Book Review: Longbourn

Happy Monday!

I had every intention of warning you that I would be away at camp last week and unable to post… Unfortunately, it slipped my mind. I hope you all still love me. 🙂

As most bookworms do, I have a book wish-list. Mine is fairly long and is continuously being added to. On this list for several months was the book Longbourn by Jo Baker. I had seen reviews saying it was an excellent book and it captured my attention, so every time I saw it in a book store I would look at it, then set it back down, promising myself I would get it next time. A little while ago my dear friend Misty said she was going to the bookstore, and I decided to follow my impulsive side and just give her the money to buy it for me, because I was tired of waiting. So I got it, and guess what! I read it. It was every inch what people had said it was!

Longbourn has characters that come alive so easily in your mind as your reading. They’re not shallow and dull, but vibrant and intriguing. They each have real-to-life back stories and thoughts and feelings that are more than words on the page.

Jo Baker’s writing style is very similar to Jane Austen’s which is no easy task to accomplish in the modern world. Because it is set in Elizabeth Bennet’s house from Pride and Prejudice, I find it only right for her to use a similar style as the original book that inspired it.

The plot is thorough and exciting. It is far from predictable and held many twists that threw me for a loop and kept me engaged!

The events throughout the story and the character’s everyday life were captured in a way that caused you to see and feel them vividly while you’re reading.

All in all, I was extremely impressed with the book. I enjoyed the characters, the plot, and the style of writing. I would definitely recommend it to any Austen fan, new or old! 🙂

Happy reading!

Book Exchange Success!

Happy Thursday!

So today I hosted the book exchange that I had been planning all month! While there were, admittedly, some ups and downs of last minute planning last night and this morning, I think it all went very smoothly, and we had a blast! I’m gonna share a little bit of what I did so you can see how great it was, but also so you can get some ideas if you would like to do one of your own. 🙂

I decided to do it small scale, and only invited a handful of my bookworm friends. For invites, I made bookmarks and wrote the information on the back, then laminated them and handed them out to the anticipated guests.

I did it on a Thursday (today) at 11 a.m., and kept the menu simple:  Creme scones, cheese and crackers, fruit, and punch to drink. For dessert: ratafia cakes… This was a first-time recipe for me. I found it in my “Dinner with Mr. Darcy” cookbook (http://www.amazon.com/Dinner-Mr-Darcy-Recipes-Inspired/dp/1782490566).  And, of course, I had coffee and hot tea available. 🙂

As you can see in the picture above, I had my Ipod hooked up to speakers so we could enjoy some background music. Frank Sinatra radio on Pandora, obviously.

I had everyone bring a wrapped book to exchange (new or used) and we did it “dirty santa” style, so everyone ended up with one that was new to them. Since it isn’t Christmas, we concluded that the game should be called “Book Thief”. 😉 I ended up with the Trophy Case Trilogy by George Bryan Polivka, which came highly recommended by my friend, Josh.

After we ate and exchanged our books, we played “Book Title Charades”. Everyone wrote down book titles and they all went into a box. On your turn, you picked a title at random and had to act it out while the others attempted to guess the book. It was a total success! We all had our turn going up and looking absolutely ridiculous while creating laughter all around that made it all worth it. I wish I had gotten pictures!

I wanted a way to thank everyone for coming and being a part, so I put together some cute gift bags for everyone. They each had a small notebook, sour gummy worms (“bookworms”) in bags that I made from notebook paper (http://www.whitegunpowder.com/crafts-diy/diy-valentine-treat-bags/), and a quote card.

I bought most of the notebooks, but I was short a couple, so I made some myself.

All in all, I was extremely happy with the outcome! A big thanks to Pinterest for providing endless inspiration, to my friends for coming, and to the books and authors that keep me going every day!  It was a fun day of baking, decorating, and waiting for the plumber to turn the water back on (did I forget to mention the plumber thing? Yeah…). Also, it was the kick-off of my new book club, The Literary Society of Mt. Airy, which will now begin meeting the first Monday of every month. 🙂 Thanks for reading!

