#Would I say that Persuasion is my favorite of Jane Austen's novels?

[cottagecore-raccoon]

The more I think about it, the more I think that Persuasion has my favorite premise of all of Jane Austen's novels

Anne Elliot as a character speaks to my soul. She feels tremendous guilt for a decision she made eight years ago. Her life is lonely, as she doesn't really have anyone she can truly confide in despite being surrounded by people. So she swallows her pain, the yearning she feels deep in her soul, and vows that if nothing else at least she'll be helpful.

And of course she is reunited with Frederick Wentworth (the one that got away) who seems to hate her now, and she just keeps going. She keeps being kind and supporting her loved ones while slowly carving out a life for herself. There's something about her classic heroism that just feels so attainable. I don't have Elizabeth Bennett's wit, or Jane Bennett's unwavering belief in the goodness of everyone, or even Elinor's constant composure. But I can be like Anne and just keep moving forward attempting to be helpful

Of course it all works out in the end, and Anne is finally surrounded by people who truly appreciate her, even if she had to wait an extra eight years. Others have observed the fairy tale quality of the ending, and perhaps that's why it speaks to me. The idea that if you just keep doing your best and being kind, you'll eventually find happiness

[emilysidhe]

Sense and Sensibility is high up on my list of favorite Jane Austen novels (Persuasion is at the top), but as Austen’s first published book, it does retain a few problems that later books don’t, chiefly (imho) that there are very few on page interactions between the end game couples.

We know that Elinor and Edward exhibit closeness with each other because we see other characters who’ve seen them together react to it, but in terms of conversations that make it into the book, there are far more scenes of Edward gently teasing Marianne about the fact that they have opposite tastes in art and nature (as in, scenic views.)

Meanwhile, Marianne spends most of the book actively avoiding Colonel Brandon while he has important and surprisingly emotionally intimate conversations with Elinor.

There might be something in how the relationship between the sisters is so much more important in this book than any of the others that it’s almost more important to demonstrate how Elinor’ and Marianne’s future partners will fit into this relationship as brothers-in-law than as husbands.

But about a third of the way through the book, it’s hard not to be intrigued by the idea of an alternate ending where the sisters end up with the opposite partner. I do think the actual couples are ultimately well matched. Elinor and Edward are both “still waters run deep” kind of people who understand each other well, and the annotated edition I’ve read most recently (David M Shapard) points out that Colonel Brandon’s tragic backstory is ripped right from the common tropes for heroes of Romantic novels of the time, signaling to contemporary readers that he actually fits Marianne’s romantic ideals as well or better than Willoughby even while she dismisses him.

But wouldn’t it also be fun if, in commiserating with Elinor about his unrequited feelings for Marianne, Colonel Brandon were to realize to his surprise that his initial infatuation with her was more about nostalgia for the first love he lost than real, current interest in passionate and idealistic teenage girls, and that as an adult what he really wants is a grown woman with enough sense to match him as an equal partner. And Elinor, disappointed that Edward’s sense did not prevent him from acting very foolishly in a way that hurt her, finds herself falling for an older, wiser version of a man who could have stepped right out of the pages of one of Marianne’s favorite novels.

Meanwhile, Edward having fallen for the first time for the sharp and pretty Lucy Steele only to be disenchanted by her ignorance, then found himself in love with her polar opposite in the sensible and noble Elinor Dashwood (who initially returns his feelings but moves on from him before he can disentangle himself from Lucy Steele), loses his heart for a third time to the romantic and sensitive Marianne Dashwood, whom he had once hoped to call sister. And Marianne looks up one day from her “I’ll never love again after Willoighby” philosophizing to find that without noticing it happening, she’s already fallen for a shy, subdued man who feels emotions with the same quiet intensity she learned to recognize and love in her sister but who commits what she once considered the unforgivable crime of preferring to look at straight, healthy trees over the picturesque ideal of twisted, blasted ones.

It would be really cute is what I’m saying.

[emotionallychargedtowel]

Intense Subtext in Front of Oblivious Side Characters: "I had no wife in the year six"

There's a thing, I guess it would be considered a trope, that is one of my favorite such things in any form of media but especially any sort of romance-centered story. I don't know of an existing term for this and I'm terrible at being concise so I'm not sure how I could put it briefly. Basically, it's the thing that happens when a larger interaction is happening with a group of people but there's a subtext to it that means something very different--and generally, much more meaningful--to the central characters. You could call it something like Intense Subtext in Front of Oblivious Side Characters.

I've been thinking for a while about possible parallels between BLs and Jane Austen novels and/or adaptations. This is my attempt at taking a small, specific example of a parallel I sometimes notice and talking about it. Austen's novels do a lot of this trope I mentioned. That's in part because of choices Austen made in what she wanted to write about. But it's also because of the social context of her time. There was a lot going on that people couldn't be explicit about, for a variety of reasons. I think one reason why I see similar things happening in some BLs--and maybe one reason for the appeal of certain types of BLs--is the fact that being queer in a homophobic society makes openness complicated in a way that doesn't come up as much for hetero relationships these days. Especially when we get into things like office romances, in which appearances have higher stakes. These complications around openness have a kind of similarity to the reasons Austen's characters had to play a lot of things close to the chest.

Fellow Old Fashion Cupcake fans will remember an example from that series that I think really fits here. Nozue and Togawa agree to attend a goukon, or "mixer" as it's sometimes translated--basically a group hangout intended to help men and women meet for the purpose of finding people to date. Nozue is hitting it off with a cute younger woman, which is bad enough. But then he mentions his "anti-aging" efforts, and because of the mysterious way he words it, the woman asks, "Does that mean you're in love?" which of course catches Togawa's attention even more. He's clearly affected when Nozue answers, "If I were, I wouldn't be here."

@jdramastuff did a great screenshot post of this scene if you want to see what this looked like.

After Nozue's comment, Togawa starts knocking back alcoholic drinks like it's going out of style, ensuring that Nozue will have to help him home instead of going home with the woman who's been flirting with him.

