Saturday 1 April 2017

Planned Reading for April 2017

Hello to you all! It's starting to feel like springtime here. I love the spring. I have some spring cleaning to do though, which I am not so fond of! Reading-wise, I haven't been feeling it lately, I never seem to have time or mental energy for it. I have been listening to quite a bit in the way of audio books though. I plug my phone into the car and it makes for a very enjoyable commute! I have also been listening to the books while doing housework and on lunchtime walks. The only problem I have is that I don't think I'll be able to listen to anything new, as I am doing something while I'm listening. On a reread your attention doesn't have to be 100%. But even so, I have some JAFF to read so I am thinking that I'll have to avoid JAFF audio books so I don't overlap the stories. It makes it tricky to decide what to listen to.
Book cover: Audio cover of The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
Last month I listened to 'Cotillion', by Georgette Heyer, and 'Persuasion' by Jane Austen and I'm currently listening to The Grand Sophy' by Heyer. I've read all of these many times so they have been very enjoyable to listen to. Do you have any audio book suggestions for me? I don't have a subscription, but if I can get them relatively cheap on kindle and upgrade to audio they are not too expensive.


Book Cover: Marvel Version of Emma by Jane Austen - Graphic Novel
I have also had some new acquisitions to add to the bookcase, courtesy of Mother's Day here in the UK. I have a Marvel version of 'Emma'. This is a graphic novel. I previously read a Manga version of 'Emma' so it'll be interesting to see how this compares.

Book cover: The Real Jane Austen: A Life in Small Things by Paula Byrne
I also have a copy of Paula Byrne's 'The Real Jane Austen; A Life in Small Things'. This is a book about Austen's life, focussing on the small things which may have had significant impact on her writing.

Book cover: Illustrated Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen with Illustrations by Hugh Thomson
One thing I wanted for my bookcase were some illustrated novels. I was lucky enough to get two. Firstly, an illustrated 'Pride & Prejudice'. This is quite a large book, the same kind of size as an annual. The illustrations inside are copies of Hugh Thomson's 1894 pictures, though they have bee coloured for this version.

Book cover: Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen with Illustrations by Hugh Thomson
The second illustrated book is a vintage one, a 1924 'Sense & Sensibility', also with illustrations by the same author.

So, now onto the reading for this month. Well, aside from all the catching up I have to do on planned reading that I hadn't managed, which is an albatross around my neck that is getting bigger and bigger, I am planning on reading some things which have come to me as part of the perks of blogging. Yes, that's right, books which haven't yet been released. I have two books to read that I'm very excited about.

The Darcy Monologues
The first one is called 'The Darcy Monologues', an anthology by some wonderful authors. I have read books by pretty much every contributing author to this anthology, and had many enjoyable reading hours courtesy of them. The stories in the anthology range in era, however, what they all have in common is that they are from Darcy's point of view. I'll share my review with you later this month as part of the blog tour but it's not available to buy until May. There is a fantastic prize package, open internationally which a lucky reader can win so please check back here for that. There is also a prize draw open as part of the cover reveal celebrations which you can enter by joining in the fun at one of the blogs that took part.

Book cover: The Jane Austen Project by Kathleen A Flynn
The other book I have to read is a story by Kathleen A Flynn called 'The Jane Austen Project' (not to be confused with 'The Austen Project' books, which saw some famous authors like Alexander McCall Smith and Val McDermid create contemporary versions of Jane Austen's works). This book is also available to buy in May. This story sounds very interesting; two researchers are sent back in time to try to get hold of a suspected undiscovered Austen manuscript. Let's hope they can save her letters from Cassandra's destruction too! And take a photo, so we know that our upcoming £10 notes are accurate :)

I noticed something that I wanted to tell US-based readers about; Meryton Press is having a wonderful giveaway for you. Go and take a look (after you finish reading my post of course!).

So, that turned out to be a lot to tell you about! Kudos to you if you made it to the end. Remember, you can still enter to win an e-book of Sophie Turner's P&P variation, 'Mistress' here. Let me know what you're planning on reading in the comments, and if you have any audio book recommendations that won't make me crash my car then let me know those too! Happy reading, my friends!

15 comments:

  1. Good for you, Ceri, for getting a sneak peek at the two books. One of the perks of being an extraordinary blogger. The only book I plan to read in April is Abigail Reynolds' newest which should be out mid-month. Anything else will be either from my read pile or something new. Meredith listed 68 new JAFF related books published last month so I imagine there will be more and more and more.

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    1. Hi Joy! I saw Meredith's lists. There are a huge number of books coming out all the time. It's hard to know if I am missing out on any gems because I would be lucky to read that many books in a year, let alone in a month! I am looking forward to reading Abigail's new book too, though I still haven't read all her previous books. I have two which have been on my kindle for ages.

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  2. Ceri,
    I love the selection of books that you recently received! Lucky you!!! You must be chuffed!
    'The Jane Austen Project' sounds intriguing. Can't wait to read your thoughts on it.
    'The Darcy Monologues' is a a book that we're all looking forward to delving into! It certainly sounds interesting!!
    The last JAFF book I read was Sophie Turner's 'The Mistress' and I must admit that I thought it was a wonderful story,beautifully written,emotive and heartbreaking.
    Not sure what I'll be reading in terms of JAFF as I'm finding it had to concentrate on any books at the moment.
    Regardless,I wish you and your readers a very productive month ahead. Happy reading!

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    1. I am having some struggles reading too, Mary, so I feel your pain! I am happier and more settled when I can read but I am struggling for time and my concentration isn't great at the moment, which makes it hard. Let's hope things improve for both of us soon!

