If you're feeling stuck or just craving inspiration, or if you'd love to get a peek at the creative process of a favorite author, these are for you, thanks to 1st Books* and Boing Boing:
My favorite of Fitzgerald's: “I think it’s a pretty good rule not to tell what a thing is about until it’s finished. If you do you always seem to lose some of it. It never quite belongs to you so much again.” Read the rest of his tips here.
My favorite of Vonnegut's: "Be a sadist. No matter how sweet and innocent your leading characters, make awful things happen to them–in order that the reader may see what they are made of." Read (or hear; they have the audio!) the rest of his tips here.
*I recently discovered 1st Books, and I LOVE this blog. It's all about writing, and it's filled with inspiring pieces about the creative process. 1st Books is hosted by New York Times best-selling author Meg Waite Clayton.
"This year is going to be different. This year I refuse to get stressed out during the holidays."
This year we at Austen Addict Central would like to help you keep that promise.
We've got tips to help you melt away the stress of the holidays. And we've got a HOLIDAY READATHON DE-STRESSING PRIZE PACK that may just have your name on it:
a bottle of limited edition MERRY CHRISTMAS ESSENTIAL OIL BLEND by Dharmaceuticals**
a copy of THE JOURNEYS OF JOHN AND JULIA: GENESIS by Aurelia
a signed copy of CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT
a signed copy of RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT
**I've got Merry Christmas blend diffusing as I write this. Cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon, and mandarin essential oils blended into an indescribably comforting melange of scent. I can just feel the stress melting away...
IT'S SUPER EASY TO ENTER: Just visit the Rafflecopter below.
FOR MORE CHANCES TO WIN: Post a blog comment here that tells us about your favorite holiday de-stressors. (My list is after the Rafflecopter.) a Rafflecopter giveaway
This giveaway is international and ends at midnight, Dec. 7th.
HERE's MY LIST:
My go-to read(s) that make me feel right with the world again:
Persuasion by Jane Austen--because it's all about second chances that arrive when you least expect them.
The Journeys of John and Julia: Genesis by Aurelia--because it's all about the magic that's all around us, whether or not we believe it's so.
Any of Jane Austen's other major works, because they are highly entertaining and deeply satisfying on many levels.
My favorite relaxing indulgence(s) that help me remember what this season is all about:
Merry Christmas essential oil blend by Dharmaceuticals. I diffuse it in my aroma lamp every day as soon as the season starts, all the way through New Year’s Day. I started buying this blend two years ago, and it was the first time I could remember having stress-free holidays. I’m not kidding: this is magic in a bottle. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. And it fills my home with the most intoxicating blend of cinnamon, vanilla, and a host of other delicious scents.
I also love the comforting familiarity of my favorite feel-good movies. I’ll watch as many as I have time to do. Love, Actually; The Apartment, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Bend it Like Beckham, Persuasion (the one with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root), and Bride and Prejudice are just a sampling of my go-to’s. If it’s about the power of love and friendship, then count me in.
My favorite ways to shine happiness on others:
Cooking holiday meals and treats for friends and family.
Sharing my good fortune by making a donation to organizations who help homeless adults and children. An excellent organization to which I donated this year is Union Station Homeless Services, which does good work in my very own town of Pasadena, CA.
UPDATE: This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winner: Michelle of The True Book Addict! Thanks to everyone who entered, and happy holidays to all.
At this time of year, it is easy to get caught up in stress. At this time of year, it is easy to forget that this time of year is really all about love. To help me remember, I turn to my favorite books and films. They melt away my stress and affirm my faith in love.
During the holidays, what is your go-to book or film for affirming your faith in love?
Your answer could win you signed copies of both of my Austen Addict novels.
Leave your answer in the comments below.
Tweet your answer @austen_addict for an extra chance to win.
This giveaway is international.
Here are just of a few of my go-to's for affirming my faith in love:
PERSUASION by Jane Austen, the novel and the film starring Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE by Jane Austen, the novel and the miniseries starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle
NORTHANGER ABBEY by Jane Austen, the novel and the film starring Felicity Jones and JJ Feild
LOVE ACTUALLY, the film starring Colin Firth, Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley, and many more
BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM, the film starring Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, and Jonathan Rhys Meyers
NOTTING HILL, the film starring Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant.
What are yours? Enter your answer below, tweet for another chance, and good luck!
