Hi friends!
How has your 2020 been so far? Do anything fun? ⛷
It has been a pretty low-key month in our house. Mostly packing up Christmas and doing some early spring cleaning. 🧼
Aside from reading and blogging, working and cleaning, I’ve been watching things! And I bet you all have too! 🎥
My mom and I saw Little Women earlier in the month and since I just recently read The Annotated Little Women, I had some mixed feelings about it.
In addition, I’ve been check out the episodes of Sanditon as they been coming out on Masterpiece. I have some mixed feelings about this one too. I like the music and scenery…I laugh every time I see Colin Frizzle from Love Actually in Regency dress, but I am disappointed that so far the characters feel so different from the ones Jane Austen created. But I am curious enough to see where things are going.
If you have seen either, feel free to share your thoughts!
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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 ~
Sarah Courtney – February 7th
Keena Richins – February 10th
Heather Moll – February 14th
Christina Boyd – February 18th
KaraLynne Mackrory – February 21st
Leah Garriott – February 24th
Hi Meredith
I agree with you about Sandition. I ended up deleting the remaining episodes as the characters were not typecast correctly and for me that is absolutely crucial. Just could not bring myself to stick with it. Emma is being released on 14 February so going to see that. Fingers crossed the characters in the film are as they should be from the book.
Some great authors coming up so looking forward to that.
Hope and are Mr. Bingley are well
Hi Michelle! I can understand that. Yes! I am excited about Emma! Either way, it is great to see some Austen adaptations being made…even if they aren’t fantastic!
Thank you, my friend! Hope you enjoy a lovely month!
It’s going to be another busy book month! Looking forward to it. So much to read—what glorious times we live in.
It is!! Looking forward to all the lovely new releases we will be celebrating!!
Busy, busy! I’m looking forward to your reviews and interviews.
I was totally underwhelmed by Sanditon and feel even more cheated now there is no second series!
I’ve read Little Women several times and have seen a couple of versions – I like the Winona Ryder version. I don’t go to the cinema but will watch the new version as well as the new Emma when I can watch them on TV.
I’m a bit mithered this month so don’t have any specific plans (apart from reading and re reading JAFF, this keeps my spirits up.)
Good luck with all your plans Meredith.
Thank you, Glynis! I’ve heard something about if US viewers like it enough there might be a second series? Not sure if that is true or not.
Me too! I love that version much more than this most recent one.
Mithered is a fun word. I had to look it up! Also, it is an anagram of my name (probably the only one!)
Reading is definitely great plans for this month!
Looks like another great month. About Sanditon, I wonder why no one ever called compromise with all those unchaperoned scenes. Hmmm.
Thank you, Jennifer! Very good point!
January has been a busy upside down sideways kind of month. I have done some reading and hope it continues through February. I saw ‘Little Women’ and I too have mixed feelings about it. I have read Little Women many times so feel there were a few miscasts but in this one Amy was my favourite! That has never happened before! Been watching Sanditon but not in love with it except for the period costume and and visuals. I do agree about ‘Colin Frizzle’, but I actually rather like him in this role. I watched more of the Super Bowl than Sanditon last night but caught the key highlights. I think it has to do with overall content of the forbidden that is out of context in a Jane Austen adaptation. As for your guests, looking forward to them! The new novels are coming fast and furious and that is a good thing. I just can’t seem to keep up!!
Oh wow, I hope February is a tamer month! I’m glad to hear you liked Amy, I know there are many who share your opinion!
I know! The scenery is amazing for Sanditon. And I really LOVE the music…it sets such a fun, industrial tone! LOL! Yes! I actually love “Colin” as Tom Parker too. It makes me laugh, but I think he is doing brilliant at being Tom Parker….I’m very worried about that storyline at the moment!
Hope you enjoy a great month! Happy reading!
I agree with you on both counts Meredith. I was totally underwhelmed by Little Woman and I didn’t like Sanditon at all!!! I thought Andrew Davis made an awful mess of it. I see someone commented here about no second series so that means we’re left with a terrible cliffhanger!!! Somehow I don’t think Jane Austen would be amused!!!
I’m glad I’m not alone about Little Women…it was weird to see how many critics and review sites are giving it so much praise! I don’t know if it is completely decided about the second series. It would be a shame to have it end with things left unresolved!
i didn’t see Little Women and I doubt i will. I haven’t read it in so long I would just be seeing a movie.
Sanditon I am also watching on Masterpiece each week in the US. I am very interested in the story. I have the book out to read it this month as well. I don’t recall that I ever did read it. I think there are some inconsistencies but the beauty, the storyline with real Regency-era challenges and the strong acting really appeal to me. So I am one of those that will continue to watch with interest!
