1001 Update: Persuasion - Jane Austen

I read Jane Austen's Persuasion back in December and haven't reviewed it. I was a little lost for words since it is such a great classic and I can't believe I had never read it before. But then Alaine reviewed it over at Queen of Happy Endings and I thought, man up Amanda, just review it!

For those Persuasion newbies, here's the story:

Anne Elliot is 27 years old and unmarried. Agast! Her father, Sir Walter Elliot, has fallen upon hard times and is forced to rent out their nice home and move to a more modest abode in Bath. And who should rent their home, but the sister and husband of Anne's former flame, Captain Wentworth.

When Anne was 19, the Captain proposed and although Anne loved him, she was persuaded (get it?) by a family friend to turn down his offer. Scorned, she has not seen him since then. The Captain has made his fortune abroad and now is considered a fine catch. When the two finally cross paths again eight years later, he totally ignores her and pours affections on other (younger) women. Apparently hell hath no fury like a scorned man.

I was going to say, "Move over Pride and Prejudice, I've found a new favorite" but that's not entirely true. I still adore the wit and characters of P&P, so Persuasion is running a close second place. It doesn't help that I watched the movie shortly before I read the book. And wow. I think I've found a new crush. So yeah...move over Colin Firth as Darcy, I've found Captain Wentworth:
O yeah. The 2007 version has good eye candy. BUT...both the movie AND the book make me just want to slap these two characters. I mean. Anne is so passive and the Captain seems so heartless towards her. But I guess that makes the book enjoyable. The type of book you want to throw (but in a good way) and then pick it back up and continue reading until the hopefully happy ending.

So yeah, I loved both the book and the movie.

**Note: I read my version online at Online-Literature.com. I just love the Penguin version's cover above.

**Another note: I've only seen the 2007 movie but heard that the older 1995 version is really good. Have you seen either one or both? Thoughts?

The 2007 Persuasion movie:

The 1995 version:
1001 Books to Read Before I Die Challenge

1% Well-Read Challenge (I'm at 33 books, I had no clue!)

Also Reviewed by:

Queen of Happy Endings
Stacy's Books
Fyrefly's Book Blog
Books. Lists. Life
Shelf Love
Book Nut
Book Bath 2007 Movie
Stacy's Books 1995 Movie
Blogul cu umbrela. The Period Drama Addict 1995 Movie

Creed of Violence Winners!

Thank you to all who entered my contest and promoted it via twitter. My husband just saw this book in our bookshelf yesterday and snagged it up. It's definitely a great read.

So without further ado, here's the five winners of the autographed copies:

Dawn M.
Sue
Jessica
tetewa
Deedles

Congratulations!! I'll be emailing you all for your addresses so Jim over at Kelley & Hall can get them out to you. Happy reading!

**PS. Tetewa -- I don't have an email for you so please email me at: nycbookgirl at gmail dot com Thanks!!

Olive Reader's English 101 Bookclub

I was reading the Weblog of Harper Perennial called The Olive Reader when I noticed that they are starting a little book club for 2010 called English 101. How cool!

They will be reading a book a month rehashing past favorite classics and some never read. January's book is A Tree Grows in Brooklyn -- which has been on my TBR list for way too long. I'm on chapter six and am already loving eleven year old Francie. Any girl who sits on her tree enshrouded fire escape while reading books from the library...well, yeah, she's already an all-time favorite character.

If you want to join in, here's the schedule for the year:

January - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
February – Brave New World
March – Poisonwood Bible
April – So Big
May – Daughter of Fortune
June – To Kill a Mockingbird
July – The Sheltering Sky
August – One Hundred Years of Solitude
September – The Golden Notebook
October – Native Son
November – Unbearable Lightness of Being
December – Their Eyes Were Watching God

Random NYC photo

I finally found my photo stitch program. This was taken at Central Park after our first big snow fall in December. You might have to click on it to see the whole photo.

