Every Woman Dreams…

One of my fellow Austen Authors recently posted her top ten “love” quotes from movies. I have chosen some of my favorites (in no particular order). I had a great time doing this, but I ran out of space. I think I will revisit the idea again soon. (P.S. Tell me some of your favorites. Perhaps we can start a trend and post them on imbd.)

Pride & Prejudice (2005)
“…If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love … I love … I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on.”
—Darcy (Matthew MacFadyen) to Elizabeth (Keira Knightley)

Dirty Dancing (1987)
“Me? I’m scared of everything. I’m scared of what I saw, I’m scared of what I did, of who I am, and most of all I’m scared of walking out of this room and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I’m with you.”  Baby (Jennifer Grey) to Johnny (Patrick Swayze).

Love Actually (2003)
“But for now, let me say — without hope or agenda, just because it’s Christmas and at Christmas you tell the truth — to me, you are perfect. And my wasted heart will love you. Until you look like this [picture of a mummy]. Merry Christmas.”  Mark (Andrew Lincoln) to Juliet (Keira Knightley)

Notting Hill (1999)
“Don’t forget I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.”
— Anna (Julia Roberts) to William (Hugh Grant)

Titanic (1997)
“Winning that ticket, Rose, was the best thing that ever happened to me… it brought me to you … You must do me this honor, Rose. Promise me you’ll survive. That you won’t give up, no matter what happens, no matter how hopeless. Promise me now, Rose, and never let go of that promise.”
— Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) to Rose (Kate Winslet)

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)
“…You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you. No matter how long it takes, no matter how far, I will find you.”
— Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis) to Cora (Madeleine Stowe)

When Harry Met Sally (1989)
“I love that you get cold when it’s 71 degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get a little crinkle in your nose when you’re looking at me like I’m nuts. I love that after I spend day with you, I can still smell your perfume on my clothes. And I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night. And it’s not because I’m lonely, and it’s not because it’s New Year’s Eve. I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible.”
— Harry (Billy Crystal) to Sally (Meg Ryan)

The Notebook (2004)
“So it’s not gonna be easy. It’s gonna be really hard. We’re gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, forever, you and me, every day. Will you do something for me, please? Just picture your life for me? 30 years from now, 40 years from now? What’s it look like? If it’s with him, go. Go! I lost you once, I think I can do it again. If I thought that’s what you really wanted. But don’t you take the easy way out.”
— Noah (Ryan Gosling) to Allie (Rachel McAdams)

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)
“It was a million tiny little things that, when you added them all up, they meant we were supposed to be together … and I knew it. I knew it the very first time I touched her. It was like coming home. .. only to no home I’d ever known … I was just taking her hand to help her out of a car and I knew. It was like … magic.”
— Sam (Tom Hanks) speaking of his deceased wife to the radio show

Gone with the Wind (1939)
“No, I don’t think I will kiss you, although you need kissing, badly. That’s what’s wrong with you. You should be kissed and often, and by someone who knows how.”
— Rhett (Clark Gable) to Scarlett (Vivien Leigh)

Casablanca (1942)
“Here’s looking at you, kid.”
—Rick (Humphrey Bogart) to Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman)

Love Story (1970)
“Love means never having to say you’re sorry.”
—Jennifer (Ali MacGraw) to Oliver (Ryan O’Neal)

Jerry Maguire (1996)
“You had me at hello.”
— Dorothy (Renée Zellweger) to Jerry (Tom Cruise)

Sense and Sensibility (1995)
But wait, there’s more!
“My heart is, and always will be, yours.” — Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) to Elinor Dashwood (Emma Thompson)

On Golden Pond (1981)
“Listen to me, mister. You’re my knight in shining armor. Don’t forget it.”
— Ethel (Katharine Hepburn) to Norman (Henry Fonda)

An Affair to Remember (1957)
“Oh, it’s nobody’s fault but my own! I was looking up… it was the nearest thing to heaven! You were there…” — Terry McKay (Deborah Kerr) to Nick Ferrante (Cary Grant)

Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Lara (Julie Christie): “Wouldn’t it have been lovely if we had met before?”


