I hope you all had a nice Labor Day lengthy weekend with plenty to read. Luckily, my September box from Book of the Month Club arrived just in time and one of those titles is on my Currently Reading pile as we speak(more on that one in a moment).
First, however, I must admit that I had put my account on a two month pause (yep, the economy) but I had to break that hold early-it worked out, budget wise-because one of the Main Selections was a must have for me.
Rachel Harrison‘s Kiss Slay,Replay is subtitled “a Time Loop novel” but this is more Happy Death Day than Groundhog’s Day here!
Willa Sullivan is less than thrilled to begin with to be attending her friend’s wedding due to the fact that her most recent exe is invited as well; worse, he brought a plus-one with him.
As it turns out, that’s actually not the worst because this particular wedding is being held at the site of a former summer camp and judging by the masked maniac who crashes the party, it’s easy to figure out why they got such a good deal on the location!
Willa, however, wakes up the next day and finds herself reliving the entire wedding over and over and over…you get the gruesome point.
Can she figure out a way to end this lethal love train of terror (and maybe find a new boyfriend to boot )or is her eternal destiny to be a blood soaked guest and never the blissful bride?
I do adore this concept and ever since I read Play Nice, have looked forward to more from Harrison and her marvelous mix of horror, humor and heartfelt drama:
I also picked up my second Centennial edition , the 1974 John Le Carre modern classic Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
This Cold War story introduces us to George Smiley, a former ringleader of spies who is brought out from retirement in order to capture a Russian mole.
The list of suspects include many assumed friends and potential foes and perhaps a certain someone very close to his heart at one time. Will he be able to find this hidden threat or are his best hunting days over and done?
The last time I read a Le Carre book was decades ago(The Little Drummer Girl, due in part to the 1984 movie adaptation)but I do recall enjoying that one and
the state of affairs these days, exploring a good old school version of spy fare might be an intriguing diversion.
Plus, it’s a good excuse to check out the BBC miniseries adaptation from 1969, with the late great Alec Guinness as Smiley. The Centennial edition is nicely put together and before this 100 year anniversary of BOTM is up, I’m hoping to get at least one or two more, we shall see:
As for my current read among this BOTM batch, I went with an August selection in the romantasy category.
The Poison Daughter by Sheila Masterson is set between two points of civilization surrounded by a vast forest of vampiric attackers known as The Drained.
In the city of Lunamede, Harlow is the youngest daughter of a magical family that has ruthlessly dominated the social and political landscape for generations. As her personal form of protest, she uses her deadly set of inherited powers as the “Poison Vixen”, ridding the city of evil men.
Upon hearing that her parents are once again forcing her to enter a politically motivated marriage, Harlow goes out into the night, after what she believes may be her last target. Unfortunately he happens to be immune from her poisonous kiss.
Even more troubling, the man in question is her new intended husband, Henry, who is also marrying her for his family’s purposes and to spy upon his in-laws , not to mention learn more about the rebellion brewing in Lunamede against the magical ruling classes.
Being attracted to each other is also annoying but when faced with a mutual threat, the only choice for survival is perhaps to trust each other for the good of them all.
I’m over a hundred pages in(it’s a good chunky read) so far, this is a great fantasy drama. The vibes between Harlow and Henry are solidly sizzling with some good banter and the tang of intrigue hovering over the secrets and lies yet to be discovered is page turning tasty!
With the hectic nature of this week, spending some quality time with this tantalizing tome(plus a current library loan) is rather refreshing, in a charmingly twisted sort of way. Plus, hard to resist a lady with a poison kiss:
Well, we all know what the end of this week is and no matter how you honor the day, do try to take good emotional care of yourself and those around you.
As for me, I am looking forward to feeling the start of the fall season and longing for sweater weather to begin. When it comes to the four seasons, I am definitely an Autumn, the perfect time to catch up on my reading before the end of the year, if you ask me:
Hi, folks and happy day one of September to you! Not only has the fall season started(unofficially, I suppose) but the end of Seasons of Reading’s High Summer Readathon has arrived as well.
My goal was to read at least three books with the word “summer” in the title and one of them was a new to me author, Carley Fortune.
Well, I did read a Carley Fortune novel yet instead of One Golden Summer, I wound up with Every Summer After instead. Since OGS does tie into that book, it made sense for me to tackle it first upon spotting it at my local library.
