Hello lovely readers! It is so hard to believe that it is already August!?! Where did the summer go?
Mr. Bingley and I have enjoyed a lovely July here at home, no travels or adventures for us – just working from home, visiting with friends and family, and going to the beach and movies during our free time. Nothing too exciting, but still our days were filled with fun and happy togetherness. 🙂
We watched and followed the FIFA World Cup for the first time and had a blast cheering for the Colombia team with our family in Colombia. 🙂 We even went to a sports bar a couple of times to watch the game on a big screen and cheer with a crowd and that was a lot of fun!
We celebrated the Fourth of July watching the fireworks downtown and getting some of our favorite ice cream in the world…Kilwin’s Ice Cream. (Totally worth waiting 30 minutes in line for!)
And, of course, we made a few visits to the beach! Here is one of my favorite pics I took so far this summer. Love that sky.
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Want to know what Austenesque fun I’m getting into this month?
…here is what’s on this month’s
Austenesque Agenda:
~ TO REVIEW ~
This was the reader’s choice last month, it only won by 1 vote!
~ TO READ AND REVIEW ~
~ YOU CHOOSE! ~
Georgette Heyer Edition!
It is shameful how many unread Georgette Heyer novels I own! I track them down at the library books sale and have them on my wishlist on paperbackswap, but haven’t been able to read them all yet! Here are three I own but have never read. I thought to celebrate Georgette Heyer’s (and my) birthday this month I’d read and review a new Heyer novel! Which one do you think I should read? (Leave a comment to cast your vote!)
– Be sure to vote quickly! I’ll start reading whatever is in the lead on August 8th!
~ TO CONTINUE READING THIS MONTH ~
I’ve made progress! About 55% in! I’m hoping to finish it this month and have my review post in September!
~ FEATURED AUTHORS VISITING THIS MONTH ~
Syrie James – TBD
Marilyn Brant – August 18th
Claire M. Johnson – August 25th
Whew! Keeping busy! 😉 What are you looking forward to doing/reading this month?
Hello You’
I am looking forward to finish some novels from Abigail Reynolds that I started to read but I had to left in the middle or so.I’ve got so many novels on my list that I honestly I don’t know where to start ….so I usually go on your blog to see which books I liked and your review of it. I recently read” An Arranged Marriage” by Jan Hahn.
I’ll also switch novels for College books so I won’t read much in English because my Masters is in /about French.So I plan on reading the Trilogy by Pamela Aidan in French.
I’d like to read your review on “Darcy’s Refugee”, but also “the scenes JA never wrote” and also” Jane Austen’s first love” then I’ll read them. 😀
I read long time ago a novel of Georgette Heyer “Regency Buck” I liked her style and how she depicted the era. But I’m curious to know more about thse…I think I need to look for her novels now … 🙂 i cats my vote too. forgot to say so
I am happy to see that you are having fun and the picture you sent is perfect …only scenery nothing else and this blue!
I have read and reviewed Darcy’s Refuge (read more than once), An Arranged Marriage, Pamela Aidan’s trilogy, The Scenes JA Never Wrote and am waiting to post a review (tomorrow upon release) of JA’s First Love….All excellent choices for your reading! I have only read Black Moth out of all of Georgette Heyer’s books (free on kindle) but plan to read more.
hello Sheila, thank you for letting me know this, it is a good point 🙂 I’ll start reading Pamela Aidan’s novels then. I need to read Meredith’s reviews on it in case I didn’t we have teh same taste 🙂
What is the name of your blog, Sheila?
I don’t have a blog – too busy reading others’ blogs. I do post reviews (S.L. Majczan – Owl Lover) or you may contact me at odara7rox[at]rcn[dot]com. I first met our hostess here after reading so many or her reviews and b/c we seemed to agree on so many. I used to be on FB but got off due to privacy issues. Hope you enjoy your reading. I am off to Barnes and Noble just now. Need to get my hands on some JAFF in paperback. Gifts.
