Welcome to Litsy!

Fiction and nonfiction choices for #February #12booksof2023 @Andrew65

#52bookclub2023 #pop23 #aboutsiblings #maincharacternameintitle @Cinfhen @Librarybelle @BarbaraBB @squirrelbrain @RaeLovesToRead @Deblovestoread @LeeRHarry @Bluebird @ravenlee @MissHel

#roll100 @PuddleJumper (aiming for at least one a month!)
#bookspin February @TheAromaofBooks

Started reading my #bookspin for February and can't help but think this book should have been released after covid-19 started - Mr Woodhouse is paranoid about viruses, bacteria etc!

And I'm aware of at least one older person who washed their money etc when the pandemic started, so I'm sure it could have created some ideas for the character.

@TheAromaofBooks

#bookspin is also a #roll100 @PuddleJumper and is tagged.

#doublespin is a #naturalitsy book @AllDebooks . I was looking through my Kindle books last night to find one to read & the Charles Darwin bio leapt out at me. Spookily, I thought 'I bet I get a #naturalitsy book for #bookspin tomorrow' 😂😂😂

⭐️/5
DNF
This book could not hold my interest. I was so hoping it would be a great retelling like Eligible, in the same series, but those two books should never been compared because this can‘t live up to any of it.

Giving this until 20% before I abandon this, but so far it‘s not holding my interest. I was hopeful it would be a fun modern retelling like Eligible, but it is nothing like it and a shame they‘re in the same series.

This follows pretty closely the same story beats as the original Austen. Transposed to the 2010s, Emma‘s actions seem more cruel than naive. The romance with Knightly was practically nonexistent throughout the book, which would have been one of the best ways to update for modern times. I‘ve been disappointed with this modern Austen retelling series. Finished this at 11:30 pm last night!

#TBRRead #WinterGames #TeamRedNosedReindeer @StayCurious

Did my nails last night in a wintry theme. I love these Dashing Diva gel nail wraps (can buy at Walmart and Ulta) - they look like a salon quality gel manicure for the price of $8 per pack, and without the nail damage from the gel polish.

Started tagged book a couple of days ago, and I‘m now a little bit more than halfway through.

#WinterGames #TeamRedNosedReindeer @StayCurious

#12ColorsofDecember Day 8: Light Blue

I picked this up at a thrift store for 10 cents a few months ago. Still on my #TBR.

#WinterGames #TeamRedNosedReindeer @StayCurious

Oops! I may have just bought some Jane Austen inspired books for #PemberLittens! @sprainedbrain

Have tagged the title you can't really see.

It‘s a no from me. Emma isn‘t my favorite Austen, but this retelling makes me appreciate the original so much more. The original has Emma unlikable but you get it (if that makes sense) this Emma is a snob that no one would be friends with. Extra background that felt unnecessary, and not much of Knightley. Eligible is the only part of this series I have enjoyed.

I decided that I‘d read something else in between reading the Throne of Glass series and this is my pick so far. It‘s been on my shelf for awhile. I‘ve read the other modern retellings so might as well finish them off! My classes started today so my reading will slow down but a little each day is still progress!

I enjoyed it. I need to read the actual classic in order to truly compare. The Jaguar's Smile was so so. You could tell the author did not like America and blamed Reagan for the war in Nicaragua. I'm not doubting that at all. I'm glad I read this book. I didn't know that we had gone against the Hague International Law.

#PopSugar19 34/50 (retelling of classic)
#AtoZLitsy19 22/26 @BookishMarginalia (J)
#AroundtheWorld19 3/52 (Nicaragua)

This book had the lowest average rating on my TBR list, so I went in with low expectations. But I turned out to be pleasantly surprised. It wasn‘t a great novel but it was quietly charming. Obviously being set in present day makes some of the plot problematic and Emma is selfish, judgmental and irritating- but isn‘t she always?

Diving right in to my 2019 TBR: the lowest rated book on my #goodreads list. I‘m 75 pages in and it‘s honestly not that bad. Even sweet. #plesantlysurprised

Very dry humor. Author spent a lot of time in the beginning fleshing out Mr. Woodhouse, which Jane Austen didn't spend a lot of time on because the story is about Emma. She was an absolute snob in this book. Originally yes, Emma is a snob but still compassionate and fairly kind. Mr. Knightley didn't play a huge role, sprinkled in here and there. He had more conversations with Mr. Woodhouse than Emma!

McCall butchered Austen's characters, especially Emma. He fixated on neurotic Mr. Woodhouse more than anyone else. Instead of writing Emma as misguided and slightly pompous, he writes a hateful character, mean, nasty, and a pathological liar. She lies about sexual assault, secretly mixes drinks to get Elton drunk, then slanders him when he loses his license for dui. And Emma and Knightley? A minor part and not at all romantic! Did he read Emma?

After much deliberation, I decided to read this gem first 😊 #JaneAustenSwap #Riotgrams #readingselfie

If you know about The Lizzie Bennet Diaries vlog series, then you‘ll love Emma Approved! She (aka Pemberley Digital) just announced that they‘ll be creating more episodes!!!

Here‘s a link to the YouTube channel to watch all their episodes: https://m.youtube.com/pemberleydigital?uid=gOlD8TImVB4xalJTiO6eqQ

I wanted to love this book...But I didn‘t. So many times I thought of putting it down, but I just couldn‘t do that to Jane. This book is part of The Austen Project and is the 3rd book in the series. They are taking contemporary authors and having them retell Austen‘s classic stories. I feel McCall Smith‘s book totally missed the mark. It makes me question if he even read the original book or even liked Emma. Disappointing! #Book11of2018

Earl grey & Emma!