There's another great social media site for book lovers, and it's called Riffle. One of the most delightful things about Riffle is the ability to create curated book lists of any kind, which you can share with other readers. Creating and reading these lists is delightful in and of itself, but even better is that it is an exciting way to discover new reads and share your enthusiasm for your own favorites.
Musings of a Book Lover posted their Top Ten Books For Those Who Love Jane Austen. And Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict is on the list! Check it out for ten great book recommendations and more in the comments!
The most difficult part for me [about writing] is having the discipline to sit down and
do it. There is really nothing romantic about the process of writing
itself.
I'd like to think that my characters all speak for themselves and I only take dictation.
Talk about getting yourself out of the way! Seriously the best advice ever. I am definitely going to remember this.
"...people themselves alter so much, that there is something new to be observed in them for ever."
--Elizabeth Bennet, in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Today is the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and
Prejudice, and this quote is one of the many reasons we are still
reading it today. Austen's keen eye for the complexities of human nature is as relevant now as it was on January 28, 1813. Like the characters in this masterful work, and like we humans who are fortunate enough to read it, there is something new to be observed every time.
Fascinating article. Seems that reading makes us smart. And reading Austen makes us smarter (I can take liberties with the findings if I want to.)
But what's really fascinating to this reader is that the folks conducting the study chose "Mansfield Park" for t their test subjects. "Mansfield Park," with which many Janeites have a love-hate relationship, and which has caused many a flame war on Austen forums.
Personally, I've grown to admire it, but I cannot help but wonder why they didn't choose a more popular read, such as "Pride and Prejudice" or "Persuasion."
Another thought: Has anyone ever tried to think, let alone read, for pleasure or study, inside an MRI? It's sort of like having a jackhammer next to your head. A jackhammer that laughs at noise-cancelling headphones and says, "As if."
"The love for Jane Austen related entertainment may not always appear to be in vogue but as they say,it never dies,it only multiples. To that end,let us look at a few of the latest displays of Austenmania that possess a decidedly modern twist..."
The whole post is a must-read if you'd like to sample the latest treats in the Janeiverse, including The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, The Jane Austen Academy, The Jane Austen Guide to Life, the LOL Jane Austen is My Homegirl Rap, and a fab shout-out for our very own Sex and the Austen Girl.
Definitely satisfied this Austen addict. Thanks, Living Read Girl!!!
"The world of Regency romantic historical fiction has undergone quite a change in the last few years. While the traditional regency, which I consider that I write, continues to occupy (mainly in e-book form) a corner of the market, the large, sexy, duke-ridden romances have taken over the print market."--Lesley-Anne McCloud
Click the link above to read the whole post in The Regency World of Author Lesley-Anne McCloud, including a shout-out for CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT and RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT (thank you, Lesley-Anne!), and an intriguing list of reading recommendations.
It takes me about three minutes of cocktail party chat to sell The Jane Austen Guide to Happily Ever After as the perfect graduation present to any father of a young woman in her teens or early twenties. Why? Well, they're men, and they love their daughters. They know male psychology from the inside, and they're terrified that the young women they care about -- educated and polished, extraordinarily competent in so many ways -- will lose in the battle of the sexes. Not in education, or sports, or the world of work, but in the bedroom.
Good to see this in a prominent place. Echoes much of what I've been thinking for a long time about the relationship wisdom of Austen's novels. And gave me new things to think about:
For example, I would not have thought it an advantage that the large parties and lack of one-on-one contact of Austen's day was an advantage in getting to know a man. But Kantor brings up a very valid point: "Keep enough distance so you can see the guy in perspective...without getting so close that they became prematurely "attached."
My interpretation? Instead of falling into bed on the first or the fifth date, you get to see him in action at a large, public event, such as a picnic (Mr. Knightley at the Box Hill fiasco), or a dance (Mr. Knightley gallantly asking Harriet to dance), or at a party (Willoughby acting as if he hardly knows you and paying his attention to another woman).
Anyhow, THE JANE AUSTEN GUIDE TO HAPPILY EVER AFTER sounds great, and I'm happy that someone wrote it!
The author of THE PRIDE AND PREJUDICE MOVIE COOKBOOK sent me a copy, and though I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, it looks like so much fun that I just had to share.
Playfully riffing off text from the novel and scenes from the movie versions of Austen's most beloved novel --and adding teensy dashes of culinary history just for fun--author Anne Derry has concocted a host of P&P-inspired recipes that evoke the Regency but are nevertheless fashioned for a 21st-century palate.
