Austenesque Lovers TBR Pile Reading Challenge 2017 discussion

Couldn't agree with you more!!

Yes, "pretty chuffed" is definitely how I felt when I clicked on the "Submit" button on the third assessment and it came back as 100% and a total of 28/30 especially after my rather dismal first attempts! I didn't give the word a second thought, Sheila. Hadn't realised it might not mean anything to my dear friends from the US.

Anyway, after struggling with my last read, I've been over on the Austen Variations website, re-reading the first chapter in the new story by Caitlin Williams and Leslie Diamond. Then I tapped the Free Books menu option at the top of the screen and discovered some I hadn't seen before. So, although it's only short, I can highly recommend Snowbound - a P&P Novelette by Jack Caldwell. I think you can guess who the two characters are who become trapped by an unseasonal blizzard! It's a lovely, sweet story.

I read and reviewed that on GRs. Loved it. How about what Lizzy told the driver and the man from the Inn about the relationship she had with Darcy when those men came upon them together in the cabin?

Loved this story! So sweet! And what Lizzy told the two men....well,that would be telling!

I was wandering around what I have downloaded to the Kindle app on this iPad and found a file I'd totally forgotten about! I must have downloaded it when Renee Beyea's book A Fine Stout Love and Other Stories was released last year.

If you go to her website: http://www.reneebeyea.com/?books=a-ha... and register for her email newsletter, you can download A Happy Textident too. It's a modern story, as you may have guessed, and though short, well worth reading and quite a lot of fun. It wasn't on the GR database to I've just added the bare bones details in order to log it.

I already am on her newsletter list...have to check about the book.

Feeling a bit sorry for myself today as a virus has sneaked up and laid me low. Current temp is 101F, so I haven't got up yet (nearly 12 noon!). Can't concentrate on anything long right now so reading bits and pieces of short stuff I've found on my Kindle and Kindle app on my iPad. Some more from the Jane Austen Variations free books section. Must have downloaded them and totally forgotten about it. Will add to this post as I read them.

14. Bits of Bobbin Lace by Maria Grace - a collection of vignettes ancillary to the Given Good Principles series, which is one of my favourite JAFF series.
15. Second Impressions by Jack Caldwell
16. Kitty Bennet in Love by Jane Odiwe
17. A Tale of Two Matchmakers by Marilyn Brant
18. Fifteen Thousand Nights: a Pemberley Ranch Vignette by Jack Caldwell
19. Variations -- a series of Jane Austen “what-ifs” also by Jack Caldwell
20. Mr. Darcy's P&P POV - the abridged version, another Jack Caldwell work available for free from JAV.

Anji-so sorry to hear you're feeling under the weather! Fix yourself a nice cuppa,curl up under the duvet again and take it easy! Hope you're feeling better soon!

Mary wrote: "Loved this story! So sweet! And what Lizzy told the two men....well,that would be telling!"

Yes it would indeed, Mary! I'd not read any of Jack Caldwell's writing for a while and I'd kind of forgotten what a good writer he is. I've read a few more of his other short pieces today whilst not feeling well and listed them above. I must get hold of his sequel to The Three Colonels sometime.

Anji,I don't think I've read anything else by Jack C. I loved the short story he wrote. Such a romantic Darcy!!!

I have read a few of Jack's books and just found this
(Fifteen Thousand Nights: a Pemberley Ranch Vignette by Jack Caldwell) on your list so I read it immediately. How delightful. I have his most recent trilogy, a modern day take-off on my kindle and need to read that. If you have not read Snowbound, another short one, it is delightful.

Mary wrote: "Anji,I don't think I've read anything else by Jack C. I loved the short story he wrote. Such a romantic Darcy!!!"

