Last Sunday, I talked about watching Victoria and Albert. Today I’m going to be talking gushing about the movie Young Victoria. How much do I love Young Victoria? Well, I’ve seen it four times since the first week of March! IF I owned it, well, I’m sure the number would be even higher. For I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE and adore this movie!!! What do I love about this movie? Well, it might be simpler to ask what I don’t love about this movie! I’m not sure I could think of anything either. Sure, I suppose, it goes a little over-the-top in places when it comes to DRAMA. I think they wanted it to be as DRAMATIC as possible. But some of the places in the movie where I thought it could have been a little too exaggerated to be true, well, I’ve found supported in biographies. Like the scene where her uncle, William IV, throws a temper tantrum at his birthday celebration when he screams at Victoria’s mother in front of everyone. In the biography I’m reading Becoming Queen Victoria, I read about this and it has his words…and, yes, they got it right. So I’ve decided not to overthink the drama. To just take this movie as it is, to love it for what it is. And that won’t be hard, trust me.

 What this movie has is what Victoria and Albert fall short on, ROMANCE. The Young Victoria is a giddy-making, oh-so-romantic, oh-so-magical, practically-perfect-in-every-way film. If you want romance, you’ll get plenty of it in The Young Victoria. For this film shows these two falling deeply in love with each before they’re married. It shows them spending a good amount of time together. Probably more time together than what is historically true–based on the opening chapters I read in We Two. But their scenes together are just so wonderful–like when they’re playing chess, when they’re dancing, when he’s teaching her archery, or when soon after they meet he holds her hand going up the stairs (for that is a ‘rule’ in place, Victoria cannot walk up stairs (or down stairs) without someone (usually her governess or another lady of the household) holding her hand). The movie also highlights their correspondence. (Here’s an example of the romance.)

One of the great strengths of the movie–beyond the acting, the writing, the sets and costumes–is the music. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the music. The score is by Ilan Eshkeri. And it is beyond wonderful. I didn’t think it possible for me to love a film score more than I loved Much Ado About Nothing (by Patrick Doyle)…but Young Victoria is by far my favorite and best score ever. It makes every scene that much better. I have listened to the soundtrack so many times!!!! (One example of the music.)

Watch The Young Victoria

• If you want to watch a great movie
• If you love costume/period dramas
• If you love romance and drama

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky’s Book Reviews

If you’re reading this on a site (other than Becky’s Book Reviews or Becky’s feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Last Sunday, I talked about watching Victoria and Albert. Today I’m going to be talking gushing about the movie Young Victoria. How much do I love Young Victoria? Well, I’ve seen it four times since the first week of March! IF I owned it, well, I’m sure the number would be even higher. For I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE and adore this movie!!! What do I love about this movie? Well, it might be simpler to ask what I don’t love about this movie! I’m not sure I could think of anything either. Sure, I suppose, it goes a little over-the-top in places when it comes to DRAMA. I think they wanted it to be as DRAMATIC as possible. But some of the places in the movie where I thought it could have been a little too exaggerated to be true, well, I’ve found supported in biographies. Like the scene where her uncle, William IV, throws a temper tantrum at his birthday celebration when he screams at Victoria’s mother in front of everyone. In the biography I’m reading Becoming Queen Victoria, I read about this and it has his words…and, yes, they got it right. So I’ve decided not to overthink the drama. To just take this movie as it is, to love it for what it is. And that won’t be hard, trust me.

 What this movie has is what Victoria and Albert fall short on, ROMANCE. The Young Victoria is a giddy-making, oh-so-romantic, oh-so-magical, practically-perfect-in-every-way film. If you want romance, you’ll get plenty of it in The Young Victoria. For this film shows these two falling deeply in love with each before they’re married. It shows them spending a good amount of time together. Probably more time together than what is historically true–based on the opening chapters I read in We Two. But their scenes together are just so wonderful–like when they’re playing chess, when they’re dancing, when he’s teaching her archery, or when soon after they meet he holds her hand going up the stairs (for that is a ‘rule’ in place, Victoria cannot walk up stairs (or down stairs) without someone (usually her governess or another lady of the household) holding her hand). The movie also highlights their correspondence. (Here’s an example of the romance.)

One of the great strengths of the movie–beyond the acting, the writing, the sets and costumes–is the music. I just LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the music. The score is by Ilan Eshkeri. And it is beyond wonderful. I didn’t think it possible for me to love a film score more than I loved Much Ado About Nothing (by Patrick Doyle)…but Young Victoria is by far my favorite and best score ever. It makes every scene that much better. I have listened to the soundtrack so many times!!!! (One example of the music.)

