I am an official Dewey’s 24-Hour Read-a-thon cheerleader. Yes, I can hear you chortling in the background Meredith, but it’s true. I. Am. A. Cheerleader.

Okay, I’m willing to concede that the only reason I qualified for this job is because, unlike other cheerleading positions, it does not require youth, good looks, athleticism or co-ordination of any kind. All it requires is a good helping of team spirit and a love of books, and those are qualities I have in spades. So I will ignore Meredith’s mocking laughter and embrace my cheerleader role with enthusiasm and pride.

The Read-a-thon starts in about an hour and a half, so I have already been visiting a few of the early starter blogs to offer some early encouragement. I’m disappointed that I have joined up as a reader myself, but with several family commitments this weekend and the difference in time zones I decided that cheerleading was probably the best way to go this time around. Hopefully I will be able to join in as a reader next time.

I’m part of the Post Modern Cheerleading Team. My trusty, rusty Collins Australian Internet-Linked Dictionary tells me that postmodernism is “a style and school of thought that rejects the dogma and practices of any form of modernism”. Rejection? Dogma? That’s not sounding very cheerleader-y to me. I think I’ll aim for something a little more upbeat.

Unfortunately, I’ll probably miss the first 6 – 7 hours of Readathon (since it starts at 11pm local time), but I’ll be there with bells on and pom poms waving tomorrow. If you want to help me cheer on all the intrepid Read-a-thon Readers, here is the Dewey’s 24-hour Read-a-thon participants list.

I’m off to fluff my pom poms (no, that isn’t a euphemism). Good luck to everyone involved. I’m looking forward to hearing about some great books and meeting more wonderful book bloggers.

It’s been quite a while since I have indulged in reading a classic literature novel. I’ve been reading so many great new or modern authors recently that I haven’t had a lot of time for older titles.

As much as I have loved some of the fantastic new releases that I’ve been reading, I really want to spend more time reading literary classics. The Popular Penguins, Penguin Classics (coming soon) and Vintage Classics (coming soon) Reading Challenges that I have set up here at Reading Upside Down are intended to keep me motivated to include some classic titles in my reading list.

Thanks to the great Vintage Classics prize that I won recently (thanks again, Random House) I have a nice selection of books to get me started. For my first choice I decided to read Northanger Abbey, the only Jane Austen novel that I have never read before.

I haven’t read any Austen for quite some time, which is the only reason I can give for why I was so taken by surprise by the pleasure I experienced reading this novel. I was so overwhelmed, I think I may have actually told Meredith that I was “excessively diverted” by the cleverness of it all.

I know that commentators and literary critics have written extensively about Austen’s observational ability and descriptive skill, but I have to confess that I am most attracted to her fantastically wry sense of humour. Northanger Abbey particularly seemed to me to be primarily an amusing story. I may have even laughed out loud at times at Austen’s witty turn of phrase as she not-so-subtly made fun of the literary snobs of her day.

I find Austen’s writing to be incredibly intelligent and insightful. Her elaborate sentence structure and use of language is incredibly impressive and she is, in my humble opinion, rightly praised for her skills as a writer. For me, however, he primary attraction will always remain her lively wit and I can’t help but picture her with a twinkle in her eye as she wrote many of the scenes of my favourite Austen novels.

Northanger Abbey has certainly been a good choice to get me excited about reading more classic literary fiction.

Do you enjoy classic novels or do you prefer to stick with best-sellers and recent releases? Do you try to read a little bit of everything or do you stick to a particular genre or style of writing?

Title: Northanger Abbey
Author: Jane Austen
Publisher: Vintage Classics, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-099-51187-8 (241 pages)
Genre: Classics

Summary (from publisher website)

Catherine Morland is a young girl with a very active imagination. Her naivety and love of sensational novels lead her to approach the fashionable social scene in Bath and her stay at nearby Northanger Abbey with preconceptions that have embarrassing and entertaining consequences.

Comments

Reading Northanger Abbey reminded me of just how clever and humorous Austen can be in her writing, especially as this novel seemed to be her most openly satirical. I love the way she uses the simple naïveté of Catherine Morland to highlight the hypocrisy, arrogance and ridiculousness of other characters.

As is frequently the case, in Northanger Abbey Austen draws attention to the role money plays in determining “appropriate” relationships and the importance of observing social customs. No surprises regarding the themes of love, marriage, family obligations, social expectations and the contrasts between the appearance and reality of respectability.

I particularly enjoyed the way Austen entered the narrative at times, generally to poke a stick at the opinions of the day regarding novels and novelists. You’ve got to admire someone who is willing to spit in the eye of her critics.

To me, Northanger Abbey is proof that it is possible to relax and enjoy reading classic novels, to find humour and light-hearted entertainment in contrast to the general image of wordy, weighty tomes that impart solid and meaningful insights about the human condition. Reading this has definitely rekindled my love of the classics.

Related Links:

• Jane Austen, I Love You So
• Thank You, Random House