Reviews

If you didn’t know Jane Austen wrote a sequel to Emma, that’s because she didn’t. This sequel was written by Rachel Billington. The story opens a year after Emma’s marriage to Mr. Knightley with the couple still living at Hartfield with Mr. Woodhouse

The review for Emma and Knightley by Rachel Billington was originally written 2/2/2009 for Literary Fiction, BellaOnline. The full review of Emma and Knightley can now be read at Squid Lit.

Atticus Fitch is a widowed father of two children; Jean Louis (Mary Badham) who goes by the nickname Scout is 6 years old and her brother Jeremy Atticus (Phillip Alford) who goes by the nick name Jem is 10 years old.

The review for To Kill a Mockingbird was originally written 1/19/2009 for Literary Fiction, BellaOnline. The full review of To Kill a Mockingbird can now be read at Squid Flix.

Amanda Price is an ardent Jane Austen fan. She is bored with her job during the day and frustrated with her boyfriend Michael at night. In between she “patches” herself up with Jane Austen. One evening she is home alone enjoying yet again the…

The review for Lost in Austen was originally written 12/30/2008 for Literary Fiction, BellaOnline. The full review of Lost in Austen can now be read at Squid Lit.

Iris Murdoch’s The Bell is her fourth of twenty-six published novels. It was released in 1958 but takes place in England in the late forties. This is my second Murdoch novel and I found it flows and is much more vivid in detail than her…

This review of Iris Murdoch’s book was first posted on 5/24/2008 at Literary Fiction, BellaOnline. The Bell book review can now be read in full at Squid Lit.

Using the bestsellers lists from Publishers Weekly and USA Today (1993 – 2003) the authors read all the books we were buying and devised an opinion on what type of readers buy what books. They looked at four categories: hardcover fiction, hardcover…

The review for the book Why We Read What We Read Book was first published at 4/12/2008 at Literary Fiction BellaOnline. The full review of Why We Read… can now be read at SquidLit.

Brief History: Archie McPhee is a retail store in Seattle, Washington that offers a wide variety of pop culture knickknacks for kids and adults. With over 10,000 products it is impossible to name them all, not to mention you probably wouldn’t believe me until you seen them for yourself. They have been in operation since 1983.

Product: Jane Austen Action Figure.

Description: This 5 1/4″ tall action figure is made of hard vinyl and comes with a mini Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice novel, a writing desk and a removable quill pen.

Packaging: The action figure comes securely packaged in a double layer of clear sturdy plastic with cardboard backing. The cardboard backing is printed with Jane Austen facts and quotes from her popular novels.

Price: Each figure sells for $8.95 US.

Shipping: McPhee delivers within the U.S. only. Reasonable charges begin at $4.95.

Comments: I came across this action figure last year and thought it would be a great “cute” gift for any Austen fan and have wanted one for some time but the item obviously didn’t warrant spending $30 plus to have it delivered to Canada. Some months passed and it was still in my mind so I finally asked a dear American friend to order two for me, have them delivered to her and then send them to me with some other things she was sending. I ordered two because one was for my bookshelf and the other was to be used as a prize in a writing group I belong to. Being the good friend that she is, she gifted them to me.

Satisfaction: Despite the round-about way I attained these action figures I’m glad I finally have them. These figures definitely do not fall under the “usable toy” category in which someone could actually play with them. Before I had the rigid packaging open I had broken the Pride and Prejudice book from Jane Austen’s hand. Once out I tried to remove the “removable quill” from her other hand and almost broke that to. I still haven’t taken it out. I haven’t tried to move the arms more than a few millimetres for fear of separating them from her body. Luckily, I didn’t plan on playing with her. I just wanted her for an inspirational ornament for my bookshelf and that function seems to be working out beautifully. My only wish is that the desk actually came with legs like some of the other action figure sets. At the moment it sits propped at her feet. If you’re a Jane Austen fan I don’t think your book collection is complete until you have this action figure standing guard over her works. Just don’t let the kids play with it.

The Jane Austen Action Figure can be found at the Archie McPhee website.

Elizabeth George is best known for her psychological crime novels. She has 15 books published. This is her first short story collection.

The review of I, Richard was first published at 1/5/2008 at Literary Fiction BellaOnline. The full review of this audio book can now be read at SquidLit.

I watched Going to Tell You a Secret last night and quite enjoyed it. It was a behind-the-scenes look at Madonna and her interactions with her dance troupe and family during her Re-Invention World Tour.

There was a lot of relevant dialogue about religion, politics, relationships (romantic love versus true love) and family but a few of the things that stuck were:

“Re-invent Yourself”
“Sometimes fun is overrated.”
“Know more, Learn more, Achieve more”

The documentary alternates between black and white and color performances which is cool. There’s footage from auditions, rehearsals, taping, shows and some interactions with Guy Ritchie and their children; and a few celebrity cameos from Micheal Moore, Gwyneth Paltrow and Iggy pop.

It was just under two hours but it went by quickly. Madonna has matured a lot since the Truth or Dare days. She comes across as caring and fun to be with. I really enjoyed watching this documentary and felt inspired throughout it. It you’re a fan of Madonna or are just a bit curious I think you’ll enjoy this documentary.

Pomegranate Soup is the story of ‘new beginnings’; of planting seeds, letting the roots take hold and rejoicing in what blooms. Sometimes it isn´t all that was expected and sometimes it´s even better.

This review of Pomegranate Soup was first published on 8/14/2007 at Literary Fiction, BellaOnline. The full review of Pomegranate Soup can now be read at SquidLit.

Iris Murdoch (1919 – 1999) was a prolific author and philosopher having written twenty-seven works of fiction, five philosophical books, six plays and two books of poetry. Her novel, The Sea, the Sea, won the 1978 Booker Prize. The focus of this story is Iris and John’s relationship and their mutual love of words.

The review for the movie Iris was first published at 7/2/2007 at Literary Fiction BellaOnline. The full review of Iris can now be read at SquidFlix.