Just to give you a taste:
There's The White Menu (in honor of the white soup need for the Netherfield ball).
There's an entire series of recipes with the key ingredient being Guinness stout, inspired by the banter between Lizzy and Darcy on whether poetry is indeed the food of love and Lizzie's declaring that it is only so if the love is "fine, stout, [and] healthy."
There's even a zombie cocktail. And of course as Charlotte was wanted about the mince pies, there's a recipe for that as well.
Bon appetit, and please don't invite Mr. Collins to dinner. You may just get stuck sitting next to him.
It's always exciting to see one of my novels on a best-of list at this time of year. This year, CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT appears on Amused by Book's Favorite Books of 2011 list.
I love the scope and diversity of this list, which includes JANE EYRE and BOSSYPANTS. Who wouldn't want to be in the company of Charlotte Brontë AND Tina Fey?
(Can you just picture the cocktail party conversation?)
From this comes my 2011 Holiday Readathon challenge:
Choose a character from one of your favorite books, and ask yourself which novel he or she would turn to for the perfect getaway read. (Remember: Time period is no limit--let your imagination go wild.)
Post your answer to enter my Holiday Readathon Giveaway.
Secretly guided by a magical collective of superbeings called The Twenty-Two, a pair of teens crack open the door to another reality—and unwittingly awaken the sleeping beast of their nemesis-to-be, the beyond evil Niem Vidalgo Oten.
“Cool new series…Anyone who is a fan of 'Heroes' will definitely enjoy Genesis.”—Tim Kring, creator of the NBC TV series "Heroes"
A sneak preview of this exciting collection of short stories inspired by Austen, including a bit of my story, Intolerable Stupidity, in which Mr. Darcy sues people like me and my fellow anthology authors!
JANE AUSTEN MADE ME DO IT (Ballantine) is coming to a bookstore near you on October 11.
"Get ready for the adventure of your life. This masterful debut novel will have you turning pages long into the night and contemplating them well after the story ends. Or shall I say begins? For"The Journeys of John and Julia: Genesis"is but the first installment of what promises to be a brilliant series. The author weaves a shimmering tapestry with words, populates it with unforgettable characters, and ushers us into a world that is by turns magical, frightening, and ultimately empowering."
And if you're a Heroes fan like I am, this blurb from Heroes creator Tim Kring will really send you over the edge:
“Imagine a life off the grid and all the comforts it offers to a teenager. When John and Julia, the 13-year-old heroes in this cool new series find themselves without signal in ‘backwards’ Cedarwood Ridge, it becomes apparent that they need all their energy to battle unspeakable evil forces while receiving superhero-training by a collective of magical beings. All totally useful stuff, since their and our entire future may be at stake. Anyone who is a fan of ‘Heroes’ will definitely enjoy Genesis.”
By the way, what I didn't mention in my own review is that the characters in The Journeys of John and Julia also have really good taste. In fact, one of the characters is curled up with Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict. And you know what? Jane from Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict stayed up all night with The Journeys of John and Julia. And so did Wes. It's a perfect book for a young lady from 1813. And a guy from 2011. And kids and teens like Wes's teenage niece Emma, who's been telling all her friends to read it.
As Jane Austen put it in Northanger Abbey:
Alas! if the heroine of one novel be not patronized by the heroine of another, from whom can she expect protection and regard?
Check out my guest post on chicklitclub.com, where I explore the comic parallels between Helen Fielding's BRIDGET JONES'S DIARY and Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. And Fielding's amusing deviations therefrom.
(In which we go from this: to this:
Except that in the book it was a diamond-patterned jumper and bumblebee socks.)
"My idea of good company, Mr. Elliot, is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation…"—Anne Eliot, in Jane Austen's PERSUASION
Last week I had the great pleasure of connecting with a group of clever, well-informed people in Delhi, India. A book group. Via Skype video call.
This was the most geographically distant (8,000 miles from my home) and diverse book group I've chatted with so far. Members hailed from Denmark, Scotland, The Netherlands, England, Sweden, New Zealand, Dominican Republic, and the USA. A twelve-and-a-half-hour time difference meant that while these lovely ladies were raising their wineglasses, I was saying "cheers" with my cappuccino.
