by Charlotte Bronte

I began reading Jane Eyre just to open my horizons on well-known historic authors a little and was immediately drawn in by the main character. As a child, Jane had a certain fire to her that I could respect and on the strength of that, I added several other Bronte sisters books to my Kindle with intent.

As the book progressed, I felt it slowed and Jane became far too complacent to hold my interest. However, I was too invested to stop so continued reading and occasionally found a trace of the spark from her childhood.

I didn't like Rochester much. He played games to manipulate Jane too much, though he gets a point for having the sense to see when he was being drawn into a convenience marriage for a gold-digger. I couldn't understand why Jane would love him or put up with his mind games, or exactly when her feelings for him developed.

My interest was revived about 65% in, when a twist I should have seen coming put Jane in a situation of personal conflict. I had a real struggle through this as I had to remember the morés of the times which conflict with my own natural inclinations of what I would do in the same situation.

Some of the choices she made I found both brave and foolish. That she had the strength of character to trust to her own resourcefulness over relying on the charity of others was part of what made her such an interesting character. In a time period when Lara Croft could not exist, she showed the resilience of a truly strong woman.

The one thing I found really awkward wad the unfinished place names. ----shire and other half words broke the flow occasionally. In the end I'm glad I've read the story now. I felt that Jane was too service oriented for me to really identify with her, but I did admire the spirit that she showed on occasion, particularly on the occasions when the path of least resistance would have led her to paths in her life that would not have made her happy, but she refused to be bullied when cornered.

I will mention, classic or no, that this book would have run into some problems if it was submitted to a publisher today. Apart from the place names already mentioned, the author occasionally broke the fourth wall rule, but too occasionally to call it writing style. She also changed from past tense to present tense in a couple of chapters. Some things I thought were far too drawn out and especially at the end when it's obvious how it will all come out, it was belaboured to an excruciating degree.

Still, it's a product of its time and I will be reading more of this sort of classic over time, including more Bronte sisters.

I dodged this book in high school, choosing to study Wuthering Heights instead. I'm glad I did, because I doubt I would have enjoyed it as much as a teenager as I do now.

I loved Jane SO MUCH. She was smart and stubborn and exasperating and absolutely correct. I loved that she knew she was annoying, and that she couldn't help it. She knew her life would have been different if she could just be more mannerly and agreeable, but she couldn't make herself do it. She bristled not just at the idea of being shackled by marriage, but also of being shackled by social niceties. She wasn't a brute, but she could not form a fake smile if her life depended on it, and this was so endearing to me. She was open-minded, but morally strong. She was compassionate, and very aware of her own shortcomings. I could have spent so much more time with her!

It's wild that this book was published in 1847 under a male pseudonym. Did anyone really believe that this novel, which examines the interior life of an unconventional lower-class woman, was written by a man? I have a doubt.

I'm planning out my 2020 reading challenge(s), and I decided I'm going to read all of Tracy Chevalier's books (the ones I haven't already read). To try and give myself a jump start, I thought I'd give these short stories a read. I started with Tracy Chevalier's and it wasn't bad (not great either, but enough that I was intrigued to keep reading). I then read My Mother's Wedding and felt very eh about it.

I don't love Jane Eyre. I was supposed to read it twice in college, and I mostly made it through the first time but completely skipped it the second (which was for my senior seminar... don't tell anyone). It just didn't capture me, though I must admit I do love the line, "Reader, I married him."

I didn't think the stories had to be read in any order and I was already planning on skipping at least two. I googled each author and only three were women of color, so I thought I'd read those stories first. I read The China from Buenos Aires and felt eh. I read Party Girl and felt eh. I read Double Me and felt eh (though probably the least eh of the five). Since I didn't like any of those, I decided to quit reading.

I'm not sure if it's the authors, the source material, the subject they're all writing on or what, but there's just nothing that compelling or interesting about these stories (to me). Someone who's a big fan of these authors or Jane Eyre might like it more.

Not the long-winded, soppy love story I was expecting!  Though there were a few very convenient coincidences and occurences which made me raise my eyebrows.

Well I can't really say that I have a favorite square. I never care what square I get for the Halloween bingo.

That said, here are five of the squares that I liked seeing other people play during past Halloween bingos.

I have to say that I love a good Gothic novel. Us playing Halloween bingo got me immersed in the works of Victoria Holt and other writers. You can also read books such as "Rebecca," "Jane Eyre", and "The Haunting of Hill House."

So many authors that fit this square! I have to say finding out about authors like Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Shirley Jackson, Octavia E. Butler, heck even Nora Roberts has tapped into romantic suspense books which would fit this square. 

So many good horror books fit this square! I have to say that for me horror books taking place in a small town seem to throw out their own aura, you remember the town and the rest of the characters if the author does a great job with building up their fictional world. Some books that would fit would be "Carrie", "Salem's Lot", "Harvest Home", "We Have Always Lived in the Castle" and "It." "It" would be good to read for the new "Film at 11" square.

I like witches. That's all I got. Some books for this square would be "A Discovery of Witches", "The Witches Daughter", "A Secret History of Witches", and a book that I may try to read someday soon, "Wicked Salem: Exploring Lingering Lore and Legends." 

I usually just read an Agatha Christie book for this one. I love Miss Marple! You have so many books that fit this one for her, some of my favorites are: "Murder at the Vicarage", 
"The Body in the Library", and "A Murder is Announced."