Laurie Viera Rigler's Blog: Jane Austen Addict, page 6

Sense and Sensibility: Throwing Shade Edition…& a Giveaway!

In honor of Austen in (mostly) August, one lucky winner will win Emma Thompson’s Sense and Sensibility Screenplay and Diaries plus signed copies of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict and Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict. Giveaway ends Sept. 10at 11:59PM EST.Head over to The Book Rat to enter thisgiveaway.

Every year, Austen in August has an irresistible array of fun activities and an opportunity to connect with fellow book lovers, some of whom are longtime readers of Austen, some of...

The Austen in August party has started

Enjoy group reads, movie watching, Twitter parties, discussions, giveaways, and more at this yearly event.

Contribute your story: The Dear Jane Project

Calling all Austen Addicts: Gabrielle of a new blog called the Dear Jane Projectwants to publish your personal stories of what Austen means to you and how her works have touched your life. Simply submit your story in the form of a letter to Jane Austen at dearjaneproject@gmail.com, and Gabrielle will post them on the blog.

Photo by Cathryn Lavery

Here’s what Gabrielle says about her vision for the Dear Jane Project:“Hopefully, this project will allow fans from around the world to share their...

Reading for Writers: The Cormoran Strike Series

I’ve alwaysbeen a voracious reader. I read for pleasure, relaxation, inspiration, and insights. I’ve also discovered that forthose of us who are writers, there’s a bonus feature baked into every great book: a master class on writing.

I enjoyexploring anauthor’ssensory descriptions, seamless transitions, witty dialogue, deft handling of POV, and judicious sprinklings of humor. I’m fascinated by the sleight of hand that plants foreshadowings and the skillful ways in which the writer made me los...

What I’m reading: It by Stephen King

I never did trust clowns. Never did understand how anyone could find them amusing. Or fun. When I see a small child crying at the sight of a clown at a birthday party, I’m like, hey, I feel you. Now, after listening to the mega-long-and-worth-every-second-of-it audiobook for Stephen King’s “It” (over 30 hours!), I feel vindicated. About the clown thing.

I also feelinspired. And awestruck. Because King is truly the master. There is so much depth, insight, compassion, and food for contemplation...

Summer fun with Jane Austen

If you can’t get enough of Jane Austen on your own, at home, re-reading her novels and watching all those film and TV adaptations, help is just around the corner. It’s the Jane Austen Summer Program!Here are the deets, straight from the official press release:

“Mansfield Park & Its Afterlives”
June 16 to 19, 2016
Hosted by the University of North Carolina, CH and JASNA-NC

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — This summer, more than 100 people, including Austen fans, established scholars, graduate students, K-1...

What I’m Reading: Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes

Who would have thought that the powerhouse creator of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, How to Get Away With Murder, and The Catch was an introvert? How could someone who “owns Thursdays” become so overcomewith fearat the thought of giving a commencement speech at Dartmouth, her alma mater, or being a guest on Jimmy Kimmel Live, that her strongest impulse is to say no?

Except that she doesn’t say no. After years of giving into extreme shyness and its attendant fears of public exposure and ridicule, af...

Writing at a Standing Desk? Brilliant.

I used to think of ‘writing at a standing desk’ as an oxymoron–can’t be done. And didn’t article after article talk about how despite how good for you standing desks are, writing is best done sitting down? Well, I’m happy to say that I was wrong. I have gone from raising askeptical eyebrow at the ‘standing desk craze’ to full-on convert.

Why doI LOVE writing at my standing desk?

It’s energized my writing routine. I feel physically, mentally, and emotionally vibrantas I stand at my desk and w...

Lady Susan finally makes it to the screen in Whit Stillman’s “Love and Friendship”

Can’t wait to see what Whit Stillman does with this one. I’ve always thought Lady Susan would be really tough to adapt, but if this trailer is any indication, it’s going to be deliciously wicked fun.

What I’m Reading: 11/22/63 by Stephen King

I’ve decided that the definition of “unputdownable” in the OED should now be “11/22/63 by Stephen King.” I have lost sleep and work time racing through yet savoring every word of this masterfully written time-travel, what-if, alternate-reality tale of a man who travels back through a time-warp/rabbit hole in the back of a diner that lands him in 1958, where he must spend the next five years planning how to thwart the assassination of JFK. On the way, there is more of the past to tamper with,...