What was most inspiring about this group is that the members are a beautiful example of how a love of reading can bring people together, no matter where they are coming from, geographically or otherwise.
[From left, Ada from Domican Republic, Sarda from New Zealand, Pia from Sweden, Tessa from London, Dieuwke from The Netherlands, Mette from Denmark, and Hazel from Scotland. Linda from New York is missing from the photo but present in spirit. Not present in the photo but giving expert technical assistance were Shona (Scottish) and Pat (South African), Hazel's daughter and husband.]
The group was delightful, and our discussions fascinating. As this was a group of expats living in Delhi, they could all relate on a very personal level to the fish-out-of-water theme of my time-travel/body-switching/Austen-inspired novels.
Thanks, ladies, for inviting me into your living room!
Have you invited an author to your book group? I'd love to hear about your experiences.
October 2011 will be the bicentenary of the publication of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility, and My Jane Austen Book Club is hosting a blog tour to celebrate.
Each month a different author will post on My Jane Austen Book Club about Sense and Sensibility. Along with the post there will be a monthly giveaway: your comment on the blog will give you the chance to win a book or DVD.
Here's the schedule:
1. January: Jennifer Becton Marriage and money in Sense and Sensibility
2. February: Alexa Adams Sense and Sensibility on screen
3. March: C. Allyn Pierson Inheritance laws and their consequences in Sense & Sensibility
4. April: Beth Pattillo Lost in Sense and Sensibility
5. May: Jane Odiwe Willoughby: a rogue on trial
6. June Deb of Jane Austen in Vermont
Secrets in Sense and Sensibility
7. July: Laurie Viera Rigler Interview with Lucy Steele
8. August: Regina Jeffers Settling for the Compromise Marriage
9. September: Lynn Shepherd
The origins of S&S: Richardson, Jane Austen, Elinore & Marianne
10. October: Meredith @Austenesque Reviews
Sense and Sensibility fanfiction
11. November: Vic @Jane Austen's World
Minor characters in Sense and Sensibility
12. December: Laurel Ann @Austenprose
Marianne Dashwood: A passion for dead Leaves and other Sensibilities
Today is Jane Austen's 235th birthday, and each of the bloggers listed at the end of this post, including myself, are posting tributes and challenges and offering lots of fabulous prizes.
Leaving a comment here = one chance to win. The more blogs on the tour you comment on (see list below), the more chances you have to win.
My part in the Jane Austen Birthday Blog Tour begins today, 12/16, and ends Wednesday 12/22 at the stroke of midnight, PST. Other bloggers on the list may end a bit earlier or later. All bloggers will submit the names they draw to our host, who will draw the winners from those names on 12/23.
To enter my giveaway, please leave a comment below. And if you're inspired to do so, feel free to include your birthday wishes to Jane Austen .
Here are mine:
Dear Miss Austen,
On this occasion of your 235th birthday, I would like to thank you for all the wisdom, laughter, and insight that your stories provide. Your words have been a constant guide and an abiding inspiration in my life.
I wish that you could know how many millions of people you have made happy with your stories. I wish that you could see the films that have been adapted from your books. I wish that you could read all those sequels, continuations, and inspired-bys. And I wish I could buy you a birthday drink* (or seven) to help you over the shock!
*By the way, did you know that there's a drink named after you? They say it can be quite a restorative.
With gratitude I remain your humble servant,
Laurie Viera Rigler
LIST OF BLOGGERS PARTICIPATING IN THE AUSTEN BIRTHDAY BLOG TOUR:
Shop till you drop? How about you read till you need...to read some more! Really, is there anything better to take the edge off all that holiday stress than a good book?
Name your favorite holiday comfort read and tell us why it works for you. Enter your answer as a comment here on the blog OR as a tweet @austen_addict. Winner of this draw will receive personally inscribed copies of both CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT and RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT. ENTER BY MIDNIGHT PST DEC. 5.
Go to WhoRuBlog and check out its beautiful mini-challenge that is truly in the spirit of holiday giving. See the wonderful list of bloggers who are holding their own mini-challenges, including lots more giveaways. And there's a Twitter party, too, on December 5th. Why not sign up for them all!
Stephanie's got lots of choices for challenge participants, from Austen's own works to Austen-inspired novels (like those by yours truly) to sequels and continuations, movies, and even crafts.
I wonder if taking English country dance lessons counts? Or playing with my Jane Austen Action Figures??
