Love and Friendship by Jane Austen

Title: Love and Friendship
Author: Jane Austen
Genre: Classic
Written: Roughly 1790 (Wikipedia is blocked out courtesy of the SOPA boycott -- what's a girl to do?)
Source: Personal copy
Read for: Advent with Austen

This is a little (in my case, electronic) packet of juvenile writings by Jane Austen. My copy was comprised of "Love and Friendship," "An Unfinished Novel in Letters," "The History of England," and "A Collection of Letters."

"Love and Friendship" was an epistolary tale of star-crossed love. All of the letters were maudlin and mawkish, at times so ridiculous I couldn't tell if they were meant humorously or in deadly seriousness. They called to mind an episode from the Anne of Green Gables books, when Anne and her friends form a story-making club and write tales so pathetic and sentimental that they are all in tears when they read them to each other, and are rendered completely baffled when their more mature confidantes are reduced to helpless laughter. At every turn, the two heroines face loss of love, mysterious run-ins with estranged family members, and numerous grammatical and spelling errors. At first I was in severe pain from the story, but somehow in the process things took on such a ridiculous turn that I found it completely entertaining.

"An Unfinished Novel in Letters" shows a bit more of the sophistication and wit that Austen found in her novels. While it certainly had its silly moments, it seemed as if these were intentional, a game of playing with the ridiculous, awkward characters like Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennett that populate the pages of more developed works. It wasn't as dramatic, and hence not nearly as entertaining as "Love and Friendship," but I enjoyed this work in that it showed Austen's genius in embryo. Here is a little sample for you that made me laugh -

We are handsome my dear Charlotte, very handsome and the greatest of our Perfections is, that we are entirely insensible of them ourselves. 

All I really recollect from "A History of England" is that, for whatever reason, Jane Austen really, really hated Queen Elizabeth. I am not knowledgeable enough about her life to understand the reasons why, but it is filed away in my mental cabinet to compare notes with once I do know something.

As for the other assorted letters and pieces, they were all very short and disconnected and simply showed more elements of the same -- some were exceedingly dramatic while others were playing with wit and manners.

This is a mixed bag -- it is mostly interesting only in that it is a piece of a beloved author that we have only in limited amounts, but it does have a few moments that are enjoyable for their own sake. If you are a fan of Jane Austen, you will probably read this at some point; if not, I probably wouldn't come here.

2 stars based on readability and narrative enjoyment alone; obviously the author connection is worth more than that.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Title: Persuasion
Author: Jane Austen
Genre: Classic, romance
Published: 1817
Source: Personal copy
Read for: Advent with Austen (indicating how behind I am on my reviews)

Anne is under-appreciated by her father and sisters. Calm and reserved, she spends much of her time soothing the ruffled feathers of her family and being ignored. Her existence is tranquil and suppressed, until Captain Wentworth, her jilted fiance of ten years past, returns to the area. Suddenly Anne is seized by her previous feelings and by his apparent indifference to her. Will Anne and Captain Wentworth find happiness together? Or was her youthful rejection too much for their relationship to withstand?

Okay, first of all -- no idea what is on the cover of this book. That is why I chose it. Sometimes I feel like classic books just get random pictures placed on them that give the a classic look. I guess it could be because Captain Wentworth is a naval officer, but I don't recollect Anne ever looking for him with a cone-shaped hat on her head for him to come in. Anyway.

This was my second reading of Persuasion. The first time I read it, I vaguely enjoyed it, but I wasn't quite ready for the language. This time, I felt a lot more connection with the characters and was really swept up in the conversations and banter between the characters.

I'll be honest, the one thing that occasionally misses the mark for me in Jane Austen novels is the issue of money -- getting an heir to whom you can bequeath the estate, finding a husband that has enough money to support you, etc. I get it, I love Downton Abbey, I know it was a different time. But it was hard for me to relate to Anne and the way she let Captain Wentworth go the first time around because he wasn't a good enough catch. I know a lot of that is due to my American love-conquers-all-we'll-find-a-way paradigm... but it's working well for me so far. Obviously, I try to put myself in the shoes of characters with different paradigms than I have -- that is a large part of why I read. But the whole social class money-oriented thing trips me up from time to time.

