Mrs. Allen keeps lamenting their lack of society in Bath but does ab? so ? lutely ? nothing to change things. Luckily the Master of Ceremonies (wtf) steps in and introduces Catherine to a sharp, witty, "near handsome" gent named Mr. Tilney. Our man Henry shows up and shows out, hilariously lampooning vapid small talk, making a fair case for equality between the sexes, and showing a deep knowledge of muslin. Henry Tilney, the man that you are!

Plot twists! Today we discover that Jane's uncle has died and left her a fortune! AND she and St. John are actually COUSINS! In spite of these events, which come straight out of the kind of novel Jane Austen warns us about in Northanger, I find this chapter really touching. Jane wants to split her cash equally with her new-found family and stay with them. This, she says, "was wealth indeed!--wealth to the heart!" Cue my cheesy weeping here.

Catherine takes leave of her fam with no fuss and makes it to Bath drama-free. Sure, she's there with empty-headed Mrs. Allen (Austen's description eliciting a belly laugh and a "damn, Gina!" from me), but there are no highwaymen or bad storms on the way. Once arrived, the high point of the evening is two dudes benignly commenting that Catherine is pretty. I'm fully living for Jane's dry snark and the utterly pedestrian situations she's created.

Jane has semi-befriended Rosamund Oliver, the rich girl who bestows charity all over the village and also bestows heart eyes on St. John whenever she sees him. Jane can't figure out why dude won't just marry her and in trying to get to the bottom of it, we get one of my favorite wackadoo St. John moments: he tells Jane to take 15 and keep talking about Rosy's love for him, and in Charlotte's words, "he actually took out his watch" to time her. !!!

We're off! I'll be reading the annotated edition this time around, and I'm excited to get some new insights. This first chapter is among my favorite short sections of Austen's writing- I love her snark toward so many literary conventions of her day (and ours!), poking fun at foundlings, wards, and orphans, and giving some serious side-eye to the Manic Pixie Regency Girl and instead creating prosaic, everyday Catherine. Can't wait to keep going!

Jane takes St. John's awful job teaching a bunch of rough moor kids and reflects on being surrounded by "ignorance, poverty, and coarseness"; but at least she's not living in unearned luxury, having traded in her good morals! This is a mindset my austere Baptist upbringing completely prepared me for so I have to say I'm Team Jane on this one. St. John swings by and talks at Jane about doing God's work and my GOD, can he just go to India already?!

Don't mind me, just weeping in spite of myself. Sondheim, you mad bastard; thank you. #SeeMoreTheatre

Jane has been living it up with the sisters Rivers (if you count learning German and reading books as "living it up" which I ABSOLUTELY DO), but soon they're going to leave for their own governess positions and Jane realizes that she needs her own job stat. St. John swoops in- he might be a bleak, disappointing Calvinist, but he does have a job for her, even though all it promises is "poverty and obscurity." Jane being Jane says, "Sign me up!"

After the Great Wife Reveal, Rochester proposes the following: leave Bertha with Grace Poole (she'd be game for the mad cash), send Adele off to boarding school, and flee to the south of France to live in a sham marriage. Jane gets where he's coming from but is ultimately like, "No can do, bro, I've got this deeply rooted sense of morality and self respect!" Then after a night of horror dreams, she straight up runs away; probably a good move, TBH.

I loved getting to this part of the book! This famous quote is a classic for a reason- Jane is so strong and so brave in this moment, and I will love it forever. This print lives on my wall and always makes me smile, all hail Jane, all hail Charlotte. #PemberLittens

Got all caught up on some Jane Eyre audio today, which means I got to the weird-ass chapter where Rochester dresses up like a fortune-teller to try and get at Jane's true feelings. The whole thing is so utterly bizarre that I can't help but love it, and it's so on-brand for the specific level of Brontë bonkers we're all here for. #PemberLittens
📷: obscurelittlebird on Tumblr

I know we're on Jane Eyre right now, #PemberLittens, but every time I see this making the rounds on social media, I absolutely screamlaugh. Someone find the woman who wrote this tweet and give her an award. Or, at the very least, some hot applesauce to throw in an enemy's face. #Brontussy

More than a little anecdotal but still an affirming read. My own "Big Friendships" (pictured!) have been defining and sustaining in my life, and I guess I picked up this book hoping to find a mirror- and I certainly did. I also appreciated that though this was mainly the story of the two authors, they acknowledged the other friendships in their lives, and the ways in which the primacy of their own relationship ebbs and flows through the years. ❤️

Delightedly getting caught up with my old friend Jane and feeling very nostalgic about it. I read Jane Eyre for the first time in 8th grade and fell totally in love with it; somehow I keep reflecting on myself at that age and the ways in which reading this story of a plain but strong and determined girl sustained and inspired me. I'm also reflecting on this gorgeous new edition to be released in November- want it desperately! Don't need it at all!

