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Zuzana's Challenge Log 2024
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I want to try a no-buy year in 2024. 2024 NO-BUY YEAR CHALLENGE
First, I need to lay down some rules and exemptions because a strict no-buy would set me up for a failure.
General rules:
1. No buying physical books, comic books, audiobooks, or e-books.
2. I will cancel my Audible subscription for a year.
3. I will not set up any new audiobook subscriptions.
4. If I slip up, I will continue with the challenge. (No giving up because of a slip-up.)
Exemptions:
1. I can buy books as gifts for other people.
2. I can buy books for myself as long as it's gift shopping for "clueless" family members, e.g., my brother usually gives me money beforehand to buy myself what I want.
3. Library books are fine. (It's not shopping.)
4. If push comes to shove, I can buy a bargain book (a cheap, preferably used book). My emergency book shopping budget for a whole year is 40 EUR. (I hope I will spend much less than that.)
!!!5. If all else fails and I buy books I need to read them in 2024 (that way they don't count)!
How I did in:
January - 0 purchases - Excellent!
February
E-bay (used books): 18/2 - 675 Kc= 25 EUR (I will get these from my family for my birthday in April!):
Fire from Heaven
The Persian Boy
Funeral Games
Alexander the Great
Jane Austen's Heroines: Intimacy in Human Relationships
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Emergency budget: 40 EUR
Spent: 0 EUR
Left: 40 EUR
To go with my no-buy challenge, I will participate in: READ WHAT YOU OWN CHALLENGE
I believe it started on Booktube as a "read 100 books you own" and you couldn't buy any new books before you finished. I won't be that ambitious. I will simply keep tabs on owned books I read through the year.
1.
2.
3.
Monthly Challenges I'd like to participate in:Febregency
Jane Austen July
Garbaugust
Victober
Non-fiction November
Remember December
January1. 🎧 Mrs. Wickham by Sarah Page (Audible Original) 1/6/24
in progress
🎧 Jane on the Brain: Exploring the Science of Social Intelligence with Jane Austen by Wendy Jones
📚 Jane Austen's Christmas: The Festive Season in Georgian England by Maria Hubert
📚 Don Carlos by Schiller by Friedrich Schiller
2024 Emma ChallengeModern retellings
Emma of 83rd Street (1) by Audrey Bellezza
Kamila Knows Best by Farah Heron
***A Novel Role-Playing Game folder
NBRC RPG - Lady Zuzana
unnasigned books:
--War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (WD Event - Manifestation of life) 5/31/16 (1424 pages)
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport 1/1/19
K2: Life and Death on the World's Most Dangerous Mountain by Ed Viesturs, David Roberts 12/2/19
Jane Austen, the Secret Radical by Helena Kelly 2/22/20
Jane Austen: A Life Revealed by Catherine Reef 7/27/20
--Heir to the Empire by Timothy Zahn 2/5/21 ★★★★
Sabotage: How to Silence Your Inner Critic and Get Out of Your Own Way by Emma Gannon 3/14/21 ★★★
Rogue Squadron by Michael A. Stackpole (X-Wing #1) 3/27/21 ★★★
The Space Shuttle: NASA's Space Transportation System: 40th Anniversary by Piers Bizony, Roger D. Launius 3/28/21 ★★★★
--Dark Force Rising by Timothy Zahn (The Thrawn Trilogy #2) 4/27/21 ★★★
Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World by Adrian Mackinder 4/23/2021 ★★★★
Master and Apprentice by Claudia Gray
African Europeans: An Untold History by Olivette Otélé 6/4/21
How to Survive in Medieval England by Toni Mount 6/22/21
A Fine Brush on Ivory: An Appreciation of Jane Austen by Richard Jenkyns 9/17/21
Star Wars: Dark Legends by George Mann 10/28/21
