Hello to all of you, and happy March! They say that if March comes in like a lion it will go out like a lamb, and hopefully that will be the case. We had quite a bit of chaos here yesterday and today because of heavy snow. We can sometimes go a whole year without seeing snow, and if we do get snow often it doesn't even settle because it'll be quite wet snow, but the snow this week has been powdery and drifting with the cold winds. I went out with my kids to have a snowball fight earlier, and it was like a film, the snow was like icing sugar! This would have been ideal reading weather in other years but due to technology I have been able to work from home and have had no additional reading time!
On a personal level March is a stressful/exciting time because we are due to have building work starting on our home. We have a very standard home for the UK, two reception rooms, tiny kitchen on the ground floor. What we're having done is having a kitchen/dining room built on the back of the house and the existing tiny kitchen will become a utility room. It'll be awesome if all goes to plan, but will take a few months of stress and upheaval to get there. Wish me luck!
So, you are not hear for my weather reports and building updates, but to find out what reading plans I have for the month! Let me tell you about the visitors who are currently planned in. Firstly, I will be welcoming Mark Brownlow, who has written a novel focussing on Mr Bennet,
Cake and Courtship.
We'll be taking a look at Ginger Monette's
Darcy Saga novels, which are now available in a combined volume. These are set in WW2 and have had wonderful reviews.
I also hope to be welcoming Monica Fairview, with her latest Pride & Prejudice variation,
Mysterious Mr Darcy. This sounds very enticing, as there is some sort of mystery about Mr Darcy before he comes to Netherfield and Elizabeth is curious to find out what it could be. I am curious too!
As I've mentioned before, I am part of an Austenesque reading group on Goodreads. It's a lovely group, and if you'd like to join you will be sure of a welcome there. March is the
Dusty Shelf Book Scavenger Hunt, where you have to dust off one of the books you've been meaning to read for over two years. The scavenger clue is that it has to be a variation, or feature Miss Austen as a character. Since there is currently snow, I am planning to read
Alone With Mr Darcy by Abigail Reynolds which sees Elizabeth and Darcy getting stranded together. Sigh!
What do you plan to read this month? Let us know in the comments!
You have a beautiful lineup this month. I've read Ginger Monette's books as well as Abigail Reynolds and LOVED all of them. I have yet to read the other two which look great. Thanks for sharing. Jen Oh.... Aside from reading on the forums, I just read Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match by Marilyn Brant which I won in a giveaway. Very funny and a nice balance to the angst that is hanging out at the forums right now.
ReplyDeleteThanks Jen. I read Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Match a few years ago and I really enjoyed it, but I liked the sequel to it even more - Pride, Prejudice and the Perfect Bet is the Jane/Bingley story and I would never have thought that I'd prefer one of those to an Elizabeth/Darcy story but I did. If you have chance I'd definitely try and read that one :)
DeleteLove Ginger Monette's stories and Abigail Reynolds, too. Can't wait to see what you think of them and the other books I haven't read. Wishing you good luck on the house addition.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Brenda. I am keeping my fingers crossed that all will go well!
DeleteYes, I imagine an extensive building project like that would be exciting and terrifying at the same time. Hopefully, it will all go along smoothly and you'll be enjoying all your new space and kitchen.
ReplyDeleteIf the old saying is true, we're in for a lamb day at the end, too. Glad you were able to enjoy the snow with the kiddoes. :)
Oh fun! I am looking forward to reading Mark Brownlow's book. I love that Mr. Bennet is the focus.
Haha! Good pick for the Dusty Shelves with the snowy weather tie-in. I hope to start my book Remembrance of the Past by Maria Grace next week.
Have a lovely March, Ceri!
You too Sophia! Stay safe and warm in the bad weather.
DeleteI like your pick for the Dusty Shelf hunt. I haven't read Remembrance of the Past yet, but I know I have it on my kindle. I hope you enjoy it!
Ah, building works! It's fantastic once they're finished, but a pain in the you-know-where whilst you're having to live with them, as I know from experience.
ReplyDeleteDon't we Brits just love to talk a out the weather? We've had more than a light covering in Yorkshire but again it's the powdery sort, so when the wind got up but it was still snowing, it's blown into drifts. Saw some lovely ones on the moors on my way to work yesterday but couldn't stop to take photos.