(You could argue that this isn't so much a case of subtext as it is the significance one person assigns to what another is saying. Subtext really requires some degree of communication between more than one person. But while Nozue doesn't fully grasp what's going on, I think he does understand in some ways what he's communicating. I don't want to go on too much of a tangent, so I'll just say that having just read the manga the series was based on, it strengthened my belief that while Nozue is repressed, insecure, even deluded at times, he has glimmers of awareness of his feelings for Togawa and even suspicions of Togawa's feelings for him, and on some level he knows what he's saying, though I don't think he knows in this moment how much these words will hurt Togawa.)

I have another favorite example of this, a scene from Persuasion. It's rendered really well in the 1995 adaptation of the novel with Ciaran Hinds and Amanda Root. (The whole thing is phenomenal, by the way--I think it's the best Austen adaptation ever made, personally.)

A bit of background for anyone not familiar with the story: Anne Elliott was engaged to Captain Frederick Wentworth in 1806 but was convinced by Lady Russell, her neighbor/family friend and a kind of surrogate mother to her following her mom's death, to break off the engagement. She has regretted it ever since. Wentworth was deeply hurt and angry when she broke things off, not surprisingly.

More than eight years later, Anne is visiting her sister and her sister's in-laws, the Musgroves, when Wentworth comes to the area and starts spending a lot of time at the Musgrove place (and with the Musgroves' eligible young daughters). Wentworth acknowledges Anne, but just barely, while paying enough attention to both the Musgrove girls that everyone is gossiping about which one he's going to marry. Anne's sister Mary was away at boarding school when her previous relationship with Wentworth happened, so neither Mary nor the Musgroves are aware Anne and Wentworth were involved and think they were only acquaintances.

At a dinner party, the Musgrove girls try to look up the ship that Wentworth first commanded, the Asp, in the Navy List, a book that chronicles the various ships in the British Navy, their commanders, and so forth. Wentworth tells them not to bother--"she" is not in the current version of the List because "she" no longer exists.

Louisa and Henrietta Musgrove are suitably horrified.

Admiral Croft, Wentworth's brother-in-law and superior in the Navy, remarks that Wentworth was lucky to get a command so early in his career at all, no matter how seaworthy (or un-seaworthy) the ship was.

(Remember, 1806 was the year that Anne and Wentworth became engaged and then un-engaged.)

Gut-wrenching. And nobody else sitting at that table has any idea what just happened. I love it.

I have some more thoughts about this languishing in an excessively long post in my drafts, which I'll try to get out one of these days. I know I've talked to a few people about trying to do some BL/Austen posts and had meant to tag them but the only person I remember talking with about it was @absolutebl. If you're reading this and you want a heads up next time I write about this stuff, let me know!

[thatscarletflycatcher]

Austen Asks: 6, 12, 18, 24

6. Favorite movie adaptation

If we are including all movie and tv adaptations: I think Emma 2009 still reigns supreme in my heart. There's so many interesting interpretations of the text here that are plausible and yet not necessarily the ones one would think of first? It's a difficult balance of modern and faithful and I think it nails it really well.

If it is only movies... I'll pick a tv one and a cinema one (because I insist these are often separate categories enough).

Surprisingly, for the cinema one, I'm going for Love and Friendship? Epistolary novels are not easy to adapt? and it is an extra challenge to work with a main character like Lady Susan, and make her interesting to follow while not falling into girlboss-gaslight-gatekeep? And it's also not easy to shape Austen juvenilia into something workable this way' But they did and did really well?

I find I really like many of the tv movies XD ITV's Emma doesn't win because its Daviesisms bring it down, but otherwise, I really vibe with it. Northanger Abbey 2007 is much better than it has any right to be. The 1995 Persuasion is iconic for a reason. It's difficult to pick between those three.

12. Least favorite Austen heroine

This one is always a harsh question because I do truly love them all, and it makes it sound like I dislike one of them if I rate it less favorite. But I'll play along and say it is a tie between Fanny and Jane Fairfax, if she counts. It isn't really about finding them dull or boring or too uptight, but that I feel we wouldn't be friends. Sometimes they veer into Darcy's "my good opinion once lost is lost forever", and unlike Elinor, they tend to make little show of concealing it. Which, you know, it is justifiable in their circumstances, but would be exhausting to deal with (as I'd probably feel like I'm walking on eggshells around them. I often make blunders I regret soon enough, but I don't think they'd easily forgive or forget).

18. Moment that made you smile/happy while reading

So many, of course, but the first that comes to mind is Knightley's proposal. Yes, yes, we all talk about "if I loved you less I might be able to talk about it more" but what about "for dearest you will always be, whatever the event of this hour’s conversation, my dearest, most beloved Emma" and "you know what I am.—You hear nothing but truth from me." and "Yes, you see, you understand my feelings—and will return them if you can."? the whole thing is such an in-crescendo of joy and I clearly need to reread soon.

24. Already answered, but let's this time give a shoutout to Miss Bates, poor, hated miss Bates! She's doing the absolute best of a really trying and bleak life situation and she doesn't get enough credit for it, in this world of Mrs Bennet apologia and even Mr Collins apologia!!!

From this ask game.

[sonseulsoleil]

Alright, I've seen a lot of P&P takes, and I obviously made my Persuasion comparison post. But I'm not done talking about Austen parallels because Emma is my favorite one, and there are so many things to talk about here. Under a cut because I have no self restraint and it got so long.

First, I want to get the parallels to Gabriel and Beelzebub out of the way because that was the first thing I noticed.

Gabriel is so much like Frank Churchill. Frank has been controlled by his aunt his entire life because she controls his fortune. The second he steps out of line, she'll cut him off. He hides this with charm and arrogance, but it becomes clear by the end of the novel that none of his choices are his own. He falls for Jane Fairfax, someone his aunt disapproves of because she is below his station. They're forced to keep their a relationship secret. But ultimately, once his aunt dies, they're able to reveal the truth and get married like they planned.

This should be sounding familiar by now, I think? Like Frank, Gabriel is coerced by Heaven into becoming what they want him to be. Like Frank, he wears a mask of arrogance. Like Frank, he falls for someone he isn't supposed to look twice at. Like Frank, Gabriel becomes the envy of another character in the story, who desperately wants what he seems to have.

