The Story Girl

Author: L. M. Montgomery

Genre: Childhood, life, children, adventures :)

Series: The Golden Road is it's sequel, but I don't believe they're technically a series

Number in series: 1st

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 272 (but it's easy reading)

Time period: early 1900's

Main characters: The Story Girl, Bev, Felix, Dan, Felicity, Cecily, Sara Ray and more!

Exciting events: Tons of stories

My overall opinion: It's got life and stories. The Story Girl, as Sara Stanley is called, loves to tell stories, and many of them are in this book, written from Bev's perspective. However, the children also have a variety of adventures and escapades that will make awesome stories, as the Story Girl points out. :)

**P.S. My apologies about The Golden Road getting published first...it wasn't supposed to. :P Though I had the scheduled thing set...guess not. **

The Ultimate Book Bash Tag! Part 3!

Welcome to this third part of my Ultimate Book Bash Tag! I hope that all of you who are reading, and/or doing the tag yourself are having as much fun as I am. :)

I have already answered the first 20 questions in two previous posts, so we'll begin with #21 here.

21. Name two books we wouldn't have expected you to enjoy. The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson and The Cat of Bubastes by G. A. Henty.

22. Name three books that have good movies to go with them. Only three? Goodness. Well, Pride and Prejudice of course. The 1995 version.

And then... The Scarlet Pimpernel, 1982 version.

And The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The 2005 version. :) Interesting, all those have multiple versions!

23. Any books coming out soon that you're looking forward to? Yes! There are quite a few, but I'll just name the three I'm on blog tours for. They are Love Finds You in Annapolis, Maryland by Roseanna M. White (coming in December), Hailee by Penny Zeller (September!), and The Heart's Lullaby by Jen Stephens (early next year). I'm really looking forward to all of them. :) I'm adding a picture of the Annapolis cover because I love it right now. :) Just look at that dress.... *sigh*

24. Name two authors you'd like to talk to. Only TWO?!?!?!? Oh my word. Ummm...this is impossible. I would have loved to meet Jane Austen. And then a living author...ha, I will cheat and say Alex and Brett Harris, who wrote Do Hard Things. Awesome book.

25. Science fiction or a fairy tale? Fairy tale. I love those. :) Especially Cinderella.

26. A classic book you haven't read is...? To Kill a Mocking-bird by Lee Harper. It's very famous, and I rather consider it a classic. I haven't read Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy yet either.

27. Shakespeare or George Bernard Shaw (who wrote Pygmalion)? While Pygmalion is all I've read by Shaw, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Shakespeare I find hard to read (at least in the original), and overall his stories aren't ones I love. Incidentally, there are a few there too that I haven't read. Those would be classics.

28. Name a movie (or two) where it's actually better than the book. Princess Bride. That's easy. A second one...hmmm. I know, I know, it's optional. My Fair Lady (the movie) is better than Pygmalion (the book). IMHO.

29. Where is your favorite place to read? My bed. :) I spend at least two hours a day in bed reading. :) However, the couches and the van (when going places) are also excellent spots for reading. :)

30. What are your favorite quotes from books? There are so many! First, one from Pride and Prejudice. "A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, love to matrimony in a moment." ~Mr. Darcy. Ouch. But in a way...it's true? :P

Next, a quote from Princess Bride. Which is a very strange book, but has some good quotes. Or rather, humorous ones. "Good night, Westley. Good work. Sleep well. I'll most likely kill you in the morning." That's by William Goldman.

Finally, another Jane Austen quote. She's SO quotable. This one is from Emma. "Silly things do cease to be silly if they are done by sensible people in an impudent way." Interesting how that one is also true...

31. What book would you most like see made into a movie? I am lucky because so many of my favorite books already are great movies! I would like to see the Anne of Green Gables series done. There are movies out there now, and if you view them as un-connected to the books, they're fine. But they stray by the second and third ones. Very annoying.

32. What book character do you identify the most with? I think Jo March. Maybe. Or Elizabeth Bennet, sometimes. That's hard. My friends probably know better about me than I do. :)

And so we come to the end! That was fun. :) But take heart, the Ultimate Book Bash isn't done yet! We've still got more to come!

