Austenesque Lovers TBR Challenge 2022 discussion
General Introductory Matters
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Introductions
Hi everyone. I joined in 2021 in the middle of the year, and didn't do a challenge. I first read Pride & Prejudice in high school, and really enjoyed the 1995 miniseries with Jennifer Elhe and Colin Firth. I'm old enough to have watched it on A&E when it aired.
I live in Minnesota and started reading JAFF about 5 years ago, starting with sequels and then starting on variations. I usually read one or two of these per month, in between other novels. I particularly like Pride & Prejudice variations where the Bennet family is better than they were in the original. I also think Jane can do much better than Bingley.
Mod
I first read Pride & Prejudice in high school, and really enjoyed the 1995 miniseries with Jennifer Elhe and Co..."
Yay, glad you're back Linda and can join from the start. Looking forward to seeing you read a bunch of the P&P variations and sequels out there particularly with your favorite Jane B tropes. :)
Loved the A&E P&P, too!
Sheila wrote: "Sam wrote: "It is so nice to see everyone back for a new round.I also like the new pic for the group, very soothing.
Gonna go for gold. Plenty of rereading to do, so that is 50 books easy. LOL
I..."
I read that as ARC too. I was really good! Not surprising being Jessie Lewis!
Hello everybody,I'm Georgiana from Italy. This year I don't think to join the challenge, actually, but I want to be part of this group all the same, if you don't mind. And maybe later in the year I'll try some Austenesque readings. :)
Definitely do drop in once in a while. You may see a recommendation which gives you an option to read...even if you are not adding it up towards a goal. Have a lovely day.
Sheila wrote: "Definitely do drop in once in a while. You may see a recommendation which gives you an option to read...even if you are not adding it up towards a goal. Have a lovely day."Of course, I'll do! Thank you, Sheila!
@52: Welcome, Linda. We are glad to have you back for the next year. Good to see you again. @55: Ciao, Georgiana. Lovely to have you back with us. No worries, you can pop in and out anytime. We are always glad to hear from you.
This is fun seeing old and new faces for the new year challenge. Don't think you have to choose a level. Just come and enjoy the JAFF atmosphere. No one understands JAFF better than this group. You can finally converse with people who will not look at you funny because of what you read. Nor will we judge you. We can even agree to disagree. So, come on in and introduce yourself. Even if it is to only say Hi. Blessings, everyone.
J. W. wrote: "@55: Ciao, Georgiana. Lovely to have you back with us. No worries, you can pop in and out anytime. We are always glad to hear from you."🧡
Mod
I'm Georgiana from Italy. This year I don't think to join the challenge, actually, but I want to be part of this group all the same, if you don't mind. And maybe later in the year ..."
Yes! Please do join the group even if you can't do the challenge right now. We love having you, Georgiana. So glad you are returning. :)
Mod
@55: Ciao, Georgiana. Lovely to have you back with us. No worries, you can pop in and out anytime. We a..."
I agree, Jeanne! Love this group. :)
Sophia wrote: "Yes! Please do join the group even if you can't do the challenge right now. We love having you, Georgiana. So glad you are returning. :)"🥰🥰🥰
Hello my fellow JAFF lovers and GR friends! Hope you are all doing well! This year the demands on my time really kept me busy and didn’t allow me to do much except glance from the sidelines from time to time, but I am glad to join this wonderful group again all the same. I’ve always been so impressed with how thoughtful and kind this group is and how you all really look out for one another and I feel fortunate to be included even in a small way! I hope to be able to be more active in the group in 2022 and take part in more of the activities. I live in Cincinnati, OH and get to be Mom to five amazing people! My three eldest little birdies have left the nest and number 4 is a senior and will be following this year leaving another big hole in my heart and just one at home. My husband and I are starting get a glimpse of what being empty nesters will look like! Since kids are kind of my thing, I also work at the local elementary school so as my own children leave the nest, I have many others to help fill the hole left in my heart!
As far as goals, I am going to fall short of my goal of making it to Mr. Darcy’s library for 2021 since I am currently still shy of 170 in Austenesque reads, but in the spirit of conquering defeat, I will once again aim for Pemberley in 2022, ‘cause who wouldn’t want to spend some time with Mr. Darcy in the library?!? 🥰
Mod
Almost an empty-nester, a senior year, and elementary kiddoes does keep one young and active. :)
Cheering you on to the top and a tea date with Mr. Darcy!
Sophia wrote: "Splendid having you back with us, Dawn! Ah, yes, the group vibes are so warm and friendly that it is a favorite place to hang out on line. Almost an empty-nester, a senior year, and elementary kid..."
😊
I assume I don’t need an introduction. — Anne RiceI won’t swear to it but I think the quote above was given to Lestat the Vampire. Maybe Lestat’s reputation precedes him, but mine surely does not.
Ergo, an introduction: I am a Nebraska farm girl, currently living in a townhouse on the farm where I grew up. Our old farmhouse and one of the barns left our farm, crossed the interstate and moved back to the country when Lincoln expanded into our space. I say that I moved back home when I traded my house for the townhouse but the land is so different, I would not recognize it if I didn’t know it was home.