Oh, you should read some more of his work, Mary! The first I read was Mr. Darcy Came to Dinner, which I'd purchased quite by accident. I'd not had my Kindle very long and had only just discovered the great, wide world of JAFF. I only discovered the purchase when I checked my credit card statement one month and then had to chase down an unknown purchase with Amazon. I can definitely recommend that one - it's laugh out loud funny in places!

Read the rest of his free stuff at Jane Austen Variations and I think you'll be impressed enough to read his full-length works. One of the free ones is a short sequel to Pemberley Ranch, which I also enjoyed.

Then there's The Three Colonels: Jane Austen's Fighting Men, a mash-up sequel to P&P and S&S. I haven't read his Bourbon Street Nights trilogy, The Last Adventure of the Scarlet Pimpernel, or The Companion of His Future Life yet.

I've just finished the final one of his free works, Variations -- a series of Jane Austen “what-ifs”, which is a series of short-ish stories. There's at least one based on each of Jane Austen's six finished full-length novels. The Mansfield Park ones are my favourites, I think, but they're all very good indeed.

Sheila wrote: "I have read a few of Jack's books and just found this on your list so I read it immediately. How delightful. I have his most recent trilogy, a modern day take-off on my kindle and need to read that. If you have not read Snowbound, another short one, it is delightful."

Snowbound is indeed, delightful, Sheila. I read it just a couple of days ago.

Thanks for mentioning Variations - I just downloaded that. I highly recommend all the other ones you mentioned. I had to pull out the original Scarlet Pimpernel before reading his book on that and loved it and so bought the other sequels to that original book. And I had to find the movie and watch that also.

So interesting! I've read Jack Caldwell's full-length variations of Pride and Prejudice and enjoyed them all, but I didn't know until now that he has a cache of P&P-related short stories, too. Yowza! The guy can write!

Was that the version with Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour, Sheila? I loved that one. I see it's available on YouTube, so I might just have a quiet evening with that tonight. Hubby is supplying me with cups of tea at regular intervals but I'm not feeling much like eating at the moment.

One last Jack Caldwell free work from JAV to add. I'd read this one before, when he first released it but just re-read this afternoon. Again it's laugh out loud funny at times; Mr. Darcy's P&P POV - the abridged version an abbreviated but almost chapter-by-chapter version of P&P told accompanied Darcy's own internal monologue. Definitely worth ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️. It says it's the "abridged version" but I've never seen a fuller one around. I'd pay good money for that!

I love Jack's writing. I think his Darcys ring so true.

Barb wrote: "I love Jack's writing. I think his Darcys ring so true."

Yes indeed, Barb.

Anji wrote: "Was that the version with Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour, Sheila? I loved that one. I see it's available on YouTube, so I might just have a quiet evening with that tonight. Hubby is supplying me ..."

Yes, I think I watched it on YouTube also. A little different from the book but still gives you the basic story line.

Hope you are feeling better, Anji! What a great idea to read some of the shorter works on your list. ;)

Sheila wrote: "Anji wrote: "Was that the version with Anthony Andrews and Jane Seymour, Sheila? I loved that one. I see it's available on YouTube, so I might just have a quiet evening with that tonight. Hubby is ..."

Sadly, when I clicked on the YouTube link, it said it was no longer available due to copyright issues. Ah well. Hubby found an interesting documentary on the BBC last night about King George III, which I saw about half of. May look it up on iPlayer later. Also another documentary about the Black Death, which overlapped with the other, so only saw about half of that. Will try to find that on catchup too.

Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) wrote: "Hope you are feeling better, Anji! What a great idea to read some of the shorter works on your list. ;)"

Thanks Meredith. I've got all of the Holidays with Jane books on my Kindle so I may try dipping into them today.

Starting a new comment for today's short pieces.

21. Pride & Prejudice by Karen Anna Vogel - from the Amish Knit Lit Circle series. A group of Amish and "English" women get together to knit and discuss literature. This one involves P&P, which is what drew me to it. It's also been on my Kindle for nearly three years. Although it's only short, I found myself wanting to know more about the characters. So I'll maybe search out more from the series in the future.

