Finally catching up to reflect on the #BetsyTacyConvention! *Seven years* after committing to do the thing and being thwarted by the pandemic, it was a joy to finally make it happen. 200 fans converged on Deep Valley to see the houses, walk through Emily's slough, visit Lincoln Park, and connect with new and old friends. I'm so grateful and so tired and most of all, so thankful for Maud's writing and the gift of these beautiful stories. ❤️

Minnesota Littens, I've been having quite a month in your state! After a week in Mankato for the Betsy-Tacy Convention, I came back to Minneapolis for a work conference and have been having too good a time at your bookstores (Birchbark, my love!) and at the Minnesota Center for Book Arts (swoon!). Pictured are some new titles I'll be taking home along with so many photos of your gorgeous cities in the fall. Can't wait to visit again soon!

"The present of a friend." ❤️ #BetsyTacyConvention #VisitDeepValley #MaudHartLovelace #BetsyTacyAndTib

#iykyk #BetsyTacyConvention #DeepValley #MaudHartLovelace #BetsyTacyAndTib

My September was filled with pop culture-related audiobooks! The Spiderman musical was a disaster none of us could look away from and I appreciated the inside scoop. I loved Jeffery and Cole Casserole back in the day, and Jeffery Self's memoir is crushingly honest and hilarious. Harvey Fierstein is a legend and his memoir is a must for everyone, while anything related to Spinal Tap, one of my favorite movies of all time, never fails to disappoint.

It's the "Now" time of #JaneAustenThenAndNow and I'm challenging myself to tackle a whole pile of Emma adaptations and retellings! I'm hitting more movie and TV versions than ever, as it's been years since I've seen most of them, and I threw some new-to-me titles on this list as well. What are you taking on this month, #PemberLittens?

1. This was my 9th or 10th reading? I can't keep track anymore! My viewpoint hasn't shifted too much over the years; Emma has always been low on my Austen List but I've found new things to appreciate each time through.

2. It's complicated! Its a coming-of-age story so of course we have to see how she grows and God knows I regret things I did and said at 20...! But at the same time, her shallow snobbery grates on me. 👇👇

On Emma: Kelly suggests Knightley is in the process of enclosure, or privatizing formerly common land. After all, the "gipsies" were hanging about the lanes which must mean that their usual campsite was inaccessible, and the incident of turkey theft in the last chapters means that more villagers of Highbury are going hungry. Honestly, her ideas intrigue me, but then she also mentions that Harriet and Jane Fairfax are half sisters and girl, what?

Tweets About Emma, Part 2: I love Brandon Taylor. ? I'm so here for the distinction between "favorite" and "best", because YES. And the follow-up tweet is petty snark at its finest. Where is Emma on your Austen favorites list, #PemberLittens? #JaneAustenThenAndNow

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."

Tweets About Emma, Part 1: What resonates with you, #PemberLittens? 😂 #JaneAustenThenAndNow

I've been speeding through this one and was coming to the close when a chance day hike came my way. What a pleasure to end as I started, surrounded by the gorgeous outdoors! I've read Emma many times and in many humors, and this time I really tried to notice the character's finer qualities. Obviously her change of heart is deeply felt and her care for her father drives nearly everything she does- but I will still never truly love this book. 👇👇👇

Emma being asked to comment on Mrs. E and only responding that she is "very elegantly dressed" is the original Shady Aretha moment and it absolutely sent me. ? Anyway, we're starting to see Emma's growth now. Mrs. W and Knightley hint that she hasn't been behaving well toward Jane and Emma internally agrees. She also recognizes that though she dislikes the Eltons, its her role as a leader in society to throw them a dinner- and she does! Progress!

I'm reading ahead, but I can't stop! Mrs. E brings a new energy to the book when she appears and I love how much Emma detests her. And even though I know she's set up to be vulgar and unlikeable, I always feel a strange empathy for her at first in being transplanted to a new place. And is her condescending "adoption" of Jane Fairfax in the coming chapters so different from Emma's relationship with Harriet? Where are you on Augusta, #PemberLittens?

