Austenesque Lovers TBR Pile Challenge 2018 discussion
General
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Introductions
Welcome back Eliza. You have set a great goal for 2018 and we look forward to seeing what you recommend as you journey through the various levels toward your goal.
Nick wrote: "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 t..."
Welcome Nick!!!
J. W. wrote: "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. S..."Lol.... getting on a roll never happens... hahahaha...:) 30 posts later I think...."I know there's a book discussion here some place...."... please no "Poor Kirk"... I'm the token(Tolkien?) male in two real life Austen book clubs. As Tigger says...."I'm the only one"!
Debbie wrote: "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 ..."I guess I signed a long term contract!! Marianne would require no less! :)
Your reading list sounds a lot like mine, Nick! Though I have to admit I gave up on Udolpho after getting to the black veil. It was one of those life’s-too-short things. Maybe we’ll do a buddy read of Maria Edgeworth next year—I’ve been meaning to get to her too.If your to-read list needs lengthening, hop over to the 2017 version of this group and check out the thread where people are currently listing their favorite reads from this year.
Eliza wrote: "Hi Gang! I'm Eliza and joining again for the third year in 2018. Things have been a bit more hectic for me this year (with kid and job), but I think I'll finish with around 60-70 JAFF + another 15-..."Hi Eliza!! Happy reading! :)
Abigail wrote: "Your reading list sounds a lot like mine, Nick! Though I have to admit I gave up on Udolpho after getting to the black veil. It was one of those life’s-too-short things. Maybe we’ll do a buddy read..."Prepare yourself for something shocking...we agree on one top book! :)
Mod
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 t..."
Howdy, Nick!
Truly serendipity to see how you made your way to our group here. Glad you're new book resolution tied in well with the challenge. Catherine Morland is a fab place to make a start. Cheering you on!
Debbie is right about us not really policing what folks choose to claim in their challenge numbers. My rule of thumb is that it have a definite echo of Austen when its fiction or bring you more knowledge about her and her world if its non-fic, but that is the reader's call and not mine or others. ;)
And, I will say what you might not be comfortable not saying to our delightful Debbie and JW (Jeanne). Hssst, Nick is not a male, gals. ;)
Wow!! How cool is that!!! Sorry Nick. In my Amazon reviews I am referred to as Sir so many times due to my use of initials. Sorry about that my dear. My OBGYN screwed up my hormone, back in the day, with too much testosterone and nearly blew my circuits. I wanted to fight all the time. Talk about your flash rage. I literally went around with my hands bunched in a fist ready to fight. My poor husband finally said either I went back to the doctor or we were getting a divorce. I'm still married so it worked. Although I do miss the rush of that rage. LOL!! See? We do discuss the strangest things.
So... welcome to our madness.
Mod
My OBGYN screwed up my hormone, back in the d..."
Oh Jeanne! You are a gem putting a smile on my face. And I've no doubt your husband feels the same. :)
Maybe... but after 40+ years... he's used to it.
Mod
Lucky fella. :)
Okay. Kind of embarrassed here for two reasons.Nick? Little tip here. When you first join a GR group, it's probably a good idea to include in your introductory post that you're a GIRL!! 😚 I apologize for making the incorrect assumption that you're a guy, 🙃 but your moniker is just a tad misleading!
Kirk? My bad. 2019 was obviously a typo. You may leave without paying a financial penalty at the end of 2018. But you must stay with us at least that long. Cuz you signed on for it, buddy. You're stuck with us for the at least the next year. (But PLEASE don't leave, even then!)
Jeanne, I can relate. With a name like Debbie Brown, it was difficult to come up with an email address that wasn't taken. So I used my initials. In the early days of email, before there were good spam filters, I got all kinds of "interesting" emails offering me porn, cures for erectile dysfunction, my choice of potential Russian wives, etc.
Kirk... Regarding "I'm the Only One"... Tigger's not the only one who sings that. My first thought was Melissa Etheridge's song. (Probably because I actually sang that one myself in a band 10 years ago!)