22. Prude & Prejudice byFrancene Carroll - a short, modern re-telling of some of the events of P&P. Ignore what it says in the blurb about a character "must be in need of a good sh****ng" as there's nothing explicit in this at all. It explores different forms of prejudice as well as the characters for each other, which I thought was great but I also thought that part of one character's speech near the end was unnecessary in the context.

23. To Darcy by Grace Mathew - now this isn't fiction, it's a 50 question multiple choice quiz about how well we know Jane Austen's eponymous hero. Again, it's one I'd forgotten I had (Dec 2015) and I got it as a freebie. It's not free now though and none of this author's other P&P quizzes are either. I'm not going to be buying the others, although this was an enjoyable way of passing a few minutes. And my score? 45/50.

24. The Dancing Monkeys by Sherwood Smith - a Mansfield Park sequel/Persuasion prequel mashup. It's short but intense. Henry Crawford takes passage aboard a naval vessel named Laconia and eventually meets a certain Captain Wentworth. Excellent description of a naval battle too. My only complaints are that it ends rather suddenly and isn't long enough. Caution - my copy was a freebie back in 2015 but it's now £2, which seems a bit steep for a 33 page tale.

25. Not Handsome Enough by Ayr Bray - another that I've had since 2015 and obtained as a freebie. It's 99p now, which again seems a bit much for such a short work. Didn't really like it, which surprised me as I've enjoyed full length works by Ms. Bray in the past. I won't be buying the rest of the series as they're all 99p for around 50 pages or less. Caution - mature adults only for this one and not for those who like to avoid explicit sex scenes.

END OF MONTH UPDATE FOR FEBRUARY
==================================

Books read = 23 (see post No. 29 for the full list and ratings)

A lot of them were only short stories, or at best short novella in length, from when I was ill a couple of weeks ago.

YTD total = 31

I made a mistake (again!) in the numbering of my post at the start of February. I jumped straight from 29 to 39 somehow, which means that the post I put in Catherine Morland's library about reaching 40 was a load of rubbish! You'd think that someone who moonlights as a beta/proofreader would read her own posts better before posting, wouldn't you? Got three beta projects on the go right now, as it happens. One is a whole book and the other two are being sent to me at a chapter or two per week. They're all looking pretty good!

I'm now about 3/4 of the way through the audio version of Northern Rain, which is very good. I'm only listening to it on my commutes and it's a long book, so that's why it's not yet finished. Having just had a binge re-watch of North and South, I can hear all of the main characters voices so clearly in my head. Stevie Zimmerman's narration is great. Her John Thornton voice is so good and she's managing to do a deeper voice without it sounding weird coming from a female narrator.

Currently having a binge re-watch of Sense and Sensibility (2007) - the one with Dan Stevens as Edward Ferrars and David Morrissey as Colonel Brandon. Can you tell that my hubby is away at the moment? I don't usually get to watch so much of my costume drama stuff all at once! I might just watch the Emma Thompson S&S straight afterwards to compare the two.

Forgot to weigh myself this morning, so will add my progress on that front tomorrow.

SUMMARY POST FOR MARCH
--------------------------------------
1. (32) Leap of Hope: Chance at an Austen Kind of Life by Shannon Winslow ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. (33) The Indomitable Miss Elizabeth: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Jennifer Joy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3. (34) Northern Rain: A North & South Variation by Nicole Clarkston audio version ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. (35) The Abominable Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation - audio version ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5. (36) Persuasion: By Jane Austen by Nick Dear ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I just re-watched N&S also. And I have recently read A Heart for Milton, which is a variation of that book. It was an excellent book. We all know you have been sick so getting a mix-up in numbering is understandable. Enjoy your audio books and your movies.

A Heart for Milton is on my N&S Wish List, Sheila.