--Star Wars: From a Certain Point of View by Elizabeth Schaefer 10/29/21
A Visitor's Guide to Jane Austen's England by Sue Wilkes 11/15/21
A Portrait of Jane Austen by David Cecil 11/21/21
--The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott 1/16/22
Star Wars: The High Republic, Vol. 1: There Is No Fear by Cavan Scott1/16/22
--The Jane Austen Collection: An Audible Original Drama by Jane Austen 1/30/22
Path of Destruction by Drew Karpyshyn 2/20/22
The Life and Works of Jane Austen by Devoney Looser3/3/22
Kenobi by John Jackson Miller 3/10/22
Jane Austen And Her Times, 1775-1817 by G.E. Mitton 8/26/22
Tea with Jane Austen by Kim Wilson 7/3/23
The Little Black Classics Beautiful Cassandra by Jane Austen 7/23/23
A Charming Place: Bath in the Life and Times of Jane Austen by Maggie Lane 7/30/23
--The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis 7/31/23
--Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer 7/31/23
The World of Jane Austen by Nigel Nicolson 8/15/23
--Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 7/15/24
Light of the Jedi by Charles Soule 6/10/24
Love And Freindship: And Other Early Works Of Jane Austen by Jane Austen 7/20/24
Sense and Sensibility by Isobel Armstrong 7/25/24
The Genius of Jane Austen: Her Love of Theatre and Why She Works in Hollywood by Paula Byrne 8/19/24
The Rising Storm by Cavan Scott 11/1/24
--The Last Command by Timothy Zahn 11/24/24 (518 pages)
What Matters in Jane Austen?: Twenty Crucial Puzzles Solved by John Mullan 11/21/24
Krvavý rok 5784: 12 měsíců války v Izraeli by David Borek 11/24/24
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen 11/28/24
knihy do 11/28/24
Magical Staff LVL 18Basic strength: 18+2= 20 AP
Bonuses:
Orb of Fire: +3 AP
Wizarding Hat: + 1 AP
Baroque Horse: + 1 AP
Puppy (Intermediate Combat Certificate): + 2 AP
Cat: + 2 AP in the 1st round of battle
+ Lucky 13 Collar: + 1 AP
1 Growth Weapon Enhancement Bauble for Magic Staff: increases damage each turn in battle by 1
Basic strike= 27 + bauble + (in the 1st round only) cat
1st round= 30 (+1 Lucky 13= 31)
2nd round= 29
3rd round= 30
4th round= 31
Red Gem strike - doubles attack power of 1 hit per month (- pet attack)
Basic strength: 18+2= 20 AP
Orb of Fire: +3 AP
Wizarding Hat: + 1 AP
1 Growth Weapon Enhancement Bauble for Magic Staff: + 1 AP (+ 1 every round)
= (24 + bauble) x 2
Pets attacks= 1st round + 5 AP (+ 1 Lucky 13= + 6 AP), other rounds= + 3 AP
Baroque Horse: + 1 AP
Puppy (Intermediate Combat Certificate): + 2 AP
Cat: + 2 AP in the 1st round of battle
+ Lucky 13 Collar: + 1 AP
if used in:
1st round= 55 AP (+1 Lucky 13= 56)
2nd round= 55 AP
3rd round= 57 AP
4th round= 59 AP
The Mightiest strike
= Red Gem, Damage Potion, Weapon Enhance Potion, Growing Strength Potion, Pet Plus Potion, fish, lucky 13
1st round
2 x (20 + 3 orb + 1 hat + 1 bauble + 1 GSP + 3 damage + 3 WEP) + (1 horse + 2 puppy + (2 x 3 cat) + 9 PPP)= 64+18=82 AP
2022WEEKLY HARVEST
+ 2 Gold (Puppy - Beginner Fetch & Pot of Gold)
+ 1 Nut (Squirrel)
+ 1 Phoenix Feather (Phoenix)
+ 1 Ball of Wool (Sheep)
+ 1 Bird Feather (Bird the Friend)
+ 1 Mouse Meat (Baby Falcon)
+ 1 Lemon (Lemon Tree)
+ 1 Clump of Dirt, + 1 Snap Pea, + 1 Carrot (Garden LVL 2)
BI-WEEKLY HARVEST
Magic Pumpkin: + 1 Consumable Item (of your choice is duplicated, i.e. you have to own it at the time)
Kitchen LVL 2: + 1 Heal Potion
WEEKLY HEALING
Bed + LVL 3 Sheet + Blanket: + 5 HP
Bunny's Egg: + 3 HP
WEEKLY one-shot BATTLES (without Mercenary Twins)
Goblin, Brown Bat, Greater Sewer Rat, Drop Bear, Nook Squirrel
Hero: H: + 7 XP, +1 Goblin Bone + 1 Bat Wing, + 1 Rat Tail+ 1 Drop Bear Meat + 1 Nook Squirrel Carcass + 10 HP (= 5x 2 <--- Orb of Water & Rocky LVL 2)
