Reading Wednesday

Shook up my annual re-read of Pride & Prejudice by listening to an audiobook— it's delightful to be able to experience a book I've read many, many (many) times in a new way! I don't think I've ever really noticed how present the (mostly unnamed) servants are in this novel: how frequently it mentions someone asking a servant to do something, or worrying about speaking of private matters in front of them, etc. The other thing that stuck out to me this time was, re: Darcy's insulting first proposal— what on earth was his plan if Elizabeth had said yes?!

Halfway through The Ionian Mission by Patrick O'Brian; only he could write an entire chapter about a ship's crew preparing for a sea battle that doesn't actually happen, because the ships in question are both too good at playing "don't shoot first" chicken, that's just as compelling as an actual battle scene and isn't ruined by the anticlimax.