Austen In August | This Janeite steps out from behind her blog whilst reading select works of Austen!

Posted Tuesday, 8 August, 2017 by jorielov , , , , , , , , 6 Comments

Austen in August badge created by Jorie in Canva. Photo Credit: Carli Jean (Creative Commons Zero) Unsplash.com)

2017 Participants | Northanger Abbey RAL

Call-Out for Participants *wherein I started to make plans!

Converse via Twitter: #AustenInAugustRBR + #CBAM2017 + #theclassicsclub

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Hallo, Hallo dear hearts!

If you’ve been digging round my Story Vault or stopping by #JLASblog for the past four years – you’ve have gained the strong impression I have a particular curiosity about Classical Literature! You might have even noticed a strong passion for Jane Austen – wherein, I’ve been happily participating in this lovely book blogosphere, twitterverse (and this year: Instagram) event! Being I’m a Joyful Tweeter and bookishly bubbly book blogger – you’ll happily find my participation in the blogosphere and Twitter!

This August marks my 4th Year attempting to curl into the wicked lovely world Ms Austen left for us to explore and discover new characters to love whilst we step back into her corner of English society! I decided to do things a bit differently this year – although, I suppose looking back at my past #AustenINAugust* posts I might have appeared to be quite ambitious in how I wanted to absorb so many dear lovelies by Ms Austen and her Contemporary After Canon writers – however, each previous August I felt I would have HOURS to devout to the reading and blogging event – therein, I made my cardinal mistake! If you factor in the life of an active book blogger (ie. a regularly booked blog calendar), life’s unexpected diversions and the high frequency of Summery (lightning) storms – you could say, attempting to accomplish anything during this volcanic Season would seem rather futile! However, I’m a bourne optimist which is why each Summer I try to do the impossible even if I falter to achieve all of my goals – I make an effort to do as much as I can and not let set-backs derail my intentions.

You might be curious to know – what is Jorie doing differently this year?!  

I’ve decided to sort out a shorter list of #mustreads for #AustenINAugust – the stories I wasn’t able to read (for whichever reason which affected my readerly life per each August I attempted to read the lovelies) until my second favourite annual bookish event came back round! (you might have heard of #RRSciFiMonth?) I thought this would be a good year to attempt to be a Guest Blogger for the event, too! I cannot even express my wicked sweet JOY in finding out I was picked to write a guest topic for Adam – as I have held such a deep appreciation for not only how he hosts this annual event but for the selections of guest bloggers who have entertained me, educated me and generally given me such a hearty knowledge of Jane Austen and the continuing legacy of how she touches readerly and writerly lives all these centuries lateron since her stories were first published and known. It’s quite the special event – bloggers get to engage with fellow Austenites and Janeites (personally I relate to being called the latter) whilst fellow readers who love Classical Literature get to drop by our blogs and/or join in on the reading challenge of R E A D M O R E A U S T E N for one month every year! Truly remarkable how Adam has brought of all us together – especially considering we’re global bloggers and readers!

Therefore, let me give you a sampling of what you will be seeing from me this year – as I’m holding a few surprises back whilst revealling my main plans of what I will be focusing on as August renews my passion for Austen!

*NOTE: Throughout my blog I reference this annual event as #AustenINAugust, however, I am participating in Roof Beam Reader’s event which is happily conversed about on social media tagged as #AustenINAugustRBR. There are different events happening each August which use the general tag. I’m being mindful to remember how to tag my tweets whilst keeping my personal reference on my blog as the original tag. If I’ve confused you, I apologise.

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Guest Blogger for Austen In August 2017 badge created by Jorie in Canva.

