Austenesque Lovers TBR Challenge 2022 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

Hi from MA! Austen class of 1995, S&S 1995 was my first Austen. Love at first sight for Marianne and I. However Jane Bennet has inched ahead slightly. Mr Knightley (alas I'm more like his grumpy brother John Knightley)and Col Brandon on favorites on the hero side. Once I read the big six, I found some Austenesque, such as a story about Margaret Dashwood. While my TBR is probably less than many (sorry not over keen on a few areas of Austenesque) it grows and grows. Especially thanks to this group. :) Edit: of course, Team Marianne level :) Should take me (cough) weeks to get there. :)

Hey! Sophia -you are getting ready early!!
A whole other year to read great books.
I live in Jerusalem. Been reading JA since I was young (mainly persuasion- my fave and P&P)
A few years ago I happened along a JAFF by Jann Rowland and that's all she wrote!
I have used reading as the perfect escapism during all the shut-downs. At some point I may need therapy to rejoin the real world LOL

Yay, Kirk and Sam are back!

@Kirk Jane is bumping out Marianne? Must be some fab Jane stories hooking you in. :)

@Sam When you're hooked, you never stop the addition for JAFF. Definitely no therapy for this. ;)

Hi all!

This is Sophia from Michigan (I'll refrain from the Michigander habit of holding up the 'mitten' hand to show you where I live).

I have a stack on my digital and actual book shelves of Austen and Austenesque books that is huge and I can't seem to stop adding to it so I join this challenge each year to at least keep it under a little control. Nah, it doesn't work, but the challenge is fun.

My favorite Austen novels are Persuasion and Mansfield Park and I swoon heavy when I come across variations, retellings, and sequels for them, but I love all the Austen stories, novels, and characters including anything I can get on her, her family, and the Regency world.

I surprised myself in 2021 by making the Colonel Brandon level and would love to do it again. However, I must start with my dear Miss Anne level.

Cheering you all on!

Yay for a fresh year! Such a pretty image on the group page, Sophia! And props to Danielle for all her hard work over the past year.

I have been an Austen addict since someone of blessed memory gave me a copy of her complete works for my thirteenth birthday. Am now happily retired in coastal Oregon, in a house with enough space for a library, so the sky’s the limit for my Austenesque explorations.

I don’t set personal expectations for challenge levels, but usually I read between 10 and 25 Austenesque novels a year. I am picky and tend to favor modern-day adaptations over period stories, though a good hook to a story will reel me in no matter what the era.

Look forward to joining all the lovely folks in this group in our exploration of Austen world!

Oh yes, Abigail, we must fill your new shelves to the brim. Wonderful glad to have you back. :)

Sophia wrote: "Hi all!

This is Sophia from Michigan (I'll refrain from the Michigander habit of holding up the 'mitten' hand to show you where I live).

I have a stack on my digital and actual book shelves of Au..."

Lol... someone on a website just showed a mitten hand. Lol part 2 enjoying the Michigan snow ❄️ today showing in two college football games.

I will start here but my goal is 200 books. Retired, and love to read. I also spend time walking...on treadmill and either outside (if weather permits) or at grocery store where I walk all the aisles and across the front and back twice. Plus spend some time visiting 4 grandchildren, although pandemic has limited that. I cheer everyone on.

Yay to have Sheila back and headed for the heights of Mr. Darcy's Library. Cheering you on with your reading and exercising.

Hola 👋🏻
I’m a reader/writer/professional optimist/story enthusiast… who bounces between Oregon and Ecuador.
My TBR pile gets higher and higher, and I’m okay with that (growth mindset😁), but I’m happy to join a group of like-minded readers who can’t get enough Austen and Austenesque stories! I’m going for 30.
It’s lovely to meet y’all!

Hola, Jennifer, Welcome, Hope to also see you writing more, as I love your stories. How's the weather up in that mountain you live on?

Thank you, Sheila! I wish I could share some of this equatorial sunshine with you.

Jennifer wrote: "Hola 👋🏻
I’m a reader/writer/professional optimist/story enthusiast… who bounces between Oregon and Ecuador.
My TBR pile gets higher and higher, and I’m okay with that (growth mindset😁), but I’m h..."