I've now finished S&S 2007, commentaries, special features and all and have indeed moved on to S&S 1995. I've watched it through once and have now moved on to watching with commentary tracks. There's two of them on this DVd and I'm currently in the middle of the one with Emma Thompson and one of the producers. The other is by director Ang Lee and another producer. Emma Thompson is so funny! One of the other special features is her Golden Globe acceptance speech for Best Screenplay, given as if it was written and accepted by Jane Austen herself. Laugh out loud funny again!

Oh, and on the weight loss front, just 1.5kg off this month, making a total of 4.5kg so far.

Wow on the weight loss...although we USA citizens speak a different measure I can see that is a lot. Fantastic. I did watch Emma's acceptance speech and remember that. Yes, funny.

You might have been sick, Anji, but you sure got a lot of Austenesque reading and DVD watching done. AND you lost weight, too! Great job!!

Sheila wrote: "Wow on the weight loss...although we USA citizens speak a different measure I can see that is a lot. Fantastic. I did watch Emma's acceptance speech and remember that. Yes, funny."

The only reason I'm measuring in kg is that our bathroom scales have a digital readout and they've got stuck on metric meaning I can't weight myself in stones and pounds any more.

Congrats on your reading,Anji,and on feeling better and happier with your weight loss.

END OF MONTH UPDATE FOR MARCH
===============================

Books read = 5 (2 read, 2 audiobooks)
YTD total = 36

As some of you know, my husband was away for quite a bit of March and instead of reading as much as I would normally do, I had a costume drama DVD/Blu-Ray marathon. It's really not his thing at all, so while the cat was away..........

If there were any special features and/or commentaries on the discs, I've watched all of them, so in some cases, I've watched the film/TV series more than once! Here's the list of what I watched and I've given each one same the rating I would've given a book I'd read:

North and South ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Richard Armitage as John Thornton *sigh!*

Persuasion 1995 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - my favourite version, my favourite Anne and Wentworth. I especially love the way they dramatised "The Letter". I also have a copy of the screenplay book, which I had on my lap as I watched. Just realised, I can count that in my total!

Persuasion 2007 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - enjoyable, but "Oh dear - The Bath Marathon"!

Sense and Sensibilty 1995 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - Emma Thompson's Oscar for best adapted screenplay was so well deserved. One of the special features is a video of her acceptance speech at the BAFTA awards. Brilliantly funny!

Sense and Sensibility 2008 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I love this as much as the 1995 version.

Emma (1996) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - my favourite version of Emma.

Emma (2009) ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - I started to find Romola Garai's facial expressions a little annoying after a while but loved Jonny Lee Miller's Mr. Knightley.

Lost in Austen ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - this was only the second time I'd watched my DVD of this series and I was surprised by how much of it I'd forgotten. Hugh Bonneville just maybe nips ahead of Ben Whitrow as my favourite Mr. Bennet but Alex Kingston remains my favourite Mrs. Bennet. I was also surprised to learn that not only the location for Pemberley was relatively local to me, but that other locations were as well.

Love and Friendship 2016 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - enjoyed it more on this second viewing, but the scenes in the later part of the film are a little confusing if you don't know exactly what and where events are happening.

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - not to everyone's taste I know, but I enjoyed it even more second time around. I have to admit to watching the "Hunsford proposal" scene several times over! Matt Smith is currently my favourite Mr. Collins. I still covet Sam Riley's long black leather coat, which would look rubbish on me but I covet it anyway.

Bride and Prejudice ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - my goto Austenesque film if I feel in the need of cheering up. For several days after, I could be heard humming songs from this film. Not a pleasant sound if anyone has heard me sing or hum - I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, as the saying goes. Think Mary Bennet from P&P 1995 and then add in several more degrees of awful! "Marriage has come to town", "No life without wife" and "Take me to love" are just three that stick in the brain and won't move out! Nitin Ganatra was my favourite Collins (Kholi in this) until P&P&Z.

