DONE

With:

Such a strange sensation: there were times I thought, "I've read this before." The book was equally non-memorable the second time through. The best part of the book is the addendum, where you can find a brief synopsis and history of each of Jane Austen's books. That, only, was worth reading.

Not enough pictures!. It was mildly interesting to learn about the history of shoes, although it's pretty self-evident. I wanted to see more shoes. I liked the little tidbit about how the very rich would pay their servants to wear their master's shoes until the shoes were broken in and comfortable. I have a few pairs I would like to hire out. Any takers?

This is a book that Joshua's class has been reading. He has been very excited, in fact, about Book 3 coming out this month. Wonderful Aunt Lori even took him on a date to the Book Launch Party. Doesn't Joshua make a handsome leading man?

I haven't read Book 2 or 3 yet, but the first one was enjoyable enough, and it is fun to have something more to talk about with Joshua. Got milk?

This is one that I listened to on CD while sewing my Prom dress (Prom post to follow at some point). It was very well-done, and a great way to learn a little bit of history. Fascinating to see how seemingly random events can tie in with each other, and fascinating to think that someone put it all together.

It was doubly interesting because I was reading this book at the same time:

Although they're about completely different topics, the two books take place at the same time, and in some ways, the same place. It was a compelling read, if only to find out why the man robbed the train in the first place, considering he was already a very wealthy man. His thievery shattered the notion that crime was only committed by the very desperate and very dumb, due to their need and circumstance. I'm still not sure I understand the man's motivation, but it seems to go somewhat along the lines of "Because I could/wanted to." Kind of the same reason I had for reading these books!