Read my Guest Post via Roofbeam Reader!Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

When it comes to titles – being a writer, titles are not complicated to create – at least, they’ve never been for me. (smiles) I have had the tendency of sorting out an idea rooted round a ‘title’ – as I feel titles are my jumping board moment of clarity – of where my mind starts to percolate on the initial idea whilst developing the conceptionalised scope of my intended writing project – after all, I walked into Nanowrimo in 2008 with less than this! I thought long and hard about what I wanted to convey this year during #AustenINAugust and I kept coming back to centre. I kept thinking about my own journey into Austen and how Austen’s literary legacy had been influencing my readerly life and imagination for at least two decades of my three decades of living.

I am not sure when the exact moment occurred in my childhood, but I started to feel a kinetic bond with Jane Austen, to the brink I knew once I started to read her beloved works, … I would become a Janeite. She simply had a convincing way of expressing life as it was lived during her own era, of the minute details of ordinary life intermingled with the reflections of a keen observant eye. My first forays into Austen’s canons was a bit of a hit/miss for me, as I began originally with “Sense & Sensibility”, although I attributed this false start due to what had been on my mind and heart at the time I had first picked it up.

I purposely have been seeking out after canon sequels and/or re-tellings of the collective works of Jane Austen as I wanted to reacquaint myself with Austen through self-directed studies and step back through a door I had not yet fully opened.

-quoted from Diary of a 21st Century Janeite by Jorie Story (8 August, 2017)

Once I started writing, I kept going – I wanted the diary to feel like something I would have penned in one of my private journals – wherein, I was pulling pages of thought out for the benefit of sharing with everyone during the event. I wanted to tap into the part of my journey where I was struggling to not only fall in step with Ms Austen, but to find a foothold into her collective works whilst being mindful of adaptations (ie. stage, screen, stage, radio, podcast, vlog, web series, etc) and my curiously unusual way of taking a self-directed self-study into all aspects of being a 21st Century Janeite.

The irony of course, is due to the intensity of my Summery lightning storms, I was blinked offline the days leading up to my debut on Roof Beam Reader’s blog! I never had the proper chance to compose this post nor set up an announcement tweet on Twitter! Tuesdays are busy days (generally speaking) as we all have ‘one’ day which is busier than all others – ironically, it used to be Fridays! Therein, guess who could finally get back online only to find a new lightning storm fast on her heels? OY. Yours truly. My sincere apologies for those of you who might not have seen my afternoon tweets announcing this lovely Guest Post. I am hoping as this post arrives in your WP Reader, your Inbox or however which way you read my blog – you’ll take a moment to scope out how my diary-essay turnt out! Comments are open on Roof Beam Reader’s blog inasmuch as they are here on Jorie Loves A Story – both Adam and I moderate our comment sections: if you don’t see your comment posting soon after you’ve submitted it, please know we’ll get to them as soon as we can.

Thank you for giving me a nod of support

as I truly loved being a Guest Blogger this year!

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Barnes & Noble Pocket Classics (Pride & Prejudice) Book Photography Credit: Jorie of jorielovesastory.com. Photo edits and collage created in Canva.

Read my ruminations about ‘Pride & Prejudice’.Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

I, must confess, I am not entirely the kind of girl who can get behind some of the Contemporary chatter of my bookish contemporaries as I do not oft feel I can relate to the idea behind ‘ships’ (ie. relationship partners) or ‘book boyfriends’ – although, there are times where I break out of my own headspace and recognise there are ‘exceptions’ and for me, Mr Darcy is most definitely the kind of bloke who not only charmed me with his tenacity, presence and strong personality but it was how he etched out his innermost thoughts and expressed himself which I appreciated most of all – especially when he was in a row with Lizzie! Talk about your classic drama brewing and boiling underneath the surface!

Honestly – I am uncertain if I shall fall as fully as I have for another Austen hero (or heroine, let’s face it, as Lizzie is so very close to my heart inasmuch as Darcy!) but one thing is for sure, I am very happy Darcy and Lizzie were my ‘introduction’ into Ms Austen’s style of narrative! To me, Pride will remain forevermore my quintessential ‘Austen’ novel. It is also why I purposely find reasons to seek out the sequels and after canons – even though, technically speaking I am particularly particular about which writers I will be reading in this regard – as similar to why I love Laurie R. King’s Mary Russell series – I love when a writer pays homage to the original canon whilst endeavouring to create their own niche out of it.

