Welcome to Litsy!

I'm sooooooooooo behind on Litsy everything but for a good reason: May was packed with travel, and the most important part of it was visiting Jane Austen's House in Chawton. 😍😍😍 A true Janeite dream come true, especially in this epic 250th birthday year.

Pleased to report that this isn't dull and dry like some non-fiction books are.

Lately I've been watching a lot of Jane Austen movies/mini series. I've now seen 4 versions of Persuasion, 2 of Sense and Sensibility, 2 of Emma and 3 of Pride and Prejudice. (I am including the zombie version which was more entertaining than I expected.) So when I saw this at goodwill the other day it seemed meant to be. It went immediately on my read now pile. Who else out there loves Jane Austen?

Day 24: #Proposals

In which Jane Austen herself received a proposal and could have been Mrs. Jane Bigg-Wither (😳) … if she hadn‘t changed her mind overnight and retracted her acceptance.

#200PnPCovers

@CrowCAH @mabell

Tomalin brings Austen to life by examining her family, her residences, her works, and the current affairs of the day. I learned a few new things about Jane, which is always good! The tone of this biography at times seemed very conversational, so I felt like I was chatting with a friend. Very interesting read! #19822022 #1997 #FabulousFebruary #Readathon

For my #WeekendReading , I plan to finish the tagged book, since I‘m discussing it with the What Would Jane Think book discussion group through my library on Monday (if you want to participate, let me know! I‘d love to have you - it‘s virtual!).

I also have The History of Love and The Mercies for other discussion groups to read this weekend.

For #FabulousFebruary , I‘m attempting to read 20 hours…no worries if I don‘t! #Readathon

#wondrouswednesday Thanks for the tag @Eggs ❤️

(1) Tagged.
(2) Not yet, and for some reason I rarely read books published in the current year.
(3) I'm in between books at the moment, but I plan to start The Gambler by Dostoevsky later today.

Would you like to play @La_Cori @IndoorDame @Booksarelifeaddict @GarethSouthwell ? 😊

“They called, they came and they sat and they went” Jane Austen describing a visit by a group of “well-born ladies “ !!
This is a very dense and thorough biography of not only Jane Austen, but also her family…and her family‘s neighbors…aaand her family‘s neighbors‘ families. 😅
But seriously, this is a very enjoyable read!
#PemberLittens #JaneAusten

Highly recommend this biographical account of classic British author Jane Austen‘s life. Bio seeks to fill in historical gaps in the amount of Austen‘s life, particularly focusing on some influential events that may have shaped her writing. Great read for all ranges of interest and prior knowledge in #JaneAusten. #biography #nonfiction #classicliterature #historical #britishliterature

Some most appropriate socks from the lovely @LeahBergen !!! 🥰

They‘re super comfy and perfect fit!

#JaneAusten

Wow! @MicrobeMom thank you for the stunning box of books and goodies for #AVeryAustenHoliday 😍🤩 I can‘t wait to read these books (I‘m especially excited for the Tomalin one)! Thank you for the literary socks and notecards. The chocolate bar won‘t last long 😉 I ❤️ the little Dylan Thomas book! I hope you like your box half as much as I do mine!!! Biographies have been my go-to books this season! Thank you for a wonderful #swap 📚

This will be mailed Monday! @JenlovesJT47 🥰📚🎄
#AveryAustenHoliday
@Chrissyreadit
@sprainedbrain

This should have arrived at its destination today! #AVeryAustenHoliday #AVAH

It looks like I put the wrong open date. Sorry, @MicrobeMom you can open it on 12/10! 🤣

Very complete biography of this remarkable author. The only problem I had was that it had way more information than I ever wanted to know. But that‘s just me. I‘m not good with biographies for the most part. It was interesting and well written just not my cup of tea right now.

Jane Austen: A Life Filled With a Whole Bunch of People Who Will Get As Much If Not More Page Time Than Jane Austen, by Claire Tomalin. I get that a bio will include the subject‘s family & friends & that there just isn‘t a ton of info about Austen herself. But there was a LOT of space given to other people that it made the book drag for me. Def interesting to learn about her childhood & esp her writing/publishing process, though. 3/5 ⭐️

Her formal silence on the position of women is qualified by the way in which her books insist on the moral and intellectual parity of the sexes.

[Mr. Austen] appreciated [Jane‘s] work enough to put up with some strong stuff. Lesley Castle has, for instance, an adulterous elopement by a young mother who abandons her baby; later in the story her husband converts to Catholicism, enabling him to get an annulment, and both parties remarry cheerfully. These are quite daring jokes for the daughter of a clergyman of the Church of England.