With that out of the way, however, Persuasion really is a delight. While too easily swayed by persuasion (get it?) in her wayward youth, Anne really is a solid example of all I would like to be -- competent, calm, gracious, passionate despite her reserve. And I enjoy the way her relationship with Captain Wentworth re-blossoms, starting with awkwardness, avoidance, and timidity and building to a true and fuller awareness of each other's characters.

Naturally, as always with Jane Austen novels, the secondary characters also serve as a source of delight, annoyance, or irony, as the case may be. If you read this blog regularly you know that I have a great appreciation for a well-written love-to-hate character, and I think Anne's sister Mary takes the cake in this regard. She isn't evil or even ill-intentioned -- just completely self-absorbed and needy. Every page where she was mentioned elicited head-shaking and a sense of awe at how she could twist any situation to an insult or lack of regard for her own (delicate) self. Anne's other sister is even worse, completely lacking in awareness and common sympathy. Then we have Lady Russell, who led Anne away from her union with Captain Wentworth in the first place, believing that she was serving her young friend. Lady Russell is an opinionated woman, but the story demonstrates that she has the ability to change her mind (to be persuaded), and that she really does have Anne's best interests at heart.

Persuasion is a little different from the other Jane Austen novels I've read in that it deals with rekindling an old love, not seeking out a new one. In some ways, this causes the story to move a bit slower, and also elicits a few cringe-worthy scenes of awkwardness (although those are present pretty much anywhere in Jane Austen... Mr. Collins, anyone?). However, I think the payoff with this story is the depth of feeling and the strength of the relationship between the two protagonists. The final scenes, which I won't spoil but will mention involve a letter and a brisk walk, are absolutely touching. If you are patient with Persuasion, it will reward you.

4 stars

Warnings: none.

The Sunday Salon: Events coming up

Hello readers! How has your week been? For some reason I have been absolutely exhausted and not especially effective, which is always disappointing but a fact of life I suppose as the year winds down. I got started with my NaNoWriMo project. Unfortunately, I am already extremely behind. However, this week looks as if it might be slightly less stressful, so hopefully I can play catch up a little bit and stay in the running.

I've been blogging since September of 2010, and while I have learned quite a bit about blogging since my baby blogger days, I am still trying to figure out certain aspects of book blogging. I think the biggest struggle for me is structuring my reading vs. going with whatever I want. Yesterday I went to the library with every intention of only picking up the book that had come in for me on hold (Lola and the Boy Next Door! !!!), but instead I came home with four books, and the other three certainly were not on my TBR or any challenge lists for this year. I've come to terms with the fact that I am not going to finish all the challenges I signed up for this year; however, there are a few that I am still hoping to complete. In addition, I add books to my TBR every day -- It is 227 books long on Goodreads, and there are also several books on my shelves that aren't "officially" added to my TBR, but which I am hoping to read as well. Earlier this year I declared that I wouldn't care about challenges, and that I didn't want to add stress to my reading. However, I didn't delete any of my challenges, and as the new challenges for 2012 are popping up, I am urged to join so many of them! I am even planning on hosting a challenge next year (more information about that next Sunday).

I guess my question to all of you (one that is asked frequently in the book blogging world, but one I nevertheless still feel as if I have no satisfying answer to) is, do you prefer to set goals and have lists about your reading, or not? I think the answer for me is that I love making those lists and goals -- I don't think I can help it, with the way my mind is set up. I think the thing I need to get over is forgiving myself for not completing those lists. It is fun to set goals for reading, but they should be flexible. This isn't earning a PhD. This isn't really going to affect anyone but myself, so if it isn't working for me, if it is making me stressed, it needs to be released.

This post is going on much longer than I intended. I actually planned on listing some of the events coming up in the next few weeks that I am excited to join. So, after all of that metaphysical pondering about the nature of such things, here are some events that I am excited about and that you may want to participate in as well (if, of course, you've resolved the extremely important matter of deciding whether or not participating in such things is wise for you).

First of all, I just wanted to remind everyone that the Indie Lit Awards are still accepting nominations for the best books published in 2011. Any reader can nominate this year (unless you were involved with the publication in the book. You know, ulterior motives), and if you are reading this blog I can only assume that you are in fact a reader, so get over there and nominate. Pleaseandthankyou.