WEEKLY more-than-one-shot BATTLES (without Mercenary Twins)
Logophilic Lemur AP 13 (Rocky, Shield of Power), HP 35
H: 35-31= 4
LL: H-13
H: 4-29= dead
H: + 2 XP + 2 Gold (Drogon) - 11 HP
LLemur AP 13, HP 35
BLUE GEM
H: 35-31= 4
LL (BG): H-6
H: 4-29= dead
H: + 2 XP + 2 Gold (Drogon) - 4 HP
Kindle Korn 18 AP (Rocky, Shield of Power), HP 80
1st round
H: 80-31= 49
KK: H-18
2nd round
H: 49-29= 20
KK: H-18
3rd round
H: 20-30= dead
H: + 5 XP, + 1 Kindlecorn meat, +1 Kindlecorn pelt, +4 Gold (Drogon) - 34 HP (initial HP has to be minimum 37)
Kindle Korn AP 18, HP 80
BLUE GEM
1st round
H: 80- 31 = 49
KK (BG): H-9
2nd round
H: 49-29= 20
KK: H-18
3rd round
H: 20-30= dead
H: + 5 XP + 1 KKM + 1 KKP + 4 Gold - 25 HP, (initial HP has to be minimum 28)
Kindle Korn AP 18, HP 80
STUN COLLAR + BLUE GEM
1st round
cat stuns K
H: 80- 30 = 50
2nd round
H: 50-29= 21
KK (BG): H-9
3rd round
H: 21-30= dead
H: + 5 XP + 1 KKM + 1 KKP + 4 Gold - 7 HP, (stun collar)
BI-WEEKLY BATTLES
Kelpie AP 8 (Rocky, Shield of Power), HP 30 (magical monster - DROPS DON'T DOUBLE)
1st round
H: Whirlwind - strong (AP 2x10 + pets): - 1 carrot - 1 pea
H: 30 - 26= 4
K: H - 8
2nd round
H: Firebolt - weak (AP 10/2 + pets): - 1 Wool - 1 Phoenix feather
H: 5-8 = dead
H: + 3 XP + 1 Kelpie Skin - 6 HP
MONTHLY BATTLES (without Mercenary Twins)
Merely Kat AP 18, HP 50
RED GEM
H: 50-56= dead
H: + 5 XP + 1 Merely Kat Pelt + 1 Potion Token + 2 HP
Merely Kat AP 18, HP 50
1st round
H (RG): 50-31= 19
MK: H-18
2nd round
H: 19-29= dead
H: + 5 XP + 1 Merely Kat Pelt + 1 Potion Token - 16 HP
LOG ENTRIES TEMPLATES-3 NSC a day before
Twins - 2 Gold
+ 1 nut, PFeather, Wool, BFeather, MMeat, Lemon, Carrot, Pea, Dirt, + 2 Gold
Magic Pumpkin + 1 Stoneskin Potion
Kitchen II + 1 Heal Potion
Heal: + 8 HP > Hero: HP: X/41 | XP:
BATTLES<*spoiler>
Goblin, BBat, GSRat, DBear, NSquirrel
H: + 7 XP, +2 GBone + 2 BWing, + 2 RTail+ 2 DBMeat + 2 NSCarcass + 10 HP
Hero: HP: X/41 | XP:
LLemur AP 13, HP 35
H: 35-31= 4
LL: H-13
H: 4-29= dead
H: + 2 XP + 4 Gold - 11 HP
Hero: HP: X/41 | XP:
KK 18 AP, HP 80
cat stuns K
H: 80- 30 = 50
H: 50-29= 21
K (BG): H-9
H: 21-30= dead
H: + 5 XP + 2 KKM + 2 KKP + 8 Gold - 7 HP, (stun collar)
Hero: HP: X/41 | XP:
<*/spoiler>
Hero: LVL 15| HP: X/41|| Sword: LVL 5 | Magic Staff: LVL 18 (AP: 27+B+cat) | XP:
************
MKat AP 18, HP 50
H (RG): 50-56= dead
H: + 5 XP + 2 MKPelt + 2 Potion Tokens + 2 HP
Hero: HP: X/41 | XP:
****************
Twins - 2 Gold
+ 1 nut, PFeather, Wool, BFeather, MMeat, Lemon, Carrot, Pea, Dirt, + 2 Gold
Heal: + 8 HP > Hero: HP: X/41 | XP:
BATTLES<*spoiler>
Goblin, BBat, GSRat, DBear, NSquirrel
H: + 7 XP, +2 GBone + 2 BWing, + 2 RTail+ 2 DBMeat + 2 NSCarcass + 10 HP
Hero: HP: X/41 | XP:
LLemur AP 13, HP 35
H: 35-28= 7
LL (BG): H-6
H: 7-27= dead
H: + 2 XP + 4 Gold - 4 HP
Hero: HP: X/41 | XP:
Kelpie AP 8, HP 30
H: Whirlwind - strong
H: 30 - 26= 4
K: H - 8
H: Firebolt - weak
H: 5-8 = dead
H: - 1 Carrot, - 1 Pea, - 1 Wool, - 1 Phoenix feather
H: + 3 XP + 1 Kelpie Skin - 6 HP
Hero: HP: X/41 | XP:
<*/spoiler>
Hero: LVL 15| HP: X/41|| Sword: LVL 5 | Magic Staff: LVL 18 (AP: 27+B+cat) | XP:
***
Kindle Korn AP 18, HP 80
H: 80- 31 = 49
KK (BG): H-9
H: 49-29= 20
KK: H-18
H: 20-30= dead
H: + 5 XP + 2 KKM + 2 KKP + 8 Gold - 25 HP
Hero: HP: /41 | XP:
LLemur AP 13, HP 35
H: 35-31= 4
LL: H-13
H: 4-29= dead
H: + 2 XP + 4 Gold - 11 HP
Hero: HP: /41 | XP:
Jedi Academy Reading Challenge(formerly Star Wars Yearly Reading Challenge)
Duration: Optional (1, 2, 3 or 4 years)
Rules:
‣ Choose your rank & category, choose your books/comic books and get to reading!
