Flash reviews for books I read last month

Bookshop.org had a summer reading challenge where you could win a contest if you read for at least 28 days straight, so I read the unheard-of amount of 15 books!!!! Forget pre-pandemic reading levels, that is junior high reading behavior!!! Anyway, I don't really want to write out full reviews for all of them, so I'm just writing flash reviews. 

The Maid and the Mansion: A Mysterious Murder (book 1? of series) by Fiona Grace - ebook - another murder mystery where a maid does the investigating. Enjoyed this although I read "the men are coming back from war so there's no jobs for women" and assumed it was World War I and not II, leading me to be confused over several things including how she was able to run and fight in long skirts (nope, at/below the knee skirts). Trigger warning for sexual harassment from boss at work (he dies, yay!!) plus the usual stuff (murder, blood). 3.5 stars, would read the rest of the series if they're free

Endpapers by Jennifer Savran Kelly - ebook - absolutely amazing, one of my favorite reads this year. So sad and hard to read at times but so important, with the internal plot mirroring thoughts I've had re: coming out and balancing authenticity with safety, etc. Also there's cool book restoration/making stuff. Genderqueer, queer and lesbian rep. Lots of trigger warnings including homophobic hate crime attacks, transphobia (also internalized), homophobia (also internalized). 4 stars, 2 chili peppers

How to Keep House While Drowning by KC Davis - hardcover book - I follow her on IG and bought the book at McNally Jackson bookstore in NYC to support her and because I need it. This book is for people who struggle with keeping up with housework--ADHD havers, depressed people, chronically ill people, etc. The non-shaming gentle parenting around cleaning that I never got, and lots of useful tips. She gets us because she's one of us. Highly recommended. 4.5 stars.

Recipe for Confidence by Samantha Picaro - ebook - I think I follow this author on IG as well. Her book was promoted by bookstagrammers I follow, and I bought it on sale because the main character is aroace. The teenage MC is autistic as well and feels like she always has to mask and act happy to please everyone around her. I'm afraid I did not enjoy this book; the writing wasn't very good and neither were the parents, and there was stuff that made me angry. I think I need to stop reading books about and for teenagers. 3.5 stars. 

The Meddle & Mend series by Sarah Wallace - ebooks - This is a cozy found family fantasy series set in a magical, queernorm Regency England where racial diversity is also the norm. I ADORED this series! I downloaded the first one because it was free and one of the bookstagrammers that I follow is always promoting the series, and it was so good I downloaded the next one to read immediately, doing that for each book. I inhaled the whole series in like a week. One of the books, The Education of Pip, is about a character who is groomed into an unequal relationship that turns into forced sex work, so trigger warnings for that (there is a happy ending for him).  DM me if you want more info. There is representation for just about every letter of the queer alphabet, plus anxiety and PTSD rep. There are also characters of color (the society is also non-racist). I highly recommend these books and cannot wait for the next one. 3.5 (affectionate)-4 stars varying, amount of spice varies by book but it's usually just kissing or off-page (some Pip stuff does bleed into other books)

A Charm of Magpies series by K.J. Charles - ebooks - I loved this author's Will Darling Adventures trilogy and downloaded their other free ebooks a while back but never got around to reading them. These books are set in a magical gaslamp Victorian England and are about a tattooed duke with strong magical ancestry and a short magician who fall in love, fight magical crimes, and have extremely adult activities. They have to hide their relationship because it's illegal to be gay in Victorian England. The duke and his manservant lived most of their lives in China (which apparently was fine with gay people back then? That sounds wrong but I don't know enough to dispute it, plus KJC probably did their research).  The magical crimes (which are mostly grisly murders) make this series horror in my opinion; they were far too scary for me  but I couldn't stop reading them because they were so good. 3.5 stars (but a high 3.5) and probably 4.5 out of 5 chilis (very spicy).

I reread Lady Susan because it was the Enchanted Book Club pick for July, enjoyed it per usual, and had a lot of fun discussing the book with other book club members over Zoom. I also rewatched Love & Friendship afterwards, naturally. 

Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev - paperback book - I bought this ages ago (not sure from where) but didn't get around to reading it. This was a really interesting loose retelling of P&P (duh) where the heroine is an Indian American brain surgeon and the hero is a Somali-Indian British chef, and both leads took on different aspects of both Lizzy and Darcy. It was really good but really sad, with the Wickham-Georgiana storyline being really dark. To be honest, I didn't get why the hero would really come around to being in love with the heroine when she was kind of an awful mess. Understandable, though, when her family was so terrible to her. I do recommend this book even though it made me sad (and hungry, the food sounded so amazing). Trigger warnings for a character being drugged and raped (past), cancer/terminal illness, police racial profiling, racism, xenophobia, miscarriage (past), manipulation, classism. 3.5 stars, 2 chilis due to a rather unnecessary scene at the end

What an Heiress Wants by Gemma Blackwood - ebook - This is part of a Regency romance series, of which I read one previously and liked it. The heroine wants to get back at this guy who led her on, so she concocts a fake flirting/courtship/engagement with her best friend's brother. You already know where this is going. This book has low spice (only kissing and lustful thoughts) and I enjoyed it, even though it got a bit dramatic at the end. 3.5 stars, 0.5 chili

Whew. I truly cannot believe I read so much. So many great reads this month as well!

Book Review: Northranger by Rey Terciero and Bre Indigo

Cade has always loved to escape into the world of a good horror movie. After all, horror movies are scary—but to Cade, a closeted queer Latino teen growing up in rural Texas—real life can be way scarier.

When Cade is sent to spend the summer working as a ranch hand to help earn extra money for his family, he is horrified. Cade hates everything about the ranch, from the early mornings to the mountains of horse poop he has to clean up. The only silver lining is the company of the two teens who live there—in particular, the ruggedly handsome and enigmatic Henry.

But as unexpected sparks begin to fly between Cade and Henry, things get… complicated. Henry is reluctant to share the details of his mother’s death, and Cade begins to wonder what else he might be hiding. 

I had heard about this book on (surprise, surprise) Bookstagram and immediately added it to my to-read list. A gay Jane Austen retelling starring a latino character? Hell yeah, this was made for me. I bought this from a local-ish comic book store booth at my local pride.

This graphic novel retelling of the usually overlooked Northanger Abbey follows its source material pretty closely. Gothic novel fan Catherine is now horror movie-obsessed Cade, who feels alienated from his family and community for being gay. The book summary pretty clearly lays out how he feels about having to work at the ranch; Cade, who already sticks out for being latino in a rural, white area, also hides his gay identity for obvious reasons. This is difficult because he's falling for sweet and hunky Henry (same first name as Northanger Abbey's love interest). Henry Tilney is one of my favorite Austen leading men because he's so witty and funny; Northranger!Henry is nice but not that funny, probably because it's draining to be a closeted gay Christian in the South who's endured familial loss. Due to (mostly unintentional) eavesdropping and ominous accusations made by a disgruntled farm hand, Cade gets the idea that something terrible happened at Henry's family's lake house, maybe even murder. Is Cade living in a horror movie? Could he be falling in love with a serial killer?? If you've read Northanger Abbey, you know where that line of thinking is going, but it's a wild ride anyway. 

This is a fantastic book, both as a Northanger Abbey adaptation and as an exploration of being gay and closeted in the heteronormative, Christian South. I can't say I enjoyed the book, as it's always harrowing to read about homophobia, racism and xenophobia, plus I'm a wuss when it comes to scary stories, but I'm so glad I bought and read it. 

Score: 4 out of 5 stars
Spice score: 0.5 out of 5 chilies 🌶 (just kissing)
Read in: September 19
From: 4 Color Fantasies pride booth
Status: keeping for now

Aesthetics moodboard for Northranger 

Representation: gay, second/third generation Hispanic/Latino American (I think Cade is Mexican American?), anxiety (not explicitly stated), step-/blended family, queer Christian

Trigger warnings: homophobia, racism, ethnic/racial slurs, xenophobia, sexism, alcoholism, suicide (voluntary euthanasia), terminal illness, cancer, conversion therapy mention, being closeted, horror/suspense themes, mental illness, animal abuse, family struggling financially, alcoholic character is racist & homophobic antagonist (demonization of alcoholism)

Jane Austen Christmas gift books

Two of the books I received for Christmas were Jane Austen-related: this gorgeous edition of Persuasion, with real letters and paper items from the story, and a lovely edition of some of Jane Austen's letters with illustrations from the period. I read them both during winter break. Ah, winter break; how I miss thee. All I did was sit around and read books.

