Why You Should Read Jane Austen

Last week was the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen's death (16th December 1775 - 18th July 1817) and there have been so many film and tv adaptations made of her books but how many of them have you actually read? Did you read one or all of them years ago but not since?

How many times have you watched Pride and Prejudice? Mr Darcy is a literary icon yet I watched the 1995 adaptation with Colin Firth years before I read the book. I realised shortly before the 2005 film release that I had never read it and needed to asap. I loved it and the film adaptation too.  Who wouldn't want to marry Matthew Macfadyen or Keira Knightley and live happily ever after in a grand stately home in the countryside?

Raise your hand if you've seen and enjoyed the adaptations of Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park or Northanger Abbey, albeit years ago, but never read the books? (err that would be me!).  With so much interest in Jane Austen this year including a display in my local library that jogged my memory of this fact I've come to realise that I need to experience these stories the way they were meant to be enjoyed, through words and imagination not on screen.

Like William Shakespeare, Jane Austen was a big influence on the English language and there are many words and phrases that she was the first to use including :

Brace Yourself
Dinner Party
Door Bell
Dress a salad
Family Portrait
If I've told you once, I've told you 100 times
Nice Looking
Shut up

English is cool :)

Northanger Abbey was the first of Jane Austen's books to get a publishing deal (in 1803) but it was not actually published until after her death. I'm going to read her books in the published order, as follows :

Sense and Sensibility (1811)
Pride and Prejudice (1813)
Mansfield Park (1814)
Emma (1815)
Northanger Abbey (1818)
Persuasion (1818)
Lady Susan (1871)

Other than Pride and Prejudice, which I've rewatched x 10,  it's been years since I've watched an adaptation of one of her books so it's like I'm discovering the characters and stories for the first time.

Have you read all her books? When did you last read the book of a film adaptation and not just rewatched the movie? Has anyone read Lady Susan? Let me know in the comments if you plan to read the books too!

~ Katie aka Word Scribbler ~

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Word Scribbler Reading Challenge - Week 6 - A Movie / TV Show Book

Week 6 of my 52 book reading challenge (1 book per week for a year) is A book that has been made into a movie or tv show. This week I'm reading 2 books, one I own and one from my local library (shout out to St Johns Wood library). Both of these books have been made into movies but neither movie has been released yet. The movie adaptation of Insurgent is on my Top Ten Films to See in 2015 list. I've mentioned before how many books have different editions/covers. This is obvious this week with 3 different Insurgent covers and 2 different Paper Towns covers! 

You can join in with my reading challenge any week by reading the same book I am or choosing your own. If you want to join in this week please leave a comment below this blog post with the book you're reading and/or tweet your chosen book using #WSreadingchallenge and tag me @word_scribbler too. Share with other book lovers what you're reading and discover something new to get from your local book shop or library :) 

1. A book with 'Winter' in the title.  I READ Winter Wonderland by Belinda Jones. REVIEW
2. A book set on or by the sea/ocean.  I READ The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen. 
3. A book with a red cover.  I READ Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong . 
4. A book with a colour in the title. I LISTENED TO the audiobook of The Red Necklace by Sally Gardner (read by Tom Hiddleston!) :) 
5. A book with 'Love' in the title. I READ A Very Accidental Love Story by Claudia Carroll. 
6. A book that has been made into a movie or tv show. I'M READING Insurgent by Veronica Roth AND Paper Towns by John Green. SEE BELOW THIS LIST FOR MORE INFO. 
7. A book recommended by a friend.
8. A book set in a place you want to visit.
9. A classic.
10. A book set in a city.
11. A book with an orange cover.
12. A book with 'Spring' in the title.
13. A memoir.
14. A book written by a UK author.
15. A collection of short stories.
16. A book with food in the title.
17. A book set in your favourite place.
18. A book your mum loves.
19. A book with a yellow cover.
20. A trilogy.
21. A book with 'Summer' in the title.
22. A book with a music industry theme/musician character.
23. A book that was originally written in a different language.
24. A book everyone has read but you.
25. A book where the main character has your dream job.
26. A book with a green cover,
27. A book set in France.
28. A book with a film industry theme/character.
29. A book set in your hometown.
30. A book by one of your favourite authors.
31. A book set in Italy.
32. A book with a blue cover.
33. A book set in London.
34. A book about a road trip/journey.
35. A book with a one-word title.
36. A book set in the countryside.
37. A book with 'Autumn' in the title.
38. A book with a purple cover.
39. A book set in New York.
40. A book with a number in the title.
41. A book with an animal on the cover.
42. A 'banned book'.
43. A book that was published the year you were born.
44. A book set in Los Angeles.
45. A book with a black and white cover.
46. A book with 'Chocolate' in the title.
47. A book published this year.
48. A book set at Christmas time.
49. A book by an author with the same first name as you.
50. A book with snow on the cover.
51. A book you learned about because of this challenge.
52. Reread your favourite book.

My chosen books for week 6 are -  Insurgent by Veronica Roth AND Paper Towns by John Green

 
These are both Young Adult Novels.

Book blurb for Insurgent (Book 2 of Divergent Trilogy):

I HAVE DONE BAD THINGS.
I CAN'T TAKE THEM BACK,
AND THEY ARE PART OF WHO I AM.

Tris has survived a brutal attack on her former home and family. But she has paid a terrible price. Wracked by grief and guilt, she becomes ever more reckless as she struggles to accept her new future.

Yet if Tris wants to uncover the truth about her world, she must be stronger than ever... because more shocking choices and sacrifices lie ahead

Book blurb for Paper Towns:

Who is the real Margo? Quentin Jacobson has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs into his life - dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge - he follows. After their all-nighter ends and a new day breaks, Q arrives at school to discover that Margo, always an enigma, has now become a mystery. She has disappeared. Q soon learns that there are clues in her disappearance . . . and they are for him. Trailing Margo's disconnected path across the USA, the closer Q gets, the less sure he is of who he is looking for.

What are you reading for week 6 ? 

A book that has been made into a movie or tv show.