My Jane Austen Collection

The first classic novel I ever truly fell in love with was Pride and Prejudice. I needed a book for my tenth grade English class for our reading time (don't ask me why 16-year-olds had reading time in an honors English class). My friend Jessica offered her copy of Pride and Prejudice, and I took it thinking, "in desperate times..." While I didn't get very far in the 42 minutes I had to read it, I was immediately intrigued by the book. After borrowing friends and family's copies a couple of times, I bought my own. Now, as you can see, I am the proud owner of four Jane Austen books: two copies of Pride and Prejudice, one copy of Emma, and a collection of four books (Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion). Why Jane Austen, you ask? I really love Austen's writing. Her way of story telling involves me in the story (and allows me to forgive her for unnecessary long descriptions ;)). Plus, her history has always intrigued me, and I can't help but wish she wrote an autobiography.

• First up is The Works of Jane Austen. My dad got this for me when Borders was going out of business with my Christmas copy of Pride and Prejudice (below). I was excited to get this, because I wanted to read more of Austen's work and this way I didn't have to buy her entire collection. I started reading Emma in this book and loved it so much I went out and bought a copy of just that novel at Half Price Books. I'm hoping to start reading Sense and Sensibility or Persuasion next summer when I can carry this around.
• Next is my "beautiful" copy of Pride and Prejudice. I wanted a pretty copy not just for my high school senior pictures, but also since my first copy was a cheap version with a sickly looking woman on the front. I haven't read this yet, mostly because I can't quite bare to break the spine. I know it's not a really expensive copy or anything; but I like knowing I have this pristine copy on my shelf I can always just look at, if I wanted to.
• And then we have the "much-loved" copy of Pride and Prejudice (you know you like a book when you own two copies of it- three counting The Works). I read this for school, so it's filled with my annotations and underlining. One day, I might do a whole post on the things I've written in those margins (I tend to talk to the characters and I can get very sassy). As the spine shows, I've poured through this a lot. I also read this twice, which is saying a lot for me.
• Finally, we have Emma. I read this last summer as my second Austen novel, and I really liked it. Yes, Emma can get on your nerves. But that's why I like it, and that was Austen's intention. This book is not quite as beat up since I didn't need to re-read, write in, and dog-ear it like I did  Pride and Prejudice. With the YouTube series Emma Approved almost coming to an end, however, I am thinking about rereading this. In all my spare time ;)

I'm hoping to grow this collection once I have more time to actually read (that time will come, right? Right?). Austen is an amazing author and has every right to have her novels named as classics.

What is your favorite Jane Austen book? What authors are taking up extra space on your bookshelves?

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Below the Line:

• Happy August! Summer has gone by so fast...
• I learned how to can this week! Of course, I was most excited about the pickles :) But I was also really fascinated how the lids suction to the jars when they hit the cold air after cooking in the hot water.
• You think fruits and vegetables taste one way; and then you eat locally grown fruits and veggies and your entire worldview changes (this applies to pork and beef, too).

Thoughts on Procrastination

...I'll get to them later. Just kidding! ;)

I just finished reading The Art of Procrastination, a tiny little book about one philosopher's experience with "structured procrastination," or putting off big tasks in favor of completing small (and frequently insignificant) ones. John Perry, a philosophy professor at Stanford, wittily puts fellow procrastinators to ease about the habit. He also offers tips, such as "horizontal organization" or teaming up with non-procrastinators for projects.

The book is only 92 pages long and Perry's writing style makes the reading go quickly. Although, I have to admit, I set time aside to read this instead of using it to procrastinate.

But it got me thinking about my own procrastination. The level Perry describes in his book makes me anxious. Not meeting deadlines? Just thinking about it makes me tense! I do put things off, but never for so long that I "get behind" or end up asking for extensions.

College doesn't like procrastinators. Every semester a professor wags her finger and says "I don't give extensions! Use your time wisely." I highlight every due date, put them into my planner, and count back how many days it will take for me to complete the assignment. Perry, I have a feeling, would not go to such lengths.

