…if given half a chance. Sorry, I have always wanted to use that line from Jane Eyre. Oh, I love that book! And for some reason, I’ve been obsessed with it this year. Since the beginning of 2009, I’ve been reading one book per week as a way of relaxing—and so as not to forget all the skills I earned while getting my English degrees. It’s been very nice to make reading a priority again, and it has reconnected me with all my old favorite books. Do you know how in the movie You’ve Got Mail, Meg Ryan’s character says something like, ‘When you read a book as a child it becomes a part of you in a way that no other book in your life can’? I completely agree. This year I’ve revisited all my very favorites from growing up: L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series, books by Janette Oke that I practically learned to read by, Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, and—the one I can’t seem to move beyond this year—Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. I keep going back to it for my book of the week. I’ve read it six or seven times this year alone!

My mom gave me Jane Eyre for Christmas when I was 11, and I’ve always  loved it. Even more, I’ve always loved the romance between Jane and Mr. Rochester. I get swept away in the passion and devotion he has for her, and in the complexities of his character. Generally the hero in Gothic novels are characterized as stern and melancholy. Brooding. And obviously Mr. Rochester is all of those things, but my favorite thing about him is his sarcastic humor. The interplay between he and Jane is really very funny at times. And I love the way he loves her. Despite the criticisms, I think theirs is the most romantic story ever written. I guess I’m not alone, as I recently read he was voted the #1 romantic character in literature in a survey conducted by British publisher Mills & Boon.

This week I discovered the 2006 BBC film adaptation, and I have to confess it has not helped me get over my addiction. No, it has had quite the opposite effect, in that now I am addicted to the movie as well as the book! I rented it from Blockbuster and immediately ordered it for keeps from Amazon the next day–even upgrading the shipping so I could get it the next day. And I cannot stop watching it. I have it on all the time—while I’m designing, while I’m unpacking, while I’m cleaning. Literally, it’s on right now as I write this. Obsessed!

While it’s not absolutely true to the book, it’s quite close, and there’s something about the acting that makes the characters seem even more real than they always have—and that doesn’t usually happen for me. Ruth Wilson, who plays Jane, does an excellent job of making her seem both vulnerable and strong, and her performance reminded me that Jane is not just a sensible young woman; she’s actually a girl falling in love for the first time. And Toby Stephens’ Rochester! Oh, forget about it. I was in love the minute he rose up after falling off his horse. While he doesn’t look like my imagined Mr. Rochester, he really captures his personality. He has the humor, the sarcasm, the desperation, the deep love for Jane… It’s such a good movie.

Anyway, I’ve been trying to convince Mike to get one of those period riding outfits that Mr. R. storms around in throughout the film. I’d very much enjoy seeing him striding around the condo in the vest, breeches, and tall boots, exclaiming, “What the deuce is to do now?”

(I should confess that I went through a similar stage of obsession when I first saw the surprisingly lovely Pride & Prejudice film with Keira Knightley. I thought it would be too commercial but it was beautifully filmed. Maybe I am a sucker for what I recently heard termed “cravat porn.” Clearly.)