Which brings us to Crowley and Aziraphale. Crowley is Knightley and Aziraphale is Emma. At first, I noticed some similarities between Aziraphale and Knightley—namely the repression and the dislike of change—but the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Aziraphale and Emma are incredibly similar characters. They’re both obnoxiously self-righteous, believe they know what’s best for everyone, and are deeply stubborn.

It takes Emma almost the entire novel to accept that she’s in the wrong—that she shouldn’t have looked down on people below her socially/economically, that she shouldn’t meddle in other people’s business, and, of course, that she’s been in love with her best friend this entire time (which she only comes to terms with when she’s faced with the possibility of losing him forever).

And, come on, throwing a ball to try to get two people to dance and fall in love? That's literally a move out of Emma's playbook.

Of course, Crowley and Knightley are similar as well. Knightley is a character who is very kind and warm-hearted, but is simultaneously strict and demanding. He has a strong sense of morals. He is the sensible one, the brains, the guy who always sees things for what they are. He's not afraid to call people out, and he's almost always right when he does. I see a lot of Crowley in these qualities. Crowley may be a demon, but his sense of morality is very strong. It just doesn't align with Heaven or Hell's moral code.

On top of all that, Knightley is the only character in the novel that ever actually challenges Emma. Like, Crowley, Knightley is always calling Emma out, pointing out the flaws in her reasoning, hoping she'll see his side. And she is always measuring her judgements against him, even when she doesn’t realize she’s doing it.

She values his opinion over everyone else’s because he’s the only one she can truly trust to be honest with her, even when she doesn’t like what he has to say. Just like Aziraphale is always listening to Crowley, even when they disagree, and often ends up coming around to agree with Crowley's stance, like in the Victorian flashbacks.

Like Aziraphale and Crowley, Emma and Knightley argue and bicker A LOT but it’s always with an understanding of the deep friendship and care that underlies it. And when they fight for real towards the end of the book? It’s devastating. And it’s the final nail in Emma’s character development. Faced with losing the one person she took for granted would always be by her side, the one person who has always been entwined into her life, the person she can't imagine being without, she has to own up to her mistakes.

The last thing I'll say, is that Knightley and Emma are my favorite Austen couple for a reason. They are lifelong best friends, and that is the basis for their romance. Knightley is the only one in the novel who sees Emma, flaws and all, and loves her unconditionally. Aziraphale and Crowley are like that, too. They see each other, really see each other, imperfections and all, and they love each other so much.

[libraearthtravelco]

Aziraphale = Anne Elliot

Gaiman said Aziraphale's favorite Jane Austen novel might be Persuasion. It's mine as well so I've been thinking about it and how it parallels the Ineffible Trial Separation (IT'S NOT A DIVORCE PEOPLE!!)

So, Anne Elliot is the smartest, kindest, relatively most well adjusted member of her family [Read: Heaven] that was once great and wealthy and now is barely scraping by on the illusion of organizational perfection.

She meets dashing, stoic Captain Wentworth [Crowley], who is on leave from the military and they make a strong connection and fall in love. He proposes!

Anne desperately wants to marry her love, but her Godmother [with serious Metatron vibes] Lady Russell discourages it because of Wentworth's lack of wealth and status so Anne turns him down.

And basically spends THE NEXT 8 YEARS regretting it and missing Wentworth.

Well, he returns a rich successful self-made gentleman and Anne is like "oh man, I still love him so much and he'll want nothing to do with me."

Loads of other stuff happen [you should really read it] but it ends with Wentworth basically releasing his anger towards Anne and realizing he's STILL MADLY IN LOVE WITH AZIRAPHA... uh, ANNE!

Then, because it's the era of repressed feelings and communication, he sneaks her THE MOST ROMANTIC LETTER EVER...

"I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant. You alone have brought me to Bath. For you alone, I think and plan. Have you not seen this? Can you fail to have understood my wishes? I had not waited even these ten days, could I have read your feelings, as I think you must have penetrated mine. I can hardly write. I am every instant hearing something which overpowers me. You sink your voice, but I can distinguish the tones of that voice when they would be lost on others. Too good, too excellent creature! You do us justice, indeed. You do believe that there is true attachment and constancy among men. Believe it to be most fervent, most undeviating, in F. W.

I must go, uncertain of my fate; but I shall return hither, or follow your party, as soon as possible. A word, a look, will be enough to decide whether I enter your father's house this evening or never."

[sigh] UGH!!!

Anyhow, ignore the "Father's house" part because they pretty much literally sail off into the sunset but long story short, IT'S NOT A DIVORCE! They're gonna end up together after we all hurt for too long and THESE IDIOTS ARE THE MOST ROMANTIC COUPLE SINCE JANE AUSTEN AND I LOVE THEM. THE. END.

[spookykestrel]

What books did you read? I'm curious lol

Ofc only if you wanna answer, no pressure!

I’ve got sorta a weird collection lol - you don’t have to read all my reviews but there’s only 8 so I decided to throw a bit of reflection in there for the hell of it lol

1. Radio silence by Alice oseman - I liked this sooo much better than I thought I would especially given that I found heartstopper too gooey for me

2. The Boy and Girl Who Broke the World by Amy Reed - I read this in like 8th grade and lovedd it. I reread it hoping it would feel the same and it was still good but I was more critical of it and it was a little weird

3. Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson - I read this for a class but wow I would recommend this sooo so much. The stories he tells about the US justice and prison system will genuinely rewire your mind and if you weren’t passionate about it before, you will be after this. Wow.

4. True Biz by Sara Nović - this was recommended to me by my mother bc I was taking an ASL class. It was well written and a good book but I didn’t love it. I seem to be the only person to think this but I felt the book went too slow with too many missing parts that were hastily and unclearly thrown together at the end so it was an unsatisfying read. It is good if you and a good intro to Deaf culture while getting a look into people’s experiences

5. Nimona by ND Stevenson - so cutie and awesome. I went into it with no idea what the plot would be and I adored it. Also I love the art style

6. The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Kline - recommended to me by @coolkidwasteland (ty much) it was so cutie and feel good and pretty to read

7. Persuasion by Jane Austen - lovely Jane Austen novel what more is there to say lol

8. PJO: The Chalice of the Gods - ofc I had to read this. Obviously reading percy Jackson again as an adult feels was different but it was comforting to read a new book from my favroite series and it was exactly what I needed to read this year lol

Ty for the asssskk im sure this is longer than you expected lolll what books did you read this year ig you read a lot what were your favorites ??