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  3. I have no particular plans. I am reading Courting Mr. Darcy by Erin Butler as it was the "some one pick it for me" selection for April. I already read Mistress and LOVED it. Abigail Reynolds had a few chapters of her newest book on her blog and I am definitely going to read that. Several friends have sent me some unpublished books which I am planning to read and they are longer ones. Then Joy has a WIP as does Wade H. (He has 2 I need to catch up on or read.) And there is the Longbourn Dragon one and the A Quest for Mr. Darcy that I follow as WIPs. I am behind on the Progressions WIP and I also follow Mistaken by Jessie on AHA. So I have to try to keep the stories straight. Have you read Mr. Darcy's Bad Day? A new author - and just a delightful story premise. You might find it amusing as well as romantic. I have both of those G. Heyer books on my kindle and keep wanting to read them. Just too much on my plate...maybe. I am looking forward to The Darcy Monologues which comes out May 22nd I believe. The cover is so beautiful I may have to spring for a paperback edition. The covers for the inside stories are lovely also. I saved all of those on my newest Pinterest board. I also have A Life in Small Things but never read it all the way through. And I have not read The Jane Austen Project. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Hi Sheila! I used to read a lot on AHA but I have pretty much given up on unpublished fanfic these days, purely because of time, I know there's lots of good stuff out there.

      I haven't read Mr Darcy's Bad Day but I noticed the other day that it's getting good reviews.

      I hope you enjoy The Darcy Monologues when you get to read it. It's quite a few pages if the page count on the kindle is to be believed, so you will need to be strong to read it in paperback :)

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  4. Carole in Canada2 April 2017 at 15:41

    I saw the 'Austen Project' and have it on my wishlist...it's a pre-order which I agree looks very interesting. Can't wait for the 'Darcy Monologues'...who wouldn't want to be inside Darcy's head!

    As for this month's reading. Well, I hope to re-read "Mansfield Park" as I won the book 'Mansfield Parsonage' by Kyra C. Kramer. Maybe now that I have been immersed so long in JAFF, I will appreciate it better and give it a better rating as I'm looking forward to this variation by Ms. Kramer. I also want to read Regina Jeffers new book too "A Dance with Mr. Darcy". The rest will come from my long TBR list! I may not get to read as many this month as Spring slowly approaches and I head outside more. We shall see...

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    1. You are so lucky, Carole! I really fancy reading Mansfield Parsonage. When you read it I'd be interested to know what you think of it. I hope that you have managed to get outside more as the month progresses, and maybe even managed to get in outdoor reading time! It's still a bit chilly most days to read outdoors here, but I often go for a walk at lunchtime to get a break from the computer and listen to my audiobook. So I do outdoor reading at the moment, but only audio so I can keep moving. When the weather gets warmer I'll be able to sit outside and read instead :)

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  5. Love your Mother's Day gifts and the illustrated ones you acquired. Neat that you have Cotillion and The Grand Sophy on audio. Those are two that make my Heyer favs list. I'm not sure what to recommend for you, but I did add several classics to my audio queue like Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, Wuthering Heights, Tom Sawyer, Emma, Mansfield Park, Sense and Sensibility, Lady Susan, Northanger Abbey and Three Musketeers by going to the free ebooks on Amazon and adding the audio to it for a dollar or two. The narrators seem decent. I listened to Tom Sawyer and Northanger Abbey so far and liked them.

    Yay, for the books you are featuring. The Jane Austen Project is new to me and I agree, if they go back they must save the letters, too. ;)

    Have a great April!

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    1. Hi Sophia! Those are good suggestions for audio reads. I had a listen to the sample for Anne of Gables and I'm considering it. I picked up 'The Secret Garden', which I'm listening to now. I also got 'Northanger Abbey'. I've never read Tom Sawyer or The Three Musketeers. Would you recommend them? I only read The Scarlet Pimpernel for the first time last year and it made me wonder if there were any other books often considered as classics that I should try and read.

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  6. Yay for some Georgette Heyer! I plan on reading a new one this month and am s excited by the prospect!

    Happy belated Mother's Day, Ceri! Love that your family knew to get you some Austen-y treats! ;)

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    1. Yay for Heyer Meredith! I love her books. Even her books which are less good. I hope you enjoy the one you plan to read :)

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  7. Before commenting, I looked back at my comment on your post from last month to see if I'd managed to fulfil my plans for March. Didn't do too bad apart from not managing to fit in the group read at Goodreads. Had a lovely Sunday afternoon at the beginning of the month listening to Catherine Curzon and Adrian Lukis chat, watching Regency dancing, drinking tea and eating cake.

    This month I've got; a couple of ARCs to finish (one JAFF and one not), two beta projects still ongoing (coming a chapter at a time) and I'm reading Karen M. Cox's 1932 in the Someone Pick it for Me challenge on Goodreads. If I have time, then I'll be starting Mistress, which I was lucky enough to win on it's recent blog tour.

    I love that illustrated copy of P&P and have a copy of my own which I picked up in the most unlikely place a couple of years ago - the W. H. Smith shop at our local hospital after I'd been for an appointment and was waiting for hubby to come and pick me up.

    I think we're all looking forward to The Darcy Monologues. The cover is amazing and the individual graphics that Beau North did for each story, incorporating a quote from each, were stunning. The Jane Austen Project sounds really interesting as I love a bit of time travel and adding in a possible missing Austen manuscript just adds to the attraction. Looking forward to reading your views on both books.

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    1. You sound very busy, Anji! I don't know how you manage to keep all the storylines straight in your head if things are coming in a chapter at a time. My brain isn't up to it!

      I hope you enjoy 1932. It was one of the first JAFF I ever read and I love it. Every time I hear 'Night and Day' it makes me think of lovely Darcy in that book, sigh!

      I hope you have a good reading month in April.

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  8. I received an ARC of the book so I did read it and posted a review. It is one I will reread.

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