You Must Allow Me To Tell You How Ardently I Admire And Love You

Hola Readers!  Time for some more Jane Austen and today I get to ramble about my favorite of her books, Pride and Prejudice.  This was the first Austen book I read and to this day it is still my favorite, especially when I remember the era it was written in.  It is the most retold of all the Austen novels and I'm just gonna jump right in.  As always SPOILERS AHEAD!

I'm gonna try and keep this brief as there are a zillion sources for really cohesive synopsis...or of course you could just read it.  We open with the news that the Netherfield Manor has been rented by a man of considerable fortune, a Mr. Bingley.  This news allows us to get acquainted with all the Bennet family, who are the main players in the family.  Jane, the eldest daughter is all sweetness and kindness with a beauty to match.  Our girl Elizabeth is smart, fiery and not unattractive.  Mary, moral and scholarly, Kitty a kind of petty and bland follower.  The youngest is Lydia, spoiled, selfish and clueless.  The five girls live with their mother, the over the top, yet very loving Mrs. Bennet, and their father, the calm and detached Mr. Bennet.  The girls are introduced to Mr. Bingley, his two sisters and his friend the soon to be infamous Mr. Darcy at a local ball.  Mr. Bingley is charming and already half in love with Jane, but Mr. Darcy is proud, arrogant and makes the mistake of snubbing Elizabeth, leading the family and the town in general to dislike him.  Jane continues to be a favorite of Mr. Bingley and is invited by his sisters for dinner.  At Netherfield, Jane catches a bad cold and is forced to stay. Elizabeth goes to stay with her and consequently spends time with the family.   Mr. Darcy finds himself intrigued by the spirited Elizabeth, while Mr. Bingley's sisters...especially Caroline...the single one are not as thrilled to find themselves in competition with her fine eyes.  Meanwhile the militia has come to reside in town, bringing with it the dashing and charming Mr. Wickham.  Wickham has the prior acquaintance of Mr. Darcy and regales Elizabeth with the details of his abuse at the hands of said gentleman.  This further colors Elizabeth's bad opinion of Mr. Darcy.  Bingley holds a ball at Netherfield where it is evident that he is very much in love with Jane, and that Jane feels the same.  Unfortunately the rest of the Bennet family (excepting Elizabeth) acts in a very un mannerly way.  A few days later word comes that the family has left Netherfield for London and has no idea when...or if they will come back.  Amidst this chaos, Mr. Collins, a nephew of Mr. Bennet comes to stay with the family. Mr. Collins is ridiculous, simpering and completely unaware.  He is also the fortunate clergyman of the formidable Lady de Bourgh...who takes an undue interest in him and his house.  He comes with the intention of marrying one of the girls, as when Mr. Bennet dies the whole of Longbourn estated (the Bennet family home) will go to him due to an entail.  He chooses Elizabeth, who wisely refuses him based on so many factors.  He does not take the rejection well and ends up at Lucas Lodge, the home of Charlotte Lucas, a friend of Elizabeth's.  He "falls in love" with Charlotte and the two are married.  Jane goes to London to try and recover her spirits at the loss of Mr. Bingley.  Elizabeth travels to visit with Charlotte after her marriage.  While there Elizabeth meets the Lady de Bourgh, who turns out not only to be Mr. Darcy's aunt, but hints that her sickly daughter is intended as his bride.  At some point during her stay, Mr. Darcy and his cousin come to stay with Lady de Bourgh and Elizabeth and he once again are thrown together.  Mr. Darcy comes to Elizabeth and his famous proposal was made.  Elizabeth's equally famous rejection is given.  Mr. Darcy
delivers a letter or Elizabeth addressing her accusations of him separating Mr. Bingley and Jane, and the bad stuff he did to Mr. Wickham.   He cops to separating the couple based on his being convinced that she did not really love him, also on the complete and utter lack of propriety shown by most of her family.  As far as Mr. Wickham goes...well let's just say he was a very bad boy and is lucky that Mr. Darcy didn't do more to utterly destroy him.   Ok moving on (we are only halfway through...)  Elizabeth returns home to the news that the militia....including Mr. Wickham are to be moved to the sea town of Brighton.  Lydia is desperate to go, as they are essentially her whole source of entertainment.  For once Mr. Bennet denies his wife and daughter and staunchly opposes the deal.  Lydia however is given another chance when she is invited specifically by one of the officers wives.  Though Elizabeth begs her father not to let her go, he gives his consent.  Elizabeth's aunt and uncle take her on a trip to visit the county of Derbyshire...which just happens to contain the famous Pemberly, of which Mr. Darcy is master.  After learning that the family is gone for the summer, the trio decide to visit it.  Of course since this is a book....Mr. Darcy comes home early much to the embarrassment of Elizabeth.  Mr. Darcy surprises everybody by acting the perfect gentleman.  He comes and visits Elizabeth, bringing with him his sister and Mr. Bingley.  A couple of visits shows us that Mr. Darcy still has feelings for Elizabeth, and she finds herself warming to this improved Mr. Darcy.  Of course we need some sort of drama so Elizabeth receives a couple of letters from Jane.  They detail the saga of Lydia and her potential elopement with Mr. Wickham...then further news comes that they are somewhere in London most definitely not married.  Elizabeth tells Mr. Darcy the news then goes home with her aunt and uncle to deal with the crisis.  After much ado word comes that Lydia and Wickham are finally married and to be sent up North.  The pair stop by Longbourn on their way North and Lydia lets it slip that Mr. Darcy was the reason for their marriage. This of course just adds to Elizabeth's growing love.  The Bennet family is surprised to receive a visit from the Lady de Bourgh.  She pulls Elizabeth aside with the intent of securing a promise from her to never marry Mr. Darcy...to which Elizabeth pretty much just laughs.  Mr. Darcy and Mr. Bingley come back to Netherfield.  Mr. Bingley immediately renews his attentions to Jane, resulting in an engagement.  Shortly after, Mr. Darcy feels out Elizabeth and finding her own feelings changed to a much more loving tone also proposes.  The girls get married to their men, continue to take care of their families and live ever after.   Whew...sorry....that was really long.

World Building - This story is set in 17th century England, mostly in the countryside.  It is what most people consider historical fiction...except it wasn't written as historical fiction...so it's just fiction.  Anyways.  Mereton, Longbourn, Kent, Rosing Park, Pemberly, Netherfield, all of these places have been created so well that many people think that they are real.  I find it interesting that the author mixes real places (England, London, various counties) and places of complete and utter fiction (see above).  The seamlessness of these two types of places just adds to the overall completeness off the world.  Not bad for world building.

Story - As always, Ms. Austen likes to have multiple threads of story, usually all culminating together.  I like how at first glance there seems to be several disparate story lines, but by the end of the book we see how they are all connected.  While there are several slightly overly convenient moments, overall the story actually makes some sort of sense.  The various storylines keep it from being to simple or boring and it is markedly different from the authors previous work.  Also...I have just always really loved this story...so yeah...awesome.

