2017 Pollyanna Book List

We had a lovely time at our Annual Jane Austen Birthday Party meeting.

We played some games, had refreshments and enjoyable conversation, but the highlight is always the book exchange.  There were a lot of great titles this year.

A Woman's Book of Inspiration edited by Carol Kelly-Gangi

The Pursuit of Mary Bennet by Pamela Mingle

Cassandra and Jane by Jill Pitkeathley

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler

Dinner with Mr. Darcy: Recipes inspired by the novels of Jane Austen by Pen Volger

Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz

What Would Jane Austen Do? by Potter Style

How Watson Learned the Trick by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales by P.D. James



We also picked the books for our 2018 Reading Group

March - The Guernesy Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

May - Jane Austen, the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly

September - The Pursuit of Love by Nancy Mitford

November - What Matters in Jane Austen? Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved by John Mullan


Happy Reading!

It's Monday! What are you reading? - 2016 Book Pollyanna

We had an enjoyable time at our Jane Austen Birthday Celebration and Book Pollyanna this past weekend. We all have a new book to enjoy and I hope you find one or more on this list to enjoy as well!

Title: The Nest

Author: Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney

Title: Silks

Author: Dick Francis, Felix Francis

Title: Vinegar Girl

Author: Anne Tyler

Title: Emma: A Modern Retelling

Author: Alexander McCall Smith

Title: Me Before You

Author: Jojo Moyes

Title: What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved

Author: John Mullan

Title: Family Furnishings: Selected Stories, 1995-2014

Author: Alice Munro

Title: The Eyre Affair

Author: Jasper Fforde

It's Monday! What are you reading? - Pollyanna Book List

We had an enjoyable time at our Jane Austen Birthday Celebration and Book Pollyanna this past weekend. We all have a new book to enjoy and I hope you find one or more on this list to enjoy as well!

Photo credit: Jen Fitzgerlad

The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry by Gabrielle Zevin
Affinity by Sarah Waters
Wolf Hall (Thomas Cromwell Trilogy #1) by Hilary Mantel
So Jane: Crafts and Recipes for an Austen-Inspired Life by Hollie Keith and Jennifer Adams
The Handsome Man's Deluxe Café (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency #15) by Alexander McCall Smith
The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert
Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling
The Three Weissmanns of Westport by Cathleen Schine
Encyclopedia of the Exquisite: An Anecdotal History of Elegant Delights by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins
Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor (Jane Austen Mysteries #1) by Stephanie Barron
Jane and the Twelve Days of Christmas (Jane Austen Mysteries #12) by Stephanie Barron

Annual Book Pollyanna Book List 2014

We had a delightful meeting in honor of Jane's birthday this past weekend.  As always there was tea and a number of yummy treats (check back Wednesday for some pictures).

The Meaning of Night by Michael Cox
The Widower's Tale by Julia Glass
The Beach Street Knitting Society and Yarn Club by Gil McNeil
Jane Austen's First Love by Syrie James
Jane Austen Cover to Cover: 200 Years of Classic Book Covers by Margaret C. Sullivan
The Jane Austen Rules: A Classic Guide to Modern Love by Sinead Murphy
Time for Tea with Mary Engelbreit by Mary Engelbreit and Barbara Elliott Martin
Mr. Dracy's Guide to Courtship: The Secrets of Seduction from Jane Austen's Most Eligible Bachelor by Emily Brand

Pollyanna Book Swap Titles!

We had a lovely social and book swap this past weekend at Barbara M.'s house. We had a great time catching up, at times there were as many as four or five conversations going on around the table. We also played a fun little game (see Friday's post!). 

Here are the books we swapped:

• Songs of Willow Frost by Jamie Ford
• Sense and Sensibility DVD and Book Combo Pack
• Lady Almina and the Real Downton Abbey by Countess of Carnarvon
• The Complete Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Lost Memoirs of Jane Austen by Syrie James
• All Roads Lead to Austen: A Yearlong Journey with Jane by Amy Elizabeth Smith
• Wit & Wisdom of Jane Austen by Michael Kerrigan
• Marjorie Morningstar by Herman Wouk
• My Life in Middlemarch by Rebecca Mead
• Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith
• The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
• The Misbegotton by Katherine Webb

Edit (4/7/14):  I took The Common Reader by Virginia Woolf off the list since the correct book that was swapped was The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett.

You can find our full Book Shelf here.

Jane Austen Birthday Celebration and Book Pollyanna

As always we had a lovely tea and food spread. Our gracious host Deborah made these delicious scones.

After a business meeting we got down to our discussion of Lesley Castle. With the busy holiday season in full swing not everyone got a chance to finish reading the work, but we were still able to talk about the story.  It was noted that you can see the start of some plot lines, character development and Jane's notable wit being formed in this work.  Written in her late teens, Lesley Castle, is a funny story filled with superficial characters and interweaving plot lines.

On Friday I shared on Facebook and Twitter some of my favorite lines from the novella. Here they are again!

"Louisa was naturally ill-tempered and Cunning; but she had been taught to disguise her real Disposition, under the appearance of insinuating Sweetness, by a father who but too well knew, that to be married, would be the only chance she would have of not being starved, and who flattered himself that with such an extroidinary share of personal beauty, joined to a gentleness of Manners, and an engaging address, she might stand a good chance of pleasing some young Man who might afford to marry a girl without a Shilling." - Letter the Third (Lesley Castle)

"During our visit, the Weather being remarkably bad, and our party particularly stupid,..." Letter the Fourth (Lesley Castle)

"She has not a bad face, but there is something so extremely unmajestic in her little diminutive figure, as to render her in comparison with the elegant height of Matilda and Myself, an insignificant Dwarf." - Letter the Fifth (Lesley Castle)

"But here again, I met with nothing but Disappointment and Surprise. Matilda and Margaret Lesley are two great, tall, out of the way, over-grown, girls, just of a proper size to inhabit a Castle almost as large in comparison as themselves. I wish my dear Charlotte that you could but behold these Scotch giants; I am sure they would frighten you out of your wits." - Letter the Sixth (Lesley Castle)

After our discussion we made a sherry toast to Jane for her birthday (we also toasted our out going and in coming officers).

Then we got started on our Book Pollyanna.

• The Turn of the Screw, The Aspern Papers and Two Stories, by Henry James
• Daisy Miller and Washington Square, by Henry James
• Bleak House, by Charles Dickens
• The Children's Book by A. S. Byatt
• A Jane Austen Education by William Deresiewicz
• The Lace Reader by Brunonia Barry
• Rules of Civility by Amor Towles
• Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope
• Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by  Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters
•  Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
• The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton by Edith Wharton
• All Roads Lead to Austen by Amy Elizabeth Smith
• Dearest Cousin Jane  by Jill Pitkeathley
• Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
• How it All Began by Penelope Lively
• Jane-A-Day Journal

 All these books will be added to our LibraryThing list.

To see all the pictures from the event please see our Facebook Page.