Jane Eyre

          Jane Eyre is my wife's favorite book of all times. I, however, never bothered to read it. A fact which has bothered her the entire time we have known each other. So as soon as she noticed that it was on the list she started dropping, lets call them suggestions shall we, that this would be a good choice to get my little project started. And really it was nice to get it over with as well. In the end the book was...well... better than expected.
          The story itself is quite engaging and you really do begin to feel an attachment to this poor girl through all of her trials. That being said, the one thing that really came through in the entire book and the one thing that makes this book less than ideal for me is that I will never understand that female Victorian mind. Maybe it is just that I have always been very independent. Maybe it is the near daily dose of militant feminism that I was treated to as a child (thanks Mom and Smitty). Or maybe it is just that I am a product of my generation and have no real concept of the hardships of the past. Whatever the reason, I am just not able to comprehend the motivations of a character that blindly follows whatever the nearest man tells her to do. I mean seriously who learns a new language in order to make the man you don't want to marry happy? You just want to shake her and  make her understand that it is ok to do what she wants to do every once in a while.
          In the end I rated the book a 3 out 5. It was a very detailed and enjoyable read. I t was slightly dry in some areas but overall I think it deserves its spot as a must read.

The Challenge

I have always fancied myself to be well read. I have always loved reading, I am never without a book, and I worked in a bookstore for 3 years where I had access to any book on the shelf.  I recently stumbled upon a book recently entitled 1001 Book You Must Read Before You Die edited by Peter Boxall, and I picked it up thinking I would surely have read a good portion of them. Nope, just 50. That's right, less that 5%. I was in utter disbelief. So I resolved to not only read some of the list, but to attempt to read each book on the list. This blog is the infant of that resolve for what is the use of challenge without also keeping a score. Overall, I am estimating that it will take me just under a decade to complete. My wife is not so optimistic. We'll see who is right.

The Challenge:
Read every book listed in any edition of  1001 Book You Must Read Before You Die. (Yep every edition. I thought about just doing the 2010 edition which is the one I own but just can't bear the thought of missing something)
The Rules:
I will give each book an honest attempt. I am not requiring myself to finish something that I just cannot stand. (This rule was put in place due to the inclusion of Main Street by Sinclair Lewis. A book that should be given to every insomniac out there to curb the use of sleeping pills)
The books may be read in any order.
I will document my thoughts on each book upon its completion here in this blog.
The Tools:
1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die 2010 Edition
Arukiyomi's spreadsheet found at http://johnandsheena.co.uk/books/ (I got the full v4 edition for a modest donation)
My Velocity Micro Cruz E-reader (this is great because I can take a ton of books with me and a whole lot of them are free)

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