Speaking of books, I have a post up at The Art of Simple today on How a good book can spark creativity. Here's to a year of our creativity being sparked by Jane!
It's been a couple weeks since I announced the book club, and we've had a great response so far. The group has over 400 members already and it's growing each day. Each member that has joined is excited for this journey as we begin reading through the wonderful cannon of Jane Austen, either again or for the first time, through the lens of motherhood.
Today I have the pleasure of introducing you to the lovely ladies who will be helping moderate the ongoing discussions in our group as well as helping to host the video wrap-up chats that we will do for each novel.
I love what each of these women brings to the book club and I'm really looking forward to getting to know each of them better through this endeavor.
As some of you haven't been around on this blog very long, I've included myself in the list. For those of you who are new here at Gidget Goes Home, I welcome you and invite you to subscribe and come back often.
I also started a new Pinterest board dedicated to the love of Jane. If you ever come across something particularly lovely and Jane-ish, I'd love you to send it my way!
The moderators team will be posting discussion questions throughout the two months that we are reading each book, and I will always "pin" the current questions to the top of the group page, so that you can easily find them amongst all the fun discussion.
Nicole Bennett | Gidget Goes Home
Twitter: @NicoleakaGidget IG: @nicolevbennett FB page: Gidget Goes HomePinterest
Why she loves Jane: I love romance (even when it's complicated) and I love happy endings. Jane's use of language, witty dialogue, and her character development always draw me in as does the regency era setting.
Anne Bogel | Modern Mrs. Darcy
Twitter: @annebogel IG: @annebogel FB page: Modern Mrs. DarcyPinterest
Why she loves Jane: Jane somehow manages to write about nothing and everything all at the same time. She's wise and snarky and witty and endlessly entertaining--even 200 years later.
Melissa Camara Wilkins | MelissaCamaraWilkins.com
Twitter: alsomelissa IG: @alsomelissaFB page: Melissa Camara Wilkins Pinterest
Why she loves Jane: I love how she can be proper and hilarious and clear-eyed all at once! I love how her stories and characters and commentaries continue to resonate so many years later.
Kara Fleck | Simple Kids
Twitter: @simplekids IG: @Karaefleck FB page: Simple KidsPinterest
Why she loves Jane: My first Jane book was my mom's old copy of Pride & Prejudice from a college lit course, margins full of her notes, and I read it at a time when I didn't think mom and I had much in common. That we found the same things funny (or upsetting) was a revelation.
Jessica Howard | Quirky Bookworm
Twitter: @quirkybookworm IG: @jessquirkybookworm FB page: Quirky BookwormPinterest
Why she loves Jane: I love how Jane Austen is subtly funny and endlessly quotable. She's such a deft creator of memorable people -- I often love to hate her minor characters!
Krissa Jeldy | More Than Mundane
Twitter:@krissajeldy IG: @kjeldy FB page:More Than Mundane Pinterest
Why she loves Jane: I love how real and relatable her characters are, love her witty and admirable heroines, and love that she has such timeless themes that we're still reading and re-reading today.
Christen Krumm | ChristenKrumm.com
Twitter:@christenkrumm IG: @krummcake FB page: Christen Krumm Pinterest
Why she loves Jane: Ooh. I love her stories. I love that her stories were innovative for her time. Her strong heroines.
Tiffany Larson | Mommy Goes Green
Twitter:@mommygoesgreen FB page:Mommy Goes GreenPinterest
Why she loves Jane: Jane is the clever friend I'd love to have by my side. Just the fact that so many love her novels over 200 years after they were written is astonishing.
Haley Stewart | Carrots for Michaelmas
twitter: haleycarrots IG: @haleycarrots FB page: Carrots for MichaelmasPinterest
Why she loves Jane: There's so much to love! But I think my favorite things are the complexity of her heroines and the astounding insights she has about character: how our virtues and flaws affect not only ourselves, but our community.
Be sure to visit the blogs of our moderators to learn even more about our moderators and if you want to follow them around the social media world, you can do that as well.
Special thanks also goes out to my friends at Litfuse-- Amy, Christen, and Caitlin-- who will be sponsoring and helping out with our Google Hangouts.
See you in the book club group, fellow Jane-ites! And don't miss my post today on The Art of Simple. :)