But procrastination doesn't have to be a bad thing. It's a great motivator for me. I do much better work at the last minute than I do when I start early. My favorite papers don't come from a week of writing. They come from frantic writing the morning before the paper is due (always leave time to edit!). I feel more inspired when I'm under pressure to complete an assignment.

Of course, that isn't true for everyone. My friend Hattie finishes things weeks before their due, and does very well on them. She often ends up with more "guilt-free" time than me, but that's okay. We all have our own way of getting things done. That's really what Perry made me think about; procrastinators aren't inherently bad people. They just have a different way of getting things done.

And as long as things get done (and done well), does how they get done really matter?

How do you procrastinate, or does the thought of putting off tasks make you cringe? Any advice for college procrastinators?

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Woot woot, Below the Line!

• If you'd like to see more about John Perry and his book, take a peek at his website!
• I did a little tweaking on the blog this weekend. See if you can tell what's new!
• Any of you bloggers? I'd love to check out your blog. Leave a comment below so I can find your site.
• A corn question: do you eat corn-on-the-cob horizontally, like a squirrel, or all the way around? My family was discussing this yesterday :)

Real Books Rule, and Kindles Drool

Yeah. I really just said that. And I'm sure you're thinking, "what is she, 10?" And while a lot of people think I am, indeed, 17 (I'm not), I am ready to defend this post's title. And by the end of this post, I'm pretty sure you're going to be with me.

Here's the thing: I have nothing against Kindles (or any e-reader) as tools. I think they have introduced a lot of people to reading whom might have otherwise ignored reading and books. I also personally know people who love their e-readers. Typically, these are people who travel a lot or who are constantly on the move in their everyday life and need something slim to bring along. Sometimes, however, it's just their preferred way to read. My boss likes her Kindle for the countless reading options it offers her in only one slim device. She never has to choose just one book.

I get all that. I hear ya. E-readers are not soulless devices come to kill print. I even used the Kindle app on my iPad mini when I went to Italy. I wanted to have several books on hand without toting along a library. So I EVEN KIND OF USED ONE ONCE.

But.... I was not converted. Here's why Kindles drool:

1. There's no real way to annotate a book on an e-reader. At least, not the way I like to, with arrows and sprawling cursive squeezed into the margins (my blog isn't called "Scribbling in the Margins" for nothing!). Yeah, I can highlight, but can I add extra exclamation points when something shocking happens? I think not.
2. I couldn't see how far I was in the book. Okay okay, yes, there was a bar at the bottom of my "book" saying how much time I had left or showing me progress in the form of a percentage. But that doesn't tell me anything. I like to see my progress in thickness. How many pages are before my bookmark, and how many are after? I started to feel a little lost inside my Kindle books, and not in a good way.
3. Finally, I really disliked the screen deciding I was reading too slow and blacking out on me before I got to the end of a page (disclaimer: I wasn't using a real Kindle, so it could just be the iPad that does this. I'm aware. It was still annoying.) LOOK KINDLE. Some of us need to go back and re-read really excellent paragraphs, okay? GIVE ME TIME.

A real life, up-close and personal example: I found F. Scott Fitzgerald's This Side of Paradise for free on Amazon's e-books site. I had just purchased the paperback, so I figured I'd start it on the iPad and finish it real book style. But on the Kindle, the story just dragged on...and on....and on.....

I kept getting lost on the plot, and I couldn't easily flip back to a part that would help clear my confusion. I felt forced to read on without ever getting a real handle on the story. Now, here we are six months later, and I have absolutely no clue what that book's about. I have to start over, and that greatly frustrates me.

