Jane Austen Made Me Do It by Laurel Ann Nattress

Title/Author: Jane Austen Made Me Do It by Laurel Ann Nattress
Publisher/Date published: Ballantine Books, October 11th 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "Stories by: Lauren Willig • Adriana Trigiani • Jo Beverley • Alexandra Potter • Laurie Viera Rigler • Frank Delaney & Diane Meier • Syrie James • Stephanie Barron • Amanda Grange • Pamela Aidan • Elizabeth Aston • Carrie Bebris • Diana Birchall • Monica Fairview • Janet Mullany • Jane Odiwe • Beth Pattillo • Myretta Robens • Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway • Maya Slater • Margaret C. Sullivan • and Brenna Aubrey, the winner of a story contest hosted by the Republic of Pemberley
“My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you.” If you just heaved a contented sigh at Mr. Darcy’s heartfelt words, then you, dear reader, are in good company. Here is a delightful collection of never-before-published stories inspired by Jane Austen — her novels, her life, her wit, her world."

If you have been reading this blog or knowing me for some time, you will perhaps already know this, but I LOVE Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice is my all-time favourite novel and I try to reread it at least once a year. Which is in fact due around Christmas I think :)

So I was really excited to read this book, as it contains a collection of short stories based on Austen's novels. I must admit that I pretty much never read short stories and they are not really my cup of tea, because I like to stay with my characters for some time after meeting them. But how could I resist reading this?

And there were some stories that were wonderful! I really liked the one by Alexandra Potter, which is a continuation of Mr. Darcy and Me, a book by her I really enjoyed. Also special mentions to Laurie Vera Riegler's (in which Mr. Darcy brings the authors of continuations/adaptations of P&P up on charges) and Jo Beverley's (in which a widowed woman has a sweet encounter through some meddling by Miss Austen herself and there's mistletoe involved!)! Especially the last one was heartwarmingly sweet and made me want to read another historical romance, cause I love those!

There were also some stories that didn't really work for me, but well, I could either skip those or they ended soon enough for it not to bother me. And while this did not make me want to read more short stories, it did make me want to read and watch P&P again (both the BBC version and the one with Keira Knightley)! And my little Austen-loving hard was glad I read this :) It really featured every single one of her novels and made me appreciate her genius anew!

My rating: 3,5 stars

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

Title/Author: Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik
Publisher/Date published: HarperTeen, August 2nd 2011
How I got this book: got it from my brother as a birthday present, yay!

Goodreads summary: "Will Elise’s love life be an epic win or an epic fail?
At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:
As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school—not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.
As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn’t exactly on everyone’s must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.
When Elise’s beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince’s best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long."

I'd been hearing so many good things about this book before I started reading it, my hopes were pretty high. And sadly, they were probably so high the book didn't live up to it. By that I don't mean it was bad, just not as amazing as I had expected.

BUT: this was a really cute read. I mean, I love P&P, it's my all-time favourite novel and I really enjoyed this modern adaptation of it. I could just picture it happening like that in high school, all the misunderstandings!

Elise is a great character and I loved how witty she was! She really cares about her sisters and family, which was great. I really enjoyed the interaction between her and Derek, they were very good together!

There were some things I didn't really like: all the weird rules Elise's parents had! I mean, no mobile phones at home? Huh? I didn't really get that. I get you're not allowed to text at dinner or other set family time, but not at all? Weird! Also: where was Mary? There were only 4 sisters in this book instead of 5...

All in all, this was a cute, quick read and even if you don't know P&P, it will be an enjoyable read!

My rating: 3,5 stars

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Title/Author: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Publisher/Date published: Penguin Classics, first published in 1813
How I got this book: how can I call myself a booklover if I don't even have a copy of my favourite book in the house? I bought it.
Why I read this book: I felt like revisiting my old friends of Longbourn, Netherfield and Pemberley, it's been a while.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife."