~Alyssa ❤

The Advantages of Being A Bookworm

Hello All!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. 🙂

Shall we get right to it? The advantages of being a bookworm:

1. Comfort is never hard to find.

Anytime you’re down, you can escape into the pages of a book, and somehow all your problems seem to disappear. Sure, their still there when you close the book, yet they always seem a little smaller and a little easier to deal with.

2. You can always be sure of having friends… Because your books are you friends.

       

Anytime you’re lonely, you simply remember that you have dozens of friends waiting on your bookshelf for you to find companionship in them. And no matter how long you leave them alone, letting them get dusty on that shelf, they’ll always be there for you.

3. Your books teach you to be alone.

I know they did this for me. I’m naturally a very social person, but now, I’m okay with being alone sometimes. I even enjoy having that down time. I know I can always share the solitude with a good book.

4. You have the opportunity to live many lives.

Sometimes reality just gets exhausting, or boring, or… you name it, and you just want to get out of it, if only for a while. There’s nothing wrong with that. And a bookworm can do that by opening a book and getting lost. Become the character… live in their world… Others live one life, but you? You can live many.

5. You believe in magic… 

Books teach you to believe in magic; and that there’s more to magic than bibbity-boppity-boo. Magic can come in the form of true love and friendship or an act of kindness. There’s many kinds of magic, and in reading, you discover innumerable magical moments… the best part is: you can go back and experience them over and over again.

6. Your books teach you valuable lessons about life.

If you read my post from last Monday, you know that Jane Austen’s books taught the true meaning of love. Anne of Green Gables taught me about independence and imagination. Jane Eyre taught me about strength, self-respect, and never giving up, despite your past or the hardships you’re facing. These are just a few specific examples. Books teach us lessons that we might have had to learn the hard way otherwise. We learn from a mistakes that the main characters makes so we know not to make that same mistake. We learn about friendship, sacrifice, courage, integrity, compassion, believing in ourselves, and the list goes on and on. Good books, even fictional ones, teach us so much about life.

7. You get to practice your imagination.

Bookworms have impressive imaginations, because we get plenty of practice. This is an advantage, because without imagination, life is terribly dull. We know that, thus we have sympathy for those who lack imagination… poor souls. We try to help them out.

8. The things you love most are very portable.

You can stick a book in your purse or backpack and it takes up relatively little room. They’re great for travelling… or going to the grocery store; just try not to run into people while you’re RWWing (Reading While Walking). Books are very loyal. Where you go, they’ll go, no questions asked.

9. Your books provide you with witty quotes and comebacks.

You can let the book speak for you! One of my favorites is an inspiring Shakespeare quote: “I would challenge you to a battle of wits, but I see you are unarmed.” It’s wonderful. Also, I use Jane Austen quotes on an extremely regular basis… It’s even worth the occasional eye-roll from family members and close friends.

10. You can always count on your bookworm family.

Whether you’re part of a book club or just have a circle of bookworm friends, you know you can always count on them. If you make a reference to a book and are grinning from ear-to-ear and NO ONE ELSE NOTICES the reference, they’re sure to give you kudos! If you’re distraught over the death of a most beloved character, even to the point of emotional instability, they’ll be the ones to hold out the tissues and offer a hug. Not to mention, they’re the greatest to have a conversation with, because you can talk books all day long!

11. When you open a book, the print comes to life.

Magic happens… Suddenly you’re in a world that others only see on the cover. Everyone peaking over your shoulder sees black words on white paper, but you are already lost in the pages and wandering in between the covers. You’ve already made new friends and had marvelous adventures. It’s already come to life.

12. You are easy to buy for.

Aunt Bertha: So what do you want for your birthday?

You: Books. 

Aunt Bertha: Okay.

(Aunt Bertha is entirely a figment of my imagination. All characters appearing in this conversation are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.) 😛

12. You can fully comprehend this post.

And all the bookworms said, “Amen!”

Thank you for reading! 🙂