My Love for Jane Austen

The Austenesque scout is proud to bring you news on a book giveaway for this week. Maria Grazia's blog My Jane Austen Book Club is featuring an interview with a new Austenesque author, Jennifer Becton. Go over to her post Talking Jane Austen with Jennifer Becton to learn about Ms Becton and her debut novel titled Charlotte Collins which will be released next month on 1 September. There is also a contest where you can win an autographed copy of her book. Just leave a comment with your email address here . It is open worldwide and winners will be announced next Wednesday, 1 September 2010 . Good luck if you are entering this giveaway!

I posted this trivia before in my other blog last year. I thought I might take this quiz again and post it in this blog dedicated to Jane Austen novels and other books. The result is very different from last year where I was rated a Literate Good Citizen . Thus it shows that after a year, my taste for books do change a lot. What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader   You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more. Literate Good Citizen   Book Snob   Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm   Fad Reader   Non-Reader   What Kind of Reader Are You? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Rating: ★★★★½/★★★★★ I like reading comic books which depict everyday life such as Archie comics. When I heard that Jane Austen's best loved novel is going to be adapted into a five-volume comic series, I admit I was a bit skeptical at first. I began to wonder how on earth it has come to this point. Mind you, I am not concern if all of Austen's oeuvre are somehow or other adapted into movies or television series in an attempt to introduce it to new and younger audiences. It made me question whether anyone can achieve this objective by butchering some of the plotlines in her novels. With this trepidation hanging over me, I'm glad to say that I really enjoyed reading it in just one sitting. I feel that my time is indeed well spent. Over the 3 hours that it took, I find that all the major plotlines are intact. The comics has stayed mostly faithful to the book. Nancy Butler did a great job in compressing the story into readable format suitable for teens and young adults. H...

Rating:  ★★★★½/★★★★★ Each of us has our own perception of Austen. What is your view on Austen each time you read her novels? Do you see her as a great novelist but never married? Or does she excels at writing witty and funny dialogues? Or has your opinion of her change every time you read and re-read her novels at different phases of your life? So begins the premise of this book in which six modern people living in California's Central Valley read and discuss one Jane Austen novel a month. The five women and a man form the book club and one of them will take turns to lead the discussion which is held in their homes. Each chapter of this book is devoted to the novels they are reading for that particular month. Through their lively discussion, we are privy to their thoughts and backgrounds on how they met. Jocelyn, the main protagonist in the book coordinates the discussion of Emma in her house. We get to know through a series of flashbacks of how Jocelyn first met Sylvia fr...

This week, the Austenesque scout is proud to enlighten you about one book contest from the blogosphere. Stephanie's Written Word is giving away Justin Cronin's The Passage in hardcover format. You need to comment on her post and include a valid email address to be entered in this giveaway. Deadline is 22 August 2010 at 12 noon ET (US Eastern time). You can tweet about this contest on Twitter for an additional entry . The lucky winner will be contacted through email. All the best if you are entering this contest!

Over at My Jane Austen Book Club , Maria Grazia was graciously granted the opportunity to interview Ms Lynn Shepherd, author of Jane Austen mystery, Murder at Mansfield Park . Read the interview here to learn what she has to say in Talking Jane Austen with Lynn Shepherd Part I . The contest rule is simple. It is open worldwide and in order to win a signed copy of the US debut novel (picture on the left), Murder at Mansfield Park , just leave your comment here . You can also leave your comment in the second part of the interview which will be posted next Thursday, 19 August to double your chances of winning this lovely book. Winners will be revealed on 26 August 2010 . Remember to include a valid email address in the comment section so that Maria could contact the lucky winner. Update: Part 2 of Talking Jane Austen with Lynn Shepherd is now posted at Maria's blog. Click here to read Ms Shepherd's interesting answers to Maria's questions. Don't forget to co...

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★ This is my first foray into reading Elizabeth Aston's books. Prior to publishing this book, she is the author of six sequels devoted to Mr. and Mrs. Darcy's family life. As you may know, Mr. Darcy and Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy née Bennet is Jane Austen's creations in Pride & Prejudice . However, Ms Aston has ventured out of her usual comfort zone to produce a modern fiction. The story is about Dr. Georgina Jackson, an American writer living in London. Currently, she is writing a second novel and part-time pursuing her research. She has successfully published a critically acclaimed debut novel,  Magdalene Crib but hardly profitable. After her success in which she won a literary award, she could not reproduce the same quality in her second novel and stuck finishing only the first chapter. One day, she received an urgent email and telephone call from her agent, Livia Harkness requesting her presence at her office. She is almost certain that it would...

