Psst, do you like Jane Austen?

Well, Naomi is hosting Jane Austen Week over at her blog soon, so...
                          

The Janeite Tag

Edit: I recieved this tag a shockingly long time ago - it's finally here!]

My sister, Elizabethany, tagged me 

for the Janeite Tag. Thanks, Beth!

[

I love this picture. 

The Rules:

~Thank and link back to the person who tagged you.
~Tell how you were introduced to Jane Austen and share one fun fact about your Janeite life (this fun fact can be anywhere from "I stayed up all night reading Emma," to "I visited Chawton and met Anna Chancellor.").
~Answer the tagger's questions.
~Write seven questions of your own.
~Tag as few as one or as many as seven other Janeites and let them know you've tagged them.

I was introduced to Jane Austen via my first viewing of P&P95 at about age 10. Since then I have read P&P, Northanger Abbey, and most of S&S and parts of Emma. 

Janeite Fun-fact: I plan to attend an English Country Dance in October; at another dance we danced a version of the dance Lizzy dances with Mr. Collins in P&P95. (My sister nick-named it "The Collins Caper"!)

Elizabethany's questions:

1. Who is your least favourite Jane Austen character and why?

That's a hard one. Maybe Willoughby or Wickham. Because they're both villains. But Willoughby more, because he broke Marianne's heart. :(

2. Where would you rather live: Pemberley or Donwell Abbey?

Probably Pemberley.

"I do not think I have ever seen a house more prettily situated." - Lizzy, P&P95

3. Which is your favourite of Austen's books?

I actually quite like Northanger Abbey. 

4. If you could choose to invite 3 Jane Austen characters for tea, who would you choose and why?

Emma Woodhouse and Lizzy Bennet, because they're my two favourite Austen heroines, and Mr. Knightley, because he's one of my favourite Austen heroes. (And he's really funny)

5. If you were one of Austen's heroines, where would you choose to spend the summer: Bath, London, or Brighton?

London. I would LOVE to go to London!

6. Who do you think are the most sensible parents in Austen's novels?

I think Mr. & Mrs. Morland, from the ones I've read of.

7. Do you 'ship' any of the minor characters from the books/movies?

My sister and I once jokingly shipped Caroline Bingley and Officer Saunderson from P&P95!

And my sister invented Mr. Collin's cousin for Mary Bennet!

I am tagging whoever wants to do it :)

My questions for them:

1. How many of Austen's novels have you read?

2. Which Austen film do you like best?

3. Mr. Darcy or Mr. Knightley?

4. If you could visit either Jane Austen's house at Chawton, or the set of Pemberley in Pride & Prejudice, which would you chose?

5. Which is your favourite Austen quote?

6. If you could cast anyone to play Mr. Darcy in a dream cast Pride & Prejudice, who would it be?

7. Which Austen film costume is your favourite?

Movie Review ~ Sense & Sensibility (2008)

First off, I should mention that I watched the 1995 version some time ago, and liked it a lot, so going

into the 2008 version, I was a little skeptical and biased - just slightly.

I think I'll go over the characters first:

And first, naturally, is Elinor.

 She was younger than Emma Thompson, closer to the age of Elinor (19).

The same with Marianne......

Both of them were alright - although Elinor was sometimes a little dull and Marianne's outburst at Mrs. Ferrars' was odd - but I don't think I really have a strong preference as to

which actors (1995 or 2008).

Marianne's romance with Willoughby in the 1995 was more toned down than in the 2008 one.

Speaking of Willoughby...

...he was my least favourite in here. He was quite short, didn't seem very

dashing in the rain, and was slightly creepy sometimes.

However, he was still pretty Willoughby-ish.

Mrs. Dashwood and Margaret (Meg, they call her) were pretty good, I suppose.

Mrs. Dashwood was nice and Margaret was closer to the age (and character) of the Margaret in the 1995 version. She's supposed to be 13, but she was closer to 11/12 and slightly less

lady-like than you'd think she should be. (Like in 1995)

But then, my favourite characters....

I really, really liked Dan Stevens' Edward, he was very like-able.

(He was also, again, slightly younger-looking.)
He was very sweet and I liked how you got to see him come to Barton, and the scene with him and Lucy at the Ferrars, you really do admire him for being loyal to his word, even against the threat of disinheritance. It was the first movie with Dan Stevens that I'd seen (I want to see him in Night at the Museum 3  somtime) - I think he's already one of my favourite actors.

Colonel Brandon was great!! He was a bit younger (haha, let's just say they all were...)

and also better-looking. I think he was my favourite in terms of actor/portrayal.

