Never start a Wilkie Collins whilst writing up an essay

[elettaria]

Those of you who know me may be aware of my habit of reading other texts by authors I'm working on, a sort of cross between background reading and work avoidance. I now have an excellent grounding in Gaskell, I've read 4 1/3 novels of hers just in order to talk about North and South. (I got a bit bored with Cranford.) But after reading the last 300 pages of Wives and Daughters yesterday, which is lovely but a tad slow, I was ripe for rebellion. I did the essay stint, wrote about half of the thing in fact, and then picked up that Wilkie Collins I'd found at Oxfam recently, No Name. Just one chapter, then I'd go to bed.

Actually, it was only two chapters. But I then read another 150 pages today. I've read enough Collins to know perfectly well that he writes thrillers (of a sort), it's my own silly fault. Oh well, hopefully I'll finish off that essay fairly quickly tonight and then I can get back to the delights of hurtling through a huge Victorian novel, dying to know what will happen next and whether I've guessed correctly. (I guessed both Osborne's and Cynthia's secrets in W&D, I was quite proud of myself.) I'm in love with Magdalen Vanstone, by the way.

Considering that I'm spending the semester on Victorian novels (industrial), and writing my dissertation on late-Victorian novels (gothic), you'd think I'd go for some other form of escapism.

One complaint. Could Penguin kindly stop giving away the plot on the back of the book?

Next day

I finished the essay last night, read another 300 pages of Collins, and finished the book off this afternoon. (And now the eternal whine arises: I need something to read...) I'm now rereading and tweaking the essay, a novel sensation since I usually finish them in the nick of time and don't have time for this process. I think there's something wrong with my sentences. *broods*

Comments

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

Could Penguin kindly stop giving away the plot on the back of the book?

Stop reading the blurb on the back. I haven't done that for years, for books I've been recommended by friends, at least, which is 90% of what I read.

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

That's fine unless you actually want to know enough about the book to decide whether or not to buy it.

I think the only solution in these cases is to read the back, buy the book, then put it away for long enough that by the time you read it, you've forgotten what it said on the back. And don't peek when you're skimming the shelves deciding what to read. You know those women with whole wardrobes full of nothing to wear? I have three walls of nothing to read, and whinge about it quite regularly.

[lethargic-man.livejournal.com]

I've picked up papersky's philosophy of treating books as shareware: get it out of the library for nothing, then if you've liked once you've read it, pay the registration fee by buying a copy (which helps keep it in print), and then you've got a copy you can reread, consult and lend to friends.

After all, why should I buy a book if I don't know I'm going to like it?

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

But where would the pleasure of second-hand book shopping go? It get books dirt cheap and for the small proportion that I end up not liking, I usually flog them back to a second-hand shop, so I've not lost more than a couple of pounds. I can't browse in the uni library (lighting problems, not to mention the way it's organised, which changes every year as well), the city library is too far away for me, and the bookshops are on my doorstep. I usually have a fairly good idea of what I'm buying, they're often books where I like the author already. Very few books end up in my box of books to be flogged second-hand. Of the ones that do, the largest group is probably of authors who wrote other books that were great but suddenly let me down (there are a few, like Winterson, who vary from superb to absolute rubbish), and the next-largest is books people have given me which I didn't like. I am incredibly wary about lending to friends, it was fine when I was in London and my best friend had lived round the corner all of our lives, but up here I'm far less likely to get them back, so books only go to a few, particularly trusted friends.

[lalumena.livejournal.com]

Hey, saw you a while ago in an early modern/shakespeare community.
Wives and Daughters is a fantastic movie-have you seen it? How difficult is the book to read?

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

I've not seen the film, I wonder whether the uni have it. As I said, the book's lovely but it's a touch slow , it certainly doesn't rattle on at the speed Mary Barton does, for instance. But the style is gorgeous, she's really honed it by this point and there is some marvellous characterisation. It's also nice to see Gaskell's bitchy side being properly developed. Have you read any other Gaskell, and do you like nineteenth-century novels in general?

[lalumena.livejournal.com]

I haven't read a lot of nineteenth century novels, or Gaskell. I have read Jane Eyre, Pride and Prejudice...but who hasn't!? I keep meaning to read the Moonstone-the movie was VERY cool. I tend to view rather than watch as they can be somewhat heavy going in parts and I have a tendency to be a lazy reader...once I've finished my exams, I may give Gaskell a go. My old English teacher did her post-doctorate thesis on Wives and Daughters, btw.
I have added you but you are absolutely free not to do the same!

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

I don't really do personal journals any more so I'm not likely to add anyone, so don't be offended. Thanks for adding me, it also means that I can click on you from my user info page and drop in occasionally.

Viewing rather than watching? Shame on you! The Moonstone is fantastic and the last thing from a heavy read.

[lalumena.livejournal.com]

Not offended, no worries. I know The Moonstone's not a heavy read...I did start it but I probably never got round to finishing it. I have a tendency to float between books, you see.

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

I usually have several on the go at once, I've been trying to break myself of this habit for years.

They've just starting showing North and South on television. I don't have a TV, but it sounds as dire as we predicted.

[lalumena.livejournal.com]

I'll have to check up on the plot...I don't know of that book.

[elettaria.livejournal.com]

It's Gaskell in Industrial Novel mode, Southern daughter of a dissenting clergyman meets Northern mill owner and proceed to wrangle their way to a relationship, in the process educating each other. I've just finished writing an essay on it, so it's nice to be able to put it behind me now.