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?

Title: I Was Jane Austen's Best Friend

Author: Cora Harrison

Publication Date: September 28, 2010

Synopsis: When shy Jenny Cooper goes to stay with her cousin Jane Austen, she knows nothing of the world of beautiful dresses, dances, secrets, gossip, and romance that Jane inhabits. At fifteen, Jane is already a sharp observer of the customs of courtship. So when Jenny falls utterly in love with Captain Thomas Williams, who better than Jane to help her win the heart of this dashing man?

But is that even possible? After all, Jenny’s been harboring a most desperate secret. Should it become known, it would bring scandal not only to her, but also to the wonderful Austen family. What’s a poor orphan girl to do?

In this delicious dance between truth and fiction, Cora Harrison has crafted Jenny’s secret diary by reading everything Jane Austen wrote as a child and an adult, and by researching biographies, critical studies, and family letters. Jenny’s diary makes the past spring vividly to life and provides insight into the entire Austen family—especially the beloved Jane.

Review:  Found in The Guardian - This book is fabulous read and was riveting and adventurous as well as teaching me all about the past. You must read this, whether or not you are a Jane Austen fan! (full review)

It's Monday! What are you reading?

Title: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall

Author: Ann Bronte

Publication Date: June 1848

Synopsis: Gilbert Markham is deeply intrigued by Helen Graham, a beautiful and secretive young widow who has moved into nearby Wildfell Hall with her young son. He is quick to offer Helen his friendship, but when her reclusive behavior becomes the subject of local gossip and speculation, Gilbert begins to wonder whether his trust in her has been misplaced. It is only when she allows Gilbert to read her diary that the truth is revealed and the shocking details of her past.

Notes:  I'm reading this novel in preparation for CNJ-JASNA's second reading group meeting.  If you would like more information about the reading group please email us.

You can find a free version of the novel here on Project Gutenberg

It's Monday! What are you reading? - Jane Austen: A Life

Title: Jane Austen: A Life

Author: Claire Tomalin

Publication Date: April 27, 1999

Synopsis:  At her death in 1817, Jane Austen left the world six of the most beloved novels written in English—but her shortsighted family destroyed the bulk of her letters; and if she kept any diaries, they did not survive her. Now acclaimed biographer Claire Tomalin has filled the gaps in the record, creating a remarkably fresh and convincing portrait of the woman and the writer.
While most Austen biographers have accepted the assertion of Jane's brother Henry that "My dear Sister's life was not a life of events," Tomalin shows that, on the contrary, Austen's brief life was fraught with upheaval. Tomalin provides detailed and absorbing accounts of Austen's ill-fated love for a young Irishman, her frequent travels and extended visits to London, her close friendship with a worldly cousin whose French husband met his death on the guillotine, her brothers' naval service in the Napoleonic wars and in the colonies, and thus shatters the myth of Jane Austen as a sheltered and homebound spinster whose knowledge of the world was limited to the view from a Hampshire village.

Notes:  There was a mix up last month for our first Reading Group meeting and half of us read the biography by Carol Shields and the other half read this biography.  Since I already shared the Carol Shields biography I wanted to make sure that I let everyone know that this is also a really good biography. Those that read it really enjoyed reading this book.

It's Monday? What are you reading? - First Impressions

Title: First Impressions: 
A Novel of Old Books, 
Unexpected Love, and Jane Austen

Author: Charlie Lovett

Publication Date: October 16th 2014

Synopsis: Book lover and Austen enthusiast Sophie Collingwood has recently taken a job at an antiquarian bookshop in London when two different customers request a copy of the same obscure book: the second edition of Little Book of Allegories by Richard Mansfield. Their queries draw Sophie into a mystery that will cast doubt on the true authorship of Pride and Prejudice—and ultimately threaten Sophie’s life.