With the way the storyline was laid out in this adaptation if felt very like just a movie and not LMA’s book.
That’s great to hear you are enjoying the Sanditon series…I agree about it being beautiful. I hope you will read Jane Austen’s fragment…it is a delight! I will definitely keep watching the miniseries too, I think I’m most disappointed with Diana and Susan Parker…such a fantastic opportunity for Jane Austen’s wicked wit and satirical characters to be on full display…and we aren’t really seeing that in the miniseries.
My January was pretty low-key, too. We had infection in the house so that put us out of commission for a bit.
I hate to sound mean, but I didn’t bother to watch the new Little Women after seeing the trailer because I saw things that were just too different from the classic so I knew I wouldn’t enjoy it. Oddly, I do like Sanditon even though I totally agree about the characters and much of the plot being very distant from Austen.
Wow, big line up of books and guests this month. I’m reading the new 1932 right now. 🙂
Have a great February, Meredith!
Oh no, Sophia! I am so sorry to hear that!! I hope everyone is feeling better and stays healthy!
I can understand that and maybe you are wise if you were all ready seeing some things that were red flags. It is so interesting to see how well-loved it is in the media though!
I am glad to hear you are enjoying Sanditon…I’m still watching it, but not super excited about it like I was about Downton Abbey each season.
Lucky you! I am looking forward to rereading that one soon!
Happy reading!
I haven’t seen the new “Little Women”. Mixed reviews from friends but may see it yet. I read Austen’s partial novel “Sanditon” years ago. I didn’t really enjoy as much as the others so I never felt the need to read it again. However, I definitely am not impressed with Andrew Davies version of this. Seems so far away from Austen’s usual works. Seems like it’s just designed to portray what will draw more people for scandal or whatever it takes.
Suzan, I think you might like a continuation of Sanditon that I really loved – Sanditon by Jane Austen and Another Lady (https://amzn.to/2Sit8Um) I agree…a fragment by itself isn’t a lot of fun….but one that is completed is much more interesting!
Little Women was my favorite book by far when I was a teen. I read it over and over to the point that I’ve basically memorized it. I’m not sure how I feel about the new movie; I have yet to see it, but I was soooo disappointed by the 1994 Winona Ryder/Susan Saradon film because they pulled so much from LMA’s journals and letters (which I also know well; I became a bit of an Alcott scholar in grad school) rather than sticking with the novel. And this new movie is reported to have done similar revisions of Little Women in order to show more of Alcott’s feminism (she was the first woman to vote in the state of Massachusetts!). I love Alcott’s feminism, but according to her letters, Alcott worked hard to divorce her personal opinions from her novels. Of course, LMA disparaged most of her children’s novels, calling them “pap for the young” and reading her more recently-discovered work (all those ‘potboilers’ Jo wrote…yeah, they were for reals!) shows us what she really wanted to write but wrote under a pseudonym so as to keep her wholesome children’s author public persona separated from her “real writing” of quite lurid stories and novels for their time.
Okay, enough blathering on one of my fave subjects!! You certainly have a packed month, Meredith!! Take care, and do rest as you can!!
Warmly,
Susanne 🙂
How wonderful, Susanne! I had no idea you were such an ardent fan of Little Women and a bit of an Alcott scholar! I’m dying to ask you some questions – do you have a favorite LMA novel? Have you been to Orchard House?
I got that vibe about LMA from the annotated edition I read of Little Women. She frequently commented in various letters about writing “moral” tales for young readers and how she did it just for the money it earned.
Thanks! It will be a busy month, but there is a lot to look forward to! Hope you enjoy a wonderful month as well!
I still want to see Little Women.
Love my mug–it arrived on Saturday. Used it today.
No plans for February.
denise
Hope you get the chance to see it soon!
And oh yay!! I’m so glad! Thank you so much for wanting one!
I watch all the Little Women movies but my favorite will always be the one with Katherine Hepburn as Jo (1933). I have also seen the entire Sanditon fiasco that leaves us hanging. While I liked seeing the scenery and period houses, all in all it was a big disappointment. Charlotte looked and acted like a 12 year old child with bad hair and while Sidney was handsome, his hateful attitude towards Charlotte and Georgiana was over-the-top IMHO. Looking forward to reading your reviews and interviews this month!
I will have to rewatch that one, Brenda…I think it has been a good 12 years since I’ve seen it.
Ooh, I do agree with you about Charlotte’s hair (very-unRegency!) and Sidney’s attitude…I’m finding it very hard to like him at the moment. I’m not sure if it is supposed to be like Mr. Darcy and that we will eventually fall in love with him or not, but at the moment he seems so cold and harsh.
