Everything Austen is here!

Today is the first day of the Everything Austen challenge.  I am definitely ready for this challenge because I have just been in a Jane Austen mood lately.  It's all those Georgette Heyer books I read.  They're all set in that same time period, and now that I've read all the Heyer books that the library has to offer, I want to get back to Jane Austen.  Everything about her books and that era is just so romantic and beautiful and different.  I'm so jealous of all of the Austen heroines, because no guys are really like that anymore.  I wish they were, but they're not.

So I had to decided what six Jane-Austen-related things I was going to accomplish, and since I've read most of the books and seen many of the movie adaptations, it was actually really hard to figure out what I was going to do.  But I've finally come up with a list.  During the next six months, I intend to:

• Read Northanger Abbey.
• Read Emma.
• Watch the 2007 version of Northanger Abbey.
• Watch the biopic Miss Austen Regrets.
• Watch the 1996 version of Emma, starring Kate Beckinsale.
• Watch the 1980 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice. 

That's the next challenge, and I'm confident that this is one that will not fail.

Challenge 3 Results

Challenge 3-- Thirty Books in 30 Days-- was not a success.  At all.  Instead of reading thirty books, I read three and started a fourth.  But that was about it.  The main reason for this flop-- catching up on all the TV shows and movies I missed during the Unplugged challenge.  I really should have combined those two challenges, since I had all that free and uninterrupted time.  Next time, I will do better.

The most interesting thing I learned during this challenge was just how easy it is to get sucked right back in by TV and Netflix.  As soon as I could start watching TV and listening to music again, that's all I wanted to do.  So the challenge wasn't a completely waste, because it taught me something about myself.  What I also find interesting is that now that the pressure of the challenge is over, I really want to read.  So weird.

A New Look!

Welcome to my renovated and redecorated blog!

I was starting to get bored with the old look, and decided it was time for a change.  I feel that this background expresses the purpose of my blog, as well as who I am.  Of course, those shelves are much too neat, but I don't think they have a picture of messy, disorganized, overflowing shelves.  I think the new look also makes my blog look more.... I don't really want to say professional.... I guess it looks less bland, more exciting.  It looks like I actually care more about it, instead of just leaving it with that original blah layout.  I'm really a lot happier with this new layout.  Let's see how long it lasts.

Title: A Hat Full of Sky
Author: Terry Pratchett
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 278
Genre: Fantasy/Weird/Discworld
Date Started: May 9, 2010
Date Finished: May 10, 2010

Rating: B

Description (from Barnes & Noble): Tiffany Aching - the boldest heroine ever to swing a frying pan against the forces of evil - is beginning her apprenticeship in magic. She expects to work hard, learn spells, and become a witch. She doesn't expect to find herself doing chores, caring for the careless, and trying to outthink an ill-tempered nanny goat. There must be more to witchcraft than this!
But as Tiffany pursues her calling, an insidious, disembodied creature pursues Tiffany. When it strikes, neither Mistress Weatherwax (the greatest witch in the world) nor the six-inch-high Wee Free Men (the greatest thieves in the world) can save her...

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Another really weird book from Pratchett. It might even be weirder than the first. I think that may be my opinion of all his books, if they're anything like this one. Several parts in the plot seemed to just come up out of nowhere, and there were random paragraphs of nonsensical prose just thrown in here and there. I understood the basic plot and even some of the twists, but other parts were either too rushed or too rambling to make any sense.

I did really like the romance that is starting up between Tiffany and Roland. I'm hoping that it continues to develop in the next two books. And the new characters were great too; some were annoying of course, but most of them were good. There were also the awesomely funny and satirical parts that just kept this book from being too... too... just too.

Favorite quotes:

Nevertheless, an entire village of hermit elephants moving across the plains is one of the finest sights on the continent.

The problem wasn't that he smelled of ferrets. Well, that was a problem, but compared to the big problem, it wasn't much of one. He talked to himself. That is, bits of him talked to other bits of him. All the time.

He had mastered the first two rules of writing as he understood them. 1. Steal some paper. 2. Steal a pencil. Unfortunately there was more to it than that.

