Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

Oh, my dear readers, you must know by now how much I adore Jane Austen (except, of course, for Mansfield Park). Even on my own personal Facebook page I'm constantly updating my cover photo with different art based around sappy Austen quotes. I have a regular rotation from Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, and Emma, with a random Persuasion tossed in from time to time. But what about Northanger Abbey? It's not that I don't love Northanger Abbey because I do oh-so-much, but it seems as though aside from one or two quotes, the vast majority of the world overlooks it. 

It's a shame, really, because that means that they miss out on Austen being fabulously snarky (especially towards the book world), the innocent bookworm Catherine Morland, and most of all the swoon-worthy Henry Tilney. Sure, Emma's George Knightley is one of my longest-standing fictional crushes (especially when being portrayed by Jonny Lee Miller) but Henry? 

Oh, Henry. 

He's the stuff that daydreams and life-long loves are made of. He's got intelligence and quirkiness and is adorably funny. I do believe I fell for him at their first meeting. I do love a good smirk, after all. And he reads. Not just the "proper" things, either. In fact, one of my favorite Austen quotes (which stays off my Facebook cover to save certain people from being offended) is Henry's: 

"The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid."

Of course, it figures that my beloved Tilney does not appear in either of today's Book Beginnings & Friday 56 snippets. I suppose you'll have to acquaint yourself with him the old fashioned way and grab yourself a copy of the book. 

As always, Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings is at Rose City Reader. 

This week my "56" comes from the 56% ebook mark since I sadly forgot my paperback at home.

Friday Two-For-One (Book Beginnings, Friday 56, #boutofbooks 4 & 5)

I've decided to share two books this week for Book Beginnings & Friday 56 -- the one I've just finished and the one I'm just beginning (well, beginning again as it's a re-read). These are the 4th & 5th (and probably last) books I'm reading for the BoutOfBooks readathon. I've had a blast doing it ... have gotten to "know" quite a few more readers ... and already can't wait until the next one!

As always, Friday 56 is hosted at Freda's Voice & Book Beginnings is at Rose City Reader.

from Amazon:

Rambley Bits

This is the third of Beaton's Hamish Macbeth books. I think right now there are over thirty in the series so it should take me a while to catch up .... unless I stop taking so much time in between books (I read the second in February ... of 2016!). Really? I could catch up in about a month if I wanted to as they're delightfully fast reads. 

Anyway, this installment sees Hamish (and trusty canine Towser) away from home covering for another vacationing officer. Of course, a murder occurs shortly after Hamish arrives and Hamish has to do what he does best -- solve the mystery while annoying the inspector in charge. The wit I loved from him in the first two books are present yet again and even though he and Priscilla are separated for the vast majority (she's in London -- he's in the middle of nowhere), I'm still rooting for them to figure it the heck out already. 

Maybe I'll make a new goal of reading at least 2 Hamish's a month .... which will still take me over a year to catch up .... dangit.

*************************

I believe I've only read Emma once before -- about a million and three years ago in high school. Hence, I probably only half paid attention to it and likely only half understood it. Of course, in the years since I've seen the movies and mini-series and have absolutely fallen in love. This, therefore, will be my weekend (aside from a trip to the dentist for the kid) : pjs, Emma and oooooh Mr Knightley. 

Jane Bites Back by Michael Thomas Ford (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

I'm almost ashamed to admit that I'm reading this. I'm not, though, because it's a freaking riot and I'm having a blast so far! I stumbled upon it on my library app while looking for something to kick off my weekend. The book I had been reading just wasn't doing it for me so I figured I'd jump back into my Jane lovefest. Of course, the next book I was intending for that is sitting home on my bookshelf and I'm sitting at work ... so ...

Friday 56 (today is page 56 from the paperback) is hosted at Freda's Voice & 

Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

From Amazon:

(You can see my after-the-fact Goodreads reviewish type thing HERE)

Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

I had intended to read Beth Pattillo's Jane Austen Ruined My Life this weekend as the third book for the readathon ... and then I fell asleep almost immediately after finishing the second book and woke up six hours later with only enough time to read the first three chapters.

It's the story of Emma Grant -- a former college English professor whose specialty is Jane Austen. Her marriage and career are both over and she's taken off to England thanks to a lead on Jane Austen's lost letters. Emma is hoping that finding them will reignite her career -- even though the person who claims to have them has sworn her to secrecy about their existence and will only reveal bits and pieces of what she knows after Emma completes certain Austen-related tasks. 

It's like the scavenger hunt of my dreams!

As I spent most of Sunday resting my eyes from reading for 18 hours (and making a Jane Austen doll ... which you can see after the teasers), it took me a bit longer to get through than I had originally expected. There were some things that annoyed me -- like the ending (seriously ... what was that?!?) ... and Emma's simpering "woe-is-me" prattle throughout far too much of it. Happily, though, there were far more things that I loved -- like Adam, Mrs Parrot's quirkiness, and ooooooh so much Jane!