[flowersandfashion]

Eloise,

I just wanted to say thank you for your blog. This is going to sound insane but the pipeline to finding your account went like this:

I've been struggling with lots of stuff ranging from my girlfriend of a few years breaking up with me to me heavily struggling with being sexualized by people close to me. All in all, I was looking for posts about womanhood and the like but as a femme sapphic woman, I felt so connected to your account. The aesthetics of it just really made me feel at ease and happy.

I was just curious, do you have any favorite pieces of media like books or movies you really love? I'm just trying to surround myself with stuff like that to help me feel better.

Sorry for all of that, just wanted to spread some love and appreciation. :))

- 🪻

Hello you gorgeous soul, thank you so much for taking the time to write this, you've made my day 💖 This blog is truly just me compiling pretty things that bring me joy, so it's lovely to think that it can have a similar effect on others.

I'm sorry you're having a rough time, in addition to sending you virtual hugs and kisses (xoxoxo), I have no shortage of media recommendations (especially with themes of sapphic womanhood) to offer you:

Anne with an E (2017-2019)

This is my go-to whenever I'm feeling anxious. Not only are the aesthetics absolutely gorgeous, but I adore the way it focuses on female friendships and finding your own identity. It's not afraid to address dark topics but always has an overall message of love and acceptance. I especially love how this adaptation represents queer identity too (Anne and Diana are girlfriends to me. and god bless Cole and Josephine).

I highly recommend the original novel Anne of Green Gables too! The show definitely captures the vibes perfectly so if you like one, you'll like the other.

A League of Their Own (2022)

I couldn't care less about baseball but I do love queer found family and women solidarity, and this has it in spades. All the characters are so loveable and it's just a nice heartwarming story (and very sad at points, but definitely uplifting as a whole).

Heartstopper (2022–)

Truly the ultimate queer comfort show. I don't have any particular thoughts about it that haven't been expressed by other people more eloquently. But my opinions can be summarised simply as: it's good, it's really good, it's so wholesome, the characters are so loveable, I love it.

Emma (2020)

This film is so goddamn pretty. I could watch it on mute and still have a great time just from all the beautiful costumes and cinematography. But the plot is delightful too. Dare I say that this film captures Jane Austen's wit and satire better than any other adaptation. I love how all of her novels portray women finding their way in the world and navigating relationships with friends and family, but I think Emma is especially great in this regard. (Also, Emma and Harriet are girlfriends to me).

Again, I would also recommend the novel Emma. It's quite a challenging read if you're not used to the writing style, but delightful once you get into it. And if we're talking Jane Austen novels, Persuasion is also a favourite of mine (definitely don't watch that film though).

Dating Amber (2020)

This is a tragically underappreciated Irish, queer, coming of age indie film. It's basically about a gay guy and lesbian who pretend to date each other in high school in 1990s Ireland. It's very funny (also sad at times) but ultimately very heartwarming.

Because I'm a sucker for a gay/lesbian beards found family trope, I also recommend these book: The Inverts (1920s lavender marriage, very funny, Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo vibes) and Gwen & Art Are Not in Love (Arthurian legend beard relationship, also very funny and camp, BBC Merlin vibes [if you get me]).

And if you like Dating Amber, you'll probably also like Handsome Devil. Another Irish, queer, coming of age indie film (but mlm-centric). It stars the same actor as Dating Amber (Fionn O'Shea), alongside a baby-faced Nicholas Galitzine and Andrew Scott. Imagine Dead Poets Society vibes, except instead of being about Romantic poetry, it's about New Romantic music. And explicitly gay and with a happier ending. (Sorry, this is like four recommendations in one).

The House in the Cerulean Sea

This book is described on the cover as 'like being wrapped up in a big gay blanket', and that is a very accurate description. Imagine Good Omens except it's Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children (I'm half convinced it's ineffable husbands fanfic tbh). This book made me cry happy tears, it's so incredibly heartwarming and uplifting. Top-notch found family and agonisingly slow-burn pining.

Other honourable mentions:

Please Like Me (2013-2016)

One Day at a Time (2017-2020)

Gentleman Jack (2019-2022)

Little Women (2019)

Pride (2014)

Ladybird (2018)

[quotes-and-recs]

My ranking of Jane Austen's 6 novels before and after reading them

Before:

Pride and Prejudice I've read this many times, so I know I love it. And I think it's the general favorite among Jane Austen's readers (that, or maybe Emma) so I expect it to remain my favorite.

Sense and Sensibility Maybe it's just the title & the two main characters being sisters, but this one feels a lot like Pride and Prejudice to me, so I think I'll like it a lot.

Persuasion I really like the premise of the novel, and honestly, that's all I've got to say about that one.

Emma I think this one is the second most popular, so I expect to like it, but also I don't generally like characters like Emma (or characters that I presume Emma to be like) so we'll see.

Mansfield Park I'm actually most of the way through this one (whoops) so this is probably where it'll be after I've read them all, but we'll see. I like it, but it's not quite as dramatic or romantic as I imagined it would be.

Northanger Abbey Kind of like with Emma, I just don't expect to like Catherine Morland. I'm already shuddering with second hand embarrassment for her. I expect my opinion will change once I've actually read the book, though.

After under the cut

After:

Pride and Prejudice I love all of the characters in this and I really love all of the settings, too. I feel the most transported when I read this one.

Persuasion This one felt the most gentle to me. The most anxiety I had was when Louisa had her accident. It was a smooth read and I really love Captain Wentworth and Anne. (I also love how the Musgroves love Anne more than Mary.)

Mansfield Park I liked Fanny more than I thought I would, I really liked Susan, and I enjoyed hating Mrs. Norris. When I finished this, I liked it, but I didn't really have any strong feelings about it. Now that I've let it marinate in my brain, though, I like it more and more every day

Northanger Abbey I adore Henry Tinley and Catherine. Henry is probably my favorite of Austen's heroes. I felt like I was in Bath with them. I really liked this as I was reading it, but almost immediately after I forgot what made me like it so much.