I read Pride & Prejudice when I was probably about twelve. Some years later, it was an assigned book in a college literature class. One of the guys in the class said he pictured Jane and Elizabeth as plain girls with unshaved legs and armpits. Boo, Hiss!
Introductions are hard to come by when your natural state is shyness. — Steve Martin
If you read my reviews, you know how I love quotes, so it seemed appropriate to include a few here.
I read a lot and I expect to make it to Pemberley again this year (Good Lord willing an' the creek don't rise). I know I will see lots of you there.
Do you suppose I could buy back my introduction to you? — Groucho Marx
(I don’t want to get my introduction back but I always loved Groucho even though he was such a sexist!)
Mod
Woohoo, off to the top level with my well wishes!
@63: Welcome. Dawn. Lots here are empty nesters. When it is time, you will be in lots of company. @ 66: Well, we do love our wosedwew. And, we love your quotes. You even got me started. What have you done?
More and more are popping in to introduce themselves. Yay! We have a great group going on here. Woohoo, Indeed!!
Dawn wrote: "Hello my fellow JAFF lovers and GR friends! Hope you are all doing well! This year the demands on my time really kept me busy and didn’t allow me to do much except glance from the sidelines from ti..."Glad to have you here with us and certainly understand how busy you are...with your own and your students...they come first, of course. But enjoy the books you do get to read. You certainly read a lot even if you didn't make it to Darcy's level. Welcome.
J. W. wrote: "wosedwew. And, we love your quotes. You even got me started. What have..."I thought we began quoting independent of each other! I always like to see the quotes you come up with when we have read the same book!
wosedwew wrote: "I assume I don’t need an introduction. — Anne RiceI won’t swear to it but I think the quote above was given to Lestat the Vampire. Maybe Lestat’s reputation precedes him, but mine surely does not..."
Great to see you here and I, also, love reading the quotes you come up with.
Hello! I like this group for the freebies and to hear how everyone is doing. This past year, I just stuck with the freebie topic, trying to save a bit of time, because the challenges aren't for me. The downside of that was that I was really out of the loop as to how people are doing. Can we have a LIFE topic? I don't know if anyone else would be interested in that being separated out.I'm a stay at home mom and really love it. It enables me to run my household the way I really want to, though somehow I still can't do it all.
I'm 45. I'm a Deaf person that speaks with a slight deaf accent and am very fluent in ASL. My husband and I have six kids - 3 girls, 3 boys, 3 adopted, 3 biological. They're all hearing (people with normal hearing). I'm a Christian, and my family and I go to a non-denominational Christian church with contemporary music. My favorite books are clean (chaste) historical romance, which encompasses Christian, Regency, and Austenesque books.
Borrowing from Kirk, I'm going to say I'm in the Austen class of 1993, when I had P&P as assigned reading in my junior year. I absolutely loved it, but didn't completely understand all the language. My first foray into Austenesque fiction would be … I don't know. 2000 or later. My husband bought me some Jane Austen literary adaptations as well as film adaptations as gifts.
Glad you see you joining us again. I know you are busy. When my children were still home I rarely found time to read...maybe a chapter at bedtime.
Hi I'm Melissa and this will be my first Goodreads/Austenesque challenge. I was 17 when my AP English Lit teacher assigned our next required reading. He handed me a copy of Pride & Prejudice and said - you are going to like this one - I did. He handed me Emma next and suggested the rest. I've read and reread canon and some JAFFF over the years but it was 3 years ago when I was recovering from major surgery that I dove in completely.
Mod
Super having you back, Marlene! No worries if you can't do the challenge side, we will totally enjoy having you as part of the social part of the group. Oh yes, the freebies, book discussions, and life updates are a big deal so feel free to jump in on those. I'll have to think about that Life Update idea. :)
Hoping you can slip in some good ones for reading now and then and wishing your family well through the new year.
Mod
How amazingly fabulous that you chose our group to be your first GoodReads group, Melissa! Welcome and make yourself at home.
Fun to know how your teacher put you onto Austen and you kept going with JAFF when you were laid up recovering from surgery.
Feel free to poke about and get cozy. Ask away if you need help. Cheering you on as you enjoy the new reading year. :)
Hi I'm Katja and some good JAFF is always good for a comfort read.
Apart from Austenian books I have read a lot of ARCs lately.
So glad there are books in a pandemic.
"J. W. wrote: "wosedwew. And, we love your quotes. You even got me started."wosedwew wrote: "I thought we began quoting independent of each other! "
Wow! I thought that also!!!!!!!
Sheila wrote: "Glad you see you joining us again. I know you are busy. When my children were still home I rarely found time to read...maybe a chapter at bedtime."Thanks! I'm always trying to find the magic answer!
