John has suggested looking over one’s bookshelf for a classic- something highly recommended by many that you bought because it was on sale or was given to you by a friend which you always meant to read but somehow never quite got around to. Well, I took a look at my bookshelf and what should I find but one that John himself was contemplating reading: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I picked it up and thought “Wait- I’ve already read this, haven’t I?”
I have seen many different film versions of Pride and Prejudice (like, at least three). I’ve heard references to it in so many different forms of media that I can’t even list them all. The names of the main love interests- Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy- are so familiar to me that I list them among other characters too well known to forget. And yet, what should I discover when I open that first page that there’s nothing- not a dog ear, not an underlined passage, not even a crease in the spine- that indicates that I’ve ever actually read the thing.
Needless to say, I was appalled. How on earth could I claim to be a lover of the written word when I’ve never even read what is arguably the best-known novel from one of the best-known authors? I’m so ashamed I feel I cannot go on one more day without repairing this horrific mistake. So I’m going to read Pride and Prejudice. And, of course, blog about it. Stay tuned.
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