So obviously the book had some redeeming qualities. B

Title: The Wee Free Men
Author: Terry Pratchett
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 263
Genre: Fantasy/Weird
Date Started: May 6, 2010
Date Finished: May 7, 2010

Rating: B

Description (from Barnes & Noble): Up on the chalk downs known as The Wold, witches are banned — ever since the Baron’s son vanished in the woods. Anyway, as all witches know, chalk is no good for magic.

Nine-year-old Tiffany Aching thinks her Granny Aching — a wise shepherd — might have been a witch, but now Granny Aching is dead and it’s up to Tiffany to work it all out when strange things begin happening. There’s a fairy-tale monster in the stream, a headless horseman and, strangest of all, the tiny blue men in kilts, the Wee Free Men, who have come looking for the new “hag”. These are the Nac Mac Feegles, the pictsies, who like nothing better than thievin’, fightin’ and drinkin’. When Tiffany’s young brother goes missing, Tiffany and the Wee Free Men must join forces to save him from the Queen of the Fairies.

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My first impression about this book was "This is a weird story." It was good, just very strange. And it made you think, which is a good thing. But it's still strange. It's supposed to be made into a movie, and I really don't know how they're going to pull that off.

My favorite characters were absolutely the Nac Mac Feegle (the wee free men). They were funny and entertaining, and their matter-of-fact reactions to crazy, magical things helped set them apart from everything else, helped make them more magical (as if being tiny, blue creatures wasn't enough). They are the anti-Smurf. While the Smurfs liked to sing and dance and play games, the Nac Mac Feegle swear and drink and steal. Their dialogue was great too, because Pratchett wrote in brogue for them, rather than merely saying "They had a Scottish brogue."

The main character, Tiffany, annoyed me a little, especially in the beginning. I was having such a hard time connecting with her, but by the end of the book, she had redeemed herself. Speaking of the end of the book, I'm going to have to reread that part, because it still doesn't make sense to me.

Pratchett's writing style helped make this book fun and exciting. It reminded me of the Princess Bride, where the author keeps breaking in to the story to point something out in parentheses. Pratchett did something similar in this book, either through Tiffany or as the narrator. I love it when writers do that. B

Title: The Reluctant Widow
Author: Georgette Heyer
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 279
Genre: Regency romance/Gothic/Clean romance
Date Started: May 4, 2010
Date Finished: May 5, 2010

Rating: A+

Description (from Barnes & Noble): Penniless Elinor is rather surprised at the carriage that meets her from the stage, and more so at the decayed grandeur of the house to which she's transported. Realising that there has been a case of mistaken identity she agrees to an audacious plan.

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I loved this book! So much comedy, sarcasm, and excitement! This was so different from any other Heyer book I've read. The heroine gets thrown into a situation, practically against her will, and her way of coping through sarcasm was so much fun. I love sarcasm, especially when it's done well. The hero is of course equally sarcastic to her, and the dialogue between these two was so good, I didn't even need the plot or secondary characters to enjoy the story. The two of them sending stinging barbs at each other was enough.

Of course, the plot and the secondary characters did add a lot of excitement and comedy to the story. Lord Carlyon's younger brother Nicky and his dog Bouncer were probably my favorite characters in the whole book. They were both constantly getting into trouble and "under" people's feet, but you couldn't help but love them. Elinor had her patience worn thin by both of them, but she still loved having them around. I always love the comic relief, and these two never disappointed.

The plot of this story was great too, because it was Gothic mystery novel. Riddles and secrets that needed to be solved. Secret passageways. Political intrigues. French spies. This is one of my favorite Heyer books. Actually, it's one of my favorite books... period. A+

Title: Friday's Child
Author: Georgette Heyer
Format: Paperback
Pages: 423
Genre: Regency romance/Clean romance
Date Started: May 2, 2010
Date Finished: May 2, 2010

Rating: A+

Description (from Barnes & Noble): Young Lord Sheringham, rejected by the woman he deeply loved, could not gain his inheritance until he married. On a passionate impulse, he vowed to marry the next woman he saw. Enter Hero Wantage, the adorable life-long friend who has secretly loved Sheringham her entire life.

