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jasmine

Jasmine, A Common Reader

I appreciate classic literature, Jane Austen, second-hand book shopping and a good cup of tea. My 'Favourites' shelf represent the books which formed the person behind these words. 

Currently reading

The Jane Austen Book Club
Karen Joy Fowler
Becoming Queen: How a tragic and untimely death shaped the reign of Queen Victoria
Kate Williams
Gone with the Wind
Margaret Mitchell
Progress: 245/1011 pages

Diary of a Nobody

This is such a fun little read! It was originally published as a serial in Punch magazine in 1892 and despite it's short length it is a masterpiece of comic brevity. Precisely nothing out of the ordinary happens to Mr. Charles Pooter, its the turn of phrase which he uses which had me chuckling to myself. Mr Pooter is so absurdly banal as to call him a characterisation of genius worthy of Dickens himself. I'll leave you with a particularly hilarious extract from the text to give a flavour of the style. Whether we like it or not, we are all a little Pooter...


Gowing began his usual sniffing, so, anticipating him, I said: ‘You’re not going to complain of the smell of paint again?’ He said: ‘No, not this time; but I’ll tell you what, I distinctly smell dry rot.’ I don’t often make jokes, but I replied: ‘You’re talking a lot of DRY ROT yourself.’ I could not help roaring at this, and Carrie said her sides quite ached with laughter. I never was so immensely tickled by anything I had ever said before. I actually woke up twice during the night, and laughed till the bed shook.