I loved re-reading this classic on my own September vacation this year. Though mine wasn't a fortnight (hooray for the USA 🙃) it was such a needed getaway. I was again struck by the small, beautifully rendered details of the book, and how, along with the general break in routine and surroundings, it was the time and space to be on their own that was the true means by which each family member was able to refresh and refill their mental energy.

Frank actually shows up in Highbury! Emma is charmed by his easy gregariousness but Knightley sizes him up as an affected, preening fop. Meanwhile, the Coles are throwing a party and Emma is dying to reject their invitation - but then it doesn't come?! How absolute dare! When it belatedly shows up, she actually agrees to grace them with her presence and even condescends to sing and play for them. And then Jane performs after her and *crushes it*.

What news! Elton is engaged to one Miss Hawkins of Bristol. He swans around in triumph over his hot, rich wife-to-be, but Emma clocks the truth ‐ she's pretty enough but she has no real class or connections, and worst of all, her family money was made in some totally dubious way. The narrator throws some shade here and I'm curious about your thoughts, #PemberLittens - does the new Mrs. E have slave-trade connections? (Article link in comments!)

Today's chapters give us the backstory on yet another orphaned kid from Highbury, Jane Fairfax. Niece to the chatterbox Miss Bates, Jane is being raised and educated by friends of her father, the Campbells. Emma suspects some drama between Jane and the husband of her foster sister, but Jane isn't spilling any tea. Worse, she knows Frank Churchill and *refuses* to gossip about him, offering only vague generalities, which Emma finds unforgivable.

So much happened in Emma while I was in the woods! Most recently Frank Churchill still hasn't arrived to celebrate his father's marriage. Mr. Knightley tears him to shreds while Emma's all, "Lay off, he's sure to be charming!" To be fair, Emma knows a thing or twelve about "tempers to manage" and cuts Frank some slack. After managing her entire family's emotional load just a few chapters ago during the dinner from Hell, her outlook totally tracks.

I'm keeping up with my two chapters a day, even if I'm not keeping up with posting! Taking time out this week for some camping and hiking and time offline, and it's been wonderful. I'm still truly attempting to find good in Emma with every chapter and it's not easy, can't lie. Especially when she's manipulating Harriet into refusing Robert Martin and completely misinterpreting (willfully or not? Let's debate!) the situation with Elton. UGH!

Day 2 and Emma is already testing my commitment to finding the good in her! We did see her tending lovingly to her father once again in these chapters. And she's lonely and isolated and needs a friend, so how nice that she invites Harriet Smith to come hang! Too bad she immediately launches a campaign to shame Harriet about her crush on Mr. Martin, who might not be rich but knows what a woman *really* wants! (A song performed by a shepherd's son.)

Last call to register for the #BetsyTacyConvention2025! We're so excited to have keynote speaker Mara Wilson, lifelong BT fan, join us in Deep Valley! We'll also be welcoming incredible authors Mitali Perkins and Danny Lavery as fellow keynotes. Registration closes soon; link in comments! #BetsyTacy #MaudHartLovelace #DeepValley #BetsyTacyAndTib

I'm really going to try to give Emma the benefit of the doubt this time! Today I'm calling out two things: first, Emma's evident care for her aging, anxious father; the girl has spent all of her teens graciously managing his emotional and mental health. Second, Mrs. Weston, a whole adult, apparently started treating Emma like a bestie when she was 13?! 😬 Not to be all 2025 about this, but I think we can confidently call Emma a parentified child.

Today the #PemberLittens start the Austen work that challenges me most- because while I admire the skilled construction of this world and the way all the action unfolds, I just don't like the central couple. Will this be the re-read that makes me see the light on spoiled, shallow Emma and scolding Knightley? I'm kicking off with a tattered paperback to see me through a rustic camping trip, then switching to a gorgeous Folio edition. Let's begin!

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!