As soon as I got home from Italy, I returned to the comfort of my physical, beautiful books and never looked back. So here's why books rule:

1. The smell. This is something my sister and I both love about books, their pure, wonderful, ink-on-paper smell. Woody, musty, and fresh, all in one whiff. Seriously, grab one of your books and give it a deep smell. I'll do it with you *grabs a book, smells it*. Ahhhhhh. I feel better already.
2. The sense of satisfaction. From the moment I get a book (library, book store, Amazon- doesn't matter), the excitement begins. Then, I get to start the book, which is one of the more exciting times in my reading process. As I read on, I watch my progress both in the number of pages read and how invested I am in the story. Finally, closing a book for the last time always just makes me feel good. I have an attachment to the book when I close that back cover. I have a feeling of accomplishment simply using my finger to flip to the last page doesn't give.
3. And for the grand finale:

BOOKS ARE BEAUTIFUL

I'm on the hunt for beautiful covers of The Great Gatsby, and you probably have your own favorite book you "collect." But just looking at books, holding books, displaying books, feeling books- it's all an experience. I don't read books just for the words on the page. I read books for their paper, for their chapter layouts, and fonts. I read books for covers I can't stop looking at, and for the crinkly-whoosh sound of turning a page. I read books to take a break from a screen, and immerse myself into a world in which I don't have to worry.

And that, folks, is why books, simply put, rule.

What do you love about books? Are you an e-reader user? I'd love to hear what you think about the whole e-reader vs. book discussion.

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And for today's Below the Line...

• Oh my goodness, you still haven't checked out my Twitter? You're missing out. Find Scribbling in the Margins at @scribblemargins.
• I really need to get better about setting aside time to read. I will not fail on my To-Read Books this Summer! 1 down, 4 to go...
• Thanks so much to Sophie the Bookworm for listing me as one of her favorite bloggers! It was so sweet of her to include me. Congrats on 50 followers, Sophie!

The Best Book I've Ever Read

"You like to read? So what's your favorite book?"

I went a long time constantly answering that question with "well, right now it's insert book I just read here." I didn't really have a favorite book of all time. Every time I read something wonderful, it became "my favorite book." I typically will only read a book when I'm pretty sure it's actually going to be good (or if it was assigned to me for class). It's rare I read a book all the way through that I really didn't like.

Insert recruitment. That changed everything for me. It only took one person to say "I love reading too! What's your favorite book?" to make me panic. I have to prepare myself for small talk. I have to be ready with answers, and for this question I simply didn't have one. Rambling ensued.

Until I remembered that I did.

I've always liked The Great Gatsby. It's one of the few books I brought with me to college. I used it for a creative writing assignment calling for "the most beautiful sentence." And when I first read it, junior year of high school, it was the first assigned book I couldn't wait to read every night. My friends and I would discuss each readings' events like it was a soap opera, rushing to each other every morning to replay the last few chapters.

But it wasn't until I read it a second time that I realized it was, quite honestly, the best book I'd ever read.

It was before the movie came out, and my family went on quite the Great Gatsby kick. We all reread the book, then watched the two older movie versions, and for the grand finale, my dad made a Great Gatsby feast from the newspaper, featuring dishes such as "Daisy's Lemon Bars" (the BEST lemon bars I've ever had, too).

As I reread the book, with fresh, college educated eyes, I realized just how beautiful the language is, just how spectacular the characters and plot and scene are. I was amazed at the talent in that short, 180 paged book. And just like that, I had an answer to the recruitment question (albeit, five months too late ;)).

Here are just a few of my favorite quotes I've highlighted in my copy:

"It was the kind of voice that the ear follows up and down, as it each speech is an arrangement of notes that will never be played again." Chapter I

"There were twinkle-bells of sunshine in the room..." Chapter V

"So he waited, listening for a moment longer to the tuning-fork that had been struck upon a star." Chapter VI

"[Her voice] was full of money- that was the inexhaustible charm that rose and fell in it, the jingle of it, the cymbal's song of it....High in a white palace the king's daughter, the golden girl...." Chapter VII

Fitzgerald has this way of making words sing for him; they don't compose a sentence, but a song. I only hope that one day, my words too can sing like that, and make each rereading even more musical.

I'm sure most of you know what the story is about- doomed love, wealth, the inherent flaws of people- but that's not the most important part of The Great Gatsby to me. The most important part is how Fitzgerald makes all of those things happen. How his words inked on a page not only create a story, but a reality.

If you're still with me at this point (yay for long posts!): favorite books may, yes, come and go. Just like when I was a kid, you never know when the next best book will come to you. But it's nice to have that one book you can always count on, the one book you know you'll always enjoy reading (even if it's the fifth time...).

So we beat on...