Hi friends! I hope you are enjoying a lovely December so far! Things have been feeling a little chaotic for Mr. Bingley and myself these past few weeks and I’m sure with the holidays that won’t change! 🙂
But we’ve had time to decorate our little casita!
You can tell a lot about us by our Christmas tree ornaments!
And I’ve had time to watch the first episode of Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life with my momma! We are long time fans of the show and used to watch it together when I was in high school! 😀
But other than that we are busy hustling and bustling for our jobs and for the holidays! This year is extra special and busy because we will be going to see Mr. Bingley’s family in Colombia for Christmas! Woot! It has been almost 3 years since our last visit, so we are very excited to be going there to see everyone again! And for me, I’m excited to see how Christmas is celebrated in a different country!
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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 ~
~ TO READ AND REVIEW ~
~ MY ANNUAL TRADITION ~
Each December I’ve made it a habit to read a Jane Austen novel with annotations. In 2013 it was Pride and Prejudice (Harvard University Press), in 2014 it was Persuasion (Shapard), and in 2015 it was Emma (Harvard University Press). I quite love this tradition and plan to continue it many years into the future, until I’ve read them all…and then I will reread them again! Nothing could be better than spending extra time with Jane Austen and her characters over my holiday break! This year I wanted to do another Shapard edition so I settled on The Annotated Northanger Abbey! I thought it apropos since we will be traveling to Colombia over the Christmas break!
~ FEATURED AUTHORS VISITING THIS MONTH ~
Joana Starnes – December 2nd
Maria Grace – December 7th
Anngela Schroder – December 14th
~ Austenesque Reviews’ Favorites for 2016 ~
If you are a long-time reader of this blog, then you know I love to create an “Austenesque Reviews’ Favorites” list at the end of each calendar year. This year, I thought it would be fun to have a write-in option from the readers of my blog. You know I love to know what you think and hear your opinions! 🙂 So I’m trying this out for the first time…
Want to help me recognize one of your favorite Austenesque books published this year?
Vote below!
You can pick up to 3 favorites, I know how hard it is to narrow down favorites, so I went with letting you choose 3. I thought picking just 1 favorite would be completely impossible!
(To have as objective a vote as possible, if we could refrain from lobbying that would be awesome!)
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Yay for December and the holiday season!!!
What are you looking forward to this month?
Looks like a great month ahead! Looking forward to all your posts! Merry, merry. ❄️
Thanks, Christina! Love the snowflake! 🙂 Hope you have a lovely month!
Oh my goodness, it was so hard limiting my choices to just three, Meredith. I’ve had to leave out some real favourites!
You’ve got some great reads and visitors coming up. I’ve read five of the books mentioned and have two more on my TBR list. Can’t wait to get to The Many Lives of Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Trust me, I know!!! I have a hard enough time picking 10 or 12 favorites and I just asked you to pick only 3!
That’s great that you’ve read so many of the books I’m reading this month! I hope you enjoyed them! 🙂
How hard was that? I couldn’t decide which order to put them in so mix and match is good! I have read so many wonderful books this year but I don’t think they were all published this year. However my three favourites definitely were. I look forward to your reviews and posts this month.
Oh don’t worry about the order. The order isn’t being factored in. 🙂 There were so many fantastic reads this year! It really odes make it hard to choose only a few favorites. Thanks for the lovely visit, Glynis! I hope you have a terrific month!
Love your Christmas tree and decorations! How sweet that you are getting to go to Columbia for Christmas. Picking 3 favs was so hard, but I narrowed it down to those that came to mind instantly. Looking forward to seeing what you post in December.
Thank you, Brenda! I think most of our ornaments are more nerdy than Christmassy but I love them dearly! 🙂
Thanks so much for voting! I appreciate you popping in and reading my post! 🙂
That was a hard choice and to be honest they’re not exactly my favourites in that order, just that I had chopped and changed so much, in the end I said ‘hang it’ and hit submit. Enjoy your holiday. Sounds wonderful.
No worries, Teresa. The order doesn’t matter.
Thanks so much for voting! I know it was hard choose only 3!
I hope you enjoy a lovely December, my friend!
Great lineup! I’m looking forward to it!
Thank you!!! I’m real excited to have your book in my reading pile this month!!!
Glad you can go spend Christmas with Mr. Bingley’s family, but yeah, it will be busy busy getting ready for that. Cute decorations and ornaments. I agree about ornaments saying a lot about the people. Fun time with your mom and the Gillmore Girls.
Looks like a good list of books and guests for the month. Love your tradition of reading an annotated version. I planned to do that with Persuasion to start off the new year.
Have a great December!
Thanks, Sophia! We actually had the plans to do this the last three Christmas, but it is usually sooooo much more expensive to fly during the holidays that it made the trip something we really couldn’t afford. But this year we lucked out! While it is still pricier than other times of the year, it’s not so bad we can’t swing it! 😉
Oh yay! Good for you! 🙂 Love that you are starting your year that way! 🙂 Which annotated version will you read?