Since hubby arrived back, safe and well, one of our dogs has had to have quite a large operation on his leg. We discovered a lump on it just before hubby went away and the vet recommended watching it until he got back. It grew during those three weeks and it was removed on 23rd February. Since then, despite having to wear a cone round his head, someone has to be with him 24/7 to make sure he doesn't misbehave or that our other dog doesn't start licking the wound either. Any dressing we try to put on comes off as soon as he moves about since the 6" wound from the incision goes along and around the "knee" joint on his back leg. He's also having to be a "house dog", which he hates, can only go outside for calls of nature and has to be on his lead even in the garden. We had the bad news last week that the lump was a malignant tumour and we're back at the vet today for more info. Keeping fingers crossed that they got it all out and that the prognosis is OK. He's nearly 12 now so he's not a young dog.

And that's enough waffle from me.

Oh, Anji, I loved reading your comments here. I agree with so much, i.e., P&P&Z was better the second time around. Hate the "Bath marathon". Love Jonny Lee Miller and have watched Bride and Prejudice for the same reasons; it is just a "feel good" movie. Mr. Kholi's pose as "No Life Without Wife" always makes me laugh

Sorry to hear about your dog...animals are such members of the family, if anyone has ever had a pet. Never talk back or argue and they are an ear and a comfort in distress. Best of luck with his health problem.

Thanks for sharing.

Anji-I'm glad you enjoyed your DVD marathon!! Sounds like fun!!

Hope the vet gives you good news this afternoon about your dog. Pets can become part of our families and hold a special place in our hearts. I'll be thinking of ye.

SUMMARY POST FOR APRIL
=======================
1. (37) Darcy's Honor: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Victoria Kincaid ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2. (38) Angel Comes to the Devil's Keep by Regina Jeffers ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ - not actually JAFF but Regency set and reminds me very much of Ms. Jeffers' JAFF "cozy mysteries".
3. (39) 1932 by Karen M. Cox ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4. (40) He Taught Me to Hope by P.O. Dixon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ audio
5. (41) The Mission: He Taught Me to Hope Christmas Vignette by P.O. Dixon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ audio
6. (42) Longbourn: Dragon Entail: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Maria Grace ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
7. (43) Hope and Sensibility by P.O. Dixon ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ audio

Two non-JAFF reads by a JAFF author: Cabs, Cakes, and Corpses by Jennifer Joy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
and Rum Raisin Revenge: A Jessica James Cozy Mystery ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Our dog is on the mend, but having problems stopping him nibbling at his scar, despite the cone he's wearing. So, the healing process is taking longer than we'd like but the news from the vet is just to keep an eye out for any further lumps at the same site or elsewhere. No further treatment needed at this stage, thank goodness.

All 5* reads,Anji! Wow!!
It's great news that your dig is on the road to full recovery.

Good progress, Anji. Hope your dog heals completely.

SUMMARY POST FOR MAY
======================
01. (44) Pride and Prejudice - audio, read by Rosamund Pike ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ and would give it ten⭐️ if I could! Jane Austen's prose is just sublime.
02. (45) For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
03. (46) The Houseguest: A Pride and Prejudice Vagary by Elizabeth Adams ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ audio version.
04. (47) Mr. Darcy's Bad Day: A Pride & Prejudice Novella by Christie Capps ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I must reread that second one. It has been over ten years I think that I first read it and I remember little of it.

Sheila wrote: "I must reread that second one. It has been over ten years I think that I first read it and I remember little of it."

I got my copy last year when it was one of the group read books but all the problems I was having with my back prevented me from taking part. It's the first post-apocalyptic JAFF story I've read and I thought it was amazing!

END OF MONTH UPDATE FOR MAY
=============================

Books completed = 4 (2 read, 2 audio)
YTD total = 47

I was hoping to break the half century but life had it's way again!