 

Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen book, and the letters and calling cards etc. are done up in the most beautiful calligraphy. They are all printed/written on paper that really looks like it came from the 1800s, spots and all. Each item is held in a somewhat sheer vellum? slip cover/envelope thing that is bound into the book right after the pertinent page, and it's fun to pull out and unfold each item to read it. Despite being cursive, each letter was easy to read; the font size is bigger than extant letters of the period precisely for this reason (legibility). I would be completely unable to read one of those tiny handwriting, crisscrossing letters. A map of Bath is included, so you can find the places mentioned in the book if you want. I love the cover, with its gilt handwriting from Wentworth's letter. They are quite expensive, and understandably so. Highly recommended for Austen fans! 4.5 stars. Trigger warnings: a character jumps from a height and hits her head, incurring head trauma; said character is in a coma for a while, implied ableism, poverty, implied parental emotional neglect, a disabled character has her rights and property withheld, man in his 30s dates 19 and 20 year old girls, classism, implied ageism, lookism, past off-page deaths

The Illustrated Letters of Jane Austen includes some of Jane's letters along with illustrations from books, newspapers, and magazines etc. of the Regency period. You'll read a letter from Jane when she was staying in a certain village, and a drawing or painting of the village by somebody, maybe even someone known by Jane, will be included. A letter where Jane mentions what she's wearing  to a ball is  accompanied by a fashion illustration of the style of dress, etc. The letters are split up according to seasons in her life, with an essay at the beginning of each section that talks about what was going on in her life then. After each letter, a short explanation of who Jane is talking about is given. This was fun to read, but still a bit of work due to all the essays. Jane was hilarious. My only quibble: in one letter, Jane told her sister about a gallery she visited and saw a painting of "Mrs. Bingley" aka Jane from Pride & Prejudice, and the painting was not included. Okay, so it's only "assumed to be" the painting Jane was talking about, but it wouldn't have hurt to include it. Here it is, in case you're wondering. I recommend this book for Jane Austen fans as well. 4 stars. Trigger warnings: stillbirth mention, Jane makes a mean joke at the bereaved parents' expense; corpse mentions, death, illness. That's all I can think of

Sanditon miniseries, and books I've reread lately

I finished watching PBS's Sanditon miniseries, which is based on an unfinished novel that Jane Austen was writing when she died. It was pretty good, but I felt it was too soap opera-y. You already know that I don't like it when people insert random stuff into Jane Austen adaptations, especially if it's only for the drama. There are trysts! Kidnappings! A page is taken out of Cruel Intentions' book! There's a love triangle between two hot dudes and the heroine! There's a love triangle between the hero and two ladies who love him! There's at least one manipulative bitch who isn't afraid to use sex as a weapon! You know, a lot of stuff that does not belong in a Jane Austen adaptation (unless she already wrote it in there).
Also, I didn't like it that the hero walked around in stubble all the time, and that the heroine almost always wore her hair down despite being of Out age. They also did not wear hats and gloves in public/outside nearly enough. I also feel that there was too much obvious makeup on the women (I'm pretty sure ladies did not wear smoky eye makeup with crimson lips in the Regency era). I hate it when historical period pieces aren't accurate.
The heroine felt like a cross between Catherine from Northanger Abbey and Lizzie from Pride & Prejudice. The hero was definitely a Darcy type. The bitchy old rich lady was basically the same as she was in the book. One thrills to think of the frenemy relationship she would have with Lady Catherine de Bourgh. They really fleshed out the sole character of color, a young lady from the West Indies who is an heiress in the miniseries. I liked her and felt bad for her to be stuck in a town full of just white people who were often racist to her. The trips to London showed how diverse it was back then, which was nice and interesting. The ending was very abrupt and unsatisfying, which I thought was because maybe they ended the miniseries where Austen's novel did, but no! They fleshed it way out more than the novel, and just chose to end it that way! WTF. Despite all that, it was pretty good.

