Austenesque Lovers TBR Pile Challenge 2018 discussion
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Introductions
wosedwew, Bridgeport. My dad's brother and wife lived there for many years. He died dinner time ago. He was a very kind man. Very impressive. Had a stroke and worked very, very hard to function as well as possible. I don't know if there are relatives there anymore. I have a part of the oil rights for a well that was on what used to be their land. It's producing nothing now, pretty much. I grew up in Illinois. I'm not sure why my father decided to move away. He attended a one-room schoolhouse in Bridgeport and graduated at 16. 😊. (I'm 41, and he was 49 when I was born, to give you an idea.). That's about all I know!
wosedwew, same thing happened to my aunt's farm. It's weird. A playground and housing development are there, but they left the silo, I think.
Thanks, Jeanne, you’re too kind. Sorry if I go over people’s heads! I tend to get into what my guardian used to call “think-ups.” And I do tend to want to look at things from the author’s point of view. I appreciate people’s tolerance of my funny ways in this lovely group!
Hi, all! So nice to see so many familiar names and faces, along with some new. I am Barb and a retired librarian. This looks like 2018 will be my fourth year with this group, and I kind of come and go in the comments. But, I so love reading what everyone has to say. I am so grateful to Sophia for keeping this going and so happy to be able to call you friends. It seems I have always loved Jane Austen, especially P&P. I am a member of JASNA, but I am not much of a purist. I like a variety of JAFF, but my preference is for Regency variations of P&P.
This year I really want to cut back on the JAFF and read a wider variety of books. So, I will be here, but I am only going to shoot for the low end of the Colonel Brandon level. Gee, that still sounds like a lot doesn't it? But, darn it, they keep writing those books and my pile gets bigger instead of smaller every year!
I live in Minnesota with my husband and miniature pinscher Mercedes. I am also crazy about handmade card making, travel, cooking, and The Voice.
Happy 2018 to all!
Mod
My goal is Mr. Darcy's level. However, like Emily commented above, if I start a b..."
Happy to help, Joy! When you are ready to do your entries, let me know how you want it to look and what you want to include and I'm happy to walk you through it. :)
Mod
I'm a stay at home mom of six children, aged 4-14. Three girls and three boys. We'..."
So glad you're back, Marlene!
Thanks for sharing a bit of your background with us and what types of books you are on the prowl for. And ahhhh, love that your husband got you enthusiastic about JAFF and the movies.
Cheering you on for the Catherine level. :)
Abigail wrote: "Thanks, Jeanne, you’re too kind. Sorry if I go over people’s heads! I tend to get into what my guardian used to call “think-ups.” And I do tend to want to look at things from the author’s point of ..."I love the different points of view when we all get together to discuss a book. I've changed my ideas and I've stood my ground. However, it was all in fun. I really appreciate the different view points and enjoy the discussions. That is what I consider good company. I could not help myself.
Mod
Woohoo! Glad to see you back with us, Barb. I think you must be a charter member, too, if you're on four. :) Appreciate your friendship and the bunch of folks here so much.
LOL, yes, 'cutting back' can be relative, but we will cheer you on to shake Colonel Brandon's hand at the end.
Welcome Barb, we always enjoy you when you are able to visit and comment. Looking forward to spending the new year with you.
'You are mistaken,' said he gently, 'that is not good company, that is the best.”
** chortle ** You caught that did you? Well done Marlene!!
Sophia wrote: "J. wrote: "Sophia wrote: "J. wrote: "My name is Joy and I'm also a JAFF addict. I'm grateful to be in such wonderful company.My goal is Mr. Darcy's level. However, like Emily commented above, if ..."
Thank you so much. I will.
I'm impressed by how many people are introducing themselves! I feel I left out something VERY IMPORTANT in my introduction! I'm going to rectify that below.My favorite Austen
--hero: Henry Tilney or Mr Knightley - probably Tilney. :-)
--heroine: Elinor Dashwood or Anne Elliot? probably Elinor Dashwood :-)
--book: definitely Persuasion
Yay, another member of Team Tilney! I got in such a tizzwazz when I read the Harvard annotated Northanger Abbey and the editor was calling him psychologically abusive. Wanted to wring her little snowflake neck!I like Elinor a lot, too. Excellent faves!
