The JASNA Hawai‘i Region Reading Group has explored all six Austen novels as well as Sanditon and Teenage Writings. And we’re always willing to revisit them! Member and region founder Bob Newell good-naturedly answered questions and endured critique of his first novel, Courting Jane, which features an infatuated time traveler and a fictional JASNA Annual GeneralContinue reading “What We’ve Read”
Category Archives: Reading Group
Whatever Happened to Margaret?
A Life of Her Own: The Story of Margaret Dashwood got mixed reviews from participants in October’s reading group. The positive: fascinating, well researched historical facts and personages (as befits a journalist author), some interesting development of minor characters and the description of Edward’s pastoral duties. The negative: some implausible plot twists (surely even aContinue reading “Whatever Happened to Margaret?”
Candlelight in the Assembly Rooms
Discussion of crowded candlelit ballrooms in Northanger Abbey with JAS New Zealand reminded me of these photos from the 2022 JASNA tour to England. The chandeliers in the Assembly Rooms were converted to electirc lights and stored away for safety during WWII bombings. That’s King George III and family in the portrait. Note the highContinue reading “Candlelight in the Assembly Rooms”
Help Choose the Books for our Reading Group
Take our survey to help determine the books we will read and discuss during the coming year. Join JASNA and designate Hawaii as your region to ensure you are on the mailing list for in-person and/or online discussions. Already a members of another JASNA region? Email jasnahawaiinei@gmail.com with your name, region and contact information.
Teen Austen
On Saturday, June 25, we will discuss Teenage Writing by Jane Austen, Katherine Sutherland and Freya Johnston, editors, via Zoom at 1 p.m. Hawai‘i Standard Time. In these stories, written “to be shared and admired by a named audience of family and friends … devices and themes which appear subtly in Austen’s later fiction runContinue reading “Teen Austen”
A Visit to Camp Austen
On Feb. 18, members and guests discussed Ted Scheinman’s Camp Austen: My Life as an Accidental Jane Austen Superfan via Zoom. Reactions were mixed, with some wondering if the title was likely suggested by the marketing department and others noting that their expectations might have been different had they noticed the “Literary Criticism” designation onContinue reading “A Visit to Camp Austen”
P&P Onscreen: Discussing MGM’s 1940 film – with quiz
Before Colin Firth there was Laurence Olivier. Like the 1995 mini-series, the 1940 black and white film spurred interest in Austen’s novels. Hawai‘i JASNA members were joined by fellow Janeites from as far as St. Louis and Montreal on Jan. 21 to discuss the merits of various screen adaptations of Pride and Prejudice and debateContinue reading “P&P Onscreen: Discussing MGM’s 1940 film – with quiz”
Kiss and Tell in Courting Jane
Hawai‘i Region founding coordinator Bob Newell answered questions about his first book, a time-travel romance titled Courting Jane during the Sept. 24, 2022 reading group discussion. Bob gamely accepted criticism, shared opinions about the characters, identified locations described in the book and explained some of his plot decisions (including the kissing and ambiguous ending). ViewContinue reading “Kiss and Tell in Courting Jane”
Courting Jane
Our next Reading Group gathering is online Saturday, September 24 at 1 p.m., when we will discuss Courting Jane. Pay vicarious visits to Regency England and a fictional Annual General Meeting in Honolulu with this Jane Austen time travel romance. Email JASNAHawaiinei@gmail.com to receive the Zoom link. The book was penned by Hawai‘i Region founder,Continue reading “Courting Jane”
The Jane Austen Project
From Maui to Washington, D.C., Reading Group participants joined our Aprll 9 Zoom discussion of The Jane Austen Project. After a brief digression to share thoughts on Masterpiece Theater’s Sanditon, Season 2, Gretchen Savage led a thought-provoking conversation on Kathleen Flynn’s story of a time traveling team who visit Jane Austen. We talked about motivation,Continue reading “The Jane Austen Project”