'Twas the Night of Austen's Birthday

It is a truth little-known that Jane Austen novels and works inspired by the great author are an effective cure for holiday stress. With that in mind, I would like to offer the following list of diversions for your reading and viewing pleasure (the first two may be indulged in while feigning work at your computer, which is my idea of multi-tasking):

• Eye an array of Austen movie trailers and clips;
• Divert yourself with Austen-inspired follies and nonsense;
• Read at least one Jane Austen novel (I recommend Pride and Prejudice to start);
• Raise a glass to Miss Austen in honor of her birthday (that's December 16th);
• Escape to Jane Austen's world by reading (that's right, you guessed it) Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.

The fun doesn't end with the holidays-the new year brings us glad tidings in the form of Masterpiece Theatre's Complete Jane Austen, which begins in January and lasts all the way through April. What is the Complete Jane Austen, you may ask? How about new adaptations of Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, and Mansfield Park, a new biopic, plus rebroadcasts of the Kate Beckinsale Emma and the inimitable 1995 Pride and Prejudice miniseries, starring the man in the wet shirt, Colin Firth.

We also have a new miniseries to look forward to in 2008. Release date is unsure, but IMDB says March 2008. That's Sense and Sensibility, adapted by Andrew Davies, the man who brought us the man in the wet shirt. What will he think of next? Wet breeches? Sea bathing au naturel?

If the new Sense and Sensibility mini is remotely as yummy as the 1995 P&P, then I predict that this current wave of Austen-mania is only just beginning.

Then there's Sense and Sensibilidad, which is slated to start filming in February and centers on a contemporary Mexican-American family in Los Angeles. I can't wait to see this one.

In the meantime, if you're wishing you'd come to one of my readings instead of washing your hair that night, consider checking out this Authors @ Google video of a reading at Google's Ann Arbor offices, which was one of the highlights of my book tour. Imagine working for a company that cooks you a delicious lunch every day and brings in authors to read you stories during work hours. Where can I sign up?

Now that we've all got the all-Austen-all-the-time antidote to stress, let's all enjoy the holiday season. And while you're making your lists and checking them twice, consider giving your favorite Austen addicts a round-trip ticket to 1813 England for the mere price of a book (or six-CD unabridged audiobook, which just got a glowing review in Publisher's Weekly).

If you'd like to give a signed copy of Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict as a gift (or you'd like your own copy signed), just email me with your mailing address and the name of the recipient, and I'll be happy to mail you a signed and personalized bookplate.

And if your book club is reading (or has read) Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict, I'd love to post a photo of your group on my site. Just email me for details.

May this holiday season and the coming year bring you much happiness,

Laurie
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Laurie Viera Rigler
laurie@janeaustenaddict.com
Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict