Fun Friday - Jane Austen Soundtracks

Spotify has put together a playlist called Jane Austen Soundtracks

Celebrate Jane Austen with this collection of soundtracks from the big and small screen; featuring music inspired by her novels, and some of her favourite from the Regency era. 

The playlist has 30 songs and includes:

• Stars and Butterflies - From "Pride & Prejudice" Soundtrack (2005 movie)
• Theme - From "Emma"
• Willoughby
• Love & Friendship Harp Theme
• Pride and Prejudice Suite: III. Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy
• Symphony No. 6 In F Major: Larghetto
• After the Explosion (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies)
• Sham (Aisha)
• I Suddenly Find It Agreeable (First Impressions)

Happy Listening!

Fun Friday - Looooog Sentences

I found this article awhile ago but kept forgetting about it until earlier this week when I stumbled upon the bookmark.

Today I’m feeling a bit pugnacious 

It starts:

In creative writing and journalism classes a wannabe Steinbeck, Updike or Grantland Rice, was taught to grab his readers early, skip clichés, keep sentences short and avoid sending a reader to the dictionary just to show how smart you are. 

 He then goes on to talk about exceptions to the rules...included our Dear Jane. who has a 180-word sentence in "Emma"

The charming Augusta Hawkins, in addition to all the usual advantages of perfect beauty and merit, was in possession of an independent fortune, of so many thousands as would always be called ten; a point of some dignity, as well as some convenience: the story told well; he had not thrown himself away -- he had gained a woman of ten thousand pounds, or thereabouts; and he had gained her with such delightful rapidity -- the first hour of introduction had been so very soon followed by distinguishing notice; the history which he had to give Mrs. Cole of the rise and progress of the affair was so glorious -- the steps so quick, from the accidental rencontre, to the dinner at Mr. Green's, and the party at Mrs. Brown's -- smiles and blushes rising in importance -- with consciousness and agitation richly scattered -- the lady had been so easily impressed -- so sweetly disposed -- had in short, to use a most intelligible phrase, been so very ready to have him, that vanity and prudence were equally contented.

This sentence is from Chapter 22.  

 

Fun Friday: Podcasting with Jane

The June 18, 2019 episode of the The Great Books Podcast discussed Sense and Sensibility.

The Great Books is a podcast put out by National Review. It is hosted by national correspondent and professor at Hillsdale College, John J. Miller.  Miller discusses classic works within the Western literary canon.

You can find the podcast episode here - Episode 88: Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

The podcast has also covered two other Jane Austen novels:

Episode 30: Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

Episode 2: Pride and Prejudice

Full List of Episodes

Fun Friday

I meant to post this last week.  This Answer showed up on Jeopardy

.

Fun Friday

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No YOU wasted an entire morning dressing baby chickens and laughing to yourself. Crazy Chicken Lady level: Certifiable. . . . . #prideandprejudice #janeausten #chooks #backyardchickens #babychicks #chickensofinstagram #backyardchickenmag #crazychickenlady #breakingnews #fitzwilliamdarcy #darcy #elizabethbennet #chatsworth #pemberley #chickwilliamdarcywedding

A post shared by KaraLynne Mackrory (@okmackrory) on Jan 24, 2019 at 11:27am PST

You can follow her twitter for more P&P chick pics! - https://twitter.com/KAMackyah

Fun Friday - Abridged Classics

So this is kind of fun and a book recommendation rolled into one post.  Last night I read Abridged Classics: Brief Summaries of Books You Were Supposed to Read but Probably Didn't by John Atkinson

Here are a few examples of our favorite author's works:

Friday Fun - Wait, Wait You Write Jane Austen Fan Fiction?

This past week on the NPR show Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me the one listener contestant and this exchange happened:



The listener contestant is Summer Hanford and you can find her books on her website https://summerhanford.com/. 

Friday Fun - Puncuation and Prejudice

All the punctuation in P&P from neuroecology

I read a number of interesting articles on Medium daily and this article really caught my attention.

Punctuation in novels by Adam J Calhoun

He mentions that he saw a series of posters that show all the punctuation in novels and he wondered what his favorite books would look like. He wondered if you could tell them apaort and he realized that yes, you could.

One of the books he looked at was Pride and Prejudice.  Here are some of his findings (but I highly recommend you read his full article).

P&P's most used punctuation is the comma followed by the period and quotation marks.

The novel averages around 20 words per sentence.

The novel also averages about 6 words per punctuation mark

Adam then turned these punctuation mark charts into heat maps

Fun Friday - Mansfield Park Poll Results!

In doing research for this month's poll, I kept seeing Mansfield Park rated at the bottom of lists, or people saying how they don't care for the novel.  I happen to like the novel and was wondering how everyone else feels about CNJ-JASNA's novel of 2017.

