It’s almost time to crack open Pride & Prejudice and begin with that wonderfully memorable opening line:
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
Tomorrow is the launch of this experimental read-along, but since I decided to have a weekly Monday check-in, I thought I’d keep a regular posting timeline.
If you want to share your daily thoughts and impressions on Facebook, Instagram (or any social media that uses hashtags), I invite you to tag your posts with the following hashtag:
#CommonwealReadAlong
One thing I’m wrestling with is the notion that this book is ADORED by so many. And there’s an internalized pressure that I must love this book. But what happens if I don’t? There may be aspects of the text that may be cumbersome to parse through. The world has changed quite a lot since 1813. But there’s undoubtedly something enduring to this novel. And I suspect I’m inclined to at least enjoy it, and if nothing else, appreciate Austen’s work. I mean, Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley is wonderfully charming. So I’m not too worried about connecting with the material. But the weight of this novel’s adoration and love sends it up on a pedestal of high expectations, which can be dangerous. In any case, I aim to read with an open mind and curiosity and not merely think: am I loving this or not? That’s far too reductive.
Here’s a daily reading schedule for this first week.
Enjoy!
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