Good morning all! How are we this morning? I am on cup of COFFEE number two, been up since 5:30 and actually feeling pretty good. I have almost shaken off the cold/flu thing entirely and am almost ready to conquer my day (after I get ready for work, warm up my car, and pack my gym bag…) 😛
So… about the post title.
Yesterday afternoon after running home quickly after 5 pm to let the dog out, fill the stove, and grab a couple of things before I was out the door again…. I stopped by my mail box and there she was.
I knew eventually we would run into each other. I mean, it is a small world and all and I had no illusion that I would continue my life happily never crossing paths again…. in fact, I suppose in some sick twisted way, I had hoped this would happen. That I would have to face her and try again to work this crazy rivalry out.
And so it happened. She was at my mailbox…. I had my mail, I ripped open a large manilla envelope while driving (kids – only trained book lovers should attempt this)… and there she was….
Jane Eyre.
I think….
I may have screamed.
Honestly, this is not the first time I raved about her. And in all honesty, I agreed to this encounter. When Harper Perennial emailed me with a request to read and review Ms. Eyre… I had a mini fit, stomped my feet, slammed my laptop shut, eventually came back to the laptop, wiped away my tears and said….. “She is a difficult woman but yes, I would like to try.” (Honestly I did tell them that I have struggled trying to read her for years and would like the chance to try try TRY again).
So here we are. Jane and I in the same house. I think I will challenge myself to so many pages a week or something. Maybe baby steps is the way to go. I know many of you love her. I don’t know why she hates me…. but she does. I have never been able to read beyond the first few chapters without putting myself into a book coma. I think she has magical (and evil) powers and she drugs me…. there is no reason why I should not be able to love this book too… but this will be my fifth attempt.
Be strong for me.
Do you have any books that are considered by the world to be “Amazing!” “I couldn’t put it down!” BEST book ever!” and you sit on the sidelines mumbling, “yeah…. not so much.”
If so please share with me…. I would love to know I am not alone.
Oh – and if I disappear from the blogosphere….. remember…. I was last seen with Jane. She may be small… but she is feisty. 😯
Book Journey 
My Tara is like that with my all-time favorite author. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Karen Kingsbury, Tara can’t read past the first chapter! Isn’t it great how God made us all different? Kudos to you for trying again, maybe it will be fabulous;) oh, and glad to hear you’re feeling better.
Tina
I like Kingsbury too Tina! Hope you are well 🙂
You are too funny! I love Jane. I do hope you find at least a tiny bit of enjoyment this time around.
We are going to start out slow…. maybe share a cup of coffee together…. 😛
I thought Jane was terribly boring until the last time I tried. That time I not only finished it but enjoyed it. Glad you’re feeling better.
I am going to give it my best shop but if this time doesnt take Barbara, I think I will wait at least ten years before trying again 😀
About 5 years ago I started to read Wuthering Heights and did not get very far at all! Good luck with Jane! lol
I actually made it through Wuthering Heights and did not mind it… it was fun to diagnose the characters (uhh….. Kathryn is soooooo bipolar!) 😛
I managed to read Wuthering Heights, but it didn’t do much for me. I’ve never read Jane Eyre but wish you the best of luck!
I think in the case WH I was just so impressed I got through it that I remember it more fondly than I should 😀
Madame Bovary defeated me – I thought it was a yawnfest. I can’t understand the fascination with this book. Good luck on the Jane Eyre reading!
I dont think I will try that one Kaye…. even the name frightens me a bit… 😀
Good for you giving Jane a read-she is one woman I will pass on an encounter with.
I have to try Esme… so many people list her as one of the best reads and they astound me… I am so curious as to what I am missing…
Good luck with Jane. I have seen the movie and loved it but have never been able to tackle the book. Keep us updated on your progress!
If at all possible I try not to do the movie until I have read the book…. this is why to this day I have not seen Gone With The Wind. 😯
😆
I loved Jane Eyre, but another Bronte book took me down this month – Vilette. I am to the point where I don’t even want to look at it, so I’m not going to. I’ll just have to put together some articulate reasons for book club to ease my guilt.
Good luck with your current attempt! Plow on through that depressing beginning, it does get better.
Vilette Alyce? Id ont think I know that one….
Thanks for telling me it gets better 😀
I loved Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights…all of them, when I was young. I’m not so sure I would still love them; I’m almost afraid to find out.
