Tributes to the Jane Austen Sensibility

by Becky "The Cerebral Rat" on July 2, 2009

Jane Austen has been very popular for the past few years — the books have been made more so by the fact that there have been several movie adaptations of her titles and they have been enormously popular. One of the ways that authors show their admiration (and practice their writing skills) is by continuing the lives of her characters in their own books, thus allowing all of us to continue in the world that Austen created.

All the books below are available through the libraries of the CLEVNET Consortium — many are owned by the Cleveland Hts-University Hts. Public Library System. You can click on the title if you’d like to order the book through the CLEVNET webcatalog.

Aiken, Joan

Eliza’s Daughter: A Sequel to Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility

Mansfield Park Revisited: A Jane Austen Entertainment

Watsons; and Emma Watson: Jane Austen’s Unfinished Novel Completed
Altman, Marsha

Darcys and the Bingleys: Pride and Prejudice Continues
Bebris, Carrie

The Matters at Mansfield, or the Crawford Affair: A Mr. and Mrs. Darcy Mystery
Berdoll, Linda

Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife: Pride and Prejudice Continues
Billington, Rachel

Emma and Knightley: Perfect Happiness in Highbury
Bonavia-Hunt, D. A.

Pemberley Shades: Pride and Prejudice Continues
Brinton, Sybil

Old Friends and New Fancies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen
Collins, Rebecca Ann

Mr. Darcy’s Daughter

Netherfield Park Revisited

Pemberley Chronicles: A Companion Volume to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice

Women of Pemberley: A Companion Volume to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
Dawkins, Jane

Letters from Pemberley: The First Year
Halstead, Helen

Mr. Darcy Presents His Bride: A Sequel to Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice
McCullough, Colleen

Independence of Miss Mary Bennet
Newark, Elizabeth

The Darcys Give a Ball: A Gentle Joke, Jane Austen Style
Odiwe, Jane

Lydia Bennet’s Story: The Continuing Adventures of Mrs. Darcy’s Youngest Sister: A Sequel to Pride and Prejudice
Potter, Alexandra

Me and Mr. Darcy
Street, Mary

The Confession of Fitzwilliam Darcy
Wilson, Barbara Ker

The Lost Years of Jane Austen: A Novel
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Take a ‘classic’ to the beach

by Becky "The Cerebral Rat" on June 1, 2009

http://www.public-domain-image.com (public domain image)Vacation season is upon us and many folks will be going to the beach or just lazing around and in need of a summer read or ‘beach book’ to take along. Traditionally, many librarians recommend lighter reading–romance, thrillers, lengthy family sagas–but I have a different take on beach reading.

Vacation is about the only time that I have uninterrupted time–no laundry or extra work calling me–and so I have been known to take along a classic, a ‘difficult’ title that I have been meaning to read, but haven’t gotten around to yet.  For instance, once when I went with my family to Myrtle Beach, I took Middlemarch by George Eliot.   I had been meaning to read it, but I would get distracted by a magazine or the news or dinner.  I actually finished the book between naps and trips to the beach and I enjoyed it.  This was also aided by the fact that I didn’t take anything else along to read and, being inveterately lazy, didn’t have the energy or wherewithal to go get something else.  Even so, I was glad to have read it.

One of my other tricks is to take along something that I have tried, unsuccessfully, to work my way through either  because I wasn’t in the right mood when I tried it or, once again, didn’t have enough time.  I took Hoeg’s Borderliners along as a backup in case I finished one of Minette Walters’ books (I don’t remember the title–hmmm…wonder what that means).  I finished the Walters book and started the Hoeg and loved it the second time around.  You never know.  (I’ve also done this with long movies that require that you pay attention–Dune, for instance).

Can this backfire?  Sure–you might be left with nothing at all to read, which would necessitate a trip to a bookstore (if you’re a rabid reader like me).   But how bad could that be?  Give it a try and see if it works for you.

Click on the titles above if you want to give my picks a try and enjoy.

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Where in the World is John Stark Bellamy II ?

by Becky "The Cerebral Rat" on May 4, 2009

If you are a fan of true crime books and/or books about the Cleveland area, you’ve probably read books by John Stark Bellamy II.   John used to work at the Fairview Park branch of the Cuyahoga County Library as their local history specialist.   I’ve read John’s books and enjoyed them. I knew him personally at one time–we attended the same church for awhile. I’d heard that he’d retired and moved to Vermont, but I’d been wondering if he might have done anything recently. I did a Google search and found that he has, indeed, been busy having authored his first e-book for the Cleveland Digital Library of Cleveland State Univerity Library’s Special Collections of the Cleveland Memory Project (it’s their first e-book as well).