#TomKitten might not be sure about this book, but I definitely am: it's a solid pick from me! A bisexual lady vigilante who kills abusive dudes by poisoning pies?! Bakery business-owner by day, misandrist and revenge-seeker by night?! There is literally nothing to not like, including the fact that the story rushes by so quick and breezy while still making you fall for Daisy and her found family and her delicious-sounding pies. A total winner!

Some books stay on my TBR for way too long; I'm so glad I finally read this one! Essie is a 17 year-old raised in the public eye on a reality TV show featuring her deeply religious family. When she gets pregnant, her parents have to devise a way to handle a situation that could ruin everything they've built. I love Essie's intelligence, her strength, and her courage, and the ways in which she delivered herself the life she wanted and deserved.

Perfect day on Lake Michigan with the best of friends and the tagged book, which is a total delight, btw! I already know I'll be reading the whole series. #PureMichigan #CurrentlyReading

I finished Part 3 with unabashed tears streaming down my face and my husband sitting next to me giving me The Look I get when I'm being a little ridiculous. I managed to choke out, "It's futile but beautiful!" and really, I can't give a better encapsulation than that. It ended as it must, as I knew it would, and the novel's great world went on spinning - characters moving forward and a new snow falling. But I'll stay thinking about it for years.

Shots fired!!!! And is Arngjerd wrong? Is Simon more honorable than Erlend? I've just finished Book 3, Part 1 and can't get over how into this I am. #KLBR #DoorstopKristin

#TomKitten and I are completely sucked into Book 3 of Kristin. Life back at Jørundgård is bittersweet, as Kristin grapples with memories of the past and the sometimes stark reality of the present. I hope I can stay fully spoiler-free as I continue to read because this is nothing less than gripping and I can't wait for all of the twists as turns as I come closer to the (sadly) inevitable end. I'm so glad I finally took the plunge on this series!

My introduction to WWII's Operation Mincemeat came via a great #PersephonePick called Operation Heartbreak. Then a few months later, I learned the true story was turned into a musical and I was *obsessed*. Now, some of the musical's superfans have published a book about their own research into the story of Mincemeat's unsung hero, Hester Leggatt. "Finding Hester" is a testament to the power of art and the importance of setting the record straight.

I still love Undset's storytelling and the vivid, historic world she's conjured, but man, life gets real for Kristin FAST in this installment. Political intrigue and deep religious exploration abound, as well as the daily strife of having and raising children (the toll of her many pregnancies is heartbreaking and sobering), parental aging and loss, and the realities of a troubled marriage with an unworthy man. I.E. Erlend is THE WORST, the end.

#PemberLittens! Absolutely nobody asked for this, but they're gonna give us some goods anyway: Olivia Colman and Fiona Shaw! Rhea Norwood as Lydia!!! A Wickham who is way too young to be there!!!!!!! And a plus-size Kitty (Hollie Avery, LFG!) which thrills me. Maybe someday I'll get my biblically accurate plus-size Georgiana Darcy, too; a girl can dream. Link to article in the chat, and hit me, folks: how are you feeling about a new P&P?

This chapter on Mansfield Park's DL commentary on the slave trade seems not only the most plausible of Kelly's claims, but also the most fascinating. Why else, in a novel centered on morality, would Austen have so many references throughout? From the names "Mansfield" and "Norris", which would have obvious connotations for her audience, to repeatedly invoking Cowper, who famously wrote anti-slavery poetry, I feel like the connection is undeniable.

Sunday morning bellini and some musings on Mansfield Park. Though I will never agree with the author that Fanny is as dull as he claims, I appreciate how he contrasts Fanny and Edmund with the Crawfords and draws parallels to the class divides within his own life. He sums up his take with a bit from an Austen letter written the same year MP was published: "Wisdom is better than Wit & in the long run will certainly have the last laugh on her side."

I'll be reading overtime this week to finish Book 2, and just as I'm trying to make some progress, #TomKitten comes along to throw a wrench in the plans. 😂 He may be cute but I did have to shoo him away after I took the picture; the story is too good to stop for long! ##DoorstopKristin #KLBR #CatsOfLitsy

Mansfield is a pick forever! I might rage against the Crawfords, and sure, Edmund isn't fantastic...but Fanny's quiet, unshakable strength brings me back time and time again.