Learning Patience in 2010

There a ton of pictures and posts I've been meaning to do but our Internet service is mysteriously down in our apartment. Time Warner...why do you hate us!?!? Just kidding...it's probably something silly like pressing an "on" button or plugging something in. Until then, here's a couple pictures of my snow bunny-dog.



**Disclaimer: Photos were taken a few years ago in Southern Utah (Brianhead). We've gotten some snow here in New York but not THAT much!

Fun NYC Apartment

While I was writing my review of How to Save Your Own Life, I mentioned that my lovely apartment is currently having a HUGE mold problem which is driving my allergies, asthma, and eczema crazy...for like a year! We knew there was a leak over above our apartment which was supposedly fixed, but it wasn't until I moved our Christmas tree box from the closet that I knew something was awry.

Exhibit 1
The leak in our bathroom. The super kindly offered to fix it by painting the wall. I think that's how 99% of NYC apartment problems are fixed...just shellac over it with a huge coat of latex paint.

Exhibit 2
The culprit which was hidden by our tall Christmas tree box. The box actually stuck to the wall. So gross.

Exhibit 3

Robb got a mold test kit from Home Depot. This was just left sitting open in our living room for a bit and then closed. A few days later....even more disgustingly gross. I can't believe we are breathing and living in this air!!

Well, at least I've learned some lessons:

1) Super's don't really ALWAYS know what they are doing.
2) My allergist is HORRIBLE. (My derm doctors plain just told me they didn't know. Helpful.) I asked a YEAR ago if my problems could be due to mold and she told me no...it's probably a food allergy. Uh huh. After eliminating most food, living off chicken and rice and my problems got way worse...I Googled allergy symptoms of mold and Ta Da!!
3) Go with my gut. I thought it was mold and was talked out of it. While there are some amazing doctors out there, many are still just in it for the money. Thousands of dollars later, I have learned this important lesson.
4) My body doesn't just plain hate me, which is what I was starting to think. A new year and moving on to being healthy and happy.

The Jewel Trader of Pegu - Jeffrey Hantover

A long while back I was asked by Harper Collins to read and review The Jewel Trader of Pegu by Jeffrey Hantover. I was excited because it was already on my TBR list. I feel really bad that I haven't reviewed it earlier. It's quite an interesting novel.

Here's the plot:

It's 1598 and Abraham is a Jewish jewel and gem trader from Venice on his way to Pegu to buy and trade for his family. Pegu, now called Bago, is the capital of Burma (Myanmar) in Southeast Asia. In this exotic country, Abraham is faced with new people and new customs. Back in Venice, the Jewish people were forced into living in segregated ghettos and forced to wear certain clothing designating them as Jewish people (sounds vaguely familiar, doesn't it?).

Now in Pegu, he is treated as just another foreign trader. And foreigners are faced with interesting customs, such as this one: It's custom and an honor for brides to spend the first night with a foreigner.

As an upstanding Jewish man, Abraham is appalled. But his Pegu guide is appalled that he won't perform this honor for his people. Then Mya enters his life. Before she can become a wife she becomes a widow. And Mya shows Abraham that there may be things he's been missing from his life.

This was such an interesting novel. Abraham's story is written as a series of letters from Abraham to his cousin back in Venice. Interspersed are short chapters on Mya's thoughts. I thought this was a very personal and interesting way of presenting this story. My only problem is that I thought it was too short -- I wanted more! It made sense when I learned that the author, Jeffrey Hantover, is a cultural journalist. I felt that this novel worked more as a cultural study than a pure character driven novel. But I still liked it! Although, I do admit there were a few sections depicting some of the wedding night acts that made me blush and hope that no one was reading over my shoulder on the subway.

I love the books that have the P.S. section in them, such as this one. I learn so much and really enjoy reading the back-stories and extra information.

You can check out Jeffrey Hantover's website for his backstory to The Jewel Trader of Pegu as well as an excerpt.

**Thank you Danny at Harper-Collins for letting me read and review this book!

Also Reviewed by:

Devourer of Books
Booking Mama
Linus's Blanket