Jane Austen July TBR 2023

[@bookingthroughlife]

I’m reading Sense and Sensibility too. And enjoying The Year In Between so far. Enjoy!

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

I'm waiting to start The Year In Between until I finish my S&S reread (only three hours left on my audiobook), and I am so excited for it!

[@davidnovakreadspoetry]

Du Maurier is the most imaginative of writers. That sounds good.

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

I have really fallen in love with Du Maurier's writing in the last two years and am so enjoying catching up on all her wonderful novels!

[@faithbooks7906]

I had never heard of Marianne by Du Maurier! I too love her writing and want to read all her books.

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

I ended up running out of time for Mary Anne in July but I have made January the month that I always read a Du Maurier because I am also wanting to read all her books eventually so I will get to it then!

[@amyofhearthridge]

Jane & Dorothy sounds fascinating! I really like the Grasmere Journals, I haven’t read all of them, but quite a few.

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

I hope you had a lovely Jane Austen July!

[@kamicastillo1451]

That is a great list. I am very interested in the Jane and Dorothy read. Sounds wonderful 😊

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

I am only a few chapters into Jane and Dorothy so far but am LOVING it so far... so interesting to compare their lives against eachother.

[@RaynorReadsStuff]

Love Jane Austen and also Daphne du Maurier. I think Rebecca and The House on the Strand are my favourites. I am also rereading Sense and Sensibility for Jane Austen July 😊

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

Hope you are enjoying your Sense and Sensibility reread! The House on the Strand is one of Du Maurier's that I haven't read yet, but the premise sounds so intriguing!

[@lorrainetaylor9852]

I also discovered the Jane and Dorothy book at my library and am really interested to read it too.

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

That's so neat that you found it at your library as well! I'm only a few chapters in so far, but really enjoying the beginning of it!

[@darrylfriesen]

This is such a great idea, Chelsea! I’m totally going to keep in mind the possibility for a themed JAJ, based on and around one of her six books! This year, without even fully intending it, I did a Northanger Abbey JAJ-I reread NA for the third time, read The Mysteries of Udolpho, which TOTALLY enhanced my experience of NA (I will never read it the same way again!), and I watched the old 1987 version of NA, which I’d only seen once before. It’s so bizarre and campy-I definitely prefer the Felicity Jones version! So maybe next year, I’ll have my S & S year!! 😃

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

It definitely made Jane Austen July even more fun for me having it be themed! I am thinking next year will be my Mansfield Park year (I'm a little apprehensive as that is one of the Austen's I've only read once and found to be a bit of a struggle, I'm hoping it will be more illuminating on a reread)... I have three books I am thinking of pairing it with: finally reading the actual text of Lover's Vows, "The Genius of Jane Austen: Her Love of Theatre and Why She Works in Hollywood" by Paula Byrne which goes more into Jane's relationship with theatre, and then also The Woman of Colour which is an anonymous epistolary novel about a biracial heiress who travels from Jamaica to England to marry which would add more context to the anti-slavery elements of Mansfield Park. (And yes I basically have my entire Jane Austen July TBR for next year already planned out 10 months ahead of time! 😂)

[@elizabethbrink3761]

That's so lovely that you're having a Sense and Sensibility themed month. I'm looking forward to reading Jane's juvenilia this year. I haven't read much of it. I'm in the middle of reading The Late Mrs. Willhoughby by Claudia Gray which focuses lots of Sense and Sensibility characters. I'm enjoying it! I started Death Comes to Pemberley too. That cover is gorgeous! I look forward to hearing your thoughts about Jane and Dorothy and Dorothy's journals!

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

I can't believe I didn't find out about The Late Mrs Willoughby until half way through the month because it would have been perfect for this TBR! I hope you ended up enjoying it! I am really liking Jane and Dorothy so far but I think I might end up DNF'ing Dorothy's journals for now... I just can't seem to get into them which I often struggle with letters/journals that don't really have a plot. Hope your Jane Austen July is going well so far!

[@elizabethbrink3761]

@@VoyageofaTimeWanderer I really enjoyed The Late Mrs Willhoughby! I'm so glad you're enjoying Jane and Dorothy too. I remember the Journals being quite prosaic too. My Jane Austen July is going great! My surprise favorite is The Mysteries of Udolpho. So thrilling!

[@lisabailes1065]

You have a great lineup! I have started the annotated version of Sense and Sensibility and am really enjoyed it. I'm sure it will explain many details I have missed in the past. I can't wait to hear what you think of the PD James book!

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

I really want to get some of those annotated editions for future Austen rereads because every time someone shares some info from them, it is so interesting and adds so much detail!

[@meghanthestorygirl4581]

Mary Anne sounds really good! Also, I feel the same way about the 2008 S&S adaptation. It's just wonderful. I recently rewatched the 1995 version though and I had forgotten how good it is. Lots of good things in store for you this month!

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

I was also pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed watching the 1995 S&S again after so many years... definitely going back in my regular Austen rewatch rotation. There is something satisfying about the movie-length adaptations that you can finish watching in just one sitting (as much as I also like the mini series that are long enough to include so many of the little details from the books).

[@meghanthestorygirl4581]

That's great that you enjoyed it! Totally agree with you about the length. Ultimately I prefer the miniseries format, but I am much more likely to watch the movie format simply because it's shorter

[@novelideea]

What a great line up! I can’t wait to hear you thoughts on the ones I’ve never heard of! (The morland and the vevers) I’m reading a du Maurier right now and it feels very modern in its setting (cars, telephones, transportation links/ease) and I’m missing the more remote gothic feel. It’s definitely a mysterious/ ominous read.

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

I ended up LOVING "The Year Inbetween" and it has become a favourite Austen retelling! Which du Maurier were you reading last month?

[@novelideea]

@@VoyageofaTimeWanderer the Scapegoat. I didn’t like it much.

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

@@novelideea Sorry it was a bit of a bummer of a read! I've loved what I have read of hers so much that I'm a little nervous to start venturing into the less well known works and encounter my first disappointment!

[@novelideea]

@@VoyageofaTimeWanderer that was me! I enjoyed Rebecca and Rachel and Jamaica and Strand … and then I came to this one and it is so different.

[@novelideea]

I am still going to read more by her though!

[@theresas709]

I have never heard of Mary Anne.

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

It seems to have more mixed reviews on Goodreads than some of her more well known titles, but since I have loved the three of hers that I have read so much, I am hoping I will like Mary Anne too!

[@theresas709]

@@VoyageofaTimeWanderer I will be watching to see what you think.

[@VoyageofaTimeWanderer]

@@theresas709 I hope I will be able to get to it this month! 😊

[@theresas709]

@@VoyageofaTimeWanderer Sooner or later you will.😁