Scarsdale?

I was checking in on my Goodreads account and found out that the author of Jane Austen in Boca (a Pride & Prejudice read alike set in a Florida Jewish retirement community-I liked it alot) Paula Marantz Cohen has also written one called Jane Austen in Scarsdale. So of course I clicked over to my library website and click click click ordered it up. I've read it now and I think it was also very good.
This was I think the first Persuasion read alike that I have found. Persuasion is my current favorite JA. I have the Amanda Root Materpiece Theatre version on DVD, and often put it on in the background while I am doing school work- The quote on the box calls it 'a fairy tale for adults'. When the Captain says 'you pierce my soul' it gets me everytime...
So this new book was very welcome. A 34 year old HS guidance counsellor is thrown into company with a old flame that she split with because of family pressure. But I think the nice thing about Ms Cohen's books is that she is still finding a way to tell her own story. She doesn't just line characters up one by one and modernize them and re contextualize them, she somehow clearly echos JA while letting the characters be themselves. And even knowing the general idea of what is going to happen doesn't detract from the enjoyment oif the story ad it unfolds. Well done.
And Thanks GoodReads!

My Side of the Lawn

This morning while my children were destroying the house, I read Lawn Boy by Gary Paulson. My excuse was that I often need to pre-read books for my young but academically advanced son, and since it is Spring Break, he wants to read alot. So in a way it was good parenting.
Here is the thing that threw me off about this book initially. I knew that I recognized the author's name from something, but where? Looking inside the cover I found that he is the guy who wrote Hatchet and related books, which I have never read but look intimidating to me. I guess they look like 'My Side of the Mountain' sort of wilderness, live off the land, adolescent boy becoming own adult identity kind of thing that I just don't care for. But for the funky cover, I would have put this book back on the shelf once I figured out the author.
But I would have missed out- because this was not at all serious stressful stuff. So this book with the excellent cover art is about a 12 year old boy who spends his summer mowing lawns. I am going to let my son read it, and I think it will give him some ideas about the lemonade stand he runs sometimes- maybe he will start selling franchises or something. I was a little worried about how some of the characters would be revealed- but everyone is generally honest and good natured, and the only exception is not a surprise. Also thumbs up for the theme of adults wanting to involve the parents in the child's activities, challenges and successes. It is one of those things missing in many books today- there is just an absence of parents, or resources and the child is stuck- (think Harry Potter, it is all down to him). But this guy is a likeable sensitive guy who accomplishes a lot on his own and still manages to realize he is not alone.
Maybe I will even check out what else this guy has written, it seems it is not all intimidating.

Poor Little Rich Girls

Well, I finished the book. It was OK, but kind of confusing. I think the main point was not to waste your life wishing you were somewhere (or someone) else, because where ever that is- it has it's own problems. People often romantise the Regency period in English history- especially Jane Austen fans. It is important to remember that there were some real problems for women, even the rich and high born ones.
It is interesting to me that most people picture themselves in that era as one of the 'haves' rather than a member of the working class. Why doesn't anyone bump their head and wake up as a servant, and not the rich girl who simply feels bad about all the scut work the servants are doing? Well I guess it is because we'd rather read about the fantasy.
But I think this particular book was kind of all over the place. Keeping track of two sets of memories, people, misunderstandings and reflecting on the difficulties of Regency life were not made easier by the constant Austen references and quotes. That almost seemed dropped in as an after thought- like we were trying to hard to convince ourselves that we share a point of view.
Maybe I will read it again in summer when I have some free time. It may be better now that I am not distracted by trying to figure out what kind of JA book it is. Then again, there may be yet another JA wanna-be a have discovered by then.

confessions?

I am not supposed to be reading for pleasure right now... But I am awaiting feedback on a draft of a big paper I am writing for school, so I thought it would be OK to switch gears for a day or two so I could clear my mind to start on the next draft.
And I picked up Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler at the library today, so there is no real force that could stop me from reading! I am 10 chapters in, and still distracted by the fact that the main character can't decide if she is dreaming, or time travelled, or switched bodies, or possibly crazy. There is enough Jane Austen that if you didn't know the lexicon, it could be confusing (That's for you Jackie :-), but so far not enough for me- I can't tell if the story is going to parallel a known plot, or just be content to drop in place and people names as a connection. And the main character is supposed to be an addict, but I don't feel it yet. And there haven't been any confessions....
But there are some characters, and some developing situations that could work. It is hard to say when I am in the middle, and I am influenced by two reviews I read (one good, the other not so much) so I will continue. Even if I saw a terrible review of a JA related book I would read it (well, if I could get it free from my library).