Apparently she found his teasing of Catherine humiliating. Maybe she had never been teased in her life?
Mod
Or reading into things from her own background of experience which would be sad, if true.
Mod
My favorite Austen
--hero: Henry Tilne..."
You are in good company, Marlene. I believe Ahnya favors Henry Tilney, too. :)
I love that Elinor is your favorite heroine.
And, I share favorite Austen novel with you (so that of course makes us brilliant). ;)
Teasing is an art, and part of it is knowing when to do it, and when BUT to do it. Henry is very good at it, but didn't quite predict how Catherine would take one particular instance of it!
Love auto correct... certainly changes the context of the sentence. ** chortle **
Marlene wrote: "wosedwew, Bridgeport. My dad's brother and wife lived there for many years. He died dinner time ago. He was a very kind man. Very impressive. Had a stroke and worked very, very hard to function as ..."I have been to Bridgeport -- LOVE THE SANDHILLS!
I once took a 5-day vacation and just drove the backroads thru the Sandhills (all the roads are back roads out there). Took photos of windmills and cows and cows in front of windmills. Very relaxing time.
I also am a graduate of a one-room school. Went through all grade school with only my cousin in my class.
I'm still amazed that one room schoolhouses were in the not-too-distant past.
Hi Everyone! I'm thrilled to be joining this challenge again for the 2nd year in a row. I'm Anna, I live in the Baltimore area, and I'm an Austen addict who blogs at Diary of an Eccentric.I'm shooting for the Catherine Morland level again, but we'll see where I end up. I'm writing a JAFF novel at the moment, and we're going through all the senior year/getting ready for college stuff with my daughter, so time will be tight.
I look forward to talking with you all here and seeing what you read. You all have given me so many wonderful recommendations!
Mod
I'm sho..."
So much wonderful news all in one introduction, Anna.
You've got a busy life going on and we'll be rooting you on all the way whether it is getting the kidling through senior year, writing your book, or working on your challenge numbers. :)
Sophia wrote: "Anna wrote: "Hi Everyone! I'm thrilled to be joining this challenge again for the 2nd year in a row. I'm Anna, I live in the Baltimore area, and I'm an Austen addict who blogs at Diary of an Eccent..."Thanks, Sophia! I will need all the support I can get! ;)
Welcome Anna, I love your blog and appreciate all you do for the JAFF authors and JA community. We appreciate your reviews and I've stacked up a few of your recommendations in my TBR pile. We look forward to seeing you in the new year.
J. W. wrote: "Welcome Anna, I love your blog and appreciate all you do for the JAFF authors and JA community. We appreciate your reviews and I've stacked up a few of your recommendations in my TBR pile. We look ..."Thank you so much for the kind words! Looking forward to your thoughts on those books. Happy holidays!
Can’t wait to hear about your book, Anna! Keep us posted.
Anna wrote: "Hi Everyone! I'm thrilled to be joining this challenge again for the 2nd year in a row. I'm Anna, I live in the Baltimore area, and I'm an Austen addict who blogs at Diary of an Eccentric.I'm sho..."
Oh, excellent! We love the blog authors and book authors among us, and you're both! So happy to have you with us in 2018.
Abigail: Will do! It’s in the early stages of writing but I’m plugging along!Debbie: Thank you so much!
Hi folks, I'm Anji and like many others I'm a JAFFoholic too! I'm from Harrogate in North Yorkshire and first read Jane Austen at the age of 11 or 12, so although I've now racked up 50 years as a Janeite, I really only discovered the wonderful community of JAFF readers and writers around four years ago. Since then, I've also had the good fortune to beta for some of our lovely and talented JAFF authors.Thanks Sophia for hosting us once more. I've been rather awol from the 2017 group (and the blogs) since the end of the summer, as real life has rather got in the way. I've still been reading but have had to give priority to the works I've been asked to beta. At one point, I had three on the go at the same time - keeping fingers crossed that I kept the plotlines straight in my head!
