50 Books Challenge 2013 - # 7: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Title: Pride and Prejudice
Author: Jane Austen
Story: When Elizabeth Bennet first meets eligible bachelor Fitzwilliam Darcy, she thinks him arrogant and conceited, while he struggles to remain indifferent to her good looks and lively mind. When she later discovers that Darcy has involved himself in the troubled relationship between his friend Bingley and her beloved sister Jane, she is determined to dislike him more than ever. In the sparkling comedy of manners that follows, Jane Austen shows the folly of judging by first impressions and superbly evokes the friendships, gossip and snobberies of provincial middle-class life.
Start: february 23rd 2013
End: february 28th 2013
Comment: I stopped counting, but I know I read this book many times already. It's my most beloved novel and I don't know where to begin with explainig why. I always had a weakness for historical romance, because secretly and deep inside I'm a hopeless romantic. The setting alone screams out the romance. Elizabeth is also my favorite book heroine and I love everything about her. She is strong, has her own will and opinion and doesn't just settle for a rich man. She actually wants to feel something, fall in love first. I think that's very normal, but in this time period it's important to marry well. Elizabeth thinks that's ridiculous. And Mr.Darcy.... In real life every woman is looking for her Mr. Darcy. Although he seems very arrogant and stuck up, Darcy is the most charming man. Jane is also a favorite. I like how she is so gentle and only wants to see the good in people. Along the way of rereading it, I was again filled with such good feelings of recognition. It's a joy to read this book, every single time. "Pride and Prejudice" is romance like it should be, full of wit and unforgetable moments. If you have never read it, shame on you!
Rating: 5/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: Jane Austen Novels

I’m an avid reader and I love all sorts of books. My favorite classics are definitely the Jane Austen books. So sad she only wrote six of them. Here is my top 5.

5. Emma
This book, and “Northanger Abbey” which didn’t make it to my top 5, is the only one that I didn’t rate with 5 stars. I did love “Emma”, but I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I did in the other books.

4. Sense and Sensibility
The most beloved Austen novel, together with “Pride and Prejudice”, is only on my number 4 spot. My favorite aspect of this story is the two completely different Dashwood sisters. Great character development.

3. Persuasion
This was Austen’s final completed novel. “Persuasion” is beautifully written and I love that this books is about second chances.

2. Mansfield Park
It’s Austen’s most controversial novel, but like all the other books she wrote this was again a true delight. Fanny is undoubtedly one of Austen's less assertive characters, although she does mature into a woman who knows what she wants and will accept no less. I loved Fanny and her honesty.

1. Pride and Prejudice
This was easy to pick, because “Pride and Prejudice” is my all-time favorite novel. I can read it over and over again and never get bored. This is such a good book, with one of the best female leads ever. This is just a masterpiece of wit and style.

They almost made the top 5: Northanger Abbey

50 Books Challenge 2012 - # 12: Emma van Jane Austen

Title: Emma
Author: Jane Austen
Story: Beautiful, clever, rich - and single - Emma Woodhouse is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage. Nothing, however, delights her more than interfering in the romantic lives of others. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected.
Start: march 12th 2012
End: march 19th 2012
Comment: "Pride & Prejudice" is my favorite Austen novel, actually it's even my all-time favorite book. "Emma" is also a good read, slow, but that's a fact when you read a Jane Austen novel. They aren't quick reads. That doesn't bother me though. Austen is great with dialogues and creating colorful and vivid characters that makes them almost touchable. These points make "Emma" an enjoyable read. The main character - Emma Woodhouse - comes through as credible and realistic. She has her faults, she makes mistakes, and inspite her wit and intelligence, she is young and inexperienced and this makes her very much like any other young woman in the 21st century. The reason I won't give "Emma" a five-star rating is because it's not equally as good as the other Austen novels I read. I don't think any book could ever beat "Pride & Prejudice".
Rating: 4/ 5

Top 5 Thursday: People I Want to Be for One Day

I've been thinking about this question for a long time. Who would you want to trade places with for one day. I doesn't matter if they are male or female or if they are dead or alive. I came up with these five.

