Distractions.

I really wanted to like Castle Rackrent.  I loved The Absentee, Maria Edgeworth's other book I read for this project.

I made a mistake though.  I opted to read this one for free on the Kindle for iPad.  And of course, when the book doesn't grip me immediately on the iPad, I have a hard time focusing on the book because there are so many other fun things to do on the iPad.  I literally had to force myself to read for 15 minutes before opening up any other apps to play around.  That doesn't happen to me with a book, and why I very much prefer to read the old analog way.

I don't mean to imply that Castle Rackrent is not excellent literature.  I understand it is once of the first historical novels written in English, and I am always impressed by Edgeworth's characters and how easily the messages can be adapted to modern day society.  I just wish that I was a little less distracted so that I could have more easily enjoyed the fullness of this book.

Sorry, I appear to have been an absentee.

HA! Did you see what I did there? I finally finished The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth. Like Emily said, "Incognito adventures!" I really liked this book. I was pleasantly surprised because I found it slow at first, but it all tied up nicely. And I'm pleased that they went back to Ireland. Lady Clonbrony was trying way to hard to fit in and Lord Clonbrony was letting everyone walk all over him. It's hard to believe that Colombre, so upstanding and heroic, is their child. But he followed his heart, saved the day, and got the girl. Definitely refreshing after Eponine and her shenanigans in Bataille's book.

Absalom, Absalom! is up next for me when I can wedge it in between reading for school.

Marissa

I'm still around, never fear.

Wow, Emily is a CHAMP. I am on The Absentee still. It's turning out to be really good, though. My semester just started again and I'm taking 2 courses, so fair warning. I have to finish The Absentee though, because it's an interlibrary loan and it's about a week overdue. Oh, and I already renewed it once. I think I shall go read right now.

Marissa

Being an absentee landlord is BAD. (Also, romance! and incognito adventures!)

The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth really was quite fun and interesting, especially compared to the last few books.  And I didn’t think it would be – when I saw it was published in 1812 and was about Irish absentee landlords, I thought I was in for something really dry, old fashioned, and that I wouldn’t really relate to what was going on. 

Surprise!  I really liked this book.  The author was able to get her points across while weaving the ideas into a really interesting story (that does indeed have romance and incognito adventures, always fun to read about).  So not only did I learn something I had no idea about – I had no idea that absentee landownership even was a big problem in Ireland at the time – I also got to read a great story.  I’m looking forward to reading Castle Rackrent, Edgeworth’s much more well-known book, when we reach the C’s. 

Now…I go back to Nabokov’s Ada.  I’m about 200 pages in.