Cannonball Read 18

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Two Stories, Rethought

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

Thor Vol 1: The Goddess of Thunder by Jason Aaron

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  I’m a big Jane Austen fan and Pride and Prejudice is my favorite of her works. Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld is a modern-day retelling of this classic story that stays pretty faithful to the spirit of the original. Elizabeth Bennet is here re-imagined as a writer for a women’s magazine. She is 38 and living in New York City. She and her elder sister, Jane, unexpectedly return to Cincinnati after their father has a heart attack. They find their family and their childhood home […]

“There’s no shame in devoting yourself to another person, as long as he devotes himself to you in return.”

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld

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Last year I unexpectedly enjoyed Pride and Prejudice during Cannonball Bingo; I decided to read Curtis Sittenfeld’s modern retelling because I have enjoyed several other books she’s written. Unfortunately this adaptation is often times hampered by its premise and would have been better served not trying to fit so tightly into an Austen shaped boxed. While I usually find myself screaming at film adaptations that stray too far from the original I actually wish Sittenfeld been a bit looser with her translation like Clueless, another Austen retelling,or She’s the Man, […]

Pride and Prejudice…. if the Bennetts were worse than the original

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First, a disclaimer.  I LOVE me some Pride and Prejudice. I own several copies of the book, I love both the BBC miniseries, and the Kiera Knightly movie.  I have a scarf printed with text from the book.  I have read many of the modern ‘spinoff’ novels, and have enjoyed most of them. So when I saw Eligible in the Charlotte airport while looking for a book to kill time during an unexpected layover, it was a no-brainer for me. All that to say….. meh. […]

“There’s no better investment than your cleavage.”

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I really liked this one!  I’m a big fan of Pride and Prejudice, and I’ve been known to pick up a Pride and Prejudice “sequel” or two. (I’ve even gone as far as reading the fanfiction.  Because I’m that person.)  I tend to shy away from the “modern” retellings of the Austen tale, though. Usually because they’re poorly written.  But I was pleasantly surprised with this one!   Many of the characters from the original are here, and our core cast even have the same […]

P&P in Cinci

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So thanks to all my fellow Cannonballers Eligible popped up on my radar. I hadn’t heard about the Austen Project, but if I’d had it isn’t really my thing. I’m a huge Austenite (minus Mansfield Park because… ugh), but I don’t do messing with her very well. I don’t do the “sequels” or the re-imaginings easily (except Clueless which is one of the most perfect movies ever made). I haven’t even seen the Joe Wright version of P&P, because it’s Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth […]

Just like Jane Austen, but with reality TV, Cross Fit, anorexia, and tons of premarital sex.

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Eligible is not a 5-star piece of literature. But I enjoyed the hell out of it. I could not put this sucker down. I’m sort of sad that I’m now caught up with all of the books thus far written for The Austen Project (see my previous reviews of Emma: A Modern Retelling, Northanger Abbey, and Sense & Sensibility) and this one is by far my favorite. Liz Bennet is in her late 30’s, living as a magazine editor in New York City, having an affair with the […]



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