Laurie's Challenge Log 2021

[Laurie B]

Jane Austen Yearly Challenge
Start Date: 3/2/21
Duration: 1 Year (3/2/21-3/1/22)
Level: Charlotte Lucas (15-24 points)
(view spoiler)[Mrs Bennet: 5-14 points
Charlotte Lucas: 15-24 points
Jane Bennet: 25-34 points
Emma Woodhouse - 35+ books, you haven't managed to use all of the categories
Elizabeth Bennet: 35+ points, you have to use each of the categories at least once. (hide spoiler)]

Current Total = 16 Points, 2/6 Categories



I. Original: (view spoiler)[Read or re-read a Jane Austen (JA) novel, novella or collection of short stories. (hide spoiler)]
(2 points per book)

✧Persuasion

II. Sequels & Re-tellings: (view spoiler)[Read a sequel to a JA novel or a story of JA characters with a twist (alternate reality, paranormal elements, nowadays setting or just a secondary character's perspective). (hide spoiler)]
(1 point per book)

✧Pride & Prejudice manga

III. Setting: (view spoiler)[Read a book/watch a movie or a TV series set in the regency era (late 18th and early 19th century: 1780s through 1830s) in which the hero/heroine is English. (hide spoiler)]
(2 points per book written before 1900, 1 point per book written in 1900 or after, 1 point per movie, 2 points per TV series)

✧I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend (3/6/21) ✭✭✭ | 1 Point
✧Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor (5/2/21) ✭✭✭ | 1 Point



IV. Plain Facts: (view spoiler)[Read a non-fiction book/ watch a documentary related to JA, her books, adaptations of her works or to the time period of JA novels. (hide spoiler)]
(3 points per book, 1 point per documentary)

✧YouTube documentaries...

V. Spell-it-out: (view spoiler)[Spell out one of the JA book titles, one of the JA main characters, or any other name or word that makes you think of JA or Regency era, e.g. Pride and Prejudice, Mr Darcy, Elizabeth, Sense and Sensibility, Regency, Chawton, Cassandra Austen, Admiral Nelson. Be creative! (hide spoiler)]
1 point per book.
(1 point per book)

R - Who Was Marie Antoinette? by Dana Meachen Rau (4/12/21) ★★★
E - An Enchantment of Ravens (3/14/21) ★★★★
G - The Goose Girl (3/19/21) ★★★★
E - Who Was Edgar Allan Poe? MC Edgar Allan Poe (4/12/21) ★★★★
N - Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander (3/23/21)
C - Because of the Rabbit by Cynthia Lord (4/18/21) ★★★
Y - Who Was Rosa Parks? by Yona Zeldis McDonough (4/12/21) ★★★★

E - A Soldier's Secret: The Incredible True Story of Sarah Edmonds, Civil War Hero MC Sarah Emma Edmonds (4/13/21) ★★
N - Easter in Dry Creek - MC Allie Nelson (4/3/21) ★★
G - Who Was Dr. Seuss? MC Theodore Geisel (4/11/21) ★★★★
L - Keturah and Lord Death by Martine Leavitt (3/24/21) ★★★★
A - Honey So Sweet, Vol. 1 by Amu Meguro (3/27/21) ★★★
N - The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner (4/16/21) ★★★★
D - The Search for WondLa by Tony DiTerlizzi (3/21/21) ★★★

VI. Adaptations: (view spoiler)[Watch a movie or a TV show or listen to radio dramatization based on a JA book or her life. (hide spoiler)]
(1 point per movie or radio play, 2 points per TV series)

✧Persuasion film(s)
✧Persuasion audio dramatization

[Laurie B]

I completed Mrs. Bennet level in 2020, so I thought I should try for the next level this year. *fingers crossed*

[Zuzana]

Good luck, Laurie!

BTW You can watch 1971 BBC 2-part Persuasion Mini-series on YouTube.
Part 1: https://youtu.be/q-JQ0fgzX4M
Part 2: https://youtu.be/sk9EyG0Ce6k
It's my favorite despite rather poor production value. But unlike other old adaptations (Emma) they shot exterior scenes outside - Lymes Regis and Bath.

[Laurie B]

Zuzana wrote: "Good luck, Laurie!

BTW You can watch 1971 BBC 2-part Persuasion Mini-series on YouTube.
Part 1: https://youtu.be/q-JQ0fgzX4M
Part 2: https://youtu.be/sk9EyG0Ce6k
It's my favorite despite rather po..."

Awesome! I'll check it out!

[Laurie B]

Just finished I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend. It was a decent, fairly enjoyable read. Not great, but not bad. It had some flaws. The first half was a bit slow compared to the second half, I found the romance aspect rather shallow and silly, and some of the characterizations felt a bit off to me, particularly how distant Cassandra and Jane seemed with each other.

The story did introduce me to Jane's real brother, George, who I hadn't known about before. I'm not sure how I feel about the portrayal here, but I'm glad it was included.

While the story is fine on its own, it gets a slightly higher rating from me because it makes me want to read more JA nonfiction.