"She is tolerable, I suppose"

Dear readers, I am not sure if I have mentioned my intense LOVE affair with Jane Austen books and movies. I have seen Pride and Prejudice countless numbers of times. I have read Emma so many times I have certain passages memorized. And don’t even get me started on how many times my friend Ann and I have watched Colin Firth coming out of that pond in Pemberley dripping wet in that white, see-though shirt, and …. Oh, goodness, is it hot in here?

I LOVE Jane Austen.

Anyway, aforementioned friend Ann informed me there was a whole genre of Pride and Prejudice prequels and sequels (not written by Austen, of course) that I simply had to start reading. Why, you ask, would I want to read a book about Darcy and Elizabeth that was not written by Jane Austen, when I worship her every written word? Because there is SEX in them.

I’ve decided to start reading any and all derivations of Pride and Prejudice. The other Jane Austen freaks in the internet claim that I should start with the series written by Pam Aidan, starting with “An Assembly Such as This: A Novel of Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman.”

Where to start? First, I LOVED it.

The ONLY downside to Jane Austen novels is that because she was so intent on writing strong, yet often silly women, her leading men’s characters were often overlooked and therefore, mysterious. WHY was Darcy so proud? WHY was Darcy so arrogant? WHY did he fall so passionately in love with Elizabeth when his behavior indicated that she was “not handsome enough to tempt” him?

Aidan attempts to answer these many questions. Written from Darcy’s point of view, we learn that Darcy indeed had a sense of humor, that he and Mr. Bingley shared their disdain of Miss Bingley’s attraction to Darcy and that he had, in fact, a HUGE crush on Elizabeth.

It’s good ya’ll. Darcy is written as painfully shy, very human, afraid of rejection and still terribly worried about his younger’s sister obvious depression after Wickham’s thwarted attempt to elope with her. Some new characters in Darcy’s life are introduced, my favorite being his valet, Fletcher, who apparently schemes for ways to place Darcy and Elizabeth to interact with each other.

This is the first in a three part series. I’ll be soon reading part 2, Duty and Desire. The first in the series only takes us through ball that Bingley hosted and I'm anxious to read about Darcy and Elizabeth's time together in Kent, at his aunt's estate. That where the sparks really started to fly.

More to come.

Review: A Walk in the Woods

If I could be anything in the world, I would be a skinny, talented chef with extremely thick hair and a good wardrobe. HOWEVER, since the world already has a Giada di Laurentis, my second dream career would be an extremely successful travel writer. Alas, the world already has a Bill Bryson as well. So, I guess I will have to continue my semi-successful career as a training program manager for a large retail company. Boo.

If you have a love for travel, or a love for humor, you must simply run to your nearest bookstore and pick up a copy of a Bill Bryson book. My personal favorite thus far is In a Sunburned Country, but I truly enjoyed A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail as well.

In this book, Bryson and his college friend Katz, both middle-aged and out of shape, endeavor to hike the Appalachian Trail, which begins in Georgia and culminates in Maine.

The moral of most Bryson novels are, as the old saying goes, “it’s about the journey, not the destination.” The account of his Bryson’s actual hike takes a backseat to the cast of characters he encounters along the AT trail, as well as his newfound friendship with Katz, whom he hasn’t seen in more than 20 years. My favorite portions of the books were the passages of he and Katz attempting to get along and agree over how many Snickers bars to carry in their packs.

That’s not to say that the destination doesn’t feature heavily into the story. Bryson’s excellent research into the national parks services and conservancy is heavily featured in the book as well. We can be left with no doubt Bryson’s poor opinion about the shocking lack of governance in most of the major parks on the East coast.

I truly enjoyed about 80 percent of this book, but I will admit that the 20 percent of the book was a bit slow. Katz and Bryson decided not the hike the AT in entirely and each went their separate ways for a month or two. During this time, Bryson hiked through Pennsylvania on his own. During these stretches, the book dragged a bit, which suggests to me that Bryson didn’t realize that the strength of this book lies in his unusual relationship with Katz.

I’m a huge fan of walking in general and hiking in particular, and I’ve never had the chance to see any of the national parks on the East Coast. My interest in the Smoky Mountain and Shenandoah national parks has been piqued by this book. I highly recommend this book for a quick read, especially if you are interested in travel writing.

books (and vicadin) are good therapy

Well, dear readers, I was hoping, in about two weeks to tell you my extremely exciting news that my husband and I were expecting our first baby as soon as I passed my first trimester. However, in what proved to be the worst weekend of my life, I had a miscarriage and Ryan and I are trying to figure out how to deal. It’s very strange how attached and invested a couple can become to a 10-week fetus. We are incredibly sad and depressed, but we are confident that this is just a temporary roadblock.

When I’m depressed, a few things happen: I can’t sleep, I can’t eat, I like to exercise, I like to cook, I like to do laundry and I like to read. Well, since I am currently lying on the sofa under the influence of some awesome narcotics and I’m unable to exercise, do laundry, cook or sleep … it’s a good thing that my friends at Paperback Swap came to my rescue. Because I have THE BEST TBR pile sitting beside me and I don't have to go back to work until Monday.

I’m about halfway through the hysterical A Walk in the Woods, by Bill Bryson, which is an absolutely fascinating account of his hike along the Appalachian Trail. (KK and Denise, you will have to read this one. Lots of great facts about parks conservancy.)

Next will be An Assembly Such as This, by Pamela Aidan. I am absolutely chomping at the bit to get started on this account of Pride and Prejudice from Mr. Darcy’s point of view. My love for all things Jane Austen knows no bounds. Tell me a story about a pianoforte and an assembly in Merryton and I’m THERE.

Third will be Entering Normal, by Anne D. Leclaire. I have NO idea what it’s about, but it got 5 stars on all 32 customer reviews on Amazon. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Next will be While I Was Gone, by Sue Miller. I LOVED The Good Mother, even though the movie sucked and I have high hopes for this one too.

Finally, I have the White Boned Demon which is universally agreed upon as the best biography written about Madame Mao. I’m really excited.

I will hopefully be providing some reviews quickly.