Our leading lady is Persephone “Percy” Fraser, whose family has been spending their summers in Barry’s Bay, a small Canadian tourist town, and over the years, has been best friends with Sam Florek, sharing a love of nature, horror movies and ambitions for a future together.
It’s been years since the two of them got together but when Percy gets a call from Sam’s brother Charlie about the death of their mother, she instantly knows that respects and so much more need to paid here.
I won’t say more than that regarding the plot ; what really strengthens the story is the narrative hook of the characters and the indelible portrait of Barry’s Bay that the author brings to life on page.
You feel so connected to these fictional people that you want to talk back to them(much like a good horror movie when you shout out warnings to the screen!) and encourage them to avoid certain situations. Then again, we wouldn’t have much of a book if everyone was a Cautious Cathy, now would we?
I do allow myself to switch out a book if necessary during these challenges and in this case, it was a pretty good call. Now I know that I like Carley Fortune and still have another book on hand (which happens to focus on Charlie, so there’s more nuance for me on that front) for another time.
As it happens, this particular book was turned into an adaptation for a certain streaming service with a title change(Every Year After) and from what I understand, a major plot point change as well. I don’t intend to watch the show but if it gets that audience more interested in reading, then those alterations will be well worth it:
As for the books I intended to read originally here, Ali Hazelwood’s Problematic Summer Romance is similar to Every Summer After in that it is connected to another book by the same author.
In this circumstance, I did read the earlier title(Not in Love) where the main characters in this novel were just supporting players. This time around, Maya is traveling to a remote island in Italy for her brother‘a destination wedding , an event that comes with some unexpected setbacks, and while she’s happy to be there, the biggest issue for her is dealing with Conor.
Conor is her brother’s best friend and business partner, plus much older than Maya(she’s twenty three, he is thirty eight). Out of all those potential problems, it’s the age difference that holds Conor back from pursuing a relationship with Maya. Can this time together get them to look past that or will this end things once and for all?
I do enjoy Hazelwood‘s takes on romance and appreciate the dynamic of Conor not wanting to use his status as an older man to dominate a younger potential romantic partner. However, some of those arguments about that issue between those two went on for a bit too long there.
While I did get some Jane Austen’s Emma vibes from the book, even Mr. Knightley and Miss Woodhouse knew when to call a truce! All in all, I would say that PSR is good entertainment, particularly if you’ve read Not in Love first:
And finally, I got to experience These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean.
The Storms of the title are a family whose wealthy patriarch Franklin has recently passed away. His daughter Alice has been estranged from them for several years but nonetheless, comes home to their New England island retreat to pat her last respects. Unfortunately, her father’s will holds a few (not totally unexpected)surprises for her and the remainder of the family.
Enforcing those final requests is Jack, who Alice happened to meet on the train coming in and wound up having what she thought would be a one night stand. What’s more annoying is that while Jack certainly knew who she was, Alice had no idea who he was or what role he was about to play this particular week.
Alice and her siblings are asked to jump through some hoops in order to gain their inheritance, with Alice’s only task is to stay the full week of mourning. Since her mother and most of her family are as emotionally toxic as any nuclear waste disposal, her urge to leave is strong but if even one of them refuses to take part, then all of them will lose out on the money.
The story stays mainly with Alice but the viewpoint does get shifted to her other family members at times such as her obnoxious brother Sam(whose wife Sila is even worse) and older sister Greta, who is being made to end a secret relationship with a longtime staff member. That helps to round out the overall story and gives more depth to their characters.
MacLean is another new to me writer that I would love to read more from and I’m glad that I listened to some good word of mouth about this book. It’s a great read for any time of year, if you ask me.
While this novel will naturally bring comparisons to shows like Succession, I can see a little Jane Austen in this engaging mix especially when it comes to dysfunctional family relationships with the worst fear being to economize or as the Eliots of Persuasion would shudder to say “Retrench?!”:
Thank you to Michelle Miller at Seasons of Reading for another wonderful reading event and I’m already making plans for FrightFall later this season!
In the meanwhile, I hope that all of you had a good end of summer despite the daily turmoil being shoved in our faces these days . One of the toughest hits that we’ve collectively shared is the passing of Miss Dolly Parton, an icon in so many wonderful ways.
As a reader, it’s been amazing to see her Imagination Library, a program that sends free books to young children, take off like it has. From a project meant to help kids from her own home town(in honor of her father) at first, it has become an international organization that jumpstarts the love of reading for people both in this nation and abroad.