Zhivago (Omar Sharif): “Before we did? Yes.”
Lara: “We’d have got married, had a house and children. If we’d had children, Yuri, would you like a boy or girl?”
Zhivago: “I think we may go mad if we think about all that.”
Lara: “I shall always think about it.”

Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)
Watts (Mary Stuart Masterson): [putting on Keith’s diamond earrings] “What do you think?”
Keith (Eric Stoltz): “You look good wearing my future.”

Wuthering Heights (1939)
“Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest so long as I live on! I killed you. Haunt me, then! Haunt your murderer! I know that ghosts have wandered on the Earth. Be with me always. Take any form, drive me mad, only do not leave me in this dark alone where I cannot find you. I cannot live without my life! I cannot die without my soul.” — Heathcliff (Laurence Olivier)

A Room with a View (1985)
“He’s the sort who can’t know anyone intimately, least of all a woman. He doesn’t know what a woman is. He wants you for a possession, something to look at, like a painting or an ivory box. Something to own and to display. He doesn’t want you to be real, and to think and to live. He doesn’t love you. But I love you. I want you to have your own thoughts and ideas and feelings, even when I hold you in my arms. It’s our last chance.” — George Emerson (Julian Sands)

The Way We Were (1973)
Katie (Barbra Streisand): “Wouldn’t it be lovely if we were old? We’d have survived all this. Everything thing would be easy and uncomplicated; the way it was when we were young.”
Hubbell (Robert Redford): “Katie, it was never uncomplicated.”

The Time Traveler’s Wife (2009)

I want to tell you, again, I love you. Our love has been the thread through the labyrinth, the net under the high-wire walker, the only real thing in this strange life of mine that I could ever trust. Tonight I feel that my love for you has more density in this world than I do, myself: as though it could linger on after me and surround you, keep you, hold you. Henry DeTamble (Eric Bana) to Claire Abshire (Rachel McAdams)

Ten Things I Hate About You(19966)

I hate the way you talk to me, and the way you cut your hair. I hate the way you drive my car. I hate it when you stare. I hate your big dumb combat boots, and the way you read my mind. I hate you so much it makes me sick; it even makes me rhyme. I hate it, I hate the way you’re always right. I hate it when you lie. I hate it when you make me laugh, even worse when you make me cry. I hate it that you’re not around, and the fact that you didn’t call. But mostly I hate the way I don’t hate you. Not even close, not even a little bit, not even at all. Kat Stratford (Julia Stiles) speaking of Patrick Verona (Heath Ledger)

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Francesca (Meryl Streep): Robert, please. You don’t understand, no-one does. When a woman makes the choice to marry, to have children; in one way her life begins but in another way it stops. You build a life of details. You become a mother, a wife and you stop and stay steady so that your children can move. And when they leave they take your life of details with them. And then you’re expected move again only you don’t remember what moves you because no-one has asked in so long. Not even yourself. You never in your life think that love like this can happen to you.
Robert Kincaid (Clint Eastwood): But now that you have it…
Francesca: I want to keep it forever. I want to love you the way I do now the rest of my life. Don’t you understand… we’ll lose it if we leave. I can’t make an entire life disappear to start a new one. All I can do is try to hold onto to both. Help me. Help me not lose loving you.

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)

Robert Kincaid: This kind of certainty comes but once in a lifetime.

The Bridges of Madison County (1995)
Francesca: And in that moment, everything I knew to be true about myself up until then was gone. I was acting like another woman, yet I was more myself than ever before.

Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)

Frances (Diane Lane): Do you know the most surprising thing about divorce? It doesn’t actually kill you. Like a bullet to the heart or a head-on car wreck. It should. When someone you’ve promised to cherish till death do you part says “I never loved you,” it should kill you instantly. You shouldn’t have to wake up day after day after that, trying to understand how in the world you didn’t know. The light just never went on, you know. I must have known, of course, but I was too scared to see the truth. Then fear just makes you so stupid.
Martini(Vincent Riotta): No, it’s not stupid, Signora Mayes. L’amore e cieco.
Frances: Oh, love is blind. Yeah, we have that saying too.
Martini: Everybody has that saying because it’s true everywhere.

It Happened One Night (1934)
Ellie Andrews (Claudetter Colbert): Have you ever been in love, Peter?
Peter Warne (Clark Gable): Me?
Ellie Andrews: Yes. Haven’t you ever thought about it at all? It seems to me you, you could make some girl wonderfully happy.
Peter Warne: Sure I’ve thought about it. Who hasn’t? If I could ever meet the right sort of girl. Aw, where you gonna find her? Somebody that’s real. Somebody that’s alive. They don’t come that way anymore. Have I ever thought about it? I’ve even been sucker enough to make plans. You know, I saw an island in the Pacific once. I’ve never been able to forget it. That’s where I’d like to take her. She’d have to be the sort of a girl who’d… well, who’d jump in the surf with me and love it as much as I did. You know, nights when you and the moon and the water all become one. You feel you’re part of something big and marvelous. That’s the only place to live… where the stars are so close over your head you feel you could reach up and stir them around. Certainly, I’ve been thinking about it. Boy, if I could ever find a girl who was hungry for those things…
[she comes around the blanket “Walls of Jericho” and kneels by his bed]
Ellie Andrews: Take me with you, Peter. Take me to your island. I want to do all those things you talked about.
Peter Warne: You’d better go back to your bed.
Ellie Andrews: I love you. Nothing else matters. We can run away. Everything will take care of itself. Please, Peter, I can’t let you out of my life now. I couldn’t live without you.
[she cries in his arms]
Peter Warne: [firmly] You’d better go back to your bed.
Ellie Andrews: I’m sorry.
[she returns to her bed still crying]

Up Close & Personal (1996)
Tally Atwater (Michelle Pfeiffer): Do you want to be with me?
Warren Justice (Robert Redford): So much it hurts.

Charade (1963)
Adam Canfield (Cary Grant) Well, what did you expect me to say? That a pretty girl with an outrageous manner means more to an old pro like me than a quarter of a million dollars?
Reggie Lampert (Audrey Hepburn): I don’t suppose so.
Adam Canfield: Well, it’s a toss-up, I can tell you that.
Reggie Lampert: What did you say?
Adam Canfield: Hasn’t it occurred to you that I’m having a tough time keeping my hands off you?
[Regina is stunned]
Adam Canfield: Oh, you should see your face.
Reggie Lampert: What’s the matter with it?
Adam Canfield: It’s lovely.
[Regina drops her knife and fork]
Adam Canfield: What’s the matter now?
Reggie Lampert: I’m not hungry anymore; isn’t it glorious?

Two Weeks’ Notice (2003)