In a dual narrative that alternates between Sophie’s quest to uncover the truth—while choosing between two suitors—and a young Jane Austen’s touching friendship with the aging cleric Richard Mansfield, Lovett weaves a romantic, suspenseful, and utterly compelling novel about love in all its forms and the joys of a life lived in books.

It's Monday! What are you reading? - Jane Austen: A Lif

Title: Jane Austen: A Life

Author: Carol Shields

Synopsis: With the same sensitivity and artfulness that are the trademarks of her award-winning novels, Carol Shields explores the life of a writer whose own novels have engaged and delighted readers for the past two hundred years. In Jane Austen, Shields follows this superb and beloved novelist from her early family life in Steventown to her later years in Bath, her broken engagement, and her intense relationship with her sister Cassandra. She reveals both the very private woman and the acclaimed author behind the enduring classics Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma. With its fascinating insights into the writing process from an award–winning novelist, Carol Shields’s magnificent biography of Jane Austen is also a compelling meditation on how great fiction is created. (less)

Review:  Read a review from Linda Relias from JASNA News v.17, no. 2, Summer 2001, p. 28

It's Monday! What are you reading? Mansfield Park Revisited

Title: Mansfield Revisited 

Author: Joan Aiken

Publication Date: October 3, 2008

Synopsis: In Aiken's sequel to Jane Austen's complex and fascinating novel, after heroine Fanny Price marries Edmund Bertram, they depart for the Caribbean, and Fanny's younger sister Susan moves to Mansfield Park as Lady Bertram's new companion. Surrounded by the familiar cast of characters from Jane Austen's original, and joined by a few charming new characters introduced by the author, Susan finds herself entangled in romance, surprise, scandal, and redemption. 

Aiken's diverting tale gives the reader interesting speculation on how the Crawfords, whose winning personalities were marred by an amoral upbringing, might have turned out, and Jane Austen's morality tale takes new directions with an unexpected and somewhat controversial ending.

Review:  Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment, by Joan Aiken – A Review over at AustenProse.com

It's Monday! What are you reading? - Mansfield Park

Title: Mansfield Park

Author: Jane Austen

Publication Date: July 1814

Synopsis: Taken from the poverty of her parents' home, Fanny Price is brought up with her rich cousins at Mansfield Park, acutely aware of her humble rank and with only her cousin Edmund as an ally. When Fanny's uncle is absent in Antigua, Mary Crawford and her brother Henry arrive in the neighbourhood, bringing with them London glamour and a reckless taste for flirtation. As her female cousins vie for Henry's attention, and even Edmund falls for Mary's dazzling charms, only Fanny remains doubtful about the Crawfords' influence and finds herself more isolated than ever. A subtle examination of social position and moral integrity, Mansfield Park is one of Jane Austen's most profound works.

Review:  A few years ago we started a cycle of reading through Jane's novels in publication order and in 2017 we are onto Mansfield Park. We will be discussing it during our February meeting so now is a great time to get started on this novel.

It's Monday! What are you reading? - Reading Challenges 2017

I'm all about reading challenges. I find they add to my yearly reading goals. While exploring some blogs to find some new challenges for 2017, I found these two that I think you all might enjoy.

All About Austen: 

Rules

• The Challenge runs from January 1 – December 31, 2017 (although you can sign up any time).
• Anything inspired by the author counts (film adaptations, spin-offs and of course the originals)
• Overlaps with other challenges are fine.
• You do not need a blog to participate.
• I will also have a monthly post to link to all reviews.

Levels

• Austen Adventurer — read/watch 3 items
• Austen Aficionado — read/watch 6 items
• Austen Addict — read/watch 12 items

What Would Jane Do?:  
Challenge Categories:

Books only written by Jane Austen herself:

Levels:
A Touch of Pride: Read 1-3 books
Learning Sense: Read 4+ books

Books Written by Austen, spin-offs, sequels, and books that use her as a fictional character:

Expanding Emmagination: Read 1-3 books by Jane Austen and 1-3 books that fall into one of the other categories
Jane’s Persuasion: Read 4+ books by Jane Austen and 4+ books from the other categories

The final two levels of dedication go above and beyond all the other ones. The books can either be hers or a spin-off, sequel, use her as a fictional character, non-fiction about her, and the movies based off of her, her books, or that use her books as a key element.

