Austen Challenge Update

The list I made for The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge at the beginning of the year is below in black.  As you can see, I've only watched the two movies and started on one of the books.  However, all of the books added in blue have been read since my original post, bringing my total to 6 selections.  According to the details of the challenge, I have completed my goal of reaching the Disciple level!  If I finish everything currently on the list, I will reach the Aficionada level of 9-12 selections.  We're only halfway through the year, so it's possible...

• Pride & Prejudice on DVD (2005 Kiera Knightly version)
• Pride & Prejudice on Blu-ray (1995 Colin Firth version)
• The Pemberley Chronicles: A Companion Volume to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice by Rebecca Ann Collins
• Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues by Linda Berdoll *in progress
• Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley by Sharon Lathan
• Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan
• Old Friends and New Fancies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen by Sybil Brinton
• Wickham's Diary by Amanda Grange (It was okay)
• Impulse & Initiative: What if Mr. Darcy Didn't Take No for an Answer? by Abigail Reynolds (It was okay)
• Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy: The Last Man in the World by Abigail Reynolds (I liked it)
• Me and Mr. Darcy by Alexandra Potter (I liked it)

Counting My Blessings #6

• Our book-less book group met up for our monthly lunch date last weekend.  This month we tried a German place that had a brunch menu worth drooling over.
• I read the first book toward my Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge goal, Wickham's Diary.  Of course it wasn't a book on my original challenge list, but it's still progress.  Not the greatest P&P spin-off, IMHO.
• I finished two knitting projects this week--detailed post to come later.  Both were supposed to be Christmas presents, but there's always a birthday or next Christmas for finally gifting them!
• One of my co-workers who has been out on medical leave since December will be back part-time next week.  It will be good to have her back--I've missed our morning tea time!
• As March comes to a close, Dave and I can be grateful that we both survived his first quarter project at work that required him to work insanely long hours during the week and every other weekend.  Hopefully by the end of next quarter, we'll be selling our house and preparing to move near his new office!

Georgia Peach and Pecan French Toast...
with whipped cream in a gravy boat!

The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge 2013

Thank you, Robin, for pointing out another Austen challenge to me.  Fortunately, it fits right in with my 2013 reading goal to clear of my shelf of (mostly Austen) sequels.  I've chosen the Disciple Level of 5-8 reading selections since that's all I have on my self that is related to P&P, plus the two movies I own.  I'm not going to do the commenting back to the original post to win prizes (because my prize is getting a shelf back for all of my other books), but you're more than welcome to join up at The Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary Challenge!  Here are my selections:

• Pride & Prejudice on DVD (2005 Kiera Knightly version)
• Pride & Prejudice on Blu-ray (1995 Colin Firth version--such an awesome Christmas present from my sister!)
• The Pemberley Chronicles: A Companion Volume to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice: Book 1 by Rebecca Ann Collins
• Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues by Linda Berdoll
• Loving Mr. Darcy: Journeys Beyond Pemberley by Sharon Lathan
• Mr. & Mrs. Fitzwilliam Darcy: Two Shall Become One by Sharon Lathan
• Old Friends and New Fancies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen by Sybil Brinton

Austen Accomplished

I finished my improvised Newbie Overachiever Level for the Jane Austen Challenge of 2010 with a day to spare!

Lady Catherine's Necklace was a quick read, but a terrible disappointment after some of the other Joan Aiken novels I've read based on Austen's work. I would go so far as to say save yourself the trouble and skip it because only Lady Catherine and her daughter Anne are actually from Pride and Prejudice, and the storyline with its ensemble of new characters just doesn't flow well.

After that letdown, it took me a while to start Mr. Darcy's Diary, and I must admit that I was surprised by how much I liked it. I wasn't prepared for much after previously reading Edmund Bertram's Diary, also by Amanda Grange, but this was a good companion to the original Pride and Prejudice. It started slightly before P&P begins, follows the course of P&P from Mr. Darcy's point of view, then shows all of our favorite characters a few months after P&P ends.

In all, I enjoyed completing the Jane Austen Challenge since it gave me a good excuse to read several of the books that have been collecting dust on my shelves! The final list of novels I read:

• Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
  
• Edmund Bertram's Diary by Amanda Grange
• Mansfield Park Revisited by Joan Aiken
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• Lady Catherine's Necklace by Joan Aiken
• Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange
  

Beyond the Challenge

Over the weekend, I finally finished reading Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice. This technically completes the Jane Austen Challenge I signed up for earlier this year, but since I'm an overachiever, I decided to go above and beyond the the Newbie level (but not quite up to the Lover level) by adding two spin-offs, Mr. Darcy's Diary and Lady Catherine's Necklace. From flipping through both books, they should be easy reads to complete before the end of the year.

Pride and Prejudice is also the last of Austen's six novels that I had never read. I guess it's time to start re-reading those that I read several years ago... or tackle the insane number of spin-offs that are now available (several of which are buried on my "to read" bookshelf).

Another Austen Update

Out of the four books I am supposed to read for the Jane Austen Challenge, I have now finished three!

I blogged back in July that I had finished Mansfied Park and was thinking about changing the Austen spin-offs I had originally chosen. Last month I read Edmund Bertram's Diary (and passed it on to Robin, who roped me into this challenge in the first place!) then decided to go for the only other Mansfield Park spin-off I've been able to locate: Mansfield Park Revisited (original title, no?)

