Book Recommendation – Jane Austen by Carol Shields

I work at one of the branches of the Mercer County Library system and when I saw that one of the book discussion groups was reading this book I reached out and asked if they would be willing to write a review for us. Much to my surprise the member writing the review is in … Continue reading Book Recommendation – Jane Austen by Carol Shields →

Flashback Friday – Why Jane? Why Now?

This flashback is from May 9, 2008:From Masterpiece Theater’s “The Complete Jane Austen” Web page.Masterpiece Theater brings the complete works of Jane Austen to television at a moment when interest in the author—both her works and her quiet, early-19th century life—may never have been greater. Since the 1940s, full-length film productions of Jane Austen’s novels … Continue reading Flashback Friday – Why Jane? Why Now? →

Colin Firth on reading

Source: oprah.com via PKlibrarian on Pinterest

Update on the Blog

Since I couldn't sleep last night I thought I would finally move forward with one of my ideas for the blog. Since we have an ever growing list of books to add to our Read Jane - Now What? page, I decided to set us up with a LibraryThing account. Currently there are 89 titles in … Continue reading Update on the Blog →

Tranquil Garden Tea Room

One of our lovely members, Barbara M. sent us this article from the Asbury Park Press about the Tranquil Garden Tea Room in Ocean Grove, NJ.From their website:We, at TRANQUIL GARDEN TEA ROOM, are delighted to welcome you to our website. We also hope to welcome you to our beautiful tea room in person as … Continue reading Tranquil Garden Tea Room →

Flashback Friady

Today's flashback posts comes from monthly posts from 2009. In 2009 Solitary Elegance posted desktop pictures that looked back at Ackermann's Repository.From the site:Looking back at Ackermann's Repository (last updated 1 December 2009) The original Ackermann's Repository of Arts, Literature, Fashions, Manufactures, &c. was published monthly from 1809-1829 and featured a pair of fashion plates … Continue reading Flashback Friady →

Austen in August: A Reading Event

While reading one of the many book blogs that I follow, I stumbled across a posting for this event. I had to check it out and after talking with Adam who writes Roof Beam Reader I'll be writing at least one guest post for his blog next month. I'm really excited about diving into the … Continue reading Austen in August: A Reading Event →

Friday Flashback

I'm having a rough week, so it was with some joy that I found this post in our archives originally published in April of 2008. Tips for cheering yourself up, from 1820In 1820, English writer Sydney Smith wrote a letter to an unhappy friend, Lady Morpeth, in which he offered her tips for cheering up. … Continue reading Friday Flashback →

Jane Austen’s Ring

The Jane Austen newswires has been all abuzz about the ring that was going up for auction. The ring was sold for $236,557 by a private bidder. All the news reports (here's MSNBC's coverage) give a brief rundown of the first 3 owners of the ring after Jane.Jane gave it to Cassandra on her death. Cassandra gave … Continue reading Jane Austen’s Ring →

Happy Independence Day!

Recently I was in Boston and found myself here -->It is the site of the Boston Massacre, but it is also the site of the annual reading of the Declaration of Independence. IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America, When in the Course of human events, it becomes … Continue reading Happy Independence Day! →