Austenesque Lovers TBR Pile Reading Challenge 2015 discussion

Share what you are comfortable about yourself and what challenge level you are tackling. Ideas for sharing might include: where you're from, how you came to admire JA's books or Austenesque books in the JA world, how big your TBR pile is, favorite JA story or character, etc

I'll go first to break the ice a bit. Hello!

I'm from the US. I love to read of course and that includes all things Jane Austen or Austen-inspired.

I'm rather eclectic in my tastes in that I don't have a preference whether its original JA or a loose concept related to her stories or characters. I'm rather flexible as to format (graphic novel, an audio book, an ebook or a paper copy) or whatever genre the book falls under (romance, mystery, contemporary, non-fic, paranormal, historical).

I fell in love with Jane Austen as a child of eight when my mother read P&P with me each night before bed. My favorite JA book is Persuasion.

My goal is to read two Austen-inspired books from my TBR pile each month so I guess that places me at the Anne Elliot level. I'll be posting updates monthly. Any book I've read; I will also review. Feel free to friend me or follow my reviews though fair warning: I don't only read Austenesque. ;)

Good luck everybody!

Hi My name is LouAnn. I Have been addicted to reading since I was 3 or 4 years old. I read everyday. Sometimes for hours on end and other times for any few moments I can catch. The Regency Era is one of my favorite genres. As for the challenge,I read both actual books and e books, I will begin with the first level. My goal is to read enough to complete all levels. The speed I will be reading at will depend on my days. I care for a my husband of 41 years that is in poor health. I also help my granddaughter with her two boys (They live with us and are 4 and 7. The youngest of which is Autistic.7) I am looking forward to all the reading and discussion. thanks for having me as a part of this group.

Yay! Glad to have you join, LouAnn! I look forward to seeing you plow through your reading pile and hopefully things will be well with your family so you will have more time for the challenge.

Hi, my name is Gabriella/Georgiana/LizzyGee. I'm Italian and I write on a blog called Old Friends & New Fancies/Il Diario delle Lizzies, in which I often review Austen Inspired Novels.
I think this group is a wonderful idea, Sophia. I have a lot of AIN TBR! I also read other kind of stuff, of course.
Since the character of Jane Austen I am more similar to is Marianne Dashwood, I'll start the challenge with her level. Anyway, I hope to upgrade...
I'm already reading Mr. Darcy's Pledge. I know I won't be able to count it for the challenge, but I'd like to discuss it with anyone who should read it. ;)

Hello Georgiana! I'm so glad you could join. I have visited your blog a few times. It's lovely.
I wish you well on the Marianne Dashwood level.

Mr. Darcy's Pledge was really good. I read it earlier and I have it's sequel, Mr. Darcy's Challenge for review next month. You can start a discussion for it under one of the discussion sections if you like. What did you think of Georgiana in the story? ;) I loved her the best.

Oh and you are welcome to share about your blog and put up a link under the discussion section below 'Promotion Place'.

Hello! My name is Anna, and I love All Things Austen. [I sound like I'm at a support group! ;)] I think I'll sign up for the Anne Elliot level, but I hope to read more than 20. I'll post my reviews on my blog, Diary of an Eccentric (http://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.com). I mostly read anything related to JA, plus WWII fiction/nonfiction, but I'll occasionally read other genres. Thanks for inviting me to the group; I'm looking forward to the challenge!

That's wonderful, Anna! Glad you could accept the invitation. You're welcome to provide an intro to your blog and a link down in the Promotion Place too. I'll have to come visit when you post your updates and reviews.

Hi,
my name is Nicole and I am from Germany, I love Jane Austen and I always have some new Jane Austen themed books.
Looking forward to find more books with topic to fill up my kindle.

Hi!
My name is Elisabetta and I'm from Italy.
I love to read everything is Austen-inspired and my favourite book is P&P (what else with a name like mine? ;))
Georgiana, thaks for asking me to join this group!
Sophia, this group is a great idea! I like it!
For the moment I'll start the challenge with Marianne Dashwood level, but I hope to read more books.

Hi everybody! I am Ceri, and I'm from Wales in the UK. I read my first Austen aged around 14 or so and I fell in love with her work when I read Pride & Prejudice.

I discovered just how extensive the Austenesque genre is when I got a kindle a few years ago. My TBR list is now immense! I read roughly half Austenesque, half other books. I like romance, both contemporary and historical, plus new adult and cosy mysteries. I have a blog where I post reviews, Babblings of a Bookworm , but I also post reviews here on goodreads. I try to review all I read.

Level-wise, I've read 36 Austenesque so far this year so if I aim for roughly the same next year it'll make me Catherine Morland level. I look forward to seeing what you're all reading in our 2015 reading challenge, it's a great idea for a group Sophia :)

Elisabetta wrote: "Georgiana, thanks for asking me to join this group!"