Character - Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy are by far the most dynamic of characters, with both of them going through legit changes in opinion and belief.  The rest of the characters are a bit one note.  A few of them show some growth or layers, but for the most part any non Elizabeth/Darcy character seems written to illustrate a certain point or characteristic.  The other four sisters embody either a virtue (Jane - beauty and goodness) or a flaw (Lydia wild and reckless).  Mr. Collins is the foolish suck up, Caroline is petty and jealous...so on and so forth.  The two saving graces of characterization for me is a) the two main characters do go through significant change and b) with the plethora of characters in this book the one noteness is not as apparent as we do not spend an inordinate amount of time with anybody but our main duo. So Ok on Character.

Editing - For as huge (apx 375 pages depending on the edition) as this book is, it flows really well and even the first time through I read it pretty quickly.  This tells me that I did not need to spend time going back and forth or trying to remember who or what was going on.  It also helps that all the story and character threads are being continually tied together to make a tapestry of a book.  Good job.

Love Stories - I love the variety of ways to "fall in love" that are shown in this book. We have "prudent love" in which Charlotte Lucas marries Mr. Collins in a bid to make a comfortable home for herself in a very practical manner.  "Puppy love" in which Lydia throws herself in the arms of Wickham deciding it to be true love in a moment.  Jane and Bingley give us pure and innocent romantic love that just makes us smile.  "Uneven love" in the case of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet is a warning against a mismatched pairing.  Of course we have the piece de resistance in Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy.  This is my kind of love story, they start of with a dislike of each other and both form an opinion on very little information.  Over the course of the book they learn to communicate and accept new information about each other.  The biggest part of this developing relationship is the ability of both parties to admit where they are wrong and grow from it without losing who they are.  I think this is why I love this book so much.

Upper Class - This book is most defiantly about the upper class.  I think the militia and maybe Mr. Collins are the lowest "class" of citizens in this book and none of them are suffering.  The vast majority of the characters have no actual occupation other then some vague business having to do with their estates.  The few who do work are intellectuals or sermon givers, and none of them do any real sort of manual labor.  I guess it could be said that the militia could potentially go to war, but the general feeling was of men at leisure for the most part.  This is all and well and works for the story, but probably leaves a dimension out.

Adaptability - One of my favorite things about this book i the adaptability of it.  I have seen and read a bunch of versions of this story and have loved many of them (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies anybody?).  The movies are hit or miss with of course the BBC version being the best (and also 6 hours long), but I have to admit I'm a bit in love with Bride and Prejudice a Bollywood version of the book that just makes me happy.  I love a story that can be set in many times and places and I am open to any suggestions.

Overall Impression - I think it's pretty clear that I very much love this book.  It is one that goes on my favorites shelf and has such great readability I don't think I will ever get tired of it.  I give it 10 out of 10 pianofortes and recommend it to anybody who wants a solid classic story, characters to fall in love and hate with and a world to become completely immersed.  Happy Reading Everybody!

"Know Your Own Happiness"

Finally finished my first Jane Austen book of the great reread!  It took me a while mostly 'cause the weather was being dumb and when the weather would cooperate I was on an ambulance keeping people alive.  Anyways a couple of nice days with some free time and I've finished Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.  Are we ready for my thoughts on this first novel by our famous lady?  But first, as always SPOILERS AHEAD!

I'm not gonna go into a ton of detail as full on synopsis are available in a zillion places, but here is the bare bones gist.  Our story centers on the Dashwood women.  We have Mrs. Dashwood, the widowed second wife of a gentleman.  She has three daughters, the sensible Elinor, the passionate Marianne and the young Margaret.  Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters must find a new living under diminished means after the late Mr. Dashwoods son from his first marriage inherits almost all of his assets.  The ladies are fortunate enough to be offered a cottage by a distant relation, Sir John Middleton and his wife.  Though much less the they are used to, the women find a way to get comfortable.  Elinor is stoically nursing a secret attachment to her brother's wife's brother...that makes sense right?  Anyways the gentleman in question is Edward Ferrars, who is even more stoic and controlled then Elinor.  Unfortunately for our stalwart couple, his mother and sister are set against any marriage that does not improve the family fortune.  The family is continually invited to the main house of the Middleton's where they make the acquaintance of Colonel Brandon, a man out of his 20's who very much admires Marianne and her free spirit.  She of course being young and wild does not consider the man a true prospect.  While out exploring her new surroundings, Marianne falls and injures her ankle and is rescued by the dashing young Willoughby.  With what feels to Elinor a lack of propriety the pair begin a very obvious flirtation, spending as much time together as humanly possible.  One day at a party headed by Colonel Brandon, he is suddenly called away on urgent business.  Elinore learns from the effusive Mrs. Jennings (Sir John's mother-in-law) that the Colonel has a tragic past that involved a young free spirited girl that he was not allowed to marry, leading to the young woman landing in very dire straights.  Not much later Willoughby with an apparent sudden change of heart bids farewll to the Dashwoods in a very abrupt and painful manner, leaving Marianne a not so happy creature.  Meanwhile two young lady's by the name of Ann and Lucy Steele have taken up residence with Sir John and his family.  Elinor is taken into the confidence of Lucy and is informed that Lucy has been engaged to Edward for several years.  The engagement has been kept a secret as his mother would not be pleased to see her eldest son wed to such a low person.  Marianne and Elinor are invited to London by Mrs. Jennings and they agree to go.  Upon arrival Marianne promptly does her best to get in touch with Willoughby to no avail.  The Steeles also arrive to plague Elinor with Lucy's continual talk of her engagement.  Marianne eventually gets to see Willoughby, but he is very cold and very formal with her.  This is followed by a letter letting her know in no uncertain terms that there is nothing between them.  Marianne is devastated and succumbs to a crippling emotional melancholy.  Colonel Brandon arrives soon after to tell Elinor that the reason he and Willoughby left was because Willoughby and seduced, impregnated and then abandoned Colonel Brandon's ward.  After much back and forth, it finally comes out to Edward's mother and sister of his engagement to Lucy...and it does not go well.  He is essentially disinherited in favor of his younger brother, but Edward shows his true colors by refusing to break of he engament just for the sake of money (good job Edward).  Elinor is resigned that he should follow his honor instead of his heart and prepares herself to live with the idea of him married to Lucy.  The Dashwood sisters start their journey home, but are stalled when Marianne falls very ill.  She is tended by Elinor, Colonel Brandon and eventually her mother. At some point Willoughby comes to seek if not forgiveness, then at least understanding.  Mariann starts to recover and they head home with Mariann being clamer and wiser for her illness.  Upon arrival they are greeted with the news of Lucy becoming Mrs. Ferrars.  Everybody believes that Edward and Lucy married...until Edward shows up to refute that idea.  Apparently after shifting the inheritance to Edward's brother, Lucy found she preferred him and left Edward.  This has the happy consequence of allowing Edward to follow his heart to Elinor, who agree's to be his wife.  They soon marry.  Marianne eventually grows to love the Colonel who has stayed by her through thick and thin and also finds happiness.  Everybody gets what they deserve, learn to be better people and live mostly happily ever after.

World Building - Set in the late 1700's in various parts of England, this at the time could be considered contemporary.  Of course we all now think of it as historical fiction...but yeah.  Anyways, the author does a good job of setting the various scene's, making us feel like we are in the various locations and really really making me want to visit 18th century England.  I always feel like I could walk the streets or parks or paths of whatever place the characters happen to be.  One of my favorite things about this author.  In this book in particular I am always enamored with Barton Cottage and the surrounding areas.

