favorite things

this favorite things post is a little different, as it is one person who inspired a whole bevy of favorite things...

Jane Austen
i arrived at the 'i love Jane Austen' party later than most, but it hasn't kept me from diving in wholeheartedly.

from my multi-faceted love of all things Pride and Prejudice, which includes movies like Bride and Prejudice, the Bollywood adaptation of the story {and unofficial movie of our small group}, to Lost in Austen, the brilliant mini-series where a young woman from today's London switches places with Elizabeth Bennet and ends up inside the story of P&P, and as hard as she tries to maintain the original story line— which is hopelessly messed up due to her presence— she cannot keep herself from falling for the one man we all dream of, Mr. Darcy.

and speaking of Mr. Enigmatic, there is the great debate over who the best Mr. Darcy is on the screen, Colin Firth or Matthew Macfadyen. my theory is that whichever version you first see P&P, that Mr. Darcy becomes your favorite. my first was the 2005 movie with Kiera Knightly, making Matthew Macfadyen my ultimate Mr. Darcy. others, my mother for example, swear by Colin Firth. to each her own, i suppose. {funny, i've never heard a guy talk about his favorite Mr. Darcy...}

but it's not just about P&P, the 1995 adaptation of Sense and Sensibility is also one of my favorite. and over the christmas holidays, my mother borrowed her friend's DVD of Persuasion, and it didn't take me long to fall in love with that as well. just this past month Masterpiece Theater released a new version of Emma, which i have not yet seen, but simply cannot wait to do so.

another movie, while not written by Jane, but inspired by her works, is the Jane Austen Book Club, another personal favorite. this movie was adapted from a book by the same name, which i have not yet read, but am sure to read sometime soon!

ah books... there are still some of Jane's works that i have not yet read in their entirety. i have begun both Emma and Persuasion, but have not finished them. P&P, S&S and Northanger Abbey i have read. i'm not even sure if i own a copy of Mansfield Park, i'll have to check.

but other books, inspired by Jane are also on my bookshelf. A Walk With Jane Austen is a memoir of a woman who goes to England to lose herself in the words and places of Jane's life. i haven't read it yet, but it's on my shelf. also a part of my library is Lost in Austen, a choose-your-own-adventure novel with yourself as the heroine of P&P, Elizabeth Bennet, and your goal is to marry well, preferably Mr. Darcy. i have spent many happy hours trying to marry that elusive man, and have only managed to do so once. {hmm... perhaps if i spent as much time with someone who wasn't a literary, fictitious character, i wouldn't still be single? something to ponder!}

well, these are a few of my favorite things today. i hope you enjoyed them, i know that i always do. as a matter of fact, all this talk has created in me a desire to watch P&P. perhaps tonight is date night with Mr. Darcy...

do you have a favorite Mr. Darcy?