Jane’s Wisdom: Read 3-5 books, Watch 3-5 movies
What Would Jane Do Official Challenge: Read 8+ books, Watch 8+ Movies

It's Monday! What are you reading? - Cooking with Jane Austen

Title: Cooking with Jane Austen
Author: Kirstin Olsen

Publication Date: August 1, 2005

Synopsis: One of the greatest writers of all time, Jane Austen drew upon her domestic culture to color her works. Included in this book are more than 200 recipes for the many, many meals she alludes to throughout her writings. Recipes appear in modernized form, along with quotations from Austen's writings and excerpts from cookbooks of her era. Sure to entertain her numerous fans, the volume provides readers with recipes for such dishes as fried beef steaks, broiled mutton chops, roast pork loin, buttered crab or lobster, Stilton cheese, syrup of mulberries, almond pudding, French bread, mushroom ketchup, and many others.

The book begins with some introductory chapters on cooking and eating in Austen's world. It then presents chapters on broad categories of food, such as beef and veal, seafood, pastries and sweets, and beverages. Each chapter includes extracts from Austen's works and from cookbooks of her period, accompanied by easy-to-follow modernized recipes. The volume closes with some sample menus; glossaries of ingredients, sources, and special tools; and a bibliography of period cookbooks and modern studies.

Review:  A co-worker brought this book to my attention. She had found it in the stacks and was adding it to a book display of cookbooks for the holidays. I flipped through and knew quickly that this was one book that I needed to add to my collection. The book takes a look at dishes mentioned in Austen's writings and books and then looks at historical cookbooks to find the recipes. Then the book gives you a modern version for you to try at home. I can't wait to try some!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? - Jane spotting book edition

Title: Tequila Mockingbird: Cocktails with a Literary Twist
Author: Tim Federle
Synopsis:  Congrats. You fought through 'War and Peace', burned through 'Fahrenheit 451', and sailed through 'Moby-Dick'. All right, you nearly drowned in 'Moby-Dick', but you made it to shore — and you deserve a drink!

A fun gift for barflies and a terrific treat for book clubs, 'Tequila Mockingbird' is the ultimate cocktail book for the literary obsessed. Featuring 65 delicious drink recipes — paired with wry commentary on history’s most beloved novels — the book also includes bar bites, drinking games, and whimsical illustrations throughout.

Even if you don’t have a B.A. in English, tonight you’re gonna drink like you do. Drinks include:
The Pitcher of Dorian Grey Goose
The Last of the Mojitos
Love in the Time of Kahlua
Romeo and Julep
A Rum of One’s Own
Are You There, God? It’s Me, Margarita
Vermouth the Bell Tolls
and more!
Review:  I saw this book on display in the library and had heard about it but never picked it up...so I picked it up. Flipping through I spotted a drink recipe for Rye and Prejudice

3 ounces grape fruit juice
1 1/2 ounces rye whiskey

Pour the ingredients over ice in a rocks glass, sitting like a complicated heart. We hold no prejudice against marrying up, ladies, but you don't need a castle (or a king) to be a queen.

The book is full of these fun recipes and each drink comes with a witty description of the book. 

It's Monday! What are you reading? - Lizzy Bennet's Diary

Title: Lizzy Bennet's Diary
Author: Marcia Williams
Publication Date:April 22, 2014
Date Added to List:April 14, 2014

Synopsis: When Lizzy Bennet’s father gives her a diary, she fancies she will use it to write a novel, as her real life is exceedingly dull. Then the handsome Mr. Bingley moves to nearby Netherfield Park, and suddenly life is every bit as thrilling as a novel would be. Who will he dance with at the Meryton ball? Who is his haughty friend? Will Lizzy ever receive a marriage proposal? Readers will have to read her diary to find out! Marcia Williams offers a lively introduction to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in a highly illustrated scrapbook-diary format, featuring such novelties as foldout notes from sisters and suitors, an elegant bill of fare, and an invitation to the ball.