Story - With the exception of a few overly convenient plot points, the story is very well done.  We have the weaving of several story lines, a bunch of characters and a setting the brings everything together in a fairly believable fashion.  This is one of the more full on romantic of this authors novels, focusing mostly on the love lives of the main characters, but so many other things are also taken into consideration.  The ability of the author to balance romance, everyday living, practicality, humor, pathos and every other literary thing is pretty awesome.  It is even cooler when I remember that this was at the time a contemporary novel so it was written for the time, and yet still resonates now.

Character - The varied and complex characters are for me what really make a Jane Austen novel.  She has the ability to create characters that at first glance seem to be stock or even extreme, but as the novel goes on we notice nuance and growth for almost every single character.  Take the two main characters for example.  Elinor is portrayed as stoic and sensible.  This is mostly a good thing, but we see where her inability to share her feelings with the people she loves leads to miscommunication.  Marianne on the other hand is overly emotional leading people to try and calm her or tame her, yet at the same time she is shown to be able to truly enjoy life in a way most people can't.  We see Mrs. Jennings as portrayed to be a well-meaning gossip, yet by the end of the book both Elinor and Marianne see that she acts with genuine love and care.  I LOVE that everybody has a motive, arc and even in most cases some sort of redeeming quality.

Editing - To me this book makes perfect sense.  Some people have a bit of difficulty with some of the language...not Shakespeare level trouble, but enough to turn some people off.  There are several editions that contain footnotes and blurbs that explain some of the more arcane language or turns of phrase.  I find this both helpful and enlightening and find it a smart editorial choice.

Love - This book is chock full of love.  Family love, sister love, friend love, but most prominently love love.  I like this book because it shows us the many ways a person can fall in and out of love.  We have Elinor and Edward who take there time and fall in love with the whole person.  They also suffer because they are both stoic and honorable and are constantly giving each other up for various noble reasons...I'm just glad they finally got together.  Marianne shows us violent young love that does not wait for true knowledge of the other person, but rather falls in love with idea's and circumstances.  Marianne's later acknowledgement and acceptance of the slower, deeper, yet way less passionate love of Colonel Brandon shows a maturity in here way of thinking.  Lucy Steele shows us a more selfish and catty love as she attaches only to improve her station AND to make people (mostly Elinor) feel bad.  Willoughby's flirtations, seductions, abandonment's and finally marrying for money show us the worst of immature love where one only loves to gratify ones own feelings.  By exploring the various kinds of love and their consequences I feel like every teenager regardless of gender/identity should read this book to get an idea of the craziness that is what we call love.

Humor - When one talks about classics or even more specifically Jane Austen one does not necessarily think of humor.  I will probably address this again, as it is one of my favorite things about Austen's style, but let's start here.  Ms. Austen has a very subtle tongue in cheek style that can catch one of guard if you are not paying attention.  There is more then one occasion when I have laughed out loud at a turn of phrase or a well placed pun.  Also certain characters (the elder Ms. Steele and Charlotte Palmer comes to mind) that seemed to be placed in the book for comic relief.  It is this well roundedness that adds a lot to the overall reading experience.

 Ages - This is just a bit of a personal thing for me.  I know that the era that this was written in was vastly different then ours is now...but still.  In this book in particular, the ages of the girls who are looking to be married are very young, like 17 years old young.  In this book Marianne, who is 17 marries the 36 year old Colonel Brandon...who has a 15 year old female ward...who has a baby of her own...so essentially he married a girl who is the same age as his adopted daughter and made her an instant grandmother...kinda ew...and I like Colonel Brandon...but ew...and apparently lots of ellipses...Anyways.  I know there are probably worse things, and that the age difference still happens today and there are many happy couples who have a significant age difference.  I think it's the idea of a 17 year old grandmother that really gets to me...so...yeah.

Overall Impression - This first novel of my beloved Jane Austen does not disappoint.  I love the complicatedness of it, I love the humaness of it, I love the eloquance of it, I don't love the overly convenient plot fixes...but that is minor compared to the awesomeness of this debut novel.  I give it 8 out of 10 painted screens and recommend it to anybody who wants a great story, loves a classic or is looking for a non vomit inducing romance.  Happy Reading Everybody!

The Great Jane Austen ReRead Of Awesome

Hola Readers!  It's spring time...kind of...well it's supposed to snow all weekend...but still...it's March sooooo in my head it's spring time.   I have been seriously craving the classics lately (seriously the
last trip to the book store brought home new Tolkien's, Lewis's and other such greats).  Spring also always puts me into an Austen mood.  I also realized that there are several books of this awesome lady that I have not read in a while.  Since I can usually get through a Jane Austen book pretty quickly I've decided to spend the spring (and let's be honest, probably a chunk of the summer) rereading these awesome books.  I will also be watching the movies (in some cases multiple versions of the movies) and rambling on them as I finish.  I'm excited!!!! Happy Reading Everybody!

Bringing Magic Back To England

I DID IT!!!!  I finally finished my big fat book!  Clocking in at a whopping 1006 pages of teeny tiny type complete with footnotes is the book Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke.  This book had been on my TBR pile for a while and got pulled out after Hubbin discovered a BBC version of the book.  Despite it's length the book was very readable and I am now ready to attempt to ramble about it.

The book is written as a bit of a history, complete with foot notes and follows two very different magicians the staid and cautious Mr. Norrell and the younger more fiery Jonathan Strange.   Essentially we are taken to an alternate version of Victorianish England (though there is a King on the throne not a Queen) where magic is accepted as part of life.  Being a magician is a respectable job and magic is talked about in all circles.  However, magic at this time is only theoretical.  Magicians are actually just men who study any sort of magical text they can get there hands on.  True magic has been gone from the realm of England for hundreds of years for some reason.  Enter Mr. Norrell, a scholarly little man who is obsessed with buying, reading and hoarding books of a magical nature.  To this end he has actually been able to perform real magic and is brought to England to become the authority and sole practicer of magic.  Mr. Norrell has in his employ a mysterious man by the name of Childermass who pretty much runs Mr. Norrell's life for him. To prove the respectability and genuine nature of magic, Mr. Norrell engages the help of a fairy, known as the Gentlman with the thistle-down hair, to bring the Lady Pole back to life after she dies.  The deal Mr. Norrell brokers with the

