Scenes from my Austenesque Shelf
Hello! I’m delighted to make your acquaintance, even if it’s only via the computer screen. How did I become a lover of all things Austen?
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| The book I couldn´t resist. It all started from here. |
I remember stumbling upon a copy of Jane Austen’s Emmain a big warehouse (probably around 15 years ago) in the city-centre of Vienna, Austria, where I live. It was in German and had a close-up of Gwyneth Paltrow, from the movie adaption 1996, on the cover and looked sooo nice. I read it, had a bit of a hard time with some passages I found quite … long, and went on to Pride and Prejudice. Now that was my kind of novel! After finishing I discovered the mini-series – if I wasn’t hooked on Jane Austen before, I definitely was after watching Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.
I stopped reading Austen in German and switched to the original language and have been reading and re-reading it ever since.
My favorites: Pride and Prejudice, and Persuasionare my two #1s, followed by Northanger Abbey and Emma.
After finding Jane Austen’s books I discovered, there was a post-Austen-universe, Austen continuing and a modern-Austen-world – written by different, great authors, all inspired by Jane Austen.
So that’s why I have a shelf full of Austen and Austen-inspired to flee into, to read, to re-read – over and over again. And it seems there’s never going to be an end to my pile of must-reads! But then, didn’t Jane Austen say: “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”
So to conclude my contribution to Austenesque Extravaganza I share with you some pictures of my Austenesque shelf!
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| Some of the various books from my shelf waiting to be read (The Three Colonels is my current read) |
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| What better way to spend a free Saturday, than with a cup of coffee, a seat by the window and my favorite read? Juliet Archer’s Persuade Me is the best modern Persuasion I´ve read so far and my favorite Austen-inspired book! |
I’m looking forward to reading all the upcoming posts on Austenesque Extravaganza and want to thank Meredith, Jakki and Angie so much for giving me this opportunity to write and share my love for this wonderful writer and everything she has started by writing her books!
CONNECT WITH KATRIN:
- on Twitter @kaewink
- on Goodreads
It is very nice to be hearing about other Janeites and their favourite Austenesque books 🙂 I need to read Persuade Me soon!
Happy Austenesque Extravaganza!
Rosefire15
twitter:rosefire15
I liked Persuade Me too 🙂 A very nice twist to persuasion
blodeuedd83 twitter
Lovely pictures! Thanks for sharing!
Heather M.
hmoll(at)nycap(dot)rr(dot)com
Nice hearing from you, Katrin. In my limited circle of Austenite fans, you are the first Austrian person I know since most like Meredith and Jakki are from US. Actually I’m from Malaysia so you and I are not alone in being a unique group of non US or UK readers.
evangelineace2020[at]yahoo[dot]com
It is so nice to meet you Katrin! I really enjoyed your post and all of your lovely pictures. I love the way you enjoy spending a free Saturday! Persuade Me has been on my wish list for some time. I’m so excited to read it. It always has such high praise!:)
kellik115(at)yahoo(dot)com
I love that Austen brings people together across the globe. Thanks for participating!!
I just added Pursuade Me to my Kindle! Thank you for the recommendation. Very nice to meet you!:)
~Cara
My first Austen read was a copy of Sense and Sensibility that I tried when I was about 14. I read it through and thought it was ok so the next book I read was Pride and Prejudice and I fell in love with it, what is it about P&P?! I am jealous of your pile of books to read, I am reading mostly on kindle these days and while I actually prefer it to reading a book as it’s nicer to hold a list of books waiting to be read isn’t as exciting as a big pile of books!
My first Austen read was a copy of Sense and Sensibility that I tried when I was about 14. I read it through and thought it was ok so the next book I read was Pride and Prejudice and I fell in love with it, what is it about P&P?! I am jealous of your pile of books to read, I am reading mostly on kindle these days and while I actually prefer it to reading a book as it’s nicer to hold a list of books waiting to be read isn’t as exciting as a big pile of books!