Hey, Eliza! *waving* 🙋 Great to see you back here again!
Mod
Oh yay! Glad to have you back, Eliza. Real life can get busy and stormy at times so feel free to pop in and out of here. Nice goal to start.
Ha! Love that you came to Austen through academics. High School book reports can drive you from or to, depending. Way to go finishing up the last of the six novels and I, too, place Persuasion pretty high on the list of favs.
This group is great for finding wonderful books to read which makes this challenge perpetual. LOL
Cheering you on, Eliza!
Oh dear, I am sorry for the confusion! There were more than a enough Nicoles and Nikkis when I was a child, so I ended up as a Nick. It suits me because I was always something of a tomboy, but I should remember that people can't see me online!
Mod
LOL, no worries. I run into that with Sophia, too, hence the added 'Rose'. You be you and we're all good. ;)
Um, in what country is Sophia a man's name?? Never came across one myself.
I noticed that, Kirk—Longbourn Library. A charming read!
Mod
LOL. Sorry, I meant that there are a ton of Sophia's and its hard to set up an online account because the name is already used by someone else. ;)
Debbie wrote: "Jeanne, I can relate. With a name like Debbie Brown, it was difficult to come up with an email address that wasn't taken. So I used my initials. In the early days of email, before there were good s..."Yeah, I got those too and then offers of extension creams... I thought they were talking about hair extensions but my husband said... no... it was something else. I wouldn't let him write down the address. He laughed and tried to tell me he was just kidding. The rat.
Debbie wrote: "Okay. Kind of embarrassed here for two reasons.Nick? Little tip here. When you first join a GR group, it's probably a good idea to include in your introductory post that you're a GIRL!! 😚 I apolo..."
:)
Abigail wrote: "I noticed that, Kirk—Longbourn Library. A charming read!"Yes! Thank you for finding and praising it!
Hi, I'm Liz, a writer and teacher living in the north of Scotland. I love Austen but tend to reread the old favourites, rather than trying anything new. I also like Austenesque writers like Elizabeth von Arnim and Austenesque books like A Room with a View. I love happy endings! I think I will start with the first level.
Hi, I'm Liz, Apologies if you get this twice, as I seem to have lost my last intro. I'm a writer and teacher living in the north of Scotland and I love Austen but tend to read the same old favourites and would like to try something new by her. I also like Austenesque books like 'The Enchanted April' by Elizabeth Von Arnim and also Austenesque books like 'Room with a View' by Forster. I like happy endings! I'm going to start at the first level. Looking forward to it.
Hi Liz! Welcome to our group! 😊We're a fun loving, chatty and oft times hilarious group who love to read,recommend books and chat about life and all its concerns.
A deep vein of friendship and camaraderie underline all our interactions,so take a seat,choose your book and feel free to join in the chat!! 📕😌
Mod
Splendid to have you join us, Liz.
It is a satisfying joy to reread the favorites and huzzah to happy endings.
Welcome and wishing you well while you work on Charlotte Heywood level.
Welcome to our madness Liz. This group of JAFF [Jane Austen Fan Fiction] addicts read anything related to Jane Austen's work. There will be some books that you will want to read and there will be some recommendations that you will turn your nose up at and decline. That is the fun part with this group. Someone is always willing to take one for the team and let us know what the book is about. We look forward to hearing your thoughts about books related to our dear Jane Austen.
Hello, I'm Georgiana from the South-East of Italy. I've been reading JAFF for 8 years. I'm a founder of JASIT (Jane Austen Society of Italy), and I hope to get over Catherine Morland level this year (but I'm afraid it will be a hard task for me!)
Mod
Yay! Glad to have you back, Georgiana. Oh yes, you've set a challenging goal for your reading this year, but I have confidence you will do great. What a wonderful idea to have founded an Austen organization in Italy for fans there.
Cheering you on! :)
Hello Georgiana, welcome back to the new year in JAFF. So glad you joined us. We will cheer you on as you make progress toward your 2018 goal. Blessings my friend.
