My Austenesque Birthday Gifts & Giveaway!!!

Hello everyone!
I just wanted to share with you my Austenesque birthday gifts, I also got some doubles so thought it would be fun to do a giveaway with them. I went to Jane Austen's house on my birthday and while I was there I also picked up a little something extra to add to the giveaway!!! But first let me share with you my gifts :)

Mr Darcy's proposal purse!

This purse is one of my favourite gifts yet, I am too scared to use it as I do not want to damage it!

Jane 'a' Day

My Jane a day 5 year journal has gold edged pages and has a Austen quote on every page, I used to have journal when I was younger and it is an old fashioned sentiment which seems to be dying out. I look forward to using it.

Oooh some more Dvd's, my collection is almost complete!!!

A much wanted Dvd from a dear friend of mine, I had this recorded on my SKY planner and had yet to watch it! My friend did not know I was after it, so the gift was a pleasant surprise.

I love to dance!!! I did ballroom dancing for two years in my teens after I finished Ballet & Tap, my Mr Darcy certainly chose another great gift! To the left is a notebook which I will enjoy jotting down my notes in.

My new phone case, however I am not sure if I want to give up my 'Keep Calm and Find Mr Darcy' case just yet! My own Mr Darcy continued to spoil me and bought me 'Begone Dull Care' when we visited the Jane Austen House.

Deirdre Le Faye was at the Jane Austen house on my Birthday and Mr Darcy also treated me to a signed copy of her book 'Jane Austen's Country Life'. As well as buying me The Jane Austen Handbook by Margaret J Sullivan.

Just some of my Gift voucher buys!!

I was given a very generous Amazon gift voucher which I spent in one hit :) (Thanks Dad & M)

Some more gifts picked up at the JA House, love my keyring!

I believe I was most definitely spoilt, especially as I was given more gifts & these are just my Austensque ones :)  For anyone who loves their paperback books. the delightful book plates on the right read " I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book! When I have a house of my own, I shall be miserable if I have not an excellent library!"

International Giveaway time!!!!

My Dvd Doubles!

Bookmark, Fridge Magnet & Book Plates

I received two DVD's I already own and thought it would be nice to put them in a giveaway. They are region 2, but I would like to give more people an opportunity so I will also include a region 1 copy of The Jane Austen book club. Unfortunately you cannot get region 1 for Miss Austen Regrets (obviously if you have an all regions dvd player then it will not be a problem).
I will do four draws, to enter, please leave a comment about my Austenesque birthday gifts and state which draws you would like to enter into, If you do not specify I will enter you into all four draws :)

1. The Jane Austen Book Club (region 1)
2. The Jane Austen Book Club (region 2)
3. Miss Austen Regrets (region 2)
3. Austenesque gifts (Bookmark, Magnet & Book plates)

Good luck everyone! I will announce the winners on the 3rd August 2014. Winners will have 48hours to contact me via the 'contact me' form at the top of my blog.

As always I delight in hearing your thoughts!!!!

My Physical TBR List!!!!!!!

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I thought my recent amount of book purchases were impressive, until my mother burst my bubble and made me realise I was out of my league compared to a true bookaholic!!! I acquired the books below faster than I could read them and now have a physical TBR list, not just a fantasy one on goodreads!!! Some fellow Janietes said they would like to know what they were, so as per requested, here they are Ladies, 97 books acquired over the last couple of months that I have yet to devour :) 

Have you read any of these? Are some on your TBR pile? It is always lovely to hear your thoughts :)

The Day my Kindle Took a Bath!

Okay so I'm behind on my reviews, I promise, they are coming!
In the meanwhile I thought I would share a little tale.

On Sunday while I was ironing my daughter's clothes I heard the shower switch on, I glanced to see my daughter placing her doll's bath into our bath. "Oh how sweet she's going to bath her doll".

With the bathroom door open I could see her from where I was and five minutes later I proceeded into the bathroom. Pulling back the shower curtain I got the shock of my life, it was the most horrifying image I have ever witnessed, My kindle was having a bath.!!!!!!!!!!! It was completely submerged!!! Unbeknownst to me, it was at that moment that I discovered I had lightening speed reactions, because I got my Kindle out of the bath so fast, it should have had it's own dedicated page in the Guinness Book of Records!! (Okay and maybe a page on most 'swear words used in under thirty seconds')



Swiftly taking it out of the protective case, I begin to give it CPR! Okay that was a lie but I did start to give it firm hard shakes to get as much of the water out as possible, all the while reminding myself  "keep calm", "don't panic" "stay focused".

