😆😆😆

Good, glad you enjoyed!

Oh Jane Austen is amazing! I think you would enjoy her books!

Oh absolutely. There's just not enough time in life, alas!

I have not attempted to look for it yet, but thanks for the heads up! I'll put it on my wishlist at Thrift Books so they will notify me when it's available.

Absolutely! Hope you find some good suggestions here.

Happy July, indeed!!

Thanks! YOu, too!

You are so welcome! Hope you found some good ones to read here!

Yeah, I don't think I'll get to it in time for Jane Austen July... but any time of year is good for an Austen retelling, right?!

Looking forward to reading some of these, hopefully in the near future.

Thank you! 😊

Good reply 😉💙

@@junewood3012 💙

Yes! All the Austen, please!!!!!

Oh you are so sweet! ❤️I would love a copy of her Prayers! And thanks for your thoughts on the other books. I think I will really like The Other Bennet Sister based on what people have said, but we'll see about the Murder of MR. Wickham. It intrigues me, I have to say!

Glad I'm not the only one! It always pulls me out of the story.

Thanks! I'm working on them. The first one should be up on Wednesday.

Which 3? Shouldn't be too difficult!

@@insearchofwonder NH, VT, NJ

@@novelideea oh, NH and VT are so beautiful, especially in the fall. NJ, well.... I recommend going to NY and popping in and out of NJ to cross it off your list. 😂😂😂

@@insearchofwonder 😂😂😂 Noted!

Still haven't gotten to either. Ugh!

@insearchofwonder you've been busy with renovations!!! Books and discussion will keep, I promise.

That her mom was hooked on laudanum? Of that, I have no doubt. At the very least, she was a hypochondriac and took it on a fairly regular basis as a remedy for all her various ills. At least that's the generally accepted view. My issue was the way the information was presented, without adequate source material and with a fair amount of speculation and opinion as to motives, etc. And the concluding sentence, "No wonder women turned to laudanum." So.... why do women turn to opioids today? I don't know; it frustrates me because Worsley just seems to be attempting to say that everything about the Austen's existence was miserable because of the men in their lives and the fact that Jane, Cassandra, and her mom were women. She really wants Jane to have lived a sad and struggling life. I just don't see that. Sure, she had sadness and struggles - don't we all? But she also had much joy, and they were a very close-knit loving family. In the very beginning of the book, she admits that she is presenting "her Jane", the Jane she imagines in her mind that is probably not entirely factual because of presuppositions and worldview. And I don't like her Jane - it's a victimized embittered Jane who is at the mercy of her circumstances and constantly put upon, rather than an active agent of her own life.

@insearchofwonder Worsely's Jane resembles nothing like the Jane in Wheddon's book. Wheddon's, Jane Austen's Best Friend, Jane is fun loving, mischievous, loving, and happy with her life. I think the difference is Worsley is popular and is after commercial success. Wheddon's book was academic and wasn't searching for popularity. That being said, Wheddon's is a truly enjoyable and fascinating read. Too many authors, historians, and readers pick apart Jane's life and exploit it for their own purposes. I am in NO WAY inferring that is what you do! But JA is guaranteed purchase or views and thus is easy fodder to gain something from. What she was actually like in person is so distorted by modern day values and gain, that the true Jane Austen is becoming more and more obscure with every book published, unfortunately.

I think I'm going to pause it until the winter. I just have too many other books I'm reading right now. I didn't get very far into it .

Yes! I'm so excited about that!!

Yes, overall I loved it! Great writing and good story.

It is VERY good!

One of my favorite mugs!

Yay! I actually want to get a new copy of Juvenilia. I want to keep the one I have because I have history with it lol, but I want a nicer copy.

@@insearchofwonder understand that completely! I haven’t read any of the juvenillas yet but got them ready!

Oh fun! I hope you love it!

One of my favorite mugs!

Oh thank you, that's so sweet! ❤️❤️❤️

@@insearchofwonder 💙💙💙

Yes, his name I keep seeing, so I will definitely look for his annotated versions. Thank you for the recommendation!

Thanks for watching!

Haha! Jane and I go way back. I've got Jane recommendations from here to Sunday. 😁

Great suggestion!

I was there VERY briefly for a bus tour back in 2019. But I want to go back and stay there and really spend time. It's such a beautiful city with so much history!

Well, you've read some Maria Edgeworth, right? Fanny Burney is fun, I want to read some more by her.

I definitely need to re-read.

It's super weird.

Yeah, I know it's very different from her other works. I don't remember being disappointed, but I might on my next go-round. I honestly don't remember much about it.

My favorites!

Yay I finally passed 600 (or had, last time I looked. Sometimes it fluctuates)! It seemed to take a while to creep up that last five or so. 😆

I had a great vacation, thanks! Haven't started Fahrenheit 451 yet, but i do expect to enjoy it once I get it going.

@@insearchofwonder excellent to hear on both!

I was VERY intimidated by it prior to reading it, and except for challenging myself to read everything my son read, I would not have still. But I'm so glad I did! I do still want to listen to some podcasts and videos about it, though, to get a little more insight.

Thankyou!

So many people loved it, I'm sure you will, too!

@@insearchofwonder I don’t love historical tho… I might still try it , who knows lol

Thank you! we just recently freshened up our deck furniture etc a little bit so it's fun to sit there now. 😁

Thank you! My reading life has definitely fluctuated and changed and morphed throughout my life. DIfferent seasons call for different approaches. Right now, I really just want to read the books I want to read but "never get to". I can't wait forever, because there's only so much time!

@@insearchofwonder Amen!

Thanks! We recently freshened it up a little so I enjoy sitting out there.

Yeah it wasn't bad just not as good as I expected.

Thanks! It's one of my favorite mugs!