Mirkwood Reflections

Austen adaptations abound! I read this blog post which ranks 21 of them with clever explanations then thought to myself that my own list would look somewhat different. And then someone (yes, you, Austenacious !) asked me HOW my list would shuffle the films. So here I am in the wee hours of the morning, ranking Austen movies instead of sleeping.  Go read that blog post before reading mine because her comments are far more comical than mine could ever dream of being. Plus mine will make more sense if you look at hers first.  Two of the movies on her list I haven't seen -  Austenland , 2013 since it has yet to open in Michigan and  Bride & Prejudice  since Bollywood films make my skin crawl . Then I added one that she left out, which is at the bottom of my list. So, without further ado, I present to you my top twenty Austen film adaptations in reverse order of preference! Ta-dah! 20. Northanger Abbey 1980 - one of THE worst movies I have eve...

Doesn't every woman long for a group of girlfriends she can laugh and cry and indulge with? These women are the ones you can be silly with, the ones who you can confide in, these are the ones who will even make you a cake on your birthday and sing to you! Well, I am blessed to be part of just such a fabulous group of ladies - it's our Rollicking Readers book club. For the past four months now, we've been meeting every few weeks to eat and discuss one of Jane Austen's books. This month, our selection was Mansfield Park . Those in attendance vary from session to session, but we usually have eight or nine women on any given date. I enjoyed Mansfield Park more than any of the other Austen works I have read thus far, save Pride and Prejudice . However, I am beginning to think that it's because I am learning to read Austen and becoming more comfortable with her language and style, rather than the plot and characters of Mansfield Park itself. Fanny Price, the insipid and...

Rollicking readers - doesn't that sound intriguing? Rollicking Readers Book Club was started by my friend Darlene and me after we each watched the film Jane Austen Book Club . Despite our mutual dislike of the movie, we felt motivated to start our own club. One Austen work per month was our goal. Finished thus far? Emma , Persuasion , and Pride and Prejudice . Next up is Mansfield Park . Before this I'd only read Pride and Prejudice (which I adore). To be honest, I am finding most of Austen's other works to be a bit stultifying, but the company is great and the stories are romantic. Our meetings also include a viewing of the film version of each book and a lot of sassy conversation, as well as snacks! How can it go wrong? Our original intent was to read all of Austen's works; there are only six. But we're having so much fun, that we've already talked about what to do once we've made it through all of those. We intend to continue with other classics. Nine...