‣ Choose how long you want your Jedi training to last. You can decide to complete your study in one year, but you can also choose to do it in stages - steadily rising through the ranks in two or more years.
‣ You can tweak your task list (the original 16 tasks) by substituting two original tasks by additional ones, and/or repeating one of the original tasks - You have 2 substitutions and 1 repetition if you want them!
‣ Comic books can be used only when the task description says so, audiobooks can be used for all the tasks
‣ You can use every book/comic book only once (i.e. for one task)
‣ When you've finished a book or a comic book rate and date it
‣ You may count any books over 100 pages and any comic books over 70 pages
‣ Legends and/or New Canon books are allowed depending on the category you've chosen
‣ Re-reads are allowed
‣ You can change your rank, category or duration at any time
Ranks:
Force Sensitive = 1-4 books
Jedi Initiate = 5-7 books
Jedi Padawan = 8-10 books
Jedi Knight = 11-13 books
Jedi Master = 14-16 books
Chosen One = 32 books (every task twice)
The Force itself = 64 books (special rules for this one - see bellow)
Categories:
Legendary Hero - Legends books & Comic books only
Rising Star - New Canon only
Maverick - Both Legends and New Canon
Original Tasks:
1. Read a SW stand-alone book.
2. Read a SW book that's part of a series.
3. Read a SW short story anthology or a SW short story collection.
4. Read a SW comic book collection.
5. Read a novelization of a SW movie.
6. Read a graphic novelization of a SW movie.
7. Read a middle-grade or a young adult SW book.
8. Read a book set anytime before The Phantom Menace.
9. Read a book set during the prequel movies era.
10. Read a book set in the interim between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
11. Read a book set during the Original Trilogy.
12. Read a book set after Return of the Jedi.
13. Read a book with a male main character other than Luke, Han, Obi-Wan and Anakin/Vader.
14. Read a book with a female main character other than Leia (and Rey).
15. Read a book with Luke, Han, Obi-Wan, Anakin/Vader or Leia (or Rey) as the main character
16. Read a non-fiction book on the history of SW, its pop culture significance or making of the movies or a biography/memoir of a member of SW cast or crew.
2022 Additions:
Are there any tasks in the original challenge that you really want to skip?
You can substitute up to two of them with two of the bonus tasks and/or you can duplicate one of the existing original tasks. Every participant has only 2 substitutions and 1 duplication available. So choose wisely.
Bonus tasks:
1. Re-read a SW book you loved (rated 4 or 5 stars).
2. Give another chance to a SW book you didn't enjoy (rated 1 or 2 stars).
3. Read a SW comicbook omnibus.
4. Read a next installment of a SW series you started reading during the challenge.
5. Read a SW book by a new-to-you author.
Rules for "the Force Itself" Rank:
64 books altogether. You have to complete all the original AND bonus tasks three times (no substitutions, no duplications). You have to complete at least one full set of tasks in Legends, one set in Canon and the last set you can mix Legends and Canon. The last book the 64th one is your choice, can be whatever you choose as long as it's SW related.
Original Tasks:1. Read a SW stand-alone book.
2. Read a SW book that's part of a series.
3. Read a SW short story anthology or a SW short story collection.
4. Read a SW comic book collection.
5. Read a novelization of a SW movie.
6. Read a graphic novelization of a SW movie.
7. Read a middle-grade or a young adult SW book.
8. Read a book set anytime before The Phantom Menace.
9. Read a book set during the prequel movies era.
10. Read a book set in the interim between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope.
11. Read a book set during the Original Trilogy.
12. Read a book set after Return of the Jedi.
13. Read a book with a male main character other than Luke, Han, Obi-Wan and Anakin/Vader.
14. Read a book with a female main character other than Leia (and Rey).
15. Read a book with Luke, Han, Obi-Wan, Anakin/Vader or Leia (or Rey) as the main character
16. Read a non-fiction book on the history of SW, its pop culture significance or making of the movies or a biography/memoir of a member of SW cast or crew.
Bonus tasks:
1. Re-read a SW book you loved (rated 4 or 5 stars).
2. Give another chance to a SW book you didn't enjoy (rated 1 or 2 stars). (or DNF'd)
3. Read a SW comicbook omnibus.
4. Read a next installment of a SW series you started reading during the challenge.
5. Read a SW book by a new-to-you author.
STAR WARS books I bought in 2024:
Amazon.com: Kindle Purchases 2024for money:
for free:
Other eBay Purchases 2024:Books: 📘
DVDs: 📀
Austenland DVD
Sanditon - season 3 DVD
The Abduction Club DVD
Australia / William Shakespeare's Romeo + Julia DVD
Vanity Fair DVD
Material Girls DVD
Dido Elizabeth Belle DVD
Megaknihy 2024: 📘
Gifts: 🎁
These are looking good and were added to your tbr pile this year:
(another book from the same series supposedly good entry point to the series as well)Other books from further down the list:
I went through my shelves and came up with these for chick lit (or at least the same flavor I hope) :)
Other books you might find interesting:
JANE AUSTEN JULY1. Read one of Jane Austen’s main six novels
2. Read something by Jane Austen that is not one of her main six novels
3. Read a non-fiction work about Jane Austen or her time
4. Read a retelling of a Jane Austen book OR a work of historical fiction set in Jane Austen’s time
5. Read a book by a contemporary of Jane Austen (ie, published between 1775–1817)
6. Watch a direct screen adaptation of a Jane Austen book
7. Watch a modern screen adaptation/retelling of a Jane Austen book
additional activities:
⭐️ jigsaw puzzle:
The World of Jane Austen Puzzle
⭐️YouTube videos:
⭐️Regency music:
⭐️Austenesque movie soundtracks:
⭐️Austenesque podcasts:
Let us consider Brandon. He was with his regiment for three years in India after the disaster of his disappointment over Eliza. He seems to have made enough money, so Mrs Jennings has discovered, to pay off the debts on the Delaford estate and is reckoned to be rich. He was quite certainly involved in the system of colonial exploitation in India: he may even have the blood of the slaughtered on his hands. Harley believes all those who return from India can hardly help being stained by it. There is no evidence that Colonel Brandon, a younger son who has profited from it in typical eighteenth-century fashion, resists colonial ideology. He is modest, however, in his expenditure, rejecting the gold lace, the imported slaves and the burgundy. He is well enough off to give the Delaford living to Edward. If he had had pretensions to great power and influence through wealth he would not, we assume, have come to be a friend of the not very important Middletons. When first seen he is slightly uneasy with them in any case, as if he is finding it difficult to get used to the pleasure principle again after the return from India and the discovery of the destitution of Eliza, even though these events occurred fourteen years ago, not long after the time Marianne was born. He hints at them to Elinor as if they were recent occurrences (Chapter 11). He does not hunt, so far as we can see, and neither does he dance — or sing. There is something inhibited about him to be sure. But he is a sensitive man as well as being the man of sense Elinor finds him to be. He defends Marianne and her dogmatism about the second attachment against Elinor’s extremely rigorous strictures. The ‘romantic refinements of a young mind’ should not be forced to give way to more ‘dangerous’ opinions, that is, to cynicism and careless disregard of self in sexual matters (Chapter 11, p. 87). Deeply held feeling, for himself as her first love, we assume, might have rescued the desperate Eliza from the adultery — for her this turned out to be a form of prostitution rather than sexual pleasure — to which she turned to escape from his loveless brother. He adopts in some ways the ethic of The Man of Feeling, where we are reminded that, ‘our boys are prudent too soon’ (71). But Marianne is not sentimentalized by him — rather taken a little over seriously. It is hard to know how to respond to his view of her. In some ways to grant her the right of her romanticism is to grant her autonomy. It may also be that romantic feeling as against false notions of sexual freedom, which he implicitly attributes to Eliza, is seen as the lesser of two evils. Or it may be that he thinks of both women in terms of the need to control their sexual energy. Though he watches the dancing Marianne with physical pleasure, and rescues the sick and dying Eliza when the situation has got well beyond the relevance of sexual control. He is conventional, perhaps, about sexual virtue, but goes to the furthest point of middle-class liberalism by making strenuous efforts to rescue both Elizas. He is, perhaps, neither particularly advanced nor particularly reactionary as far as both sexual and political mores are concerned. And this is the point. He is about as decent a man as could be, given the crushing pressures on men not to be decent. And that is saying something."
And there are other, more lovable and quixotic characteristics. He once thought of eloping, and would have done but for discovery. The text suggests no disapproval here. He is prepared to fight a duel, not for a relation, or even a distant relation, but for the sake of the child of the woman he first loved and Willoughby’s daughter. It is just possible that Harley’s ‘we are all relations’ has something more than sentimental or prudential force in his case. In fact, Colonel Brandon is himself a romantic, a man of sensibility. That he belongs to the category of the new ‘strong’ man of feeling or sensibility is suggested by his ability to help, sensitively and unconditionally, with knowledge and information at a crucial point in the narrative. The model of social relations with which he works is participatory. He comes forward with information about Willoughby’s seduction of his ward after considerable, principled, self-scrutiny, as a way of assisting the explanatory process after Willoughby’s desertion of Marianne. There is no element of self-interest, no false sentiment. There is nothing he can gain from this action. That there is a principled romantic beneath the flannel waistcoat becomes clear in the text, and surely clear to Marianne, who has the satisfaction of marrying a father figure as well as a man of sensibility.
At over thirty-five years of age and after a period of sexual restraint, Colonel Brandon marries Marianne. This may seem to many a lowtoned culmmation. But it is nevertheless a union of two kinds of romantic, two people of sensibility, one questioning and interrogative (Marianne), one compassionate and feeling (Brandon). If Brandon seems inhibited at times, isn’t this because he is sensitive? The match seems surprising and even dull, but the union does not put sense and sensibility in antithesis to one another, for Colonel Brandon is capable of taking rash and passionate action on several occasions. Both a man and a woman of feeling come together in the match.