Emma I did not like Emma--not the story or the character. I can see why people like it and her (I didn't dislike her as much at the end), in the same way I can see why people like Sense and Sensibility. But it just wasn't my cup of tea.

Sense and Sensibility I was really surprised and kind of dismayed that I didn't like this one. I didn't have any strong feelings about the characters, settings, or events. It was incredibly boring to me.

[mommy-mystic]

✨️2023 Bookish Questions! 📚🌟

📚 27 BOOK TAG QUESTIONS! 📖

❤️‍🔥All-Time Favorites & 2023 Mid-Year Tag!❤️‍🔥

I’m so excited to have found these lovely bookish questions. This year I've been reading more than I've ever read before and I'm really enjoying how wide the world is seeming to open up with every book I crack open!

Some of these questions are evergreen and some of them are geared more towards the books you've read so far this year! Feel free to answer them HOWEVER you see fit! (I'll leave the questions in a comment on this post!) Hopefully, they help you to learn a little bit about me as a reader and inspire you to pick up a new book this year!

1. Hardback or Paperback 📖

Paperback! 100%. Paperback books are the most comfortable to hold and read, the easiest to borrow or lend to a friend, the lightest to carry around/travel with AND the cheapest! Plus, you can bend and crack your own paperback copies to hell and back and who is going to stop you? However, I will say that the handful of paperbacks I've borrowed from the library this year have just made me SO NERVOUS. I just feel like they're so delicate and that I can crack them as wide as I would do to my own copies bc I'm just afraid they'll like look worn when I return them? Lol. In that circumstance, sometimes borrowing a hardcover is best!

2. Favorite Book You've Read This Year? 📚

Wow, it's got to be a tie between The Thorns Remain by JJA Harwood, Cackle by Rachel Harrison, Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia, AND of course, The Bone Orchard by Sara A. Mueller.

3. Least Favorite Book You Read This Year? 😔

I reread the Twilight Saga this year - they help me cope, I guess? So I have got to say Eclipse and Breaking Dawn are so insanely whack. Why have I done this to myself so many times?

4. Love Triangles: Yes or No? 👎

No. I mean, why? I understand having some resentment or jealousy or self-consciousness between a character and their partner's ex but... as a plot device? No thanks!

5. The most recent book you just couldn’t finish? 😢

:( I couldn't finish Unnatural Magic by CM Waggoner. I'm a bit put off by the troll/human romance brewing right now and the character POV switching is not my cup of tea but I might still decide to pick it up at another time.

6. A book you’re currently reading? 📖

I'm currently reading The Weaver and The Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec! I just picked up this new release at a local bookstore in Edwards CO and it's already so exciting, magical, and just alluring! Set in 10th century Norway, I think - against the backdrop of these viking-raiders/communities and these 3 women trying to make lives for themselves/protect one another... I'm really intrigued.

7. The last book you recommended to someone? 👩‍🍼

I'm a mom so I like to recommend parenting books to my other mom friends! I've given away a copy of The Danish Way of Parenting and suggested Balanced and Barefoot to another friend! Someone recommended I read Bringing Up Bébé and I LOVED IT & it will now forever be among my new mom recommendations.

8. Oldest book you’ve read by publication date? ☠️

Surely, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Pride and Prejudice, then Persuasion by Jane Austen are some of the next oldest and then The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde would be among the most RECENT of the oldest published books I've read - that I can remember!

9. What is the newest book you’ve read by publication date? 🌟

The Thorns Remain by JJA Harwood (published Jan 2023, read in May 2023) A Novel Proposal by Denise Hunter (published Feb 2023, read in July 2023) and currently The Weaver & the Witch Queen by Genevieve Gornichec (published July 2023, reading now in August 2023)!

10. Favorite author? 🩷

The writing of Silvia Moreno-Garcia has absolutely captivated me this year... I think I may end up picking up a 3rd book by her soon!

11. Buying books or borrowing books? 📚

I CANNOT afford to be buying many books! Lol. I have loved visiting my local libraries, listening to free audiobooks on the Libby app, and borrowing books from my family members! It rocks having your own copies sometimes (especially of kids books for my daughter), but truly, I don't love the clutter, the price tag, or feeling guilty about spending money on a book I didn't end up loving!

12. A book that you dislike that everyone else seems to love? 🫣

Everyone bought I'm Glad My Mom Died (even my husband) and no shade to anyone for their fascination with wanting to read it and learn more about the dark topics explored in that book, but I knew it wasn't for me. I've read tons of celebrity/comedian memoirs in the past and I am very turned off to them now! I may be hypersensitive to intense subject matter that's so realistic... However, I tend to find very niche books in this category interesting. I loved On Her Knees by Brenda Marie Davies, for instance! Not nearly as popular, but much more relatable and resonates more with me personally. I was prepared mentally/emotionally for this book and I felt really connected to the author instead of just voyeuristically consuming her deeply personal stories... if that makes sense!

13. Bookmarks or dog ears? 👀

Tell me why I never have enough bookmarks! I need to make more on my cricut! But usually bookmarks. Although I will dog-ear my personal paperback copies about 25% of the time!

14. A book you can always re-read? ❤️‍🔥

Pride & Prejudice!

15. Can you read while hearing music? 🎶

NO! I love silence ... a little white noise maybe! Quiet is hard to come by as a WFH toddler parent but when there is silence, you just RELISH in it! I think that's one of the reasons I took up reading this year, because it's such a quiet, soothing activity!

16. One or multiple POVs? 🤼‍♂️

I prefer a single POV! But I'm okay with 2 MAXIMUM, as long as the characters know each other from the first several chapters and aren't completely separate with dual storylines!

17. Do you read a book in one sitting or over multiple days? 🪑

Multiple days! Absolutely! Maybe even a week or two. At most a month! (although it can take me a year to complete some nonfiction books bc I tend to read them in little doses!)

18. A book you’ve read because of the cover? 🫧

I'd bought The Thorns Remain by JJA Harwood because of the cover! It honestly rocked! Same with Cackle by Rachel Harrison. ANOTHER ONE THAT ROCKED! I was in a very witchy mood this spring! It paid off!