I wanted to share this challenge with you! ;)

Hello everyone! My name is Carol. Thank you letting me join your group. Now I'd like to join your challenge at the Mr. Bennet level. I'm almost finished all my Phantom of the Opera variations, so I'll be ready to start all the Pride and Prejudice variations. I think I have that many on my Kindle.

I wasn't brave enough to initially aim for Mr Bennet level Carol, but I hope to be up there with you by the end of 2015 :)

I'll welcome the company. Counting how many books I have on my Kindle. I'm sure I have at least 50 plus the ones I have on my wish list.

I have a lot more than that, though in my defence you need to pick up freebies while they're still free and bargains while they're still cheap :)

Oh my! Didn't realize how many Pride and Prejudice variations I have. I could easily read 10X Mr. Bennet's number. I guess I need to make a New Year's resolution to read more/faster. I hope these books do not have to be read through Goodreads, because I have not figured out how to use this site. Maybe we can plan our books so we can share notes.

I think I'll post each month detailing my reads, and hopefully if a few of us do that we can weed out which Austenesque reads are worth moving up our TBR lists.

Hi Nicole! There are so many, for sure! And when everyone starts posting their updates, you'll see even more you want. Haha! I look forward to seeing what everyone is reading to see if I want to read it too.

Wonderful, Elisabetta! I am happy you could join and enjoy reading more Jane Austen books. Good luck with Marianne level!

Woohoo! Glad you could participate, Ceri! It was my large pile of unread books that made me want to do this. I thought I might do better if I had other Jane-loving friends to join in and we could all encourage each other.

I did put a place down in a separate discussion for everybody to promote their blogs and provide a visitor link if you want to use it. I will definitely read your reviews and will probably make little progress on my reading pile when I add new books from seeing them on everyone's lists. ;)

Welcome, Carol! Yay! You're going for gold. I should be there with you since I have a huge pile too, but maybe I'll work my way up to it. I have a couple of Phantom retellings too.

Hi Carol! I'm not sure what you mean about 'reading the books through GR'. For the challenge, you just have to come here to the group page and put an update below in the comments under Mr. Bennet level to share what books that you've read since the last update. Does that help answer? Just let me know and I'll try to help.

That's awesome, Monica! I stumbled over JAFF at Costco when Amanda Grange's Diary series came out. Good luck with the challenge of Catherine Morland and I know you'll meet some fun JA bloggers here b/c I know a few have already joined.

I'm posting the end of each month too, Ceri. It will be fun to peek at everyone else's lists for sure.

Hi everyone!

I'm Jessica and I'm up for the challenge! I used to read tons of Austenesque years ago, but now read mostly YA because I teach middle schoolers and it comes with the job. But I miss the world of Jane Austen, so I'm coming back. Realistically, I think I can only shoot for Caroline Bingley, since it's impossible for me to read many books for adults during the school year.

I've got 1932 and Find Wonder in All Things sitting on my Kindle, waiting to be read. I like modern adaptations, so if anyone has any other recommendations, please send them my way.

Oh, and I am about to come out with a modern Austenesque adaptation of my own, The Muse: A Pride and Prejudice Variation. :)

-Jessica

Great to have you aboard, Jessica, for your reunion with Austenesque. Oh, and hey, we can work the the YA thing. There are a handful of writers who write YA level Austenesque. See? Tempting you to add to the pile instead of getting rid of it. Haha! I'm kidding. I get it. Starting with Caro's level sounds fine. Oh, I have those 2 books on my pile too. I think you will see plenty of modern adaptions as everyone starts to post their updates if not, you are welcome to browse my Austenesque shelf here at GoodReads. I know I've read several.

Yay for you with the new book. Feel free to put up a promo post for it down in the discussion section, Promotion Place- tours, sales, or just release day. I actually already have it on my wish list. ;)

Thanks, Sophia. I'm glad to hear that.

Sophia, I have an Austenesque goodreads shelf of books I've already read, many of which I've reviewed on here too. I'll make a 2015 challenge shelf for next year, but in the meantime is there a place we could link existing shelves? It might be helpful if people would like recommendations from other JAFF fans, I know I'd love a nose through everybody else's virtual read shelves!

Smashing idea, Ceri! I've already referenced my shelf too. I'll put it down under the Assorted posts. Give me a minute and it will be ready for you. ;)

Hi all,

I'm Brenda and I'm from New Zealand. I became a fan of all things Jane Austen back in 1995 when I by chance started watching the P&P mini-series on TV and got hooked. I didn't know the story at all so I was genuinely surprised when I found out half way through that Mr. Darcy was the hero of the story! Surely not that disagreeable man! I think his proposal took me by surprise as much as it did Elizabeth. By Pemberley I was converted though and I've been obsessed ever since. I started reading JAFF in 2009 and since then I would say at least 50% of my annual reading would be JAFF.
I'm only going to put myself in the Anne Elliot level though because my Goodreads reading challenge stressed me out this year! I think I'll set the bar fairly low and then feel unreasonably proud when I hopefully surpass it haha

Nice to meet you, Brenda!