Cover Focus: Words Spoken True

Words Spoken True by Ann H. Gabhart

Book blurb from amazon.com : Adriane Darcy was practically raised in her father's newspaper offices. She can't imagine life without the clatter of the press and the push to be the first to write the news that matters. Their Tribune is the leading paper in Louisville in 1855. Then Blake Garrett, a brash young editor from the North with a controversial new style of reporting takes over failing competitor the Herald, and the battle for readers gets fierce. When Adriane and Blake meet at a benefit tea, their surprising mutual attraction is hard to ignore. Still, Blake is the enemy, and Adriane is engaged to the son of powerful business man who holds the keys to the Tribune's future. Blake will stop at almost nothing to get the story -- and the girl. Can he do both before it's too late?

**Words Spoken True is coming out in February 2012**

What I like about the cover: Let's start with the background. It's definitely a large city. Note the spires in the background. And then look at her dress. Kind of brown/tan and dark red, with a bodice of velvet? See the stripes that show inside her sleeve as she lifts her hand to her hat? I love her dark hair. It's obviously not done up perfectly, a few strands are loose. To me, she looks rather deep in thought. What do you think?

L. M. Montgomery Day: The Movies

There have been movies made of some of Maud's books, and though none of them are top favorites with me, I'm telling you about them anyway. :)

Firstly, there are the Anne movies. A total of three movies covering Anne's life, loosely based on the books. I can sorta enjoy these IF I watch them and think of them as something totally different from the books. But if you're hoping for a close following, don't even try these. They're a disappointment. With the possible exception of the first one, which was best.

There was also a TV series made of the Emily of New Moon books. I have seen about 1/2 an hour of the first one, so I really can't draw conclusions. My guess: they stray waaaay and away from the books. Maybe not. Prolly so. Anyone know? There are definitely three seasons, maybe four.

Then there was an animated TV series of Anne made also. Again, I haven't seen it.

The Avonlea TV series was about many of her short stories, I think. Yes, this is yet another that I haven't viewed.

So! Which of these have you seen? Any? All? None? Tell me!

L. M. Montgomery Day: Her Books

L. M. Montgomery is one of my favorite authors. :) Her books are always clean. Occasionally, her characters will imagine ghosts etc, but nothing that's ever really spooky. Her books are about kids, and many of them are for kids too. So, now that I've told you that, let's go on. Oh, first, you can find a pretty complete list here. But right here, I'm going to be telling you about the ones I've read.

The Anne of Green Gables series. Eight books. They're amazing. I have the exact set shown below...I love boxed sets. :)

Many people like the first one (Anne of Green Gables) best, and maybe it is the best, but I tend to prefer some of the others. Anne of Avonlea, the second is fun, and so is Anne of the Island. In each of them, Anne gets into adventures that are laughable to us, if not to her. ;) By the 6th book, they start focusing  more on Anne's children and family. The 8th book, Rilla of Ingleside has a sweet romance of her daughter, and some sad parts too, but it's worth the read. Something that I just discovered is that she didn't publish them in order. Rilla came out before Windy Poplars or Ingleside. I am sorry for the people who didn't read them in chronological order like I did! Technically, there's a sequel even to Rilla, which it appears Maud intended to be the ninth book in the series. It's called The Blythes are Quoted and it was only published recently. I haven't read it yet.

Maud Montgomery wrote a lot more books than those eight, though! In 1910, she came out with Kilmeny of the Orchard. Incidentally, I just finished reading this one on Kindle, and adored it. :) You can get a free Kindle copy from gutenberg.org ! :) There should be a review of it coming soon. It was a really sweet romance.

Her next two books were The Story Girl and The Golden Road. The latter is a sequel to the former. Again, reviews of these are coming, hopefully later today, since I read them on the Kindle as well. Check out my reviews for more info.

In 1923, Emily of New Moon came out, soon followed by its sequels, Emily Climbs and Emily's Quest. I own this short series. The second is my favorite, and the third I really didn't like very much.

Montgomery wrote a variety of short story collections, including Chronicles of Avonlea and Further Chronicles of Avonlea, both of which I recently enjoyed.

I still have not listed nearly all of her works. She came out with many other short story collections herself, and there were some that were assembled and published after her death.

She also had some other chapter books, such as the Pat series (Pat of Silver Bush, Mistress Pat), The Blue Castle, and Magic for Marigold, along with others. Those are all ones I hope to read soon. :)

Before you go...which of these books that I've mentioned here are you familiar with? Have you read some I haven't? Do you want to?