So obviously after I finished Sanditon, I decided to reread the book to see how similar the miniseries was to it. The answer is: not very. It was all right. It usually takes me a while to get into nineteenth century writing nowadays, thanks to the Internet and social media, and by the time I was hitting my stride, it was over. Anyway, my volume of Sanditon also has The Watsons and Lady Susan, and I decided to reread Lady Susan because I remember finding it so funny and scandalous. It... was fine. It did make me watch Love & Friendship, its adaptation that stars Kate Beckinsale, who is perfect, if a bit tamer than Lady Susan in her letters to her best friend. So random how they made her best friend American just because Chloe Sevegny (sp?) wanted it be in the movie for some reason. Anyway.

I organized more of my books, consolidating several piles into one megapile next to the stairs. This action of course revealed several books that I need to read and decide whether to keep or not.  I  reread Franny and Zooey for this reason. I wrote about it last time I read it, and I really liked it at the time. This time it was mostly just okay. I still liked the Jesus/religious stuff, but I guess there's something about reading a book where young people in their early to mid twenties have quarter-life crises when you yourself are in your thirties, that lowers the appreciation for the book. I last read it 9 years ago, when I was in my early twenties, so it makes sense that I liked it more then. Anyway. I'll be giving this one away.

Book review: Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding

eating disorder tw, also spoilers

Can you believe it took me this long to read Bridget Jones's Diary? I did just barely buy it from the thrift store on Wednesday of last week, and read it yesterday! Aren't you proud of me?  I think this is the OG modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice. Amazon summary:

Bridget Jones's Diary is the devastatingly self-aware, laugh-out-loud account of a year in the life of a thirty-something Singleton on a permanent doomed quest for self-improvement. Caught between the joys of Singleton fun, and the fear of dying alone and being found three weeks later half eaten by an Alsatian; tortured by Smug Married friends asking, "How's your love life?" with lascivious, yet patronizing leers, Bridget resolves to: reduce the circumference of each thigh by 1.5 inches, visit the gym three times a week not just to buy a sandwich, form a functional relationship with a responsible adult and learn to program the VCR. With a blend of flighty charm, existential gloom, and endearing self-deprecation, Bridget Jones's Diary has touched a raw nerve with millions of readers the world round. 

This book felt like a grown-up version of the Georgia Nicholson books (Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging, etc.), another series of English girl dating diary-style books. Bridget has the same desperation, the same despondent belief that she is fat and ugly, the same tight group of friends with their own relationship problems, and nearly the same naivety towards men as Georgia, and the latter is fourteen. What's different is that Bridget's anxieties are of the 30-something "I'm going to die alone/men are trash" variety, her friend group includes a Gay Best Friend, and her negative body image veers towards an eating disorder. Adult women are supposed to eat between 1600 and 2400 calories a day, yet Bridget aims for 700 daily calories, and beats herself up if she eats 1200. She frequently calls herself fatphobic names, has a photographic memory of how many calories every kind of food has (this is remarkable because she can't remember her times table or anything else having to do with numbers), and once flees an attempted tryst with a younger man because he presses down on her stomach and says "squashy" in a non-negative way (weird, but not mean). Bridget also strongly reminds me of the Shopaholic series' main character, due to how much I wanted to shake her (they're so annoying and need to grow up!!).

I also would not say Bridget is self aware, as the book summary does. She's way too hard on herself in the looks department and thinks she's fat even though she's not, while she doesn't realize how hard she's making her own life. She also deflates whenever anyone is mean or overbearing, and doesn't know how to set boundaries with people. I was similarly boy-obsessed, despairing when they ignored me, and certain I was fat and always trying to diet in my twenties, but Bridget's in her thirties and is acting like a 19 year old.

In short, Bridget bears no resemblance to Lizzy Bennet. Lizzy would have stood up to the fatphobic catty model-types and said something witty and biting to them. Lizzy wouldn't have slept with her boss even though she knew he didn't want to be in a relationship (Bridget did call him out a few times, but was still really gullible). Lizzy wouldn't have cared what weight or size she was. Lizzy wouldn't have fretted over men or dying alone. Lizzy wouldn't have put up with many of Bridget's so-called "friends"' behavior, and she would have handled the Smug Marrieds' nosy questions better, possibly even making them feel they had behaved badly. She also doesn't have any banter with Darcy. Bridget is a disappointment in that sense. You have to see this book as a completely different work than Pride & Prejudice.

