My Favorite Book

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

Can you guess my favorite book? If you haven't, I'll tell you. My favorite book is Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I read it every summer, and every time I find something new that I love. This is my copy:

It's a little beat up, to wit: the cover is gone. See the slight glare? That's the new cover I made out of packing tape (I'm quite the MacGyver).

Now look at the inside:

As you can see, I've gone a little English major-y on it. Underlining my favorite lines, making little notes in the margins... I know many of you are thinking of what a sap I am to have such a romantic book as my favorite (and that's definitely a major draw), but I really enjoy the actual writing in addition to the storyline. Her writing is very subtle. She enables you to know the feelings and thoughts of her characters in a way that isn't obvious; a great example of showing and not telling. Austen gives the reader the opportunity to think, involving themselves in the story. She shows characteristics through actions and words, rather than coming out and saying it. For example, anyone reading the book gets a sense of George Wickham's hypocrisy, foreshadowing his part later in the story, without Austen ever having to write those specific words.

Austen is also very witty. I especially love Mr Bennet's dryly sarcastic comments about or towards Mr Collins. They're understated enough that they can go over the head of someone simple-minded like Mr Collins. There are also some great one-liners that I particularly appreciate, such as "Such squeamish youths as cannot bear to be connected with a little absurdity are not worth a regret", "Think only of the past as its remembrance brings you pleasure", and of course that classic line of Mr Darcy's declaration of love: "In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you". How great is that?

Well, now that you've all read my exciting rant, I'll offer the apology that perhaps a few of you are looking for: I know I said that my next post would involve Han Solo et al., but I'm not ready to write it! I need to do more...research (aka a Star Wars marathon on Friday), plus I was watching that lovely six hour, A&E/BBC version of P&P and became inspired to write this post.

Thanks for reading :)