The Ultimate Book Bash: L. M. Montgomery Day

Welcome back, everyone! After today, it will be the last day of our Ultimate Book Bash! A bittersweet thought, personally. ;) But take heart...we've still got giveaways, tag answers, and of course, author days to come! Just a reminder, today is for L. M. Montgomery (author of Anne of Green Gables and more) and tomorrow we'll be celebrating C. S. Lewis (author of The Chronicles of Narnia and more). So, shall we begin?

Lucy Maud Montgomery (I love that name...and wonder why she went by her initials) was born on November 30, 1874, and was generally called Maud by her family. She was born on Prince Edward Island, the same place where so many of her books take place. When she was almost two, her mother died. Her grieving father gave her grandparents custody, and when she was seven, she went to live with them. They were very strict, and Maud's life was hard.

In 1897, she accepted the proposal of Ed Simpson, simply because of the love and protection he would give her. However, in 1898, she broke off their engagement. Her first book (and most famous), Anne of Green Gables, was published in 1908. Three years later, she finally married a man named Ewan Macdonald, a minister.

She died in 1942, and continued writing right up to her death.

Links, Please!

Hey, everyone! This post is exactly what the title suggests: a request for links. Many (all?) of you have already left me a link to your blog, or more specifically, to where you filled out the Ultimate Book Bash Tag. If you have already left a comment, you don't have to leave a second one. But no matter who you are, no matter that you know I read your post, please make sure you left me a link to the post(s) with the tag on one of the Book Bash Tag posts, or here! Otherwise, the sad truth is, that I will probably forget that you did it, and not include a link to your blog when I do the wrap-up post tomorrow. So make sure you left me a link to all the parts of your Book Bash Tag! Thank you. :)

Giveaway for "A Reluctant Queen!"

Giveaway now closed!

Yes, I have a giveaway for today! And one for tomorrow too, so make sure you check back then. :) No author interview today, just a book. Those of you who actually read my review of it yesterday picked up that I was giving away a copy of "A Reluctant Queen" today.

If you didn't read my review earlier, you can now by clicking here. As you can see, I had a few problems with it, and can't fully recommend it, but overall I felt that it was clean enough to give away. SO! How do you enter?

Once again, I'm opening this giveaway to anyone. You don't have to be a follower, though you can get extra entries by being one! If you want to be entered, just answer the question below:

What is your favoritest movie ever?



Okay, I don't know either if "favoritest" is a word, but I like it. :) So comment, tell me what it is, (or what they are) and I will enter you! As usual, include your email address if you would like to be notified. I will post the winner here on Austenitis. If you win, you could always give me your email later, it would just be slower. :) Your choice.

The giveaway ends on September 1, 2011!

Also, for the extra entries, you may put them all in one comment if you want. They will count for the same amount as if you do a dozen different comments. :) Got it? Then here they are:

Extra entries:

+2 entries -- follow Austenitis!

+1 entry -- have the Austenitis button on your blog.

+3 entries -- follow my photography blog! It's privatized, so if you want to follow, email me at charityu.austenite[at]gmail[dot]com and ask to be allowed. Oh, and it's not just a photography blog...it also includes things about what I'm reading, eating, doing, and generally thinking. :)

+1 entry -- answer this: What is your favorite dessert? :) Or desserts.

+1 entry -- comment on a Jane Austen Day post. You can get this entry up to three times!

So there you are! You could get a total of (*calculates*) ELEVEN entries! WOW! And some are really easy. :) You may now start commenting!!!

The Golden Road

Author: L. M. Montgomery

Genre: Childhood, life

Series: Sequel to The Story Girl

Number in series: So 2nd

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Fiction

Number of pages: 213

Time period: Early 1900's

Main characters: The same as in The Story Girl

Exciting events: Quite a few. :)

My overall opinion: Quite similar, just different stories! Again, a very fun book. A bittersweet ending, but it was worth it. :)

The Jane Austen Handbook

Author: Margaret C. Sullivan

Genre: Oh dear. Ummm...maybe we'll say it's a how-to book. :)

My rating on a 1-10 scale: 9

Type: Non-fiction

Number of pages: 224

Time period: 1800's advice. Make any sense?