I first asked if readers liked the novel:



Then I asked readers where they would rate the novel out of Jane's 6 novels:

Fun Friday - Mansfield Park Poll

In doing research for this poll, I kept seeing Mansfield Park rated at the bottom of lists, or people saying how they don't care for the novel.  I happen to like the novel and was wondering how everyone else feels about CNJ-JASNA's novel of 2017.

Fun Friday - Jane Austen Trivia Answers

Here are the answers. How many did you get right?

• Along with the story Evelyn, this title makes up the whole of the third volume of the Juvenilia collection. - What is Catharine, or the Bower?
• The short satirical work, Plan of a Novel, according to Hints from Various Quarters, was written by Jane in response from a letter from this man. - Who is Rev. James Clarke?
• This brother would become Jane's literary agent. - Who is Henry?
• Jane accepted and declined a proposal from this family friend. - Who is Harris Bigg-Wither?
• The following quote is from this novel: "The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." - What is Northanger Abbey?
• Neither Northanger Abbey or Persuasion have been made into major motion pictures, however both have been adapted for stage and television including a Northanger Abbey inspired episode of this children's program starting a dog. - What is Wishbone?
• This nonfiction book was written by a member of the Central NJ Region of JASNA. - What is Among the Janeites?
• Isabel, Laura, and Marianne are characters in this epistolary story. - What is Love and Freindship?
• During the Regency Era these were put on display at the British Museum. - What are the Elgin Marbles?

Fun Friday - Jane Austen Trivia

Last night I co-hosted a program at my library. I ran Jane Austen Jeopardy.

Here are some of the questions. How many can you get right?

• Along with the story Evelyn, this title makes up the whole of the third volume of the Juvenilia collection.
• The short satirical work, Plan of a Novel, according to Hints from Various Quarters, was written by Jane in response from a letter from this man.
• This brother would become Jane's literary agent.
• Jane accepted and declined a proposal from this family friend.
• The following quote is from this novel: "The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid."
• Neither Northanger Abbey or Persuasion have been made into major motion pictures, however both have been adapted for stage and television including a Northanger Abbey inspired episode of this children's program starting a dog.
• This nonfiction book was written by a member of the Central NJ Region of JASNA
• Isabel, Laura, and Marianne are characters in this epistolary story.
• During the Regency Era these were put on display at the British Museum.

No looking up the answers!

Friday Fun - What's your Regency name?

I am Helena Pope of Shortington House

Fun Friday - Standiton The Play

While digging around on the internet I found this:


http://www.sanditon.info

Sanditon was Jane Austen's last, partially completed, novel of around 24,000 words, written between January 27th 1817 and March 18th 1817. Jane's niece Anna, the daughter of Jane's eldest brother James, had been brought up in her youngest years at Steventon with the 18 year older Jane, remained at Steventon with her father until she married Ben Lefroy at 21, and after a brief interlude moved back to Hampshire to live two miles away from Jane then living at Chawton.

Anna was surely the first 'Janeite' and harboured a life-long ambition to emulate and honour her aunt. In March 1845 she inherited Jane's manuscript in the will of Jane's sister Cassandra and set about writing her Completion, of similar length, and similarly unfinished.

In 2013 Chris Brindle, fascinated by the story behind the miniature of Anna Lefroy painted by his great great great grandfather acquired the original Lefroy Sanditon manuscripts from the USA and set about writing a stageplay based on the two fragments, with an ending that appeared a logical extension of the plot development in the Lefroy Continuation.

Fun Friday - Austen Memes

Fun Friday: Sporcle Quiz #1

For those of you who don't know Sporcle is a website filled with trivia, quizzes and brain games. You can find a quiz on nearly any topic. We're going to start off with an easy Jane Austen one. Check back in on Fridays to see if we're sharing another Jane Austen themed quiz from the site:

May Poll Results - Love and Lady Susan

Well it looks like it's our voting membership loves Lady Susan and can take or leave Love and Friendship.

Did you like Lady Susan?
100% Yes

Did you like Love and Freindship?
Yes 50%
No 50%

Which one was your favorite?
Lady Susan 100%


If you loved Lady Susan let me recommend Lady Vernon and Her Daughter by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway.

Fun Friday: Lady Susan and Freinship Poll

Rainy Friday

How is everyone enjoying this rainy Friday?

Are you a little upset...

or do you delight in a rainy day?

Are you one to curl up and read...

or do you go tramping around in the mud?

However you feel about the rain, don't end up like Jane unless you have a sister like Lizzie to care for you.

I hear there is supposed to be sun this weekend! So I hope you all have an enjoyable weekend and if you celebrate Happy Mother's Day!!

Fun Friday: February Poll Results

If you could pair up any two Austen characters and send them on a Valentine's Day date who would you pair up and where would you send them?

Lady Susan and Captain Frederick Tilney are forced to spend the weekend at Bible camp. There is no electricity, but there is Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine to keep things in order.

Col. Brandon and Eleanor would spend a quiet weekend at a bed and breakfast.