I’ve been in a crazy long reading funk lately. I haven’t been interested in anything I own, my review copies are aggravating me and stressing me out, and the pressure of library ebooks popping up randomly with their availability has left me frazzled. I’m all over the place, and nothing can get me to focus.
Enter Adam at Roof Beam Reader.
King of all things literary fiction, master Tweeter, and all around super awesome fantastic nice guy; I should not be surprised that he may yet turn out to be my summer reading savior. Just when I needed something to read that was pleasant, comforting, and full of equal parts light and depth, he announces a superb event focusing on books with all of these qualities. Tongue-in-cheek humor? Check. Not-so-subtle feminist rantings? Check. Swoony romances? Check. Kickass ladies sticking it to dudes who think they’re all that? Check. Added bonus points for encouraging summer reading that is not typical chick lit “beach reads.”Â
C’mon folks. We can read Jane Austen at the beach. We’re all intelligent peeps that dig intrigue, right? So how about some gossip served up by bitchy old ladies in stuffy ballrooms at lavish parties? (That’s my kind of party, y’all.)
So a big thank you to Adam for hosting this event. It will definitely help me knock out some books for my sadly neglected goal in Midnyte Reader’s Dusty Volumes Challenge. Want to join me? Here are the details:
- Sign up in the comments on the Austen in August: Sign-Up Post! at Roof Beam Reader. (See how awesome Adam is? You don’t even have to create a post. Just leave a comment. Because summertime = nice and easy.)
- Read books by, about, or based on the works of Jane Austen. Biographies, retellings, mash-ups – they’re all good. Some recommendations on Adam’s post and comments include Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Austenland, Mr. Darcy, Vampyre, The Jane Austen Book Club, Shades of Milk and Honey, and All Roads Lead to Austen.
- Post reviews of the Austen-related books you read during the month of August in order to win prizes.
- Post discussion posts (if you’re interested in guest posting or hosting giveaways, talk to Adam!), enter giveaways, visit other blogs, and generally get into the spirit of things by enjoying Austen and sharing that enjoyment with the rest of us.
- Be a dear and spread the word – post the button, tweet (the official hashtag is #AusteninAugustRBR) or post about the event, and talk it up to your reading and blogging friends!Â
- Sign-ups are welcome during the event, but to be sure you’re eligible for early giveaway prizes, sign up by July 31st.
My plan is to read Emma, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice. I’ve started all of these, but can’t remember if I ever actually finished them. If I have, it was so long ago that I’ve since confused the books with the movies, so I’m overdue for re-reads. Â If I finish those, I’d like to try one of the retellings or mash-ups. They look like fun, but I’d probably enjoy them more coming fresh off the source material. The ones that look most intriguing to me are Amanda Grange’s Heroes series (Colonel Brandon’s Diary, Mr. Darcy’s Diary, etc.) and faux sequels like Willoughby’s Return.
I’ll be posting updates and reviews as I go, and be on the lookout for potential movie comparison posts. I will use any excuse to watch Ang Lee’s brilliant and beautiful Sense and Sensibility again. If there’s not a hashtag yet, I’m sure there will be one, so look for tweets of my thoughts as well. It’ll be nice to read and review some books where I feel fairly certain the author will never see my comments. Who’s up for a drama free August?
It’s going to be a blast!
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A lover of words and sparkly things.
Well, I hope this helps you! I have my August booked or I’d join in but I do have one book I’ve been waiting to read called Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rockstar. I might try it if I get a free day or two (it’s long). I hope you enjoy your three choices, I happen to love all three of those stories!!
Heather
Thanks for the recommendation Heather! I’m looking forward to the challenge.
This sounds like a lot of fun. I love Austen and anything Austen-centric. “King of all things literary fiction” is a great title to bestow on Adam. He is uber-intelligent and it shows in every sentence he writes.
And I’ve been neglecting the Dusty Volumes Challenge too!
Another cute audio book I listened to is Austenland. I think All Roads leads to Austen is the sequel but I’m not sure. Have fun with this!
What a nice comment! Thank you!
You are spot on, Pam. And well deserved Adam!
So glad you’re joining us for this event! I’m starting with Sense & Sensibility, myself. The plan, from there, is to read Mansfield Park, followed by the Penguin edition of Austen’s short works (Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon). I’m hopefully that I can get through all three of these, but we’ll see… I’ll be busy with hosting + general life and work things. I really should watch some film adaptations, too, considering I’ve never seen one! I hear the BBC version of Pride & Prejudice, with Colin Firth, is really good (but very long).
I’ve got Persuasion loaded up on my Kindle ready to go today! I think I’ll start there and then go to S&S.
BUT ADAM. You simply must watch the Emma Thompson/Kate Winslet/Hugh Grant version of Sense & Sensibility. I have the DVD. I will drive it to you. It’s so beautiful. My heart cries when people tell me they haven’t seen it. I’ve probably watched it at least a hundred times.