Emma was also the first Austen book I read. I didn’t like it that much the first time I read it, mainly because I have always thought that Emma was an insufferable spoilt child, but little by little I started loving the words and the style. Happy Austenesque Extravaganza everyone!
Twitter: @Austenite78
Ooh, I love the pictures! I can’t wait to read “Persuade Me”; glad to hear your recommendation.
araminta18 at gmail dot com
i must say that the cover is beautiful, the colors spring, green color and her glare is quite mysterious ^__^
you have many of the books 🙂 i discovered really this past unievrese only a year ago thanks to last year extravaganza who was linked on another website 🙂
enjoy yourself with “persuade me “:)
I love that pillow behind the Persuade Me book. Looks like a lovely spot to curl up.
robynsnestATbellsouthDOTnet
Thank you, Robyn! (And the pillow is from Ikea 😉 )
I haven’t read Julie Archer yet, but I will because Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen novel. Love your reading spot in the window! My favorite modern so far is Pemberley By the Sea and Searching for Pemberley, but there are several others I enjoyed too.
Thanks for sharing, Katrin!
Sophia
sophiarose1816(at)gmail(dot)com
Thank you for your contribution!
Twitter @samjaymc
My shelves look a great deal like the ones pictured, organized in TBR, favorites, etc. Thank you for sharing!!
cherringtonmb at sbcglobal dot net
Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion are my favorite too!
Patkf2007[at]hotmail[dot]com
Patricia Finnegan
Twitter LOSTfan2011
Hi, Katrin! Like Angie said, it’s fun to get to know Austen fans around the world. I love your photos, esp the one of Persuade Me. I love your pillow lol. That book is high up on my reading list and the cover is so pretty.
The book is wonderful! 🙂 (And the pillow is from Ikea ;))
Jane Austen is global ;). Good to know, there are people from around the workd, not “only” the US and UK, right? 🙂
I love reading your blog, Luthien!
And for that we have to thank the master genius, Jane Austen, for bringing us together. Also thank you for reading my blog, Katrin.
I want to say nice photos too.
Nice to meet you Katrin:)
Jane Austen books not only bring the pleasure of reading good romance, but also the pleasure of communicating with so many different and interesting people around the world!
My biggest favourite is Pride and Prejudice. But I also like Emma and Persuasion very much.
oloore at gmail dot com
One of the greatest things Jane Austen and her literature did, is the way she brings people together from around the world! Thank you, Jane Austen!
Oh I hope you like Persuade Me as much as I do!
Yes, isn’t it great! 🙂 Thanks for the opportunity!
Nice to meet you. I loved your pics as well. Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel and I’m always looking for variations, sequels, prequels etc. regarding it. I love that we get a truly international flare here as well.
Too funny, your shelf looks a lot like mine, full! 🙂
drcopeland(at)hotmail(dot)com
Mine are waaay too full. I need a library ;).
But well, I just love books and I think a house without bookshelves is lacking something essential! 🙂
Yep, the 1995 Pride and Prejudice. I think that cinched the deal for a lot of us.
We can always find common ground since Austen is universal!
So well said!! 🙂
Team Austenesque, Meredith, Angie and Jakki, had a great idea with this feature in Austenesque Extravaganza! I love to read about other readers and really like sharing my thoughts with you!
You are welcome. I hope you enjoy reading it!
Isn´t it! I need to reread the whole novel soon (I like to reread my favourite passages over and over again, but the whole book is waiting to be read again too).
Delited to meet you, Katrin!
and when you said you’re living in Vienna, my <3 skipped a beat :)
my son and dil are there at this very time presenting for a conference !!
Along with Persuasion being my #1, You have one of my faves pictured ~ A Weekend with Mr Darcy 🙂 Mr Darcy Forever is another fab book from Victoria Connelly that I’d HIGHLY recommend… EnJoy all your delicious reads and time to devote to it !
Nice to meet you! 🙂
I hope your son and dil enjoy their time in Vienna and have the time to also see some sights! The weather is nicer now then a few weeks ago – sunny but not as hot anymore.