Edward in fact knows a great deal about the picturesque. Not only does he virtually quote Gilpin on the soft medium of the melting horizon; he also cunningly conflates Gilpin’s picturesque with that of Uvedale Price, who thought very differently on the picturesque experience, and he alludes to Cowper’s ‘Yardley Oak’ (Was this the poem Marianne thought he read so expressionlessly earlier at Norland?)Chapter 4:
[Elinor:] "... I have seen a great deal of him, have studied his sentiments and heard his opinion on subjects of literature and taste; and, upon the whole, I venture to pronounce that his mind is well-informed, enjoyment of books exceedingly great, his imagination lively, his observation just and correct, and his taste delicate and pure. His abilities in every respect improve as much upon acquaintance as his manners and person...."
Chapter 18:
[Edward:] “You must not enquire too far, Marianne—remember I have no knowledge in the picturesque, and I shall offend you by my ignorance and want of taste if we come to particulars. I shall call hills steep, which ought to be bold; surfaces strange and uncouth, which ought to be irregular and rugged; and distant objects out of sight, which ought only to be indistinct through the soft medium of a hazy atmosphere. You must be satisfied with such admiration as I can honestly give. I call it a very fine country—the hills are steep, the woods seem full of fine timber, and the valley looks comfortable and snug—with rich meadows and several neat farm houses scattered here and there. It exactly answers my idea of a fine country, because it unites beauty with utility—and I dare say it is a picturesque one too, because you admire it; I can easily believe it to be full of rocks and promontories, grey moss and brush wood, but these are all lost on me. I know nothing of the picturesque.” ...
"...I like a fine prospect, but not on picturesque principles. I do not like crooked, twisted, blasted trees. I admire them much more if they are tall, straight, and flourishing. I do not like ruined, tattered cottages. I am not fond of nettles or thistles, or heath blossoms. I have more pleasure in a snug farm-house than a watch-tower—and a troop of tidy, happy villagers please me better than the finest banditti in the world.”
Yardley Oak by William CowperSurvivor sole, and hardly such, of all
That once liv'd here, - thy brethren, at my birth
(Since which I number three-score winters past)
A shatter'd veteran, hollow-trunk'd perhaps,
As now, and with excoriate forks deform,
Relics of ages! Could a mind, imbued
With truth from Heaven, created thing adore,
I might with rev'rence kneel, and worship thee.
...
Road to Divorce: England 1530-1987 by Lawrence Stone(1990)
b. The Exclusion of all but the Rich
There was also a growing recognition that more of the middling sort were
entitled to a share in privileges hitherto reserved for the rich. Having been
granted access to the vote in 1832, how much longer would they have to wait to
be granted access to divorce? As things stood, a lot of money was needed in
order to obtain a parliamentary divorce, and in the (p.355) late eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries every knowledgeable contemporary commentator was
convinced that only the rich could afford one. During the debates in the Lords
over anti-adultery bills in 1800 and 1809, Lord Auckland declared that ‘the
opulent class of adulterers and adulteresses…by the expensive nature of the
proceedings, are alone implicated in divorce bills’.16
A major cause of the high cost of a Parliamentary divorce was that it involved
three distinct legal cases: one for separation in the ecclesiastical courts; one for
damages for crim. con. in the common law courts; and one for divorce in
Parliament. In 1846 a civil lawyer claimed that the average cost of a contested
separation suit was £1,700, while that of an appeal up to the Judicial Committee
of the Privy Council, which had just replaced the Court of Delegates, might run
to another £580.17 In 1857 Patrick Fraser estimated that an unopposed crim.
