I'm going to admit, I've never read a book by Jane Austen. Shocking I know considering my love for literature and all things Bronte, Alcott and sappy. In all honesty when I was in college we were supposed to read Pride and Prejudice (I think that was the one) and I guess I was busy that semester because I just got the basic run down every day before class (Thanks Katy!) and somehow managed to pass the quizzes. Maybe I did myself a disservice but I think its good I haven't read Austen. I just don't think there are enough chocolates and tissues in the world to get me through one of her novels.
I'm not really sure where to go with this review. Not really knowing much about Austen's life or her works- besides what I remember from the film version of Mansfield Park, I didn't really have an expectation for what I was going to read. Really- I just thought the cover looked kinda cool (Yes, I just judged another book by its cover. Sue me.) But what I read came out as sort of a surprise. Jane Austen Ruined My Life was the story of Emma, a woman who has based her whole career on the study of Austen, only to have her real life romance to crumble. One might find the story a bit cliche but the characters and storyline, I truly believe, would have made Austen proud. I think she would have enjoyed the twist and turns this novel took and the true conclusion to the central conflict. Although, if what Pattillo said in this book is true and Jane Austen really didn't want the world to know about her- she might actually have been apalled at the secrets that have been revealed around her and that there are actually people out there who would devote their whole lives just to study and to teach others about her own.
Which brings me to the one thing this novel made me think about- celebrity. Austen was a gentleman's daughter. The couple of things she had published before her death did not have her name on them. The scandal that would have been involved in the fact she was a female writer would have overshadowed what she wanted the world to gain from her written word.. yet today we have instant fame. Show your lady bits on a reality show and you're on the cover of every smutty magazine in the checkout aisle at the grocery story. We've come a long way and I personally think it's disgusting. We're teaching our girls to grow up to be pop stars and porn stars and smart mouthed clones of whoever is popular at the moment. I think we should be teaching more about the women who made such an impact on society and did it quietly and with grace and dignity. If we don't- I'm scared something important may be lost.
That's all you get for this week. Hopefully it was enough to make you think and to make you want to read this novel. Its definately worth picking up!
Up next week: Gesundheit by Patch Adams.
7/52 Books
2211 Pages Read.
Life has been hectic lately, and my world has completely flipped upside down -hence the reason this blog is coming in at the last minute (Even thought I finished the book days ago!) For one, I decided in my quest for world domination (or just to find myself) that my job wasn't exactly what I wanted and so I decided to move on. I've decided what I want to do for now... I'm just gonna have to figure out how to get there. That's not unlike the character in this Everyone Worth Knowing. I did bond with Bette that way... we both knew in the back of our minds what we wanted but were to stubborn to admit it to ourselves. Seems we both have a thing for bumpy roads.
Its odd, this isn't at all what I was planning to write about when I sat down to do this particular blog. I was going to talk about how much this book drove me nuts. I was going to talk about how cliche this main character was and how her exploits left me feeling anxious enough to have to lay down the book on several occasions and walk away. She was an event planner. Her life was fast paced and as someone who is dealing with the exact same thing right now- it left me feeling tired. I was so pissed at Lauren Weisberger for writing about another socialite who gets what she wants and it all just happens to fall into her lap. I was going to complain about all that and now... it seems minute compared to the other theme at hand... and actually not at all true.
Why is it that some of us (ahem, Bette & Me) feel the need to run from what we're good at? Why do we take every curve and bump and bypass and sideways bike trail to finally end up where we're supposed to be all along? It seemed to me that all the good things fell into Bette's lap and it just really made me angry... and a little jealous! But now, a week and one letter of resignation later, I realize just because something falls into your lap, doesn't mean that its necessarily for you. Bette fell into this world of movie premiers, cocktail parties, trendy night club launches and gossip columns and it thrust her straight into the arms of America's most sought after playboy (How unoriginal is that storyline! Ha!) It felt like she had everything that a girl in her mid twenties could want. Don't lie, we've all dreamed about what it might be like to be famous. But then she realized it wasn't what she thought it would be. I think she honestly realized she'd never even thought to think about what it should be like. Man I do that all the time!
Why do we sell ourselves short? Why do we take the long way? Why do we make things so much harder for ourselves? Why is self truth so hard to accept?
I can truly see now why some people walk away from perfectly amazing things every day. I can see that because I did it this week and Bette did it and my best friend recently did it and I'm sure my mom has done it and my great great great great great grandfather probably did it. Just because something is good for you doesn't mean its good for me and I think that's the lesson that we can't truly learn until we start to make decision for ourselves- based on what we truly want and who we truly are. Sadly, for each person who has walked away from wonderful things for the sake of their own happiness, there are two more who never walk away because they think they're supposed to be someone they aren't.
So while I hated Lauren Weisbergers book at first, it's grown on me and it was completely fitting for what's been on my mind these past few days. Yes its kinda cliche, but aren't we all?
6/52 Books
1941 Pages Read.