Review: After last week's Goodreads Monday, I decided to check out the book and give it a try.  I enjoyed the book. I thought it was appropriate for the age group it was written for and a good book for those who aren't quite ready for the actual text of Pride and Prejudice. The publisher recommends this book for children aged 8-12 and I do think that's the perfect age range for this book, but I think anyone picking up this book would enjoy it.

This book would be great as a book to read along with your child.  There are hand written notes that you open up as if Lizzy has attached them to the pages of her diary.  The handwriting is mostly cursive and can be a bit challenging to read. The artwork wasn't my favorite but might appeal to younger readers. 

I suggest picking up this book and giving it a quick flip through. It's a great format for the age group and a retelling. 

It's Monday! What are you reading? - Pride and Prejudice

I'm gearing up for our discussion of Pride and Prejudice next weekend by rereading the novel.  I'm not just rereading it, I'm reading it as an English Major.  I picked up a low-cost copy, a pencil and set to reading and underlining passages and making notes in the margins. I haven't read any of Jane's work this way (kind of surprising) and I'm finding things that I've missed on previous reads of the novel.

I'm finding a kind of like Mr. Bennett a bit more, yes he's harsh and uncaring, but he's so witty. I've known this, but taking the time to mark some of his lines as made him seem new to my eyes.  

One thing I enjoy about rereading is knowing how the story is going to play out and finding tidbits that the author has left for you. Sort of a breadcrumb path through the story. These get an underline and a note about foreshadowing or "that comments going to come back to bite you". 

What are you reading?

It's Monday! What are you reading? - My Own Mr. Darcy by Karey White

My Own Mr. Darcy by Karey White
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lizzie is Darcy-obsessed and has been ever since her mother took her to see the 2005 Pride and Prejudice. She's not just obsessed with Mr. Darcy but with Matthew Macfadyen's portrayal of the character. It's one of the reasons why she hasn't had a long lasting relationship, no man can measure up. Her best friend challenges her to go out with Chad, even though he's a great guy, he's not Mr. Darcy.  Then Lizzie meets her Mr. Darcy but is he everything she wants?

I liked this book, liked that the Darcy obsession wasn't with Colin Firth. I liked how there were shades of P&P in Lizzie's life, but the story wasn't a retelling of the novel. There were a number of times I wanted to reach into the book and shake Lizzie but overall it was an enjoyable read.


What have you read recently?

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

It's Monday! What are you Reading? - Prejudice & Pride by Lynn Messina

Hi readers!

I know it's Tuesday and I had intended to have this book read and a review written since it come out today (12/15) but life had it's way and I have just started the book, so I really don't have a review but, I'm going to provide you with some other reviews with my official review to follow once I finish the book (and survive the holidays!).

You know Darcy: rich, proud, standoffish, disapproving, one of the greatest romantic heroes of all time. But you don't know this Darcy because this Darcy is a woman.

In PREJUDICE & PRIDE, everything is vaguely familiar and yet wholly new. Bingley is here, in the form of Charlotte "Bingley" Bingston, an heiress staying at the Netherfield hotel on Central Park, as is Longbourn, transformed from an ancestral home into a perennially cash-strapped art museum on the edge of the city. Naturally, it employs an audacious fundraiser with an amused glint in his eye called Bennet.

All the favorite characters are present and cleverly updated: Providing the cringe-worthy bon mots is Mr. Meryton, the nerve-wracked executive director of the Longbourn who’s always on the lookout for heiresses to join his museum’s very important committees. (Universally acknowledged truth: Any woman in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a social committee to chair.) Collin Parsons is still in obsequious, if ironic, awe of his patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The wicked Georgia Wickham toils as a graphic designer at Redcoat Design by day and schemes against Darcy by night.