Gentleman essentially dooms the Lady Pole to be held in fairy whenever the Gentlman chooses. Along comes Jonathan Strange, a gentleman who has started practicing magic after a run in with the vagabond Vinculus who speaks a prophecy stating among other things that two magicians will bring back magic to England.  We then follow our two magicians as they use their own styles of magic, sometimes together and sometimes at odds to help England win a war, protect the country and try and discover lost spells.  Meanwhile the Lady Pole continues to be sucked into fairy at any given time, makeing her appear quit mad. The butler Stehpen black, a black servant who the Gentleman has taken a liking to does his best to support Lady Pole.  Strange's wife Arabella is the only other person who is able to be with Lady Pole.  Eventually the two magicians have a falling out.  Mr. Norrell wants to continue and keep a tight reign on all things magic while Strange wants to bring magic to the masses.  All kinds of stuff happens one of which is the unfortunate death of Arabella Strange.  Strange leaves the country to finish his book and recover from his wife's death and Mr. Norrell stays in London to fret and work with the government on improving the country.  Strange discovers that madness is the key to seeing fairy and finds a way to distill it to its essence and become mad at will.  With this madness he discovers the Gentleman has actually stolen Arabella to fairy to be a companion to Lady Pole and she is not dead after all.  After a battle of wills, the Gentleman wraps Strange in eternal night and Strange devotes his time to trying to find John Uskglass, the Raven King who brought magic to England in the first place.  More crazyness and mayhem and Strange finally comes to Mr. Norrell for help.  The two magicians work together to find a way to summon the Raven King and unintentionally give Stephen Black the power to finally defeat the Gentleman.  Lady Pole and Arabella are released and Mr. Norrell and Jonathan Strange, wrapped in their eternal night disappear from England.  Childermass, along with Vinculus assemble all who want to learn magic and utilize the power that now flows through England.  This my friends does not even begin to summarize the complexity of this book, the stories and the characters, I just do not have enough time or space to truly give you the gist of this book, so this will have to do.

World Building - This book has a very Jane Austinesque vibe when it comes to world building.  We get to see a variety of English places (and few other places in Europe) mostly through the eyes of the gentleman class.  It is a bit drearier and a bit harsher then true Austin, but the vibe totally comes through.  One extra aspect of world building is the realm of fairy.  I really very much enjoyed how the author built the world of fairy as being right next door to our world, complete with cross-roads and touch stones.  The best parts of fairy where the descriptions of the familiar with a fantastic twist.  Ever time I picked up this book I was easily able to slip into the worlds the author created.

Story - So this was an interesting book as far as story goes.  I am not 100% sure that there was an actual whole beginning, middle and end story or if it was more of a history with the reader just catching a slice of time.  There were bits of story, mostly connected with individual characters, but over all I felt that this was more of an old school history of an alternate place/time.  That being said, it was still a book that I could pick up and read and stay interested in so yeah.  Maybe it was that there were many many stories with in the framework of the history that kept it interesting...yeah, so not really sure how to describe it, but I liked it.

Character - This may be where the Austin feel really came through in this book.  The characters were many and varied and true to themselves.  Right when I was about to get tired of reading about a certain character or story line, bam the author switched to somebody else and it was awesome.  I particularly liked the Raven King as an overarching presence that was constantly felt but only once actually seen; Childermass who probably actually knew and understood more then any other character; Stephen Black a man who was kind, smart, brave, and searching to belong; Vinculus the vagabond man with all the answers and of course the Gentleman who tied everybody together.  The characters may be the best part of this book.

Editing - This was a very very long book and I want to be tempted to say that it could have easily been broken up...but you know what?  I'm glad it is one long self contained book.  It really gives the vibe of a history in this format.  For all it's length, the way it is broken up in parts and chapters makes it very very readable and the fun footnotes that are scattered through out just adds to the overall feel.  It was consistent, follow able and readable, editing for the win.

The Author - Ok so I really feel like the author and the way she wrote this book has to be talked about.  She started writing it in 1993 and did not actually publish the whole book until 2003, that my friends is dedication.  She worked on it in her spare time and had to work with trying to put all her ideas and fragments into a cohesive form.  I totally feel her and her writing style 'cause every time I try and write something I feel the same way.  I obviously don't have the patience she does, but it makes the book all that better for me that I feel a kinship with her thought process and writing style.

Fairy - I love love love old school English/Welsh/Scottish/Irish/Celtic style fairy land.  This book brought the old school ideas of stolen humans, especially children, timelessness, agreements between fairy and human kind, the glamour vs the reality of magic, just everything that I love.  I felt like I could go hunt down a fairy road and ride off and explore this whole other world behind the mirrors.  I have not read such a great take on the old school fairy in a while and I have to say I loved every second of it and totally want to read more about the Raven King...hint hint lol.

Manners - Ok ok I know I have mentioned the Austin feel of this book 100 times, but here it is again.  I am a Jane Austin fan, her ability to mingle peoples everyday lives with wit and story have always made her books a go to for me.  When an author can capture that style in a whole new book I am always happy.  This book had the feel of manners and little intrigues (along with the big stuff), just instead of marriages it was magic.  The combination of the Austin feel with the old school Fairy feel and then turning it into something wholly original is pretty epic.

Overall Impression - I liked this book, it is a book book, it is a book for people who like to READ!  This is not a book for the beach, or a quick pick me up, it requires concentration, time, and a love of reading.   That being said, it is a wonderful book, I give it 8 out of 9 viles of mad cat lady essence and recommend it to anybody who loves to read, likes Austen, magic, Fairy or just some good writing.  Happy Reading Everybody!

So Ready For Spring!

I am usually not a warm weather person but I am SOOOOOO ready for spring!  I am ready to read outside on nice days, to open all the doors and windows and let the spring showers refresh the house.  I am ready to break out my Jane Austen and Diana Wynn Jones (my go to spring authors).

 I am ready for color and farmers markets and waterfalls and discovering new nooks and crannies to read in.  I am ready to climb a tree and read in the branches, I am ready to go hunt down some new faeries and see if they have any new stories for me.  Bring on the Spring!!!!!

Heaving Bosoms And The Undead

My friend L called this weekend wanting to see the new Pride and Prejudice and Zombies movie "based" (note the quotes) on the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame - Smith and Jane Austen which is an undead take on Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen...did you catch all that?  I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pride and Prejudice, and was actually quit pleased with the book Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, so I agreed to go.  After bribing him with Vanilla Caramel Bourbon Milkshakes (seriously Heaven in a chilled glass) Hubbin agreed to come with.  The movie was actually a lot of fun.  It did not really follow either book, but it did pay homage to it many times along with the original Colin Firth BBC version of the movie (seriously at one point the new Darcy does the whole white shirt into the water scene).

Where the book did it's best to essentially BE Pride and Prejudice as written just now with zombies, the movie decided to take on a bit of a different story line, adding in many battles and a four horse men/redeemable zombies sub-plot that was a bit confusing but did make for some great gothic battle scenes.  The casting was pretty spot on, with all the right people being young, beautiful and spunky.  My favorite casting was Lena Headey as Lady Catherine de Bourgh...even if they totally changed the character.  Over all the movie felt like a cheeky modern take on the Jane Austen era as a whole, with a loose arc of Pride and Prejudice laid over the top. There were tons of heaving bosoms barely restrained by corsets, dashing soldiers chopping at zombies and enough high class snark to please any Austenite.  I probably should not have enjoyed it as much as I did as it completely butchered both books...yet I had to give mad props to the pluck and fun of it all.  I have to think that if Jane Austen were alive today, these prim, proper and crazy characters would land within her scope and she too would enjoy the film.  I am not ashamed to say that I really had a good time watching this movie and will probably watch it again, just for the fun of it.  Happy Reading Everybody!

