Happy 250th Birthday, Jane Austen!

Hello my fellow bookworms,

Photo by Photo by Leah Newhouse: https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-assorted-books-1666320/Leah Newhouse from Pexels

This year marks the 250th birthday of literary icon, Jane Austen! While her birthday is technically December 16th, August is known for being "Romance Awareness Month," so I feel it is appropriate to celebrate earlier than later! Upon my own celebration, I have been wearing my Austen-like book earrings, wearing my Pride and Prejudice t-shirt from Litographs (which includes sections of the novel as blocks of text creating the photos on the front and back of the shirt!), and reading Austen's juvenilia novel The Beautifull Cassandra (yes, that is a purposeful two L's) and the graphic novel biography of Jane Austen, titled The Novel Life of Jane Austen, by Janine Barchas. I also finally watched Clueless for the first time, which as you know, is based on Austen's Emma, and is perfect timing as this year also marks the 30th anniversary of the movie. As if!

In terms of Austen's juvenilia, or works of the author while they are still young/before they became popular, I enjoyed reading Claudia L. Johnson's Afterword on The Beautifull Cassandra. The story was thought to be based on Austen's sister, Cassandra, which I thought could be true, given how close they seem from stories I heard and read. In the Afterword, Johnson commented on Austen's high intelligence and ability to play with words and write for all ages, even at a young age, how this short story was most likely written to amuse her family, and also on how people either like Austen's work or hate it (though I feel the same could be said of many novels, especially a recent book discussion I attended!). The takeaway from her analysis of Austen's writings is that The Beautifull Cassandra took a story and embraced the uneventful. It was a short, day-in-the-life following of a girl who took what she wanted (a bonnet, ice cream, a ride) and enjoyed her day, no matter the havoc that ensued. The events listed were not grand adventures, but a small adventure, nonetheless. Only, we embrace it in short sentences, are not told details, and everything is over just as it started. I read it as I would a children's picture book, as the copy I had borrowed from the library was illustrated, and enjoyed the short and simple story. It amused me, especially the dedication, and I was delighted to read something from an author I enjoy that I did not know previously existed. 

I work in a library and recently curated a Jane Austen anniversary display, in which I created fun Austen-esque buttons, with her books, movies, books based on her books, photos, and of course, Regency-like ribbons! I love to have fun with my work, and enjoy watching the smiles of others who interact with what I set up. The display sparked an animated conversation between me and a fellow fan, and I realized that not many people knew about the limited release of the new French movie, Jane Austen Wrecked My Life. I was lucky enough to catch a showing in my area, and I loved it! It was released to DVD in late July, and I believe it is finally hitting libraries around now. If you are an Austen fan, you will love this romance that takes a bit from the author herself, while also giving a great homage to the work she did in her life and to those she inspired. It made me want to visit the estate!

Speaking of her estate...

You can visit Jane Austen's House as they celebrate the entire year with birthday celebrations! Each season is marked for a book of hers, such as the upcoming Persuasion and poetry festival beginning September 12th and ending on the 21st. The year ends with Austen's birthday celebration during the month of December, and an extra special one on her actual birthday, December 16th! If you are like me and missed out on tickets or cannot make it over to the United Kingdom, you can walk through a virtual tour, listen to their podcast, or if you are feeling especially enthusiastic, you can join the Jane Austen Society of North America, who are offering a free year membership to current students!

Whether or not you have Austen-mania, I hope your summer has been fun, that you have read many books (or at least enjoyed time reading), and have many fall things to look forward to! I am excited for the spooky season approaching and the lovely weather that beckons me to sit under trees with my cat and read.

Until next time, Happy Reading! :) 

Summertime is here!

Hello My Fellow Bookworms,

I hope you are all having a glorious summer so far! Long time, no see! I apologize for my not keeping on top of my blog. I find myself starting posts, but never finishing them. I hope to start my habit again of posting at least once a month. Life has been a little busy, but whose has not?