Thanks to Ms Maria Grazia of My Jane Austen Book Club for the heads up. There is another Jane Austen challenge that I am going to participate but this is a reading challenge, movies and television series are excluded. I absolutely love to read Jane Austen-inspired fiction and spin-offs, be it prequels, sequels, retellings, variations and continuations. If you love Austen's novels and don't mind reading them like I do, this is a perfect opportunity to enter this fun challenge. Besides, joining this challenge could also win you some amazing books. Your review that is featured on your blog may be read by millions of other participants and Jane Austen enthusiasts. Isn't it great to be part of this community and share your ideas with your fellow bloggers? This reading challenge starts on 1 August 2010 to 31 July 2010 . You have exactly one year to read as many Austenesque books as you like. To participate, just fill up the form here and you can enter as many times as you...

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★ I must confess something about myself which not many people like. I love history, be it European monarchy, historical people, World War I and II. I admit I even enjoy watching movies and television series on war and famous figures of the past. Whenever I find something which intrigues me, I will google it on the web and read them to know more about the subject. A natural progression to this is to read books especially biography of famous people that change the world. It is with tremendously joy that I accidentally saw this book lying on the table at the counter in my workplace. When I first discovered the web, I googled Queen Victoria and read her interesting story which never cease to fascinate me. Several years back, I was even fortunate to watch an episode of a television series base on her relationship with her husband, Prince Albert entitled Victoria & Albert when I was holidaying in Australia. Last year, I watch the movie The Young Victoria ab...

From now on, this will be a weekly feature if I could find any contest from the blogosphere about Austen para-literature or from a different genre. In celebration of Anne Elliot's 213th birthday on 9 August 2010, the Crown Hill Writers' Guild is happy to giveaway one set of Mercy's Embace series written by Laura Hile to one lucky winner . Book 1: So Rough a Course Book 2: So Lively a Chase Book 3: The Lady Must Decide All you need to do is comment on their post with your opinion on who your favourite portrayal of Anne Elliot is. Don't worry if you have not seen any of the adaptations of Persuasion from 1971 BBC series right up to the latest ITV movie in 2007. The blog has put up a banner so that you can compare the actresses playing the role of Anne. If you plan to enter, take note that this contest will end on Monday , 9 August 2010 . The winner will be picked the next day by the author. So vote early to avoid regrets.

Rating: ★★★★★/★★★★★ I ordered the UK paperback version of this book after I came to know about this from Vic Sanborn's review on her blog, Jane Austen's World . When the book arrived at the end of last month, I finished reading it in just 2 days. It is a fairly easy to read book with about 144 pages and filled with beautiful illustrations by Henrietta Webb. However, in the paperback version, the illustrations are in black and white. I would prefer it to be in colour as posted in Vic's blog but as the saying goes, beggars can't be choosers. As paperback release is cheaper than hardcover version, I guess some aspects will be compromised. This book is meant for anyone who is interested to know more of Regency culture and lifestyle in which Jane Austen lived. If you have read all of Jane Austen's novels, you may be able to tell that the contents are lifted directly from her novels and letters. The language use here is intended for Austen's original readers in...

The Austenesque book scout is proud to present some news from the publishing world on amazing titles on Austen and Regency-inspired books release this month. A description of each book arranged chronologically is included as a taster for what is to come. All information is taken from Sourcebooks trade catalogue for Spring 2010 and Amazon while images are from Barnes & Noble . Georgette Heyer's Regency World by Jennifer Kloester Note: Previously released with a different cover in February 2008 for UK market Millions of readers love the outrageous lifestyle, fashions and capricious escapades of the elegant bon ton that are the hallmark of Georgette Heyer's historical romances. Jennifer Kloester has created the ultimate reference guide to the world of Heyer's dashing characters, from the entertainments they frequented, the parties and seasons they celebrated, to how they ate, drank, dressed, socialised, shopped and drove their carriages. An utterly delightful r...

The Austenesque book scout is proud to present some terrific news from the publishing world on amazing titles that will be published by Sourcebooks, HarperCollins and other independent publishers for this coming Autumn-Winter season. Most of the new novels listed are to be released by Sourcebooks which claims to be the number one best-selling publisher of Jane Austen sequels. I concur as they release quite a number of Austen-themed novels each year. Publishers' description of each book is included and books are arranged chronologically base on release date. All information is from Sourcebooks trade catalogue for Fall 2010 downloadable from their website and also from Amazon website. Images courtesy of Barnes & Noble website. Mr. Darcy's Little Sister by C. Allyn Pierson Note: Previously self-published with the title Chronicles of the Darcy Family , Book 1: And This Our Life with major revisions in this new novel Wait until you see how generous, protective, a...