February 01, 2008

For Jane Austen Fans only....

... yes, you. You know who you are. You are the ones who read this, perennially watch (and perhaps own, as I do) this, are surely tivo-ing this, and [even if you are happily married] you drool over him. (And if you didn't know who "him" was before you clicked on the link, then you, my dear, are not a true Austen fan.)

If you haven't read Shannon Hale's "Austenland" then you are in for a treat. I just finished reading it (in practically one sitting, I might add, which isn't such a tremendous feat considering it's less than 200 pages long, and is a delightful and easy read). I absolutely giggled and grinned my way through the book. If you are a true Austen fan, you won't be disappointed.... how could you not love a book that begins with a dedication reading, "For Colin Firth: You're a really great guy, but I'm married, so I think we should just be friends." Though if you are an Austen-purist, you should probably stay away.

The first time I saw the wonderful BBC (1995) version of "Pride and Prejudice," I was already engaged to my own Mr. Darcy (see photo below), so I didn't fall in love with Colin Firth... exactly. But I certainly don't mind watching him on the screen. And I know I'm not alone. It's a girl thing.
By the way, I didn't much care for the 2005 version of "P&P." It simply pales in comparison.

[On a side note, this afternoon, while downtown, Jay ran into Adam Sandler getting out of a car, surrounded by security (and people flocking to get his autograph). As Jay was talking to one of the security guards, a stranger walked up to Jay and said, "Are you
Jon Cryer?" Jay tried to assure her that he wasn't, but she insisted, saying, "It's OK, I won't tell anyone." He wasn't sure what to think. I suppose there might be a SLIGHT resemblance, but I assure you Jay is MUCH taller.

P.S. "Hiding Out" was one of my favorite movies when I was in high school. ]

4 comments:

  1. I loved this book - I LOVE this author. Her books are some of my favorites!

    Jon Cryer? HILARIOUS!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Cute book! BTW-You know that P&P (the good one!) is on PBS this weekend? What a treat.

    I can totally see the Cryer resemblance! He should have signed an autograph.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous9:09 AM

    One of my very favorite P&P adaptations is Melissa Nathan's "Pride, Prejudice and Jasmine Field" (being re-released later this year under a different title, which totally ruins it for me...but since Melissa Nathan died last year, I can't really blame her). It is a true re-telling (much better than Bridgit Jones in my opinion), with some fun twists. One of those things that you just got to love.

    I love the BBC P&P as much as the next girl, but the more I watch the 2005 version, the more I love it. I recently introduced both to some friends of mine (ages 11 and 14); both were home sick from school and so I sent them up to bed with the BBC version one day to watch on their own (without the interference of little sisters). The next day, I let them watch the new version for comparisson (you can't watch the new one without having first seen the original). They of course loved them both...they really ought to be required veiwing.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's so funny... I read austenland months ago, then my dad gave me a disk with the audio book for my nano, so of course I had to listen to it again. Seriously love that book.

    ReplyDelete

Please feel free to leave comments that are appropriate and friendly.