Hola, Jennifer!
Keeping you safe from your TBR pile teetering is what we're about. Cheering you on for hitting your reading goal among all those hats you wear. :)

It is so good to see everyone back again and to the new faces that will be joining soon. I retired in 2015 and someone here, who shall not be named... @ post 9, invited me to check out Goodreads the following year. That was all it took. You can either thank them or blame them. LOL!!

Hello, I'm Jeanne and I'm an Austenesque addict. I used to not be able to spell it let alone pronounce it; however, I am getting better. The doctors have told me Austenesque is incurable and I will just have to live with it. They just shake their heads and have written me off... no meds and no therapy. Heavy sigh.

I live in beautiful Kentucky which gives me all the seasons. I love nothing better than to read when it is raining, snowing or the sun decides to shine. I will take any excuse to read. My goal for 2022 is Mr. Darcy's level. I didn't make it last year but I managed to exceed even my expectations this year thanks to all the postings I saw with lots of new fanfiction sites I'd not read. Thanks, guys. I look forward to a new year of reading. Blessings.

Raise the roof! Jeanne is back in the house. So glad to have your beautiful, bubbly spirit and can-do Darcy goal. :)

Thanks, Sophia for being our moderator again. We love your guidance and dedication to this group. What would we do without you?

Kirk wrote: "Sophia wrote: "Hi all!

This is Sophia from Michigan (I'll refrain from the Michigander habit of holding up the 'mitten' hand to show you where I live).

I have a stack on my digital and actual boo..."

Oh yes, it was light and fluffy and only a few inches. We caught a bit of the games and figured the State game got more snow since they were getting lake effect from Lake Michigan. LOL, I swear it is such a fun habit to be able to hold up your hand and simply point to the spot you live. My brother rolls his eyes when I do it to people out west. ;)

TᕼIᔕ Iᔕ ᖇEEᗪ ᖴᖇOᗰ ᖴᒪOᖇIᗪᗩ I'ᗰ ᑕOᗰᖴOᖇTᗩᗷᒪE ᗯITᕼ ᗰᗩKIᑎG ᑎEᗯ ᖴᖇIEᑎᗪᔕ👭 ᖇEᗩᗪIᑎG ᗪIᖴᖴEᖇEᑎT ᗷOOKᔕ📚 ᗩᑎᗪ ᔕᑭEᒪᒪIᑎG ᗪIᖴᖴEᖇEᑎT ᗯOᖇᗪᔕ

LOL! Welcome, Reed. That was hilarious.

Yes, as Jeanne said: Welcome to our community. We'll be interested in seeing what you read and how you like those stories.

Hello to everyone. I'm from India, all the way across the world from you all but in the same addiction wagon. I read Pride and Prejudice when I was in college and loved it. But my serious fandom started very late after I watched "You've got mail", which prompted my second read and a library visit where I found "Only Nr. Darcy will do" on display which opened up the world of JAFF. After my family cooking, reading and music are my passions not in any order. After joining this group my reading has surpassed my other interests even my family at times LOL! My favourite Austen books are Pride and Prejudice, Persuasion, Emma and Sense and Sensibility in that order. Last year I reached Pemberley unexpectedly and that is my goal this year too hopefully.

Hi all, last year was a complete disaster for me group wise. I read and listened to a ton of books but wrote very few reviews and logged almost nothing. This year will be different! I am hoping to faithfully record all my titles and review many. Looking forward to seeing you all on the chats.

Barb

Hello everyone!

I'm Triscia and Emma is my favourite Jane Austen novel, purely because she's such a relatable character and she grew so much over the story. (Also, Mr Knightley is ❤️❤️)

My goal for the coming year is just to read what I want. I realise that I was trying to catch up with all the trending books in 2021 that it overwhelmed my TBR list and I didn't have time to really sit down to read the books I have in mind.

That's my goal too

Welcome back abmom. Good to see your name again.

Barb, we have missed you. Welcome back. We are glad to hear from you and are looking forward to seeing your reading list and reviews again.

Welcome, Triscia. Mr. Knightley is one of my favorites, too. We are so glad you could join in with the group.

Hi, my name is Shifra and I'm a JAffaholic. I celebrated my first anniversary this month of my jAffdiction, so where do I collect my chip? I’m from a couple of places, had a rolling stone rearing, but chiefly consider myself a New Englander, and perhaps that is why I am wicked fascinated with ye ole England.

