The first book I read as a literature major was Jane Eyre. As most college students will tell you, it's a liberating experience when you change your major. It's a moment in your life when you accept whatever you were doing before wasn't working out and you forget whatever anyone has ever told you to do in the past and you go for the one thing you love. In my case, that was literature.
Jane Eyre is a constant reminder to me of that liberating experience so I really can't help but love that book. Ever since, I have been on a never-ending search for Jane Eyre.
Every time I enter a bookstore, antique store, thrift shop, friend's house, I always look for a copy of Jane Eyre. I'd like to have several copies and read every one of them. I'd like one to take notes in. One to take apart to make art out of. One to send with Lucy when she goes off to college. And oh my gosh, a signed first edition would complete my life! Not sure if a signed first edition exists, but I would be all over that!
Now that you know my obsession with Jane Eyre, let me share with you a copy I found the other day! It's a Quick Reader:
Aww, look how tiny it is! It was published in 1944. Quick Readers were abridged versions of books that were meant to fit into your cargo pocket. They were printed during WWII because it was common to sending reading materials to servicemen. Look at the back!
Our boys in the service are "hungry" for good reading matter! I had no idea servicemen loved Jane Eyre as much as me.
The illustrations are my favorite part of the Quick Reader!
"That is my wife," said he. GASP!
Oh Bertha, you crazy woman in the attic, you.
I love this Quick Reader and I hope I find some more fun copies of Jane Eyre soon!
