Welcome to Litsy!

I love a rainy night and hot apple cider, with Deresiewicz's meditation on Emma: "These things matter because they matter to the characters themselves. They made up the texture of their lives and gave their existence its savor...those small, "trivial" everyday things, the things that happen hour by hour to the people in our lives; that, [Austen] was telling us, is what the fabric of our years really consist of. That is what life is really about."

It's been getting more and more chilly here in Michigan, so I'm very happy to take advantage of a sunshine-y day with some reading in the garden! Tirzah Price's latest Austen mystery was slow to start for me, but then suddenly I found I'd read more than 200 pages all at once. 😂 Planning to finish out the day with the final third of a different take on Fanny Price and, let's face it, probably a cocktail at some point. Happy Saturday, friends!

The Mansfield Park influence here was evident at the start, but as the book went on, it fully went its own exciting direction. Two cousins become fast friends when Funke is sent to England from Nigeria to live with her aunt. She navigates a whole new world and encounters blatant racism while both cousins deal with completely dysfunctional family dynamics. The inspiration from Austen shines but the compelling story stands on its own.

I've reviewed each book in this trilogy but as the final month of the #KLBR winds up, I wanted to review the collection as a whole. I mean this with no hyperbole- this was an earth-shaking read. I'm in awe of the balance of the epic scale and the nuanced specificity of the writing, and how it evoked a bygone time and place yet felt so contemporary and fully human in every struggle and relationship. Conquering this chunkster was worth every minute!

A slight little book, but enjoyable, giving an overview of the flowers, trees, fruits, and other natural elements mentioned in Jane's works, from the strawberries picked at Donwell to the trees which bear Marianne's beloved dead leaves to the hyacinth that Catherine Morland learns to love. The illustrations are sweet but simple, and so is the narrative- not much depth, but enough to whet the appetite if you wanted to learn more.

Kicking off the weekend the best way I know how - another YA adaptation for the #PemberLittens and a strong, cold G&T. Hope everyone has at least a little bit of laziness in front of them! #BooksAndBooze #BooksAndBlooms #JaneAustenThenAndNow

Halfway through this book for #MidsummerSolace and it's perfectly lovely. I'm really enjoying the easy pace, and each vignette is building a stronger picture of Grandmother and Sophia and their summer together full of simple pleasures. It's starting to veer toward melancholy but I actually love that; the mood is keeping me hooked. Who else is reading this one right now? #BooksAndBlooms

I really enjoyed this R&J retelling, which centers Rosaline's POV. Sure, it takes a bunch of liberties and they may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it was a great new viewpoint to read Romeo as a Very Bad Man. I didn't love Tybalt's characterization but seeing the Friar in a new light was fascinating and chilling. Now I need to go search for every Rosaline-centric work out there! #BooksAndBlooms

And we end with happiness! Elinor and Edward marry and Mrs. F relents, offering them a bit of cash to settle more comfortably at Delaford. Marianne eventually has to eat all her words because she falls - not passionately - but quietly in love with an old man who wears flannel waistcoats. And now Margaret is of age to dance and have beaux and be teased, so triumph for Mrs. J! My love for this book is unceasing; I will never tire of it. Brava, Jane!

Rebelling against a restrictive and rigid faith, mad support for the LGBTQ+, a girl inspired by art, and a literal musical triumph over the high school alt-right? What's not to love?! Sure, Hope's mom's turnaround in perspective felt a little too good to be true, and OK, I skipped most of the sci-fi story-within-a-story, but overall, so enjoyable. I can never resist self-discovery, good friends, and great music. #BooksAndBlooms