I first got into Austen in high school, by randomly picking up Mansfield Park and subsequently getting obsessed with it, followed by all the others. I have reread Mansfield Park & Northanger Abbey by far the most, and consider those my favorites- albeit by a small margin, as they are all great. I find it surprising Mansfield Park is widely considered the most boring/ least popular Austen novel, and will never cease to be flummoxed by how underrated it is.

As to how I stumbled into the JAFF rabbit hole, there is a series of events that dominoes into it, though the catalyst could be isolated as corona, being a uni student whose social life got KOd with pandemic, I got more time to myself and fell back into my binge reading habits of old. Which led me to reading North and South for the first time, after which I was desperate for more historical romances and was suggested, Darcy & Elizabeth: A Season of Courtship by big brother.

I made my GRs to track what I read and was subsequently scouted & recruited by Sam to this here group- shout out to Sam- and that brings us full circle. I enjoy writing as anyone who has glimpsed my longwinded reviews can attest, and may look into summoning the courage to write a JAFF of my own someday. It is nice to not be the only one afflicted with this niche genre addiction, and have a little support group, as no one IRL would get it, and frankly I treat it like fight club and don't speak of it. It was great to read all your intros, and I’ll see y’all about :)

Hello, Shifra. I'm glad to find another that loves Mansfield Park as much as I do. I mean, seriously, what is wrong with those people who don't like it? Really? Maybe it's too deep for them. Yeah, that's it. LOL!! Welcome.

Sophia wrote: "Kirk wrote: "Sophia wrote: "Hi all!

This is Sophia from Michigan (I'll refrain from the Michigander habit of holding up the 'mitten' hand to show you where I live).

I have a stack on my digital a..."

Lol...using a mitten is certainly better than using a curved arm(thanks Thoreau) to describe favorite places on Cape Cod (my favorite location is in the forearm). It's usually funny(as long as it's not more than a couple of inches) when we get "lake effect" ❄️🌨️.

abmom wrote: "Hello to everyone. I'm from India, all the way across the world from you all but in the same addiction wagon. I read Pride and Prejudice when I was in college and loved it. But my serious fandom st..."

Glad to see you here again, abmom.

Barb wrote: "Hi all, last year was a complete disaster for me group wise. I read and listened to a ton of books but wrote very few reviews and logged almost nothing. This year will be different! I am hoping to ..."

Just glad to see you here, reviews or no reviews. I don't think anyone is judging you. Enjoy.

Triscia wrote: "Hello everyone!

I'm Triscia and Emma is my favourite Jane Austen novel, purely because she's such a relatable character and she grew so much over the story. (Also, Mr Knightley is ❤️❤️)

My goal f..."

Hello, Triscia, good to see you back. Hope you just enjoy whatever book(s) you get to read.

Ｓｈｉｆｒａ wrote: "Hi, my name is Shifra and I'm a JAffaholic. I celebrated my first anniversary this month of my jAffdiction, so where do I collect my chip? I’m from a couple of places, had a rolling stone rearing, ..."

Welcome, again, and "no chips" but plenty of lovely people to cheer you on. Although no one judges if you made a goal or not. We do look at ratings to help us chose our next book or to add that story to our TBR pile(s).

Hi, this is my first Goodreads challenge and I am so looking forward to it! I have a Variations to-be-read shelf and am going to enjoy changing them to the variations read one. I am selecting the Level Six Fanny Price 76-100 books level and hope that everyone is as excited as I am!

Welcome to our community.

I live in Shorewood, Wisconsin, in the United States. I love Austen's works but I would have to list Pride and Prejudice as my favorite by far. I enjoy reading P&P JAFF, but am open to other JAFF. I try to read 100 books (total) each year. I believe I can commit 1/2 of that total to JAFF.

I will shoot for Mr. Knightley level at 51.

Ｓｈｉｆｒａ wrote: "Hi, my name is Shifra and I'm a JAffaholic. I celebrated my first anniversary this month of my jAffdiction, so where do I collect my chip? I’m from a couple of places, had a rolling stone rearing, ..."

My pressure - Ahem pleasure!!!