5. Marlon Brando (in the 1950’s)
This was Brando’s best period in my opinion. I would just want to feel how it’s like to be an actor in that time and his acting methods. Because appearantly he wasn’t the easiest person to work with.

4. Dian Fossey
I admire the work she did and how she studied the mountain gorilla’s. It is a dream of mine to see them in the wild some day, so I would want to know how it feels to be Dian.

3. Jane Austen
She is my favorite writer and I love her stories. It’s sad that she only wrote six novels, but I would love to step into her world for one day. How she came up with the love stories, especially “Pride & Prejudice”, the most beloved story of all-time for me.

2. Naomi Watts
Off course I would want to be my favorite actress. She has done so many great movies and I love every single performance. The once in “21 Grams”, “Mulholland Drive”, “King Kong” and “The Painted Veil” are my favorites.

1. David Lynch
He’s not my favorite director, but I would just want to get into his mind. What the hell goes on in there? How did he come up with “Lost Highway”, “Mulholland Drive” and “Twin Peaks”? And I always wondered if everything has a deeper meaning or he just wants people to discuss about his films.

They almost made the top 5: J.K. Rowling, Rachel McAdams and Tom Hanks

50 Books Challenge 2011 - # 54: Persuasion by Jane Austen

Title: Persuasion
Author: Jane Austen
Story: Twenty-seven-year old Anne Elliot is Austen's most adult heroine. Eight years before the story proper begins, she is happily betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but she precipitously breaks off the engagement when persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that such a match is unworthy. The breakup produces in Anne a deep and long-lasting regret. When later Wentworth returns from sea a rich and successful captain, he finds Anne's family on the brink of financial ruin and his own sister a tenant in Kellynch Hall, the Elliot estate. All the tension of the novel revolves around one question: Will Anne and Wentworth be reunited in their love?
Start: october 27th 2011
End: october 31st 2011
Comment: I don't like to admit it, but I can be a hopeless romantic if I'm in the right mood. Jane Austen books are perfect for those moments. In Jane Austen's time, young women were taught that it was practically their duty to 'marry well'. But if a woman turned down a suitor for being poor, she ran the risk of losing the man she loved. That's the problem for Anne Elliott, the heroine of Jane Austen's final novel. Many say that Anne was based on Austen herself. The message that "Persuasion" carries to follow your instincts and not let distractions and others persuade you otherwise. A message I believe in but it's really hard to execute. "Persuasion" isn't my favorite Austen novel, but I love it so much like all her books. She can carry you away with her stories.
Rating: 5/ 5

50 Books Challenge - # 8: The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler

Title: The Jane Austen Book Club
Author: Karen Joy Fowler
Story: In California's central valley, five women and one man join to discuss Jane Austen's novels. Over the six months they get together, marriages are tested, affairs begin, unsuitable arrangements become suitable, and love happens.
Start: february 7th 2011
End: february 10th 2011
Comment: As a Jane Austen fan I just had to read this. Six people form a bookclub and all of the characters have a different point of view. What I really loved about this novel is that we got to know every single one of the book club members. Fowler discribed them very well and even used flashbacks. It gives you more inside info and that way you can understand the characters better. Why they are the way they are. My favorite character was Grigg, a guy I would definitely fall for if I met him in real life. And Jocelyn, because I recognized bits of myself in her and she had the most interesting backstory. There actually wasn't a character that I disliked although I think I would never be friends with Bernadette. A fun detail in the book is that in the end each character has questions you can discuss with your own book club. "The Jane Austen Book Club" is a light, quick and fun read. But unfortunately I think this book will only be truly adored by Jane Austen fans. If you have never read Austen or don't like her novels, you probably wouldn't like it as much as I did.
Rating: 4/ 5

Pride & Prejudice Wallpapers

I recently reread "Pride & Prejudice", my favorite novel! And I also saw the movie again, the 2005 version which is in my top 10 of favorite movies of all time. I love Jane Austen and I love "Pride & Prejudice". I made two wallpapers, one with Elizabeth Bennet and another one with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy. Here they are and feel free to use 'em on your own computer.