Here's what I'm going to do (not necessarily in this order):
Read A TRUTH UNIVERSALLY ACKNOWLEDGED: 33 Great Writers on Why We Read Jane Austen (just got this and can't wait to read it)
Re-read five of Austen's own, because I just can't stop doing it
SENSE AND SENSIBILITY
NORTHANGER ABBEY
PRIDE AND PREJUDICE
PERSUASION
MANSFIELD PARK
Oh, and I want to read so many others on this list. I don't think I can keep it down to six!
Tip: If anyone's looking for a really fun, lovely Austen nonfiction, Margaret Sullivan's JANE AUSTEN HANDBOOK (also on Stephanie's list) is excellent. And did I say funny? There's one line on page 92 that will make you howl with laughter.
I am reading a lovely book by my friend Debbie Tenzer,
called DO ONE NICE THING. If you've ever felt overwhelmed by all the suffering
in the world and felt powerless to do anything about it, this book will help change
all that.
Because there is something you can do. Even if you're as
busy as most people are in this crazy multi-tasking overly scheduled world.
Even if you don't have deep pockets.
From grocery shopping for a sick friend to organizing donations
of canned goods to a local food bank to making a $25 micro-loan that changes a
life in a remote part of the planet, there are dozens of accessible Nice Things
that you can do in this book.
So what does all this have to do with Jane Austen? Aside from the fact that in my world, everything has something to do with Jane Austen?
A lot, actually.
Jane Austen had plenty to say about everyday acts of
kindness towards our fellow humans. Ladies of Austen's class were expected to
care for the poor and relieve their sufferings through gifts of food, money,
and clothes, and through personal visits to needy families in the parish.
But that didn't mean one had to be a saint then--or today--in order to Do One Nice Thing. Nor
did one have to be a saint in Jane Austen's day. Consider the vain, deluded,
matchmaking-obsessed heroine of EMMA. Helping those in need is one of the
qualities that make her loveable in spite of her flaws:
Emma was very compassionate; and the distresses of the poor
were as sure of relief from her personal attention and kindness, her counsel
and her patience, as from her purse.
Even the relatively impoverished, disabled Mrs. Smith in PERSUASION
was making thread-cases that she sold in order to help those less fortunate
than she.
Contrast that with the selfishness of Elizabeth Elliot in
PERSUASION, who, upon hearing that her family is in debt and must make
reductions to its customary state of luxury, responds as follows:
Elizabeth, to do her justice, had, in the first ardour of
female alarm, set seriously to think what could be done, and had finally
proposed these two branches of economy, to cut off some unnecessary charities,
and to refrain from new furnishing the drawing-room.
In Jane Austen's world, kindness did not end with charitable
acts to one's neighbors. Care for the well-being of one's friends and family was
as essential then as it is today.Which is why the selfish and miserly John and Fanny Dashwood
of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY are comic figures as they debate John's deathbed
promise to his father to help provide for the dying man's widow and three
daughters.
Says Fanny Dashwood of the widow and children's financial
state:
"Five hundred a year! I am sure I cannot imagine how
they will spend half of it; and as to your giving them more, it is quite absurd
to think of it. They will be much more able to give you
something."
Despite Austen's skewering of the selfish and miserly, she
is always practical in her sensibilities. Take this line from Emma:
"If we feel for the wretched, enough to do all we can
for them, the rest is empty sympathy, only distressing to ourselves."
So stop distressing yourself and do something. Just DO ONE
NICE THING. Start here. Start now. You'll feel so much better. And more
important, you will spread happiness to others. And they to others. And so on.
When Paula Dacker, a librarian friend (whom I wrote about here in a previous post), gave the Marvel PRIDE AND PREJUDICE graphic novel the thumbs-up, I knew I had to get a copy. And it did not disappoint. From the girlie-magazine-like cover with
headlines like "Bingleys Bring Bling to Britain" and "How to
Cure Your Boy-Crazy Sisters" to the scrumptious illustrations by Hugo
Petrus, it was a blast. Adapter Nancy Butler did a fine job of retaining the sense
and integrity of Austen's inimitable prose while at the same time condensing
and compressing the action to fit within the graphic novel form.
The bottom line? PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, Marvel version, is a fine and fun way to
introduce new readers to Austen, a gateway to the full book that will crack the
code of Austen's language for contemporary readers who can't quite penetrate the style--or fear that they can't.