As I embark of reading more Austen this August, I find myself remembering what I love about Pride and how I am thankful I kept a sequel of sorts on my reading list! In other words, even outside of August, if you find me leaning towards reading more Austen-inspired works of literature – don’t be overly surprised if there is a connective thread leading back into Pride!

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Barnes & Noble Classics (Persuasion) Book Photography Credit: Jorie of jorielovesastory.com. Photo edits and collage created in Canva.

Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comIf there is a singular novel which I could honestly express is the most complicated one to feel as if I could ever hope to read it – the honour is given to Persuasion. I am uncertain if it’s the manner in which it is written or if it’s the subject of the story or if perhaps for whichever unknown reason herein – I am simply one of the few readers out there who cannot find one reason to find herself endeared to reading this one? I have a few copies of this – and honestly, I have no idea if I will ever feel motivated enough to read it – even though, in the back of my mind, I do wonder: “What if I am missing something quite extraordinary?” especially in regards to seeing another side of Ms Austen through this lens of thought!?

I ask you, dear hearts, especially those in The Classics Club and/or any booklover who loves reading the Classics – which Austen novel has become your Achilles heel? And, why is it we find ourselves so dearly removed from it’s pages?

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Barnes & Noble Signature Classics (Northanger Abbey & Mansfield Park) Book Photography Credit: Jorie of jorielovesastory.com. Photo edits and collage created in Canva.Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.comWould you believe a lot of my past #AustenINAugust posts are in a state of disrepair? I truly need to go through them this month and clean them up a bit – as I never had the chance to share the picture of when I first received these lovelies! I decided to update my book photography selections for this event but I still remember how happily gobsmacked I was attending my very *first!* Blog Birthday Party! My Mum and Da sequestered space at a local eatery wherein they had the manager and chef help them decorate the space and I went completely ‘unaware’ of anything going on at all! lol I’m honestly the best person to SURPRISE as I hardly ever catch-on and even if I did, I never get ‘all the pieces of the puzzle’ righted before the REVEAL! Laughs with mirth.

I’ve been wanting to read both of these lovely editions every since I first pulled the wrapping paper off them!! So much LIFE has evolved forward since then – sadly, my mind and heart were never quite able to dig back into Ms Austen’s narratives and thus, during the week I am celebrating my 4th Blog Birthday, I’ll be starting my very FIRST reading of Northanger Abbey!

I am participating in Roof Beam Reader’s #CBAM2017 EIGHT months late – oy! as I settle into August’s selection! I am intending to pick a few more reads between now and December, where I am reading an alternative (personal) selection for Bronté which is going to be The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. The reason for my departure of which Bronté novel to read is explained in the Comments where Adam graciously understood my reason for not wanting to read Wuthering Heights.

Who else is picking up ‘Northanger Abbey’ this August!? Is it your first-read like it is for me OR is it a favourite re-read your eager to dig back inside?

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Jorie selects her ‘first’ Austen for #AustenINAugust

I am actually going to keep ‘mum’ about which story of ‘Austen’ I decided to read and review first – as I wanted to surprise the author first & foremost whilst giving the surprise to my dear followers and readers second! I’m going to be updating this section as I read, review and listen to all-things related and inter-related to Jane Austen! STAY TUNED to my #JLASblog updates via Twitter and hopefully drop back at least once a week to read my Sunday Post to keep tabs on what I’m posting! I hinted at this dilemma of mine to ‘pick my first selection’ recently via Twitter. (see also Tweet)

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Anna Karenina. Book Photography Credit: Jorie of jorielovesastory.com. Photo edits and collage created in Canva.

