Very recently I completed a task I had mulled over and hoped for many months–I received my public library card! Although that may not seem like something to rejoice over, I shall indeed, as I have been trying to get a library card in the city for quite some time now. The rules for library card ownership are not terribly detailed or difficult, but I could never seem to meet them! My ID does not have and never has had my city address on it, nor does the address match up with my suburban library card for the reciprocal program. This time I managed the affair by bringing in some bills with my name and apartment listed on them.
Although the library card is nothing too fancy, I can’t help thinking about it like it is the most beautiful things~ (I have a bit of an urge to decorate it myself, although I worry that would render it invalid.) Educational children’s shows are right to boast the wonders of a library card! I certainly missed having one!
While the card was being processed, after I filled out the paperwork, I was instructed to wander the library a bit. I gravitated towards the fiction section, but this library is not organized the way I was accustomed to it at my childhood library, so I got a bit lost. I wasn’t able to really look for any of the books I had originally intended on reading. However, near the end of the row I spotted a spine that looked promising, and left that afternoon with Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey.
I haven’t read much of Ms. Austen’s work, but Northanger Abbey was so delightful that I know I shall read more! The story itself is a satire of the typical moralistic novels in the late 18th century. It follows the tale of a young girl who very much enjoys reading Gothic novels–a topic I know I’ve mentioned in my other book-oriented posts~ ♥
Overall it’s a very light, easy-to-continue story. Nothing dips or drags along terribly, and the tongue-in-cheek commentary tucked into the tale is very enjoyable. (If you don’t read much material from this time period, I would highly recommend an annotated version so that you don’t miss out on any of the little jokes.)
There’s nothing specifically “lolita” about the book anymore than something I could draw out with the weakest of connections, but if you’re at all interested by historical England (although this is pre-Victorian) it’s definitely worth some time.
Best of all, the heroine’s love of Gothic fiction provided some direction for my next book! I’m quite excited about starting The Mysteries of Udolpho after how much she and her friends enjoyed it~ ♥