It is so nice to see everyone back for a new round.
I also like the new pic for the group, very soothing.

Gonna go for gold. Plenty of rereading to do, so that is 50 books easy. LOL

I have been checking the blogs and publishers. Any news on books coming out in the new year or spring?

Gillian wrote: "I will shoot for Mr. Knightley level at 51."

Welcome.

Sam wrote: "It is so nice to see everyone back for a new round.
I also like the new pic for the group, very soothing.

Gonna go for gold. Plenty of rereading to do, so that is 50 books easy. LOL

I have been c..."

I have an ARC of Epiphany by Jesse Lewis. Should be a great book.

Reed wrote: "TᕼIᔕ Iᔕ ᖇEEᗪ ᖴᖇOᗰ ᖴᒪOᖇIᗪᗩ I'ᗰ ᑕOᗰᖴOᖇTᗩᗷᒪE ᗯITᕼ ᗰᗩKIᑎG ᑎEᗯ ᖴᖇIEᑎᗪᔕ👭 ᖇEᗩᗪIᑎG ᗪIᖴᖴEᖇEᑎT ᗷOOKᔕ📚 ᗩᑎᗪ ᔕᑭEᒪᒪIᑎG ᗪIᖴᖴEᖇEᑎT ᗯOᖇᗪᔕ"

Fabulous to have you, Reed the friendly Floridian. :)

abmom wrote: "Hello to everyone. I'm from India, all the way across the world from you all but in the same addiction wagon. I read Pride and Prejudice when I was in college and loved it. But my serious fandom st..."

Woohoo! Glad you are back and satisfying that huge addiction with us. Oh my yes, it just takes over. Cheering you on to Darcy-ville!

Barb wrote: "Hi all, last year was a complete disaster for me group wise. I read and listened to a ton of books but wrote very few reviews and logged almost nothing. This year will be different! I am hoping to ..."

Sensational to have you back, Barb. This is a re-set year and clean slate. Cheering you on. :)

Triscia wrote: "Hello everyone!

I'm Triscia and Emma is my favourite Jane Austen novel, purely because she's such a relatable character and she grew so much over the story. (Also, Mr Knightley is ❤️❤️)

My goal f..."

Super to have you with us, Triscia. I agree. Reading should be relaxing, informative, and fun. Jump in at a level you feel comfortable and work your way up as you have time. Mr. Knightley is sooo sigh-worthy. :)

Ｓｈｉｆｒａ wrote: "Hi, my name is Shifra and I'm a JAffaholic. I celebrated my first anniversary this month of my jAffdiction, so where do I collect my chip? I’m from a couple of places, had a rolling stone rearing, ..."

Yay, Shifra's back and still feeding the addiction. How fun that you love MP, too. I think it is pretty hilarious in many of the moments. I had no idea Sam hauled you into our group. Our gain for sure.

Cheering you on to the highest levels! :)

Kirk wrote: "Sophia wrote: "Kirk wrote: "Sophia wrote: "Hi all!

This is Sophia from Michigan (I'll refrain from the Michigander habit of holding up the 'mitten' hand to show you where I live).

I have a stack ..."

The arm, yes, I had no idea Cape Cod-ders did that. ;)

Kimbelle wrote: "Hi, this is my first Goodreads challenge and I am so looking forward to it! I have a Variations to-be-read shelf and am going to enjoy changing them to the variations read one. I am selecting the L..."

So jazzed that you picked our group for your first, Kimbelle. Woohoo, going for the big 1-0-0!

Gillian wrote: "I live in Shorewood, Wisconsin, in the United States. I love Austen's works but I would have to list Pride and Prejudice as my favorite by far. I enjoy reading P&P JAFF, but am open to other JAFF. ..."

Warm welcome to the group, Gillian. There are so many fabulous P&P variations and retellings. You will definitely be kept busy with them on the way to visiting Mr. Knightley's level. :)

Sam wrote: "It is so nice to see everyone back for a new round.
I also like the new pic for the group, very soothing.

Gonna go for gold. Plenty of rereading to do, so that is 50 books easy. LOL

I have been c..."

Fabulous to have you back, Sam, and oh my yes, there are already some new release announcements buzzing. You'll be kept busy heading up through the levels.