Secondly, Tea with Transcendentalists is coming up. Reading Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, "Self Reliance," was a pivotal moment in my education and I am excited (and a bit intimidated) to read more of his essays. Please join us in learning more about Emerson and his colleagues from November 15-December 15.

Thirdly, Yvann is hosting an event called Advent with Austen. I had never thought of this before, but Jane Austen really does seem like a cozy, Christmas-y friend for Advent. I am hoping to reread Persuasion and possibly Sense and Sensiblity as well. Part of me feels silly for doing so much rereading when there are so many other books to read out there, clamoring for my attention on the TBR list, but honestly, if we don't have time to revisit the books we love, what is the point of adding more to the list?

Finally, Sarah is hosting a second incarnation of the Back to the Classics Challenge. This is one of the challenges I am kinda stressed about finishing this year... but I love it. I want to do it again. And I really want to finish it this time, so I can feel justified in pushing myself to do it again next year. The categories this year are:

1. 19th century classic
2. 20th century classic
3. Reread a classic of your choice (Oh joy. I can do this one!)
4. Classic play
5. Classic murder/horror/crime novel
6. Classic romance
7. A classic that has been translated from another language into your language
8. A classic award-winner
9. A classic set in a country you will probably never visit.

I don't have too many ideas at this point, but I will figure it out as I go.

And while we're going over this, I'll probably participate in the Chunkster challenge again and the one I am hosting. I should probably keep it to that, but I doubt if I will be able to. There are two other challenges as well that look lovely to me -- a Shakespeare reading challenge and a medieval literature challenge -- but I am trying to suck it up, put them on my TBR and release the pressure.

Are you still here? You are amazing for putting up with my ramblings for that long. Go enjoy your Sunday!

PS: Daylight Savings. Of course you put up with me that long. You have an entire extra hour of life today.

The Sunday Salon: Random assorted updates!

Bloggy friends! Sunday always seems to be my day for dealing with the business aspects of the blog, and today I am going to inundate you with various challenges and events in which I shall be participating. If you are bored by this sort of thing, feel free to sneak out the back exit. No one will be mad at you for skipping out on this meeting. However, if you like participating in challenges and bookish events, you might find some gems for yourself, and I'd love to have you stick around.

First up - Dewey's 24 Hour Read-A-Thon. I've heard of this event multiple times in the year or so that I've been blogging, but never participated, mainly because I thought to myself, "What kind of person has time in their lives to dedicate 24 hours straight to reading? And who would even want to?" Honestly, not me. I'm a pretty busy girl. However, I do think I could give 12. And I'd like to try it. I tend to read in sporadic spurts during the day, and I think it will be nice to cozy up and just read for a few hours. That may not be the traditional way to participate, but I think it will be a great experience for me if that is how I do it. 

Nextly, Advent with Austen, hosted jointly by a few blogs but brought to my attention by the lovely Reading With Tea. Basically, read Jane Austen books during advent (from November 27-December 24). You can read books by the delightful lady, books about her, watch movies, etc. etc. Seems like a cozy way to pass some winter evenings. My participation will be minimal - I am just planning on rereading Persuasion. If you'd like to be involved, head over. 

I'm also joining a little challenge starting in January (I don't think the challenge itself starts in January, but that is when my participation will begin) called the Read Your Own Library Challenge. Basically, you read at least one book you own every month for six months. Which shouldn't be that hard. It's just that the books at the library are so shiny...

And finally, just a friendly PSA to go vote for your favorite books of the year on the Indie Lit Awards website. As a voting member on the nonfiction panel, I would dearly love to have some fantastic books to read. Think of it this way: it's your way of making me read a book you liked. But don't only nominate for us nonfiction lovers. There are seven categories (GLBTQ, Biography/memoir, fiction, mystery, speculative fiction, poetry, and of course, nonfiction) and this year, you don't have to be a blogger to vote. You just can't be a publisher or author. So go. Now. 

Also, stay tuned for an awesome challenge that I will be hosting next year. I don't want to flesh out all the details yet, because it is only October and the challenge won't be starting until January (I don't want everyone to forget about it before it even begins). But just be aware that the goal of the challenge is to build a bridge between YA literature and adult literature. 

Are you still here? Thanks for sticking around for all of that. I'm done with all of my pontificating for today, unless you want to hear about how I pulled out chest tubes and started IVs all week. Hey, where did everyone go?