The protective case had helped a little but not much, as I was drying it in a towel, it switched off, "Oh Know, please don't do this!!!" I cried. Frantically I started to press the power button, "Nothing" Okay I needed to think rationally, "maybe the battery was dead" yes yes that's could be it. I immediately connected it to the charger "YES" the Kindle sign appeared, but that was all!! Okay do not panic, walk away with what little dignity you have left, the last thing people need to see is your tears, leave it to charge, and hope all will be well.

I needed to think, what was the worse case scenario, because my warranty ran out like a month ago.

The Kindle on the left had the bath!

1.  I do have another Kindle! But I can't read it in the dark and bedtime is when I get a lot of my reading done and I don't have a bedside lamp (My Mr Darcy does, well of course he would!).
2. It's my birthday in two weeks I could ask for a replacement, but damn it! I already gave them some suggestions on Jane Austen related items and I'd be damned if I was going to give them up!!
3. I have a kindle app on my phone and laptop, but the phone is small and the laptop too big, especially for in bed.
4. Scream and cry!!!!!!

Okay I will fast forward, four hours and fifteen failed attempts at factory reset later my Kindle still wouldn't come back to life.

One last attempt, I held down the power button for one minute and waited for three. The reboot, IT WORKED, YAY! Wow, I spoke too soon, it was malfunctioning big time, doing mad crazy stuff like it was possessed.
This definitely called for a 'what would Lizzy do moment'. Yep you guessed it, it was time to go against propriety and the socially accepted norms and do the manly thing, fix it myself. Surprisingly after taking a computer course, I am the one who fixes our computer viruses and takes our computer apart but this felt different I had a lot riding on this, if I couldn't fix it, then what? I didn't even want to entertain the thought.

Half hour later, some tools and internet research digested, I was ready.

Using a guitar pick to dig into the tiny gap, I started to work my way along the edges and prize the back cover off, yay! It worked.
Inside the Kindle there was water! This did not bode well, the water had now been inside for over five hours!
Using my Parlux professional blow dryer (yes I used to be a hairdresser, but funnily enough it was my sister in law, who is also a hairdresser, that gave it to me and I haven't looked back! I cannot recommend this blow dryer enough, its's the best! Even better than my GHD blow dryer which was way to expensive for what it was, okay I have digressed but seriously put a Parlux on your wishlist).

My Parlux is so powerful 2800 Watts (you can get 3800 now, note to self get one), putting it on a cool setting I blew air into every nook and cranny for a full ten minutes, forever fighting the temptation to put it on a hotter setting, but I didn't want to risk melting any of the metal, (yes it's that powerful, I've burnt off my hair, burnt through carpets and the bed with it, okay they're stories for another time).

It was the moment of truth, gently clipping the back cover on I turned my kindle over and peeked through one eye, then two, IT WAS WORKING, "hold on lets just check it's not doing the crazy stuff" I ran through a couple of things and it seemed to be working, even purchasing a new JAFF Novel to be on the safe side (well I had to make sure the buy function still worked). Novel purchased I let out a sigh of relief, PHEW! That was too close a call, I shuddered to think what could have been! Best to leave those musings for another day!

I am now pleased to report that my Kindle has never been more responsive!!

So I will end my story there, before I say something stupid like "my Kindle is, my first, my last, my everything" thank you for reading The Day my Kindle Took a Bath!

( I have to announce that I do not condone, endorse or recommend anything I did to my Kindle and I would advise you to seek professional help if ever, your kindle finds itself in the BATH!!!!!!!!

Please feel free to share any Kindle bath moments, like what bubble bath you used!

Just How Obsessed With Austen and JAFF Are You?

While doing research on a recent assignment, I realised my obsession with Austen and JAFF was natural and just! My desire at times (okay lets be honest, all the time) to ignore all else and get lost in a world that mainly consists (for me) of Darcy and Elizabeth is apparently, according to Freud, my id mounting an all out war on my ego, while my super ego looks on with a jaw dropping expression. So, you ask, what has the id, ego and super ego got to do with my obsession? Well I will explain (as you may need it in court when people get fed up of your obsession!!).