With this line starts my favourite book of all time. I'm sure all of you are familiar with the story one way or the other, even if you haven't read the book. But still, a short summary:
The Bennets are a family with 5 daughters, living at the family estate Longbourn. With 5 girls, Mrs. Bennet has a considerable amount of anxiety about seeing them all married to a respectable (and hopefully a wealthy) man. When an amiable young man named Mr. Bingley rents the house near them, she has high hopes of marrying one of her daughters off to him. But Mr. Bingley doesn't come to the neighbourhood by himself, he brings with him a friend, Mr. Darcy, who has a less pleasing disposition than his friend does. Elizabeth, the second eldest daughter, clashes with him on more than one occasion and in this lies the true lovestory.

I rant about this book every chance I get and since I reread it last week, I thought it would be as good a time as any to do it again.
This book has been my favourite since I first read it when I was 14 or 15. And it gets better every time I read it. I love reading new books, but revisiting this one that I already knew I'd love again is so relaxing and I was glad to find that I hadn't prettied it up in my head, it really is THAT good.

Miss Austen tells the story of a family of 7 with such detail and wit, I really feel I know all of them intimately. And everyone has their own fleshed out character, which I really love. She has a lot of humour and the story flows brilliantly. Sure, I live for the scenes with both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, but the rest of the story is beautiful as well.

I have talked again and again of how I love Elizabeth, she is an intelligent, strong woman. Mr. Darcy is my ultimate bookcrush, he's so noble and handsome and just dreamy. I also love Mr. Bennet, he's sarcastic and I love his humour.

I have always thought that classics such as this and for example Jane Eyre have had so much influence on romance in novels and especially in romantic comedies. A lot of times you can lead the relationship of the characters back to a couple of patterns and I'm always looking for a fresh spin on these in stories.

I've seen both the BBC series and the movie adaptation from 2005 and personally, while the BBC version is more true to the book, I enjoy watching the more recent movie more (though of course, the plot is not affected by the changes). I enjoy the whole feeling of it more somehow.
This may or may not also be influenced by my finding Matthew MacFadyen more attractive...

My rating: there is no rating for my favourite book ever, the stars are off the chart for this one.

I'm going ahead and assuming a lot of you have read this book, if so, what did you think? Loved it/not so impressed/think it's overrated? And for those who have seen the movie/tv series: how do you think it compares to the book?

Austenland by Shannon Hale

Title/Author: Austenland by Shannon Hale
Publisher/Year published: Bloomsbury, 2007
How I got this book: own it
Why I read this book: I love Pride and Prejudice. Enough said really.

Goodreads summary: "Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her love life: no real man can compare. But when a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined.

Decked out in empire-waist gowns, Jane struggles to master Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen;or maybe even, she suspects, with the actors who are playing them. It's all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to fall away, and the more she wonders: Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy of her own?"

Like many women, Jane dreams of Mr. Darcy (don't we all?) and hasn't been able to find one in real life. I was a bit surprised at how she hides the DVD's as if it's something to be ashamed of. I love watching the movie adaptation with Keira Knightley and Matthew McFadyen and am not afraid of showing it off.

I mean, isn't he just dreamy in all his anguish of having just been refused by the woman he loves (after a clumsy proposal, I'll give you that):



Anyway, enough of my obsession, let's get back to Jane's. She decides to go to Pembrood Park, a trip that her recently deceased aunt left her in her will. There are other guests as well as actors there and at first Jane doesn't feel really into it all, because she feels fake somehow. Especially after meeting and having a fling with one of the gardeners, Martin. Then she decides, what the heck, I'm only here once, let's just roll with it. And she starts to enjoy herself. There's one actor, Mr. Nobley, who seems inspired by Mr. Darcy in his manners. But in stead of immediately falling for him, Jane thinks he's frustrating.
But not everyone is what they seem to be and Jane just might have a chance to find real love after all.

I loved how Jane gets swept up in it all, with the dresses and the fact that ladies are not supposed to be alone with a gentleman. She notices that with a minimum of touching that is allowed, while dancing for example, there can be more tension than she imagined.

At the beginning of each chapter, we see the story of one of Jane's boyfriends or sometimes just one time encounters and they were really funny.
The romance unfolding was really sweet and I loved the ending! There was something that even I had not expected and I'm horribly correct at guessing what's off or the clue to a mystery. I saw on the author's website that she has a book coming out that's called Midnight in Austenland, which I assume will be a sequel and I'm excited to find out what happens in that one. I also saw a picture of her newborn babies there, who are just too cute!

My rating: 4 stars