30. Eligible by Curtis Sitterfeld

#4 in a series of Jane Austen's works that have been contemporized (my own word) - they do NOT have to be read in any order, they are all STANDALONES
Library book from TPPL
2016 Random House
 492 pgs.
Adult CRF
Finished 5/21/16
Goodreads rating: 3.74
My rating: 4.5
Setting: Contemporary Cincinnati, OH

First line/s:  "Well before his arrival in Cincinnati, everyone knew that Chip Bingley was looking for a wife.  Two years earlier, Chip -- graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Medical School, scion of the Pennsylvania Bingleys, who in the twentieth century had made their fortune in plumbing fixtures - had, ostensibly with some reluctance, appeared on the juggernaut reality-television show Eligible."

My comments:   I wasn't expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did, and there's only one word I can use to describe it.  Delightful.  It was really a blast to read.  It wasn't stupid...well...not really.....  And if you're a fan of Jane Austen, or know the story of Pride and Prejudice, it's all the more fun. I wonder how it would read if one had NO knowledge of Pride and Prejudice?  I had so much to do this weekend, but would sneak away for half hours at a time to read a little more.  It was written in oodles of short (2 - 4) page chapters, which I quite liked, in this case.  The whole "package" was one I very much enjoyed.  Think I'll try one of Sittenfeld's previous works, though the summary/reviews of them don't look exactly like my cuppa tea.

Goodreads synopsis:  A Modern Retelling of Pride and Prejudice
          This version of the Bennet family—and Mr. Darcy—is one that you have and haven’t met before: Liz is a magazine writer in her late thirties who, like her yoga instructor older sister, Jane, lives in New York City. When their father has a health scare, they return to their childhood home in Cincinnati to help—and discover that the sprawling Tudor they grew up in is crumbling and the family is in disarray.
          Youngest sisters Kitty and Lydia are too busy with their CrossFit workouts and Paleo diets to get jobs. Mary, the middle sister, is earning her third online master’s degree and barely leaves her room, except for those mysterious Tuesday-night outings she won’t discuss. And Mrs. Bennet has one thing on her mind: how to marry off her daughters, especially as Jane’s fortieth birthday fast approaches.
          Enter Chip Bingley, a handsome new-in-town doctor who recently appeared on the juggernaut reality TV dating show Eligible. At a Fourth of July barbecue, Chip takes an immediate interest in Jane, but Chip’s friend neurosurgeon Fitzwilliam Darcy reveals himself to Liz to be much less charming. . . .
          And yet, first impressions can be deceiving.