3 Fictional Characters

In Facebook Land over the last couple of months, people have been tagging people (including me) in this #3fictionalcharacters, where you make a little collage of the three fictional characters you identify with the most, or that sorta-kinda make up your personality.

As it happens, the three I came to settle on were all Jane Austen heroines. ...Go figure.  After all, one of my favorite things about Jane Austen is how relatable her characters are!

So I decided to do a blog post about it.

Episode 2: One Day More!

(Ugh the angle is awful for my face in this one... >.<)

A Short and Sappy Post About Friendships

I love to see the way that friendships evolve.  It's easiest to look at these when you do the bulk of getting to know a person through written communication (these days, generally online).  Once you've known them for a certain amount of time-- or rather, when it reaches a certain point that can't be measured by time, or by anything else-- you can look back at the earliest messages, emails, etc. and see such a change.

It's the same person.  It's always very much the same person.  Yet, there is something stilted about how they write... you can tell they're being a little more prim and proper, holding back a little, measuring their sentences.  Then, gradually, you both begin to loosen up a little.  You look at the communication and see that you're starting to pick up some of each other's vernacular-- favorite words and expressions. (At least, this happens with my friendships, because I tend to use made-up words and the people I gravitate towards also are creative in this way. ;))  Even things like punctuation might change a little, because one or the other of you decides you like the way the other person does a thing better, and you start doing it yourself.  (Example: before knowing Amy, I always did...this, instead of doing... this.  The space, you see, after the "dot dot dot.")

It just puts a smile on my face, to look back.  To see where we started, what we talked about, what mattered then.  To wonder where we'll go, what we'll talk about, and what else will matter.  To wonder what will change, and what will stay the same.  To realize that you and the other person have created something together that never existed before, as happens with all close human relationships.  That's what makes them exciting.  Each time you discover a dear friend, you discover parts of yourself that you never knew existed.

A Grand Reunion - This Time For You To See!

Mamma! LIZZY! Guess WHAT!?

Well you never WILL, so I'll TELL YOU!

Like, I will actually tell you.  That, I will speak to you. For realsies.  In this video. Do watch. :D

Also, Amy has made a corresponding video, here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyzpVktN6ts

And here is a link to the AGM website, for enquiring minds. :)

Daily Dose of Emma: 2

"It may be possible to do without dancing entirely. Instances have been known of young people passing many, many months successively, without being at any ball of any description, and no material injury accrue either to body or mind;--but when a beginning is made--when the felicities of rapid motion have once been, though slightly, felt--it must be a very heavy set that does not ask for more."

It is always a great source of satisfaction to me that my main knowledge of/experience with "dancing" is the closest possible in today's world to what Jane Austen described in her books. And it's funny, when reading particulars about balls, etc. to see how little has really changed.

Daily Dose of Emma: 1

I have been reading Emma lately and find myself with lots of thoughts and quotes to share.  Instead of gathering them all up for one big post, though, I'm just going to publish them at random-- one quote per day.  It will be a lot easier on ME, and hopefully provide some diversion in your day. And hopefully, open up some fun discussion!

"Mrs. Weston was exceedingly disappointed--much more disappointed, in fact, than her husband, though her dependence on seeing the young man had been so much more sober: but a sanguine temper, though forever expecting more good than occurs, does not always pay for its hopes by any proportionate depression. It soon flies over the present failure, and begins to hope again."

When I'm not reading Jane Austen, I forget about these little "SO TRUE" moments that one happens upon so frequently.

"For half an hour Mr. Weston was surprized and sorry; but then he began to perceive that Frank's coming two or three months later would be a much better plan..... {etc} 

"These feelings rapidly restored his comfort, while Mrs Weston, of a more apprehensive disposition, foresaw nothing but a repetition of of excuses and delays; and after all her concern for what her husband was to suffer, suffered a great deal more herself."

I wonder what personality type Mrs Weston is? Maybe ISFJ? ;)

At long last, the moment you've all-- forgotten about?

I know, I know, I promised you all a song LONG ago, and all this time and I still haven't posted any... well, here I am, finally.

So, for anyone who doesn't know, several months ago, I took nominations and votes on a song to sing, and the one selected by the Followers was "The Rose of Tralee," a traditional Irish song.  (Incidentally, I have a lot of Irish in my background, so... hey, that works!)  

