Reading Pleasures

I have gotten my fiction reading enthusiam back after my determination to finish one book ('Pride & Prejudice'), the first in a somewhat long time for me. After that, I was looking up more information about Jane Austen's books and my interest was piqued by the following introduction for 'Persuasion':

"Anne Elliot, heroine of Austen's last novel, did something we can all relate to: Long ago, she let the love of her life get away. In this case, she had allowed herself to be persuaded by a trusted family friend that the young man she loved wasn't an adequate match, social stationwise, and that Anne could do better."
http://www.online-literature.com/austen/persuasion/

I was drawn to find out more about the story since it was not as well-known as the other book of hers that I considered reading next ('Sense & Sensibility'). How can Austen's fine heroine be as silly as the rest of us? To be sure, Anne Elliot is not Elizabeth Bennet, but she is still lovely. Events took their natural courses throughout the story rather than be affected by jarring interruptions and changes. It was a pleasant read.

I recalled being very well affected by a BBC mini-series (I do love those!) based on Elizabeth Gaskell's 'Wives & Daughters', so I have started reading it and am still going through it very slowly due to my other commitments. I had a wonderful laugh at how Mr Gibson behaves, especially upon discovering that one of his apprentices was about to profess love for his daughter. Are men and fathers like that still around? Very charming and witty! In those senses, Gaskell seems to be superior to Austen. What a shame she did not live to finish this book, though I know that the bulk of it was done before she passed away.

I am really tempted to read yet another acclaimed book by Gaskell, which is 'North & South', but I am also interested in reading Orwell's '1984'. It's been ages since I have read Orwell. My good friend once told me that if she met someone with a mind like Orwell's, the rest of him did not matter for she will gladly marry him. This was the effect of a summer reading many of Orwell's books. I shall see if I have similar urges once I have gone through a few more of his works. I suppose they have to be in quick succession of each other to cause any yearning of the kind.

I have delved into classics and find it hard to extricate myself now. Orwell seems almost too modern and racy, sort of like Steinback. Perhaps I should seek a slower change in the form of a move from feminine classics to more masculine ones. Hey, I have yet to read Victor Hugo's 'Les Miserables' even though I am an ardent fan of the musical based on it, so that is a great possibility...

Well, work is piling high and my trading sleeping time for reading (plus doing bits of reading over dinner, a few lines during short intervals, etc) is robbing me of my consciousness. I need rest somehow but I cannot possibly stop. At the present, I care a great deal for Molly Gibson's world (in 'Wives & Daughters') and love to journey with her.