Austenland by Shannon Hale

Austenland (2007) (Bloomsbury)
Shannon Hale
Grade: C
Genre: chick lit
Source: own
Austenland: (1) Austenland

Romance RBC 2015: A book that became a film 

Thirty-something Jane Hayes has always had a slight obsession with all things Jane Austen-related, and her obsession has only intensified over time. Proud owner of all the books and DVDs of television and film adaptations alike, Jane has modelled her perfect man on none other than Mr Darcy (the Colin Firth version, of course), meaning that all her boyfriends have never quite lived up to her expectations. When a wealthy aunt leaves Jane an all-expenses-paid-for three-week trip to English countryside retreat ‘Austenland’ in her will, where visitors immerse themselves into nineteenth century living, Jane can’t say no. Jane sees this as her opportunity to get her final fill of Jane Austen and close the door on her unattainable fantasies, but will this trip give Jane the closure she wants, or could she possibly get a Mr Darcy of her own?

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday

Salmon Fishing in the Yemen (2007) (Phoenix)
Paul Torday
Grade: A-
Genre: fiction
Source: own

General RBC 2015: A book that became a film 

Dr Alfred Jones, a respected fisheries scientist with the National Centre for Fisheries Excellence and an avid fisherman, has been tasked with the impossible: to introduce salmon to the Yemen. Coerced by his boss and political manoeuvring higher-up, Fred takes on the project against his better judgement. But as time passes, he can’t help but be enticed by the conviction of Sheikh Muhammad ibn Zaidi bani Tihama, Yemeni national who is funding the project and who is deeply passionate about bringing fly-fishing to the desert. Working closely with the Sheikh’s agent, Harriet Chetwode-Talbot of Fitzharris & Price, this outlandish task sees Fred out of the comforts of his office and jetting between Scotland and the Yemen, forced to deal with meddling politicians and administrators while working through a particularly rocky time in his 20-year marriage. This project is an upstream battle, defying even common sense, until he can hardly recognise the man he has become …

How I Live Now - The Film

With the Brighton Shakedown Festival still pounding on outside my windows, and tons of environmental law reading to do on my desk, finding out about the How I Live Now film was the second best thing of my day (losing out narrowly to watching the latest episode of Scandal).

According to Shelfari, I last read How I Live Now in 2007, with my first reading several years prior. I love this book. Testament to this is the fact that I actually remember most of the salient points about the plot, which I normally don't with the majority of books I read. Basically, fifteen-year-old Daisy is sent from America to live with the aunt and four cousins that she's never met (one cousin is cut from the film). Her aunt goes away on business shortly after Daisy arrives, and it's the beginning of a summer that she'll never forget, that changes her life irrevocably forever. Alongside falling in love, World War Three breaks out and despite being tucked away in the English countryside, Daisy and her cousins aren't immune from harm. Unfortunately, I don't remember how the book ends, but now I'm itching to get my hands on a copy and find out all over again.

This is a beautiful book. Strange, yes, it's got that in bucketloads, but beautiful all the same. Now, nine years after it was first published, the film is being released. I'm curious about how they tackled the film. From the trailer, it looks like that for the most part, it's a fairly accurate adaptation; one thing I don't remember is Daisy being so tomboy-ish. That said, for practical reasons (i.e. not having more hours in the day, and already being behind on work despite only having had one week back at uni) I'm highly unlikely to actually see it in the cinema, for which I'm really sad about. Let me know if you've seen it, and what you think!

Image courtesy of Fantastic Fiction.