con. action cost £120 and an opposed one £300 to £500.18
In 1844, it was explained that ‘the House of Lords…is beyond comparison the
most expensive tribunal in the Kingdom’. Counsel charged double the standard
fees, as well as 10 guineas a day for attendance and 5 guineas for each
consultation. The attorneys' fees were also proportionately high, while the
litigant also had to pay the heavy expenses of having all the documentation
printed.19
There are two difficulties about testing the truth of these estimates. One is the
enormous differences in costs between one suit and another, especially between
defended and undefended cases. The other is that almost the only hard evidence
is the costs taxed by the courts, and no one seems to know quite what relation
they bore to the real total costs. These last included not only the legal fees of the
court officials and the lawyers, and the expenses of the witnesses, which were
taxed at about 70 per cent, but also the potentially enormous additional
expenses incurred in hiring detectives, tracking down witnesses, interrogating
them, and preparing them for their depositions—to say nothing of probable
bribes and douceurs. As a result, there was often a very large discrepancy
between private claims about the full expenses of a divorce case and the
officially taxed fees.20 A hotly contested case, like that of Lord Ellenborough in
(p.356) 1830, was said in informed legal circles to have cost him £5,000, and
the cost of many other contested cases were said to run to £2,000.21
By the time the end of Parliamentary divorces was approaching in the 1840s and
1850s, costs seem to have sky-rocketed. For example, in 1850 a Mr Hartley
introduced an uncontested divorce bill into the House of Lords. He had first
been put to ‘very large expense’ for a year's search by detectives for proof of his
wife's adultery. The unopposed suit for separation in an ecclesiastical court had
cost him another £400 in legal fees, and his costs in the crim. con. action in
King's Bench were taxed at £695. On the other hand, these latter costs were
charged to the defendant lover, and the husband obtained £4,000 damages,
£2,500 of which had already been spent in three months on the legal costs of the
bill of divorce in Parliament. Lord Chancellor Brougham was outraged by these
figures, and went out of his way to draw attention to ‘the enormous amount of
expense which parties are put to in cases of this sort, in consequence of the
present system’, which, he concluded, ‘really amounts to a denial of justice’. He
estimated that the whole of the £4,695 in damages and taxed costs which Mr
Hartley obtained from his crim. con. action would probably have been spent by
the time his divorce bill was finally passed, a situation he described as
‘monstrous’.22
In 1849 the legal writer MacQueen summed up informed opinion when he wrote
ominously: ‘Justice is denied to the bulk of the Queen's subjects; whose long
submission to this state of things is a conspicuous proof of the patient qualities
which distinguish the English nation’.23 The question which troubled many of
England's rulers in the 1840s and 1850s was how long this patience would last if
nothing was done to remedy so obvious an injustice. What they did not fully
realize, however, was that there was in fact no great pent-up demand by tens of
thousands, or even thousands, of middle-class couples urgently demanding
cheaper divorce.
One may conclude that Parliamentary divorce was the privilege of a plutocracy,
composed half of members of the landed elite and half of rich professionals and
businessmen, legal costs being the determining factor in this restriction of
access. Proof that this was so is the abrupt jump in the number of divorce Acts
passed each year, from about four to over a hundred, immediately after the
passage of the 1857 Divorce Act. The reason for this jump can only be the
substantial reduction of costs (p.357) brought about by the act, even if it still
left divorce out of reach of the bulk of the population. But the fact that for
another fifty years divorces were still only counted in hundreds a year
demonstrates the weakness of the demand by the middle class.
✔1. Read one of Jane Austen’s main six novelsSense and Sensibility
✔2. Read something by Jane Austen that is not one of her main six novels
Love and Freindship
✔3. Read a non-fiction work about Jane Austen or her time
Penguin Critical Studies: Sense and Sensibility by Isobel Armstrong
::in progress:: 4. Read a retelling of a Jane Austen book OR a work of historical fiction set in Jane Austen’s time
The Year in Between: A Sense and Sensibility Variation by Christina Morland
✔5. Read a book by a contemporary of Jane Austen (ie, published between 1775–1817)
The Man of Feeling by Henry MacKenzie (First published in 1761, so before she was born. Austen was likely influenced by the book writing S&S, so I count that)
✔6. Watch a direct screen adaptation of a Jane Austen book
Sense and Sensibility (1971 BBC miniseries)
✔7. Watch a modern screen adaptation/retelling of a Jane Austen book
Marianne (2014 indie movie)
Kindle Clean Out ChallengeOldest book
Newest book
Start or continue series
But it was free!
New to you author
Why did I buy this?
BookTube author
Clean up & organise
Blame it on BookTube
JAJ2025: Emma???
2024: S&S, The Watsons, Sanditon
2023: NA, Juvenalia
2022: P&P, LS
2021: Persuasion, MP
2020: Emma, P&P
2019: NA, S&S
2018:
2017:
2016:
Emma The Children of the Abbey by Regina Maria Roche
The Romance of the Forest by Ann Radcliffe
Sense and Sensibility
A Gossip's Story, and A Legendary Tale by Jane West
Letters of Julia and Caroline. by Maria Edgeworth
Emma - pile of possibilities*
*
*
If I Loved You Less by Tamsen Parker
* direct screen adaptation
1967: Emma, a five-part Spanish miniseries by TVE, starring Lola Cardona as Emma
* modern screen adaptations
Lights, Camera, Romance (2021 Movie)
The Emma Agenda
Emma Approved
Podcast:
On Satire: ‘Emma’ by Jane Austen - Clare Bucknell and Colin Burrow https://www.lrb.co.uk/podcasts-and-vi...
The Thing About Austen - Emma EpisodesEP3: The Thing About Regency Scrabble
EP10: The Thing About Box Hill
EP14: The Thing About Emma's Unfinished Artwork with guest Georgie Castilla
EP16: The Thing About Harriet's Riddle Book with guest Dr. Lynn Festa
EP19: The Thing About London Air with guest Dr. Rena Jones
EP32: The Thing About Jane's Irish Melodies
Ep41: The Thing About Harriet's Treasure Box with guest Damianne Scott
Ep47: The Thing About Depictions of Roma in Emma with guest Amanda-Rae Prescott
Ep60: The Thing About Frank's Haircut
Ep70: The Thing About the Irish Car Party
Ep71: The Thing About Cramer with guest Dr. Karali Hunter
EP76: The Thing About Harriet's Sore Throat with guest Dr. Rena Jones
Ep87: The Thing About Emma's Portrait of Harriet with guest Georgie Castilla
EP92: The Thing About Mr. Knightley's Strawberries
Reading (not finished):
✔
✔
https://www.jedinews.com/literature/a...https://www.laughingplace.com/w/news/...
https://religionnews.com/2023/10/05/k...