Hi Meredith!
Your ornaments are so sweet! I see Jane Austen of course but fairies too and even a tiny Big Ben 🙂
How lucky you are for watching the Gilmore Girls! I’m looking forward to “returning” to Stars Hollows!
I love the cover of Julie Klassen’s book, it has a touch of mystery…
I hope you enjoy your annotated edition of “Northanger Abbey”, I wait for your opinions 😉
And have a wonderful time you and Mr Bingley in Colombia!
Hi my friend! 🙂 I’m so happy to be watching more Gilmore Girls! The first episode was pretty good! So happy they are having revival! 🙂 Now I just need a Friends revival and I can be completely happy! 😉
Isn’t the cover so charming! Makes me want to visit the inn right away!
Thanks for the lovely visit!!
What? Is that a Star Trek ornament hiding amongst the Regency ladies? Now, if you tell me there is a Tardis materializing on the other side, well, that would make the tree absolutely, 100% wonderful! (Even without the Tardis, the tree looks great!) Your upcoming vacation sounds divine — I’m looking forward to seeing pictures. I hope you have a great time and a very happy Christmas!
LOL! Yes! 😀 Must be fair to Mr. Bingley. There are plenty of pianos and saxophones around the tree too and the gang from The Wizard of Oz…it’s a very unique blend! No Tardis yet (confession: we both haven’t actually watched any Dr. Who yet!)
You can be sure I’ll be sharing some pictures! Hope you have a lovely month!
I am going to have to pull up the list of the books I have read this year. I will probably have Joana Starnes and Cat Gardiner on my favorite list but really have to check. Your life sounds so busy and your decorating looks great. Enjoy your trip to Columbia.
Hi Sheila! Lovely to have you visit! It is a busy time! Hope you and your family are doing well! 🙂
How tough to pick just three!!! I’ll define that as a “happy problem”… 😉
Travel safe and happy, Meredith – hope you come back with wonderful pictures and stories….and Merry Christmas / Happy Holidays to all my fellow Janeites!
Very true! Thank you so much for voting!
I hope you have a lovely December and happy holiday season, Jean! Hugs! <3
I love Gilmore Girls! I haven’t had a chance to watch the new episodes yet, but definitely want to!
I can’t believe how difficult it was to narrow it down to three books! To be fair, I made sure it was published this year and that I’ve read it. So many great one to choose from. Can’t wait to see your favorite picks again this year. Have a wonderful holiday season and safe travels!
Woot! Another GG fan! 😉 I’ve only seen one and I’m dying to watch the rest but my mom and I made a pack to watch together!
I just submitted a form, but now I’m wondering if I did it right. Was I supposed to only pick books that are published in 2016 or just three books I read this year that are my favorites?
Yes, Arjanne. Sorry if that wasn’t clear. I was thinking it would be best for the write-ins to be books published in 2016. If you’d like to resubmit, email me I can just add your choices manually. 🙂
Love your Xmas decs, Meredith! Voted, hard as it was to choose from so many favourites 🙂
Thanks for the lovely welcome at Austenesque Reviews, you’re always so very kind! Have fun with the great reads on your TBR list and I can’t wait to read your reviews.
Hope you and Mr Bingley have a peaceful December and a wonderful Xmas!
Thanks, Joana! Even though we will enjoy them for only a short time this year, I was happy to take out our decorations and have been enjoying seeing them in our home!
Thank you so much for the lovely visit, Joana! I’m so excited for your new release and am glad to see so many readers talking about it and praising it! 🙂
Hope you have a lovely December with your family! 😀
Wow, what a busy month you have planned!
It is!! I’m hoping I make it through with my sanity! 😉 LOL!
Merry Christmas, Meredith! Enjoy your vacation and your time with your family! Look forward to knowing more about Christmas in Colombia! 🙂
Merry Christmas to you, Maria! 🙂 I hope you have a lovely December!!
I can’t commit to only three favorites…I have read so many excellent books and the more I read the more I love these authors and then I don’t want to step on toes. I will just continue to be honest as possible in my reviews and not state favorites for a year. So all you blog writers can do that for us. You do a good job. Merry Christmas. Happy New Year.
Love your tree! Have a wonderful Christmas in Colombia! Sorry I am late in responding but there was a book I wanted to finish before voting. There is still another that I want to read before the end of the year too! However, I made 3 choices of the list I started of my top reads. Good luck with yours! Looking forward to your results. Safe travels and thank you for another wonderful year!
I had several favorites, but when I checked their publication dates, I I realized only one was published this year. I am seriously behind on my reading! Thankfully, one I enjoyed has just come out, so I was able to add that one. 🙂
Have a great time in Colombia! I didn’t realize you were in the multicultural marriage club! Always nice to know there are more of us in the JAFF world. 🙂