Mark Darcy was handled pretty well, I thought. I was surprised to see that his and Bridget's relationship wasn't the typical "hate to love"/wits clashing kind of dynamic that you often see. Bridget's and Mark's family friends keep trying to push them together, but Bridget thinks Mark is a dork, and Mark thinks she's attractive but that she's not into him. They obviously get together in the end, although you don't really know why. Bridget is so immature and has so many neuroses and low self esteem that you're not sure what Mark sees in her, apart from his comment that he was tired of dating airbrushed, plastic women and wanted someone real. You also get the feeling Bridget gets with Mark mainly because she likes the attention and doesn't want to be single anymore. Her finally having a boyfriend is the triumph, not their being in love. To be honest, this book dwelt way too much on the Wickham character, Bridget's boss, than on Mark Darcy.

I thought it was a stroke of genius that the Mrs. Bennet and Lydia characters were compounded into one, Bridget's mum. She gets a midlife crisis and a Portuguese lover, to Bridget's horror, and the scandal Darcy has to help with is a timeshare scam. I thought she was pretty well-written: self-involved, self-absorbed, selfish, obsessed with fixing Bridget up with somebody, totally embarrassing. I also thought Bridget was way too much of a doormat with her, always doing what she wanted.

The other characters are nearly unrecognizable to their P&P counterparts, or nonexistent. Bridget's dad is a racist cuckhold who weeps and mopes about when his wife leaves him (he always calls the Portuguese lover a w*p when railing against him). Mr. Bennet would have been like, good riddance if his wife left him. Mary Bennet's part may have been played by Bridget's man-hating (but not a lesbian) friend? I already mentioned that Bridget's hot but flaky boss was the Wickham character, but he also had a dash of Mr. Collins, in the sense that he married someone else and it blindsided Bridget.

I know I've been ragging on this book a lot, and deservedly so, but I still enjoyed it for what it was. I read this at the end of a very long day, and it was the perfect read for that. I'd recommend this book if you want to read all of the Jane Austen retellings or if you like chick lit, especially British chick lit, and have a high tolerance for romcom Single Girl shenanigans.

I want to read the other books, but will get them from the library rather than buying them. I'd also like to see the movies.

Score: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Read in: May 12
From: thrift store
Format: paperback
Status: idk, probably giving away

Book review: Darcy Swipes Left by Courtney Carbone & Jane Austen

Darcy Swipes Left is part of the OMG Classics series by Courtney Carbone, who restructures classic works of literature into online/texting conversations and social media status updates with plenty of emojis. I found it at the dollar store, and since I collect Jane Austen adaptations, I decided to buy it.

I did not really care for this book. The use of emojis to replace words, often to confusing effect, was rather corny. There is a glossary in the back to explain the text speech/acronyms, for anyone older than 45, and what the emojis meant. Per usual, I did not realize this until I finished the book, so I had to guess what each emoji stood for, which was not always immediately obvious (flirting is the winky face + blowing a kiss w/ a heart emoji). The emotions of the book don't really come through when they're transmitted via text. I was kind of secondhand embarrassed throughout, tbh. I don't think this will be the kind of book that ages gracefully. Gen Z doesn't use Facebook, for instance, and I think people have stopped checking into places online.

Ok, here are some positive things about this book: most of the humor shines through, and you still get to see Lizzy dunk on Darcy. My favorite part is when Lydia goes to stay with her married friend, and she uploads a 150-picture album entitled "Selfies with Soldiers" to Facebook.

I haven't given it away (yet), but idk if I will end up keeping it after all. Probably not, as I'm already running out of space on my Jane Austen Shelf.