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This book was so wonderful. I loved the atypical hero (as in male lead, not the character Hero... confusing). Most of Heyer's men seem to always fit the same description. They're all tall, in their thirties, somewhat domineering and overbearing in their attitude, a little aloof, very elegant but manly, usually an Earl/Lord. They're usually the strong, silent type. Sherry (a.k.a. Lord Sherringham) has very few of these qualities. Sure, he's tall and a Lord, but that's about as far as it goes. Sherry is in his twenties, very open and amiable, hot-headed, not aloof at all. He's just so different from Heyer's other male leads; he's more like the willful, younger brother of the other heroes.

Hero, as in Sherry's wife, wasn't Heyer's typical female lead either. Yes, she was young and inexperienced with the ways of society, but she was also very timid, very quiet, with very little self-confidence and no "cheekiness." She gains more self-esteem and self-assurance throughout the book, but by the end, she's still very much a very sweet, very obedient girl.

Sherry's friends provided great comic relief, as well as moral support for the main characters. They're always there when Sherry and/or Hero need them, and they know when to step in and what to do. The one friend's fear of the dowager Sherringham is hilarious. The pains he goes through in order to keep out of her way were so funny. This whole book had me laughing out loud. Sudden elopements, a fake duel, two simultaneous kidnapping schemes gone wrong, the final piece of dialogue. This book was just amazing. A+

Title: April Lady
Author: Georgette Heyer
Format: Paperback
Pages: 268
Genre: Regency romance/Clean romance
Date Started: May 2, 2010
Date Finished: May 2, 2010

Rating: B+

Description (from Barnes & Noble): It was the most brilliant match of the season--the marriage of wealthy Lord Cardross to the enchanting Lady Nell. But Nell harbors one secret in her heart, she is deeply in debt. Unable to reveal the truth to her husband, Nell tries to settle her muddled financial affairs, but finds herself caught up in a terrible deception.

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This book would have seemed so much better if I hadn't read it right after rereading The Convenient Marriage. Their storylines are so similar that I thought that Heyer might have run out of ideas. Both books feature a marriage between an older man and a younger woman. Both brides believe their husbands are in love with their old flames. Both husbands are in love with their brides, but believe their wives only want their money. Both brides get themselves tangled up in a crazy scheme. Both go to their brothers for help. Both brothers attempt highway robbery to help their sisters. Both brothers have problems with gambling and gambling debts. Very, very similar.

That doesn't mean the book wasn't good. There were enough differences to keep the book from seeming like a pale copy. The characters are very well-developed and believable, and their dialogue is amazing. The drunk brother and his friend provide lots of comic relief. The dramatic sighings and cryings and temper tantrums of the spoiled sister-in-law were also written well, because instead of being annoying, her "fits" were written in such a way that sometimes you sympathized with her, sometimes you laughed at her, and most of the time you rolled your eyes.

Overall, it was a very well-written book with great characters and dialogue, but lacked some originality. B+

A new Challenge!

This year I will be participating in the Everything Austen challenge!  I love Jane Austen, love her books, love the movies based on her books... I just love Austen.  So when I heard about this challenge I decided to join in.  It's a 6-month challenge, and you have to complete six Austen-related things (movies, books, spin-offs, etc.)  I have decided that since I have yet to read Northanger Abbey, and I never got further than a few chapters in Emma, reading both of those books will be part of my challenge.  I'm also going to watch 4 movie adaptations that I've never seen before, which includes most of the new BBC productions.  Starting July 1st, it's Everything Austen, and it's going to be fun!

June Library Run

My library and I became best friends last month.  Sure, they didn't have 90% of the books I wanted, but thanks to inter-library loans, I was there practically every other day.  Saturday, I was returning some of the many books I'd borrowed and picked up some new ones.

• The Lady in the Palazzo by Marlena de Blasi
• That Summer in Sicily by Marlena de Blasi
• Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
• Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
• Love, Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli

And I also bought a new book from Barnes & Noble, one which I am so excited about!  The Last Hunt by Bruce Coville, the fourth and final book of The Unicorn Chronicles.  My mom read the first book from this series to my brother and I when we were 8 and 9 years old.  Now, almost 16 years later, the final book is here, and I'll be rereading the series aloud to my brother and our two younger sisters who have become devoted fans as well.  I'm just so excited to see how this series is going to end after all these years of waiting!