George Wade (Hugh Grant): I need your advice on one last thing, then I promise you will never hear from me again. You see, I’ve just delivered the first speech I’ve written entirely by myself since we met, and I think I may have blown it. I want to ask your thoughts. Okay? Then I will read it to you. I’d like to welcome everyone on this special day. Island Towers will bring glamour and prestige to the neighborhood and become part of Brooklyn’s renaissance. And I’m very pleased and proud to be here. Unfortunately, there is one fly in the ointment. You see, I gave my word to someone that we wouldn’t knock down this building behind me. And normally, and those of you who know me or were married to me can attest to this, my word wouldn’t mean very much. So why does it this time? Well, partly because this building is an architectural gem and deserves to be landmarked and partly because people really do need a place to do senior’s water ballet and CPR. Preferably not together. But mainly because this person, despite being unusually stubborn and unwilling to compromise and a very poor dresser, is… she’s rather like the building she loves so much. A little rough around the edges but, when you look closely, absolutely beautiful. And the only one of her kind. And even though I’ve said cruel things and driven her away, she’s become the voice in my head. And I can’t seem to drown her out. And I don’t want to drown her out. So, we are going to keep the community center. Because I gave my word to her and because we gave our word to the community. And I didn’t sleep with June. That’s not in the speech, that’s just me letting you know that important fact. What do you think?
Lucy Kelson (Sandra Bullock): I have to get back to work.
George Wade: Right. Right, yes. Sorry to disturb you. Congratulations, again, Polly.
[leaves]
Lucy Kelson: Aside from the split infinitive that was somewhere in the middle, that speech was actually quite perfect, wasn’t it?
Polly St. Clair: Yeah. I don’t know what the hell you’re still doing sitting here. And I don’t even like him.
Lucy Kelson: [runs after George]

Notting Hill (1999)
P.R. Chief (John Shrapnel): Next question? Yes. You in the pink shirt.
William (Hugh Grant): Uh, right. Miss Scott, are there any circumstances that you and he might be more than just friends.
Anna Scott (Julia Roberts): I hoped that there would be but I’ve been assured that there’s not.
William: Yes, but what if…
P.R. Chief: I’m sorry. Just the one question.
Anna Scott: No. It’s all right. You were saying?
William: I was just wondering what if this person…
Journalist: Thacker. His name is Thacker.
William: Right. Thanks. What if, uh, Mr. Thacker realized that he had been a daft prick and got down on his knees and begged you to reconsider if you would… indeed… reconsider.
Anna Scott: [pause] Yes. I believe I would.
William: That’s wonderful news. The readers of Horse and Hound will be relieved.

Additional casting has been announced for the new film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, starring film and stage star Keira Knightley in the title role. Joe Wright is directing the project, which will have a screenplay by Tony Award and Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard. Stoppard also wrote the Tony award winning Coast of Utopia, set during the Russian Renaissance.
Tolstoy’s novel centers on a 19th-century Russian woman stuck in a loveless marriage who struggles with her attraction to a soldier.
Tony Award nominee Jude Law will play Anna’s husband, Aleksei Karenin; and Aaron Johnson will play Count Vronsky. Rounding out the cast will be Kelly Macdonald, Matthew Macfadyen, Domhnall Gleeson, Alicia Vikander, Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, and Ruth Wilson.
The film’s creative team includes composer Dario Marianelli, costume designer Jacqueline Durran, production designer Sarah Greenwood, and cinematographer Philippe Rousselot.

Time
Saturday, October 1 at 12:00am – October 31 at 11:30pm
Location
http://gaskellblog.wordpress.com
Created By
Katherine Cox
More Info
Katherine of Gaskell Blog requests the pleasure of your company as we join Miss Matty and her friends in “The Picnic at Cranford” throughout the month of October

The main goal of the tour is to keep it fun and informative, I’m requesting fellow bloggers to join in by writing a post. Your post can be anything related to or inspired by Cranford; a character study, a ‘Cranfordian’ experience or story you would like to share or create, your thoughts on the adaptations, a letter to one of the characters, etc.

If you would like to sign up for the tour please contact me with your name, a link to your blog, and what your post will be about (I’m happy to offer suggestions). You can also leave a comment saying you’d like to join in.

Feel free to ask questions and please spread the word.

The LA Times says, “Few 18th century authors have achieved the modern popular success that Jane Austen now enjoys. Her novels are always in print, and in the last decades they have been adapted into films and television miniseries, from Sense and Sensibility, Emma, Persuasion, and Mansfield Park to perhaps her best-known work, Pride and Prejudice.” While looking at the South Coast Repertory Theatre’s upcoming production of yet another Jane Austen adaptation (Sense and Sensibility), The LA Times explored some of the other phenomena often associated with Jane Austen.