And for those of us who feel at home with Austen's texts in their pure form, this Marvel version is nevertheless pure fun. Some may ask--if they haven't already objected to the inherently abbreviated form of a graphic novel--why another PRIDE AND PREJUDICE? Dowe really need
another movie, another play, a Broadway musical (fingers crossed), and now a graphic novel?
To which I reply, Can
there ever be enough ways and forms to say "I love Jane Austen"?
I just read JULIET, NAKED by Nick Hornby who, along with Zadie
Smith, is my idea of a contemporary Jane Austen. Both Hornby and Smith make profound observations of human nature, give us romance without sentimentality, have a divine sense of humor, and are simply masterful storytellers. In my
writing workshops I inevitably read passages from various Hornby novels and Smith's ON BEAUTY
as examples of the best in contemporary fiction.
For this reader, JULIET, NAKED brought to mind some of the online discussions that occur amongst Austen's most devoted readers. A central premise of the
book is that no matter how much the admirers of an artist's work examine
that work, study it, parse it for meaning, and become "experts,"
they can never acquire irrefutable proof
that the creator felt a certain way or had a
particular type of experience at the time she created it. Bottom line is it's nothing more than speculation. And speculation is often wrong.
In JULIET, NAKED, one of the characters, Duncan, spends a
good deal of his time on a web forum holding forth on the hidden meanings and
nuances in the songs of a rock singer-songwriter named Tucker Crowe, who
mysteriously dropped off the grid back in 1986, causing his small band of
devoted followers to speculate endlessly on why he left and what's been going on
in his life since his disappearance. And most of all, what was behind JULIET,
the album that Tucker was promoting when he dropped out of sight. Annie,
Duncan's girlfriend, puts up with Duncan's obsession, but when Duncan posts a
review of a newly released album of JULIET demos—an unadorned set of tracks
that the fans dub JULIET, NAKED, Annie decides she's had about enough of
Duncan's prosings about Tucker's genius. And so she posts her own review. And,
miraculously, she is rewarded with a correspondence from the real Tucker Crowe,
who periodically reads Duncan's forum and chuckles at the inaccurate conclusions therein.
I've often wondered what Jane Austen might say about
the assertions, online and otherwise, about what she did or did not mean when she wrote a
particular line or character because of what she did or did not experience or
feel. Because, after all, no matter how much we think we are experts on Austen, it is really all just speculation. No one but Austen can
know what she meant, felt, believed, or experienced at any given moment in time.
No one but Austen could tell us if a certain character espouses Austen's own beliefs. And it is never a given that an
author believes what her protagonist believes. Or that what happens in a novel
resembles what happened in the author's own life. Even Austen's letters—like
all letters--are just snapshots of the moment she wrote that letter, and thus
only indicate what she felt or believed at that given moment in time. We cannot even
take the words in those letters at face value, for the reader of much of them,
her sister and closest friend, Cassandra, would get the ironies and subtext and
in-jokes and tone in a way that we can only dream of—and speculate about.
One thing we can be sure of—and this is the greatest gift of
any great storyteller or songwriter: The words and music and characters and stories that
we love have deep meaning for us, based on our own personal experiences, beliefs, and aspirations. That is how we make these most beloved works our own. As Karen Joy
Fowler said very wisely in her novel, THE JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB, "Each of
us has a private Austen." Or in Nick Hornby's JULIET, NAKED, a
private Tucker Crowe.
Do read JULIET, NAKED—it's a beautiful, funny, thoughtful
book.
Many people are surprised when I tell them that I grew up in a house with only a handful of books. Neither of my parents were readers—my mother has, in recent years become a voracious reader—but luckily back then there were three ways by which I was able to indulge my incessant need for books: the bookmobile that visited my neighborhood, the library bus that took me to my local public library, and my school library.
[Two kinds of bookmobiles: One from the Meridian Library in Meridian, Idaho; and the other from the Camel Book Drive in Kenya. For more information about the wonderful Camel Book Drive,* and to see how you can help, click here.
For me, the library was a magical place where smiling ladies handed me the keys to endless doors that opened onto exciting new worlds and infinite possibilities. Libraries were the place where I discovered the sanctuary of story. The wonder of imagination. The power of the word.
Were it not for libraries and librarians, I would not be who I am today. Which is why I will always be grateful to librarians, library support staff, and all the generous folks who support these sanctuaries and champions of reading.
