For a more updated post on eReading, CLICK HERE to go to “The Great Gatsby On My iPhone”.
How do you keep in touch with the Classics in this techno-postmodern age? Just like you can listen to Bach’s Goldberg Variations on your iPod, you can also read up on the Bennet vs. Darcy saga on your BlackBerry. That’s what I’ve been doing this past month. Everyday, I receive through my email in serial, one of the total 149 parts of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice sent to me by Daily Lit, an on-line elibrary… So, wherever I may be, whenever I can grab a moment, I’m accessible to news from Longbourn and Pemberley just by pressing a couple of buttons on my cellphone…oh the conveniences of modern technology, making time-travel easy.
But of course, if you’re reading the book the first couple of times, I don’t recommend you do it this way. Nothing can replace holding a real book in your hands, lying in the couch or in bed, turning the actual pages of an Austen classic as you savor every word Elizabeth has to say in response to Darcy’s marriage proposal. But if it’s your fourth or fifth reading, there’s no harm getting it electronically just to touch base. It’s pure convenience…no books to carry with me; actually, I’ve more than one book sent to me this way. Daily Lit carries most of the well known classics, including works by Austen, Balzac, Conrad, Dostoyevsky, Eliot, Flaubert,…oh, you name it.
Exciting? Just imagine reading a section of Moby Dick while waiting for your favorite sushi in a restaurant. Or, catching up on War and Peace during half-time between the Oilers and the Flames (I’m writing from Alberta after all). Or how about Taming of the Shrew while anticipating the bride to walk down the aisle in a wedding? Wouldn’t it be a great use of your idling time in the frenzy of urban living?
…Oh yes, the other book I’m reading on my BlackBerry? … The First Book of the Bible, Genesis.
CLICK HERE to go to my three-part review of Pride and Prejudice (1995, BBC Production).
Ripple Effects 
I have actually just started using Daily Lit myself to get through Fielding’s Tom Jones!
LikeLike
Bookchronicle: Wow, Tom Jones, how many parts are there? But I’ve to say this is a real convenience for busy urbanites like myself to keep in touch with the Classics.
LikeLike
After watching the A&E Pride and Prejudice DVDs more times than I can count, I finally read the book. I was impressed at how true the A&E presentation was to the book. Enjoy your travels…
LikeLike
Ellen: That’s the reason why the BBC/A&E P&P remains my favorite of all the adaptations…and like you, I’ve watched it countless times. Thanks for your comment.
LikeLike
I’ll be looking forward to your review of the book of Genesis.
LikeLike