Thanks as always to @Crinoline_Laphroaig for leading us through a whole year of Austen. #PemberLittens #JaneAustenThenAndNow

And it's a mad dash to the book's close! Fanny arrives back home and Edmund pours out the whole sorry story of Mary and then suddenly it's the "wrap it up" chapter?! Everyone gets a satisfying and deserved ending based on their actions and moral character (Maria and Mrs. Norris banished in disgrace, huzzah!) and Fanny is vindicated in every respect (double huzzah!). Long live the girl who's maybe kinda boring but has been GOOD and RIGHT all along!

Now, I don't generally dislike Edmund, but after all the shit that goes down in these two chapters, he comes out with THIS?!:

"How a man who had once loved, could desert you! But yours - your regard was new compared with ---- Fanny, think of me!"

We will NOT be thinking of you or centering you in the midst of this, Edmund, so get out of the way: Fanny has arrived home at Mansfield and is about to be greeted like a long-lost daughter (win!).

Letters are flying! Mary writes to update Fanny on the London social scene, including how FOINE Edmund is looking (I always love how offended Fanny is on his behalf, like, he's more than just a hot piece of ass, Mary!!). Meanwhile Edmund writes to say that he's truly in love with Mary even though she's a shallow gold digger with horrible friends. Finally, Lady B writes in distress- Tom has had a drunken fall and things are not looking good. 😬

Phew, catching up on Mansfield Park today! Fanny is still in Portsmouth and Henry Crawford shows up?! It's her worst nightmare but he acts like a changed man - he's courteous and chivalrous and kind to her sister Susan and Fanny is...maybe enjoying his company! She cringes when introducing him to her rough family, though. Like, she wants him to leave her alone for the *right* reasons, not because her family is a bunch of embarrassing trash people!

The last few days have been tough, no doubt. Losing a pet is such a hard life event. But I'm slowly feeling better and looking for joy in time with #TomKitten and a highly anticipated new edition of a book I love to hate and hate to love. Maybe I'll do a January buddy read of this one; it's too sunny and lovely to dig into now, but seems the perfect thing for very grey days!

I'm so sad to have said goodbye to my favorite reading companion. It was a tough weekend and hard to have him leave us; but I'm so grateful that this sweet, good boy found his way to us and let us love him for many years. This isn't a great picture but he loved to find his way into my lap or by my side when I was settled in with a book and I'm happy to remember our best, cozy times together. 🖤❤️🌈 #ColeCat #CatsOfLitsy

Let's just say that things in Portsmouth are...not great. William gets called away for Boat Stuff so he and Fanny can't spend much time together, and the other siblings are indifferent to her presence. Her mom only loves her boy children and Betsey, and her dad makes me RAGE. Are we seeing Worst Austen Father here? Where does he fall between negligent Mr. Bennet, vain Sir Walter Elliot, and Captain "Could Have Plausibly Murdered My Wife" Tilney?

Another backyard picnic, this time with a fun, kinda dumb beachy read and my #TomKitten nearby. 🖤🩵🩷

Fanny is still a no-go on the whole "marrying a man she detests" front so Sir Thomas decides to send her to Portsmouth so she can see the poverty that awaits her should she not marry rich. And you know, he has a point: Fanny is pretty horrified by the loud, misbehaving kids, her drunk dad, the sullen servants, and the general lack of order. And also by the way they completely disregard the daughter and sister they've not seen for a decade??!

I have to admire Fanny in these two chapters. Everybody's riding her ass about refusing Henry and agreeing among themselves that he will eventually browbeat her into marrying him. But even though our girl cries about it and hates the pressure, she's standing firm and I love to see it! She may be timid and unassuming, but damn it, there's no way she'll spend the rest of her life with a flirtatious, philandering, dishonorable cad!