Classically Challenged

It may be embarrassing to admit that I only read Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde because of adult peer pressure. My friends, who apply themselves in superior ways to the disciplines of classic literature, wanted to see the performance at a local dinner theater. The book was short, and so I did it, completing it without too much effort and enjoying the stage production all the more because of it.  

This was merely the beginning, however, as I then joined my friends in reading Wuthering Heights. I borrowed a copy from the library with a pretty leather cover embossed with vines, reading while sipping a glass of wine on my back porch to the playful splashes of my children swimming. The Yorkshire Moors will always taste of summertime and Malbec.   

Just as I was feeling pretty pleased with my literary appreciation, they moved onto Crime and Punishment. For weeks I chained myself to its pages, and friend, Dostoevsky had it out for me with his anguished interiority. I never did finish. My friends found it amusing and we've since moved on to lighter fare.   

This shirt by Bright Eyed and Bookish holds a place in my heart for its lovely aesthetic, but also for the sweet memories of reading classics with dear friends...and giving myself permission for a gracious uncoupling when a book and I simply do not have the chemistry that it takes to see it through the end.