How is everyone doing so far?
I should be completing Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice late this evening or tomorrow night. My reading time has been limited this week by the start of school. As the old prostitute said, it’s not the work, it’s the commute. Mine was made worse when the district I work for decided to start school later. Something about improved learning for high schoolers if they can get up a half hour later.
I don’t know, nor really care very much to be honest, about how effect a later start time will be, but it has put me smack in the middle of commute traffic both going and coming. You’re going to recommend audio-books, which is a great idea, but I cannot focus on an audio book for more than ten minutes. I’ve tried; I just can’t do it. Music on Spotify has really helped, but there’s much less time for recreational reading. There’s also the issue of longer afternoons without air-conditioning which won’t go in until next summer. It has not been easy for the new seventh graders in an 82 degree classroom, but we’ll muddle through. I did ask, the school board to delay the early start but they’d apparently read a study about early start times and there’s no standing in the way of an administration that’s read a study.
Meanwhile, I’m into volume three of Pride and Prejudice and loving it, overall, though volume three is not as much fun as the first two parts were. Elizabeth Bennet is just much more fun before she realizes how wrong she’s been about Mr. Darcy. Now she seems engaged in a long mea culpa that will lead to the inevitable finish. Still, Pride and Prejudice is a delight, much better than Sense and Sensibility in my opinion. I should have a full review up later this week.
How about you? Are you reading Austen in August?
May Contain Spoilers 
I’m less than a third into it but plan to finish it by next weekend. It’s probably been a good 20 years since I read it last but I’ve seen the BBC mini series with Colin Firth and the movie version with Keira Knightley so many times that I haven’t forgotten the story by any means. But I love rediscovering some of the wonderful conversations and dialogue in this novel. I agree, I like it better than Sense and Sensibility.
I’m interested to hear what people think of the third part. I still loved it, but it bordered on pendantic a few times.
I finished it and loved the book. It was a reread, but as far as the book, there was a lot I had forgotten. I just put up my review today and it is here: https://bitterteaandmystery.blogspot.com/2017/08/pride-and-prejudice-jane-austen.html
Finished it, loved it, my review will be up tomorrow.
love your comment about administrators and their report fixations. Just mention the word consultant and they start drooling
Oh, James–
I do bemoan with you the longer commutes! And no air-conditioning with kids who are easily distractible anyway, even if weather conditions are perfect.
I bemoan the long commutes because I, too, have a hard time listening to audiobooks. I discovered that I can listen to biographies, memoir, and really, really dumb fiction okay, but normal fiction and literary fiction and short stories, forget it. If you miss a few lines in a biography, it’s still okay–you haven’t lost the whole life. Same with nonfiction.
Also there are some great podcasts that are downloadable. I love Tom Ashbrook’s “On Point” program (NPR).
I’m into Volume 3 of Pride and Prejudice as well. I think I will finish within about three days. I have loved it, as if for the first time, after not having reread it for all these decades. I totally see your point about Volumes 1 and 2, as opposed to Volume 3.