It’s titled By the Neck Until Dead and it is a history of hangings that have taken place in Cuyahoga County–fare that we have come to expect from John.  If you click on the title, you will find yourself at the beginning of the book which you may read online.  It will not be published in paper form.  It is the seventh in a series of books on murder and mayhem in Cleveland.  In case you are not familiar with the others, they are:

died1        They Died Crawling and Other Tales of Cleveland Woe.

 

 

bushes

      The Maniac in the Bushes and More Tales of Cleveland Woe

 

 

corpse2

       The Corpse in the Cellar and Further Tales of Cleveland Woe

 

 

attic

      The Killer in the Attic

 

 

euclid      Death Ride at Euclid Beach

 

 

women

       Women Behaving Badly

 

 

Just click on any title above to reserve a copy for yourself.

Lest you think that Mr. Bellamy only explores true cases of murder and mystery in his hometown, let me point to a book he produced about his new home in 2007:

vermont

       Vintage Vermont Villainies:  True Tales of Murder  & Mystery from the 19th and 20th Centuries.

 

 

 

I think it will be a long time before John retires his pen. 

If  you have some time on your hands, take a few moments to explore the other e-books in the collection of the Cleveland Memory Project.  It’s a great source of interesting facts, pictures and information about Cleveland, not all of it criminal.

 

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Susan Wittig Albert Tours Ohio!

by Becky "The Cerebral Rat" on April 20, 2009

w2Susan Wittig Albert’s latest installment in the China Bayles series has been released. It is titled Wormwood.  I am still working my way through this series and enjoying it immensely.  I like the skillful character development and the intelligence, humanity, and vulnerability of the characters–especially China.  On the one hand I can’t wait to get caught up so I can find out what happens with the characters and their relationships and adventures and on the other I want to savor every minute.

A friend told me the other day that Ms. Albert is visiting various locations in Ohio, giving talks and doing book signings as part of the promotional tour for her new book.  I checked her website, and sure enough, she’s going to be in the area for the next few days.  Check it out for yourself by clicking here:  About Thyme.   I’m going to see if I can get to one of these events–I’d love a signed book.

You can keep track of her publications (she writes nonfiction as well as the Robin Paige Victorian-Edwardian Mysteries and the Beatrix Potter Cottage Tales Mysteries ) by signing up for her newsletter.   Remember, in case you lose track of these links and want to know in what order to read these or any other mystery series,  just go to Stop, You’re Killing Me! for all things mystery.  Happy reading!

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Farewell to “The Cat Who…”

April 7, 2009

It was with sadness that I heard that The Cat Who Smelled Smoke would not be coming out—it was supposed to have been published a year ago this month and I and a lot of other readers have been waiting for it.  It’s funny with series books.  You get interested in the characters and then [...]

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Templar Knight Mystery Alert

March 19, 2009

For anyone who has read the first two Templar Knight Mysteries (The Alehouse Murders and Death of a Squire) or my blog about them, the third in the series has just come out. The title is A Plague of Poison. I just received my copy and I’m going to put everything else aside so I [...]

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The Comfort of Miss Read…

March 14, 2009

Do you ever have those days when you just want to get away?  When the car is making noises and you know it’s going to cost a fortune or when life is just getting you down or, like 9/11, when the world has  gotten to be just too frightening?  Chocolate works sometimes–or mashed potatoes, but when I need [...]

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Calling all Laura Childs fans–

March 5, 2009

My sister, Bridget, turned me on to Laura Childs’  Tea Shop mysteries a couple of years ago. I’ve read several and I like them.   She also reads the Scrapbook ones as well. I came across an ad in one of the publishing magazines promoting a new series–The Cackleberry Club Mysteries. The first one was released in December 2008 and [...]

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Vacationing with China Bayles

October 27, 2008

I’m back from vacation and, yes, I had a good time (I was in Florida, enjoying the sunshine, but that’s another blog). As I was packing I decided that I needed something to read in between visits to Disney World and the hot tub. I wanted something intriguing, not too light, but nothing to really [...]

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The Templar Knight Mysteries

September 30, 2008

As I was ambling through the new paperback section a time ago I came across a book with a beautiful cover called Death of a Squire  by Maureen Ash.  The label said it was “A Templar Knight Mystery” next to a picture of said Templar sitting, writing, obviously in deep thought. The illustrations looked like they were [...]

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