SUMMARY POST FOR JUNE
======================
48. A Vintage Victory by Cat Gardiner ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
49. A Quest for Mr Darcy by Cassandra Grafton 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
50. The Inseparable Mr. and Mrs. Darcy: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Jennifer Joy ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
51. Assumed Engagement by Kara Louise ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
52. Friends and Enemies: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by J. Dawn King ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
53. Persuasion and Poems by Jane Austen, audio narrated by Alison Larkin ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

OK, in no particular order, here's an update of what I've been reading and listening to since the above post in June.

54. I Could Write a Book by Karen M. Cox
55. Northanger Abbey and the History of England narrated by Alison Larkin
56. Northanger Abbey: An Audible Original Drama
57. Jane Austen: The BBC Radio Drama Collection
58. Darcy and Elizabeth: Christmas 1811: Pride and Prejudice behind the scenes by Maria Grace
59. From Admiration to Love: The Darcys' Second Christmas: A Pride and Prejudice sequel by Maria Grace
60. Christmas at Darcy House: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by Victoria Kincaid
61. The Elizabeth Conspiracy: A Pride & Prejudice Variation by Jennifer Joy
62. The Abominable Mr. Darcy: A Pride and Prejudice Variation by J. Dawn King narrated by Stevie Zimmerman
63. The Falmouth Connection by Joana Starnes narrated by Stevie Zimmerman
64. Mr Bennet's Dutiful Daughter by Joana Starnes narrated by Stevie Zimmerman
65. Jane Austen at Home: A Biography by Lucy Worsley
66. Mr Darcy's Guide to Pemberley: Deluxe Limited Edition by JB Grantham


More to come I think after I've checked my Kindle........

....and there is.

67. President Darcy: A Modern Pride and Prejudice Variation by Victoria Kincaid

....and I forgot my Someone Pick It for Me read from October.

68. The Trials of the Honorable F. Darcy by Sara Angelini

....and my group read choice from the summer

69. Summer of Love from the Holidays with Jane series.

....plus

70. The Annotated Emma by Jane Austen, annotations by David Shapard
71. Emma by Jane Austen, audiobook narrated by Juliet Stevenson
72. The Darcy Monologues edited by Christina Boyd
73. The Earl Claims His Comfort by Regina Jeffers - this is Regency rather than JAFF but I'm ahead of target, and have included the previous one in the series earlier in the year. Very reminiscent of her cosy JAFF mysteries.

Hey, when you're not able to read a lot of JAFF, you gotta choose winners. Looks like that's what you did!

Fantastic progress,Anji!! 🎉

Woh! Okay, when I first posted, you were up to 58 books, and I saw on another thread where you lamented not reading as many as you would've liked. 67 books ain't nuthin' to sneeze at. Well done, girl!

Debbie wrote: "Woh! Okay, when I first posted, you were up to 58 books, and I saw on another thread where you lamented not reading as many as you would've liked. 67 books ain't nuthin' to sneeze at. Well done, girl!"

Thanks Debbie and Mary. Debbie, I hit the "post" button by mistake and before I could carry on, got interrupted by the phone and one or two other things. There still might be one or two more that have slipped my mind but if there are, I'll add them later.

Anji wrote: "OK, in no particular order, here's an update of what I've been reading and listening to since the above post in June.

54. I Could Write a Book by Karen M. Cox
55...."

Well done!

Anji wrote: "this is Regency rather than JAFF but I'm ahead of target, and have included the previous one in the series earlier in the year. Very reminiscent of her cosy JAFF mysteries."

When I asked about it, Sophia said that Regencies count as Austenesque, so you can count them even if you haven't reached your target! :-)

Two more that I've missed off my list!

74. A Vintage Halloween by Cat Gardiner
75. Written in the Stars: A Sweet Romance Novella by Jennifer Joy

Plus I also read Jennifer's non-JAFF modern cozy mystery Cold Case Crumble, which I may have mentioned before - but can't remember!