19. Biggest disappointment? 🤮

😞 Small Town, Big Magic. Listened to this on audiobook. It was sold as this Gilmore Girls-esque witchy fantasy but the conflict was so weird to me! I was disconnected from the main character bc as a 30-something y.o. she had seriously never pursued ANY romantic interest at all prior to the story. I would have loved if it revolved more around her bookstore she ran but I discovered that books where the entire town is MAGICAL/a community of witches is not as my speed as maybe 2-3 characters encountering magic on the DL. I also felt this way about From Bad to Cursed by Lana Harper, though that was one was written exceptionally well.

20. Biggest surprise? ✨️

I just finished the Midnight Library after shying away from it for the last couple of years. After reading some mixed/less-than-stellar reviews, I had no idea if it would be for me... after the first couple pages I'd thought the book was going to be too sad/traumatic for me to be okay with BUT I ENDED UP REALLY LOVING IT! I loved the concept, the philosophy intertwined in it, and the ending!

I also loved the audiobook for The Diamond Eye by Kate Quinn! I had no idea how wonderful it would be! Historical fiction about Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the female Soviet sniper who killed 309 nazis in WW2. It was so riveting and just... amazing. 👏

21. Favorite new author. (Debut or new to you)? ✍️

Sara A Mueller - her debut with The Bone Orchard was mind-bending and incredible.

Also just read my first Taylor Jenkins-Reid novel - After I Do, & I ended up really loving it! I was really rooting for the main characters and which I wasn't expecting!

22. What is your newest fictional crush? 🌶

I was a little bit in love with the Fae Lord in The Thorns Remain.... especially as he is gaining these flickers of humanity throughout the story... I almost believed that the main character was going to take him up on his offer to join his fae world in exchange for the safe return of her friends. However, the ending was MUCH better than that! I just appreciated how alluring and powerful this character was portrayed as. If this WERE a romance, it would have been incredibly toxic, but as my own little fantasy crush? WHY NOT?! I'd love to read about more characters with this vibe.

23. What is your newest favorite character? ❤️‍🔥

Charm from The Bone Orchard. She was so strong, so powerful, and the way she was able to DIVIDE her personalities and memories among these scientifically lab-grown ladies in order to cope with her reality was insane. She was like a queen. A steampunk queen. Always rocking the sexiest Victorian gowns and brightly candy-colored hair. I'm obsessed with her!

24. A book that made you cry? 😭

I was sobbing uncontrollably near the end of Beach Read by Emily Henry. (SPOILER: It was when she found the letters from her dad.) I didn't imagine a fun little summer romance would move me so much with that part of the plot. It hit me in the feels as a parent & a daughter myself, I think!

25. A book that made you happy? 🥰

After I Do by Taylor Jenkins-Reid ACTUALLY surprised me with its happy ending. It made me feel hopeful about marriage/long-term relationships and it's so hard to find stories that are honest about that! It is so easy to find books about failed marriages, and NEW love, right?! But what about those 10+ year-long relationships! I haven't been in one myself, but I aspire to it, and it was sweet to find a story that explored that!

26. What is the most beautiful book you've bought this year (or received)? 🌄

The most beautiful book this year, I actually borrowed from the library! It was Midnight at the Tuscany Hotel by James Markert! The cover was gorgeous, but it was also so vivid and beautiful with scenes depicting a past timeline in 1880s Italy and 1940s California coast. It was DREAMY.

27. What books do you need to read by the end of the year? 📚

By the end of this year, I would love to finish my current read The Weaver & The Witch Queen. (That will put me at 30 books for the year - meeting my Goodreads goal!) But ideally, I think I would also like to read Jane Eyre for the first time, reread Pride & Prejudice, purchase few books about motherhood/second babies (my new kid is due in November!), and I am finally emotionally ready to finished SELLOUT - the nonfiction about early 2000s rock bands my husband bought me in 2021.

THAT'S IT!

Thanks so much for bearing with my rambling little bookish blog. It has been such a wild/good year.

I'm really looking forward to doing one of these tags with my husband soon to kind of touch base about what we've both been reading/enjoying and YEAH! I hope to keep reading your book tags and bookish blogs as well!

These particular questions were inspired by DiniPandaReads and the classic #midyearbooktag! Thank you so much!

[angelsnuffbox]

Hello dear!

For the ask game:

An Inducement to Marry.

1-15? If you don't mind?

And if you see this then I want you to know that I love every single one of your fics! ❤

Ask me about any of my fics x

Omg thank you so much! It boggles my mind to think that you actually read all of them goshhh all my good words as well as my weird ones. Seriously thank you for putting up with them.

An Inducement to Marry isn't a fic that I usually get asked about, but I remember I had a blast writing it! I'm flattered you'd bring it up <3 It's been a while though, so forgive me if my memory lapses a little on this.

1: What inspired you to write the fic this way?

Iirc this was my second Regency AU so at the time I was just getting into writing regencyAU fics for Good Omens and it was pandemic lockdowns and I was at the height of my Jane Austen obsession. I was reading so many books on Regency era customs and culture and I wanted to read regency AUs of A/C so badly but there weren't any of them at the time, so I wrote my own.

2: What scene did you first put down?

I write all the scenes in all my fics in the same order they occur in the story! (With the exception of Strictly Business, which I have had to wrestle with for a bit for various reasons).

3: What’s your favorite line of narration?

I remember really liking all the parts where I went into great detail about how attractive Aziraphale was lmao here's one of them in the opening scene:

Mr Fell was also a right stunner, with eyes bright as Tadfield's perfect summer skies and hair soft as its perfect winter's snow. His countenance was strong. He had a stable, stocky build blanketed by the comfortable, if a bit old-fashioned, textiles of his clothing... A perfectly pleasing man, he was, though one who lived only with his mind in his books even when his hands were completely devoid of them.

4: What’s your favorite line of dialogue?

From Chapter 9 there's a part where Aziraphale gives Crowley a kiss on the cheek for good luck in his gambling which he says was "In the spirit of keeping you within marriageable conditions" idk why but I thought it's such a funny thing for him to say at the time. Just the most Aziraphale excuse to kiss Crowley ever.

5: What part was hardest to write?

The confession scene with the illumination! It was so emotionally charged and one of the few scenes that made me actually cry as I wrote them.

6: What makes this fic special or different from all your other fics?