BONUS: Pick one book from the selection below:
2025 GROUP READS PLANJANUARY
Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyers
FEBRUARY
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover
MARCH
Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson
APRIL
Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton
MAY
Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy Graphic Novels by Mike Baron
JUNE
Star Wars: The Living Force by John Jackson Miller
JULY
Shadow Academy and The Lost Ones by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta
AUGUST
Star Wars: Allegiance by Timothy Zahn
SEPTEMBER
The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray
OCTOBER
Hard Contact by Karen Traviss
NOVEMBER
The Princess and the Scoundrel by Beth Revis
DECEMBER
Dynasty of Evil by Drew Karpyshyn
Star Wars Books I OwnPhysical copies:
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
Audiobooks:
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
✔
The Dark Empire Trilogy
2025 GROUP READS PLANJANUARY
Star Wars: The Truce at Bakura by Kathy Tyers
FEBRUARY
Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith by Matthew Stover
Star Wars: Cloak of Deception by James Luceno
MARCH
Inquisitor: Rise of the Red Blade by Delilah S. Dawson
Catalyst: A Rogue One Novel by James Luceno
APRIL
Star Wars: The Courtship of Princess Leia by Dave Wolverton
MAY
Star Wars: The Thrawn Trilogy Graphic Novels by Mike Baron
JUNE
Star Wars: The Living Force by John Jackson Miller
JULY
Shadow Academy and The Lost Ones by Kevin J. Anderson and Rebecca Moesta
AUGUST
Star Wars: Allegiance by Timothy Zahn
SEPTEMBER
The Fallen Star by Claudia Gray
OCTOBER
Hard Contact by Karen Traviss
Darth Maul: Shadow Hunter by Michael Reaves
NOVEMBER
The Princess and the Scoundrel by Beth Revis
DECEMBER
Dynasty of Evil by Drew Karpyshyn
Original idea: Re-animation potion. - (must be unlocked through Alchemy That! - Part 2 quest) Ressurects a defeated rare monster as a ghost of its former self. The ghost is way meaner than the original monster - both its attack power and health is doubled. For killing the ghost you're rewarded the same amount of XP and consumables (potions, potion tokens, mercenary coupons, gold) as for the live creature. The monster specific items (e.g. gems, orbs, body parts) appear as the shadow of the thing - you can use them only once, after that they dissipate and are gone forever. (e.g. the Shadow of the Orb of Fire - adds + 3 AP to your magic staff in one battle only). Every rare monster can be re-animated only once. Doesn't work on zombies, they had already been re-animated the first time round. The list of stats for Ghosts of ... including rewards is to be found here - link to FAQ (!)Cost: 50 gold, can't be duplicated by the Magical Pumpkin.
Reworked idea:
Re-animation potion. (must be unlocked through Alchemy That! - Part 2 quest)
- Resurrects a defeated rare monster as a ghostly version of its former self. This ghost is far more dangerous than the original, with both its attack power and health doubled.
Upon defeating the ghost, you receive the same amount of XP and consumables (such as potions, potion tokens, mercenary coupons, and gold) as you would for slaying the original creature. Any monster-specific items (such as gems, orbs, or body parts) will appear as the "shadow" of the original, and can be used only once before they dissipate permanently (e.g., the Shadow of the Orb of Fire grants +3 AP to your magic staff for a single battle).
Each rare monster can be reanimated only once, and the process does not work on zombies, as they’ve already been reanimated once before. Detailed stats and rewards for each Ghost of [Monster] can be found in the Ye Olde FAQ thread.
Price: 50 gold. This highly specialized item cannot be duplicated by the Magical Pumpkin or exchanged for a Potion Token—Jack insists on cold, hard cash only.
The Challenge Factory
Books mentioned in this topic
The Last Command (other topics)Northanger Abbey (other topics)
Sense and Sensibility (other topics)
Padawan (other topics)
Wedge's Gamble (other topics)
More...
MY GROUPS:
Star Wars Legends Fan Group
SW Mod Group
Jane Austen's Books & Adaptations
A Novel Role-Playing Game folder
NBRC RPG - Lady Zuzana
★★★★★
✔✘
::in progress::
📚 books
🎧 audiobooks
🎬 movies
📺 TV shows
📻 radio plays, audio dramatizations
🎭 theatrical adaptations
💡 documentaries
👨🎓 lectures
👨🎓👨🎓 debates
🧑🏻🎤 podcasts