Monday, June 30, 2014

Top Ten Tuesday: Favorite Classic Books

As always, TTT is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish

I love, love, LOVE classics. I really do. I even have a classics shelf on my bookcase:

And a special stack of classics that have been gifted to me by my husband on special occasions. They're all special edition hardback, leather copies:
Little Women, Wuthering Heights, Pride & Prejudice

But instead of telling you about all my favorite classic books, I've decided to focus on just one. My favorite one of all.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

But I'm not just going to leave it at that. So below I'm listing my favorite adaptations (books, movies, etc) of my favorite classic book. So here we go, in no particular order:


In case you've somehow missed out on this, you should really drop everything and go watch it. It's a serialized version of P&P set in modern times and told through video diaries. I LOVE it. Even though it's over (they're now doing Emma!) I still go back and watch some of my favorite videos
Which leads me to my honorable mention of The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet.
I haven't read this yet, but definitely plan on doing so soon.

Pride & Prejudice (2004 movie version)
This is probably my personal favorite movie adaptation. I LOVE this version so much. I know what minute all of my favorite scenes take place. Not that I ever skip the rest of the movie just to watch the Darcy-Elizabeth swoon-worthy parts. Nope. Not at all.

 Pride & Prejudice (BBC Mini Series)
 Probably the most comprehensive choice on the list, this adaptation is wonderful. I just wish it wasn't quite so long sometimes, or I'd watch it more often. Bonus: It's on Amazon Prime now!

Bridget Jones' Diary by Helen Fielding
It's been a while since I've read this book, but I've always enjoyed it. Definitely quirky and interesting.

The second appearance of Colin Firth on this list. There's just something about him that says "Darcy!" I guess. I love Hugh Grant as Wickham too. So dastardly!

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik


A super cute, fun, easy read that places our characters in high school. I think I read this in about 2 hours last summer!

Books by Sharon Lathan
I won one of her books in the Armchair BEA contests and loved it! I picked up a couple of more when I was finished! I love reading slightly altered and/or continuations of P&P. These are great if you're in the mood for more Darcy & Elizabeth (and who isn't?)
 
Books by Elizabeth Aston
Aston's books are the first ones I remember stumbling upon at the library years ago. I checked out every. single. one. my library had and devoured them. They all pick up after Darcy & Elizabeth are married and follow their lives. They do go in order, so if you're interested, make sure and look up the order before reading.

One Thread Pulled by Diana J. Oaks
 I'm not sure exactly how I came upon this book, but it's great. Oaks changes one thing from the original book and takes it from there.

A Constant Love (on FanFiction.net) by SophieTurner1805
I'm an admitted fan fiction lover, and this is one of my absolute favorite ones. Often times when I'm in the middle of a reading slump, I read fan fiction to help drag me out of it. 
This story is completed, and she started the sequel yesterday. :) Here's the summary:
A Pride & Prejudice continuation: For Elizabeth, the joy of her marriage and honeymoon are quickly followed by the demands of becoming Mrs. Darcy, all while helping her shy new younger sister come out into society. Georgiana must deal with more suitors than she expected, when she fears nothing more than once again being persuaded to think she is in love with the wrong man.


So, that's it for my list! Have you guys read/watched/etc any of these? Are there any I missed that you love? Let me know in the comments! I'm always on the lookout for great P&P adaptations!

8 comments:

  1. Great list! I've only read one Jane Austen book and even that I need to re-read because it's been so long and I think I'd get more out of it now.

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  2. Oh man this is a great list. I'm a long time Jane Austen lover, but I still hadn't heard of some of these. I'm especially excited to find and read Epic Fail. It looks adorable.

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  3. This is such a great list of P&P adaptations! I'm not quite sure how I've missed out on The Lizzie Bennett Diaries, I'm pretty sure I've been living under a rock... The BBC miniseries is my all time favourite, it is just so well done.

    My TTT

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  4. I love the Pride and Prejudice movie adaptation with Kiera Knightly as well. I like how you did this post. Original. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. I've only seen the Keira Knightley adaptation out of your entire list. I've never read the book either. Actually I've never read any Jane Austen. :/ It is a great story though!

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  6. Love Love Love the Lizzie Bennett Diaries. It is sad because I've never read Pride and Prejudice and refuse to see the movie till I read the book. Sad cycle I know.

    Our TTT!

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  7. Oooo! I'm going to have to give that fanfic a try! It sounds awesome! I freaking love The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and the 2005 adaptation! Have you seen the Austenland movie? I think you'd like it based on your list here. Also, have you read Georgiana Darcy's Diary by Anna Elliott? It's a cute continuation of Pride & Prejudice but from Georgiana's point of view. And the kindle book is currently free right now!

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  8. Pride and Prejudice!!!!!!!!!!!! *Ahem*
    Have you seen Lost in Austen? You must! What about Austenland? Another must!
    On the book front, Abigail Reynolds writes AMAZING Pride and Prejudice variations! Adore her!

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