Real life revolves around: my husband - like Debbie, we celebrated 40 years this year; our house - over 250 years old and with all the baggage that brings; our large garden - we grow a lot of our own veggies; our two dogs - we love to go out into the Yorkshire Dales for long walks; our son - who finally popped the question to his long-time girlfriend at the end of October. Oh, and I still work around three days a week as a locum pharmacist, standing in at local community pharmacies when the regular pharmacist is absent.
Living in the UK means I'm fortunate enough to be a lot closer to Jane Austen's neck of the woods than many of my friends here and this year had a lovely few days exploring the area around where she was born, lived most of her life and sadly died at such a young age. I will post links to my photos from that trip eventually but apart from the ones I posted on Facebook, I haven't even had the chance to organise them properly yet.
Hopefully, I'll end up keeping company with Mr. Knightley in his corner of the library by the end of 2018. I'm probably somewhere around that level this year but having totally failed in logging books read since the summer, I'm not entirely certain. Will try to update my 2017 YTD thread before the end of the year but going on my recent record, no promises!
Welcome Anji... life has a way of doing that. We are glad to hear that we will be seeing you again in the levels. Great to have you back.
Welcome back, Anji! Always love coming across your posts! Looking forward to reading more of them in 2019.
Great to have you back, Anji, even though your attention is necessarily divided!
Hello my name is Madenna and I too am a JAFF addict from Michigan, living in Indianapolis, IN. I love this group for the comments and suggestions of what to read. My TBR pile seems to grow larger than my Read pile, but I absolutely love it.
My addiction is Elizabeth and Darcy to the point that my daughter's first question when I am reading = "Mom, are you reading about Mr. Darcy AGAIN?".
I do like to review books I have read but they are usually short and sweet. I love great characters, romance and just the right amount of angst, but will read anything.
Thank you to Sophia for coordinating this group and to all the rest who participate because I feel so much at home here!
Well, you ARE at home here, Madenna! We're all family, including the newbies! Glad you're back again for more of our collective nonsense.
Welcome back home Madenna. We are all geared up for 2018. Yep, it looks like it going to be a good one for reading. We enjoy your comments, reviews and just being part of the group.
Hi. I'm Sara and I'm a JAFFaholic. My husband does not understand. My friends do not understand. So glad I have this group last year (my first year). So, last year i didn't really have a goal but due to my *cough* addiction *cough* I ended up reading over 500 JAFF books. So, this year I'm going to lower my standards to just Mr. Darcy's Library. I'm hoping to branch out and read some other works this year (not that I didn't last year but I'll try harder). I'm a mom of 2 girls ages 4 and 2 and I am a practicing attorney in Houston, Texas. I recently discovered my love of pleasure reading again after having my 2nd kiddo. Before that I never read probably because i read so much in law school i really didn't want to read anything unless i had to! HA! Well, now I'm back in the reading game. I read anything (modern and regency and clean and not clean) and try to write reviews but at least use my star rating system for stuff that is on GR.
I look forward to another great year sharing my joy of JAFF with fellow friends who totally get it. (awe . . .)
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?Let me get this straight... You're a practicing attorney. (Full-time?) AND you have two very young daughters?? How in all that's holy did you possibly manage to read 500+ books????? I mean, I consider myself a speed reader, but I wasn't reading ANYTHING when my son was a toddler and I was working. Now I'm thinking you're a little bit scary, girl!
And yes, I too love that the people in this group "get" my JAFFaholism and don't judge me for it. No one in else in my life seems to, so this is definitely a Happy Place.
Debbie wrote: "Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?Let me get this straight... You're a practicing attorney. (Full-time?) AND you have two very young daughters?? How in all that's holy did you possibly manage to read 500+ books..."