Hope you enjoy a wonderful month!
I’m reading the Sanditon tie-in and am a bit confused in that I’m unsure if Andrew Davies wrote the outline of the book and Kate Riordan fleshed it out, or if she wrote the book based on his scripts… It reads like an Austen-inspired book rather than an Austen, which has been disappointing. I haven’t watched any of the episodes but I can’t believe it’s not a complete series — how aggravating that folks won’t get to see the resolution!
A Woman’s Persuasion looks SO GOOD — I’m a hardcore Persuasion fan so I hope it’s good. Looking forward to your review.
Interesting! I will be planning on reading that at the end of this month. I am watching the miniseries first, which maybe is a bit backwards, and I’m interested to see if they follow the same dialogue and scenes or are different. I am sad to hear that the ending isn’t resolved…that will probably effect my opinion about the book overall!
Yay! I’m excited about that one because I want to read more Persuasion stories and because it is something different!
Wow! You have a busy slate, Meredith [hello to your Mr. Bingley]. I look forward to seeing your post on these interviews. I’ve just discovered that Leah Garriott’s book Promised it being featured in a cover war over at Author Shout. So, if anyone wants to show a little love just vote and click. http://authorshout.com/cover-wars/
Thank you, sweet Jeanne! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful month so far!! Thanks for letting us know about the cover war for Promised. I’ve voted a couple times, always happy to see Promised in the lead.
Have not seen either productions everyone is talking about, but I plan to. I guess I’m a lot more sensitive to fooling around with Austen’s plots and characters than LMA. I loved the Winona Ryder L.W., and I’ll keep an open mind about the new production. I have my doubts about Sanditon.
Oh boy, what a month we’re going to experience here at A.R. I’m looking forward to everything Meredith. Nothing mentioned or shown under Christina’s or KaraLynne’s pictures so I’m all eager to find out what they will be bringing us. (Super excited!) Great variety of new authors too, yaaaay! I’m late reading this so February’s first review is already up. :/ That’s where I’m headed now.
Hoping everyone reading this stays healthy this month. Thank you Meredith for all you do for us, you really spoil us and I’m just eating it up with a spoon. 😀
Going into both productions with open mind is a very good idea. And I am so with you I love the Winona Ryder LW – it was hard not to compare this one to that one since I watch it nearly every Christmas season.
Thanks so much for your lovely enthusiasm and support for all the planned posts and author visits for AR!! Yes, some exciting updates to share from beloved authors and editors!!
Late or not, I love seeing your comments, my friend! Hugs!
What a great lineup!
Looking forward to your February posts, Meredith, and can’t wait to see what you make of Colin Frizzle’s Sanditon :))) . I had mixed feelings about that too 😉 . But you should have heard my husband. I never thought he’d feel so strongly about Regency do’s & don’t’s but boy, was I wrong or was I wrong 😀
Hugs and have a fun February!
Thank you, Joana! I’m very excited for all that is in store for February!
LOL! Yes, I’m enjoying him a lot…more so than Mr. Pamuk Sidney Parker! Although I am very anxious about Tom Parker’s situation! Love that your hubby was critical on Regency do’s and don’ts! LOL!!
Hugs to you!
I haven’t started watching Sanditon yet, but I did buy the season pass from iTunes. My family and I are going through a The Hobbit-Lord of the Rings marathon at the moment, and Sanditon is next on the list. I’ve read a lot of comments about it not seeming very JA-like that my expectations are low, but… I’m hoping it keeps my expectations in check and I can enjoy it for what it is. I’m sorry you have had missed feelings for both it and Little Women. I have to admit that I am not keen to see the new Little Women (again, based on what I’ve seen/read about it). I do want to see the new Emma, though. 🙂
My February will be dominated by my daughter’s birthday. She’s turning 18 so it is especially exciting this year!
Brilliant! I love The Hobbit and LOTR! We were just saying we wanted to rewatch those epic movies again this winter! I hope you are able to do as you said, enjoy Sanditon for what it is. I think having low expectations or no expectations is smart!
I’m hopeful for the new Emma! But I just found out it isn’t coming to a theatre near where I live!
Hope you have a lovely time celebrating your daughter’s birthday! That is a special birthday to celebrate!
I have not followed Sanditon but look forward to Little Women. I did read Two More Days at Netherfield and enjoyed that. I also enjoyed A Good Name. I do want to read Beauty and Mr. Darcy. I did read 1932 and A Case of Some Delicacy also and enjoyed those.
Lucky you, Sheila! I’m excited about Heather’s new book and I’m glad to hear you enjoyed a couple of other books I have on my agenda!
Hope you enjoy a great month!