Watch The Young Victoria

• If you want to watch a great movie
• If you love costume/period dramas
• If you love romance and drama

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky’s Book Reviews

If you’re reading this on a site (other than Becky’s Book Reviews or Becky’s feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Mr. Darcy’s Diary. Amanda Grange. Sourcebooks. 2007. 320 pages.

Monday, 1st July
Have I done the right thing in establishing Georgiana in London, I wonder? The summer is proving to be very hot, and when I visited her this morning, I found her lacking her usual energy. I think I will send her to the coast for a holiday.

Do I have a favorite Amanda Grange novel? I’m not sure. I definitely LOVED this one, Mr. Darcy’s Diary!!! The first Amanda Grange “diary” I read was Colonel Brandon’s Diary.  I’ve since read Mr Knightley’s Diary, Wickham’s Diary, and Henry Tilney’s Diary. (I’d love to make time to read Captain Wentworth’s Diary and Edmund Bertram’s Diary.)

I also JUST discovered there will be *new* Amanda Grange this year!!! Pride & Pyramids: Mr. Darcy in Egypt which releases in July. Also Dear Mr. Darcy: A Retelling of Pride and Prejudice which releases in August. I believe this gives an insider’s look on Darcy’s correspondence (as opposed to his diaries).

So I have high expectations for Amanda Grange. And she has never once disappointed me!!! She gets her Austen characters just right. True, I don’t love *all* her books equally. But that is in part because I don’t love  all of Jane Austen’s characters equally. And since her characters are so very true-to-the-book and yet so vividly brought to life all at the same time, it is only natural that I have a similar reaction. At least to a certain degree. I will say this, she can make me appreciate characters that I have been indifferent to in the past. And she can make me appreciate even more characters that I already love and adore.

I loved many, many things about Mr. Darcy’s Diary. The thing I love most is how it gives a new perspective on Darcy’s relationship with Charles Bingley. In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, readers don’t really get a chance to know–really know–Charles Bingley all on his own. I loved reading the scenes with Charles Bingley and Mr. Darcy. You really do get an impression of him, a clearer impression of him. And even though Bingley is far, far from perfect, I can’t help smiling at his scenes. As for Mr. Darcy, well, that’s only to be expected that there’s a high degree of charm to be found. True, he can be smug and arrogant, a bit blinded to reality, but, his transformation is all that much more wondrous as seen slowly through the course of these diary entries.

Read Mr. Darcy’s Diary

• If you love Jane Austen
• If you love Austen’s characters, if you want to spend more time with them, if you want newer, fresher perspectives on their inner lives
• If you enjoy clean Austen retellings/adaptations
• If you’re a fan of Amanda Grange
• If you love the book or movie, Pride and Prejudice

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky’s Book Reviews

If you’re reading this on a site (other than Becky’s Book Reviews or Becky’s feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Mr. Darcy’s Diary. Amanda Grange. Sourcebooks. 2007. 320 pages.

Monday, 1st July
Have I done the right thing in establishing Georgiana in London, I wonder? The summer is proving to be very hot, and when I visited her this morning, I found her lacking her usual energy. I think I will send her to the coast for a holiday.

Do I have a favorite Amanda Grange novel? I’m not sure. I definitely LOVED this one, Mr. Darcy’s Diary!!! The first Amanda Grange “diary” I read was Colonel Brandon’s Diary.  I’ve since read Mr Knightley’s Diary, Wickham’s Diary, and Henry Tilney’s Diary. (I’d love to make time to read Captain Wentworth’s Diary and Edmund Bertram’s Diary.)

I also JUST discovered there will be *new* Amanda Grange this year!!! Pride & Pyramids: Mr. Darcy in Egypt which releases in July. Also Dear Mr. Darcy: A Retelling of Pride and Prejudice which releases in August. I believe this gives an insider’s look on Darcy’s correspondence (as opposed to his diaries).

So I have high expectations for Amanda Grange. And she has never once disappointed me!!! She gets her Austen characters just right. True, I don’t love *all* her books equally. But that is in part because I don’t love  all of Jane Austen’s characters equally. And since her characters are so very true-to-the-book and yet so vividly brought to life all at the same time, it is only natural that I have a similar reaction. At least to a certain degree. I will say this, she can make me appreciate characters that I have been indifferent to in the past. And she can make me appreciate even more characters that I already love and adore.

