This week, along with the review, we will be having a giveaway! Three signed copies of “Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict” are up for grabs!

“Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict” is a companion to Laurie Viera Rigler’s first novel “Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict.” In “Confessions,” Courtney Stone, a modern 21st century blonde, finds herself trapped in the body of Jane Mansfield, a brunette English rose from the 1800′s. She must navigate through and cope with all the differences between her modern society and Victorian society, including bizarre medical and courtship practices.

“Rude Awakenings” runs parallel to “Confessions,” beginning with Jane Mansfield waking up in Courtney’s body in the 21st Century. She is confused and puzzled by her new surroundings and simply shocked when she finds her reflection to be a curvy blonde as opposed to a willowy brunette.  Jane must navigate through Courtney’s everyday life as well; dealing with Wes, her former best friend who was involved in the breakup of her engagement and handling employment even though it shocks her. Seeing the modern world through naive eyes is an interesting concept and Rigler executes it flawlessly.

Although “Confessions” is humorous, I found “Rude Awakenings” to be absolutely hilarious. Jane’s confusion and enchantment with the modern world is both charming and laugh-inducing. From shocking Courtney’s friends by sporting the wedding gown that she intended to marry her ex-fiance in (Jane dubs it the only thing modest enough in Courtney’s closet), to insisting that her name is indeed Jane Mansfield although her friends maintain that Courtney has adopted the name of a long-dead sex symbol, the book is full of laughs. Courtney’s friends explain this odd behavior with a head injury Courtney sustained, making it more hilarious. Not only do her friends allow her to make a fool of herself, they accept it to help with her recovery. Read More »

Chick lit—one step above romance novels and one step (OK…maybe a few steps) below Jane Austen on the Ladder of Lit.

I love chick lit, mainly because it gives me great comfort to know that there are people out there whose dating mishaps and embarrassing moments are even worse than mine…even if those people are fictional.

If you have the impression that most chick lit is just about as brainless as a pile of sawdust, well, then you’d be right. The cream of the crop, though, has both good writing and great laughs. Try these awesome titles to start:

First of all, if you’ve never read Bridget Jones’s Diary (check out that bargain price on Amazon), you have committed a serious sin against your sex (and no, seeing the movie does not count). This book is the groundbreaking work of the chick lit genre, and for good reason. Guaranteed to be one of the funniest novels you’ll ever read. Read More »

This is a good one for anyone who’s totally suffered through the stuffy, Britannic eons of fussing and formality in Jane Austen novels, just to get to the juicy parts (ooh, Mr. Darcy): according to British screenwriter Andrew Davies, who is practically single-handedly responsible for the PBS “Masterpiece Theater” genre of television adaptation (i.e. video Cliff’s Notes), Ms. Austen was just as into sex as the rest of us girls.

“Sex,” says Davies, who has adapted, like, every single Jane Austen novel for the silver screen, “is in the air.”

It’s just that in Austen’s time, it was was more about what wasn’t shown, than what was. Read More »