That was a lovely movie and is still a favorite. Definitely okay to start small and work your way forward. Don't want stress; just fun. ;)

Hello Everybody!

My name is Ahnya, and I am from the US. Although I read JA with my mom as a kid, and very much love Austen books, I am relatively new to the Austenesque genre. Believe it or not my favorite Austen is Northanger Abbey.
In my newness to this genre I am going to be ambitious, and go for Marianne Dashwood. I welcome any suggestions you might have of things to read.

Ahnya wrote: "Believe it or not my favorite Austen is Northanger Abbey.
In my newness to this genre I am going to be ambitious, and go for Marianne Dashwood. I welcome any suggestions you might have of things to read."

Hi Ahnya! I love Northanger Abbey, too, for it was the first novel I read of Austen's (my favourite is Persuasion, though). I would like to suggest you North By Northanger: Or The Shades of Pemberley by Carrie Bebris. I know it's not the first of the Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries, but it was the first one I read (Northanger again!), and I loved it. It's a sequel both to P&P and to NA. ;)

Yay, this will be fun I hope, Ahnya. Fair warning that your reading pile might increase rather than decrease with all the suggestions. ;)

Northanger Abbey makes perfect sense knowing your reading tastes as I do. So glad, you could do this challenge, Ahnya. Definitely be ambitious!
As to recommendations, I haven't read it yet (on my list-haha), but there is a gothic-style story sequel to Northanger Abbey, Nachtsturm Castle by Emily Snyder and another mystery themed sequel, There Must Be Murder by Margaret Sullivan. But I'm going to put you on to a wonderful resource for what's out there in Austenesque books. Meredith @ Austenesque Reviews blog did an awesome comprehensive guide to books out there organized and cross-referenced: http://austenesquereviews.com/a-compr...

Hey everyone, my name is Erika, I am from the Milwaukee, WI, area but for 9 yrs (2003-2012) I was a traveling Occupational Therapist and at times was very lonely so I would frequent my favorite store, any bookstore around. Well walking up and down the Fiction aisle I started noticing books that were P&P variations by Linda Wells, Abigail Reynolds, Enid Wilson, Susan Adriani, Mary Lydon Simonsen, and others. I was addicted and kept searching for more!!!

I am generally a voracious reader, but my job at times leaves me with no time to enjoy reading. I plan for the new year to make changes to when I do my paperwork and to read more of my TBR list. I plan to go for Anne Elliot, but hope I can read more. I look forward to the challenge and following up on what everyone is reading. Thanks for inviting me to join the group!!

LOL! Erika, browsing bookstores has gotten me into a load of trouble with my TBR pile. Glad you've got a plan and good luck with the Anne Elliot level!

If I worked at a bookstore I'd never bring home a pay check!!! LOL

You said it, sister! Especially if there was an employee discount to make it even more tempting.

I hear you there!! As it is I need to look for a 3 bedroom place to purchase eventually. 1 bedroom would be wall-to-wall book shelves and a comfy couch!!!!!

A whole room, oh yes please....I'm like Lydia and her 'whole camp full of officers'.

We are of the same mind!! I love being able to converse with those who understand my obsession. I have no one in my RL that does.

I don't have many in RL either and they live distant, but there are tons of book buddies here that do.

I love it!!

Erika wrote: "I love it!!"

;)

Have a good night and I look forward to preparing a list of books I want to read for the challenge.

Good Night, Erika! Look forward to that list. I'm not sure what order I'll read mine either.

You know when you dream of what you'd buy if you ever win a large sum on the lottery? My husband would start off his wishlist with a supercar etc, but top of my list would be a house with a library, no question!

I know a few people in person who read, but nobody quite as much as me, and nobody with the same taste, so it has been wonderful to find book buddies online, my TBR has exploded with recommendations!

Exactly! Since we're dreaming, I say go big. I drool over the huge libraries in the great houses. I don't think I'd come out for days.

Yep, book buddies are to blame for over half the books on my pile. ;) I find myself not that upset about that. I'm pretty sure I'll see several during this challenge that will be slipping right onto my wish list too.

Hi!
My Name is Katrin, I am from Austria, Europe, 29 years old, and I started reading Jane Austen and austenesque books after first reading Emma in my teens. First Emma, then came P&P, NA and Persuasion (which is my personal favourite together with P&P) - and then on to austenesque.

I´ll try to go for Anne Elliot. I have a small baby and my reading time is not so much as it used to be, but Anne Elliot might work (and I love Anne and Capt. Wentwoth - so the challange level is quite fitting ;) ).