And so I am particularly excited to be doing a reading and signing of RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT at Glendale Public Library. This is a particularly vibrant, exciting place with lots of community events and a dynamic staff whose mission is "to enrich life, foster literacy, inspire intellectual curiosity and stimulate the imagination."
And they're also a lot of fun.
So take a break from the heat and have a glass of iced tea with me at Glendale Public Library. I look forward to seeing you there!
BrantFlakes is the blog of author Marilyn Brant, whose upcoming Austen-inspired book, ACCORDING TO JANE: A NOVEL ABOUT PRIDE, PREJUDICE, & THE PURSUIT OF THE PERFECT GUY, comes out October 2009. ACCORDING TO JANE is already a winner—it won the 2007 Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award for Best Novel with Strong Romantic Elements.
6/22/09: Syrie James, author of THE LOST MEMOIRS OF JANE AUSTEN, which was nominated for a 2008 Regency World Award for Best New Fiction; and her new novel, THE SECRET DIARIES OF CHARLOTTE BRONTE.
6/24/09: Kim Wilson, author of TEA WITH JANE AUSTEN and IN THE GARDEN WITH JANE AUSTEN, which is nominated for a 2009 Regency World Award for Best New Nonfiction.
6/26/09: Abigail Reynolds, author of THE PEMBERLEY VARIATIONS series of novels.
6/29/09: Laurie Viera Rigler (that's me), author of RUDE AWAKENINGS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT, which comes out June 25; and CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT, which is nominated for a 2009 Regency World Award http://www.janeausten.co.uk/awardsurvey.ihtml for Best New Fiction.
Although Marilyn Brant won't be doing a Q&A herself, she just received the ARCs of ACCORDING TO JANE and will be giving away at least one of them.
Each of these authors is giving away at least one book, so be sure to go to AustenFest to enter!
Another giveaway: Send an email to Austenblog (see rules here) by noon on December 21 to be eligible for a random drawing. The winner will received an inscribed copy of CONFESSIONS OF A JANE AUSTEN ADDICT.
Even if you don't win the book, you'll be happy you stopped by Austenblog, It's the perfect respite from holiday madness and one of my favorite spots in the Janeiverse.
Check out my guest post at Book Club Girl, which is one of my absolute favorite blogs. I talk about giving books for the holidays and, in particular, giving a book by Jane Austen.
If you post a comment at Book Club Girl by Thursday, December 18, you'll be eligible to enter a drawing for one of two signed copies of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, which I'm giving away in honor of the holiday season and Jane Austen's birthday (that's today, December 16th).
Ever assume that the protagonist of a novel is a self-portrait of the author? I have.
I make the author-equals-protagonist assumption so often that I have to laugh at myself when I catch myself at it. For example, I was happily reading Literacy and Longing in L.A., the story of a bibliophile who uses books for comfort and escape (oh how I could relate to that), when my fuzzy cocoon of protagonist/author/me kindredness broke open upon the protagonist's announcing her dislike for Jane Austen. What?! My favorite author scorned by the book-loving heroine of a book I really like?
After the initial shock passed, I reconnected with the heroine. After all, poor misguided thing, look what she was missing out on: Jane Austen. It didn't even occur to me that her tastes might not be shared by her creators, coauthors Jennifer Kaufman and Karen Mack. In fact, when I was about to meet Jennifer and Karen as my fellow panelists at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, I actually felt a bit of trepidation. Would these Austen-hating authors snub me? After all, the title of my novel, Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, says it all.
No, I told myself, that's just plain silly. And of course, they were absolutely lovely. To my surprise, Karen Mack even mentioned the Austen thing during the panel. It seems that she and Jennifer had received quite a lot of angry emails from Jane Austen devotees berating them for their lack of literary taste. Karen wanted it on record that although her protagonist had no use for Austen, both Karen and Jennifer love her.
I was duly chastened. Not that I was one of the people who had fired off an angry email (nor did I have an impulse to do so). But I, like them, had not questioned my assumption that author equals protagonist.
As an author, I should have known better. After all, many a reader has assumed that at least parts of Courtney, the protagonist of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, are exactly like me. And I don't mean just her taste in books. The question is usually couched in polite language, e.g., "How much of Courtney is you?" But I imagine what they really want to know is do I thrive on high drama, consider vodka to be one of the four basic food groups, and can I "be had," as Bette Davis famously quipped in All About Eve, "for the price of a cocktail, like a salted peanut."