Despite federal budget cuts, the Imagination Library is still bound and determined to keep going and judging by the overwhelming donations since Dolly’s passing, that mission will continue indeed.
This is one of the reasons that people around the world have taken the departure of Dolly Parton to heart so strongly; her unfailing kindness to others. Some might sneer at the attention given to her life and legend but those cynical beings fail to comprehend the overflowing goodness that she gave to all of us without hesitation.
There are the many acts of charity that she made(both known and unknown) and advocacy for folks oppressed by so-called “polite society “, not to mention a good sense of humor about herself, plus her incredible musical talents and other pop culture appearances. We were blessed to have Dolly among us and hopefully, her legacy will be a path for others to follow.
So, thank you, Miss Parton for sharing your bounty with us and when we hear one of your songs or watch one of your movies or see a child enjoy a picture book for the first time, we will always think of you as the best that humanity has , and hopefully will continue, to offer:
It’s almost hard to believe for this session of Autumn in August that this riveting first season of The Forsytes is only six episodes long yet quite a bit of drama has been packed in there, as snugly as a steamer trunk all set for a Grand Tour!
Speaking of grand tours, let’s look at Jo Forsyte’s situation; while he still wants to maintain his marriage with Frances(and not pursue an intimate relationship with Louisa), he does want contact with his kids and even tells June of his plans to financially provide for them.
While trusting his stepdaughter is one thing, dealing with her mother is quite another and Frances goes so far as to having Jo followed by a servant(who I hope is getting paid extra for this!) and arranging for Louisa to be evicted from her shop.
Upon learning all of this, Jo confronts Frances , who demands that he send Louisa and the kids far away, never to see them again.
This leads to a separation and eventually to a more permanent break from the family altogether; Jo has no desire to take over the family firm and Frances ‘unending distrust is difficult to live with.
Don’t get me wrong, I get why Frances is so upset but to be fair, Jo was with Louisa long before he got married (Louisa broke it off,btw, without telling him she was pregnant) and while he should’ve been more upfront with Frances, her tactics are rather off putting to say the least.
Frankly, I don’t know why Frances doesn’t hook up with Jolyon Sr. , as the two of them see more eye to eye on things and have way better chemistry together! Nevertheless, she’s going to be persistent about keeping her foot on the Forsyte social ladder there for now, despite the lack of a husband by her side:
Speaking of husbands by the side, Irene is truly feeling suffocated as it becomes very clear to her that Soames has no intention of letting her go back to Paris to become a dancer.
While Phillip is eager to get that first commission in order to marry June, he soon learns of the real nature of Irene and Soames’ marriage and would rather contrive an inflated budget as a reason for being fired than go through with contributing to the domestic disharmony here.
That doesn’t work for long as Soames is determined to have his way and little does he realize that bringing Irene and Phillip together like this won’t end well for all involved:
With these tantalizing storylines left open, we have much to look forward to in Season Two indeed.
As I said earlier, making this epic novel into a possibly long running series (season three has also been confirmed) is an excellent idea and one that should pay off nicely for readers and viewers alike.
Out of all of the players in this cast, the MVP of The Forsytes is grand matriarch Ann(Francesca Annis), who plays her cards as smoothly as any seasoned gambler.
From her sly observations to the subtle advice given when deemed necessary to her family and friends alike, Ann is no one to be trifled with, something that those who attempt to do so instantly regret.
Plus, her narrator role during each episode is a delightful emotional soundtrack for the show and she even drops a bit of a bombshell to one of her sons during the finale! Yes, Ann is quite the formidable ally as well as opponent who ought to make the next few seasons all the more engaging to watch:
So, this concludes our Autumn in August season and I will see you all in September (when I shall be wrapping up my High Summer readathon results, amongst other topics!).
Perhaps this time next year, we can catch up on season two and see what follies the Forsytes get themselves up to. Until then, have a great rest of the summer and enjoy yourselves as much as possible with good books and good book based TV:
Welcome back, folks, for more Autumn in August fun with the latest adaptation of John Galsworthy’s The Forsytes on PBS Masterpiece.
For episodes three and four, love is definitely in the air as we observe Soames Forsyte(Joshua Orpin), the competitive cousin of Jo at their family’s financial firm.
While his father is hellbent on getting Soames put in charge (much more interested in that than his son is, if you ask me), he has fallen in love with a young woman named Irene(Millie Gibson).
