Barnes and Noble Classics...

So...I was reading the Beautiful and Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald.  And it started off good...and then it got really boring and depressing.  So for my sanity and well being, I am reading Pride and Prejudice for probably the eighth time and LOVING it as if I had read it for the first time.  I will finish the Beautiful and Damned because I have made a vow to finish all of the books that I start...it just might be longer than I originally intended.

Pretty picture...slow read.

okay picture...wonderful read.

I was subconsciously inspired to read pride and prejudice when I was at a bonfire a couple of weeks ago.  My friend Elisabeth and I were taking a stroll past a rather large magnolia tree and it just seemed really similar to that scene in the new Pride and Prejudice movie where Caroline Bingley and Elizabeth Bennet take a turn around the room as Mr. Darcy watches...anyway...I had to read it again or I was going to die of boredom from the other book.  Thankfully my parents brought my copy with the rest of my stuff.

Reading this book again made me think about why I love the story so much.  Obviously, just saying I like it is not a good enough reason.  If I learned anything in design school it was that "I like it" is never a good enough reason.  I have come up with many reasons as to why I like it and here they are!

1.  Jane Austen's style of writing in this particular book makes me laugh because she seems to make fun of the society in which she lives.

2.  You get sucked into the words of the story and are transported to another time.  You experience dancing, flirting, courting, dowries, fashion, servants, knighthood, wealth, and the list could go on.  You see the importance (or lack thereof) of women back in that time period.  You are not an onlooker on this family, you are a part of the family.  Mrs. Bennet might as well be trying to set you up with a man...you are that involved (Mr. Bingley would be my top choice...just in case anyone was wondering).

3.  I know I am reading a good book when a wide range of my emotions come to the surface.  In this book I laugh, cry, become happy, get really angry, am extremely annoyed, am curious, detest, forgive, etc.  All in one book.  That is just crazy in my opinion.

4.  I read this book with an English accent in my head.  In fact, all the characters have their own version of my bad english accent.  I do this subconsciously and I just realized that I did this the other day.

5.  I really enjoy the fact that the title of the story is not just the attribute for one character.  It is a theme through the whole book.  Mr. Darcy is not just Proud...he is also Prejudiced.  The same with Elizabeth, and many of the other characters in the story.  It is well thought out and I appreciate that.

6.  It is romantic...wonderfully romantic.

Ok, that was kind of boring.  I started this post just to mention that I love the Barnes and Noble Classics...Pride and Prejudice being one of them.  They are cheap, and they have really pretty pictures on the cover.  They are also really colorful.  If you are looking for a good read, you should check out the classics...and if you have never read Pride and Prejudice...I suggest you get on that.