I loved many, many things about Mr. Darcy’s Diary. The thing I love most is how it gives a new perspective on Darcy’s relationship with Charles Bingley. In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, readers don’t really get a chance to know–really know–Charles Bingley all on his own. I loved reading the scenes with Charles Bingley and Mr. Darcy. You really do get an impression of him, a clearer impression of him. And even though Bingley is far, far from perfect, I can’t help smiling at his scenes. As for Mr. Darcy, well, that’s only to be expected that there’s a high degree of charm to be found. True, he can be smug and arrogant, a bit blinded to reality, but, his transformation is all that much more wondrous as seen slowly through the course of these diary entries.

Read Mr. Darcy’s Diary

• If you love Jane Austen
• If you love Austen’s characters, if you want to spend more time with them, if you want newer, fresher perspectives on their inner lives
• If you enjoy clean Austen retellings/adaptations
• If you’re a fan of Amanda Grange
• If you love the book or movie, Pride and Prejudice

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky’s Book Reviews

If you’re reading this on a site (other than Becky’s Book Reviews or Becky’s feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

New Loot:

Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie Davis
The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
True Sisters by Sandra Dallas
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport by Mark Jonathan Harris and Deborah Oppenheimer
The War of Our Childhood: Memories of World War II by Wolfgang W.E. Samuel

Leftover Loot:

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie 
Antsy Does Time by Neal Shusterman
Mrs. McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie
Crooked House by Agatha Christie
We Two: Victoria and Albert by Gillian Gill.
Becoming Queen Victoria by Kate Williams
The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz: A True Story of World War II by Denis Avey

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky’s Book Reviews

If you’re reading this on a site (other than Becky’s Book Reviews or Becky’s feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

New Loot:

Kisses from Katie: A Story of Relentless Love and Redemption by Katie Davis
The Mystery of the Blue Train by Agatha Christie
True Sisters by Sandra Dallas
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport by Mark Jonathan Harris and Deborah Oppenheimer
The War of Our Childhood: Memories of World War II by Wolfgang W.E. Samuel

Leftover Loot:

The Man in the Brown Suit by Agatha Christie 
Antsy Does Time by Neal Shusterman
Mrs. McGinty’s Dead by Agatha Christie
Crooked House by Agatha Christie
We Two: Victoria and Albert by Gillian Gill.
Becoming Queen Victoria by Kate Williams
The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz: A True Story of World War II by Denis Avey

Library Loot is a weekly event co-hosted by Claire and Marg that encourages bloggers to share the books they’ve checked out from the library. If you’d like to participate, just write up your post-feel free to steal the button-and link it using the Mr. Linky any time during the week. And of course check out what other participants are getting from their libraries.

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky’s Book Reviews

If you’re reading this on a site (other than Becky’s Book Reviews or Becky’s feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Well, today was the Friends of the Library book sale. And this is what came home with me:

1. The Good News From North Haven: A Year in the Life of a Small Town by Michael L. Lindvall (HC)
2. Lady of No Man’s Land by Jeanne Williams (HC)
3. The Unplowed Sky by Jeanne Williams (HC)
4. The Last of the Husbandmen: A Novel of Farming Life by Gene Logsdon (HC)
5. Gossamer by Lois Lowry (HC)
6. Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (HC)
7. Behave Yourself, Bethany Brant by Patricia Beatty (HC)
8. All Together in One Place by Jane Kirkpatrick (HC)
9. My Enemy the Queen by Victoria Holt (HC)
10. I, Claudius by Robert Graves
11. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (HC) 
12. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith (HC)
13. Trinity by Leon Uris
14. The Pillars of the Earth by Kenn Follett

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky’s Book Reviews

If you’re reading this on a site (other than Becky’s Book Reviews or Becky’s feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.

Well, today was the Friends of the Library book sale. And this is what came home with me:

1. The Good News From North Haven: A Year in the Life of a Small Town by Michael L. Lindvall (HC)
2. Lady of No Man’s Land by Jeanne Williams (HC)
3. The Unplowed Sky by Jeanne Williams (HC)
4. The Last of the Husbandmen: A Novel of Farming Life by Gene Logsdon (HC)
5. Gossamer by Lois Lowry (HC)
6. Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (HC)
7. Behave Yourself, Bethany Brant by Patricia Beatty (HC)
8. All Together in One Place by Jane Kirkpatrick (HC)
9. My Enemy the Queen by Victoria Holt (HC)
10. I, Claudius by Robert Graves
11. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (HC) 
12. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith (HC)
13. Trinity by Leon Uris
14. The Pillars of the Earth by Kenn Follett

© 2012 Becky Laney of Becky’s Book Reviews

If you’re reading this on a site (other than Becky’s Book Reviews or Becky’s feed, be aware that this post has been stolen and is used without permission.