No Complaints...No Really

Spring is here!  I know I know, spring has been here for a while, but it actually feels like spring, not to hot, not to cold, everything is green and you know what that means...time for JANE AUSTEN!!!!! Along with reading all of the books, I have discovered the holy grail of book to movie adaption.  Yep the BBC mini series adaption of Pride and Prejudice.  This gem is really less of an adaption and more of a translation of page to screen.  I love everything about this movie starting with the opening strains of the music that always sets the mood for me.  We then move on to the perfect Colin Firth who will forever be Mr. Darcy to me.  The rest of the casting is also sublime from Jennifer Ehle as the sassy and smart Elizabeth Bennet, to my personal favorite Alsion Steadman who played the over the top Mrs. Bennet to perfection.  The simpering Mr. Collins is perfectly portrayed by David Bamber and I'm pretty sure that Barbara Leigh-Hunt is Lady Catherine.  One of my favorite parts of the movie is the settings, we get to see Longbourn, Pemberly, Netherfields Park, London, Lambton, Kent, Rosings Park, Brighton, Ramsgate, and a plethora of just really pretty English countryside vistas.

The costuming is spot on, with attention paid to the differences between classes, town vs country, age and seasons.  Of course the absolute best part of this show is that it follows the book exactly.  Now to be fair it takes 6 hours to accomplish this...which I guess is a tad long for a single sitting...so I've heard, but the result is finally a faithful, nothing cut, full dialogue, all the characters, all the situations, the whole story being played out in front of you.  This my friends is why the mini-series rules.  I wish more books were adapted in this style as it gives you time and space to actually get the whole story on screen, and not just the parts that particular director/producer feels are necessary.  I also appreciated that they left the story alone, they did not feel the need to add a duel, or a love triangle or anything to "jazz it up", it is a wonderful story and they let it shine.  Now that I have talked about it I am going to go and watch it.  Happy Reading Everybody!
What movie do you think does the best job adapting a book?  Do you think that you can actually adapt a whole book in less then four hours?  Do you think I can watch the whole mini-series in one sitting?

Pride (POW!) and Prejudice (BAM)

The other night I spent absolutely exhausted, stumbling through the stacks at one of my bookstores.  I am sure the people working there either thought I was drunk, or the zombie apocalypse had finally happened.  I had a gift card just begging to be used, and I was going to use it come hell or high water or zombies.  Did I mention I was really really tired.  So here I was stumbling through the stacks and just running my fingers along the books, hoping to suck a little energy from then when all of a sudden I just had to sit down and rest (seriously tired folks).  As I was sitting there I looked to the shelf across from me and lo and behold I was in the Jane Austen section.  With all the places I could randomly collapse in, this was a pretty good one.  I started scanning the shelves to see what other things I could add to my already extensive Austen collection, when I saw a thin book covered in plastic.  Hmmm, I picked it up and lo and behold it was Pride and Prejudice in comic book/graphic novel form!  Yep somebody had taken my beloved book and turned it into a series of five comic books, the collection of which I held in my hand.  Of course I had to buy it (along with a Zombie Choose-Your-Own-Adventure book for the Hubbin) and so I did.

Last night me, my bubble bath and my glass of wine decided to have a go at this little concoction that was essentially a 50 page Pride and Prejudice.  Are you ready?  If you haven't read the orginial (shame on you) then beware 'cause SPOILERS AHEAD!

The book itself kept the story line of the original book.  Bingley arrives. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett tease/annoy each other. the ball where Bingley falls in love with Jane and Darcy scorns Elizabeth.  Jane gets sick, Elizabeth staying to comfort her...while Darcy unscorns her. Elizabeth meets Wickham and hears his tale of woe. Darcy dances with Elizabeth at the Netherfield Ball, rest of Bennet family makes fools of themselves (except Jane). Mr. Collins proposes and is refused by Elizabeth. Mr. Collins proposes and is accepted by Charlotte Lucas.  Bingley and co move back to London. Jane goes to London, Elizabeth visits Charlotte in Kent. Elizabeth meets the formidable Lady de Bourgh. Darcy and cousin visit Lady de Bourgh and spend time with Elizabeth. Darcy proposes against his very character and Elizabeth obviously refuses and throws his meanness back in his face. Darcy writes letter explaining everything. Elizabeth is confused. Jane is rejected by Caroline and decides that Bingley is never coming back (aw sad). Elizabeth goes with her aunt and uncle to where Darcy lives, she runs in to him at Pemberley (think life styles of the rich and famous times 100) his family estate. Elizabeth is introduced to his sister and they all seem to be having a grand old time. Elizabeth gets a letter informing her that her youngest sister Lydia has run away with Wickham (back when this was the worst thing EVER!). Elizabeth tells Darcy everything, Darcy says goodbye.  Elizabeth goes home while her father and uncle search London for the naughty lovers.  Lovers found and married.
Lydia and Wickham come to the Bennets house and flaunt there stupidity.  Lydia lets slip that Darcy arranged everything.  Bingley and Darcy return to Netherfield.  Darcy, Bingley, Jane and Elizabeth take many walks.  Bingley proposes to Jane and of course Jane says yes.  Lady de Bourgh comes to forbid Elizabeth to marry Darcy (which is hard considering Elizabeth said no in the first place) to which Elizabeth says she will do whatever she wants.  Darcy proposes again, Elizabeth of course says yes.  Elizabeth moves and becomes the Real Housewife of Pemberley, with favorite sis Jane near by.  Everybody lives mostly happily ever after. The End.
Yep that is pretty much how the comic book went, technicaly all of the story line was in there, but in a very abrupt on to the next thing sort of way. It was strange because for each of the points mentioned above, there is specific
quotes that fans of the original book will identify and remember and that was pretty much all the dialog consisted of, if you had never read the book you would probably be a little lost.  The art work was pretty good, with only a couple things that did not appeal to me.  For some reason all the smiles looked like deranged clown which was a bit disturbing.  The sisters were all drawn gorgeous super model style, and Darcy...well lets just say I might have a crush on another cartoon man now (don't judge me :-) ).  All of the other characters are drawn in a fairly stereotypical buffoonish way, even characters like Charlotte (who looks like a shrew-witch) or FitzWilliam (who looks like a fat bank owner) get treated badly by the artist.  This is not to say he is not talented, the art work is very well done, I just don't like the portrayal of most of the characters.  There were several characters and side story lines left out (which makes sense considering how short it was) so overall it felt like I was watching Keira Knightly's movie version of the book compared to the Collin Firth mini-series version of the book.  The first one again gets the basic idea across, but loses most of the richness and depth of the full blown six hour mini series.  Overall I am glad I own it, it is one more unique piece to the collection, and it is fun to read the whole thing in like an hour.  I give it 6 out of 10 accomplished ladies.

What do you think of adapting classics to other mediums?  How do different peoples interpretations of classics change there specific adaptions? Should I probably stay away from Etsy with my Austen obsession?

Dragons Everywhere

In case you haven't noticed from my recent posts, I am pretty into dragons.  I love how they can be portrayed in so many different ways, feral and animalistic, old and wise, beautiful and clever, magical and mysterious.  Some morph into other shapes, some ally with humans, some are fierce warriors and others are civilized professors, and of course there are always the comical, cute and cuddly dragons.  Here are some of my favorite books/series about dragons. Obviously there are many many many more that I love that either feature dragons, or have dragons in them, but these are the ones that the dragons tend to be the main focus.