I think it's the most Georgette Heyer-ish thing I ever wrote. The plot is a bit more complex than my usual no frills fluff (romance, comedy, banter, adventure). If I ever fulfil my (totally unrealistic) dream of being a published historical romance fiction writer one day I imagine the story would have these exact vibes.

7: Where did the title come from?

It was remixed from a line that Emma Woodhouse says in the beginning part of Jane Austen's 'Emma'. In the novel she says something like "My being charming is not quite enough to induce me to marry". In the 2020 film the line goes "I have none of the usual inducements to marry. Fortune I do not want. Consequence I do not want."

8: Did any real people or events inspire any part of it?

The part where Aziraphale talks about a romance book he likes with the line that goes something like 'For the heart has always bested the mind in performance', I made up the novel title and quotations myself but the themes were based off of Jane Austen's 'Persuasion'. I also mentioned "The Beau" in one part I think, which refers to Beau Brummell, a major arbiter of English mens fashion around the 1810s.

9: Were there any alternate versions of this fic?

None! I plotted it out on a discord chat from start to finish one lazy afternoon and it behaved exactly like I plotted, thankfully.

10: Why did you choose this pairing for this particular story?

Do I even write about any other pairings lmao

11: What do you like best about this fic?

See answer for no. 6!

12: What do you like least about this fic?

The opening scene is pretty hefty, and some comments did mention that they had a hard time getting past it. I was new to Regency style writing at the time and got too enthusiastic with trying it out. If I were to write that fic now I probably would be more concise about it. Also would try to make it funnier.

13: What music did you listen to, if any, to get in the mood for writing this story? Or if you didn’t listen to anything, what do you think readers should listen to to accompany us while reading?

I wrote almost all my Regency AUs while listening to the Pride & Prejudice 2005 and the Emma 2020 OSTs to get me in the old timey mood.

14: Is there anything you wanted readers to learn from reading this fic?

Cheese ice cream is valid and it's hella fuckin delicious and also coming from an Asian perspective, it's far far from being the weirdest ice cream flavour out there.

15: What did you learn from writing this fic?

That gambling culture in the Regency era was wild

[jathun]

"For a word to be spoken, there must be silence. Before, and after." - Ursula K. Le Guin, from A Wizard of Earthsea.

Hejsan! So, after years of vague-posting and ✨gesturing✨ towards my love of writing and the projects I have in the works on this site, I thought it was about time to make a proper introduction to tumblr's writing community.

About Me:

⩙ My name is Jasmin, I'm a swedish writer in my mid-twenties, currently trying to survive as a small-time translator while I work on my writing on the side. I'm bi and use she/her pronouns.

⩙ I like most genres of fiction, and read as broadly as I can to expand my horizons - but I myself prefer to write fantasy, mystery, romance and adventure. I've also recently gotten into poetry, which is not something I expected of myself.

⩙ My favorite books are thus far; Pride & Prejudice, by Jane Austen, Persuasion, by Jane Austen, The Books of Earthsea, by Ursula K. Le Guin, The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin, The Buried Giant, by Kazuo Ishiguro, Fingersmith, by Sarah Waters, and The Bear and the Nightingale, by Katherine Arden.

About My Blog:

⩙ I want to use this blog as a way to get my thoughts about my projects out in the open and kind of journal my path towards (hopefully) publishing.

⩙ I also would very much like to connect with other writers and authors on this site in order to talk about ideas, characters, general writing advice and more... So feel free to say hi or ask me anything!

My WiPs:

The Hart in Winter; Novel ⩈ Romance + Low-Fantasy (Alternate Universe 1700s/1800s) + Crime Thriller + Family ⩈ After the death of her sister, Calpernia Hirsch is forced to raise her young nephew on a poor seamstress' salary. But when it turns out that he is the grandson of an archduke with a vast fortune she gets deeply entangled in a murder conspiracy which spans the whole of the imperium and whose architects might just want both her, and her nephew, dead. The Red Sun of the Cerulean Seas; Three-Part Series ⩈ Pirate Adventure + Low-Fantasy (Alternate Universe 1700s/1800s) + Romance + Thriller + Friendship ⩈

(will be updated with more info, links, additions and more)

[zalgal]

So when I was interning, the girl that I reported to (even though she was ten years younger than me and just barely out of school, and yes, I’m still salty about that), was all about “becoming cultured” and listening to audiobooks at work. So anyway, she asks me what I like to read and what my favorite book is. She assumes it’s Pride and Prejudice because the other intern and I gushed about Austen a lot, and as much as I love that book to pieces, my favorite Austen Novel is a tossup between Mansfield Park and Persuasion, depending on my mood. I wasn’t going to suggest either to her, because based on what she’s been reading previously I seriously doubted she would get the nuanced speech and the societal subtleties of regency times, so instead, I suggested one of my all time favorite books, and one that I think is quite accessible: Jane Eyre. It has romance, it has suspense, a bit of the supernatural, and you don’t necessarily need to know the customs of the time period to get most of what is happening. So she listens to it and then kind of shrugs at me, and I’m confused, because of course you don’t have to like the same things I do, but I feel like this is a pretty wild tale with a lot of salient points and usually, there is something to say about. So I ask her what she thought about the suspense of what was going on in the attic, and she goes “but there was no suspense, just the servant lady who lived up there, they said it early on.” And I’m flabbergasted. Though mrs fairfax does say that, the narrator and the general tone of the story strongly imply something much more sinister, but she had barely paid attention to anything that was not a direct quote, because those were “acted more” in the audiobook she listened to. And I have no doubt that she probably reads physical books the same way, by just skimming what’s in quotation marks and obviously marked as speech. Anyway, basically she spent hours listening to someone tell her a story that went entirely over her head

it drives me bonkers the way people don't know how to read classic books in context anymore. i just read a review of the picture of dorian gray that said "it pains me that the homosexual subtext is just that, a subtext, rather than a fully explored part of the narrative." and now i fully want to put my head through a table. first of all, we are so lucky in the 21st century to have an entire category of books that are able to loudly and lovingly declare their queerness that we've become blind to the idea that queerness can exist in a different language than our contemporary mode of communication. second it IS a fully explored part of the narrative! dorian gray IS a textually queer story, even removed from the context of when its writing. it's the story of toxic queer relationships and attraction and dangerous scandals and the intertwining of late 19th century "uranianism" and misogyny. second of all, i'm sorry that oscar wilde didn't include 15k words of graphic gay sex with ao3-style tags in his 1890 novel that was literally used to convict him of indecent behaviour. get well soon, i guess...