I just google your reviews(the name you used) I see it’s on amazone 🙂
I will read them I discovered Meredith’s blog perhaps 3 years ago and it was a whoel new wolrd in which I stepped in, and her blog serves me as a guide and advices on JA’s sub-genres and I can stay in touch with what is going thansk to her blog-so if meredith happens to read this..thank you for making this blog.
Sheila, I am a College student so I don’t read everytime there is article uploaded so when I am ‘out’ of this world I can still come back to it with this blog and also Esperanza’s blog
Fb is everything but privacy , it is quite a problem,many ppl seems to be leaving it but it is better afterall Fb ought not to sell out private life for their own interest.
I hope you had a happy ‘hunting’ in Barnes&noble and foudn the right gifts
Gosh, you must be busy. I don’t remember having any free time in college to read – summers were for that. I am a grandmother and have only been retired for close to 2 years so all of this is new for me, also. I read while working but NO time for posting reviews or exploring the Internet. That all began when I bought myself a kindle last December and then went to Abigail Reynolds’ web page to see if she had anything new and she had a connection to all kinds of cheap or free books for kindle and a connection to Austen Authors (now Austen Variations). Love getting to meet the authors when these interview pages come up. And love the WIP. Meredith lists some blogs below right which I have not explored – here I go again…LOL
hello 🙂
Congratulation on being retired!!
I visited your page on amazone and reda one of your review on a novel that I wanted to read
I live in France, I don’t know how many hours a day or per semester in US you’ve got but here it depends on the major. I honestly had 20 hours or so per semester in bachelor degree but my transportation hours were 4 hours a day so I had time to read in the train..I have to use well the transport time afterall 🙂 but my major was English so reading books in English was something encouraged by our teachers.
I would like to apologise for the spelling mistakes I made, I wrote in a hurry and didn’t looked back at my comment before uploading.
I love Abigail Reynolds novels as well. They are very well written and throughly researched.. I am in my 23yr I blogged a lot in high shcool about asians dramas but never about novels tough my major were literature and language. commenting on blog or having ablog both are good way to share, exchange,discuss and discover new novels . Have fun visiting the other blogs and I can advice you one by Maria Garzia who is blogging about JA’s novels but also the regency era.
http://www.thesecretunderstandingofthehearts.blogspot.fr/
Did you find the novels in Barnes&Nobles?
Oh, I have read 2 online books by Maria Grace and shared the link with Joy Dawn King. Maria has since published the one and I have it on my Wish List…Remember the Past. It was excellent! That is some train ride you take (4 hours). I would be reading on my kindle also. We don’t have train connections where I live but my son-in-law takes a train to work in Philadelphia every day and they (he and my daughter) took the train in for a Jason Aldean concert last Friday night. I had success at Barnes & Noble ordering Joy Dawn King, Jan Hahn and KaraLynne Mackrory JAFF paperbacks which will be delivered to my house (no shipping charge since I am a member there.) I have their books on kindle but wanted the paperbacks to give/share. I would never criticize your English as I have not become fluent in any other language. Although I have studied three other languages. Thanks for the link – I will check it out. Have a good week.
Hello Sheila
I haven’t got the opportunity to read Maria Grace’s novels yet tough I did read the summaries.
there is a little misunderstanding, I meant it’s a two-way which makes it 4 hours. because I live outside of the whole Paris called ‘Ile-de-France’ so I have to take a suburban train then what is called “métro” or subway. It is has been this way for my 3 years of bachelor degree now for graduate studies I enrolled to a university near my hometown.
Concerning the novels I’m very happy for you, that’s a good way to share Jaff novels with people around you and maybe even start a book club.
It’s a great that to know that they will be shipped to you with no fees, there is an advantage to be a member :).
which are the three languages you studies ? I am curious to know:)
I studied 2 years of Latin in Junior High School (now known as Middle School) and then 3 years of Spanish in High School and in college I took 3 years of German. The last year we translated Goethe’s Faust so we were not really practicing conversation. There are many Spanish speaking people here in the USA, partly because Puerto Rico is a territory and, as such, its citizens can travel freely to the USA without passports. My best friend is Puerto Rican. I can only say basic phrases in Español.
