I know that is a long title, and it could have been longer. 😊 However, I am looking for information concerning your reading of Pride and Prejudice Variations.
For myself, I read the blurb for each book I am considering buying and/or reading and will even read any prologue or sample that Amazon offers if the blurb has piqued my interest. BTW, I don’t care for lengthy blurbs. A summary of the whole novel is not what I am looking for. Two or three short paragraphs are sufficient for my needs, and if I am interested, I want to get into the book, not read a page full of blurbs. Just my quirk.
When I have the book in my hands—virtual or physical—I have a tendency to want to read it in one sitting. Why? Because if the book is really interesting and well written, I don’t want to stop until I’m done. I am rather impatient in that regard.
If it is a mystery, I’m eager to find out if I guessed who the bad guy/woman turned out to be. Don’t like to wait to discover if I am right or wrong.
If it is just a love story between Darcy and Elizabeth, I want to be able to sigh in contentment as I read each chapter and follow their ups and downs in their courtship.
I do enjoy getting deeper glimpses into the personalities of Austen’s characters as I read about Elizabeth and Darcy and others in their world such as Caroline Bingley.
Now there is a character we love to hate. Charles Bingley’s youngest sister can be a real stinker at times. I can understand why some authors depict her as a selfish twit who is only concerned about what she can gain and doesn’t care who she hurts in the process. Jane Austen depicted her in that manner as well.
Bingley really was a coward when it came to facing his sisters and doing what was right. I do like reading about him when he finally develops a backbone and stands up to Caroline and Louisa. Those two have a similar relationship as Lydia and Kitty do: the younger sister leading the older one. I like it when Louisa finally stands up and refuses Caroline’s machinations also.
And what about Darcy? I love him, flaws and all. He works so hard to be a good guy but can get very disgusted with the flaws of others. His friend Bingley just would not leave him alone at the Meryton Assembly, and Darcy just couldn’t keep his mouth shut. If he had whispered his refusal to Bingley, Darcy might have won his fair lady a lot sooner than he did.
I also love reading about Elizabeth Bennet. Now there is a gutsy lady after my own heart. She could even stand her ground with Napoleon if need be, and I love reading about her and her personality. Authors have handled her character from an attractive mute to a duke’s daughter and in between. And I especially am drawn to her encounters with Caroline Bingley where she takes her down a peg or two.
As to editing, I can get a little picky about errors. Sigh! However, as we all are imperfect, there are no perfect books without at least a small number of flaws. However, some authors seem to have more than a few. I’m reading several books by an author that I think is dictating her books and then not editing the results. Possibly she thinks because of her choice that there will be no mistakes. If that is the case, then she needs to think about what happens when we get Siri to text someone for us. Pardon me: when we TRY to get Siri to text for us. It never ceases to amaze me how Siri can mess up a text even when I am clear about what I want sent. And don’t you just love it when Siri changes the wording that Siri is sure corrects the text and the whole text has to be redone. That’s when we want to throttle Siri and can’t.
That author also has a rich imagination and written a number of very interesting plots that I have enjoyed except for the missing words, incomplete sentences, and the AND instead of AN. These are just a few of the mistakes that poke me in the side and irritate me when I’m reading what is a really good plot…just poorly executed in places.
And as to variations, I’m interested in reading—and writing—just the Pride and Prejudice ones without characters from other of Austen’s works. I’ve read Pride and Prejudice more than once but have not taken the time to read Austen’s other books, so I’m not familiar with those characters except for seeing a couple of movie adaptations. However, I can understand why other readers might enjoy a compilation of several of Jane’s works and reading about their characters in one book.
So, what do you look for when sitting down for an evening with an interesting read? Please let me know in your comments below.
By the way, this past year I have been doing preliminary editing, not final editing, and my daughter and I have recently added making book covers as well. So please let me know what you think of Colin Rowland’s latest cover. If interested in the editing or a book cover, please contact me at GiannaThomasAuthor@gmail.com.
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