[Young Jane had zero fucks to give!]

She described herself as a shy child, and shy children withdraw into themselves when they are unhappy; one thing a seven-year-old can retreat into is reading any and every book that comes to hand. Other people‘s worlds offer an escape. Then her own imagination may have offered her another escape route ... So the dreadful [schoolmistress] Mrs. Cawley may claim some indirect credit for Jane Austen‘s mental and imaginative development

She found a good source for this ferocious style of humour in the talk she heard, and doubtless sometimes joined in, among her parents‘ pupils, bursting out of childhood into young manhood. If she was sometime shocked as she listened, she herself was learning how to shock by writing things down.

[Me in elementary school, learning curse words from my older brothers.]

I want to live in this cover. As long as it has indoor plumbing. And WiFi.

In the end I enjoyed this book, but was also disappointed by it. It was well written, impeccably researched and interesting to read....but unfortunately it was mostly about the people who Austen knew. In fact by my guess Jane only appeared on about 25% of the pages, if that. And while I know that this was because far more is known about those who surrounded Austen rather than about herself, I bought the book to read and learn about Jane Austen.

After having enjoyed Jane‘s work for years and recently having exposed my daughter to the BBC‘s Pride and Prejudice miniseries, and so doing created an addict, I thought perhaps it was time to learn more about the author herself. So far this biography is fabulous!!

A bit of a non-traditional holiday tradition, but I attended my local JASNA chapter's annual Jane Austen birthday and Christmas party this afternoon. There was a musical number called Everything's Coming Up Rosings and JA was described as "the Belle of Hampshire". ???

Fascinating and insightful

September 1st also means a new photo challenge! This time it's @CaliforniaCay #SisforSeptember! Have a very blurry #shelfie for the first day!

A day late but here's a #paperbackstack of my very well-loved Jane Austen books for #riotgrams

I‘ve opened the box in anticipation of my midnight opening, @Melissa_J ! I kind of don‘t want to ruin this amazing paper!! 😫😫

#JaneAustenSwap

Yay!!! My #janeaustenswap box arrived today...thank you, @CoffeeCatsBooks ... I can‘t wait to open it!

A sneak peek inside before I head to the post office to mail my #JaneAustenSwap parcel!

I wonder where it‘s heading? 🤔

#JaneAustenSwap

Do you love Jane Austen? Would you like to give and receive some fun Austen swag with fellow Austen fans? If so, @mabell and @sprainedbrain have the swap for you!

For more info or to sign up: https://goo.gl/forms/3SVTps0WPsAnnVeG2

Thanks to everyone who has expressed interest so far. We are really excited about this! ❤️

Please repost and share—the more the merrier!

#TuesdayTidbits

1. Jane Austen (but we‘ll probably go to a restaurant, I don‘t cook!)

2. Time travel back to the Golden Age of Piracy, specific year 1710

3. Tricky question...Claire Foy, she kinda looks like me 🤷‍♀️

4. @sammisho @Austen_Nerd @LeahBergen

Verse written by Mrs Austen to amuse her clever daughter Jane after they were invited to a dance at the Dolphin Inn.

#balls #150PnPCoverParty @CrowCAH @LeahBergen

I've been away on a short holiday and returned to this wonderful book mail. A Jane Austen tote and matching bookmark from Germany! Thank you SO MUCH, @Sarah83 . I love them! ???

"If a book is well written, I always find it too short".
Jane Austen

#bookhaul #bookmail

One more for #startswithJ. An excellent biography that I've read several times. Claire Tomalin has an easy and engaging style. #AndItsAugust @RealLifeReading

1. I'm from Montgomery, AL.
2. I love anything by Jane Austen or Christopher Moore.
3. Either the Flavia de Luce mysteries or anything by Lisa Kleypas.
4. The Birdcage!!😂😂
5. Toss-up between Gilmore Girls and Parks and Recreation.
6.Pearl Jam
7. Yellow💛
8. Romance
9. At my massive desk at home
10.Two dogs and a cat

Sharing my Jane Austen "quote of the day" with you, it's book related! ☺

Spent the day cleaning and catching up. I'm going to spend the evening with my favorite lady from Regency England and my pot of chicken chili. 😎

Sorry, Jane Austen! I know it's your 241st birthday today but I let a baby chew on your head. The good news is that her name is Willa B. 😜

#funfridayphoto This is the complete syllabus of my favorite college seminar: Jane Austen and the Rise of the Female Novelist. I did a tutorial of it as part of a summer study abroad program in Oxford. You guys...the libraries. The learning. The literature. ❤️📚 #bestsummerever