Now I have started the final book of the challenge, Pride & Prejudice. I may just finish this thing before time is up!

Austen Update

Back in January, I joined the Jane Austen Challenge, and I am happy to report that seven months later I have finished my first book, Mansfield Park! I still plan to read Pride and Prejudice, but next I think I'll read a Mansfield Park spin-off called Edmund Bertram's Diary (instead of either The Pemberly Chronicles or The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen...) But first I have to read the next book club pick before we meet on August 1st!

Austen Viewing Opportunities

I've been working on my wedding blog so much that I have been neglecting my regular blog (though wedding planning has become my newest hobby out of necessity...) I took a break from everything last night to indulge in a little Austen, so here's a summary of her six major novels and their dramatizations on DVD.

Emma

Emma was the first Austen novel I ever read my senior year of high school. Each of the movies are well done, though the most adorable Harriet Smith is in the old BBC version. The newest version premiered on Masterpiece Classics earlier this year and hopefully will end up in my DVD collection soon!

Mansfield Park

I am currently reading Mansfield Park for the Jane Austen Challenge. Out of her six novels, it's the one I am least familiar with. I saw the 1999 version during college, but don't remember much about it. I've seen the 80's version, which is looooooooooooooooooong and pretty bland. I would love to see the newest version... maybe they'll show it again next year on Masterpiece Classics.

Northanger Abbey

Austen's first novel, Northanger Abbey, is my favorite since I can identify with Catherine Moreland being obsessed with her novels. I didn't actually read this one until I had seen the newest version and fallen in love with the story. I checked the DVD out from the library so much that my mother finally bought it for me. Do not watch the earlier version unless you really know and love the story, or you want to go on a confusing 80's new age music trip.

Persuasion

I hosted book club for Jane Austen's Persuasion to share this classic with my friends and showed the newest version. Aside from a few minor changes, it is extremely faithful to the book, and I will own it one of these days. The 70's BBC version is really good as well, and I'm still trying to get my hands on a copy of the 1995 version.

Pride & Prejudice

I actually have not read Austen's Pride and Prejudice, though I have read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (with Seth Grahame-Smith's zombie mayhem edits) for book club. It's on my list for the Jane Austen Challenge, and hopefully I'll get a chance to finally read it this year! There is not a bad adaptation in the bunch so far, though I haven't seen the version from the 40's yet. I own the Keira Knightley version, and I definitely wouldn't object to a copy of the newly remastered version with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy!

Sense & Sensibility

I have read Sense and Sensibility, though I would like the chance to read it again since it's been awhile. I watched the 1981 version last night (which prompted this post), then found out there is an even earlier version (1971) that I must find and watch now. I own the Emma Thompson version, and I would love to have a copy of the wonderfully done 2008 version as well.

Austen I Have Read

It all started with Emma, which I read for summer reading the year we moved to Georgia. Several years later, I read Sense and Sensibility during my first year of teaching. My obsession with all things Austen really took off two years ago when I started watching the new Masterpiece Theater productions of her novels. Since then I have read both Persuasion and Northanger Abbey. I have also inundated myself with an avalanche of sequels, prequels, spin-offs, and spoofs:

• What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown -- Good fluff
• Lydia Bennet's Story by Jane Odiwe -- Well-written, but I didn't necessarily agree with Lydia's happy ending
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith -- I wouldn't have read this if it weren't for Book Club, and I actually enjoyed it
• Jane Austen by Marghanita Laski -- Short biography with lots of pictures!
• Austenland by Shannon Hale -- Really cute fluff!
• Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler -- I was disappointed with this one
• Jane Austin's Guide to Dating by Lauren Henderson -- Hilarious non-fiction!

That doesn't include all of the books on my shelf (plus Mansfield Park and Pride and Prejudice, which I have not actually read yet). Hence the reason for joining the Jane Austen Challenge...

Jane Austen Challenge

My good friend, Robinbird, referred me to a blog that has a Jane Austen challenge. Who am I to resist a good Austen-fest? Plus, I have way too many of books inspired by her and her works gathering dust on my shelf right now...

Between Book Club and my wedding, I figured that I'd aim low, so I'm going for the "Newbie" level. My book choices are:

• Pride and Prejudice
• Mansfield Park
• The Pemberley Chronicles
  
• The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen

These unread books I also own may help me towards the "Lover" level by the end of the year!

• Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sandition
  
• Just Jane: A Novel of Jane Austen's Life
• What Would Jane Austen Do?

Jury Selection

I had to go back to the courthouse today. I brought better reading material with me this time... no Nicholas Sparks to make them wonder why a potential juror is bawling her eyes out! Notice below that I have covered over the decaying zombie part of the face of my copy of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Book Club selection for October...)


After a couple of hours, the 18 of us summoned today got to experience jury selection. It was actually kind of fascinating. Being that I was the last person on the list, I was not selected to serve on this particular jury. But I get to call back tonight to see if they want me to report in tomorrow!

Praying for Rain

I've been slightly obsessed with Jane Austen lately. How about a montage of period dramas for your Friday viewing pleasure?

Austen Overload

I wasn't planning to post today, but HistoryDiva had posted a "Which Austen Heroine are You?" quiz, and I just had to check it out for myself. Then I noticed that LibraryDiva also had the quiz on her blog, so here is my post to complete the set (thought I am not Elizabeth Bennet, like the two of them).

Take the Quiz here!