My last post had *nothing* to do with reading, and rather explained my absence over the last couple of weeks. My honeymoon wasn’t entirely without reading opportunities; in fact, I had several lovely hours to read on our private balcony as we cruised through the Mediterranean Sea. There isn’t much better than sitting in the cool, sea air listening to the waves crashing against the side of the ship while enjoying some quiet reading time. Pure bliss, for sure.
Before we left, I loaded up my Kindle with lots and lots of books, because I wasn’t entirely sure what type of book I’d be in the mood to read on our vacation. I was about 25% (one of the super cool stats the Kindle provides) of the way through “The Lady in White” by Wilkie Collins before we left. I was pretty sure that this book was too “serious” to read on our honeymoon, but as it turned out, this book was *exactly* what I needed during our trip. Because it’s deemed a “classic” (per “1,001 Books to Read Before You Die”), I assumed it’d be kind of stuffy, pretencious, and, well…kind of boring. As it turns out, I was wrong (as I’ve been repeatedly wrong about the “classics” in recent months. You’d think I’d learn…).
Sure, “The Lady in White” is predictable. Cliched. Kind of corny. But it’s also kind of exciting. I found myself sucked into the story, and even though I wanted to put my book down and go explore the ship, I just couldn’t. I needed to know what was going to happen next, even though I already knew.
There was one thing about the book that annoyed me. Her name is Laura Faerlie. She’s the typical, stereotypical 1800′s weak-willed, pathetic little woman. Honestly; I wanted to wring the bitch’s neck. The way that Walter and Marion indulged her weakness really made me sick. They walked on eggshells around this pathetic little creature. I wanted to reach through my Kindle screen and tell her to “man up” and deal with the cards that life dealt her. Marion “manned up”. So did Walter. As did Anne, despite her bat-shit craziness. Why couldn’t precious little Laura? I don’t particularly care for characters (or real-life people, for that matter) who are completely incapable of dealing with the problems of life. Grow a pair and handle it, sweetie.
I’m almost all the way through; only 8% more to go. I’m not sure that the author is going to be able to throw in any more curveballs. It appears that the remainder will be the tying up of lose ends, rather than having any more revelations. We shall see, I suppose.
I’m not quite sure what my next read will be. Perhaps another “Anne of Green Gables” novel? Or maybe something Christmas related? Or some good, cheesy chick-lit? So many books…so little time…