I had found the book in a three-book box set with two other Austen-related book by Pattillo and I'm definitely looking forward to reading them!

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

As promised:

12 Hours Later Update: Okay, I had to give the star back on Goodreads that I took away for the prattle and ending. It really wouldn't have worked as well without them and, considering the fact that hours later I'm still thinking about it this much, it definitely worked. Besides .... the ending? Is it really an end?

#Readathon update -- Hour 10

So far so good would be an understatement because so far it's been fantabulous!

I finished my first book -- Katie Oliver's Prada and Prejudice and it was so wonderful that I was tempted to scrap my TBR and just read Katie Oliver books all day. While not quite as blatantly Austen-ish as I had thought it was going to be, there were elements (aside from the last name of the main character being Dashwood) that clearly screamed Austen to me. Family angst, humor, strong but still flighty female heroine, and the men .... ohhhhh the men. Dominick is a right prat who, at times, would even make Willoughby look like an altar boy and Rhys is the stuff of Austen dreams. I'll be seeing them all again soon in the next book in the series .... but not today.

I opted to stick with my TBR and am currently 25% into Jane Odiwe's Jane Austen Lives Again. It's 1925 and a medical miracle has allowed Jane to be resurrected 108 years after her death -- and to be resurrected looking 20 years younger than she was when she "died." She's been employed as a governess at a manor house in the country, but when she arrives she discovers that her "charges" aren't young children at all, but young women of marriageable age and that she's been brought to help sort them out. Basically, she's been placed in one of her books .... or all of them meshed together!

It's great fun and I'm looking forward to continuing the tale in 3 ..... 2 ..... 1 ..... 

What I'm doing today .... a #readathon!

And I'm tweeting as I do!

Love, Lies and Spies by Cindy Anstey (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

No, I am not spending my entire work shift reading Cindy Anstey's ever-so-amazing Love, Lies and Spies. It's actually only going to end up being about half of my shift ... plus the bus ride in ... and a good amount of time when I should have been sleeping before coming in to work ... and a whole lot of Tuesday. Suffice it to say, I'm loving this book. In fact, as soon as I had read the first paragraph of the digital copy, I hopped on to Amazon and ordered the paperback so I could have it on my shelves and in my hands.

From the back cover:

"In this hilarious homage to Jane Austen, a lady with a penchant for trouble finds a handsome spy much more than merely tolerable."

I keep thinking it's like Elizabeth Bennet still falls for Colin Firth ... but this time he's playing Harry Hart from Kingsman instead of Fitzwilliam Darcy from Pride and Prejudice. (Although, Taron Egerton is more accurate age-wise by about 30 years ... but you understand where I'm coming from, right?)


Okay. Now I'm going to obsess about a Love, Lies and Spies movie being made and Egerton being cast as Spencer... and Sophie Cookson would be a most excellent Juliana... and now I want to watch Kingsman again as soon as I finish this (and before I begin Anstey's next book -- Duels & Deception!).

Anyway, back to the book...

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

Don't expect to see any sort of ramble or review about this one. Quite simply, it's one of my all-time favorite books and I've read it at least once every few years for over 25 years. I'm about half way through the latest re-read and it's still just as precious as ever. Granted, I'm still waiting for someone to slit dear Miss Bingley's throat. Not even Pride and Prejudice and Zombies has given me the pleasure!

And, in case you were wondering, the 1995 BBC mini-series is far superior to the 2005 film, but both are worth watching. 1995, after all, has Colin Firth & 2005 has the film debut of Carey Mulligan. We'll ooh and aah about her later on in The Year of Austen since she also played Isabella in ITV's Northanger Abbey ...

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.

#24in48 Winter 2017 Readathon Recap

It's not 12:30am and the 24in48 Readathon is finished. I fell half an hour short of the 24 hours, but had a blast, won a prize, and read four great books in the process (well, two great, one pretty good and one okay).

Book 1: The Corpse in Oozak's Pond by Charlotte MacLeod -- Not my favorite in the Peter Shandy series (likely because there wasn't enough Svenson for me), but not a bad read. This installment revolves heavily around the Buggins family, murder, and a lawsuit over the pond that the college uses for their utilities. Shandy is his same ol' snarky brilliant self and Chief Ottermole is along for a great deal of the investigation. Of course, he is the police chief so that makes sense ... but he's just not nearly as much fun as some of the other sidekicks have been. Lots of twists and turns and old family secrets kept things interesting, but I still missed my viking President.
*also fits in with my Cloak & Dagger Challenge

Book 2: The Vintage Cinema Club by Jane Linfoot -- This was a light UK-based chick lit which I almost always love, but not at all what I was expecting. I guess it's my own fault for picking it up because of the adorable cover and Linfoot being an author that I've previously enjoyed. I enjoyed this, as well, but not as much as I had hoped. Silly me, I was expecting the Vintage Cinema Club to be based around old movies in some way! I also hoped to have the three "main" characters (Izzy, Luce and Dida) to have actually all been main characters rather than one main character and two afterthoughts. I kept reading through hoping for more on the other two and got very little.
*The "V" for Alphabet Soup