Note on the lyrics: Originally the song is in first-person and sung by a guy, which was a bit... awkward. So it's been tweaked, and as a result, is not entirely grammatically correct.  

I recorded the song several times and didn't realize until much later that whenever I sang words with a "P" at the beginning, I kind of... puffed... into the microphone, and Noise was a result.  But do I want to do the song over again?  Nooooo.  I don't get opportunity that often (i.e., everyone in the house has to be GONE, and it takes Time), so it is what it is.  

Also, this is NOT my best singing... I'm not sure why, as the key was plenty easy to do, but I just found singing it kind of blah or something.  I don't know.  But here it is... such as it is.

Aaaaaaand-- BONUS!-- I decided to Embrace my Inner Opera Singer and sing something from Phantom!  So here is "Think of Me," which (like "On My Own" and Les Miserables) was my introduction to Phantom of the Opera, and I heard the song before I even knew of the existence of the musical.  So it's special, from the days before I was a fan.  (NOT a phan, guys.  That's just gross.)

However, of course, this is not my best singing of this song either, and although I did sing the rest of it (including the cadenza and all that), I was so ill-satisfied with it that I just cut it out entirely. Heh heh.  Somehow, when I go to record a song, my voice is just never in the right mood.  But! If I get vocal training next year, as I am hoping to do, I can re-record this song and post it for comparison like, see how much better I've gotten!

At least, that's what I'm hoping will happen. And that for now, you won't wince as much as I'm doing.

Just promise you won't laugh.

A note on the lyrics:  It has been said that Andrew Lloyd Weber changes the lyrics to this song as frequently as he changes his socks.  What I sang here is no particular one version, but rather a mixture of different ones that I liked.  (Except I forgot and sang "once in a while" instead of "every so often", which I prefer.  Sigh... oh well.)

A note on the picture: No, I do not approve of the movie version of this musical, but... the picture is pretty.  So.  Y'know.

And, for any of you who may not have heard the whole song before... do it.

Movie Review: Love & Friendship (2016)

Hello, my lovelies!

(One would think that I'd been watching a lot of Emma Approved lately, but in fact I have not.)

I know it's been simply ages since I've posted, especially taking into consideration that I meant to post much earlier with a follow-up to all the hype about Lady Susan!  A thousand apologies.

I did get to see this movie when I said I would before.  I got to go with a couple of friends, a brother and sister who are kind of my Jane Austen proteges :P, and then again quite recently with my sister, once it came to what we like to call the "dollar theater". So, without further ado.

Because it's the thing I notice first about British drama, let's take a look at...

Recognizable Actors

Lady Susan (At Long Last!)

It is a very shaming thing for me to admit that it has taken me this long, in all my seven years of being a Janeite, to finish reading Lady Susan, the only other story besides the major six novels that Jane Austen completed during her adult life.  Such a fact is so very dreadfully mortifying.

But now I have finished it.  I still did not read the whole thing: I listened to most of it.  Which I used to think didn't exactly "count".  I have since changed my mind, having become a very busy young lady who has little time to read, and when she does have the time, has little energy for anything that requires more thinking than watching a movie or scrolling through Pinterest.  Driving to work, however, takes me 25 minutes each way, and therefore I have almost an hour of spare time right there-- but of course I can't read.  I can listen, however.  And so I have been doing.

It was hard for me to get into Lady Susan to begin with, and I think that's because I wasn't used to reading Jane Austen's epistolary style, even though it's predominantly how she wrote all of her earlier stories.  The characters and character names and complicated relations to each other can also be very confusing.  I found that listening to it (taking advantage of a free recording from Librivox) helped immensely because there was a different person to read each character.

Lady Susan is technically a "novella" and was written by Jane Austen roundabout 1795 (which means she was 19-21ish).  It was during her prolific beginnings of being an author, when she also wrote  First Impressions and Elinor and Marianne.  It's very different from her other stories, however, and more easily compared with her juvenilia.  Unlike our beloved favorites, it's not romantic comedy-- it's just comedy.

Sierra Boggess as Elinor Dashwood

Yes, you read that post title right!  My second-favorite singer has portrayed a beloved Jane Austen heroine!

Sierra Boggess

I knew that this was going on some time ago; rather than a performance it was some kind of 'read-through' of the Sense & Sensibility musical.  But I was very excited at the prospect of getting to listen to it!  I knew this website put recordings you can listen to for free, so would they offer these as well?

