Welcome! I have been looking forward to this month all year! These are the books I have in mind for #JaneAustenJuly Hosts: Blatantly Bookish Books and Things Spinster's Library
I'm so excited to participate in my first Jane Austen July (I didn't hear about til August of last year). I love the read-alongs that we'll be doing! My non-fictions will be Miniatures & Morals by Peter Leithart & In the Garden with Jane Austen by Kim Wilson. My modern books are The Perils of Lady Catherine de Bourgh by Claudia Gray & Venetia by Georgette Heyer. My contemporary book is The Scottish Chiefs by Jane Porter. I also found a little 31 day Bible devotional titled Praying with Jane that seems cute and I'm going to read that as well.
I have that biography of Austen! It's cool because it was written in the early twentieth century. It has a lot of info about the culture of the day as well as specifically about Austen's life. I am also reading Frankenstein in July.
The Persuasion (1995, I think) with Amanda Root & Ciaran Hinds is one of my favorite Austen adaptations. It's family-friendly, although you might want to have kids read the abridged version first to understand the plot. It has great music and cinematography, with scenes shot in Lyme Regis. (Remember Louisa's fall?) And it's standard movie-length, not a mini-series. Root & Hinds have great chemistry on screen.
Since I just read Sense and Sensibility last year, I won't do the group book. I have never read Emma so it will be the one I focus on. I will read Sanditon and Trumpet Major. As for nonfiction and the movies, there are so many I will decide at the time. Frankenstein is so good. That would be a contemporary of Jane's.
It looks like you have a fun pile of books to read. The only Jane Austen book I've read is Pride and Prejudice, but I keep hearing Persuasion is great. Thanks for reminding me of it, lol. I'm also a pretty new booktuber if you'd like to stop by my channel. And I subscribed to you a couple of weeks ago. I put a whole bunch of your videos in my Watch Later. I'm hoping I can get to several of them this week. 🥰
Unfortunately, I've struggled to read Jane Austen's books. I like her stories, but I think something about her writing doesn't work that well for me. I may try one of her books on audio in July, probably either Sense and Sensibility or Northanger Abbey.
Oh, yes, I'm sure she isn't for everyone. I tried multiple times before I could finally get through one. After that, each one got easier, but her writing isn't super fluid, IMO. Have you tried any of her short stories?
I'm doing Northanger Abbey for my book club. That's probably all I'll be able to get through for the month! I'm super glad Hannah told me it was Jane Austen July!