It actually is now a while ago, but I had a time about a decade ago where I read through the Jane Austen novels along with some biography and other stuff. (Emma entry written in July of 2011!) My energy level regarding reading makes it hard to imagine trying to re-read these works though enjoyed the fictional The Jane Austen Society. Didn't see the Sanditon PBS series though.
A search of the title often leads to an improvised comedy take off of Jane Austen. But, I'm concerned by the lesser known ten episode modern day television light comedy series, using four of the women (Lizzie, Emma, Marianne/Elinor) with a few of the guys (yes, "Brandon" is young form of a character that pined for the other Marianne). I found out about it because one of the actresses was in another television movie (playing Amish!) and checked her other roles. It is light and amusing. There is so much potential material, you can figure a lot more can be done to fill in the characters, including "that bitch Susan."
One review kinda wanted more and I do think it started out with a bit more potential earlier. But, again, it's well worth a check (got a DVD on Ebay for under $10), especially if you are a fan of the books. With so many options these days for programming, a Jane Austen related series of this nature [like even with modern copyright rules, she's in the public domain!] seems pretty obvious stuff. You already have a cottage industry of books out there some take-off of Jane Austen, including in modern form.
With four women characters, plus a few guys (one a friend of the women), it is not too surprising that all do not get equal billing. Marianne, for instance, eventually doesn't do too much after she gets a job at a juice shop. Liz has some time parrying with Darcy, here a lawyer who hires her to get a house, and amusingly dealing with Colin's crush. Darcy is handled pretty well and Liz has a nice light touch. She isn't as much of a rebel type as in the book, but definitely is appealing. It's too bad really we don't see her interact with her family, who she does mention, other than a bit with her parents (first episode).
Emma, whose foreign accent stands out here, doesn't have too much to do really though has some amusing scenes. She has a "not a boyfriend, friend who is a boy" relationship with the guy she winds up in the book, here not as clearly older than here -- each of the women are really, but Emma's youth stands out there. The last two episodes deal with a bit more about their relationship, he clearly being jealous when she goes out with someone else.
Marianne's sister Elinor, actually, might be the one who gets the most complex attention, including once her crush turns out to have a girlfriend. He himself says so (after she found out but didn't tell him), realistically not saying it isn't going badly or anything -- he recognized Elinor (the serious sister) and him had a connection, and wanted to be honest when their time working together was over. The whole thing was handled rather nicely, including the actress (cute but not sexy) having a nice role.
The ten episodes end with things hanging -- Marianne is planning to go to Paris with a name that sounds familiar, it is hinted there might be romance for Emma, things are left open for Liz/Darcy after we get a cameo of his sister and Elinor has a broken toe. I guess that's nice -- the episodes do tend to end with a bit of a wrap-up and suggestion of further adventures.
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Judy Blume: After her death at 104, I read and mostly enjoyed Socks, an old classic from a children's author. Judy Blume is still around and in her 80s. I checked out her most recent adult book, In the Unlikely Event, which was written about five years ago and is based on real life events in the early 1950s (three plane crashes). The book has a slew of characters, both adults and teenagers, each getting first person attention over the span of the novel. A style I appreciate; it gives you multiple points of view.
I read the first section (about 100 pages) matching up to the first plane crash. It was pretty good and quite readable. As noted in the past, in recent years, my ability to read longer books is much less in place than in the past. And, simply did not have the wherewithal to read around four hundred pages of this sort of thing. Again, it would not be hard to do so really given the book is basically a bunch of thumbnail chunks (though a teen somewhat modeled on Judy Blume is the key focus) quite approachable.
But, at this time at least, a little of that goes a long way. I have this idea that the other three hundred pages wouldn't add much more. Either way, the size was a red flag when I saw it, and was right. Still, someone else, they might enjoy the whole thing.
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Salmon Fishing in the Yemen: I recall watching this some years back (it is a 2011 film) and perhaps looking at the source book, which tells the story via email and other media. The movie is low key and charming; will try to check out the book later on. (The film was on cable again.) The entry notes the differences between the two, but as with the book/film Hopscotch, that can still work.
[I looked at the book, but could not get into it. It is basically a series of communications between the characters, which makes it a harder go.]
Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt (fishing expert and financial expert), Kristin Scott Thomas (edgy press agent for British PM, but also mom) and Amr Waked (sheik) each play their part well. McGregor's Scottish accent is rather strong here. Just to toss it there, nice to see "Timmy" from Rules of Engagement in a new sitcom, though don't know how it will go.
[I eventually saw a bit of it, but it didn't look too promising. He's a translator from Afghanistan, which in time became rather topical.]