Georgiana wrote: "I'm a founder of JASIT (Jane Austen Society of Italy)."What a wonderful acheivement!
Welcome back, Georgiana (such a perfect name!), and welcome to Liz! Liz, we have very similar tastes—I love Elizabeth Von Arnim so much I included her in a novel. You might also be interested to know about a group called Retro Reads that reads a lot of books you would probably enjoy; and the group The Readers Review: Literature from 1714 to 1910 is about to start A Room with a View. Happy reading!
Abigail wrote: "Welcome back, Georgiana (such a perfect name!), and welcome to Liz! Liz, we have very similar tastes—I love Elizabeth Von Arnim so much I included her in a novel.
Thanks Abigail - interesting...!
Liz wrote: "Hi, I'm Liz, Apologies if you get this twice, as I seem to have lost my last intro. I'm a writer and teacher living in the north of Scotland and I love Austen but tend to read the same old favourit..."Welcome, Liz! It's very informal and occasionally gets very silly here. The books you mention are clearly influenced by Jane Austen and certainly qualify as Austenesque. You'll find LOTS of suggestions in our discussion threads and on our bookshelves, some of which are from online author websites like www.fanfiction.net. Be warned that you'll see a lot of JAFF (Jane Austen fan fiction) mentioned and discussed here. As you probably know, these are variations or sequels by contemporary authors based on the Big Six: Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Emma, Sense & Sensibility, Northanger Abbey and Mansfield Park. Hope you enjoy our company!
Sophia wrote: "Marlene wrote: "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
--h..."
Yes I do! Closely followed by Mr. Knightley. Go Team Tilney!!
Hello again to all! I love this time when we get to set our sites on a new year of reading. My 2017 reading was abysmal (for my standards) so I am looking forward to the clean slate.As JAFF is not the only thing I read my numbers will probably be fairly conservative.
Other than JAFF I love to read scifi/fantasy. There are a few scifi/fantasy JAFF's on my list this year so I am really looking forward to those.
Now for the boring personal stuff:
I am 36, and currently living in Utah with my wonderful husband who is like Tilney and Knightley combined, and my crazy but lovable cat.
Other than reading I am an avid knitter. Which is why my reading suffers because I have not figured out how to read and knit at the same time. Fellow yarn enthusiats feel free to friend me on Ravelry https://www.ravelry.com/people/Sihayah
I also love walking/hiking, movies, binge watching tv shows, and baseball. I am a huge San Fransico Giants fan, so during baseball season I tend to disappear.
As I said before I am team Tilney. I don't have a favorite Austen heroine. I like bits and peices of all of them, and everytime I re-read the books I find new things to love. My favorite book is Norhtanger Abbey.
Looking forward to 2018 with all of you.
Mod
As JAFF is no..."
Woohoo! Glad to have you back, Ahnya.
Oh, I do understand about the broader range of reading. And yes, I've got my eye on Heartstone and Maria Grace's dragon books this year to read. :)
Yay fellow Giants fan. :) And neat to have a Knightley-Tilney fellow.
Cheering you on with your new year's reading challenge.
Welcome back Ahnya... as a fellow knitter [I'm on hiatus] I know the time involved in knitting. The only help I can offer is AUDIO... and there are lots of JAFF on audio. Yep... that will give you the best of both worlds.You can knit to your hearts content while listening to your favorite JAFF variations and the original canon stories. Sigh, yeah, I'm team Tilney. Enjoy the new 2018 Challenge and together we can cheer all our GR friends as they make their way through the levels.
How nice to see more familiar names popping up for another year of Austenesque mayhem! Hallooo, Georgiana and Ahnya!!
Hmm, a mixture of Tilney and Knightley sounds pretty good to me! (Though I might prefer purebred Tilney.) The only way I can think of to read and knit at the same time is with audiobooks. Since you like sci-fi, have you tried The Jane Austen Project yet? It’s mostly set in the Regency, but the frame tale at the beginning and end is set in the near future. Really well written.