Irene has always dreamed of being a ballet dancer in Paris as her mother once was but upon the sudden death of her academic father, she and her scheming stepmother Clarissa(Fiona Button) soon realize that their finances are not as flush as they thought they were.
A quick solution to their money problems would be for Irene to marry well but she’d rather earn the funds for Paris herself. She initially sees Soames as a friend but over time, his true feelings are made known to her and eventually a proposal of marriage that she decides to accept:
While Soames’ father is less than thrilled about this marriage, Irene’s connections are good enough for him to not have any major objections(or at least not any that would add societal pressure upon Soames to reconsider). What does anger him is the young couple planning to extend their honeymoon in Paris into a permanent living arrangement.
However, that plan is doomed to fail as Soames starts to exert his anxieties over his marriage. As his grandmother points out early on to Irene, this is his first time being in love and his immediate discomfort around Irene and her friends in Paris sets off emotional alarm bells for him.
He’s as subtle as he can be towards Irene(who was hoping for the two of them to build a life together in Paris to pursue her artistic talent) but those red flags are waving, especially when they attend a ballet performance and all his thoughts are smothered in jealousy:
Meanwhile, June has found herself a romantic partner that her parents are sure to disapprove of; Phillip Bonsinney(Jamie Flatters), a young architect whose home and office are one and the same.
He also has “radical “ politics-helping the poor and the erasing of class lines-all of which makes June’s mother instantly upset. Jo, however, agrees to meet Bonsinney and tells him that as soon as he completes his first commission as an architect, he and June can get married.
As Jo explains later to his wife, it’ll probably be a long time before Bonsinney even gets a credible job offer and permitting a long engagement here may allow for the relationship to cool off and end on its own terms. Her mother reluctantly sees the logic of this but June is a persistent person and it won’t be that easy to dissuade her in the long run:
Well, with two episodes left, plenty of fireworks are about to go off, I’m sure!
I am glad that this is going to be a several season show (seasons two and three have already been greenlit and in production)rather than a one and done miniseries. You get more time with the characters and there’s more than enough source material to take this family drama into the next decade.
Plus, thanks to PBS Passport, I was able to wait until summer to enjoy this series and my patience will no doubt be well rewarded for the next two seasons indeed. See you all next week for the finale!:
Speaking of overheated, PBS Masterpiece gave us earlier this year a new period drama, The Forsytes , based on the Nobel Prize winning set of novels and short stories known as The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy. Since being fashionably late seemed appropriate. I chose to watch it for the first time this season.
Instead of a recap of each episode, I’m watching them two at a time and just highlighting certain plot points, characters, etc.
In the first two episodes, we are introduced to the rather formidable Forsyte family via a new member, June(Justine Moore), the stepdaughter of family favorite son Young Joltob aka Jo(Jack Davenport), set to inherit the commerce empire run by his father Jolyon Sr.(Stephen Moyer, nice to see him in a non vampire role!).
By the time the story gets underway, June has been a Forsyte for several years and now old enough for her ambitious mother Frances(Tuppence Middleton) to start the matchmaking process, something her daughter is not in a rush to get into:
Jo is a touch sympathetic to June’s wish to see more of the world before getting married off; in his past days, he had artistic ambitions, which he had to give up upon returning home from what was called The Grand Tour(a trip through Europe for young men of means). Nowadays, he’s the reluctant yet moral heir to the family throne, competing with his less scrupulous cousin Soames(more than him later on in this series).
However, as we quickly find out, Jo wasn’t always a good boy as an unexpected person from his time in Italy appears in their midst.
Turns out that the popular dressmaker who has been putting together June’s society wardrobe is a “widow” named Louisa (Elinor Tomlinson, who Poldark fans fondly remember as Demelza) with two young children to support.
I have to say spoiler alert at this point but by the end of episode two, just about everyone important to the plot knows the big secret to be revealed; Louisa was once a ladies maid in Italy and fell in love with Jo around his time there and yes, he’s the father of her fraternal twins.
To be fair, she didn’t tell him about the kids, knowing that his family would never allow them to be a couple and passing herself off as a widow was a pragmatic decision, especially given the time period.
Through a series of unintentional events, Jo and Louisa run into each other and he goes looking for her shop which leads to him meeting his kids for the first time. Naturally, he wants to openly acknowledge them but Frances(who figured it way before he did) wants this whole thing under wraps.