I kept checking back for several months, and then gradually forgot all about it.  Then the other day at work I was listening to another recording of the S&S musical on my MP3 player (yep, we're allowed to listen to music while we shelve at my library... gals, my library, and my supervisor, is the BEST) and thought to myself, Oh yeah, I haven't checked that in a while!

So I checked it.

AND THERE IT WAS. You can listen to the entire thing here.

Jan Austen, whoever she may be, is very proud.

The horror.
The atrocity.
The stupidity.
The mistake I have never before seen anyone make.
Let us hope it is a typo.

(Isn't the IMDb page lovely, though?! So refreshing after, you know, zombies and such...)

(Also, prepare yourself for many Lady Susan posts coming up.)

In Which I Am Reminded What A Crazy Janeite I Actually Am

LADIES, LADIES, LADIES!!!!!!!!

LOVE AND FRIENDSHIP IS IN THEATERS AND SUDDENLY WITHIN MY REACH!!!!

For the first time, the very first time, since I became a fan of Jane Austen, there is a real adaptation now in theaters (it's the BACKGROUND of IMDb, for Pete's sake!!!) and I am itching, aching, dying to see it!!!

Ridiculous Regency: Edition the First

So, as most of you know, I work at a library, and the majority of my time is spent taking books on or off shelves, organizing them, checking them in, and sending them to other libraries.  Lately I have been amusing myself by writing down the book titles on ridiculous "historical fiction" covers that I see.  The best (or worst) ones are the supposedly "Regency" books.

Anyway, I thought you might like to snark over them with me, so here we go.

This is the one that started me off.  I looked underneath the title where it says "A Regency Romance" and I think I probably scoffed rather loudly.  Excuse me? Regency??  What Regency lady would ever go around with her hair spilling about her like that-- and also, where on EARTH did she get the (amply applied) mascara and eyeliner?

While we're at it, let's take a look at the synopsis.

Southern belle Meg Burton is her parents’ last hope of avoiding financial ruin, and a distant cousin’s kind gesture seems an ideal solution: he will sponsor Meg for a London Season. The pursuit of a wealthy husband was not exactly how the bookish young woman had envisioned her first trip abroad—after all, what does a girl from Charleston, South Carolina, know about being a lady? Amidst the stunning gowns and extravagant balls of the ton, Meg feels like an imposter [sic]. Thankfully, she has one friend who knows her true self—Carlo, a handsome stable hand. Despite their difference in station, love blossoms between the unlikely pair, and Meg is sure of one thing: she wants nothing to do with the insufferable European aristocracy.

Why Captain Wentworth is a Superior Example of Manhood

If you've been reading my blog for a long time, you may be surprised at the title of this post.  Many of you will know that Captain Wentworth is far from my favorite Jane Austen hero, and I've never actually had much of a fondness for him.

I do wonder how much of this might be due to two facts:
1) I don't care for any of the movie portrayals of him.
2) In the book there is really very little time to get to know him. We see his actions, but we can't get into his mind at all until he finally opens up to Anne again, which is at nearly the end.

Also, I wonder what Persuasion would have ended up like if Jane Austen had lived to see it published.  She wasn't necessarily ready for it to be published yet.  She was becoming too ill to even work on her newest story idea, much less the tedious task of in-depth editing of what was probably equal to a second draft.

But I'm going off on a rabbit trail here.  Frederick Wentworth is the subject at hand.

Would You Rather

Hiiii, everyone.  I'm back.  Well, actually, I've been back for a while... I just sort of haven't gotten around to posting.

And even this is... just a tag. ;)  But could I resist a Jane Austen tag? I think not.  This one is from Write On, Cordy!

Who would you rather have act as your matchmaker, Lady Russell (from Persuasion) or Mrs. Jennings?

Mrs. Jennings... she would at least be funny.  Lady Russell is just materialistic. :P  Less prone to say embarrassing things, but...  well, hopefully whomever she's matchmaking me with can join me in joking about it instead of being embarrassed. :)

Dear Me

A letter to the Melody from the end of the last decade, at age thirteen/fourteen.

Dear Younger Me,

Hello.  This is Older You, writing to you from the future.  It is March 2016.  I've been thinking about you a lot lately and kind of just wanted to tell you some news that might be pleasing to you.