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I decided to honour the book selection one of my fellow Classic Clubbers hand-picked for me as a way to jettison back inside my route into the Classical Readings I most want to start reading! September will also mark the month where I return back inside Jane Eyre – which I began during #SeptembEyre so many moons ago – leaving only one post hinting at how wickedly delightful I was to soak inside Ms Bronté’s incredibly absorbing narrative! I first talked about wanting to read Anna Karenina during one of my Sunday Posts! Reading Austen this month is going to be a soul lift for a girl whose contemplated more hours about which works of the Classics she dearly wants to read moreso than she’s been able to read (said) Classics! This is my month not only to read Austen but to find a way back into the Classics overall!

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For Classics booklovers, concurrently this month I am listening to the first three audiobook adaptations for L.M. Montgomery’s Anne of Green Gables series! I posted my review for ‘Anne of Green Gables’ on Saturday, 5th of August & my review for ‘Anne of Avonlea’ is forthcoming this Saturday, 12th of August whereas my third review for ‘Anne of the Island’ will post on 17th August. I am also hosting a lovely interview with Post Hypnotic Press (the publisher who adapted the novels) on 18th August. Currently if you visit my ‘Anne of Green Gables’ review there is a publisher coupon announcement for their site (see embedded tweet!).Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

It’s after 2a – on the 9th of August, however, I’m back-posting this to 11:58p on the 8th of August – as this was the moment I was able to start composing this post! I am wicked thankful I can blog right now whilst sharing my musings about Jane Austen and why this #AustenINAugust I feel rejuvenated & uplifted about what I’m going to be reading & experiencing within the world of Austen! I look forward to meeting with other bookish spirits in the twitterverse & the book blogosphere! I might be visiting the #bookstagrammers, too! IG might have grieved me but I still love roaming through IG feeds & appreciating the loveliness I find therein!

I rocked out to #SlackerRadio stations whilst I composed this – specifically Alternative Rock & Americana Country. I look forward to find out which of you dear hearts is participating in #AustenINAugustRBR whilst reading your comments on behalf of my own goals & motivations for this lovely event!

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Austen in August participation badge created by Jorie in Canva.Fun Stuff for Your Blog via pureimaginationblog.com

{SOURCES: Post dividers by Fun Stuff for Your Blog via Pure Imagination. Tweets embedded by codes provided by Twitter. Blog graphics created by Jorie via Canva: Diary of a 21st Century Janeite badge, Austen In August badge (Photo Credit: Carli Jean [Creative Commons Zero] Unsplash.com), August is Jorie’s Month for Austen badge, as well as the following badges featuring Book Photography Credit: jorielovesastory.com (Photo Edits & Collage created in Canva) Pride and Prejudice (Barnes & Noble Pocket Classics), Persuasion (Barnes & Noble Classics), Northanger Abbey (Barnes & Noble Signature Classics), Mansfield Park (Barnes & Noble Signature Classics), Anna Karenina (used book shoppe find) and the Comment Box Banner.}

Copyright © Jorie Loves A Story, 2017.

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About jorielov

I am self-educated through local libraries and alternative education opportunities. I am a writer by trade and I cured a ten-year writer’s block by the discovery of Nanowrimo in November 2008. The event changed my life by re-establishing my muse and solidifying my path. Five years later whilst exploring the bookish blogosphere I decided to become a book blogger. I am a champion of wordsmiths who evoke a visceral experience in narrative. I write comprehensive book showcases electing to get into the heart of my reading observations. I dance through genres seeking literary enlightenment and enchantment. Starting in Autumn 2013 I became a blog book tour hostess featuring books and authors. I joined The Classics Club in January 2014 to seek out appreciators of the timeless works of literature whose breadth of scope and voice resonate with us all.