The Dragonriders of Pern

This is my ultimate, favorite, totally in love with series about dragons by my ultimate favorite totally in love with author Anne McCaffery.  This series spans a ton of books, and combines genre's in a way I have never seen before.  The intense bond between the animal and rider, the politics, the world building, the history, the characters, the story, just so much to read in these amazing books.  In fact I think I'm gonna go reread one now.

The Inheritance Cycle

This series is about as EPIC as they come.  I have to say I really love the story arc of the main character Eragon and his dragon Saphira.  There is everything you could want out of an epic fantasy story, dragons, knights, evil, love, elves, dwarves, magic, sword fighting, epic battles, epic journey's, epic everything!  A must read for fans of  J.R.R. Tolkien

Liveship Traders Series

This series combines my love of the open ocean and dragons and good writing all into one neat little trilogy.  Dragons in this series are dealt with in a completely new way, which the author took her time to reveal.  This made an an amazing series even better, because you not only got a solid story and great characters, but a bit of a puzzle to keep you turning each and every page.

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles

Hahaha I love these books, they turn every conception of the Princess/Dragon/Knight in Shiny armor trope upside down and inside out. This thoroughly entertaining series is perfect for all readers young and old.  I find it especially great to show the younger generation that you can be a kick-ass girl and still know and even enjoy the domestic arts.  I also love how the main dragons are girls and that they have the title of KING!

A Tale of Two Castles

This book from Gail Carson Levine made me remember why I loved her so much in the first place.  This fun little novel stars Elodie a wanna-be actress and a dragon detective who takes her in when she needs help.  This take on a fussy yet smart dragon is both humorous and touching, especially the friendship that grows between the dragon and the girl.  If you liked this authors other books, especially her earlier ones, you will find much to enjoy in this one as well.

Seraphina

Besides the fact that this is supposed to be a series/trilogy/duology or something like that, it is a pretty good book.  Again with a different take on dragons making this book very interesting (I know my grammer is atrocious today).  I liked the politics, religion, and history of this book, so much so that I wanted to know even more about this little world.  The mind garden aspect of our main character was probably worth reading about on its own.  What is a mind garden you ask, and what does it have to do with dragons?  Well go read the book and find out.

Tooth and Claw

I just finished this one, and it reminded me of just how much you can do with a dragon.  I loved this one because it was very Austenesque with it's high society, class structure, strict morals, but it still retained a sense of non-humanness to it that I loved.  The dragons while civilized still devoured each other as part of society, death is normal, and having there scales sponged of blood is just a part of an upper class meal.  The contrast between a form of gentility and the fact that these are still dragons was just wonderful to read.

What is your favorite Dragon book/story/series?  How do you prefer your dragons to behave?  How badly do you want a dragon of your very own?  What would you feed a dragon now days?

Dragons And Austen

I AM THE CHAMPION MY FRIEEEEND!  Sorry a tad bit loopy this morning ('cause that is something new). Had an incredibly busy weekend, but a very very productive one.  A lot of things were accomplished including finishing up a couple of books on my list.  One of the books was Tooth and Claw by Jo Walton.  A couple of my favorite review sites had done a piece on this book, touting it as a mix of Jane Austen and Dragons.  These being two of my favorite things how could I refuse?  As always spoilers ahead!

This book skips around between characters which works well for the book, but bad for reviews so most of my rambling summation will be less in book order and more in character order.  We start with the death of Bon Agornin, a merchant class dragon who has raised himself to the class of gentility.  His son the Blessed Penn (who is a parson) is there to help his father in his final moments.  Bon Agornin makes it very clear that all of his gold and his body are to be given to the younger three of his five children as the older two have already been established in good society.  Both the gold to increase wealth for his son Avan and dowries for his younger daughters Selendra and Haner, and the consuming of the body to increase the size and

strength of the young dragons.  You see this part of the world is populated by civil dragons, who come complete with there own rank structure, rules, and religion.  One of the tenets of this world is that when a dragon dies, or is determined to be weak they are to be consumed by other stronger dragons who then grow bigger.  Dragon meat is the only way for a dragon to grow and it is considered the most precious of stuff.  Bon Agornin dies and the family gathers to partake of his body.  Penn takes the eyes as is the parsons due, but defers to his fathers wishes and eats none of the body.  In defiance of his father-in-laws wishes the Illustrious Daverek not only devours a large portion, but insists that his wife (Berand, the oldest of Bon Agornin's children) and there dragonnetts eat as well.  This leaves a pitiful portion to be shared by the three youngest.  Angered over this Avan decides to sue his brother-in-law, heading back to the city with his share of gold to begin proceedings.  Haner is sent to live with her oldest sister and her family, who will also take over Bon Agornin's estate.  Selendra is to go home with her brother Penn and live with his wife and dragonettes.  Before they can all take leave Selendra is propositioned by another parson the Blessed Frelt who wants to marry her, even though she refuses, he keeps pushing up against her.  This causes the maiden dragon to turn from a maidenly gold to a bridal blush.  In this society when a maiden blushes she is no longer a maiden, but essentially spoken for.  Once a maiden is married she continues to darken, eventually turning to red as she lays her clutches.  An unmarried pink dragon is quit scandalous.  Penn is worried about his sisters coloring, telling her if it does not go away quickly she will have to marry Frelt.  Amer an old servant who helped raise the family gives Selendra a potion to drink, warning her that while it will turn her back to maiden gold, it may inhibit her ability to turn pink when she is actually ready to marry.  Selendra agrees to this and returns to gold. Everybody then leaves the estate to go to there new respective homes.  This is where I will start following individual characters for the most part.  Avan the younger son returns to the city where he gets the ball rolling on his case against Daverek.  He also returns to his companion, the lipstick pink Sebeth.  Sebeth is a very pink dragon who is not married and yet shares Avan's bed on a regular basis.  What little history we get is a bit on the tragic side.  She is also a proponent of the Old Religion which while not illegal has been pushed underground.  Avin is in love with Sebeth, but feels he does not have the money or status to negate her fallen nature.  As the suit progresses Daverek uses his money and influence and just all around bullishness to scare everybody away from helping Avan with his case.  In the end Sebeth goes home to her dying father, is made heiress of one of the grandest estates in the
area and marries Avan.  Moving on to Haner and her plight.  Haner is sent to live with her oldest sister Berend who is married to the Illustrious Daverek.  She has turned into a bit of a snob and while she loves her sister,is more concerned with keeping her temperamental husband happy. She is working on her second clutch of eggs, which is a dangerous prospect for a female dragon, many of them dying in the laying of there clutches.  Berend is working on her second clutch very close to the first one, which is risky, but what Daverek wants.  To achieve this Berend has eaten one of her first clutched children, the weakling Lamerak.  While this seems really harsh, this is the way of dragons.  On this note Daverek takes Haner, and Berend on a tour of his estate, stopping at a home which has just had a recent clutch.  As the lord of the estate Daverek is entitled to devour any dragonette, or dragon for that matter that he considers weak or excessive.  He cruelly takes one of the farmers dragonettes and eats it, sharing with his wife and sister-in-law.  Haner is horrified at the wanton cruelty of her sisters husband and starts to rethink the way of things.  She becomes engaged to a young dragon who shares her ideals of better treatment for servants, and less eating of other dragons.  Berend while attempting to lay her third egg dies and leaves her dragonettes and sister in the uncaring custody of her husband.  They are all summoned to the city to give testimony in the case against Daverek and Haner ends up locked in her room.  On to Selendra, who is my favorite part of the story.  Selendra goes to live with her brother Penn and his wife Felin and there two dragonettes Wantos and Gerin.  They live in the estate of Exalted Benandi and his mother, who is essentially the ruling matron.  The Exalted Benandi or Sher is a young dragon who does his best to stay out of his mothers way.  He is a good friend to both Penn and Felin and falls hopelessly in love
with Selendra.  Selendra returns his affections, but finds herself stubbornly staying a maidenly gold.  Terrified that she will not be able to blush, therefore not be able to give Sher children, she first refuses him, and then when his mother sets herself against the match, puts forth impossible tasks for him to accomplish before she says yes.  They are all summoned to the city to give testimony for the case.  Sher accompanies them to try and woo Selendra and also to convince Daverek to not make Penn testify since it would compromise his position in the church.  While at Davereks house Sher and Penn request to see Haner.  Daverek insists that she is sick, but when they go to find her, they see that she has been locked in her room and starved. They rescue Haner and bring her back to the rest of the family at Sher's house.  At the trial Sher is so angered by Daverek that he legally challenges and kills him, graciously offering his body to the family.  Inspired by his bravery Selendra goes to lick his wounds and immediately blushes a beautiful bridal pink.  The estate and money all go to the four remaining siblings and everybody gets married and lives rich and happy.
Overall I enjoyed this book, it did have a Austenesque feel to it which was pretty cool, and the dragon society was very well built.  It was kind of weird because I did not find myself waiting to get back to it, but when I was reading it I enjoyed it thoroughly. It is hard to put this book into any one genre, it has dragons so you could call it fantasy, except for if you replaced the dragons with humans it would definitely be historical fiction.  You can definitely see the different Austen books that are referenced, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion being the most recognizable.  I think what I liked best about this book, was the obvious differences from the aforementioned books.  I think that the author established very well that this was a world of dragons, not people.  Things like death, eating each other, living in caves, binding wings as a sign of servitude among other things all helped to remind the reader that while genteel and civilized we are dealing with a society much different then our own.  The contrast of a dragon being fanatical about hierarchy

