Seems like Jane Eyre is everywhere these days!

I have on my bedside table this book (yet to be read):



It's by April Lindner and is a retelling marketed at young adults. I hope it will lead teens to read Bronte's tell as well.

Jane Eyre movies

My first favorite Jane Eyre was the one with Samantha Morton and Ciaran Hinds from 1997 (chock full of spoilers, by the way). She is odd-looking like Jane is supposed to be and Mr. Rochester is not the hottest or youngest guy, which is also true to the book:




I also love the 2006 Masterpiece Theatre version with Ruth Wilson (duck-faced, but cute) and Toby Stephens (who is way too handsome to be Mr. Rochester, but honestly, who can complain??):





And now, we have a new one on the way in March 2011 with Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender, as the lead roles AND Judi Dench & Jamie Bell in the cast, as well. The trailer looks beautiful.


I always like watching half-mad heroines wandering around on moors.

I love Nigella Lawson. I want to be Nigella Lawson. I love her show Nigella Kitchen, and just found that it's on Youtube, which is so helpful for when I want to make one of her recipes.

In fact, I made one of her recipes today and it was quite a success:

Mockingjay: 4 out 5 stars
The Hunger Games Trilogy: 5 out 5 stars

*Spoilers for all three books in the series*

This won't be like a professional book review, just some rambling thoughts I have after finishing Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins.

The third book started out with a whimper rather than a bang, and it took a while for any action to really get going. With the first two books in the series, there was a lull at the beginning and then you were swept into the arena and all the dangers it held. I feel like Collins didn't create the same kind of anticipation in Mockingjay.

I never really cared whether Katniss chose Gale or Peeta, or if she chose anyone at all. (In a fit of delirium at the end of the book, I thought it would be funny if she chose Haymitch!) Having said that, after building it up so much in the first two books, I was surprised that there was little suspense surrounding her romantic choice. Maybe that was intentional on Collins' part.

I also wanted more of a confrontation between Katniss and Snow than we were given. When she was standing in front of the mansion witnessing the parachutes & kids, I was feeling the momentum towards their meeting, and it was taken in a totally different direction.

Similarly, I thought it was a cop-out to have Katniss locked up in a room for weeks on end after she assassinated Coin. Where was her chance to explain herself to a jury or an audience?

Well, I guess it sounds like I didn't like it since I'm just crabbing about the stuff I didn't like. But overall, I think the book is worthwhile, if not a totally satisfying ending to the excitement of the first two books.

Patron: "I looked this book up in the catalog, but I can't find it on the shelf. It's a DVD."

Me: "I think I may have discovered the source of your problem."

1) I've been trying to keep the TV turned off these past few days to encourage productivity. It has resulted in doing more loads of laundry and loads of dishes. I've also gotten more reading finished. Which is good since...

2) MOCKINGJAY comes out tomorrow!! I'm going to Borders on my lunch break to buy my copy! I'm so excited. So far I've avoided any spoilers from people who have been reading (AN EMBARGOED) book early. We had a Hunger Games party at the library on Saturday and it was lots of fun. We had different stations set up that tested knowledge and agility and the party-goers got tickets for participating. Then we had a raffle at the end and the winner will get a copy of Mockingjay!

3) There is a new preacher at my congregation and he has been encouraging me to think more about why I choose to be a Christian and how that should affect my daily life. I know I should be less whiny about work, more grateful for blessings and kinder in general. I feel like I've been walking around cranky for a while now and it's toxic.

Patron: "Hi. I don't want to be ignorant, but I don't want to sit by her."

She points to patron with Tourette's syndrome who is using a public PC.

Me: "That's fine, I can seat you in the lab instead. By the way, she can't help what she's doing and saying."

Patron: "Um, actually, I think she can."

Me: "No, she can't. She has a disorder."

Patron: "Well, see?? I told you I didn't want to be ignorant."