a movie that is base off of a book, they'll just tell you what is happening when you are lost. Then after the movie, they'll just go into the deep stuff and tell you other things about the movie that was wrong, or what should've been there. People get discourage when they watch a movie after reading the book and finding out that it wasn't what they thought it would be. Now with me, I don't have to worry about being discouraged about such crazzie things. Soo, what I am trying to get at is, WAY TO GO on ya 285,713,285,614,037,589,687,668,746,597th try of reading a book that just didn't catch ya eyes at page 1. {I bet ya couldn't count that high even if you wanted to..}
Forget Josh's opinion--it's a great book! Storyline maybe not far off the average, but the characters make it definitely worth your read. Enjoy!
Okay. Seriously, I know you have recanted, but how could you try so many times and not get anywhere? There is a reason everyone that reads that book likes it, and it doesn't have to do with girlish fantasies about Darcy. The characters are interesting, their conversations border from flippant to fascinatingly profound, and there are so many identifiable elements for the reader. It's a great book, worth the 20 or so times I have read it.
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