In the High Peaks
















Thursday, September 7, 2017

Weekend Prayers: Time for Mansfield Park and Other Books

As I've noted in a previous post, this September in particular is an overly busy one for me--not of my choosing. So I've got to capture reading moments and cling to them for dear life!

Because I'm determined to read and finish Mansfield Park this month, I must move forward with serious intent on Saturday and Sunday this weekend--not to the exclusion of outdoor activities, by any means. I guess I'm saying I need to make use of every bit of spare time this weekend that I can to move forward in MP, because it is, after all, I think, Jane Austen's longest book, at about 420 dense pages. Determined to finish it this month for James's Read-along of James Reads Books (see sidebar).

So far I'm finding it a bit of a challenge, as far as themes are concerned. And I do enjoy and feel rewarded by tackling the challenge. More to come on this topic as I read along! I highly recommend this novel, based on the first 60 pages. Such complexity!

THUS! Because MP is dense, I must have another less complex book going, and I've grabbed Sue Grafton's N is for Noose, which is proving to be just the light-hearted private detective sort of thing. For those of you who know me, it's amazing that I haven't picked up a Grafton novel in 19 months!! In this one, Lindsay is stuck in the fictional Lake Nota in the middle of the Yosemite region. It's not a happy place where she's working either, which is typical for Lindsay. In any case, the mystery is excellent fodder for that half-hour before falling asleep.

4 comments:

  1. I think Mansfield Park is the only JA I haven't read and I honeslty don't know why that is. I've certainly enjoyed the various dramatisations I've seen, especially the 1999 one with Jonny Lee Miller.

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    1. I'm enjoying the story and the challenge. I'm only 60 pages in, but the writing and the concepts are a bit more difficult than in Pride and Prejudice or in Northanger Abbey, for example. But it's definitely worth the trouble. My only hang-up is this: Can I finish by the end of the month? I'll just have to do the best I can and hope (?) for some sleepless nights!
      I'd love to see the film when I've finished because I've heard a great deal about it.

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  2. I've still never read a Sue Grafton novel--sounds like a good airplane book.

    Hope you're enjoying Mansfield Park--it gets a bad rap but I find it very enjoyable. Mrs. Norris is definitely a nasty piece of work--poor Fanny.

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    1. Hi Jane,
      I do recommend that you give Grafton a try--I know it's not everyone's taste, but I find Lindsay Millhone's brand of quirkiness marvelous. She's not into the usual feminine trappings. No time or taste for make-up, lives on a shoestring, doesn't mind spending a night in her car, minimal attention to attire, full of really snarky comments on the people she runs into. They're not intended to meanness, they're just spot-on for her somewhat cynical point of view on humanity and life. A good catch!

      As for Mansfield Park--I'm finding it to be so absorbing, in part because I have to concentrate so hard on it to fully catch the nuances. It's an amazing book. I would tend to agree with Jane Austen that it is her best book.

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