Why? Because another classic author left me yawning in the two attempts I made. Who? Virginia Woolf. Yes, sorry, she did not inspire me. And I wanted to be….sigh.
Good luck with this attempt, but if it doesn’t grab you, remember: to each her own.
I tried Virginia Woolf during banned book week Laurel…. uh…. ugh 😀
I liked Jane Eyre the first time I read it (age 14), although I have to say that I know now that I didn’t understand it. The older I got and the more I understood, the less I liked it.
Wuthering Heights is a book I read in high school but didn’t like at the time. I have a feeling that I might like that one better as I got older.
Here’s a reward for reading Jane Eyre: The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde — it’s a hoot!
At 14? Impressive Joy…. that makes me think I should be able to do this 😀
OOH thanks for the incentive!
I love Jane Eyre! I hope you get on with her this time.
People keep telling me how amazing “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini is. I’ve tried it twice but something more interesting (to me) always comes along. Like watching paint dry or doing laundry!
Laura I listened to Kite Runenr on audio and LOVED it. I suggest you try that…. it will blow you away. 😀
dull dull and more dull…what was the point???? i really don’t like any classics actually…..good luck
A girl in my book club doesn’t like classics either…. there are a few I have enjoyed but for the most part yeah, they are awful. I liek to try though, just so I can say I did it.
I love Jane Eyre, but the book that everyone else think is amazing is Carlos Ruiz Zafon’s The Shadow of a Wind. I can’t get past the third chapter, and everyone else believes the book to be AMAZING!!! Good luck with Jane, I’m rooting for you 😀
I am glad you have a nemesis book too Elida. We book peeps need to stick together. 😀
I can’t read Jane Eyre, or Jane Austen’s books either they send me into comas maybe it’s the name Jane. To me they strike me as boring. Although I am giving Sherlock Holmes a shot.
LOL Paula! Good lock with Sherlock!
Loved Jane. 🙂 But The Poisonwood Bible – everyone raves about it – couldn’t finish the darn thing. Ugh.
Poisonwood Bible is on the shelf…haven’t attempted it yet 😀
Oh yes. Doc by Mary Doria Russell is one, and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close would be another. The Former I think is a bit of a mess, but I’ve only heard of one other person who doesn’t give it a 5. The latter, the majority of people give it a 5, but I could barely give it more than a 3. It might be better as a movie, since wouldn’t have the author’s irritating style to deal with.
I dont think I know Doc, Sarah.. the latter though I have been curious about…. tough read huh? Maybe I’ll go to the movie instead 😀
He is very fond of run on sentences, just plain long ones that could be broken into 3-4 smaller ones. One chapter was 15 pages and only one paragraph. Then odd formatting where the lines slowly begin overlapping or several ebook pages of just numbers…It was just frustrating to read. It started with a run-on sentence, so had to reread the first line several times
Oh Sarah that would drive me nuts!
I have Jane Eyre on my list to read for a classics challenge. Now I’m scared!
I hear so many good things about the book Vicki – don’t be afraid…. I think she is only mean to me. 😀
I’m the same way with Jane Austen and Herman Melville. I just don’t get it. I try, but I’m left wondering if I’m stupid or if everyone else is.
Thank you Ryan – that helps 😀
The first 100 pages or so are definitely hard to get through. You can let yourself hate the first part. But, once she leaves teaching at the school, the feel of the story and the book change drastically. I love Jane and by the end of the book, you will too. She stays true to herself. Go Jane!
Ooh thanks Heidi… that is encouraging!
You had an amazing month — 16 audio books?? Your ears must hurt if you use earbuds:)
Have a great February.
NO no…. not just audio Diane….LOL – that was my total of books and audio combined. 😀 7 were audio…. 😀
I LURVE Jane Eyre! I hope she warms up to you, because she really is lovely.
Say hi to Ms Eyre from me. We only hung out last year, but I miss her already.
I will tell her hi Alita….. 😀
All I can say is that I read it … and wondered why. To me, it was a bunch of inane chatter and drivel punctuated by “Boy, she is just a snobby busybody – I’d like to smack her a little”
.. but, again, that may be just me
Oops .. wrong book .. that one was Emma 🙂 (different author and everything)
Jane Eyre – I actually took a while to get into it, but then I couldn’t put it down – I kept wondering about the crazy woman in the attic … and I liked Jane a lot 🙂
LOL…. well I like that you are willing to smack Emma because Jane and I may go fist to fist here too…… I need to have a plan…. baby steps…. 😀