Books Blog : jane austen

Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict

KickinLibrarian@evpl — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:07:00 GMT

I am a bit of a Jane Austen fan. Sometimes I just need to pull Pride and Prejudice off my shelf and curl up with Mr. Darcy. It seems that I am not the only person with a fondness for Jane Austen and her fabulous stories. In the past few years there has been an influx of spin-offs, remakes, and sequels. The latest has been the introduction of zombies to Pemberley. I am not quite sure how Ms. Austen would feel about that...

Some of my favorite additions to the number of Austen fanfics being written are by Laurie Viera Rigler. Her first in the series, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, was published in 2007 and features modern-day Courtney Stone who wakes up in nineteenth-century England. Courtney has left behind her L.A. life of a broken engagement and lost friendship to inhabit the body and life of Jane Mansfield. Courtney has little time to figure out how she ended up two hundred years in the past before she is swept away in an Austen-like land full of dinners, balls, and beaus. One man in particular, Charles Edgeworth, seems to have interest in Jane Mansfield, but Courtney doesn’t know what the means to her. Courtney struggles has her two lives mesh together and she wonders if she will ever go back to her own life. Jane Austen even has a cameo in this addition to Austen-lit.

Rigler's latest novel, Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict, introduces us to the real Jane Mansfield from the previous novel. It seems when Courtney took over Jane's life in 1800s England, Jane had been thrown into modern-day L.A. Jane awakens one morning to a pounding headache and someone at the door. It seems Courtney (whose body Jane now inhabits) has had a bit of a rough time lately, and her friends are worried about her. Jane struggles to adapt to the 21st century while figuring out who the strangers are that keep jetting her around in fast-moving carriages, why men and women are allowed to dine together in outdoor bistros, and how the music keeps coming out of the tiny picture frame with buttons.

In both novels, Rigler takes us to the world of Jane Austen while maintaining a firm foothold in the present-day. We get to experience the daily things we take for granted while Jane humorously tries them for the first time. Both books are highly recommended.

Do you love "chick lit"?

librarianinheels@evpl — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 15:46:00 GMT

...Never fear - we have a support group for you!!!

If you're a fan of chick lit, and you're looking for a book discussion, why not try the Oaklyn Chick Lit book discussion? The group meets monthly in the Oaklyn Cafe. We've discussed books by Emily Giffin, Jennifer Weiner, Meg Cabot, Marian Keyes, Jane Austen, Helen Fielding, and Elizabeth Gilbert. Each month this fall, our group will be reading a book selected by a member of the group. The schedule for the remainder of the fall is as follows -

September 17 Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
October 15   Heartbreaker by Julie Garwood
November 19   This Charming Man by Marian Keyes
December 17   The Beach House by Jane Green

The Chick Lit Discussion Group meets at 3 pm on the given dates - copies of the discussion books can be picked up at the Oaklyn Information desk.

"Pride and Prejudice" the movie

GoldensRule@evpl — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:53:00 GMT

I know, I know, this is supposed to be a book blog. However, since P&P is based upon one of the most beloved novels of all time, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, I could not resist noting the differences between the 2001 BBC, A&E version with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle and the the 2006 version with Kiera Knightly.

I have just rewatched both of these and wondered how I could have ever thought the latter was anywhere near as good as the 2001 production. The first is longer, two discs instead of one, and therefore much more in keeping with the novel. And of course Colin Firth as Darcy...can there ever be another Darcy such as this? I think not. Janeites across the country have long held him up as perfection.

At any rate, see what you think and let me know. And By the By Actor's Theater in Louisville is mounting a production of P&P from late September until November 8. The Jane Austen Society members will be there in droves.