and propriety, then turning around and devouring her youngest child was very cool, and warranted.  I also liked the idea of the blushing female dragon, her place in society dictated by her color and marital status.  In a lot of books, the status of ones maidenhood is mostly speculation and hearsay with little or no proof, yet it tends to be the ruin of many a young maiden.  In this book the visual is so striking these poor girls don't stand a chance.  The fact that Selendra changed after just one uncomfortable crowding of an unwanted suitor shows you just how perilous there situation is. I enjoyed how all the different aspects of society were explored, from the humble servants, the hard working tenets, the scraping city workers, and the landed lords and ladies.  I even liked the bits of history that came through. My biggest issue was probably the ending (big surprise right).  It was rather abrupt and I wanted more of an epilogue for each of the siblings and some of the solutions to the big problems were a bit pat.  Overall I would recommend this book to people who like Jane Austen, and/or alternate fantasy. I give it 7 out of 10 dragon claws.

A Spot Of Tea

Just finished the third series of Downton Abbey (which my Hubbin calls Downtown Alley) and it was a heart wrencher.  Aside from giving me the urge to reread all my Jane Austen books, I also have had an incredible urge to ring the butler for a spot of tea.  Now we all know that I am a die hard coffee drinker (coffeecoffeecoffeecoffee), but every once in a while it is nice to sip an herbal brew or two, especially when reading about the wild moors of Scotland, or curled up in your London flat.

Teacup Book Cover

How cute is this teacup book cover with a tea bag book mark!

Mad Hatter Teapot

What tea party would be complete without a Mad Hatter teapot?

Pride and Prejudice Tea Cup

You will feel quit Austeny (that's a word I swear) sipping tea out of this tea cup with one of her most famous quotes.

Teapot and Cups Bookends

These would make a classy, yet whimsical addition to any bookshelf

Tea Book

This beautiful book is actually full of tea! 

What is your favorite tea?  Do you prefer tea or coffee with your books (or something stronger)?  Does reading certain books ever make you crave a particular food or drink? If my brothers wife is reading this, this whole post makes me think of you :-)

True Love

I am not really a Valentines person, I have never been the sappy, star-struck romantic type and think a good book and a cup of coffee is better than roses and jewelry any day...I'll take the box of chocolates though :-)  This got me thinking about my favorite love stories, usually the relationship part of books is my least favorite part, mostly because almost always falls into a trope of love e.g. insta-love, I am a bad boy/girl who is mean and awful to you and yet we are still destined to be together love, realizing the best friend is the love of my life love after I have done horrible things to him, but he still loves me anyways because I am irresistible love etc.  Every once in a while, I do read of a love story that I actually enjoy.  Here are a few of my favorite (and yes some of these fall into the above tropes, but hey it's my blog so pbllttt!) romances that seem to make some sort of sense to me.

Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy-This is probably my favorite relationship ever.  Pride and Prejudice takes the trope of "loving against ones will" and dumps it on it's head.  One of my favorite parts is when Darcy proposes to Elizabeth in what may be one of the most insulting manners ever, instead of swooning over the fact that he loves her against all odds, this is her reply “I might as well enquire,” replied she, “why with so evident a design of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your character?” It is not until much later, when both parties have actually gotten to know each other and discuss their feeling AND their future AND clearing up all misunderstandings that they both actually decide to proceed with a relationship.  This is a great example of a person valuing themselves enough to want an equal partnership, not one were she would be resented for the love she receives.

Nick Bottom and Titania-This is my favorite Shakespearean couple ever, you can keep Romeo and Juliet give me an Ass-headed buffoon and an enchanted fairy queen any day. A Midsummer Night's Dream is my favorite of Shakespeare's comedies and takes every form of love and puts it on display.  There is true love, implied love, told by your father who you are going to marry love, enchanted love, comical love, stage love, fairy love, parental love, friend love, all wrapped up in a deliciously magical package for all to see and hear.  If there is one time I am ok with love being forced on people by enchantment, it is in this story...mostly 'cause there is fairy's and a guy gets a donkey head and the beautiful and powerful queen of the fairies makes a fool of herself, which makes a little enchanted false love, endurable.

Sorcha and Red -This founding couple from Daughter of the Forest have what I consider one of the most believable long term relationships from the books I have read.  Even though Sorcha can't speak or write, they find ways to communicate with each other.  They fall in love at different rates over a long period of time and still love each other after many trial and separations.  When Sorcha gives him up because she thinks he has been spelled to love her, and knows that no matter how much she may love him, it would never be real if he did not have the choice to love her back...aw it made me sad 'cause I knew how much that had to hurt.  I mean that is real love if you are willing to make sure your partner has a free will in his/her decision to be with you.  Of course Red returns this love by giving up his throne to become part of her life (a far different ending from the usual, girl gives up her life to go live in the palace with the prince/king). This mutual respect for the other person is what makes this relationship work in the long term.