And now some reviews:

Kirkus Reviews
Royal Reviews
The Oddness of Moving Things
Butterfly-o-Meter Books

It's Monday! What are you Reading? - The Mysteries of Udolpho

Last Monday that I was giving The Mysteries of Uldolpho another shot and I am happy to announce that I finished the novel. It was a struggle, while the main story is interesting it's all the extras included in the novel that make it an uphill climb. 

"MysteriesOfUdolpho cp" by Upload: Jeff chapman. -
Licensed under Public Domain via Commons 

Reading this novel gives me a better appreciation of Jane's works, especially Northanger Abbey. We are told that NA is a satire of Anne Radcliffe's novels and Catherine reads MoU while in Bath.  A lot of what I read in the novel can be seen in NA and Jane had a way of writing it so it came across as a bit over the top while I feel Anne wrote it in a more serious but not too serious of a tone. There is a lot of jumping to conclusion about strange goings on and mysterious deaths, secret passage ways and connections between characters with long overdue explanations.   There is probably also one too many plot lines, but thankfully none are left dangling at the end of the novel.

It's Monday, What Are You Reading? - Gothic Fiction

It's Monday and I'm starting to feel the Halloween spirit! It was a frosty morning and the heat was running and I just knew I was reading to give The Mysteries of Uldolpho another shot. So I dug around online for a decent, but free, digital version and downloaded it to my eReader. Now I just need to find where I stopped back in August.

If you want to get into the mood like I am here are some Gothic suggestions for your reading pleasure.

1.Northanger Abbey.

2. The Old English Barron by Clara Reeve

3. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliff

4. A Sicilian Romance by Ann Radcliffe

5. The Monk: A Romance by M. G. Lewis

6. Zastrozzi by Percy Bysshe Shelley

7. Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

8. The Works of Edgar Allen Poe

9. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

10. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

11. Dracula by Bram Stoker

12. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

It's Monday! What are you reading? - First & Then by Emma Mills

A co-worker who knows I love Jane Austen recommended this book.  This is Young Adult book that is billed as Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights. So Jane Austen and football, two things I love! It's due to be published in October and I can't wait to get my hands on this book.




Description from GoodReads:

Devon Tennyson wouldn't change a thing. She's happy watching Friday night games from the bleachers, silently crushing on best friend Cas, and blissfully ignoring the future after high school. But the universe has other plans. It delivers Devon's cousin Foster, an unrepentant social outlier with a surprising talent for football, and the obnoxiously superior and maddeningly attractive star running back, Ezra, right where she doesn't want them first into her P.E. class and then into every other aspect of her life.

Pride and Prejudice meets Friday Night Lights in this contemporary novel about falling in love with the unexpected boy, with a new brother, and with yourself.

From the reviews this novel has taken the Lizzie/Darcy relationship and not much else has been pulled from P&P so it's not really a modern retelling. There are references, but it doesn't seem as if it is simply a high school themed retelling of the novel.

It's Monday! What are you reading? - Austen in August

I'm not sure what you're reading but how about flipping the pages of Men's Fitness Regency?

Or how about Cosmopolitan Regency?

Both of these delight covers are from the mind of Laura Jill Somers.  You can find her on Twitter and on her Website. 

Now onto Austen in August!

I started my first book, Fall For You (The Jane Austen Academy Book 1) by Cecilia Gray. This book starts off the series about six girls (all based on the six heroines of Jane's novels) as they face the changing world of their former all girls school. This book focuses on Lizzie and Dante. I haven't met Dante yet in my reading, but I'm assuming his the guy all the girls were gossiping about (Do you know who that is?) Right now the girls are moving in for the school year and nothing is going as planned. The school is under new ownership and has changed thing around by letting boys into the school.

How has your Austen in August started off?