[copperbadge]

Favourite version of Pride & Prejudice: Colin Firth or Kiera Knightly? Also seeking your views on Sense and Sensibility, if you would be so kind, Sir Sam. 😊

Oh, it's difficult to say. The Colin Firth P&P is culturally iconic and certainly was for me. I'm old enough that when it was first popular, if you wanted to own it you had to buy a six-cassette set. I taped it off A&E for my mother when I was in my teens somewhere, but I think I liked it more than she did. The tape I made was circulated among my peers in school, and every straight girl I knew swooned at Colin Firth's....*whisper* wet bare shoulders.

But the thing is, the Keira Knightley P&P is a fresher take than I thought possible, and I love how it's weird and unwashed, like, they are the same story but it's very apples-to-oranges trying to say which one is better. My favorite story to tell about it is that I went with mum to see it in the theater and I knew, but she didn't, that Donald Sutherland played the father in it. I love him but my mother can't stand him because she hates the numerous villains he's played. I was wondering if she'd even recognize him in period hair/dress, and she didn't react during the movie, but in the parking lot after she leaned over to me and said, in a voice filled with loathing, "Was Mr. Bennett played by....Donald Sutherland?"

When I say I laughed....

I also really like Sense & Sensibility -- it's up there with both P&Ps as a comfort watch because I can both enjoy and ignore it. It has a ton of great actors and great moments, the writing is superb, and Alan Rickman lives rent-free in my head specifically because of this movie. Often, if you see me writing something where a character repeats a word or splits a phrase, it's because I am thinking of Alan Rickman in S&S. There is actually a line in Infinite Jes that I can identify as a "Rickman Line" -- in one of the later chapters Michaelis says "It's a great education but not, I think, for you," and that is absolutely drawn directly from Alan Rickman's vocal cadence in S&S. But I also can't talk about S&S without sharing a link to the acceptance speech Emma Thompson gave, in the character of Jane Austen, when she won for best screenplay. (Skip to about 1:45 to miss all the announcement nonsense.) Emma Thompson is so outrageously talented and funny that it's almost unbearable.

So yeah, there are very few Austen adaptations I'm not here for. I'm also a big fan of the 1995 Persuasion -- the 90s were so good to Austen fans -- which I think is a little underrated both as book and movie. Emma's one of my less favorite of her novels, but the Paltrow Emma and the 2020 Emma are both perfectly enjoyable films.

[amarguerite]

Hi Marguerite, hope you're doing ok. I've just finished reading Persuasion--after reading your amazing hocky/ice skater AU--and Northanger Abbey (after finishing Walls of Jericho--NA may be my favorite Austen book now!! Go Tilney!! he's just so freaking funny!) Do you have any other light-hearted novel/romance recommendations? I'm not too keen on reading more Jane Austen right now, but I'd love to read other books that you have loved. Merciii

aw, thanks os much!

I would highly recommend L.M. Montgomery's The Blue Castle. It has been my pandemic comfort read lo these many years, and one of the rare books I love so intensely I haven't been moved to write fanfic about it at all (though I love all the fics I've read of it). It's funny, romantic, full of ecstatic descriptions of nature, splendidly pacesd, and beautifully resolved.

I'd also recommend Georgette Heyer if you want light, frothy Regency stuff. Cotillion, which follows a determined young ingenue who just wants to visit London and the well-meaning but not too bright (albeit very socially intelligent) young dandy who gets roped into her various schemes, is my all-time personal favorite. I'd also like to plug The Corinthian (a really fun girl-disguises-herself-as-a-boy-and-runs-away-from-home romance), and The Quiet Gentleman (bit darker, but has a plain and pragmatic heroine with a heart of gold who is at the end is recognized for her true worth by the hero).

If you want light-hearted froth with some of the cleverest linguistic jokes out there, you can't go wrong with P.G. Wodehouse. Literally any P.G. Wodehouse. Any of the Jeeves and Wooster novels are a safe bet, but I've also got a personal fondness for Something Fresh, which is a wacky screwball comedy about a large number of very stupid but well-meaning people all trying to steal an Egyptian scarab from each other while falling in love with the wrong people. I'm also really fond of A Damsel in Distress, because the hero's based on George Gershwin and it got turned into a Fred Astaire vehicle in the late 1930s.

ETA: It may not be the best one to start with, but I do want to plug Wodehouse’s The Mating Season, because I just learned Wodehouse and A.A. Milne (of the Winnie the Pooh books) got into a fight when Wodehouse was writing it, and so Wodehouse has some really good zingers against him, like, “A fellow who comes on a platform and starts reciting about Christopher Robin going hoppity-hoppity-hop (or alternatively saying his prayers) does not do so from sheer wantonness but because he is a helpless victim of circumstances beyond his control.”

[ravenkings]

hii i really enjoy your jane austen propaganda, do you have any recommendations on the order in which one should read her works? so far i've only listened to an audiobook of sense and sensibility and tbh i did not enjoy it.......i need more drama and tragedy and i hope my fellow december 16th sagittarius girl can serve me some <333

wow i’m glad! believe it or not, i’m not actually a jane austen expert as i haven’t read all of her works. (i’ve not read mansfield park or *gasp* sense and sensibility......)

that being said, i feel like you might want to start with pride and prejudice just bc it’s The Big One that gets referenced everywhere and that everyone knows. i haven’t read it in several years, but if memory serves, it’s not terribly dense, and the story is quite engaging.

after that, i might try emma. it’s definitely lighter on the drama and tragedy, but it’s a fun story and emma, the main character, is v entertaining imo. 

after that i’d say it’s kind of a toss-up between northanger abbey and persuasion. imo persuasion is the better novel, but they’re both good. i would say if you want more drama, read northanger abbey, and if you want more tragedy, read persuasion. 

as i’ve said, i’ve not read mansfield park, but that tends to be everyone’s least favorite from what i’ve seen so.....🤷‍♀️