Thursday 2 February 2017

Planned Reading for February 2017

Happy February everybody! For many of us, February brings to mind Valentine's day and romance... for me it mostly brings to mind my son's birthday, which is why my post is late (distracted person!).

Pictures from Janet Taylor's Austen's Men in Film Calendar
I got something lovely in the post today. It was my calendar of Austen's Men in Film with illustrations by Janet Taylor. This calendar really is something else, she is such a talented lady. I have to think where to put it to best enjoy it now :)

Now I have a calendar I have a date to put on it; a stage production of 'Pride & Prejudice' is coming to my town. It's the first time I will have seen something of that nature and I'm so excited about it! I'll let you know what I think of it once I've seen it.

Darcy's Hope at Donwell Abbey by Ginger Monette
Let's move on to books, so I can tell you all about what I have planned this month. Firstly, I will have a stop on Ginger Monette's blog tour for her latest book, 'Darcy's Hope at Donwell Abbey'. This is a follow up book to her WWI book, 'Darcy's Hope - Beauty from Ashes'. I believe the story is concluded in this latest volume.

Holidays with Jane; Will you be mine - story anthology by various authors
The new book in the 'Holidays with Jane' collection, 'Holidays with Jane; Will you be mine?' has been released. This has been a series of standalone books, each one being a modernised Austen story by a different author with a theme tied to the time of year. We've had Christmas, Spring, Halloween etc, and the latest is this Valentine's Day themed collection. I have all the books, but I have been very lax about reviewing them, though I've enjoyed the reading! I have this one to read and review, which I'm very much looking forward to, and I will also be welcoming one of the authors here for a guest post.

Snowbound at Hartfield by Maria Grace
Maria Grace has a new book out, 'Snowbound at Hartfield'. I assumed from the title that it's an 'Emma'-based book but having read the blurb I discovered that it's actually a book about Colonel Fitzwilliam. However, he is at Hartfield with the Knightleys, so I am hoping to see some of Emma and Mr Knightley too, and enjoy the change in scenery, as so many of the books I read are related to 'Pride & Prejudice'.

I hope you have a lovely month, and that February brings you good things, good romance and some good reading! Let me know what you're reading in the comments :)

21 comments:

  1. Great reading selections, Ceri! I hope you enjoy them.

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    1. Thanks Claudine! I hope you have some good reading this month too :)

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  2. I'm so pleased that you have our newest HOLIDAYS WITH JANE. I hope you enjoy it. <3

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    1. Thanks Melissa. I've enjoyed all the other Holidays with Jane that I've read, so I'm sure I'll enjoy this one too :)

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  3. I have several unread books including the Christmas Holidays With Jane and Darcy by Any Other Name which I hope to read soon however I regularly re read favourites. I've just finished Rainy Days and Rainbow Promise again and am currently re reading the Memory Trilogy by Linda Wells ��. Happy reading Ceri and enjoy your son's birthday.

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    1. Thank you Glynis! My son enjoyed his special day :)

      I love a re-read myself. One of the downsides of being behind in my reading is that it's harder to find time to reread, but reading an old favourite is like visiting an old friend, very comforting!

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  4. Oh yep, a birthday boy celebration will keep one busy. I love Janet's calendars too.
    Neat about the play coming to your town. I've not seen one, either, so I get why you're excited.

    Mmm, nice line up of books and guest visits. I read my first of the Holidays With Jane anthos for Christmas and loved it. I need to read the others.

    Have a great month!

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    1. Thanks Sophia! I find the kids' birthdays take up a lot of time, even if they run like clockwork, it takes up headspace to fret about it in advance! Hope you have a good month's reading :)

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  5. I'm going to the theatre, too! A production called Mr. Darcy Loses the Plot is on tour but sadly I don't think it's coming near you Ceri:

    http://www.lip-service.net/home

    For once I'm ahead of you with a couple of your reads! I'm sure you'll enjoy Darcy's Hope at Donwell Abbey and Snowbound at Hartfield. Darcy's Hope does indeed wrap the story up and rather nicely, too. Snowbound also features Sir Walter and Elizabeth Elliot from Persuasion, as well as the Knightleys, the Colonel and the Darcys. Two good choices there.

    I've got all of the Holidays with Jane books sitting in my TBR mountain and really must get around to them.

    Have a wonderful time with your boy's birthday!

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    1. I hope you enjoyed Mr Darcy Loses the Plot Anji!

      My son's birthday went well, thank you. He enjoyed it at any rate, which is what I was hoping for :)

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    2. Ceri, if Mr. Darcy Loses the Plot ever comes anywhere near your neck of the woods, you simply have to go to see it. I was lucky enough to see it with the lovely Cass Grafton, who was paying a visit to her old home town, which is where I live. I don't think either of us stopped laughing the whole time. My jaw and cheeks ached for hours after.

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  6. Carole in Canada2 February 2017 at 15:12

    Happy Birthday to your son! I wish a production was coming to our town, as I would be first in line! Can't wait to hear your thoughts on it! You too Anji, would love to hear about that one you are seeing! The second book of Darcy's Hope is just as wonderful as the first! Loved it! I plan to read Maria's new tea time novella as well and I have just started on the first book of Jane Austen Mysteries by Stephanie Barron!

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    1. The production was enjoyable, Carole, but due to the time constraints, you didn't really get the relationship building between Elizabeth and Darcy because it's so subtle. It was very comedic, especially Mrs Bennet and Mr Collins, which I really enjoyed.

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  7. Ceri-hope you have a wonderful time at your little boy's birthday.

    Love your choice of reading material for Feb. The second book by G.Monette is fantastic,I really loved it and am glad I read the two together.

    I'm not sure what I'll read next in terms of JAFF. I'm actually thinking of taking a break from it as I'm kinda reaching a point where I'm finding it hard to concentrate on the storylines and my 'hunger' for D and E plots is ebbing away. (I know that's an awful thing to say,but it's the truth!).

    Happy reading Ceri.

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    1. Do you like reading any Austenesque other than Elizabeth and Darcy ones, Mary? I sometimes get Lizzy and Darcied out too, but often I can still enjoy something based on another of Austen's works.

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  8. Great reading list, Ceri! Can't wait to read your reviews!

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    1. Thanks for commenting. Unfortunately this list turned out to be more aspirational than actual!

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  9. I have two kids with birthdays in February!

    I hope you enjoy the play! I went to a small production of Pride and Prejudice back in November with Dung Vu. We had a fantastic time together.

    Snowbound in Hartfield sounds good! Col. F is one of my favorite characters!

    Have a great February!

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    1. I find just one in February is enough, Candy, it's so close to Christmas, especially as my son is at the beginning of the month. He was due in the middle of January though, so it could have been worse!

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  10. I do hope the play is or was everything you hoped for and that you enjoy those books. I have read one as a WIP and one that was published. I have not read Holidays With Jane/Will You Be Mine. I hope you and your son enjoy the birthday holiday. My granddaughter turned 4 last Sunday. I also have the calendar on my wall next to my PC thanks to winning it on Claudine's blog. And I hope the winter is treating you well. Have a lovely rest of the month.

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    1. I enjoyed the play, thank you Sheila. I know we're going back a bit now, but I hope your granddaughter had a good birthday. I have another birthday coming up, my daughter's birthday is later this week, so I have something else to stress about now!

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