First, however, I must confess to not being in the exact spot in life that you thought I would be at this point in time.  But I must also confess to being completely okay with that.  And it's not that I've changed, because in essentials, I believe I am very much what I ever was.  (...hang on for about a year and then you'll know that that's a tweaked quote from the best novel in the universe.)

But things have shifted.  Instead of graduating with a BA in Elementary Education this May, I am actually only now really getting into this college thing.  Yeah, yeah, I know. But I've done cool things! I promise! And I work in a library, like you've always wanted to, if that's any comfort.  (Also it's great. Totally recommend it.  And volunteering at the library is a great way to get started. Good choice. Yes. Do it.)

My JASNA Debut

So, my friends, on Tuesday the 9th I went to my first meeting with the Jane Austen Society of North America.  That's what this post will be about, but first a little backstory.

When I was first hired at my current library job, on the second day at work, I made the comment to my supervisor (her name is Jennifer) that "I liked this movie" (because I came across Emma 2009 and it made me smile).  She said she did too and that she loved Jane Austen, and my response was "I KNEW I LIKED YOU!!!" 

And then I was kind of embarrassed because, you know, she's my boss. I probably shouldn't be too weirdly enthusiastic right at the beginning.  She just laughed, though, and we went on talking. She mentioned that she was a member of JASNA.  I was highly interested and we had a bit of a discussion about it... I mentioned that it's hard for me to get to the book clubs or meetings because of where I live not being close by and the locations being tricky to drive in, and she made a vague offer to take me with her sometime.

By A Lady

So, Amy and I were chatting on Facebook this evening.  I'm in the purple, she's in the green.  It is altered just a tad because it was not written for the purpose of being shown to you guys. ;)  (I'm leaving "yezzzz" in there though, because that's just What I Do.)  And I'm also not hiding the fact that we're just a little bit awful sometimes. A little bit.

Harper Lee died. :(
She wrote To Kill a Mockingbird, in case you forgot that.

No, I knew that. :P 
I'm actually pretty good with author names attached to books they wrote.

That's why it was "in case" and not "fyi" :P

The first several times I heard of Harper Lee, I thought she was a dude.

It was easier to get published in those days if people thought you were a dude.
Sad but true.

Yezzz.

(It's her middle name.)

Which is why I think Jane Austen was AWESOME.

My "love life"

Before beginning, I would like to forewarn you that this is a very long and ramble-y post, and because of my strong feelings on some subject even gets a bit rant-y or defensive at times.  However it was all written in fun and is meant to be taken so. :)  The reason for writing it was not spurred on by anything other than the fact that it's the first of posts I may do about random topics that I tend to go on tangents about.  If you actually enjoy it, please let me know, because otherwise I probably won't be doing more of that type.

"I have very little intention of ever marrying at all.  Someone very superior would have to come along; and even then I would rather not be tempted." 

                     

Emma (this is from the 2009 movie, and not an exact book quote, but it's close) echos some of my own sentiments there.  She goes on to say "If I were in love, it would be a different thing; but then I have never been in love. It is not my way or my nature; and I do not think I ever shall." 

There we differ.  Well, I have never been in love, and I do rather doubt that I ever shall be; those parts are true.  But I do believe it is in my nature, and very much so.  The thing is, I am very careful in guarding that.  If I am ever in love with someone, I know for a fact that it's going to be a majorly huge thing.  I'm saving that for someone who can appreciate and return it-- and if that person never comes along, well, so be it.  I have other uses for the love I have to give.  (People will say things like, when you love someone you don't start loving other people less, and blah blah-- while that may be true, one only has a finate amount of time, and time is very strongly connected with showing love, much as that is sometimes hard to face.)

Vote for the song!!!

So, after the comments on the last post, I have narrowed it down to 8.  Heh heh.  IT WAS HARD and the most 'secondings' any of the songs had were 3 or 4.

Well, anyway.

Here are the options, in alphabetical order, because I am a librarian-secretary person so that is How It's Done. :P  Please read my descriptions as they may help you in choosing which one to vote for.

#1 A Lovely Night

This song should relatively painless.  Anyway, it's better to sing something easy than try to show off and fail miserably. :P 

#2 I Could Have Danced All Night

The high note at the end is a little bit of a struggle but if my voice is in the right 'mood' it should be okay.  Or if I could just find karaoke for the key that's actually in the movie...

I'm Official!!!!

The Jane Austen Society of North America! After seven years with Jane Austen, I am a definite Member.

"I could not live without music. Life would be a blank to me."

