Yeah I’m not sure how it got to be March so quickly either. BUT since it is, that means that it’s time to start reading Persuasion so that you can join Amanda and Holly from Gun In Act One and yours truly as we (re) discover the charms of Jane Austen’s criminally under-read book Persuasion!
This might sound like a lot of work, but it’s not. You can TOTALLY read this at the same time as all the other books on your TBR list that are demanding your attention. This can be your vacation read. We will be discussing the first 8 chapters next week, chapters 9-16 the week after that, and the final 8 chapters in the last week of March. In my Vintage Books version, that’s 82 pages this week.
You can do that.
Still not convinced? Then let us tell you a bit about why we want to read Persuasion.
Amanda
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that nearly everyone has read -by choice or by force– Pride & Prejudice.
I love Pride & Prejudice and have reread it often. Usually when I love one book by an author I compulsively track down all others and devour them, yet for some reason I’ve held back with Austen. I have read all kinds of Austen related books, yes even Pride & Prejudice and Zombies. So with the 2015 TBR Challenge as my inspiration I added Persuasion as my next Austen to start. I am really excited to see where Anne and Wentworth’s romance goes!
Holly
I would like to point out that I put Persuasion on my 2015 TBR Challenge list first, so therefore, Amanda’s inspiration came from me. I have only ever read Austen’s P&P. My sister counts it among her faves, and my husband loathes it. Thankfully, they get along quite well, Austen-aside.
Anyway, I got excited to read Persuasion after reading For Darkness Shows the Stars, a YA, post-apocalyptic novel by Diana Peterfreund that I thought was just lovely. Even though I wasn’t familiar with the story, I could definitely see the Austenian influence in the story of Elliot and Kai, and I was intrigued to read the original. In much the same way, I’ve been meaning to read Emma since 1995, thanks to Alicia Silverstone and Paul Rudd. Maybe that will be on next year’s list.
Eva
I’ve been addicted to Jane Austen for nearly two decades. I think for most Austen addicts, P&P is the gateway drug and I’m no exception there. It took me until I was in my 20s to finally read Persuasion. There is no way that I would have appreciated this late-blooming love story nearly as much when I was a teenager so I’m glad I waited. I’ve re-read at least one Austen book every year since forever and it’s Persuasion‘s turn. When Holly and Amanda both put it on their TBR Challenge lists they decided to host a readalong and asked me if I wanted to participate. Just as it is “always incomprehensible to a man that a woman should ever refuse an offer of marriage” so too is it unthinkable that I should refuse to participate in a Jane Austen reading challenge.
Convinced?
Let’s chat next week!
The Paperback Princess 
I did this for A-level. It was the first Austen I’d read – I was more into the mad world of the Brontes than the more subtle Austen. I did appreciate the way it felt more modern than I’d expected and I still it as the most modern of the Austens, being concerned as it is with a more independent, less romance driven heroine. Have a good read!
She IS way more independent. That’s probably why she appealed to me when I was older. I’m looking so forward to reading it again.
Woohoo! Love it. I’m excited to read this, and to cross it off for the TBR Challenge.
You will be expanding your Austen repertoire AND crossing a book off your list! Win/win.
I will chime in to agree that Persuasion is wildly underrepresented in the “Jane Austen books people have read/heard about”. I read it for the first time last year (at around this time, actually!) and loved it. Enjoy your readalong!
It is criminal how overlooked it is. I’m guilty of it as well but now that I’ve read it, I try to get others to read it. I think it’s a better book for older audiences, while her other books (except maybe Mansfield Park) really appeal to those looking for first love. Thanks for commenting!
I actually prefer Persuasion to P&P. There is a maturity to it that upholds the steadfastness of never giving up or that time is on the side of true love. The two productions I’ve watched both cover this aspect well, yet neither are perfect. Then again, a perfect adaptation of Austen is wishful thinking.
I started reading the introduction to the version I’m reading and she said that the 1995 production got it mostly right but that the 2007 version was terrible. Now I want to go and watch them to see. I’d wager that the early 90s versions of Emma, P&P and Sense and Sensibility are pretty spot on.
And yes – Persuasion is a more mature novel about love. Which is why it gets better the more times you read it.
Yes, all of you thinking about joining the read-along. Read Persuasion!
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