A Weekend with Mr. Darcy is waiting on my list. I have read “The Perfect Hero/Dreaming of Mr. Darcy” and loved it. I want to read “A weekend with Mr. Darcy” and “Mr. Darcy forever” before Victoria Connelly publishes her final for the Darcy series soon.
Nice to meet you! I think it is wonderful that Jane Austen ‘went global’! 🙂
I love the pictures of your Austen collection. Makes me feel like finding a quiet corner in my house to read a book, right now!
Nice to meet you, Katrin! My top 2 Austen fav’s are Pride & Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, followed by Persuasion & Northanger Abbey. My shelves are filled with many, many books… and my daughter pointed out to me the other day that quite a bit of my “collection” is Austen-inspired – then asked if I had enough of those type books?!?! And my answer??? Ummm…. Hello?!? NO!! LOL
Valerie R.
txreyn5663 (at) earthlink (dot) net
I have A Weekend With Mr. Darcy but haven’t read it yet. It has a different cover. I looked through it and it looks like a good book. I’ll have to look for other books by Victoria Connelly. I didn’t know that she was ending the series.
I think it’s great that there are people from different countries on these Austen blogs. I took German in high school so it’s nice to meet someone from Wien, Osterreich. Das ist gut, ja? I also took French but I just dabble in languages and listen to the courses on C.D. or tape.
I liked the pictures and the embroidered IKEA pillow. I like to look at pictures of books on bookshelves and think about all the good stories they contain.
I forgot to leave my e-mail:
spookycat72(at)gmail(dot)com
I’m right with you on P&P & Peruasion being tied for #1! I love all of your pictures! The lat one looks so beautiful & perfect for reading! I am so glad you found Austen & fan fiction, cause now I have met a new, wonderful online friend! 🙂
Thank you Jakki! I´m feeling exactly the same! I´m really grateful for meeting you!
Hi Katrin! I think it’s so cool you live in Vienna! Awesomeness!! P&P and Persuasion are my favs too, with NA coming up next! It has been fun reading about you and I’m glad to get to know you a little bit more!
Hi Katrin it is nice to meet you! I love Juliet Archer’s series and Persuade Me is also a top favorite of mine! I can’t wait for her P&P version coming out next year 🙂 Lumee23 at gmail dot com
Hi Katrin nice to meet you! I loved your post and your beautiful pictures, they gave me a sense of tranquillity. Thanks for sharing your love for Jane Austen!
newyorkgirl82(at)gmail(dot)com
Thanks for sharing, you gave me a few more titles to add to my to-read shelf.
crystal_dark[at]att[dot]net
Oh, thank you, Maria!! I played with my best friends camera for a longer time until fixing on these pictures.
Candy, it´s so wonderful meeting sooo many people via the www, all loving Jane Austen!
And Austenesque Extravaganza is such a great way of getting to know a bit more about fellow readers and so many great authors!
I loved Persuade Me! I haven’t read The Three Colonels yet, but Jack Caldwell is great. 🙂 Nice to meet you!
liedermadchen(at)hotmail(dot)com
P.S. I wonder if reading Jane Austen in German would help with my vocabulary? I’ve been trying to learn the language for years. 😛
The pictures of the books are lovely- I loved the cover of the Victoria Connelly book. I also had to comment on your lovely embroidered pillow backdrop.
I looked up Persuade Me, for I hadn’t come across that book before and like you, Persuasion is in my top two of my Austen list. I’ve read mostly Pride and Prejudice related books so it’ll be nice to read one based on Persuasion.
Anme
melorabrock (at) gmail (dot) com
You mentioned several books that I have not read yet but they sounded great! Now I have more books to read. The 1995 mini-series with Colin Firth is what got me hooked on Jane Austen. I had seen the 1995 Version of Sense & Sensibility years before but I wasn’t interested then but my tastes changed and then I saw P&P and was hooked.
castlefan[at]att[dot]net