J. W. wrote: "Welcome back Ahnya... as a fellow knitter [I'm on hiatus] I know the time involved in knitting. The only help I can offer is AUDIO... and there are lots of JAFF on audio. Yep... that will give you ..."I listen to lots of Audio, and most of the time I do okay. Sometimes I am knitting a complex pattern and stop paying attention to the book, or the book gets really interesting and I mess up on the knitting. If only life could be perfect 😁
Abigail wrote: "Hmm, a mixture of Tilney and Knightley sounds pretty good to me! (Though I might prefer purebred Tilney.) The only way I can think of to read and knit at the same time is with audiobooks. Since you..."He is mostly Tilney, but he is constantly challenging me to better myself like Knightley.
I have not read The Jane Austen Project yet, but it is on my list this year along with Heartstone, Girl Lives Forever: A Pride and Prejudice Fairy Tale, Steampunk Darcy, and Pemberley: Mr. Darcy's Dragon.
I welcome any suggestions.
Hi all! I'm Dana, and I am so happy that someone told me about this group. I live in PA, and right now we are buried in lots of snow. Best time of the year to sit in front of the fire and read.I have been hooked on Jane Austen since I was 15, some 30 years ago. I have read pretty much all of Jane Austen. P&P is my absolute fave, with Persuasion a close second.I read P&P, one every year or so. I also read all the variations I can find. I also love the movies. I prefer the clean stories, although I will pick up one with mature scenes and skip them if the writing is solid. Lately, I have gone through much of Linda C. Thompson's and Jann Rowland's books.
I don't know how far I will get in this challenge. But I am willing to give it a try. I read many different genres, am a full time teacher (deaf and hard of hearing), have three busy teenagers, a hubby in politics, and a secondary career as an inspirational romance author. I have written 3 P&P variation novellas, but find I am much more comfortable writing romantic suspense. Plus, I decided that I didn't want to turn JAFF into a job instead of a pleasure.
I cannot wait to see what JAFF other's are reading. One of the things I am really exited about in this group is being introduced to new books!
Howdy, Dana, and welcome to our little patch of insanity on GoodReads! You'll have no trouble finding book recommendations here. In fact, you'll probably find so many that your TBR pile may reach the height of a NYC skyscraper. Some of us are very chatty, while others just lurk and observe the strange discussions that emerge. Differing opinions are welcomed and respected. And, like Elizabeth Bennet, we dearly love to laugh. Feel free to participate as you feel led.I'm from PA, though now I'm retired and living in SC where it's warmer. I lived in SE PA, close to the borders of MD and DE. Whereabouts are you?
Welcome Dana to 'our little patch of insanity' as Debbie so aptly stated!!!! 😉
Welcome Dana to our madness. Yeah, we get a little crazy around here. We are harmless and just having fun. So, no offence and no hurt feelings. We'll fight tigers for each other and then head off to one of the reading levels and grab a book. You can follow any one on GR or friend them if you see that you are compatible. However, no worries... there are no requirements made on joining a group. You can observe and just have fun reading the news feeds or jump in when you feel like it. Again, welcome.
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)
I first read Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility in high school for a book report, and fell in love with P&P to the point that I would reread it every couple of years, even if I wasn't reading much of anything else. (I was an English major and read almost nothing in college that wasn't for school.) I didn't actually read any of Austen's other books (or even reread S&S) until ~5 years ago when I read Persuasion for the first time. I finally finished the last of the 6 in 2016. (P&P and Persuasion are still fighting it out for my favorite.)
I prefer diversions over sequels, and historical over modern. I try to write at least a little bit of a review for every book I read, though I don't generally do plot summaries, and I have a lot more trouble with books I love than I do with books I hate. A large percentage of my reading every year is through audiobooks, and there are some fabulous Austen and JAFF ones out there. (I'm happy to make recommendations if anyone wants them.)