Book 3: If Fried Chicken Could Fly by Paige Shelton -- I originally grabbed this because I needed an "I" for the Alphabet Soup challenge and thought "Hmmm ... a cozy about a cooking school? Sounds okay. Sure!" It's so much better than okay, though -- there are GHOSTS!!! Of course, in my mind this instantly takes it from "okay" to "fantabulous." The only thing better would have been if they had been pirate ghosts instead of cowboys, but this is set in Missouri so pirates wouldn't be too prevalent. (There is, however, a funny bit about dubloons between the main character and her best friend so that sort of makes up for it!) Absolutely loved this book and I look forward to visiting Broken Rope again soon. (I've already checked and my library has the whole series!)
*The "I" for Alphabet Soup and fits the Cloak & Dagger Challenge

Book 4: Sorcery & Cecelia or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C Wrede and Caroline Stevermer -- I had wanted to read this when I was in middle school and it was first released but my father heard someone say something about it that made it forbidden. I had completely forgotten about it until OpenRoad was doing a giveaway on Twitter and it was one of the options. Nothing (and no one) to hold me back now! Such an interesting read! Heavily inspired by Jane Austen (therefore fitting into my Year of Jane) and magic, each chapter is a letter written from one cousin (Cecelia) to the other (Kate), with the authors each taking one of the cousins to write as. There's magic, mystery, humor, romance ... and I highly recommend it.
*The "W" for my A to Z Authors, also fits The Year of Jane in a roundabout "inspired" way

Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

The first of Jane Austen's books to be published, Sense and Sensibility is primarily a tale of two sisters, their love and loves. 

Elinor is 19 years old. (Hear that, Emma Thompson? 19 years old. You really shouldn't have played the role at 36. I don't care how many nominations and awards the movie got. SHE'S 19!) She is quite serious and is more concerned about doing for others than she is for herself. Marianne is 16 at the onset of the actual story (you know, once we get past the basic prologue of so-and-so dying and leaving such-and-such to whomever). She is pretty much the anti-Elinor, letting her emotions go wild and not caring about appearances or consequences as long as there's some sort of passion and drama. (There's a younger sister, as well, but she's more or less just there for show.)

I first read this at some point in middle school thanks to it being on my mom's shelves and my insistence on reading everything I could get my hands on. Did I "get it"? Not likely. I have, of course, since seen at least two filmed adaptations. I prefer the 2008 BBC mini-series. Hattie Morahan was a much more convincing 19 even though she was 29 at the time of filming ... and it also has Mark Williams and David Morrissey and Mark Freaking Gatiss and at least two others who have been on Doctor Who (or The Sarah Jane Adventures) at one point or another. Heck, the 2008 Marianne was on the most recent Christmas special which just makes me want to hop on Hulu to watch S&S again ....... as soon as I've finished reading the book.

It's not a fast read, of course. I don't recall ever flying through a full-length Jane Austen in a day like I do with so many cozies. Of course, we are still talking about books I originally read almost 30 years ago. It's worth taking my time with, though. The words are there to savor -- not just to read.

Friday 56 (share from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice (today 56%) 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader.

Murder at Longbourn by Tracy Kiely (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

Since 2017 marks the 200th anniversary of the death of Jane Austen, I have declared it to be The Year of Jane. Right now I have twenty-five books lined up either written by or inspired by Jane and I was thrilled to start the year with Tracy Kiely's Murder at Longbourn -- which just happens to take place at New Year's!

It's the first book in what I'm guessing will turn into one of my favorite cozy mystery series featuring Elizabeth (Lizzie) Parker.

Amazon Description

Planning New Year's resolutions to rid her life of all things unhealthy, Elizabeth Parker has dumped fatty foods, processed sugar, and her two-timing boyfriend. Indeed, the invitation to join her Aunt Winnie for a How to Host a Murder Party on New Year's Eve at Winnie's new Cape Cod B and B comes just in time. But when the local wealthy miser ends up the unscripted victim, Elizabeth must unearth old secrets and new motives in order to clear her beloved aunt of suspicion. The suspects include the town gossip, a haughty rich woman, and an antiques business owner much enamored of his benefactress, a Mrs. Kristell Dubois. If that isn't bad enough, Elizabeth must also contend with her childhood nemesis, Peter McGowan---a man she suspects has only matured in chronological years---and her suspicions about his family's interest in Winnie's inn.
Yesterday, her only worry was of ever finding her Mr. Darcy. Now she has a murder to solve. Is it any wonder her resolution to achieve inner poise is in tatters?

It's full of laughter and literary references and was an absolute delight to read. Not only is Kiely obviously a fan of Austen, but also of classic mystery authors like Agatha Christie and Dashiell Hammett. It took me until the 65% mark before I had a big "A-HA!" moment and even then it turned out to be a red herring! Oh, how I love those tricky fish!

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Bibliophile by the Sea. "Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.