Dear Jane Austen: A Heroine's Guide to Life and Love by Patrice Hannon REVIEW

Women have looked to Jane Austen’s heroines as models of appropriate behavior for nearly two centuries. Who better to understand the heart of a heroine than Austen? In this delightful epistolary “what if,” Austen serves as a “Dear Abby” of sorts, using examples from her novels and her life to counsel modern-day heroines in trouble, she also shares with readers a compelling drama playing out in her own drawing room. Witty and wise—and perfectly capturing the tone of the author of Persuasion and Pride and Prejudice—Dear Jane Austen is as satisfying as sitting down to tea with the novelist herself.


Advice delivered with sense and sensibility just in time for the major motion picture Becoming Jane

View our feature on Austen-inspired books and special content.

The Parchment Societies review:

My group read this the same month of Pride and Prejudice. We thought it ironic that we flew through Pride and Prejudice no problem with as big of book that it is. On the other hand this book is thin, but yet we had the hardest problem getting through it; the group found it to be dry and boring. The authors efforts to try to bring an author from that time to the current and speak to girls about men and boys of this da in age was a good idea but it didn't work for us.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte REVIEW

Orphaned into the household of her Aunt Reed at Gateshead, subject to the cruel regime at Lowood charity school, Jane Eyre nonetheless emerges unbroken in spirit and integrity. She takes up the post of governess at Thornfield, falls in love with Mr. Rochester, and discovers the impediment to their lawful marriage in a story that transcends melodrama to portray a woman's passionate search for a wider and richer life than Victorian society traditionally allowed.

When we first decided to read Jane Eyre, only a few members were excited about the read; with most feeling apprehensive about it. However, the majority of the group found the story easy to read once they got used to the old English and the vernacular; and at times the authors overly descriptive writing. We noticed quite a bit of people have a love/hate relationship with Jane Eyre; they are also confused how two sisters (Charlotte Bronte wrote Jane Eyre, Emily Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights) can write a two part story but make the other half a bit darker, we have heard people say that Jane Eyre is sad, dark and cruel. Yet Wuthering Heights goes to another level of dark and cruel and at times dry. But that is another review.
Some of the members felt that Jane Eyre was a bit hard to get into; putting aside the vernacular and old English, Jane seemed to be beyond her years. Her language sounded like an English teacher in her older years. We also found Jane and the other characters in the book to be intriguing, fairly realistic, well thought out and written, and emotional.
Once you do get past the bumps stated above, Charlotte Bronte does not make it easy to put Jane Eyre down. We as a group agree that Jane Eyre makes for a fantastic read, even if their palates are a bit plain.

Even though I have no pictures I would like to share what food we had to pair with Miss Jane:

• Cucumber Sandwiches
• Toad-in-a-hole (sausages covered in batter and baked)
• An assortment of teas with milk/cream and sugar
• Bangers and Mash
• Biscuits and Jam
• Spotted Dick
• Ploughman's Lunch
• Lancashire  Hotpot

Teaser Tuesday 2/7/12

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:
• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


The vision politely vanished. Edith went back inside her house and brewed a strong cup of black tea.
The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner
Pg. 129

 

WWW Wednesday 1/1/12

To play along, just answer the following three (3) questions… 
• What are you currently reading?
• What did you recently finish reading?
• What do you think you’ll read next?

I am currently reading The Perfect Husband

I recently finished reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (the second part of this book is Wuthering Heights by her sister, Emily Bronte)

 











And we currently don't know yet what our next read will be...

Teaser Tuesday 1/31/12

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Our book group's current read is The Perfect Husband by Lisa Gardner ( the first book in the Quincy and Rainie series)

"The first time he saw her, he simply knew. He watched her red and white pompoms bounce in the air" 

A Change in the Lineup

Welcome to It’s Monday!  What Are You Reading?  This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!
I love being a part of this and I hope you do too!  As part of this weekly meme I love to encourage you all to go and visit the others participating in this meme.

My book club is new to this meme, or any meme for that meme. I decided to join in on a couple memes; like this one to find the next "great read" for my club. 
Anyway, as mentioned before, we read a classic once a year. And funny enough, my younger sister's (Bethany) book one the January read; Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

We all got the same book so it's the Jane Eyre/Wutheing Heights version. It's a two book series. But we also have a guideline that if we read a book from a series we start at the beginning and read the entire series. So far, apparently Jane Eyre is hard to put down. And apparently that is the opposite of Wuthering Heights. I have been hearing that Wuthering Heights is hard to get into. So, as Co-Leader I am thinking that at the book review meeting this Sunday I am going to call for a change up. Instead of reading Wuthering Heights for our February read I am thinking....? Any ideas? The Thorn and the Blossom, a two sided love story by Theorora Goss sounds really good...

To be continued...