What is the best modern-day Austen adaptation? Their choices were Clueless and Bridget Jones Diary, but are there other contenders? I enjoy Lost in Austen. What about The Lake House? Bride and Prejudice?

Why does Jane endure? (Austen or Eyre) I have my own opinion of this, but I would love to hear yours.

What was your first Jane Austen experience? Mine occurred at age 12 when I fell desperately in love with Mr. Darcy. I’m afraid that little has changed in the last half century.

Which Austen character are you? I am a bit Elizabeth Bennet with with a love of twisting words. There’s some of Elinor Dashwood’s sense of responsibility. Occasionally, I can be Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Imperious!! Authoritative!!

What is the best movie, TV or miniseries based on Austen’s work? Most people would choose the 1995 Pride and Prejudice with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle. It certainly brought a resurgence to Austen mania. It also shifted Austen’s story from Elizabeth Bennet to “the making of Mr. Darcy.” Many of Firth’s devoted fans discovered him with that series. I love the 1995 version of Persuasion with Ciarán Hinds and Amanda Root. It remains very close to the book, and I appreciate that.

If you would like to read the complete article, go to http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-0907-austen-questions-20110907,0,4334635.story

A Library in Dire Need: My Anniversary Cause

Published September 4, 2011 | By Abigail Reynolds (I have shamelessly taken this post from http://austenauthors.net to allow others to speak to the cause that Abigail Reynolds has brought to our attention.)

Mr. Bennet was glad to take his guest into the drawing-room again, and when tea was over, glad to invite him to read aloud to the ladies. Mr. Collins readily assented, and a book was produced; but on beholding it (for every thing announced it to be from a circulating library), he started back, and begging pardon, protested that he never read novels.

Mr. Collins may never have read novels from a circulating library, but we know that Jane Austen did. Given the price of books at the time, it was a necessity for most readers. Our own Abigail Reynolds grew up in a small town in upstate New York where the public library was her lifeline. She states, “The first copy of Pride & Prejudice I read came from the public library. That’s why it broke my heart last week when I read the information below in The Daily Gazette.”

At the Schoharie Free Library, Director Cathy Caiazzo started sifting through the thousands of ruined books in the collection. More than 26 inches of water covered the first floor of the Victorian structure on the corner of Knower Avenue.

Books, computers, and paper records were all badly damaged. The shed containing books to be sold at an upcoming sale was lifted from its footings and carried several blocks away.

“I think that might be it,” she said, squinting at the small yellow building barely visible in the distance.

Only the library’s collection of non-fiction books — stored in the second floor — was unscathed.

Yesterday I got this email from the librarian there:

Abigail,

Thank you so much for spreading the word about us! The library’s mailing address is PO Box 519, Schoharie, NY 12157-0519. The village’s mail is currently being diverted, but it will arrive eventually (I’m sure the bills will!).

The library’s website is http://www.schoharielibrary.org and there’s a link to photos on Flikr there also.

I have a shirt that says “Libraries are the *heart* of every community” and I’m realizing now how right it is.

Stay in touch,

Cathy Caiazzo

Last night Abigail Reynolds posted on Facebook about the library’s situation, and the response was heartwarming. People have been asking how they can best help. The library will need books, but probably doesn’t have much space to put them yet. In the meantime, people can send checks or gift certificates from Amazon, B&N, or IndieBound. For people who would like to support them through a local independent bookstore, Reynolds suggests calling the Open Door Bookstore (518-346-2719) in nearby Schenectady and ask for a gift certificate for the Schoharie Free Library. We will post updates about the library and how to help as we receive more information. Our deepest thanks goes to everyone who can help and/or repost the information to reach more people. Let’s make sure the people in this devastated area at least have books in which they can escape from their struggles. Jane Austen would be proud!

