30 by 30, #13: Read the complete works of Jane Austen

In case you aren't familiar with the 30 by 30 Project, here is the original post, with the big fat list.

Cheryl actually inspired this task. She mentioned she wanted to do it, and I thought it was a great idea. I read Pride & Prejudice in high school, though I'm not sure I finished it. I read Northanger Abbey in Jr. High, but I think it was a bit over my head, especially the satire. And I listened to Sense & Sensibility on CDs back when I was commuting from Provo to Sandy. And considering my great love of all movies made from these books, (particularly the ones Masterpiece Theater did a few years ago, wow those are good) I thought it was high time I actually read them.

For Christmas, Clark got me this beast of a book. 7 for the price of 1! To be fair, I didn't read Lady Susan. I figure if she didn't submit it for publication herself, it doesn't really count. Though maybe I'll read it one of these days. Anyway, 6 books. It took me from Christmas until mid-July to get through them all.

I started with Persuasion, because it was the shortest. Then we went to Mansfield Park, Emma, Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, and finally, Northanger Abbey. It was very interesting to start out with the lesser-read novels, and then read Pride & Prejudice, which is widely popular. You can see right away why it is so popular. It's very well written, and much more engaging than the first three I read.

I think Sense & Sensibility is my favorite. And I would go with Mansfield Park for my least favorite. But in general, I really liked them all. Glad I read them. Glad I finished them in time!