Bring 👏It 👏 On 👏 These are my main goals in life, honestly. #AnneShirley #AnneWithAnE #LucyMaudMontgomery

Finished the Charlotte Brontë section last night and LOVED it! I tend to fall into the trap of believing that the Brontës were totally secluded, isolated weirdoes, what with their strange goth stories and made-up fantasy worlds. But of course they had friends and acquaintances (well...maybe not Emily), and reading more about Charlotte's life outside of the parsonage was a welcome reminder. And who else thinks that Mary Taylor is a total BAMF??

The memes of Florence Pugh in Venice are all top-tier, but this one takes the cake, no doubt. 😭 #JusticeForAmyMarch

Catching up today with the last chapter on Jane Austen and Anne Sharp. Today's installment takes us through the late years of Jane's life, with her books being published while Anne toils as a governess and a full-time companion to the sick sister of her employer. Much is made of Jane's gifting a presentation copy of Emma to Ms. Sharp. As this article shows, in 2010 that very copy sold for more than Jane probably could have dreamed. #PemberLittens

Catching up with the first three chapters of Jane Eyre today! I'm excited to return to this story, listening to the audiobook this time. Thandie Newton is a fantastic narrator; I think I first listened to her version around five years ago and I love this excuse to listen again. So far we've encountered the beastly young Reeds and the terrifying Red Room, while Jane overhears some hot gossip about her family background. #PemberLittens

Chapter 2 brings Jane back to Godmersham for the summer, ready for lots of home theatricals, "dinners at local manor houses (and) balls in nearby Canterbury." Meanwhile her BFF Anne is always either working or down for the count due to debilitating migraines. A doctor comes to perform an utter horror of a treatment, but Eddie Austen up and fires her anyway citing her "ill health". Quick, someone get up a labor movement and agitate for sick leave!

Copper Harbor, MI is the teeniest town- with an incredibly lovely and well-stacked bookstore! I love a surprise indie bookstore discovery, and this one fit the bill. Definitely take the time to visit Grandpa's Barn if you're out on the Keweenaw. #BookHaul #MittenLitten #PureMichigan

Kicked off the #ChapterADay read with the #PemberLittens in (not-so) grand fashion- aboard the SS Badger on Lake Michigan. Chapter 1 has me intrigued and eager to keep reading. Some of what the authors are positing feels at times like mere speculation given the lack of letters between the two; but I'm looking forward to learning more and happy to be along for this ride!

Reading about a small Lake Superior town while visiting a small Lake Superior town. #CurrentlyReading #MittenLitten #PureMichigan

Filling the Book Backpack - the most important part of any trip prep! Headed due north for a #PureMichigan vacation and can't wait for a readathon by Lake Superior. Time to knock some of these off my TBR at last! 💙📚

My bestie re-reading Mansfield Park at my urging. 😂🤣 Who agrees with her, #PemberLittens?

How we feeling about this adaptation news, YA Nation?? I am not typically too excited in general about film adaptations of books I enjoy, but I think this is some stellar casting. #YA

I've been a long-time reader of Rebecca Woolf and have always loved her commitment to writing about both the beautiful highs and the devastating lows of marriage, motherhood, and life. She is unflinching in her new memoir, but as she's documented so much of this part of her life via social media, nothing felt particularly revelatory. Worth the read, though, for the catharsis of a woman emerging unapologetically into her next chapter.

There was a whole lot going on in this book, but it never felt overdone or overloaded. Suzette is coming to terms with her sexual and religious identities as she navigates multiple crushes and her brother's newly diagnosed mental illness. I loved her strong blended family, and though some have pointed out ableism within the story, the conflicting emotions of watching a loved one struggle with mental health rang true to my personal experiences.

I can't believe I've never posted about this book, one that I absolutely adore and re-read every couple of years. I could recount the plot, but that's not really the point here; instead, this book continues to move me through it's many gorgeously rendered moods and themes- of growing up, forgiveness, love, family, friendship, hope, longing, and understanding. It always leaves me feeling joyful but bittersweet, and I just can't get enough.