Notice I'm not answering the questions. [Pauses to sip from huge martini glass.]
See? You fell for it.
Here is the real answer: Authors are like actors. We step inside the minds of the characters who speak to us, we hear what they say, and we become them, we live inside their worlds—while we are writing, that is. Not that we don't think about them all the time when we're away from our desks, hear them inside our heads, see scenes unfolding. But we still know the difference between them and us.
[You can read my guest post here or on Book Club Girl. In any case, check out Book Club Girl, a priceless resource for anyone who has a book group, wants to start a book group, or just loves to read. ]
Laurie Viera Rigler, author of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, Reports from Her Visit to the Pulpwood Queens Book Group!
I was en route to Jefferson, Texas to give a reading of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addictto the Pulpwood Queens Book Clubwhen
the flight attendant announced that he wasn't quite sure our landing
gear was working. There probably wasn't anything to worry about, he
said, though I later learned that the Shreveport Fire Department was
out in full force to greet us just in case. Hands gripping the armrest,
I turned to the woman sitting next to me and said, "Why did they have
to tell us that?" She shrugged. And so I said some prayers and then
went back to my book; I was reading Emma.
If those last twenty minutes of flight time were to be my last twenty
minutes alive, I would go down reading Jane Austen. Sure enough, Austen
took me out of myself, out of my fears, and into Highbury, where Emma
danced with Mr. Knightley at the Crown. And before I knew it, the plane
was safely on the ground.
Like the protagonist of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict,
I use Austen as comfort, guidance, and a cure for a host of ills that
come with modern living. Unlike her, I found myself transported not to
Regency England, but to Beauty and the Book,
the headquarters of the Pulpwood Queens, and the only beauty
salon/bookstore in America. Their motto? "Where tiaras are mandatory
and reading good books is the rule!" At Beauty and the Book,
bookshelves lined with must-reads face racks of RedKen products, and
stacks of the club's monthly picks are flanked by hairdryers. Tiaras
and other rhinestone goodies are also on offer. One thing that struck
me was the absence of gossip magazines, the typical reading fare of
hair salons. Then again, there is nothing typical about Beauty and the
Book. If you want to read while you're getting your hair done, there
are plenty of choices, but they don't include accounts of celebrity
divorce and who made a fashion faux pas on the red carpet.
At
the meeting, book club members, most decked out in tiaras, some
sporting the club's signature hot pink T-shirt, seat themselves in
hairstyling chairs to tuck into fried chicken, macaroni and cheese, and
other Southern delights they've cooked specially for the occasion. Kathy Patrick, the original Pulpwood Queen and author of the upcoming Pulpwood Queens' Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing Guide to Life,
is the charismatic and benevolent ruler, making announcements,
encouraging everyone to fill a plate and get comfy. This group is here
to have fun, but first and foremost it is there to fulfill Kathy's
mission, which is "to get the world reading."
And so the readings and discussions began. This month there were two selections, and so I not only got to read and discuss Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, I got to meet Masha Hamilton and listen to her read from her wonderful novel, The Camel Bookmobile, as well as hear about the real Camel Book Drive she's launched as a result of writing her book.
When the last bite of chocolate pie had been consumed and the last of
the tiara-wearing Queens filed out the door, Masha and I were in for
yet another treat: hair tips from Kathy, who showed us some cool tricks
for last-minute special looks. As I left this enchanted place, I
wondered, What would Jane Austen think of Beauty and theBook and The Pulpwood Queens? I'm convinced she'd love them. For one, the Pulpwood Queens live up to what Anne Eliot said in Persuasion: "My
idea of good company... is the company of clever, well-informed people,
who have a great deal of conversation." The Queens are definitely my
idea of good company--truly a delightful group of women who were full of questions and stimulating ideas. As for their Jefferson, Texas venue, I
am reminded of the circulating libraries of Austen's day, often
fashionable places where patrons could borrow books for a fee, and which also sold jewelry and other trinkets. If they had offered
hairstyling, too, they might have been nearly as perfect as Beauty and
the Book.
Book Club Girl Here: Laurie, this
sounds like it was great fun and I'm glad you got to meet Masha
Hamilton too! I grabbed some photos from your site and here's a link to all the rest of them.
