Hello Austenesque Friends!
I hope you are doing well! Did you have a lovely February? My February felt too busy and too fast! Between my music studio growing and keeping my days filled and Mr. Bingley traveling a lot of the weekends, we felt like the month was a bit of a blur!
Although while Mr. Bingley was out of town, I did get enjoy some great reading time. So I guess that is a good achievement for the month. 🙂
Also….we got new couches!!! And all we want to do is sit in them, recline in them, and cuddle!!!
Even more than before, we’ve become obsessed with staying home!! 😉 Total hobbit mode!
How about you? What has been keeping you busy? 🙂
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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 ~
~ FEATURED AUTHORS VISITING THIS MONTH ~
Kyra Kramer – March 1st
Shannon Winslow – March 10th
Sue Barr – March 20th
I’m so happy March is here! I’ve got a lot to look forward to!
What are you looking forward to this month?
Hi Meredith, I had a week’s holiday in lovely Derbyshire in February staying at a cottage on the Hardwick Hall Estate. Just went for lovely walks, read and went to the pub. Looking forward to the featured authors this month.
That sounds like such a fabulous holiday! And I’m assuming since you went for some walks that the weather was agreeable! 😉 Hope you have a lovely March!
February was a blur after someone plagiarized my cover for PASSAGES. Getting that straightened out and warning other authors kept me too busy to do anything else in February. However, now I am back to writing. I love all of Cat Gardiner’s books and Joy King’s, but I am interested to see what you think of some of the authors I don’t know. Can’t wait to read your comments.
Brenda, so sorry to hear of that plagiarism…disgusts me when people act so vile. Hope you are or were able to get that resolved.
I was so sadden to see that, Brenda! It was so good of you to warn others, it is always surprising to hear people doing things like that…especially so publicly. Did they really think they could get away with it? I hope March goes much better for you, my friend!
Congrats on your music studio growing, new couches, and reading! I need to do more of the latter! Happy March!
Thank you, Reina! 🙂 The studio growing comes with some dilemmas as we are now out-growing our current location. Will have to solve that problem and hopefully it won’t cause too many headaches! 😉 Hope you get to enjoy so wonderful reads this month!
Lovely agenda…having read most of these books already. Love all of Cat Gardiner’s & Joy’s. You will adore Ardently – this is one I have read twice already but have recently wanted to read again. Shannon’s new one is on my TBR soon list also. And I have read good things about the Mansfield Park books. Your new sofa sounds like you made a good decision in selecting it.
Hi Sheila! I’ve heard soooo many wonderful things about Ardently! I cannot wait to read it! 😉 We did! I was a little nervous about it (since it is such a big purchase) but Mr. Bingley was pretty confident it would fit right and that the colors would go. 😉
Looking forward to visits from dear friends! As my life has become more stressful and traumatic over the past two years, it has been a source of deepest comfort and satisfaction that my oldest friends have all dropped what they’re doing and come to spend time with me. All you busy folk out there, keep this in mind when you see a friend struggling! The impact far outweighs the effort.
On a more Austenesque note, I’m delighted to see more Mansfield Park stories coming out!
Delighted you’re having friends to stay Abigail. Keep going. That’s all we can do. I think of you when I see you’re comments on GR and wonder how you’re doing.
Yay! That will be so much fun for you Abigail! I hope you have a lovely time together and your message is so true. 🙂
Me too! I can’t wait to read both these new stories! It has been ages since I’ve read a full-length Mansfield Park story!
I love the Conscience series and am currently re-reading WAC .I’ve read and enjoyed Ardently and The Abominable Mr Darcy. Sorry but I am not tempted by the Mansfield Park story as that is my least favourite of Jane’s books. I hadn’t heard of A Contrary Wind but apparently that is also a variation on Mansfield Park. I do have a number of books on my kindle still waiting to be read so hopefully I will get through some of those and I am eagerly awaiting a new book from Lory Lilian so hopefully that will be available soon. Happy reading Meredith
Me too, Glynis! I’m so excited that Cat is continuing it! 😉 LOL! I don’t think you are alone in that opinion about MP. Poor Edmund is often listed as the least favorite Austen hero.
Hope you enjoy your new reads and that’s so exciting about a new book by Lory Lilian!! Yay!