One year ago, 24 authors of Austen-inspired literature combined on one website to promote their books and their love of everything Austen. A year later, http://austenauthors.net is a thriving successful website. For six days, we will celebrate our success by giving you, our fans, “tons” of great prizes.

Despite not all writing for the same publishing companies, the authors involved have experience a resurgence of interest in their writing. Regina Jeffers explains, “If one of my fans walked into the typical bookstore, he would have to search through the stacks of new literature found in the ‘general fiction section.’ There is no ‘Jane Austen section’ in most book stores, and we do not ‘qualify’ as historical fiction or romance. By combining forces, my fans have found Abigail Reynolds; Reynolds fans have found Sharon Lathan; Lathan’s fans have found Mary Simonsen, etc. We all benefit because we have exposure to a larger fan base.”

For the anniversary giveaways, see the post below.

Monday, September 5, begins a one-week celebration of our beginnings. Austen Authors is one year old, and we plan to celebrate with lots of fabulous prizes. To win, sign on and comment. For extra opportunities to win, send out a “Tweet” or a posting on Facebook. Full rules may be found under the “Giveaway” page at http://austenauthors.net.

Here are some of the fabulous gifts:

$60 Barnes and Noble Gift Card.

$20 Barnes and Noble Gift Card

A Jane Austen Tarot Card Deck and a box of Bingley’s Teas “Wicked Wickham”

Sourcebooks is donated a Georgette Heyer duo. Bath Tangle and Cousin Kate

Ulysses Press is offering another duo. The Ballad of Gregoire Darcy by Marsha Altman and a signed copy of Captain Wentworth’s Persuasion by Regina Jeffers

Ulysses Press is offering a Juliette Shapiro due. Mr. Darcy’s Decision and Sandition

Mary Simonsen is offering signed copies of The Perfect Bride for Mr. Darcy and Darcy on the Hudson.

Sharon Lathan is offering signed copies of The Trouble with Mr. Darcy and an advanced reader copy (ARC) of Miss Darcy Falls in Love.

Monica Fairview is offering a signed copy of The Darcy Cousins.

In addition, our own Heather Riguad will launch her first novel, Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star, and will be giving away a signed copy. Plus, we have invited Karen Doornebos to join our group. Her novel, Definitely Not Mr. Darcy, is available September 6, and she plans to give away multiple autographed copies of her book.

Finally, Juliet Archer will be featuring her newest novel, Persuade Me.

COME JOIN THE FUN AND TAKE HOME THESE FABULOUS PRIZES!!!

HELP SUPPORT THE FIGHT AGAINST OVARIAN CANCER AND WIN A WRITING CRITIQUE!
BY RT BOOK REVIEWS, AUGUST 30, 2011
RT Book Reviews in helping to promote Celebrate National Ovarian Cancer Awareness month by promoting a contest for aspiring writers. By following the link below, it is possible to win a critique from one of five of the best writers in the marketplace today. Each author is offering a chapter critique or a brainstorming session to the winner. This is all in support of Heather McCollum, a fellow author who has recently been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

As news of Heather’s disease spread, authors Katharine Ashe, Cynthia Cooke, Cindy Holby, Virginia Kantra and Emilie Rose came up with this unusual offer in support of their friend.

All a person needs to do for his chance to win one of these five critique sessions is to buy a raffle ticket, which is just a dollar. The proceeds of the raffle go to the Duke University Medical Center, where Heather McCollum is receiving care. To enter, one can either attend the Heart of Carolina’s Romance Writers September chapter meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina. Or he can purchase tickets online by following the instructions on the Critiques for Heather page at the Ovarian Walk website.

This post comes from RT Reviews. For the complete article, click
http://www.rtbookreviews.com/rt-daily-blog/help-support-fight-against-ovarian-cancer-and-win-writing-critique

On a personal note, I am a member of Heart of Carolina RWA, although I do not get to many of the meetings as HCRW is located in Raleigh, and I live in Charlotte, nearly a 4-hour drive. However, I was honored to be on a Romance Panel in Cary, NC, with Heather recently. She and her family are fighting the disease with a marked determination. Please support her efforts to find a cure.

