'You've Never Read Jane Eyre?!' by guest blogger Yvonne

Today I am welcoming Yvonne onto my blog.  Yvonne is an old friend (in that I have known her a while, not that she is aging especially quickly!) and has her own book blog.  Here she is...

Hi, I'm Yvonne and my typical book genres to read are chick lit or crime thriller.  

 

I have always loved reading and throughout my time in education it never featured what I would call 'the classics' which can commonly lead to people saying 'You've Never Read ANY of the classics'?  Sure I read some Shakespeare and one of my all time favourite books is Goodnight Mr Tom by Michelle Magorian but I've never delved into the world of Jane Austen or the Bronte sisters and the like.  

 

I have always wanted to read these kinds of books but for some reason the language, settings, clothing and lifestyle just don't appeal to me at all- this even extends to the big screen in that I have never watched Pride & Prejudice and small screen having never seen Downton Abbey.  It's not to say I'm not cultured in any way I loved nothing more than watching Les Miserables at Queens Theatre in the West End or visiting the birthplace of Dylan Thomas when I was in Wales.  

 

When Kate asked for volunteers to take part in this feature I thought it gave me the perfect opportunity to have a go at reading one of these books loved by millions of people worldwide.  I took a while to decide which book to read for my first foray into the classics so after reading a bit about them and some advice from the lovely Kate I plumped for Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.  Putting my reservations aside I purchased a copy of the book and settled down to get stuck in, I made it to chapter 11 (not in one go) before I had to admit defeat- for now.  

 

I don't have much time to devote to reading in one sitting and I found it really challenging to get used to the writing style so by the time I had done that I had to hang up my book for the night making it difficult to really get into what was happening, I feel I didn't even really get into the meaty part of the book either.  

 

I would say I will give this book another try but probably when I am on holiday so have more time to devote to reading and being able to absorb myself in the story.  I read an article by Malorie Blackman not long after she has become the Children's Laureate and she said she felt forcing children to read the classics put them off books- and I think the same can be said for adults too, it is usually a great surprise to other readers like myself I have never read any of the classics (yet) but that doesn't mean my reading isn't as well rounded as theirs, it just isn't a genre that I have really discovered.  I was hoping this feature would allow me to read the book and love it and others like it as so many other people do, maybe its just not the right time for me yet.

Thanks for having me Kate- its been fun :-). 

You can contact Yvonne Kidd about her blog via-

Twitter: @mrskidster

Blog: www.yvonnesreadingblog.blogspot.co.uk 

Email: yvonnemkidd@gmail.com