Score: 2.5 out of 5 stars
Read in: January 16
From: dollar store
Format: hardcover
Status: tentatively keeping

Rereading Emma

Mr. Knightley scolds Emma for matchmaking because she is meddling in affairs that don't concern her and causing her friend Harriet to think too highly of herself. Harriet, someone's illegitimate daughter, is too low of a social station to think of marrying Mr. Elton the vicar, while the gentleman-farmer Robert Martin is perfectly all right for her. Mr. Knightley is correct in his opinion of it and in telling Emma what he thinks, but I find it interesting because he sort of does the same thing himself. It is he who gives Robert his blessing to marry Harriet, and it feels like he's upset in half because his own neat matchmaking was ruined by Emma's. Later on in the book, too, he lets or sends Robert Martin to London to meet up with Harriet and propose to her (which she accepts, since she is far away from Emma's influence). Mr. Knightley may possibly lecture Emma about matchmaking and having strong, often selfish opinions about things and people because he recognizes such inclinations in himself.
Emma dislikes Jane Fairfax because she is the ideal accomplished, elegant young lady: excellent at music, genteel, quiet, pale, never speaks out of turn, etc. Emma is "handsome", true, but she is strong-willed, chatty, witty and not afraid to show it, likes to take control, doesn't practice her music or read enough, etc., and she feels a grudge towards Jane for being so perfect and so much closer to the Ideal Young Lady than Emma is. No one else in Highbury brings to light her shortcomings, except Mr. Knightley. The latter and Emma are friends, but a good chunk of their friendship is them bickering, mostly about her character flaws and things she does wrong.
Also, can we talk about how creepy it is that Mr. Knightley has been the Woodhouses' family friend since Emma was a child and was always trying to improve her character and correct her behavior, and professed falling in love with her at thirteen? He tells her this towards the end of the book, and while it is clear he didn't realize it until Frank Churchill came into the picture as a plausible love interest for Emma some months earlier and Mr. Knightley became jealous of him and realized why (and Emma is twenty to twenty-one years old in the book), that's still seriously creepy. He's sixteen years older than her! He's old enough to be her dad, which in itself is creepy enough, but he's known her since she was a child?? Someone I was discussing the book with once said that they'd read something comparing Mr. Knightley's behavior to child molesters/predators who "groom" their child victims into mentally accepting them as partners later on, or just to accept their abuse as not being wrong at all. Like, they groom them into becoming their perfect mate. Uggghhhhhh. I don't think that was Mr. Knightley's intention, obviously, but it's still really creepy and weird.
I read Emma mostly on my Nook and partially from my Barnes & Noble Classics copy. The Nook book is "25 Favorite Novels" in one ebook, which is nice because it was 99 cents, but there are no foot- and endnotes like in the B&N Classics, and I think it can only hold like ten highlights at a time? I'm quite sure I highlighted my favorite passages from P&P and S&S in the ebook, along with Emma, but I can only see/read the latter book's. It sucks. Also, each book is treated as a chapter, and while there are "Book I" and chapter divisions within each book, you can't jump to the next chapter within the ebook book. That sucks most of all. For some reason the place wasn't kept between my Nook app on my phone and my Nook ereader, so that was a pain.
Anyway, I read the introduction to my B&N Classics copy of Emma, which was an exhaustive essay in the awesome English journal article style on Emma and its characters and social aspects, etc. Those are quite interesting, if you like literary analysis and criticism, but I don't recommend reading the introductions (for sure in the B&N Classics books) before you read the novel because they will ruin it for you. Besides, it's nice to go back and get insight on the characters and plot points etc. after you've already read the book. Anyway the person who wrote Emma's introduction pointed out that Emma chose to befriend and improve Harriet and manage her love life because she sees her as an extension of herself. Like, Emma herself does not want to have a love life, partially because she does not think she can due to her codependent father, but she can be involved in Harriet's love life. She treats her like a human Barbie, almost. A love life by proxy. A fascinating discussion of control (Emma must be first in everything) and self-absorption. Emma does annoy me but I think I mainly like her.