I liked him much better than the 1995 Colonel Brandon - you can really appreciate how much sorrow he has known and his love for Marianne is so sweet. 

But why do they all call her 'Mah-rianne' as opposed to 'Maery-anne'? (Hope you understand my phonetic spelling)

Fanny was, well, Fanny. Not much different - just younger. 
Yep, you're probably sick of me now.
Her "hint" that Edward couldn't possibly marry Elinor was less like a hint and more like directly telling her....but I don't really know the exact words in the book.

John was....normal, boring and average. And not really very honourable and kind-hearted, just...neutral.

And this kid...


Ummm, he was, funny. He provided comic relief, and was definitely not starved. He was a little bit...odd.

Sir John, well, just didn't seem quite right, somehow. He was a little informal, but I guess Sir John is. That, and he is also Exterminator Jeff from the Borrowers (which also stars Hugh Laurie, the other - superior- Mr Palmers), which, by the way, is one great and hilarious movie and worth watching.


But, yeah, he was one character that was better in the 1995.

So was Mrs. Jennings.

Queenie Mrs. Jennings was alright, but she just wasn't Elizabeth Spriggs. And Elizabeth Spriggs was the BEST, the funniest, the jolliest, and just the general best-est Mrs. Jennings.



Anne and Lucy Steele.


Lucy was more likable, but she still irked me somehow, just her happy, sly comments that torment Elinor, I suppose. And then of course, Anne (a character not even in the 1995 version) was so funny, raving on about beaux and the doctor. and then "popping" out things by accident. Dopey, but funny. And their bad grammar/accents were there, too.

And then , of course, Mrs. Ferrars:



Well, for a start, she was there, and then quite good. Her sideways way of talking was slightly amusing.


Well, anyway, I have to go now, but hope you didn't find that too rambly and boring :)
So, in brief, I think in some points 1995 is better, but in some (like inclusion of characters) 2008 is better. I don't really have a particular preference, but I might like watching this one better :)

P.S. If you want a better and more comprehensive review, see this one here, or this one here. :)

Quick catch-up

Hello again! Yes, it's been a while (it always is), but I thought I'd pop in and let you all know what I've been up to over the last month or so :).

Reading (because I always am)

Nothing much new, actually.
After seeing the movie Hugo, I came across the book at the library.

Despite being really thick, the book isn't actually that long, because a lot of it is illustration - part of the story is told in comic, like the the silent black-and-white moving pictures the book talks about.

One of the gorgeous illustrations - this one is two full pages!

The movie is pretty good, and averagely accurate, as movie adaptations go. And I quite like the character Isabelle....

Can't get the silly thing to centre!

I have also been working on a few other books......I haven't been doing much reading at the moment, but I'm still working on several at once.

Watching

-Hugo (as mentioned above)

-Death Comes to Pemberley

Well, first of all, this movie made me shudder. (But then again, maybe that was just because it was a murder mystery)

The characters were okay, but I felt they just weren't Austen characters.

The Colonel Fitzwilliam bothered me, but not because he wasn't as nice as Austen's character (well, as well as that), but because I recognized him....he is also in Pride & Prejudice, as Chamberlayne.

Can't find a picture, but he's the one who apologizes to Lizzy at the Netherfield Ball for not being able to dance with "both her sisters, at once, if he could-"

Yes, anyway, in general, I found it okay, not Austen, but still intriguing.

- Cinderella!!

It was one of those girly movies full of gorgeousness and pretty dresses! I loved it! The story was well preserved and traditional, not ruined at all. 

The fairy god-mother (Helena Bonham Carter)  had to be one of my favourite characters!

Plus, Lesgle was in it! (Stuart Neal, that is) He was a stable-boy. Not that I saw him. I just saw it in the credits.

Also, last night I saw the first episode of the new series "Our Zoo"

....starring Gustave from Ever After.

Ugh, there is a deplorable lack of pictures of him.

Yes, anyway, that was quite neat, I'm looking forward to the next one.

Anticipating

~Masked. I am super excited about it!

~Our two-week family holiday coming up in two weeks' time, followed by a weekend Queen's Birthday youth camp (!)

Anyway, gotta go now...

Just a quick note, I'm considering doing a questions/answers post if I get enough questions, so feel free to ask in the comments! Also, please feel free to leave any post suggestions in the comments :)

Here's to 2015!

Happy New Year everyone!

Here's what I've been up to in 2014:

READING:

favourites

~The Bible

~Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

~The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins

~Evan's Gallipoli by Kerry Greenwood

others

~The Girl from Hard Times Hill by Emma Barnes

~Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen,

Silas Marner by George Eliot, and

A Selection of Poems compiled by Cambridge

for Cambridge English exams

~ Underwater Adventure by Willard Price

to name not quite all...