Ella and Char- Ella Enchanted is one of my favorite books in the whole wide world.  Part of the reason is that this Cinderella story is less about the poor orphan maid being saved by the dashing prince, and more about Ella figuring out how to fend for herself.  The fact that Ella is independent and self-sufficient is one of the things that Prince Char likes about Ella, in fact in one part of the book Ella actually saves the Prince. When the Prince declares his love for Ella (in a good old fashioned letter), she realizes two things, one that yes she is in love with Char, and two that her curse would be bad for the kingdom (finally a bit thought for the world outside of just two people).  Ella tells Char that she is married and breaks his heart.  I love the thought process behind her going to the ball (lends a sense of realism, I don't think I could stay away either) and in the end when she breaks the curse and insists and asking Char to marry her, instead of the other way around just makes me happy.

Menolly and Sebell- The Harper Hall Trilogy is not about a love story at all, in fact the character of Sebell does not even appear until the second book.  This is one of the most subtle love stories I have ever read, it is a slow gradual realization between two people who are busy living their lives that life is better when they are together.  I love love love that both the characters of Menolly and Sebell are quiet, gentle, strong people.  Neither of these two are overly outgoing, loud, sassy or any of the other "opposites attract" qualities that are so prevalent in books and movies.  These are just two smart, music loving people who work well together and just happened to be very attracted to each other as well.  Also I may still have a major book crush on Sebell, something about that quiet strength is just so attractive...reminds me of my Hubbin :-)

So that is a short list of a few of my favorite literary couples.  As you can see, I usually prefer my love stories to be a part of a bigger story and not the focal point.  I like believable love, I like love that results in an equal partnership, I like love that does not end a story because their is not where else to go, but rather starts a new journey of adventuring with your partner.  I like it when (as my Mamma would say) love is recognized as not a feeling, but rather a commitment.  There are other couples in stories that I like, and I may do another post on those later, but I think for the moment these best sum up feelings on reading about True Love!

Do you celebrate Valentines Day?  What is your favorite literary couple?  Do you think that unrealistic love is ok in books because it is supposed to be fantasy?  Do you prefer your couples to take center stage, or do you like the love story to be part of a larger whole?  Who is your literary crush?

Spring Is The Time For Austen...And Iced Coffee

It is supposed to be 70 degrees here in the Capital today!!!! My most sincere heartfelt apologies to the rest of you and any yucky weather you may be having.  Weather like this means something very special is about to happen, that's right folks the annual cracking open of Jane Austen books!!!!  Now even thought Ms. Austen's books tend to cover whole years, I always feel the urge to read them in the spring.  I usually don't get a chance to read each and every one of them every year, but I do get a couple of them done so I have read them all several times (does that sentence make sense...I think I need more coffee).  Here is a quick summation of these great works, maybe this year you can pick a couple to read and we can discuss them whilst sipping tea and nibbling scones brought to us by our chambermaids...

Sense and Sensibility-Jane Austen's first published adult novel tells the tale of a family who after there husband and father dies are left with very little.  The mother Mrs. Dashwood moves with her girls the responsible eldest Elinor, the unbridled Marianne, and the young Margaret to a cottage on the estate of her cousin.  The girls fall in love, out of love and all around love.  Every possible combination of man is presented in this book in every possible situation.  In the end the girls end up with there true loves and life is lived in some semblance of contentment.  This is probably the most romantically romantic of books in my personal library.




Pride and Prejudice-Easily my favorite and probably most reread of Ms. Austen's books, at some point I will do a full post dealing only with this book, but until then here is the quick and dirty.  The Bennet sisters are all in need of husbands according to there mother as their estate is entailed away from the female line.  This book follows the parallel paths and perils of falling in love with someone against your better judgement with three of the five sisters finding a man of their own each in vastly different ways.  Ms Elizabeth Bennet is probably one of the most recognized characters in literature and it makes me happy that this icon is a feisty, smart girl who is not the acknowledged beauty of the family. Seriously I could go on and on...but i would rather you go read it for your self.


Mansfield Park-This book is a bit of a Cinderella story, focusing more on the shy, quiet gentle heroine Fanny Price, instead of Ms. Austen's other heroines who tend to be a bit more fiery.  This book is a great one for scandal's and multiple love triangles and not everybody gets there happy ending in this one (except of course our heroine and her love)






Emma-This is probably my second favorite, second most read book of my Austen's.  This book is entirely contained in Highbury, without the heroine traveling to resolve or push issues to the forefront as in the authors other books.  I love Emma because she means well, but she is really a bit of a self-righteous busy body.  She is the heroine who has the most personal transformation instead of other people changing there minds about her, and accepting her, she must change how she views herself and work on improving herself and only then does she get her true love.  This book is probably the funniest one as well as the most light hearted of the bunch.



Northanger Abby-This book is a play on the popular Gothic novels at the time (think Twilight for the 18th century) Our heroine and Gothic novel addict Catherine Morland goes to Bath and meets many interesting people, among them the Tilney siblings Henry and Eleanor. They eventually invite her back to Northanger Abby which supposedly harbors a dark secret, this coupled with Catherine's love of Gothic novels has her convinced of things that are not there.  As with all Austen novels much confusion and adventure ensue, again ending with the prevalence of true love.  This book is a bit tongue and cheek which makes me love Jane Austen all the more.


Persuasion-This is the last novel Ms. Austen completed before her death and along with Northanger Abby was published posthumous .  This novel is a bit quieter then previous ones, showing a more mature and sensible heroine then in previous books.  Anne Elliot is the middle daughter of a baronet who we find out had been talked out of marrying her true love because of his supposed unsuitability. The young man Wentworth left understandably upset at Anne's inability to stand up for them.  Anne's father Sir Walter is forced to rent out there estate as it comes to light he has overspent for many years. With her altered station Anne does some traveling eventually running into Mr.Wentworth and after many mishaps and heartbreaks ends up as always and finally with her true love.

Ok so obviously there is a lot more to these books then my little blurbs, but I could write 100 page posts about each of these so this is what we get for today.  Some of my thoughts on why I like Jane Austen so much.  I was kind of surprised how much I did enjoy all of her books, since I am not usually the romantic type, but I think as far as fictional always happy in the end novels go, she tries to add a sense of feasibility to each situation.  She gives reasons that might actually occur to why a person would marry below there station not just "true love" which was much less a consideration in her day.  I also love the variety in her heroines, some are feisty, some are quiet and shy, some are silly, some are loud, some are sensible.  Again to me it gives a sense of realism that not all her characters are cookie cutter icons.  She usually has multiple story lines so you don't get to bored and her sense of humor is still funny even today.  I love how she has become an icon for a different era, a way to fuse a femininity with being a strong woman.  I think her novels show the idea that you don't have to choose one or the other that you can be just as strong in a frilly pink dress while sipping tea, as you can be utterly absurd while spouting non-realistic girl power nonsense. Another really cool thing is that they are all available for free on e-readers, so no excuses!

What Jane Austen book is your favorite?  Which character are you most like?  Who really wants to go drink some tea and eat some crumpets while wearing a feathered hat?