I had started hosting a memoir writing group workshop at my local library for women. It is an endeavor I never thought I would do on my own, but once asked by my manager last year, I gave it some serious thought. It was a scary thing for me, as English was never my best subject, but it is also a human thing. Personal stories are so interesting, more so in the fact that women over a certain age are "forgotten" by society, and it should never be that way! Everyone is interesting and has purpose. As it is a workshop for women, I started it in March, in honor of Women's History Month. It has been a fun and yet emotional journey. I found myself writing memoir pieces along with them, and it has been challenging. I enjoy writing for myself, rather than only an academic purpose. Will I ever publish my pieces, though? Only time will tell. 

This year has been a crazy storm of news, both good and bad, that affects libraries, museums, and publishing in general. This year has been hard so far for libraries, with the cut of federal grant funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services ("IMLS"), the dissolution of the Special Libraries Association ("SLA"), and continuous book challenges. If you would like to say, "Hey, I love my library!," you can do so by letting your library know with a heartfelt card or letter, advocating on social media through hashtags such as #DrawnToFreedom or #FundLibraries, or even reaching out to your local representatives and letting them know you love your library! The ALA has a wonderful webpage filled with fact sheets, resources, and even your local representatives' contact information, which can be found here. 

If you are curious as to what the IMLS funded for Illinois, here is a lovely flier that the ALA created on a per-state basis:

(c) ALA, 2025

Want even more of a reason to love libraries? There is a new documentary that was released earlier this spring titled Free For All, and it is now up on YouTube for free via PBS! Sit back, relax, and enjoy this short history into the people who made libraries what they are today. You can also watch a conversation PBS had after you watch the film, if you would like more information into the film:

Miscellaneous book news:

• As of June 27th, the Supreme Court ruled to protect federal broadband programs. What does this mean for you? This decision preserves the current E-Rate program, funding for affordable, high-speed internet at libraries and schools across the country. With all the cutbacks that have been happening in libraries and grants, this win is quite a lot! You can find out more information from ALA here. 

• If you are an author, especially a self-publishing author, this will affect you! Publishers' Weekly no longer accepts books for review submission for free, as it had for over 100 years. Instead, it now costs $25 for each book you submit. More information can be found here.

• Be careful when purchasing new books on Amazon. There are AI clones of books that are floating around, which the original authors are not getting paid for. The covers are being swapped with a fake cover image, AI changes the original language of the book and rewrites the story using a different language, the name of the author is changed - but kept just close enough to confuse people buying the book, and the list of Bad Things AI does grows. Check out the original article from CBC here, if you are interested in learning more. 
  
  
• If you are a teacher or school librarian, you could be receiving audiobooks for free from Libro.fm! Libro.fm is giving away ALC's, or Advanced Listening Copies, to teachers or school libraries who work with students between the ages of 5-18. Interested? Check out the program details here (and also to sign up)!

• An interesting new app that I still need to test is out on the market, promoting that it can read any of your PDF articles out loud for you. It is called ElevenReader Plus and is free to download for both Android and Apple, and although you can pay for a subscription, you can use it for free for up to 2 hours of listening per week. Depending on usage, this is a pretty nice app for those who may need someone to read out loud to them!

• Feeling stressed? Too much "doomscrolling," or scrolling non-stop through social media and/or the news? The Calm app recently had an article stating how we should take a nature break - go outside, breathe the air, embrace the sunlight, go for a walk. All these things can lead to a better mood, less stress, and better cognitive function, and physical health. Bringing a book helps! I enjoy reading in the grass with my cat surveying the sights, or just lounging in the forest and watching deer pass by. It is summer, so enjoy the most of it while you can! (This is not sponsored, this is just something I think is very important for all of our mental health at this time - I am guilty of doomscrolling video shorts!)

I do not have a book review at the moment, but I am in the middle of several books right now. One of which is called Dragonfruit by Makiia Lucier. It feels like a cross between Moana and How to Train Your Dragon. 

Also, I also am being sent a book in the mail that requires a review, so please look forward to it!

I hope you are having a fantastic summer filled with adventures both in your life and on the page. If you would like to, please let me know what you are reading in the comments!

Until next time - Happy Reading! :)

(c) 2025, Once Upon A Book Blog(ger)