Wonderful agenda, Meredith! And nothing like cuddling on the sofa 🙂
Can’t wait to hear what you thought about all these lovely books. Happy reading and enjoy!
Thank you, Joana! I love making these agendas because it is always so fun to look ahead at all that is happening in each month! 😉
We are in complete agreement on that! 😉
Hope you are enjoying a terrific month!
Hi Meredith!
I love your words “total hobbit mode” because I feel the same! LOL. I think the week takes us a lot of effort to deal with so many tasks at the same time that when weekend knocks at the door, we only wish to rest at home! 🙂
I see in your agenda you have a Shannon Winslow!. And 2 Mansfield Park stories : it will be interesting to compare both of them.
A few weeks ago my mother surprised me with “Eligible ” by Curtis Sittenfeld, a modern adaptation of P&P with good reviews and, the best thing, the book has been translated into spanish! It will be an easier reading WOW! . Happy March to you and Mr Bingley 🙂
Hi Teresa! 😉 LOL! The hobbit life suits us! You said it perfectly. Both Mr. Bingley and I are self-employed we devote ourselves a lot to our work, but we definitely need that down time on our evenings and weekends…especially when he isn’t working on the weekends! 😉
Yes, it is interesting to see some new Mansfield Park stories come about! I’ve loved the excerpts I’ve read from both and look forward to reading and reviewing both works in the next couple months. 😀 What a wonderful surprise from your mom! I hope you enjoy it and yay for it be translated!!! Hope you enjoy a wonderful March, Teresa! <3
I imagine it wasn’t easy with Mr. Bingley traveling on the weekends, but glad you had some good reading time between the busyness of your studio.
Nice line-up of books and author visits. Have a marvelous March on those cozy couches. 🙂
Thanks, Sophia! It wasn’t…we really like our time together and it is hard when we don’t get enough of it.
I hope you enjoy a great month, I think I saw that you are running a group read! Yay!
Well for me Meredith February just didn’t happen!! It was January and now it’s March. Madness!! I’m looking forward to A Contrary Wind and Mansfield Parsonage. I’ve decided this year I’m going to read variations other than P&P.
I understand, Teresa! I must admit even though I sometimes long for Spring and warmer weather, I really don’t like for the weeks to fly by that quickly! I hope you get the chance to read one of these books soon, I know there are a few giveaways for both at the moment!
Hey Meredith! A great lineup as always. I love it that you have a music studio, may I assume Piano, since I have seen you sitting at one in a few shots? I teach voice, violin and piano in Crown Point, Indiana where I live plus an online Music Appreciation Class. Can you imagine… I could hardly believe it when my live class went online. What else is keeping me busy, I’m actually in the final edits of my first ever book, Darcy’s Melody. I think you’ll enjoy it since Lizzy sings. Lots of references to music of the time. Happy reading! Jen Red ♫
Hi Jennifer! 🙂 Yes! I teach piano, but other teachers at our studio teach other instruments (Mr. Bingley teaches saxophone, clarinet, flute and trumpet). That’s so awesome that you teach too and even do an online class! How cool! A lot of my high school students tell me about taking online classes, it definitely seems to be growing in popularity.
Yay! That is so excited that you are in final edits! I cannot wait to learn more about Darcy’s Melody! I think as a music lover, this book and I will be a perfect match! Congrats on your upcoming release!!!
A lovely month ahead of you, Meredith! Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Ardently! I have a long list already but I’d love to add that one, too! 😛
Thank you, Maria! I’m very excited to read that one! I’ve had my eye on it for years and it will be great to finally read it! 😀
Love the phrase “total hobbit mode”! I wish I could make a planned reading list, but whenever I do, something always comes along to derail it! I have read some of the books on your list already though: Guilty Conscience, The Abominable Mr Darcy and Leap of Hope. The concept behind LoH is fascinating and although the other book in the series (Leap of Faith) isn’t JAFF, I’m going to be reading it anyway, as the lead character in it was mentioned in LoH and I want to know what happens to him.
One of my planned jobs for March was finishing off compiling my JAFF spreadsheet. I now know exactly how many Austen and JAFF works I’ve got, in what format, if I’ve read them and what book they’re based on. Some I have in three formats, some in two, and some in just one, but the overall total, including duplicates, is just over 500 right now. About half of that total (including duplicates again) is TBR/TBL. Yikes!