The id is the impulsive part of our psyche, it demands immediate satisfaction in gaining pleasure (I need to read this book now!!). Anything less will only result in pain and the id does not want to experience pain. The id is unaffected by logic or the reality of the world! It is only focused on its goal for pleasure (Me while I am reading).

The ego mediates between the unrealistic id and the external world. The ego would also like pleasure but seeks to achieve it in a realistic, rational manner. (Well I can tell you now, my ego is having little success in any anything remotely rational when it pertains to Austen!).

The super ego is our conscience, it tries to reign in the id's urges by manipulating the ego into adhering to societies morals and values, it does this by engendering feelings, such as guilt. (I do feel guilty! I do! I do! But the pleasure that is derived from reading anything Austen or Austen related far outweighs any guilt!  Yet ignoring feelings of guilt can only lead to tragedy right?! or then again, another book!!)

" The innocence of such fancy comes to an end, when in pursuit of our daydreams we calmly ignore or blithely manipulate, accidentally damage, or consider as non-existent, some of the people dearest to us " - E.Erikson

In other words while daydreaming constantly about the book your reading or the one you've just read, your super ego (your conscience) is reminding you to get back to reality. While you indulge in yet another 'what if' your super ego is screaming "you should be starting dinner". When you just want to be left in peace to read your book, feelings of guilt start to surface, annoyingly reminding you that you have responsibilities!

Yet all the while your id is urging you to be selfish, "do what you want, go ahead, read another 'what if.' Yes if it's a good one you'll be up till the early hours, most certainly rendering you unfit for the day ahead, but who cares". The super ego screams "are you out of your mind!" While the id shouts back "have you read the blurb! surely my friend, it is you who is out of your mind!!!."

So do I dare ask, how far is your id driving your obsession?

Did you just miss out on an ebay item, because you  decided to have a quick read on one of the many Austeneque blogs, while waiting for the clock to tick down?

Is your road rage a result of having to rewind your Pride & Prejudice Naxo audio cd? Because the idiot in front does not know how to drive and as a result you've just lost concentration. (Not that you mind rewinding and having to listen again but with only 10 miles of good road to go and to your dismay, no sign of traffic, you were hoping to get to the part where Elizabeth meets Darcy at Pemberley.)

Does your cooking apron read "I'd rather be reading Pride and Prejudice"? All jokes aside your deadly serious!

Do you find your often not in the moment?  Is your attention distracted not because your texting but because your reading JAFF on a forum or reading on your kindle phone app?

Do you have Darcy's proposal framed on your windowsill?

Proposal is typed on a page from P&P, available from thebookishlife on Etsy (my own frame)

When your reading preference is made known and people roll their eyes, are you embarrassed? Or have you started to look down on them, pitting those that are ignorant of Austen or JAFF; proud and conceited in being part of the privileged few that are in this exclusive club? (I know, it is no way to act, but any slight to dear Jane must surely warrant such behaviour)

Is your wardrobe slowly changing, are you buying more period inspired clothing? Heck lets get real, are you walking around in riding boots and a tweed jacket? Yet you do not ride! (Does a donkey ride age 10, on the beach in Morecombe count?)

Are you losing sleep hooked on JAFF books that you cannot, for the life of you put down. Forgetting yourself, as you laugh out loud at 5am at some silly remark the Colonels just made, hoping you haven't awoken the whole household or the street for that matter?

Do you deliberately hold off reading some JAFF because you know that once you start there will be no stopping you?  Okay I grant you there was no point in asking that question, Mr Darcy's "in vain I have struggled" certainly comes to mind.

Do you have Keep Calm and Find Mr Darcy on your phone case?

Are you and your Kindle inseparable? Are you wondering why Amazon hasn't offered you shares?

Do you sneak your kindle/Nook or book under your dressing gown or in a towel when you go into the bathroom?

Are you annoyed that considering how far the scientific community has come, no one has created time travel yet! (Damn it! You can get a man to the moon but you can't get me back to the Regency era!!!)

Do you scout the newspapers hoping to find a job advertisement that says "read Austen and JAFF and get paid"?

Do you buy hard copies of your favourite Austen & JAFF? Not only for the pleasure of seeing it on your book case, but in truth as back up should your kindles stop working (you have two), the internet goes down or your phone crashes?

Are everyday pleasures starting to pale in comparison?

If you have
answered yes
to all or any of the above fear not, Sigmund Freud
says it is only "NATURAL and JUST" 
oh sorry that was DARCY was it not!!!!!