Would empty my bank account for these editions, no lie. Thanks to @_theinsomniaclibrary_ on Instagram for the beautiful dream. #ImaginaryPenguinClassics #PenguinClassics #Osemanverse

Still absolutely living for every take from every person who is hate-watching Persuasion so that I don't have to. #PemberLittens

I am really digging this story, but this is the SECOND use of "phased" instead of "fazed," one of my all-time biggest pet peeves! Which literary typos get your ire up the most, Littens? I know I'm not alone in this! #WhereAreTheEditors #CurrentlyReading

When your book clashes with your dress. #CurrentlyReading #Osemanverse

@JaneAustenMeme coming in with the only review I need. I see divided reviews generally here on Litsy; anyone wanna weigh in? I welcome the debate! #PemberLittens

"Pausing on a Sunday / by the cool blue triangular water..." #CurrentlyReading #SummerReads

Lavender latte and a book and a day to myself. ❤️ #CurrentlyReading

Has anyone figured out yet how to dispense with adult responsibilities? I just want to read this and things like "doing laundry" and "holding down a job" are getting in the way. #NextUp

Reading at the beach is the best of all possible worlds. #CurrentlyReading #BeachDay

#ReadingAboutReading is usually my jam, but this one is more than a little pretentious without being particularly insightful. However, I love the acknowledgement of the creativity and experience we individually bring to the act of reading- conceiving of reading as a means of co-creation is straight up my alley. It goes quickly so if you're on the fence, I say go for it- and it made me want to re-read Anna Karenina and To the Lighthouse so win-win?

Brandon and I both feeling some kinda way about this new wreck of a Persuasion adaptation. What say you, #PemberLittens??

https://mobile.twitter.com/NetflixFilm/status/1536695148251430912

Happy Tony Awards Day to all who celebrate! #SeeMoreTheatre #TonyAwards

Such wonderfully rendered, full characters in this one! Many of them pushed my buttons and got my ire up (and the men were particularly spectacular jackasses), but they all felt true to life, and the glimpse into this small English village, upended with the arrival of the perplexing Miss Plum, was a light, fun way to spend some reading hours.

This book had a bit of so-so about it for me, but I liked it more than I didn't. And this section from the acknowledgements is IT. We need more queer stories, especially for kids and teens, and especially for kids in spaces where queerness is rendered invisible, or worse, crushed and maligned. Give me all the Sharas and Chloes and Nicks and Charlies and Dantes and Aristotles, but more importantly - give them to kids.

Can't even get up for a glass of water around here! #TomKitten claims another one. #CurrentlyReading #CatsOfLitsy

My copy of this book got stuck in Chicago for about 10 days, but it was so worth the wait! I'm obsessed with the hot pink pages, and with Chloe's blatant love for The Phantom of the Opera, a completely stupid musical that I will love to my dying day. 😂 McQuiston's second book was a miss for me, but so far, I'm loving this one. #CurrentlyReading

Oh my GOD, I-
https://electricliterature.com/20-authors-i-dont-have-to-read-because-ive-dated-...

#TomKitten is not immune to Heartstopper mania. Total Nick Nelson stan over here. 🖤💖💜💙 #CatsOfLitsy

I so wish our wonderful Jane could have gone back to re-tool this one. There is so much there - devious Lady Susan, poor maligned Frederica, dim Reginald, potentially two-faced Alicia - and I would have loved to see the story and the characters more fully expanded. The last chapter, shedding the epistolary form, brings so much more life to everything. I wish we could have seen what more time would have yielded. #PemberLittens

Playing catch-up today, and ugh, three chapters in a row of Gilbert's bullshit is almost too much to bear. He continues to act completely entitled to Mrs. G's time and attention, hounding her while she's trying to sketch, sucking up to her kid (giving him a dog, wtf?!), and trying to gift her a romantic book.Whenever she's less than thrilled with any of it, Gilbert is offended and "ready to weep with disappointment and vexation." Bitch, please.

Hold on your hats, there's a flurry of departures and near-departures: Reg will go! No, he'll stay! Sir James leaves! So will Lady Susan! Frederica is going, too! No, she's staying! Lady S's lackey Alicia is psyched to hang with her bff 'cuz her husband (who *barred Lady S from their house*) is headed to Bath. But then, ruh-roh, Mr "Uric Acid" Johnson gets wind of Lady S's travel and suddenly has a gout flare-up and can't travel- very convenient!