Abbreviations #55 | Jane Eyre, Sense & Sensibility + A Wrinkle in Time

It's only just occurred to me that I never mentioned the fact that tackling my classics TBR was one of my 2018 reading goals. I keep saying I really want to read different classics, but never doing it, and I finally put my foot down at the end of 2017 and decided to make that a priority in 2018. With the help of some of my BFFs, I put together a list of books that I wanted to read for this particular goal.

Since we had that goal in common, my friend Kristin of Super Space Chick & I teamed up to do a very casual Classics Reading Challenge together. (I mentioned it in my reading resolutions video and shared my TBR, and she also mentioned it in her bookish goals video and shared her classics TBR.) We use the hashtag #AKClassicsRC for updates on social media (specifically Twitter and Instagram), so feel free to jump on there if you're reading the same classics or just interested in seeing our thoughts on what we're reading. 

Anyway, the reason I mentioned this today is because I'm sharing my thoughts on the first three classics I read this year in this post. I'm pretty proud of myself for following through on my goal, and I'm pretty optimistic about the rest of the year going according to plan as well. In any case, I'd love if you recommend your favorite classics in the comments so I can keep adding to my TBR!

I honestly have no clue why I was initially so hesitant to tackle Jane Eyre. It could have been anything from the plot (though that seems unlikely as I remembered nothing when I started it) or the length (also unlikely since I read fantasy novels that are similar in length or longer), but I feel like it might just have been because classics are not something I am accustomed to reading regularly. In any case, I was very pleasantly surprised. Jane Eyre turned out to be quite easy to devour, and I flew through the edition I read in a matter of days! The story about a plain orphan girl who is unwanted by her relations and gets sent off to school, where she succeeds in gaining an education enough to become a governess. She is hired as such for a little girl under the care of the mysterious Mr. Rochester, and finds herself in a complicated situation when she falls in love with the capricious man. Personally, I liked it because it had moments that were similar in feel to A Little Princess and Anne of Green Gables, two childhood classics I adore, and because Jane Eyre herself was a character I enjoyed getting to know in all her complexity. It's strongly character-driven, so if you're looking for something that's got more action, this might not be the classic for you. But if you enjoy spending time with a character and getting to know them fairly intimately, I'd certainly say that you should give Jane Eyre a shot.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë | Publisher: Golden Deer Classics | Publication Date: July 30, 2016 (originally published December 21, 1847) | Source: Owned the Kindle book

I'm so glad I decided to try a second time to read all of Jane Austen's novels in one calendar year, because it meant that I got to revisit my favorite (so far): Sense & Sensibility. It was my second time reading this story, and I found it as charming as I did the first time! There are plenty of reasons to like this novel - Austen's trademark humor, the lovable (and flawed) characters, the easy simplicity of the setting and time period in Austen's portrayal, to name a few. But the real reason that this is the novel I would say is my favorite Austen thus far is simple: it's a story about two sisters that remind me very, very specifically of my own sister (and the other sister and their mom definitely also bring my family to mind). While I grew up in a very different time and place, their experiences and personality traits were so relatable. It was still as diverting a read as I recalled it to be, with equal parts humor and heart. I had so much fun revisiting this novel, and I can't wait to keep on reading Austen's novels this year (and hopefully finally get them all read)!

Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen | Publisher: Gray & Gold Publishing | Publication Date: January 28, 2017 (ed., or. October 30, 1811) | Source: Owned

I finally read A Wrinkle in Time (and I still want to see the film at some point)! It's a classic I've always wished I had read as a kid, and after hearing from both Macky and Rachel that it was a story they both thought I'd enjoy, I knew I had to take the plunge. In case you don't actually know what it's about, it's the story of how Meg Murry, her little brother Charles Wallace and her friend Calvin must outwit the forces of evil in order to save her father. It's such an odd little story, mixing science fiction and fantasy in a way that definitely felt just as interesting and weird today as it must have when it was originally published. But I liked it! I found the characters intriguing (Charles Wallace being my favorite), the fantastical (and scientific) details just within my grasp and the exploration of a variety of themes (and how I can see that there are multiple ways to interpret it) very clever. I'm so glad I ended up liking this one as much as I'd expected to, and I definitely plan on checking out the rest of the series.

A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle | Series: Time Quintet #1 | Publisher: Puffin Classics | Publication Date: July 3, 2014 | Source: Purchased the paperback