When you say, “Metro”…that is a common clue in crossword puzzles I do so I knew exactly what you meant.
C’est la Vie….we also see certain phrases in our literature, and so learn from context usually what those words mean. And then we have cartoon figures, i.e., Miss Piggy, who constantly says, “Moi!” so we learn that little word.
Good luck in your travels and studies.
What an excellent shopping spree, Sheila! I love buying books! Definitely my favorite thing to buy for myself – more so than clothes or anything for our house. 🙂
Happy reading, Mariam! That sounds like fantastic collection of books! And in French too! That’s exciting! I hope you get a good amount of “fun” reading in before you have to read for school! I read all your sweet words, thank you!! I’m so glad you found my blog! I LOVE talking with you about Jane Austen, JAFF, and just about anything!!
Hello Meredith
Thank you so much it makes me happy, the fact that I have such a great collection partly thanks to your blog. I love your blog and also talking with you, I hope we get a chance a to talk more. As you know I recently graduated with a Bachelor degree -during the 3 years of degree(in France Bachelor degree is 3 years) I was encouraged to reading in English but now that I am a graduate student my Master degree is about teaching in elementary school you see, so English will be an extra advantage but reading in French is better. so Jaff books in French are welcome ^__^ but won’t stop English books..nope.
Have a good day Meredith
Best of luck with your next degree! Will it be at the same university? I hope more Austenesque authors will publish their books in different languages! 😉
Ooh! You have some good stuff planned. As you know I love Georgette Heyer, but the Black Moth was one of the first ones I read and it is one of the very few by her that I didn’t rate, because I liked the bad guy more than the hero! I’ve been meaning to read it again to see if I like it better now and if this one wins, I will join you! I believe the bad guy in The Black Moth morphed into the hero in These Old Shades, which is a great read. However my vote goes towards the lovely Arabella, which I like a little bit more than TOS. I hope you enjoy whichever you read.
Hi Ceri!! I do know you love GH, I’m such a newbie still – this will be # 6 for me. 🙂 Looking forward to it! I’d love to read one with you, that would be so much fun. If it doesn’t work for this month, maybe some other time? I think I will definitely enjoy whatever I choose for sure!
Thanks for voting! 😉 THS – 0/ TBM – 0/ A – 1
Hi Meredith
Seems like you and Mr. Bingley are having a lovely time. I have read both Mr. Darcy’s Refuge and The Perfect Match and I enjoyed both very much. I have never read any Georgette Heyer’s novels. I am sure I would enjoy them if you and all the readers like them so much. Can’t wait for you to finish “The Scenes Jane Austen Never Wrote” and look forward to your review on that.
Hi Michelle! Yes, the summer is my favorite time of year! I hope you are finding yours to be enjoyable! You should definitely try a GH novel! They are a lot of fun, in the vein of Jane Austen’s novels but maybe with more eccentric characters and comedy. 😉 I hope to finish “The Scenes Jane Austen Never Wrote” this month! It has been a lot of fun to read!
Wow! My Kindle says that I purchased Pen & Prejudice last year but I do not remember reading it. Definitely the upside to having memory problems. Time to dig it out again , I think. Great choices for the month. Excited to read your reviews – as always. I would have to go with Arabella for Georgette Heyer. I tend to skip the details she gives for clothes and rooms, but love how well she understood the Regency era. All of my impressions of the time period came from her writing.
I hope enjoy Pen and Prejudice, Joy. It will be a new author for me, I thought the premise sounded a lot of fun though.
My favorite pare of GH novels in the dialogue – love me some Regency cant! “Thunder and turf!” It just makes me giggle!
