Journeymen

I finished reading The Know-It-All this weekend, and I was pretty sad, both because it was a good book and because it was the perfect companion to my Austen project. It was easy to pick up and put down, and it was damn funny. Plus I learned lots of random little facts that I could pepper into conversation if I could remember any of them now. (Wait! Pythagoras was a member of a weird math cult that couldn't touch beans. Ta-da!) Also, there's something satisfying about reading about another person's quest. He said he was going to read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica, and he did. In that light, I've moved on to Julie & Julia to carry me further on my Austen journey. She said she was going to make all of Julia Child's recipes, and well, I don't know if she did yet, but they made it into a movie, so where could I go wrong?

I need something light and funny, because after I finished the joy that was Pride and Prejudice, I started on Mansfield Park, and I gotta tell you, Jane's sounding a little preachy thus far. I'm hoping Fanny gets less spineless and Austen quits telling us about what is and isn't proper in such a boring way.