My overall opinion: It was very sweet and super fun! You learn how to: elope to Scotland, avoid dancing with an undesirable partner, write a letter, keep house, pay a morning call, dress, play at cards, and much more! The end of the book also includes a short biography of Jane Austen, a list of her books with a segment about each, a list of films (somewhat out of date, since the book came out in '07), and a short list of sequels and spin-offs, especially in films. A must-read for any Austenite!

Jane Austen Day: Spotlight: Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth

(note: this is a special and different spotlight post, since it's part of Jane Austen Day and The Ultimate Book Bash. So there are two people here. :)

Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth (Pride and Prejudice)

Played by Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle.

 *sigh* Look at those smiles... love Darcy's. :)

Love.

View more spotlights about Jane Austen characters! You can see them for these characters: Emma Woodhouse, Elinor Dashwood, or Elizabeth Bennet by herself.

Jane Austen Day: The Movies

I know that most of my readers are as passionate about  Jane Austen, her books, and her movies, as I am. :) So therefore, I hope you enjoy this post as much as I intend to enjoy writing it!

Sense and Sensibility

Apparently a TV series. I haven't seen it. It came out in 1971.

A 1981 BBC version. I believe I have seen this version. It was awful. Lighting, costumes, sound, all terrible. Not worth watching. Choose one of the newer ones!

This is the only other version of Sense and Sensibility that I have seen. The actors for Elinor and Marianne are perfect...unfortunately, all the males (IMHO, and some other people agree) are pretty ugly. Overall, it follows the book and I like it. It's commonly known as the 1995 version.

This is the newest version, which came out in 2008. I've heard that it's very good (and the men are handsomer!), but that at the beginning, there's a highly objectionable scene.

Pride and Prejudice

This is the oldest version of Pride and Prejudice that I am aware of. It came out in 1940.

Next out was the 1980 TV mini series. I have seen the fifth episode, and it was almost laughable. Really. Only watch if you're a highly devoted Jane Austen fan.

My favorite version. It's generally known as the long P&P, on account of being a little over five hours (not six!) long. It's the most accurate to the book and totally my favorite. :)

And the newest version, which came out in 2005. I don't like it because I feel that it's not accuarte to the time-period. I also have a strong dislike of people proposing in an undressed manner. Oh, and I abhor the Mr. Darcy. I did enjoy it more than I thought I would, and I'll probably watch it again someday. The music is awesome. It would be okay if it was the only version on P&P that was out there, but compared to the 1995 version...yeah.

Mansfield Park

I believe that's the cover. This is the 1983 version.

*back-pedals* Okay, I'm confused. I'm coming up with a 1983 and a 1986 version...a bit weird, yes. This is the only cover I can find (other than a black one with the same characters, I think). So I don't know what's up. Let's move on. :)

Here we have the 1999 version of Mansfield Park. I have heard that there are quite a few objectionable things in it, so I don't recommend it. I haven't seen it...at least,  not to remember.

The 2007 version. I have yet to find a version I really like. :P This one had the misfortune to use Mr. Elton from Emma (2009) as the main guy. I thought he was awful even before seeing Emma.

Emma

Apparently there was a 1948 TV version, but I'm having no luck with finding ANY pictures from it.

This is the 1972 version. I haven't seen it, but hey, it's out there.

This is the 1996 version. It's rather well known in general. I have seen either this or the 1997 version, but I'm not sure which, and it's been a loooong time.

And the 1997 version. Again, I don't know much about it.



The most recent, and my favorite version of Emma. It came out in 2009, is about four hours long, and has the perfect actors. Watch it, please, if you haven't! It's most delightful.

Persuasion

Apparently there was a version of Persuasion that came out in 1960 as a TV mini-series, but I can't find a picture.

Ah, yes. Are you starting to recognize the pink covers with awful pictures? ;) This is the 1971 version.

This is, I believe, no, I'm quite sure, the only version of Persuasion that I've had the pleasure of seeing. I like it quite well, and recommend it whole-heartedly. :) It's the one that came out in 1995.

And this is the newest version, the 2007 one. I have not yet seen it, but someday! :)

Those of you who adore Northanger Abbey have probably noticed that it was skipped. I'm sorry. But I am out of time, and also, I've never seen any movie version, and I've only read the book once. So therefore, it would be hard for me to actually find out which versions were when. Other than that, I hope you learned something in this post!