Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I am back from the longest hiatus ever, and the first book I'd like to share about is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, by Seth Grahame-Smith (and, of course, our friend Jane Austen).  I'm pleased for this to be the first book I review coming back, as it's one I truly enjoyed.  

A mysterious plague has befallen the nation, so rather than the Napoleonic Wars, the country is battling against the rising dead; the sisters Bennet are trained (and well proficient) in the deadly arts, and although they studied in China rather than the more fashionable Japan, their prowess is nigh incomparable, and they are tasked with the defense of their home at Longbourn and the surrounding neighborhood - until such time as they each marry, as upon taking a nuptial vow, their duty will shift from crown to husband.

I don't think this book needs much more introduction or explanation of the premise than that, since it has been made into a movie, so let's just get right to it, shall we?  As with Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, when I originally bought this book, I wasn't sure whether I'd be going into it with mixed feelings or what, but after having read that, I went into this with much more enthusiasm from the start.  Even though the two novels have different authors, they have a very similar feel, and both Grahame-Smith and Winters have done an equally commendable job of weaving the new elements in with the original stories in a way that makes these books hold their own:  you don't need to have read the original works to understand or appreciate these as stand-alone novels (although I highly recommend that you do read Austen's, because she was a treasure and her collective work is a gift).  

Austenland

In Austenland, by Shannon Hale, we meet Jane Hayes:  30-something graphic designer living in New York.  Jane's had thirteen boyfriends in her life, and none of them ever quite match up to her idea of what a man should be.  And what's her ideal man like?  Mr. Darcy.  Yes, Jane has more than just a slight Austen obsession.  She's so obsessed with Jane Austen's novels and with Mr. Darcy in particular, that she goes so far as to hide her copy of the BBC Pride & Prejudice mini-series (ladies, you know the one...Colin Firth).  

During a visit from her mother and wealthy great-aunt Carolyn, the old woman notices the DVDs and knows immediately what is going through Jane's head.  Great-aunt Carolyn surprises Jane by booking a vacation for her at Pembrook Park, a sort of Regency reenactment resort in the English countryside, where guests and a staff of actors remain in period dress and manner for three weeks.  The clientele consists of Austen-obsessed women, who pay the exorbitant fee to be fake-courted by gentlemen like Austen's male characters.  

Jane isn't sure what to make of her great-aunt's strange gift, but the tickets and reservation are nonrefundable, and the prospect of being in the company of handsome men in breeches has piqued her interest.  Once she checks in, however, and the fantasy begins, the total immersion is a little more than she thinks she can really handle.  Will it help her kick her Darcy fixation, or will she just get even more sucked in than before?  

Pride & Prejudice

It is a truth universally acknowledged that every small child is in want of this book.  Even if you haven't read it, chances are good you have at least heard of Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen (and if you haven't read it, you probably should).  Jennifer Adams, with the help of artist Alison Oliver, is introducing the classics to your small children through Baby Lit, a series of board books.  Little Miss Austen: Pride & Prejudice will help your offspring with the numbers one through ten using some of the most important themes of Austen's work and Regency life in general, such as "2 Rich Gentlemen" and "4 Marriage Proposals."  The illustrations are really cute, too.

I would recommend this for both your tiny ladies AND gentlemen, because little boys can enjoy the classics too, and that includes Austen.  Plus, numbers and counting are for people of every gender!  This also makes a sweet and unique gift for any Janeite.

And as an aside, another fun thing for all you Janeites:  The Lizzie Bennet Diaries.  This was featured as a Fave Five on Felicia Day's Geek & Sundry show, The Flog, and I fell in love with it.  This young lady is retelling Pride & Prejudice as a modern-day Elizabeth Bennet, through a series of vlog posts, shot and edited by none other than her best friend, Charlotte Lu!  Sisters Jane and Lydia make appearances, and Lizzie's impersonations of Mrs Bennet are absolutely hilarious.  There is a little bit of swearing, but that mostly comes from Lydia (I am sure that may not entirely surprise you).  Definitely check it out!

ISBN:

9781423622024

ASIN:
B00B11P8ZY

Publisher:
Gibbs Smith

See what others are saying about it, or buy it now:
Amazon
Better World Books

Spreading the Gospel of Austen Giveaway

That's right, I have finished reading and reviewing Jane Austen for Dummies by Dr. Joan Klingel Ray, and that means it is time to post this Jane Austen-themed giveaway:  Spreading the Gospel of Austen!  I've seen Jane Austen popping up quite a bit lately in the blogosphere, so when I went to the book signing at this year's Annual General Meeting of the Jane Austen Society of North America here in Fort Worth, I had a new copy of Jane Austen for Dummies signed by the author to give away to one lucky Janeite in the US!

That is not all, though!  While I was browsing the local vendors at the convention, there was one booth set up for a shop called Meryton Marketplace - they had a lot of really cute Austen-themed merchandise, including t-shirts, aprons, buttons, magnets, and jewelry!  I picked out some items for myself, and they also were so generous as to donate some items for this giveaway!  You should check out the rest of the products by Emily Adams on Fire as well - even if you aren't a huge Austen fan, the rest of the website's shop looks like it has a little something for everyone!

Jane Austen for Dummies

Jane Austen for Dummies by Dr. Joan Klingel Ray is, of course, a part of the ever-growing line of " --- for Dummies" books.  Dr. Ray is a former president of the Jane Austen Society of North America and teaches courses on Austen at university.  This book is full of information about everything Austen - her life, her writing, and her family.  It also provides a great deal of information about life in general during the Regency period, which (as you likely know) is the time during which Jane Austen lived.  Dr. Ray also includes something of a Jane Austen tour guide in one chapter, listing Austen-related places to visit in England (as well as directions on how to get to each place and a URL to the location's website, if one exists).  There are also Top Ten lists and some ideas for discussion for a Jane Austen reading group.  The set-up of the contents is designed so that a straight read-through is not necessary.  You can skip around if you want, to read just the information you're looking for, and anything within each section that might require more information for a better understanding is marked by giving (in parentheses) the chapter where that information can be located.