For the complete story, please see http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/aug/21/classic-novels-film-tv-eyre-wuthering

We have seen a resurgence in the filming of the classics of late. Jane Austen, the Brontes, and Charles Dickens have never lost their edge in writing stories that transcend their times. What the truly great writers have to say is relevant for each generation. Austen explains the gender gap and women’s lack of empowerment as well as any modern day writer. Dickens is a master at speaking of the struggles of the lower classes.

In The Guardian’s article, Christine Langan, who runs BBC Films, defended the latest cinematic adaptations of novels by Charlotte and Emily Brontë – the recently released Cary Fukunaga’s Jane Eyre and Andrea Arnold’s Wuthering Heights, due for release in November – against accusations of deja vu. “People,” Langan sighed, “will be saying, ‘Why the hell are they doing all that over again?'”

The article from The Guardian goes on to say, “Certain books – by the Brontës and by Jane Austen and Dickens – are indispensable to us and accompany us through life. When we first read them, they prospectively sketch our quest to discover who we are and our struggle to impose ourselves on the world; in later decades, they remain as markers of our progress or testaments to our disillusionment. In Jane Eyre, a disadvantaged girl prevails by force of will and by the intensity of an uncompromising imagination. Oliver Twist is about an even more disadvantaged boy who survives thanks to the kindness of strangers and remains angelically immune to the depravity around him.”

I have seen the newest Jane Eyre adaptation, which stars Craig Roberts, Jamie Bell, Mia Wasikowska, Michael Fassbender, and Sally Hawkins, and although it is not my favorite version of the book, it ranks high on the list. (I prefer the Toby Stephens/Ruth Wilson version to all others. By the way, the Ciaran Hinds/Samantha Morton 1997 version of the film is on Ovation tonight.) I do so remember reading this book for the first time. I was as devastated as the young Jane Eyre to discover that Mr. Rochester had a wife locked away, and my Cinderella syndrome soared to learn of Bertha’s demise and that Jane and Rochester could finally be together. I was in the depths of Heathcliffe’s despair when he frantically dug away at Catherine’s grave. I have experienced Elizabeth Bennet’s realization that she had made the biggest mistake of her young life by judging Mr. Darcy by Wickham’s standards.

If you agree that there can never be enough Austen or Brontes or Dickens, leave a comment below.

Are books dead, and can authors survive?
At the Edinburgh international book festival this past weekend, Ewan Morrison set out his bleak vision of a publishing industry in terminal decline. The above picture is a shortened version of his prediction.

Last words … the end of professional writing is nigh. Photograph: Sunset/Rex
Ewan Morrison
guardian.co.uk, Mon 22 Aug 2011 17.21 BST
Will books, as we know them, come to an end?
According to Morrison, the answer is an absolute. Morrison predicts that within 25 years, paper books will be obsolete. I certainly hope not. Not so much for my own writing career. At my age, I am not likely to live another five and twenty years, but for the end of a time honored tradition, I would grieve. I once heard Ray Bradbury speak about the smell and the feel of books, and I totally agree with that sentiment. I love my Kindle and my Nook for their convenience, especially when I am on the road, but I still love the feel of a book in my hands. I prefer to see how close I am to finishing another great story. Those percentage marks at the bottom of my Kindle page do not measure up in that respect. Morrison says, “The digital revolution will not emancipate writers or open up a new era of creativity, it will mean that writers offer up their work for next to nothing or for free. Writing, as a profession, will cease to exist.”

For the complete article, visit The Guardian at http://m.guardian.co.uk/ms/p/gnm/op/view.m?id=15&cat=books&gid=%2Fbooks%2F2011%2Faug%2F22%2Fare-books-dead-ewan-morrison&type=article

What is your opinion? Will books go the way of the 8-track?