OKAY FOLKS.  Here is a Grande List of Nominations for which song I should sing!  If I didn't include one of your nominations, it is because a) I am not willing to sing it for the public for whatever reason or b) there is no suitable karaoke/instrumental/accompaniment to be found.

I am listing who nominated what, because if you nominated something, you cannot second it.

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes was requested more than once already, so that one will already be part of the running.

As for the others, you may second up to three each... and then I'll make a poll for the top five songs that were seconded. :)  I'm including links to music videos so you can refresh your memory or listen to a new song!

A Change in Me (Anna)
A Lovely Night (Natalie)
All I Ask of You (Natalie* -- would do with 'male only' cover)
God Help the Outcasts (Jessica Prescott)
Home (Anna)
I Could Have Danced All Night (Miss Meg)
I Have Confidence (Naomi)
I Won't Say I'm In Love (Amy)
In My Own Little Corner (Natalie*)
On My Own (Naomi)
Once Upon a December (OldFashionGirl)
Once Upon a Dream from Jekyll & Hyde (Emma Jane)
The Rose of Tralee (Jessica Prescott)
Scarborough Fair (OldFashionGirl)
Slumber Dear Maid/ Largo (Naomi--and yes, I'm including this! ;))
Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Jessica Prescott)
Suddenly (Jessica Prescott)
Sweet Liberty (Anna*)
Think of Me (Natalie*)
Weep You No More Sad Fountains (Natalie)
We'll Meet Again (Naomi)
Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again (Natalie*)
Wouldn't It Be Loverly (Naomi)

*In the cases with asterisks, my readers asked for songs from a particular musical, and these were ones I found available.

Requesting Nominations

Hello all!  So, when most of you filled out my survey, you expressed an interest in my idea of presenting you with a song. Sung by me. I am still considering this, but in the meantime you might choose to help my consideration a little.

I'm looking for song nominations.  Pick any song you like... as many nominations as you like. Next week I will go through and weed out any songs I can't or am not willing to sing.  Then I will ask for Secondings.  Haha.

So for now... go crazy. ...well not really.

Costume Study: A&E Emma 1996

Costume studies were not in my original plans for blogging in the near future, but suddenly I just wanted to do it.  So do it I shall.

The reason?  Actually because I am starting on a new Regency dress.  Did I say that in the last post? I can't remember.  Oh dear.

Anyway, since store-bought patterns can only allow for so much (and everyone else who makes Regency dresses will be using the same patterns, haha), I decided to look to some of my favorite Jane Austen films, costume-wise, for inspiration for both day dresses and ball gowns.

Costume Captures is a lovely place to look for these, but they only have costume studies for two of the movies in this era I really care about (Pride and Prejudice 1995 and Northanger Abbey 2007... oh, they also have Miss Austen Regrets, and I did like some of those costumes so I might have a look at that later).  The Dashwood Sisters, a blog I used to frequent but which is no longer updated, also has a gorgeous study of Wives and Daughters, including tips on making the dresses.  Not what I'm looking for at present, but y'know. Just in case you were curious.

The 1996 Emma (popularly mis-categorized as 1997) is visually one of my absolute favorites for costumes and hairstyles.  Well, Emma's hairstyles.  I think that the whole thing has a wonderfully historically-accurate feel.  Although, of course, overall my favorite is the 2009 one.  (I also love those costumes, even if they feel a little more consistently vibrant than is realistic.)

...and we're back!

Hello, one and all, and welcome to the new and improved Regency Delight!

Let me tell you about some of the updates.

• In case you have not yet noticed, the sidebar is gone.  Totally.  It vanished, like a broken silence.  But don't panic! There are still tools to find your way around.  I put quite a lot of stuff in the tabs (which will be talked of in a minute), and then the followers box, blog archive and my blogging profile are down at the bottom, and under THAT are tags if you are looking for a particular topic.  
• Tabs! We have the following:
• Archives You can find some ancient history for Regency Delight in here, as well as other easy-to-access collections
• Reviews Lists of my reviews for various books and movies
• Ask Me Anything! Questions for future Answers posts! You can use it at any time. You can also use it to contact me.
• Blog Buttons Blog buttons for my blog, blogs I read, and an array of awards I've won in blogging events.
• Request a Post This will take you to a Google Forms survey where you can tell me what you want to read about, and if you have any particular movie or book in mind that you would like me to review.