NEW WATCHING:

Les Miserables 2012

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

Epic

Legend of the Guardians

Eragon 

The Hunger Games

Catching Fire

Mockingjay Part 1

An Unexpected Journey

The Desolation of Smaug

(Watching The Fellowship of the Ring tonight for New Years) 

plus probably more...

DISCOVERING:

~The importance of prayer

~How to write essays for exams

~wonderful maths :)

~new fandoms (just fandoms in general actually)

EXPERIENCES:

~music concerts (brass band)

~a night in hospital

~English exams (results come out January 22 or 23 - argh!)

~babysitting when your little brother has a severe allergic reaction - not fun :( No nuts in this house anymore :)

~lots of fun sleepovers with my amazing friends, especially "Captain America", my bestie.

~Seeing a movie in the cinema with my sis and Captain America^.

~ Seeing Mockingjay Part 1 in the cinema!

HOPING FOR IN 2015:

~To mature in the Faith and learn to trust and love God more 

~ To learn much more

~survive attending High School (sounds silly, but it's pretty major when you've been homechooled your whole life

~to get more blog followers

~reach 100 posts here

Which brings me to a small celebration.....

This is a big 6-0 for my blog!

Whoohoo! This is my 60th post! Wow. Yay.

Here are some random facts and stats:

First post: 5th June 2012.

 I just realized - the 5th of June, guys! The Night of Anguish! The June Rebellion! (No, it wasn't 'cos I started a blog) Fitting picture above :)

Published Commets: 32

Total Pageviews: 2,667

Followers: 12

3 Most Popular Posts;

1-Guest Post ~ Fan-fic Genre Mix-up

2-I love vintage photos

3-Catching Fire and Mockingjay 1: Snippet Movie Review

Published posts: 60. Obviously

Published pages:5

How People accessed my blog:

Windows	28 (65%)
Linux	5 (11%)
Macintosh	5 (11%)
iPhone	4 (9%)
Android	1 (2%)

Pageviews from countries:

United States	13
Germany	4
New Zealand	4
Canada	3
Greece	3
France	2
United Kingdom	1
Indonesia	1
India	1
Italy	1

Yay! 2 people from France viewed my blog! (Maybe they stumbled on it by accident, but whatever.)

Anyway, I'm off now, wishing you a blessed 2015!

Love,

"This is just arrived." "A parcel?" "It came by Express!"

:)
I won a book at Miss Laurie's book giveaway at Old Fashioned Charm!

The book, So You Think You Know Jane Austen: A Literary Quizbook by John Sutherland and Deirdre Le Faye, is informative, fun, detailed and interesting.

Once in the country, it was delivered by EXPRESS!
(Just as we were all gone to bed...actually, more like lunch-time.)

The book itself :)

Sneak peek inside :)

Fluttering pages :)

Many, many thanks to Miss Laurie for a lovely giveaway!

Sunflower Award

I have been awarded the Sunflower Blogger Award by my sister, Eponine. She's recently started blogging. You can read her blog here: My Castle On a Cloud.




1.What is your favorite color?
Blue or green.2.P&P 1995 or S&S 1995?
Aaahhh!?  Umm, P&P 1995, just!

3.What is your favorite book?
Whoa, that's hard. Um, at the moment I am really enjoying "Just Jane", about Jane Austen, by Nancy Moser, but I haven't finished it - not sure if it's my favourite book, though.


4.Cosette or Eponine?
In the book, probably Cosette, tied in the movie (2012).


5.Enjolras or Marius?
Argh! How does one choose? Um, maybe Marius....just :).
       
                                                                              I like both of their hair in that picture.

6.What is your favorite fruit?
Watermelon, mandarin, apple...pretty much any fruit, really.

7.Winter, Summer, Autumn/Fall or Spring?
Summer or Spring! (Course, it is winter for us now, but I do really prefer warmer weather, and going swimming and bbq's and summer-y stuff!)8.Pizza or Sausages?
Pizza. With lots of cheese. 


I am tagging:
Miss Jane Bennet
Melody
Elizabethany

I have just 5 questions for them:

1. Les Miserables or Pride & Prejudice? (P.S. If I got this question, I would be torn to pieces  not answer. Or tie)
2. Who is your favourite period drama gentleman? (P.S. Yes, Enjo is a gentleman in this case.)
3. Who is your favourite period drama woman/girl? (P.S. Not just 'heriones'.)
4. What period drama character would you like to meet in person, and why, and what would you say to them?
5. What period drama actor/actress would you like to meet in person, and why, and what would you say to them?