Of course, June finds out and is very disappointed as she looks up to Jo and his father agrees with Frances in not letting this secret surface as he’s ready to hand over the company reins to Jo. It’s all a glorious mess but more is yet to come indeed:
My initial thoughts here are first; it’s great to see distinguished actors like Francesca Annis as the Forsyte matriarch who does a bit of narration every now and then.
Second, most of the cast seems rather younger than expected; I have seen an earlier adaptation of The Forsyte Saga and those performers were definitely more mature in appearance. I suppose it’s to interest a younger demographic (fans of The Gilded Age and/or Bridgerton) and while I’m happy to see Elinor Tomlinson again, it’s not so bad but it does take a little getting use to.
Nevertheless, this is a good time to be had here and next week, we’ll look at episodes three and four with more of a focus on Soames, who is not what he seems to everyone indeed!:
With the times that we’re living in now, some entertainment budget decisions are necessary and with that said, I am taking an extended break from my book subscription box services.
After all, late summer and early fall are perfect for catching up with my already oversized TBR piles, plus I have other options (more on that later) for fresh reads.
In the meantime, my July box from Book of the Month Club was so good that I finished one of the books already!
Now, before I talk about that title, I need to mention that my main selection was a Member’s Favorite that was very well received last year, First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston(just a few chapters in and so far, pretty good) and the other was the latest from Christina Lauren, The Romance Revival.
Emory Martin loves her husband Luca but it feels as if she loves her job more these days, due to the development of a secret compound that could revive the dead.
Rushing home one night, upon realizing that she’s late for their anniversary dinner, Emory witnesses Luca being in a car accident and she happens to have said miracle cure right at hand…
Luca is restored physically but his memory is a mess to say the least. He can’t even remember being married to Emory who not only has to go into coverup mode with the world at large but perhaps this bizarre situation is the ultimate opportunity for a relationship do-over.
This may sound very sci-fi scary but Lauren tends to be more invested in the human emotional aspects of any of their STEM themed stories and I’m sure that is the case here. Should be interesting to see how well this trip down memory lane for our leads works out indeed:
The book that I did finish was Kirsty Greenwood’s Romantic Hero, which I was eager to engage with after enjoying her earlier novel The Love of My Afterlife.
We met Gertie, a romance writer whose series of cowboy themed books is awaiting its big finale.
Unfortunately, Gertie is rather stalled at the moment as her boyfriend abruptly decides to end their four year relationship. That heartbreak is complicated further by the encroaching deadline for her new book and some emotional wounds left unhealed.
In need of some inspiration, she joins her flighty but kind heated neighbor in taking part in a “manifestation ritual “ that results in a character from her books suddenly showing up in her apartment.
His name is River Oakley, the resident bad guy, and he is just as confused as Gertie is about what’s going on. They soon realize that the best way to fix both of their problems is to get Gertie’s boyfriend back and River is no stranger when it comes to making other men jealous enough to return to their original love.
But is that what Gertie really wants or needs? As they get to know each other better, it turns out that there’s more to their story than either one of them ever imagined.
As with her previous novel, Greenwood is blessed with the knack to blend romcom charm with true pathos and a nice touch of whimsy that makes for a truly enchanting read.
There are a few small references to Love of My Afterlife but you don’t have to had read that one before diving into this one (but you read that one as well!).
Even if you haven’t read any cowboy romances, this could definitely change your tune about that in more ways than one:
Onto Aardvark Book Club and yes, I did get the new Chuck Tingle book, Fabulous Bodies, and finished it right away.
It’s a wild ride and while I think Lucky Day was a little more emotionally strong, Fabulous Bodies is engagingly awesome and would make a great horror movie for those bold enough to try.
I paired that with a debut novel, The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey. Set in England of 1979, twelve year old Miv and her best friend Sharon decide to make the title list in order to see if they can track down the notorious Yorkshire Ripper, whose crimes are coming close to home.
Part of her motivation for this search is that her family might be moving to a more distant area due to not only the murders but her mother’s declining mental health. Miv figures that the best way to prevent that from happening is finding the killer yet despite her list, things are not as certain as they may seem.
I’ve heard plenty of great praise from critics and readers alike about this book and will be happy to make it’s acquaintance in the fall(saving it for a reading project) when it should be rather suitable for the season, I’m sure:
As for my regular reading, I do have the High Summer readathon next month (see my previous post for more information) and a fall reading project that I need to plan properly for.
For newer books, I do have a library trip to make soon(nearly finished all of the books that I borrowed last time, a nice accomplishment for me!) and some backlist reading to get through to boot. It’s good to take the time to enjoy what you do have on hand and wait until a little later for new books; patience does pay off in the end!