Can you see this in your dashboard?

If you can, don't bother to click on it, because my blog is temporarily closed for redesign and cleaning up. I hope to reopen it January 17th-- that is the goal-- but I can make no promises. In the meantime, if you haven't seen it, check out the thing that I made. https://youtu.be/aqcGGYXs5jw

Ten Minutes Ago

For all the gushing about the 2015 Cinderella, I have to say I am quite attached to the musical as well!  (And, y'know, LAURA OSNES.)  In honor of Disney and Broadway (andLauraOsnes), I have put together this fan video.

Do watch it on YouTube :) 

Movie Review: Cinderella (2015)

(Warning: This is going to be a very long and detailed review.  I have a lot to say.  But I have tried to write it so you can skim and read what you're interested in. :) )

When I saw this movie in the theatre with my Amy, I hardly knew what to expect.  I had only watched perhaps one of the trailers, and other than that searched for no information beforehand.  I thought it would be okay, or good.  I’ve always liked Cinderella, despite all the clichés it seems to have picked up. 

To be honest, I don’t have the highest opinion of modern Disney movies that come out.  I find most of them stuffed with nonsense, and I was a little afraid they would overdo the whole fairytale thing, so that it pushes into fantasy which is not a genre I’m into.  However, I held out hope since I know that Cinderella, as far as fairytales go, is a pretty mild one when it comes to magic and all that.

I do not hesitate to say that what I was met with in that discount theatre was more much more than I had bargained for.  It was enchanting.  I got completely swept up in the beauty and heart of it. 

It's POSSIBLE! (Cinderella Party Tag)

Hello one, hello all.  I am working on my review of Cinderella 2015 (no, really, I am) but I thought I'd fill this out really quickly so at least you could have something now. :)  Besides, blog party tags are too much fun!  And besides, then I get more giveaway entries. :P

So, without further natter.

1. In the vast array of fairytale heroines, what particular character qualities most define Cinderella? 

Genuine sweetness.  Kind and compassionate both included.

2. What are some of the deeper, big picture differences you see between retellings where both stepsisters are nasty and others where one is nasty and one is kind? How do you think the two takes differently develop/illuminate/affect Cinderella’s character and also the overarching story itself?

IDK.
:P
I feel like when they are both horrid, Cinderella has even more to contend with, and it's even more amazing that she stayed as lovely as she did.  But I also like in the Broadway version how one of them sort of emerged as being a bit nicer at the end.

3. Are you an animal lover? Would you eagerly count mice, lizards, cows, and geese as friends? Dogs and cats? 

Mice and lizards? No.  Cows and geese? Only if they were very special.  Cats and cat-like dogs, yes. ;)

Looking Forward

Dear Readers,

The year of 2015 has certainly been a full one.  It has held some of the hardest things I've ever had to go through, but also allowed me one visit with each of my sisters and their families, Amy once at my house, and Amy and her family once at her house, at Christmastime.  This was certainly pleasurable, to say the least. 

But reviewing the year is something I decided not to do this time.  (Although later I might write a recap of my visit with Amy, for anybody who's interested.)  Instead, I'm looking to the future. Just like John Thornton. :P 

I don't exactly do "resolutions," but I thought I might make a 2016 Bucket List.  Not to imply, of course, that I intend to kick the bucket at the end of 2016.  But these are things that, if it all works out, I am planning on doing or at least trying to do. 

2016 Bucket List

~Make a brand new Regency ballgown, since my last model is from way back in 2012.  (I think.)  And hope that they will have the ball this autumn to wear it to. 

~Try contacts again, since I haven't done so since 2009, when I wouldn't have needed them half as much as I do now, and hope that they will work out this time, because I'm tired of having to wear glasses almost all the time.  This was not my intention in getting glasses, haha.

~Blog at least an average of twice a month. 

~With a combination of reading and listening to audiobooks in the car, get through at least 25 books. (I'm a slow reader, guys.) *

*There are certain books that I particularly want to finish this year. Those in bold are books I intend to review on this blog.

Wives & Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell

Rainbow Valley and Rilla of Ingleside by L.M. Montgomery 

Pride and Prejudice and Kitties by Pamela Jane

Lady Susan by Jane Austen (sadly, I have not read this all the way through yet)

Emma by Jane Austen (this I HAVE read, but I fancy reading it again)

A Memoir of Jane Austen by James Edward Austen-Leigh