Austen-tastic

[christina_reads]

It's probably obvious by now that I have a rather severe Austen obsession. :) It's been growing since middle school, and it's caused me to read (and even buy) a LOT of sequels and fanfics. Some aren't too bad, most are completely awful, and some are downright strange (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, anyone?). I used to buy anything with the Jane

Comments

[dreamilywistful]

Haha that cover makes me laugh. I actually stay away from those books. It just feels like fanfiction to me, and as Twilight is the latest thang -_____- Well it's fanfiction. Bad fanfiction at that. And I know fanfiction, I wrote it.

Anyway, about romance novels. Go read Laura Kinsale. She's not trashy or "hilariously bad". Read Flowers From the Storm or For My Lady's Heart (as for the latter, she wrote the book with dialogue entirely in Middle English!). Also amazing characterization.

Well, I am a die-hard romance reader, and nobody knows more about the lackings of a genre than us *sigh*

[christina_reads]

Thanks for the rec - Laura Kinsale definitely sounds like someone I can tolerate. :) Or even like!

As for Seducing Mr. Darcy, I fully expect it to be the worst level of fanfic. I plan to derive my enjoyment from its horribleness. :)

[fbajet]

Which Austen spin-offs are actually good, in your opinion? I picked up a book about Emma and Knightley, and it was so poorly edited that I did not finish. I remember being irritated that they didn't have just a typo, but botched Mrs. Weston's name altogether.

[christina_reads]

Hmm. I'm far away from my bookshelves right now, so unfortunately I can't really give a comprehensive list. Karen Joy Fowler's The Jane Austen Book Club is really quite good (as is the movie - gasp!). I also enjoyed Austenland by Shannon Hale, although it was fluffy and had a completely bizarre premise. The romances made up for it, though. :)

As for books that are actually meant to be Austen companion novels or sequels, Amanda Grange's Captain Wentworth's Diary is decent. Nothing else is really coming to mind right now! In general I would shy away from anything that purports to tell P&P from Darcy's point of view, and I've never read a P&P "sequel" I really loved.

Oh, Carrie Bebris' "Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mysteries" are actually pretty good, in my opinion. The characterization is excellent...but on the down side, the mysteries have a paranormal aspect to them. There are like magical artifacts and curses and stuff. That bugs the heck out of me, but other than that...tolerable. :)