Sophia wrote: "Oh yes, the freebies, book discussions, and life updates are a big deal so feel free to jump in on those. I'll have to think about that Life Update idea. :)"Maybe a topic called The Pump Room? People basically socialized there, right?
wosedwew wrote: " I am a Nebraska farm girl, currently living in a townhouse on the farm where I grew up. Our old farmhouse and one of the barns left our farm, crossed the interstate and moved back to the country when Lincoln expanded into our space. I say that I moved back home when I traded my house for the townhouse but the land is so different, I would not recognize it if I didn’t know it was home."I'm doing mental gymnastics and am not coming up with much........
Abigail wrote: "Am now happily retired in coastal Oregon, in a house with enough space for a library, so the sky’s the limit for my Austenesque explorations."Wish I could see your library!! We used to have a library/office where there was supposed to be a dining room. We had bookcases all along the outer walls, except for where the desk was. We had to convert it to a dining room when we had a third kid, I believe. So all our books got boxed up. Then when our last baby was old enough to move into the girls' room, we turned the baby room into a library/spare bedroom. SO now, instead of having a library for OUR books, we have a library for the youngest four kids! And most of OUR books are still boxed up!!!
Melissa wrote: "Hi I'm Melissa and this will be my first Goodreads/Austenesque challenge. I was 17 when my AP English Lit teacher assigned our next required reading. He handed me a copy of Pride & Prejudice and sa..."Welcome, Melissa.
Katja wrote: "Hi I'm Katja and some good JAFF is always good for a comfort read.
Apart from Austenian books I have read a lot of ARCs lately.
So glad there are books in a pandemic."
And glad to have you here.
Marlene wrote: "Abigail wrote: "Am now happily retired in coastal Oregon, in a house with enough space for a library, so the sky’s the limit for my Austenesque explorations."Wish I could see your library!! We us..."
I'm at the stage where I am trying to pass all those boxed children's books on to my grandchildren but their parents have had their fill/no more shelf room so I had to find other places to give those books to.
J. W. wrote: "Thanks, Sophia for being our moderator again. We love your guidance and dedication to this group. What would we do without you?"Yes, thank you to Sophia and to Danielle for making Goodreads a better place!
Barb wrote: "This year will be different! ..."Go get 'em, Barb! Glad to see your avatar!
Sheila, We're right now at the point where we have maybe one shelf too few. So I need to weed some things out. Sorry the grandkids/parents weren't able to take them!
I found a wonderful woman who runs a "reading" room and collects books to give to needy children. Scholastic knows her and when she redeems monetary gifts they sell her any of their books for only $1. She used to be a teacher. I just gave her 60 "chapter" books for maybe 8 to 12-year-olds.
Wow! I'm offline for a bit and look who dropped in.@ 73: Hello, Marlene. Welcome back. It's always good to see your comments.
@75: Welcome, Melissa. We always have room for more people who love JAFF. Hope you have a great year reading or seeing what others are doing.
@78: Hey, Katja. It's good to see you have joined us for the new year. Enjoy.
Delighted to find you so well ahead of the holidays Sophia!I’m into moving this month so online time and reading decisions must begin next year!
Will see everyone soon , appropriately attired with book and tea in hand!
Sheila wrote: "I found a wonderful woman who runs a "reading" room and collects books to give to needy children. Scholastic knows her and when she redeems monetary gifts they sell her any of their books for only ..."So awesome! Well done Sheila😇
Mod
and some good JAFF is always good for a comfort read.
Apart from Austenian books I have read a lot of ARCs lately.
So glad there are books in a pandemic."
Yes! I have so many go-to comfort reads on my JAFF/Austenesque shelves. Yay for having you back, Katja!
Mod
I’m into moving this month so online time and reading decisions must begin next year!
Will see everyone soon , appropriately attired with..."
Woohoo, to have you back with us in the new year, Writer! Don't envy you the moving, but we will be here when you're ready and yes, the cuppa will help relax after. :)
Thanks! I do try to avoid cramming even more things to do into the holiday season. :)
writer... wrote: "Delighted to find you so well ahead of the holidays Sophia!I’m into moving this month so online time and reading decisions must begin next year!
Will see everyone soon , appropriately attired with..."
We're here when you find time, no rush, no bother. Pace yourself. Glad you're back.
@92: writer: we'll see you when you are ready. Enjoy your new digs. Blessings as you enjoy the Holiday Season in your new location.
Marlene wrote: "Hello! I like this group for the freebies and to hear how everyone is doing. This past year, I just stuck with the freebie topic, trying to save a bit of time, because the challenges aren't for me...."#73...yeah for borrowing!!! :)
Kirk wrote: "#73...yeah for borrowing!!! :)."Yes, this group does that very well! If we all lived on the same street, we'd always be at each others' doors, borrowing things! ;-)
Marlene wrote: "Kirk wrote: "#73...yeah for borrowing!!! :)."Yes, this group does that very well! If we all lived on the same street, we'd always be at each others' doors, borrowing things! ;-)"
Hahaha 😂
@36: Gillian: Welcome, and what a great goal of 100. Yay! We will be cheering you on.