Reading-wise, I'm going to be reading Only Mr. Darcy Will Do by Kara Louise for my contribution to the Dusty Book Shelf Scavenger Hunt. You're in for a treat with Alone with Mr. Darcy. Look out for a cameo from Abigail's late and much missed cat Snowdrop. I'm also on a double alphabetical mission to try and read an Austenesque title that begins with each individual letter of the alphabet (excluding any leading The, A or An), and also by author's first name as part of my Reading Challenge this year. Got a title beginning with Q but X and Z might be a problem! Any suggestions? Some of our friends on Goodreads have suggested some fan fiction writers names for Q, X and Z, so hopefully not a problem with that aspect!
Ginger Monette's duo are another treat and I'm looking forward to catching up with Mark Brownlow's blog tour. I've just discovered that he's the person behind the Austenesque "email inboxes" that pop up on social media from time to time. They're absolutley hilarious! Monica Fairview's new book looks intriguing - I've been following the preview chapters on Austen Variations and really want to discover the mystery behind Darcy's past.
Have a great month!
I've never had extensive building work done before, Anji. We did a lot of smaller projects before the children were born and that was upheaval enough!
DeleteI know it's a cliche, but yes, I love talking about the weather, LOL. And I like to look out of the window to see what the weather is doing. I love that you never know what season it will be here :)
Goodness, your alphabetical challenge sounds hard. I know of some JAFF with author surnames beginning with Z but not titles. How badly would it be cheating to have an eX... title, there are quite a few of those. If I ever write a book I will have a title beginning with X to clean up on alphabet challenges :)
Ceri... good luck with the remodel. I'm part of that Dusty Book Shelf Scavenger Hunt and choose Jack Caldwell's The Companion of His Future Life. It was the oldest in my TBR pile. Looks like you have a busy March set up for us with your visitors. Looking forward to it. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteHi Jeanne. I have The Companion of His Future Life in my kindle vault too. I liked the challenge, I hope Sophia does more of them.
DeleteHow exciting...a reno! We did our kitchen, bathroom and a dining area which use to be a bedroom, well the contractor did, in 2009. We did the demo part. Took down walls, ripped up carpeting, tiles and linoleum etc. What a mess but the design and buying was fun! However, we did not have little ones underfoot, just my mother-in-law. So good luck and have fun with it!
ReplyDeleteYou have a great line-up this month. I loved Ginger's saga and I am looking forward to Mark and Monica's books!
We had the bitter cold in December and January with snow. February hasn't been too bad. March came in with only a couple of inches of snow which should melt this weekend. It stayed just south of us.
In trying to tackle my TBR list, I have decided for every new book I read, I will go back and read one that is buried. Since it is March 2018, I will find one I bought in March of 2017...we'll see how well that works!
I am dreading the upheaval, but as we are not knocking down much internally I am hoping it won't be as bad.
DeleteI love your idea for tackling your buried books, Carole. I could go back further than just a year though, you are very restrained! You have given me an idea though, perhaps I'll look back at unread books from previous Aprils when I am choosing my reading for next month!
Hi Ceri,
ReplyDeleteI must sympathise with you with regards to the vagaries of the weather. We here in the Emerald Isle have had 'The Beast from the East' and Storm Emma to contend with which brought snow and winds.
We can't deel with low temperatures so the country virtually ground to a halt for the past few days!!
Hope your building plans come to fruition and that they don't cause too much stress.
It will be so worthwhile to have more family space so keypad that in much when the builder fails to turn up!!!!
You're in for a treat with Anigail's book!
I read it and loved it.
Gave a great month! 🔨🏡📕
Thanks Mary! I hope you have a good month too, and we get some springtime :)
Deletewonderful lineup!
ReplyDeleteweather has definitely been a Lion here--awful storm last week, another potential one on Wednesday
denise
I hope the weather isn't too harsh for you, Denise. We are generally pretty lucky here, the weather is very much toned down compared to other countries. The reason we are all obsessed in Britain is that it's so changeable, not that it's very bad. I hope you have a good reading month, and that you stay safely tucked up away from the weather.
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