The books are good, don't get me wrong, but goodness they are intense. And gruesome sometimes. And harsh.
And I really need something calm and sweet as a refresher, as a break in the series.
So, in honor of Pride and Prejudice's 200th aniversary of publication this year, I thought I'd reread all the Austen books - and read Lady Susan and Love and Friendship for the first time as well.
I have some fun posts planned for this, so stay tuned!
I thought I'd start today, but I just couldn't get into it. Not with the characters from A Clash of Kings pounding around in my head. My mind was very much in fantasy mode, and it needed something to make the transition to Regency novels.
So, at breakfast I read some stories from a "Humorous Ghost Stories Collection" that my sister had downloaded on my Kindle a while ago, and I had never read. They were the perfect thing to get me out of the land of High Fantasy - short, sweet, and funny, and a few were set in the early 1900's, which isn't exactly Regency, but was good enough.
Here are the stories I read:
"The Rival Ghosts" by Brander Matthews
"The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall" by John Kendrick Bangs
I always love a funny ghost story. No horror for me! (Unless it's Poe)
Another good Humorous Ghost Story that I am sure is in this collection is "The Canterville Ghost" by Oscar Wilde:
My favorite ghost story of all time. Funny, but sweet, with a certain depth to it.
Anyway, tomorrow I'll begin Love and Friendship, because I've decided to read Austen's books in roughly the same order as she wrote them. But, because she would write drafts of stories, abandon them to work on other drafts, and then pick up the first ones again, it's all sort of a mix up.
Here's the order I will read them in:
Love and Friendship
Lady Susan
Sense and Sensibility
Pride and Prejudice
Northanger Abbey
Mansfield Park
Emma
You are welcome to read along with me and discuss your opinions and views of the books in the comments of this and the following posts.
(Also, if you have a "better" order to suggest than the one above, please let me know below!)
~Sophia
Have you heard of Jane Austen's 'History of England'? She wrote it from when she was about 12 to 15, I think, and it is basically a history, like the title says. But this book is hilarious! I read only a few pages, but I want to finish it when I can. She shows her firm rooted, opinions in things, and it is very entertaining. I reccommend it; you should add it to your list.
ReplyDeleteOh I think I did hear something about that! Thanks for reccommending it - I will definitely put it on my TBR.
DeleteGlad you stopped by!