Barnes & Noble Haul

I love my family and friends. Whenever it's my birthday or Christmas or graduation, they all immediately know to give me Barnes & Noble giftcards. I have a lot thanks to graduating from UCLA, so I went to B&N and bought books (of course).
I got:
-Miracles by C.S. Lewis
-Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon [unfinished] by Jane Austen [in one volume]
-The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
-Abarat by Clive Barker

I'm pleased with these finds but I'm going to have to check a few finished versions of Sanditon out from the library. I think I mentioned that The Mystery of Edwin Drood is my favorite Dickens probably but I'm sad it's unfinished. We'll see how I like Sanditon and The Watsons. I've read Lady Susan before; it is a riot. She's a total Wilhelmina Slater rich femme fatale with the guys twisted around her finger. Love her.  I think I'm going to return Abarat, though, because there are no illustrations. Clive Barker is apparently also a painter, and the copy of Abarat I checked out from the library was hardcover and had his weird, creepy, wondrous paintings to supplement the story. Since I know about them I must have them in the copy of the book I own.
As always, all my books are in my LibraryThing (widget in sidebar).

Rereading Mansfield Park

I think I hate Mrs. Norris more than I hate any other Austen character. Probably even more than idiot Lydia from P&P, because she's young and, while stupid, is indiscriminate with her stupidity and doesn't single anyone out like Mrs. Norris does. Good grief does she ever have it in for her niece. What did the poor girl ever do to her? I hate her so much. She just smashes her down at every opportunity. Why is she so eager to make her low? What good does it do anyone? At least Austen shows an improvement in her writing by giving Mrs. Norris some comeuppance. Sir Bertram overrides her and won't let Maria move back home after the latter runs away and lives in sin with Henry Crawford, ruining her reputation etc., so she and Mrs. Norris are forced to live in another country together. Austen is clear that while Maria is her aunt's darling, Maria doesn't love her back. So there's something, at least. That's not enough of a comeuppance, in my opinion, but at least it's a bit better than what passes for Lydia's (she has to live out the rest of her days with Wickham, who doesn't love her. But her family mainly still keeps in touch with her. Ugh.).
It's also easy to get frustrated with the characters in Mansfield Park, but not as much as I did with S&S. The intro was all like "oh readers hate Fanny because she is so virtuous" but I like her, probably because I am rather like her. However, she is so very retiring and, well, wimpy, and modern culture has taught us to despise people who don't stand up for themselves, plus she's so weak and gets headaches from cutting roses in the garden wtf. Look at her life, though. She's the second oldest of TEN children (those who are anti-birth control haven't read this book, I'll wager. I do want kids but I'd rather die than have more than four) and is sent away to live with relatives who are strangers to her when she is ten years old, and the only one who is nice to her is her cousin Edmund and everyone is super eager to show her how inferior she is and is always ignoring, scolding, or putting her down. So of course she's the way she is. She could easily be worse. She actually shows strength of character in being against the play even though she'd been taught to obey her relatives all her life and her opinion was never taken into account. She also refused Henry Crawford even though her entire family, even Edmund, lectured that she should accept him because she'd never get a better offer. They even brought out the big guns that had kept her in control all her life, gratitude and obedience, but Fanny stuck to what she knew was right. I like her for that. The English professor or whatever who wrote the intro in my B&N copy points out that Mary Crawford is more of an Austen heroine than Fanny is, because Mary is sparkling and witty and flirtily argues with her love interest etc. But she hates religion and doesn't care about propriety and is all about the exciting rather than what is right. So for that she is not a good match for Edmund, even though they love each other.
Edmund is the second nicest character in the book, but I still get frustrated with him. Mary is beautiful and charming, yes, but really his love so blinds him that he cannot see she's totally wrong for him. He's going to be a clergyman, for pete's sake. And then instead of sticking up for Fanny when she turns down Henry Crawford, even though she explains that he's never acted properly and was leading both the Bertram girls on like the dickhead player he is, he lectures her too about how wrong it is of her to reject him. WTF, Edmund. Just because he's your gf's brother doesn't make him perfect. I mean, Edmund knows Fanny best of anyone and he really thinks Henry's a good match for her, with his player ways that don't take propriety into account? Come on. Just seeing her distress should be enough to not pressure her to do something she doesn't want to do. What I really dislike him for is when both Betram girls run away with their paramours (Maria with Henry and Julia with Mr. Yates) and he brings Fanny home from visiting her immediate family, and he's all like "yeah, Fanny, it sucks that your only suitor who was in love with you totally dropped you and ran off scandalously with your married cousin to live in sin and so now you'll never marry him, but think of ME! My gf didn't really do anything wrong except for not being shocked enough at the immorality of her brother and my sister, therefore showing that she's totally wrong for me and for a clergyman's wife!" Yeah, ok. Selfish much? I guess what he's saying that is that it probably hurts Fanny less because she didn't love Henry, but he really loved Mary so it really hurts to see, without any of the prior love-blindness, that she doesn't care about morality and is totally wrong for him. Like, she's only mad that they got caught, not that they did it. Still, though. And I was less disgusted with it this time, but I still hate that Fanny is a second choice. She's loved Edmund half her life, basically, and it's not until after he sees finally that Mary is wrong for him and finishes nursing his broken heart that he sees, "exactly when it's proper and not a week before", that Fanny's great. How convenient, he sees her good qualities in a new light and falls in love with her, mainly because his prior love, whom he really loved, turned out to be a twerp and wrong for him. Where have I heard that before? Poor Fanny. She's just a second choice, like Colonel Brandon. She deserves to be loved first.
This book is really heavy on morality and propriety, which makes it less popular today. It's hard to see what's so immoral about young people putting on a play to amuse themselves. I can see the objections to the play itself, which is about a mistress and illegitimate child, etc., but as to the putting on of the play I don't really get the objections. Oh well. The morality and Fanny's meekness are probably why this book isn't as well loved as P&P or Emma, as well as its slowness and length. The whole "be virtuous/a good girl and you will be rewarded (often with a love of your own)" thing is very common in literature of this period and before, but MP is more modern in its portrayal of this old trope. The book is clear that you will be unpopular if you do the right thing, that you'll be outcast and that those who do or think wrong are much more attractive than you. Society doesn't censure it anymore. It's harder to be good now that the reward is less sure. I like it also for that reason.