(looking up from behind my desk) Yes. I practice full time. I just read constantly. Stuck in traffic, putting baby to bed, like ALL THE TIME. Oh, and I don't watch TV anymore. So, i fit in my reading when I can. I mostly read while at the gym (doing cardio) and at night after i get my little to sleep. Commuting is also an excellent opportunity when stuck in bumper to bumper traffic (not moving).
Also, many of the books are short.
Mod
So many exciting events in real life, Anji! I can see why you had to go silent for a time. But splendid news to have you back. I'm sure you did fantastic with your beta reads. Oh, and the dashing Mr. Knightley will happily pass you your cup of tea when you join him. :)
Mod
I love this group for the comments and suggestions of what to read. My TBR pile seems to grow larger..."
Oh so lovely to welcome back my fellow Michigander. :) It is such a lovely place to find a whole stack of books, but also a welcome group of book pals. I love the atmosphere everyone brings to the group, too.
Wishing you well on your challenge as you try to stay ahead of your growing pile of books, Madenna. ;)
Mod
Yes, exactly, Sara. It's so lovely to have a whole group of book lovers and Jane-loving crazies to share an addition with. :) So glad to have you back. I don't blame you not feeling much like reading after studying for the bar, but glad you are back and loving books.
Great goal of joining Mr. Darcy in his library and getting in a sampling of all the other wonderful books out there, too.
Hi, I'm Nick and a first-timer in the Austenesque group.This is serendipity - I had just resolved to read more Austen-related stuff next year when I stumbled across this group. A GR friend from the Georgette Heyer group posted in the Austenesque 2017. Isn't it weird when things work out like that?
I am cautiously aiming for Catherine Morland level, and if I make it I'll be scraping in at 22 books, I'm sure! I'm aiming to read some regency romance (if it counts? Surely all regency romance is heir to Jane Austen), historical non-fiction about the Regency period, Jane Austen biographies and literary criticism, and also her contemporaries and inspiration like Fanny Burney or Maria Edgeworth. Dare I go so far as to read the absolute doorstopper The Mysteries of Udolpho and finally discover what's behind the black veil?
We welcome you with open arms, Nick. Nice to have another man joining us. Kirk is already onboard for 2019, and I imagine Don will probably check in eventually, so you won't be alone amid all this estrogen! As for Regency "counting," one could argue that even modern romance novels show Jane Austen's influence. There's no booklist policing here. Members follow their own consciences when we list our books. All the genres and subgenres you mention seem reasonable. Most of us lean toward variations and sequels of Austen's own works, both Regency and modernizations.
Lots of opinionated folks in here, but we're all great about keeping it civil and respecting our differences. Be warned, though: A lively sense of humor is an absolute requirement!
Feel free to wander about in the various topics and throw in your two cents as you feel led... or just quietly peruse and enjoy!
Welcome Nick!! Debbie is so right... this is a lively bunch. As she stated... Poor Kirk and Don have to put up with a lot from us. They do as my brothers and just ignore us when we get on a roll. So... no hard feelings if it gets too much for you. We love our JAFF [Jane Austen Fan Fiction] and be forewarned... your TBR [To-Be-Read] pile will grow by leaps and bounds as you see all the titles on the various feeds. Yep, I can read until I'm 100 and I will never get them all. Drat!! So welcome and enjoy your journey through the various reading levels.
Austenesque Lovers TBR Pile Challenge 2018
Books mentioned in this topic
Of Time Gone By (other topics)Darcy's Hope: Beauty from Ashes: A WWI Pride & Prejudice Variation (other topics)
Darcy's Hope at Donwell Abbey: A WWI Pride & Prejudice Variation (other topics)
Suit and Suitability (other topics)
Emmeline (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Elizabeth von Arnim (other topics)Frances Burney (other topics)
Maria Edgeworth (other topics)
Thank you kindly, Emily. I do enjoy a sweet and clean tale using Jane Austen’s characters. It’s nice there’s some for all tastes. Happy reading!