Literary Vows

When it comes to books and movies, I'm something of a purist. For example, I pretend the third Anne of Green Gables movie doesn't exist and am positive L. M. Montgomery rolled over in her grave the moment it hit the airwaves. Jar Jar Binks was a Stars Wars travesty. I'm always traumatized by a Doctor regeneration. And who on earth came up with the idea to set the Burrow on fire when it did not happen that way in the book?!

One of my biggest oppositions has always been the myriad of books that continue the story of the main Jane Austen characters. Why would you mess with perfection?! Sure, I'm curious as to what family life would have been like in the Knightly household, but if Jane Austen had wanted us to have that information she would have written it.

You guys...I strayed. I broke my long-standing literary vows.

I read Death Comes to Pemberley by P. D. James...and liked it.

Maybe it was because P. D. James is such an acclaimed mystery writer. Maybe my curiosity got the better of me. I'm still not sure what exactly made me decide to give the booka try, but I'm quite glad I did. James did such a good job of mimicking the style of Jane Austen. The characters felt like coming home again and it was delightful. I also disliked Lydia just as much as I did in Pride and Prejudice.

Death Comes to Pemberley (Goodreads ~ Amazon ~ Barnes and Noble) revisits the Darcys, Bennetts, and Bingleys several years after the end of Pride and Prejudice. The normal family life at Pemberley is interrupted by the arrival of a wildly driven carriage and a hysterical Lydia Wickham, screaming that her husband has been shot in the Pemberley woods. The book then begins to investigate the murder of George Wickham. The unfolding mystery shows the skill of P. D. James's long career and has a very satisfying ending.

I'm not sure I'll completely take leave of my senses and dive headfirst into the wide array of books continuing the stories of Jane Austen, but I'm glad I gave this one a shot. It definitely made me want to check out more of P. D. James's writing! Her virtues are repeatedly extolled by my beloved Jessica Fletcher on Murder, She Wrote, which is really all the recommendation one needs. Having now read some of her writing, I can say Jessica is right - P. D. James is wonderful.

You're Never Too Old to Fangirl

A wee TARDIS

I feel like I should give a little imformation about this new blog of mine and why I started it. I'm a self-proclaimed fangirl about many things. I have more copies of Anne of Green Gables than I can count, all things Harry Potter have a prominent place in my home, and you should see my Doctor Who  Lego TARDIS. It's magnificent. I've been known to flail and squee on a regular basis, and even occasionally in public. So when I started a blog where I would review the books I read and post about all these things that I love so dearly, the tagline "You're Never Too Old to Fangirl" was perfect! As I thought about it more, I decided to see what the internet has to say about fangirls these days.

Urban Dictionary is not at all complimentary of the modern fangirl. The most popular definition says a fangirl is "a rabid creed of human female who is obsessed with either a fictional character or an actor." I'm sorry, internet, but my fangirling extends far beyond a single character or actor. A less extreme definition is "a female fan who can laugh at their own passion for their particular interest (or even obsession)." While I'm not overly thrilled with either option, the 2nd is far better than the first.

A fangirl is much more than a "rabid" screaming teenage female (or male - there are fanboys, too). To me a fangirl is a female with varying, albeit at times intense, interests who is confident enough to share that enthusiasm with abandon. Although perceived as ridiculous most of the time, any person whose life has been significantly impacted by a book series, anime, movie, etc, will tell you the importance of that life-changing interest. The result can be anything from sparking creativity and passion to helping someone deal with mental or physical illness. Maureen Johnson didn't start #YASaves for nothing! (Here is a blog post by Kiera Cass that gives some background on how YA Saves got started.)

I think this one is self-explanatory. 

John Green (Nerdfighters FTW) responded beautifully to the use of "nerd" as an insult in one of his Vlogbrothers videos, and I think it applies here as well.

Nerds like us are allowed to be unironically enthusiastic about stuff...Nerds are allowed to love stuff, like jump-up-and-down-in-the-chair-can't-control-yourself love it. People who call people 'nerds,' mostly what they're saying is "You like stuff," which is not a good insult at all. Like, "You are too enthusiastic about the miracle of human consciousness."

So, let's be fangirls, fanboys, and nerds, and be excited about life!