Thanks for voting! 😉 THS – 0/ TBM – 0/ A – 2
I have not read Pen and Prejudice or A Very Plain Young Man – will look it up, read reviews and sample. Have read both Perfect Match and Perfect Bet – loved both – posted reviews. Of all Heyer’s I have only read The Black Moth which was free on kindle but I do have several of her others listed on my Wish List so I can’t really vote on which you should read. Arabella got some really good reviews and I know it is on my list. I was given a pre-release copy of JA’s First Love but can’t post review until release date, which is tomorrow so I will be doing that. Love the photo of the beach. We will go with my daughter, S-I-L, granddaughter and the other grandmother the week of Labor Day to the beach. Next to Sands Casino here in Bethlehem PA the Arts Quest center set up a huge outdoor screen for viewing the World Cup and had thousands attend – it was the “go to” spot for that so they now plan more sports viewing events. We watched the final game with our son, D-I-L and grandson here at my house (AC). ESPN2 is now running certain of the NWSL (Women’s) games on their TV channel – watched Portland vs Houston last night (10 PM EST). Vero scored! (from Portugal but on Portland team).
A Very Plain Young Man is Book 2 in a Regency series by Christina Dudley. I read book one, The Naturalist earlier this year in January I think? I’m excited to see what happens to the characters featured in this book since I already met them in the last book (although they weren’t the main characters)
That’s awesome that you are going to beach with your family! I hope you have great weather and a fabulous time! That sounds like a very fun place to watch games!
I’m looking forward to your review of A Very Plain Young Man. I liked the Naturalist and it’d be nice to see if Joseph’s rakish brother reforms. Plus, as a nearsighted girl myself, I have a certain sympathy for Elfrida and want her to be happy.
As for your Heyer book, you must must must read Arabella. I tried to get into the Black Moth and these Old Shades, but neither one captured my interest. Maybe because they’re more Georgian than Regency, or they’re somehow not as . . . fun, maybe? They didn’t do it for me. I like ones more like Sylvester, Arabella and the Grand Sophy.
Who knows what I’ll be reading this month! Maybe I should go back and dig out something from my to read list rather than search for something new. Off to FL at the end of the month- taking DS to Disney.
Happy early birthday, Meredith. I hope there are many more lazy days by the beach, happy togetherness, and good books in your future.
I’m very excited too! Alice was a likable heroine, but I’m looking forward to how Elfrida does in the spotlight. 😉 And Joseph seems to be a lot of fun!
Interesting, out of all the GH novels I read, the one I liked least so far was The Masqueraders, which I believe was also Georgian, but I did love on the other hand I did love Devil’s Cub. I’ve read Sylvester and I think it is also one of my faves!
Thank you for the lovely birthday wishes! 🙂 That is such a sweet thing to say!
Thanks for voting! 😉 THS – 0/ TBM – 0/ A – 3
As an on-line friend once said and it probably applies to you: “Your everyday life is probably better than most peoples’ vacations!”
I’ve read about 24 of Georgette Heyer’s some 50 Regency romances. I did not especially care for The Black Moth (I believe it was her first work as a teenager) My personal favorites? Friday’s Child, The Grand Sophy, A Lady of Quality, Venetia, and Devil’s Cub. That last one is the sequel to These Old Shades which is definitely reading books backwards. I would suggest Arabella as your next Heyer read. I liked it a lot.
I just finished Loving Miss Darcy by Nancy Kelley, (one of her Brides of Pemberley trilogy) enjoyed it very much and rated it 4/5.
Hi Jeffrey! I do agree with that (sometimes!) being a touristy spot does have some disadvantages like bad traffic, no beach parking, or 60 minute wait times at our favorite restaurants – but really, I have no cause to complain. I love living hear and everyone time I walk about my door, I always feel happy and grateful that this is our home. 🙂
I’ve heard a lot of people express a dislike for The Black Moth and comment about how it is quite different from the rest of her offerings. I agree with you about Devil’s Cub (which yes, I did read backwards, but I didn’t know it at the time!)
I enjoyed Loving Miss Darcy too! I think I gave it the same rating, my favorite is the third book in the series, Against His Will – I liked the hero a lot! 🙂 Thanks for stopping by for a chat!
Thanks for voting! 😉 THS – 0/ TBM – 0/ A – 4
Hey there–have you checked out Kindle Unlimited? Some of Jack Caldwell’s books are on the list of free reads! I am doing a trial month to see if our ‘Jane Genre’ or ‘Genre of Jane’ is well represented in the materials! If so, I may subscribe!
Betsy, I just discovered kindle Unlimited also and it looks like a good deal if JAFF books are included. I have been spending more than the $9.99/mo cost they advertise for my kindle books.
I just went through my wish list clicking on books and just about NONE of them are listed under kindle Unlimited.
Thank you for sharing, Betsy! That sounds like a fun opportunity! I wonder if the books available change from month to month… Love your names for our niche genre btw! lolll! 😉
That’s great to hear that they have such good offerings for both JA and Georgette Heyer!
It looks like your Georgette Heyer is well represented on it too! I am downloading a few!
Kindle Unlimited isn’t available over here in the UK yet but I could see me joining up when it does eventually arrive, provided there’s a decent amount of JAFF there. Just one thing worries me though. Does it reduce the amount that the authors get paid for their works? An article I’ve just read implies that it might.
Now to the job in hand. I have all of Abigail’s books on audio, rather than physical or virtual books. Earlier this year, I had a bit of a splurge with some of the credits from my Audible subscription. I’ll be interested to read your review, Meredith. My choice for August will have to be Pen and Prejudice, I think. I haven’t read that or A Very Plain Young Man. Ideally, I’d like to see reviews of both but I understand that wouldn’t be practical!
Shock horror! I’ve never read any Georgette Heyer either. Well, actually I think I did give one of her books a try (many years ago) when I was a teenager but didn’t get on with it at all. No idea what it was called though. Maybe I’ll give her another go sometime.
Glad you and Mr. Bingley are having a good summer. How’s the house hunting going? Our house was a football-free zone during the World Cup. Even husband and son said they’d prefer to watch Jane Austen (or have root canal work done) rather than football! Not that they did, however. Ah well.
That is a very considerate concern, Anji! I’d be interested in learning the answer to that too.
I’ve actually never listened to an audiobook, not sure how much I’d like it – I’m a very visual person. That’s great that you have so many on audiobook! Don’t worry, you will see reviews for both Pen and Prejudice and A Very Plain Young Man! 😉 It’s the Georgette Heyer books that I’ll only pick one of. 🙂
I’d definitely recommend giving GH another go! I find her books so much fun and I bet you would too.
Thank you for asking! The house hunting is sort of on pause. We are kind of exploring the idea of building a house instead of buying one, if we take the building route we will be needing to save up more money for a couple months though. 😉
How lucky are you that your family prefers JA than sports! 😉 We don’t watch very many here in our house – just big events like the Olympics and now World Cup I guess. I like the whole international aspect of these events a lot.
sorry >< U commented the first yet I did not cast a vote explicitly..silly me .I vote for Arabella
Thanks for voting! 😉 THS – 0 / TBM – 0 / A – 5
I meant “I” not “U” sorry I need to sleep now
Lots of good summer fun! Thanks for sharing your pictures. I’m having an enjoyable summer too.
I vote for These Old Shades. Love Georgette Heyer!
I’m so glad to hear that, Sophia Rose! Summer is the best, isn’t it?
Thanks for voting! 😉 THS – 1 / TBM – 0 / A – 5
I would say Arabella or these old shades. I have all 3 but I enjoy those two more than the black moth. They all are so great and you can definitely tell her earlier works from later. We all improve with age and practice. Heehee
I’ll let you vote twice. 😉 Very true!
Thanks for voting! 😉 THS – 2 / TBM – 0 / A – 6
I concur on Arabella for your Heyer read. Grand Sophy was my favorite but Arabella is up there! I have not read (or even seen) “Plain Young Man” so I’ll have to look into that one. “Perfect Bet” is on my reading shortly pile and “Perfect Match” is on my list to buy. Enjoyed Mr. Darcy’s Refuge, a lot of water in that one. LOL
I don’t have a Kindle (I have Nook) so reading about the Kindle Unlimited made me pout a bit. LOL Cool idea!!
The Grand Sophy is on my wishlist. I just got my copy of Arabella a week ago, so excited about it. Those two are the ones I see recommended all the time.