Don't let the title throw you -  if you are making the choice to read Jane Austen or to read more about her life, then obviously you have excellent taste and are no dummy!

Teaser Tuesday #6 - Jane Austen for Dummies

I haven't been bloggity-blogging too much lately, since I am at the point in the semester where I have a lot of papers and projects going on, but I can't pass up another Teaser Tuesday!  It's a weekly meme hosted by Miz B of Should Be Reading, and it's easy to participate:  just grab your current read and post a couple teaser sentences - be careful not to include any spoilers, though!

I know mine is going up later than I normally would have liked, but it's still Tuesday, so here it is:

 "Introduced to England from Germany in 1812, the waltz had a catchy rhythm, but it required the partners to be in close physical proximity, with the male partner's arm around the female's waist.  Four years after its introduction, the scandalous waltz was approved by England's great dancing arbiter, Thomas Wilson.  Even then, the waltz was only approved for married couples who were dancing together!" (p. 107)

Just one of many fun facts about Georgian England! So if you ever wondered why, in the books or films you never see the characters doing anything but a country dance or a reel, here is your answer! Other dances were likely too risqué.  Can't imagine what people from the Regency would think if they saw how people dance now!

Teaser Tuesday #5 - Jane Austen for Dummies

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading.  Just pick up whatever book you're currently reading and post a couple sentences as a teaser - be careful not to use any spoilers, though!

Right now I'm reading Jane Austen for Dummies by Dr. Joan Klingel Ray.  This book will be the main feature of my upcoming giveaway, so I wanted to read it all the way through and get a review up for those of you who may be interested in entering.  Here's a little snippet in case you aren't sure this book would be interesting:

"These letters reveal an Austen who could be cynical, nasty, cruel, and sarcastic.  Here are some examples:  'Mrs. Hall, of Sherborne, was brought to bed yesterday of a dead child, some weeks before she expected, owing to a fright.  I suppose she happened unawares to look at her husband.' (October 27, 1798)"

Very harsh! This was written when Jane was 22, and of course, infant mortality rates and likely also risk of something like a miscarriage were MUCH higher back then, so it would have been more of an everyday occurrence.  Still sad, but probably easier to treat as a commonplace event (especially if it's not someone you're terribly close to).  I wonder who this Mrs. Hall of Sherborne was, and why Jane would say something like this about her or her husband - maybe she's mentioned again later in the book... 

For the record, I'm not into dead baby jokes, but I thought this was a good teaser, because a lot of people tend to shy away from novels and authors from before the 20th century, because they perhaps feel the books will be boring and dry.  But obviously, people back then were not always so polite and boring as one might feel inclined to think!  And with Austen, this cynicism and sarcastic wit is transferred to a great many of her novels' characters.

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Ben H. Winters (and Jane Austen) is a quirky and absurd rewrite of Austen's classic Sense and Sensibility. This novel is set in an alternate history - a mysterious and terrible event known as The Alteration has occurred. No one knows how or why The Alteration happened, but the result has made everyone's existence one of survival against marine and freshwater creatures. Austen's beloved characters go about the events laid out in the original work, but with the added mayhem of creature attacks!

I have to admit, I really did not expect to like this quite as well as I did. I expected to be amused, but I also thought I would probably turn up my nose at some parts, because Sense and Sensibility is one of my favourite novels. Those turned-up-nose parts did pop up here and there, during some questionable passages, such as Marianne picking her teeth with a fishbone and Elinor being so disgusted with the tentacled appearance of Colonel Brandon - I think Elinor would be a little more just in the beginning, even in her private thoughts.

Teaser Tuesday #4 - Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

Yes, it is Tuesday yet again - who's ready for a bit of a tease? I'm still reading Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters, so you get another little sneak into this one. Hope you like it!

"Glancing up in her shock, she was confronted with the strangest sight of all: Miss Steele was lacing up her whale-bone corset and there, on the small of her back, was etched a tattoo in scarlet ink; it was the cryptic five-pointed pattern, exactly as had appeared to Elinor so many times, in such darkly portentous fashion, since her arrival on Pestilent Isle."

So it turns out there is a little more than just a simple, absurd rewrite in this book! I'm intrigued; are you? Feel free to leave a link to your teaser in the comments! If you haven't played before, Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Just open the book you're currently reading and post a couple of sentences as a teaser - careful not to include any spoilers, though!

Teaser Tuesday #3 - Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters

It's Teaser Tuesday! Teaser Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. Just pick up whatever book you're currently reading, open to a random page, and post a teaser quote from that page. Be careful not to post any spoilers, though! Generally, you should try to post at least two sentences, but I know many of us post a little more than that to get a really good teaser quote.

Mine today is from Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters by Jane Austen and Ben H. Winters. I just started reading this yesterday, and so far it's pretty hilarious. I know there seem to be two camps when it comes to these quirky adaptations of classic novels - you either love them or you hate them - but I'm finding it hysterical, and I know it's meant to be funny and not a serious rewrite, so I'm leaning more towards loving them.

"The ship, its mainsail flapping uselessly, yawed heavily to port. The Dashwoods clutched each other in fear as a vast mouth appeared at the waterline, opening wide to display two jagged rows of razor-sharp fangs, which rose from the water and chomped down effortlessly on the bosun's mate."

Feel free to link to your own Teaser in the comments, or if you don't have a blog, post your teaser below instead!