I don‘t care if this has only a 21% Pick rating on Litsy.

I

DON‘T

CARE!!!

I loved it.

The first half of the book is better than the last, but it's just set up so some might find it boring. The romance is kind of random and out of no where - except we all know it's coming. Emma isn't anymore likable in this version but the moral is very much there.

I wanted to like this book, I really, really did...but...it failed. McCall Smith attempts to transport Emma into modern times and it feels kind of forced. The language for one, is not reflective of modern times, it still reads with too much formality and McCall Smith relies on rephrasing instead of rewriting/retelling. The original Emma is not a likeable heroine and neither is McCall Smith's Emma and I think he should've left her alone.

repost for @Mommamanzi #theretellingbookswap I just signed up and am so much looking foward to participating😍 come and join in as well🤗

I needed something light & happy, so what could be better than a modern retelling of my favorite Austen? I also have my tea with buckwheat honey (courtesy of my mother to kick this cough) in my Jane Austen mug. I'm here to party. 📚🍵🎉 #litsypartyofone

Sweet modernized version of Emma. Definitely works for #homage and #palatecleanser as I love to read cozy books like this between heavier options. Really enjoyed it! #feistyfeb @RealLifeReading

This was the second one of the Austen Project books that I've read. I loved Eligible so I had high hopes for this one- despite the fact I hated the original Emma. I wanted, so bad, to like this. But, ugh. The writing. The plot. Just- UGH.

Taking a break from heavier reads, my life is insisting upon it 😄 I've had this one forever, looking forward to jumping in! #loveaustenretellings #janeite #currentread

Day 3 of #riotgrams is a #OneWordTitle, and I just happen to be reading the retelling of Austen's Emma!

Unlike many of my friends, I happen to like Jane Austen's Emma. It's a story about growing up and maturing. It does not translate well if it is simply moved to the 21rst century. Societal structures are different, so Emma's patronizing actions are much worse in today's context than in the early 19th century. And I frankly don't really like Alexander McCall Smith's version of Emma, who seems to lack the genuine sweetness of Austen's Emma.

I love reading in the mornings, and that involves a lot of #readingequipment: coffee, cozy blanket, reading journal & pen, paperback, #Kindle and earbuds because I'm also doing an audiobook, and my contact lenses so I can see all of that! #highmaintenance #readjanuary @RealLifeReading

My book club is reading Jane Austen's Emma but I find her to be a complete brat, so instead of rereading it again, I'm reading this modern retelling instead.

I decided to join the #LitsyChallenge2017! This makes 3 reading challenges I'm doing. But I love these bingo cards! @jessica #bulletjournal #LitsyReadingChallenge

Yay they came in the mail!!!

just order from Barnes & Noble!!! super excited!!!

Finished yesterday, between pick & so-so on this retelling-but for Austen sentimentality & because it made me smile, it gets a pick. The 3rd Austen Project I've read & where Eligible fits its move to the future, Emma, like Sense & Sensibility, struggles. In Austen's era or as a Beverly Hills airhead in Clueless, Emma comes across more likable than she fares here for most of the book-still there's humor, charm & it's a light, mostly enjoyable read.

Another Thriftbooks arrived today. I now have the four books to complete the Austin Project.

"Having no money is perfectly honourable. In fact, having no money can often be a sign of good breeding." Good to know! ? Today definitely didn't have enough reading/down time built in between breakfast w/friends, errands, library book sale, making Birthday Hummus & apps for a friend's birthday dinner party tonight. I'm home now (by 10:00 PM) w/my e-reader & a cup of pineapple chamomile tea, ready to read until I fall asleep.?#wildsaturdaynight

"To dispatch one's friends to the dictionary from time to time is one of the more sophisticated pleasures of life, but it is one that must be used sparingly: to do it too often may result in accusations of having swallowed one's own dictionary, which is not a compliment, whichever way one looks at it." This got mixed reviews but I'm enjoying the Austen/McCall Smith pairing so far. This quote makes me smile. How I'm spending Black Friday morning.?

I would have bailed on this book hard if it hadn't been a book club pick. I'm not sure whether the author read Austen's "Emma" or merely the Wikipedia summary. The only thing the characters shared with the original was their names.

I don't think I'll be able to finish it

Another Austen Project novel that didn't work for me--it had the same problem as NA and S&S, which was that it dragged all these characters into the modern day but didn't really update the story accordingly.
Also, pages and pages were devoted to Mr Woodhouse, and while he's a fun character, all that time spent on him came at the expense of developing Mr Knightley and his relationship with Emma--so much so that the ending felt totally unearned.

I really wanted to like this rewrite of Emma, but unfortunately I didn't. While McCall Smith is a great writer, there were huge pieces missing from this retelling of Emma, including some characters that made the original Emma what it is.

It is very difficult to retell a Jane Austen story well in the written form and Emma is particularly difficult because she is a difficult character to like. Cher from Clueless works but this Emma did not have any redeeming character traits and the romance was not developed at all.

Stack of books I picked up at Barnes and Noble when I only went in for Emma. The romance shelves were very well placed for impulse purchases. Well played, well played.