Rereading Sense & Sensibility

Fanny Dashwood is such a bitch ugh. Moving into her late father in law's house right after he dies??? That's so rude and inconsiderate even by today's standards!
John Dashwood is such a snotweasel, too. Selfish idiot. Don't feel guilty for not helping your half-sisters and therefore hope their friends will give them money, YOU do it!
SHUT UP Mrs. Jennings you need to stop
You too, Sir John. And especially you too Miss Steele
Edward srsly what is wrong with you
I mean really, y so awkward
And why on earth did you get engaged to Lucy Steele in the first place (okay, young love makes you an idiot) but then stay engaged to her? So dumb. And then he goes and falls in love with Elinor! Either you break it off with the first chick or you stay away from the second! You're supposed to be a gentleman for pete's sake
And really WTF is up with Lucy Steele? Does she suspect Edward loves Elinor instead of her? What's with all her secrets and conjecture? The basic bitch. So Lifetime movie
Willoughby can die in a fire. I wish he did
Marianne is SUCH. AN. IDIOT. Like, I get that she's sanguine and is all ~*FEELINGS*~ and crap, but what was wrong with her father in not trying to correct that? He didn't die until she was like sixteen; that's plenty of time to address the problem. Or hire a governess who can. Why is Elinor the only non-idiot in the family? Like, Marianne is just so rude and crap, even by today's standards. You don't go with a guy to his aunt's house that he'll inherit when she dies; that's just rude. And she's so rude to people she doesn't like (which is everyone besides W and her immediate family and Edward).
Also what is with people assuming couples are engaged if they talk to each other. Like can't people just like each other? And write letters to each other? Geez
Mrs. Dashwood is such an idiot too. It's mainly her fault her daughter turned out like that.
Okay, Elinor, you are the only one with any sense. PLEASE butt into your sister's love life and boss her around. She's too stupid to manage it on her own. We're lucky Willoughby didn't knock her up, really, with the way she was acting.
I really, really do not get why Elinor and her mom didn't just ask Marianne, so like are you engaged? Oh, you're not? Well, don't act like you are unless you want people thinking you're a total common tart, free milk = not buying the cow etc. BOOM, problem solved.
I mean Edward seems nice and all but he's so insipid and passive I feel he doesn't deserve Elinor
Elinor should have ended up with Colonel Brandon
I haven't reached the ending yet but I really think Jane Austen just made C. Brandon end up with Marianne as like a nice pity consolation prize cuz his life was so sad. I don't buy their supposed love. It's convenient, is all.