I would love to hear your thoughts or any other signs you care to impart,  that confirm just how obsessed you are!

BBC drama Death Comes to Pemberley

It is the eve of the Darcys’ annual ball at Pemberley. Darcy and Elizabeth are relaxing with their guests after supper when the festivities are brought to an abrupt halt. A scream calls them to the window and a hysterical Lydia Bennet tumbles out of a carriage screaming murder. What follows is the sombre discovery of a dead man in Pemberley woods and a brother accused of murder. BBC’s new drama based on P.D. James’ follow-up to “Pride and Prejudice - Amazon

Before I start I feel I need to set the stage so to speak. I have never read the novel, Death comes to Pemberley and Downtown were going to be my T.V. Christmas highlights and after enduring nearly a year of my Austen obsessed madness; as a result of joining the Austenprose Bicentenary reading challenge, my children and husband were going to see what the hype was about!

Half an hour into the first episode and their attention was gone, with Ipads and phones at the ready I could hardly say I blamed them, the English press had said it was 'dreary' and they weren't far off. My embarrassment was most acute indeed!! It certainly did not help in making my obsession valid!! Not that I needed anyone's opinion on the matter, but my kids were going to finally engage in my passion and see what has drawn me like a moth to a flame for nearly a year. It did not reflect the pure genius that is Austen, (not that this was Austen's work), but my kids weren't going to make that distinction!!!



Elizabeth

After swallowing my pride I continued to watch, my premise being anything Elizabeth and Darcy and I am there!!!!
I must say the characters were cast really well, albeit Elizabeth!! My husband  repeated throughout, much to my annoyance "I don't know why they chose her to play Elizabeth". After a while I'm pretty sure it was to wind me up and my Christmas spirit began to edge towards vexation! It wasn't like I hadn't asked myself that very same question!!!!
Heaven forbid, was Mr Darcy's famous "she's tolerable I suppose" beginning to have some merit!! I do not mean to be ungenerous but this Elizabeth did not seem like the lively witty Elizabeth I have come to know and love, were they were trying to pull the wool over my eyes?

Tom & Emilia

Colonel Fitzwilliam was played by one of my favourite actors Tom Ward, who stars in a British drama called Silent Witness alongside Emilia Fox , many of you will know her as Georgiana in the 1995 P&P and the voice for the Naxos Audiobook, I apologise, for I have digressed. Tom's acting was great but I was disappointed to find a less than jovial Colonel!! I suppose the book had written him that way, although I cannot be sure. I can only assume that because his brother had died and he was now to inherit the Matlock estate his priorities had changed, he had become Darcy's twin!!

Georgiana was delightful as always. In one of the scenes, she must tell her love interest that he is not to call anymore. Once he leaves, the utter despair she portrays was pure brilliance and the setting itself was a real eye opener to living with servants privy to so much. Crying her eyes out while two footman stand at their posts devoid of any emotion; personally I would want to go off somewhere to cry in private, but I suppose when you have grown up in such circumstances it must be natural. Similar to those reality shows where you think "surely they must realise the camera's are on". Maybe her despair was so acute she did not care, whatever the reason I loved the scene.



Georgiana

Lydia was great, not whiney just void of any propriety, Wickham too, was played well, not to mention quite handsome. Mr Bennet, oh how I love him and the humour that surrounds Mrs Bennet is always funny. In one of the scenes the doctor is at the door about to leave, he is telling Darcy that after administering some calming draughts Mrs Bennet seems much better, they are then interrupted by Mrs Bennet's shrill voice radiating from upstairs, the doctor rolls his eyes, discards his coat and heads towards the stairs, hilarious!!!

Wickham

Matthew Rhys from US drama Brothers and Sisters actually portrayed  Darcy quite well (although it would have been nice if he was taller). What I love is when Darcy, after Six years of marriage is still portrayed much the same as he has always been. While Elizabeth is meant to have a influence on him, I believe it is her that brings the liveliness to the marriage. Inevitably I think he would change slightly but not dramatically. Some lovely flash backs which included Hunsford added to the story and also aided viewers who are ignorant to Elizabeth and Darcy's history. Although I do not think Anna Maxwell Martin was right for the role of Elizabeth, the distance that started to occur between Darcy and herself were portrayed to great effect. When Elizabeth spoke of her fears with Jane, that she felt Darcy was coming to regret their marriage I was truly convince and Anna won me over. As Darcy seemed to  become distant towards Elizabeth as the strain of the situation came between them, it was the added scenes which showed him watching her or stroking her cheek while she slept, that made this the Darcy we all love.