LOL! Yes, we were quite submerged in Mr. Darcy’s Refuge.
Thanks for voting! 😉 THS – 2 / TBM – 0 / A – 7
Good Wednesday morning: (sleazing off-topic) I’m in the process of devouring The Mark of the Midnight Manzanilla by Lauren Willig. I had it on advance purchase for my overworked Kindle. Thus far, I’m about on Ch 6 and here are some initial thoughts: Does anyone set a particular mood better than Lauren? The initial encounter between our heroine Sally Fitzhugh and the sinister Lucien is a masterpiece of hair-raising, horrid spendor. I think our author had delicious fun borrowing some of the parody from Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. I knew she would triumph in this genre upon reading her short story entry in Laurel Ann Nattresses’s excellent short story collection Jane Austen Made Me Do It. Nobody swings between wild humor and teary-eyed sentiment better than Ms. Willig. And now Pink XI is calling me back….
Hi Jeffrey! Feel free to go off topic whenever you want! 🙂 I’m so glad to hear you are enjoy Lauren Willig’s latest release – are there really 11 books in her series already?!? I have a copy of the first book and just have not been able to get to it yet. Partly because I feel like it might captivate me so much that I will need to continue on to book 2 straight away! 😉
You would love her works. I’m sure. I have the first ten. If you want to borrow any when you get that far let me know.
WOW! Loving Georgette Heyer! Finished The Black Moth, Cotillion and The Grand Sophy. I really enjoyed them all, especially the Grand Sophy! Reading The Foundling now…
I would love to know if Kindle Unlimited cuts into an author’s profit somehow–since they are offered as a reading, I wonder if they still get some sort of a royalty for use of their book…
Did you just start this week?!? If so, that’s amazing! 🙂 I’m looking forward to starting one this week myself! Can’t wait!
If you find the answer to your question let me know, I’m curious as well!
Hello Meredith fun and happy togetherness is so sweet! Sounds like another great month and I’m looking forward to your August posts! I haven’t read any Heyer but bought These old shades and Frederica, I have heard Black moth is good but haven’t heard anything about Arabella so that has my vote 🙂 I have perfect match and perfect bet but haven’t read them yet. I have read Perfect match and can’t wait to hear your thoughts. Happy reading!!!
Hi Tamara! Thank you for stopping by! I hope you enjoy your first Heyer when you get the chance to read it! My first was Devil’s Cub and I loved it!
Thanks for voting! 😉 THS – 2 / TBM – 0 / A – 8 (I think I know what I’ll start reading today!)
What a great summer you are having! I haven’t read any of GH since I was a teenager so can’t vote on that. However, I would vote for Marilyn Brant’s ‘…Perfect Bet’ as I thoroughly enjoyed it and would love to read your review. I do prefer “…Perfect Match” if I had to say which one I liked best. I have Abigail Reynolds book “Mr. Darcy’s Refuge’ as my next book to read. Oh and I just finished two of Lauren Willig’s books too…”Betrayal of the Blood Lily” which I enjoyed but absolutely loved “The Orchid Affair”!
Hi Carole! Yes, it has been a very happy summer! I wish I could hold onto it and make it last longer! I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Mr. Darcy’s Refuge when you do read it! Lauren Willig’s books on my list to read (someday!). I own the first one and a couple of others all of which I found at library book sales through the years. Glad to hear you are enjoying them!
Here it is almost half way through August and I’m just catching up on my comments!!! This is a very busy month for me, but will be reading a lot, because that is my “Make the World Go Away” time.
I only have two Georgette Heyer books that I purchases at a library sale and have read both. I would like to read more! Just haven’t had the time!
Have a great rest of the summer everyone!!!
Hi Catherine! My mind is boggled by the fact that August is already half over – surely this month has zoomed forward in speed! I know what you mean about your special reading time, for me it lets me get my mind off all I have to do and take care of. I found a couple of Georgette Heyer novels at library sales too – I always have fun looking for them there. Thanks for stopping in for a visit!