"I write my heart out and own my writing after it has spilt out of the pen." - self quote (Jorie of Jorie Loves A Story)

read more >> | Visit my Story Vault of Book Reviews | Policies & Review Requests | Contact Jorie

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Posted Tuesday, 8 August, 2017 by jorielov in After the Canon, Austen in August, Bits & Bobbles of Jorie, Blog Birthdays & Blogoversaries, Blogosphere Events & Happenings, Classical Literature, Jane Austen Sequel, Jorie Loves A Story, Jorie the Writer, Reading Challenges, Twitterland & Twitterverse Event




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6 responses to “Austen In August | This Janeite steps out from behind her blog whilst reading select works of Austen!

  1. I love Persuasion! It’s in my top two, with Sense and Sensibility. But while Mr. Darcy may be pretty swoony, I must confess I prefer Mr. Bingley’s friendliness…he just needs to grow up a little. And as for Northanger Abbey, I just read it a year ago because I was in Bath, so I have not read it this year. :)

    • Hallo, Hallo Jean!

      What an afflicted Summer – first my Spring allergies hung onto me like lichen which would not disentangle themselves until early July and then, throughout the Summery months if the volcanic temperatures were not enough to forestall my appreciation for the season, the intensity of the lightning storms surely did! Lightning has become troublesome these past years I’ve been a book blogger – why I think a ‘new’ Summer would yield a better result than the past one is uncertain but I claim it’s my optimistic soul which makes me ‘hope’ for a better Summer at any rate. Alas, the only entry into #AustenINAugust this year (thus far) was my Guest Post for Adam! Imagine!? I couldn’t even get to my stories this year – I’m reading one of them this first week of September as a homage to the August I lost and I was going to ask you – did you want to RAL ‘Northanger Abbey’ with me? Unless of course, you’ve already picked it up?

      I thought it might be nice to read it with someone and reflect on even though August has folded into September (or if you’d rather delay reading it to another month before year’s end) Austen still has a fond way of inviting us to visit with her characters. Ahh, yes, I can see what you mean about Mr Bingley – however, I think part of the reason I love Mr Darcy has to do with which character I most readily identify with in the story-line – for me, it will always be Lizzie and therefore, to like Mr Bingley in that fashion would seem an insult to Jane, of whom fell for him before I.

      I appreciated your visit and your musings! I lost track of the month completely and when your note popped up – it was a welcome surprise!

    • Aleen,

      You gave me a good giggle over this statement and surely, I am up to the ‘fight’ to see who champions Mr Darcy in the end! :) lol Isn’t he just? I am happy to find we have a book boyfriend in common! I apologise for not returning a reply sooner – this Summer was afflicted with lightning storms – you might have noticed the books we’re reading in common are thus delayed from appearing on my blog, too. Those will be coming along this month, as September is a lovely month where the fire and spark of Summer (ie. volcanic heat and lightning) start to recede, it gives me a sense of renewal about re-alighting back into the stories which I’ve ached to finish! Quite hard to blog when your electronics are constantly unplugged – drove me a bit mad as whenever I was attempting to continue my thoughts, a lightning storm blighted out my joy.

      I had wanted to ask you – are there other works of Austen you’ve enjoyed? Either in her canon or the after canons?

  2. Carolyn Steele

    Lovely post! For the three years since you blogged about my first novel, I’ve pictured you in a Regency frock, bare-footed, swinging in a meadow with a journal in your lap. Your writing still is pure Austen, and I love reading every post!

    • Hallo, Hallo Ms Steele!

      From the moment you first left me this note until now, I have savoured your visuals as they truly do speak to the heart of my spirit! I was more than chuffed with surprise finding you have equated me to be in the realms of Austen’s narrative prose and am truly delighted to learn my writings (like hers) warm your heart and uplift your spirit! I have wanted to thank you for giving me such a wonderfully lovely compliment and for painting such a wonderfully brilliant portrait of a writer whose spirit has been tethered to England throughout the different eras her bookish heart has happily resided! The Regency & Victorian were first to swoon her whilst the Edwardian soon forward close behind! Thank you for giving me such an uplift of joy knowing my words here at Jorie Loves A Story resonate with you on such a keen level of appreciation!

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