Darcy! who else

"Dreary" the press may have called it, but without reading the book I can only assume it was the book not the drama. To have three hours of viewing time without the greatness of the book shining through can only lead me to the conclusion the book was not great, but I fear such an assumption is unfounded as I have not read the book, therefore maybe the book did not have enough worthy content to justify three hours. I feel that there are many P&P fanfiction books out there (hint hint) that would have made for a better drama.

I will conclude that even though my hubby's comments jarred me, I had to agree this was not my favourite Elizabeth even if she was portraying a now older Elizabeth. The story seemed to drag on with not much to keep you gripped except the desire to know, just who killed Denny if it was not Wickham!

Overall I could not complain, the casting of the characters, the scenes between Elizabeth and Darcy and costumes to die for, kept me were I needed to be, in front of the T.V.

When Lydia runs outside to see her 'dear Wickham' being taken away, she seems to be in her nightgown and robe, whatever they were, they were absolutely gorgeous and I would love to get my hands on them!!!!!!!
Finally let us not forget the stunning Chatsworth House and it's beautiful grounds!

Death comes to Pemberley is out on DVD on the 10TH FEBRUARY!!

Will I get a copy? My first thoughts were no, but this is ELIZABETH AND DARCY!!! So my answer will undoubtedly have to be, YES Please!

I would love to hear any comments you have on the drama or the novel.

10 reason I am thankful for the Austenprose Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary reading challenge!!

My Christmas books

This reading challenge has truly changed my life and I am so thankful to Laurel Ann for doing the Austenprose Pride and Prejudice Bicentenary reading challenge!! Since signing up in March I have had a most wonderful year!

Ten reasons this challenge has changed my life!!!!

1. I finally got my sister in law to read P&P, she absolutely loved it and has followed me in this reading challenge reading all the books that I have read. We now have a another common Interest, we both have each other to talk to about Austen and this has brought us closer together. I also bought her one of these bags for Christmas and she loved it. She said "only people in the know, will know what this bags about!!"

My Christmas bag

2. It has rekindled my love of reading, as a mother of three I never have the time but now I make time (being selfish is really hard, but worth it, if the end result is more Austen & JAFF!!), it is my escape from the stresses of life and has brought me real joy.

3. It has improved my English, although my lectures at university think I need to transfer to the English literature course. I am pretty sure I run the risk of being kicked off of the course if they read one more "pray do tell" in one of my assignments lol!!

4. My husband to be and I now have another shared Interest, Downtown Abbey. We had seen it on BBC1 but because we missed the first series we did not watch it. I saw it advertised on Austenprose and bought the box set, we watched one episode a night and finished in time to watch the forth series.

5. I started to purchase old furniture, I even went as far as restoring pieces and painting them in the shabby chic style, purchasing chalk paint and finishing with wax.

6. I Invested in some replica 18th century playing cards and started to learn the card games that feature in Austen's books.

7. As a result of seeing a Pride and Prejudice theatre production at Chatsworth house for the reading challenge, it is now one of my favourite retreats and  I have been three times this year!!!!

8. I have had the biggest Christmas list ever this year, usually when my partner asks what I want I say "nothing it's about the kids." Well this year I handed him a long list of Austen related items, including an "I'd rather be reading Pride & Prejudice" cooking apron but the majority were books. All the books I read for the reading challenge were on my kindle so I narrowed down some of my favourites as I wanted hard copies. (I did not get the Fitzwilliam trilogy by Pamela Aiden much to my chagrin, so will have to get it myself).

My Christmas t-shirt

9. Reading the JAFF stories has really made me evaluate how I live my own life, my morals, my values and what I really want in life. Most of all a determination to be happy everyday!

10. Finally I have been inspired to write my own What if . It will probably take me years! Especially as I am studying, but my sister in law says I have a good idea for a story and is encouraging me to pursue it, just for fun mind you! My biggest challenge I feel will be writing in regency dialogue.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart Laurel Ann for letting me take part in this challenge. I have enjoyed it more than you could comprehend and I have really enjoyed reading everyone's comments and reviews. Thank you again and happy New Year to Austenprose and all its wonderful members.