Also, my Autumn in August watch of the first season of The Forsytes is about to begin, so I do hope to see you all while the tea is being poured in both senses of the term:
Hello again, folks and happy to be back in the blogging saddle, so to speak. Hope your summer has been a good one so far, especially when it comes to reading.
With July nearly over with, we have the High Summer readathon from Seasons of Reading (hosted by Michelle Miller) to look forward to. It runs for the entirety of August and a 24 hour reading event is included as well.
There’s no set theme here, although I gave myself one and that was to choose books with the word “summer” in the title(innovative of me*eyeroll*). However, I also found that traces of Jane Austen could be detected in the novels that I selected or so it appears to me. Look over this list and see if you agree:
First up is Problematic Summer Romance by Ali Hazelwood, a follow up of sorts to an earlier book , Not in Love, which I happened to recently read.
Maya has had a crush on her older brother‘s best friend Conor for years, especially after he came to her emotional rescue after a bad breakup in college.
However, Conor refuses to go beyond the bounds of friendship seeing as not only does he have a business partnership with Maya’s brother, there’s a fifteen year age gap standing between them.
She equally refuses to completely give up on the possibility of a relationship and after some time apart, Maya and Conor find themselves thrown together at a destination wedding where they wind up sharing a villa in Sicily. Can they make that love connection work or is this just a summertime thing?
Since I did read Not in Love, the familiarity with the characters that I already have should make this smooth sailing. Plus, this central relationship reminds me of Emma Woodhouse and Mr. Knightley, who also share similar circumstances of age and family ties to complicate their budding romance as well:
Next up is Carley Fortune’s One Golden Summer , which also happens to be a follow up to a previous book, only I didn’t read that one (in fact, this will be my first read with this author).
Alice has always loved photography, particularly when she was seventeen and visiting her grandmother’s cottage by the lake. She took a photo of three of her peers in a speedboat that made more of an impact than she ever imagined.
Years later, while helping her grandmother try to enjoy their summer at the cottage, she runs into Charlie, one of the subjects of that photo. They manage to make the connection that wasn’t possible before yet can it last beyond Labor Day?
I’ve heard that this story works as a standalone despite being connected to Every Summer After(it’s the basis of a new online series entitled Every Year After)and I have heard good things about Carley Fortune’s work so this seems to be a good place to start. Also, this story is very close to the second chance romance subgenre enough to give Persuasion vibes:
And lastly, I decided to round this list out with These Summer Storms by Sarah MacLean.
Alice Storm is returning home after many years apart from her complicated family due to the death of her controlling father Franklin. In order to gain their inheritance, she and her other siblings must complete a set of tasks within a week or forfeit any of the family’s wealth.
Alice’s situation has two major problems; the first being that she has to spend the entire week with her troublesome family at their private island home and the second being that the executor of Franklin’s will is Jack Dean, a man that she had a brief romantic encounter with on her way to the island.
Fighting on more than front-Jack is staying with the Storms to monitor their situation here-Alice is getting pulled emotionally in several directions but which one of those is the one that she truly wants?
Word of mouth on this book has been great(especially from Book of the Month Club readers as this was a popular selection last year) and I do like an engaging family drama with a bit of romance added in for extra flavor.
As for an Austen connection, this does make me think of Sanditon, in which the offbeat antics and small scandals of the Parker family greatly gave that adaptation some special summer seasoning indeed:
If you are interested in signing up for the High Summer readathon, I have included a link in the second paragraph of this post to lead you towards the SOR site to do so, with more information available there.
Hope to see many more reading friends join in the late season fun and thank you in advance to Michelle Miller for hosting this excellent literary party.
Now, you may be saying “What’s with all the Jane Austen mix and matching here?”and well, Austen is very much in my mind and not just because I’m rereading Mansfield Park at the moment.
Arriving in theaters this fall is a new film adaptation of Sense and Sensibility that is directed by a woman(Georgia Oakley) with a screenplay written by a woman(Diana Reid) and starring such notable actresses as Daisy Edgar-Jones, Caitronia Balfe and Fiona Shaw.
The first trailer has been released and this looks like a winner to me. As much as I adore the 1995 Emma Thompson version (and enjoyed the 2008/2024 TV movies as well), this feels like a brand new introduction to Austen’s debut novel for generations familiar and fresh to her classic work.Definitely worth braving the summer heat for:
