Travelin' Fool

The amount of researched information

Revisado: 01-26-25

I loved learning the history and its relevance to today’s society. I want to see some of these places! Narrator was great.

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Pretty, pretty, pretty good

Revisado: 07-28-20

This collection was almost as good as Rational Creatures. Very close! The writers respect the originals and come up with compelling stories of their own.

The only little bugaboo is that women were too often THE REASON a man became good or bad, like these men had no self-determination and were too fragile to ever brook disappointment without it ruining their dispositions and making them determined to inflict scorn and suffering on every other woman they met. Of course, all that could change if they met a really pure, completely good woman; they might be inspired to be good themselves. (Eye-roll 🙄) Never mind that the men nursed hopes--fantastical hopes dashed by the "bad" women--that were usually impossible, impractical, and doomed to failure anyway.

Other than that, the stories were well-written and quite enjoyable. Cheers.

Oh, the narrator was GOOD! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽

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I wish I liked this more...

Revisado: 07-17-20

I can see that the writers were having fun with P&P--Austen's characters and plots. I can appreciate that, but I thought this work was just okay. It could be because I read the third Quill book, Rational Creatures, first and LOVED it that I was less than wowed by this one. I always know there is a problem with Austen fan fiction when I have thoughts of quitting in the middle. I will, however, read these works all the way through--just for the kernels of the original Austen world--even though I recognize early on that what I am reading is not quite satisfying in itself. The Darcy Monologues was like that.

I often felt like I was reading a romance novel or Fifty Shades of Gray (too much of the physical descriptions read like that) or that there was so much loss of subtlety in the twisting of Austen to fit her work into these wild settings and set-ups. The chemistry between Lizzy/Darcy and Jane/Bingley characters was a little lacking or unbelievable in some stories (like they had to be together--because they were in P&P--so they just liked each other and hooked up). The last two sentences notwithstanding, I am still trying to figure out what bugged me about this collection. Maybe there is a formula or balance for how much Austen can be borrowed (characters OR plot OR setting, or some combo of two, etc,) and how much should be original, what MUST be kept in tact (like character traits)...what to do with borrowed material...I don't know. I just felt like the mixture often did not work in these stories.

I don't know...If you just want to see P&P characters in a mash-up of situations and settings, you might like this. Some stories are better than others, but, overall, it's a meh for me. Thumbs disappointedly down.

Anyway RATIONAL CREATURES is really good, and I just finished the first story in the second Quill Collection, Dangerous to Know, and it seems (so far) to be on the same quality level as Rational Creatures, so that's promising. I hope you like Darcy Monologues more than I did.

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Best Austen fan fiction I have read yet!

Revisado: 07-17-20

What is most impressive is the quality of the writers/writing. These authors get the characters right where other (lesser) authors distort them and really make them into different people. These Quill writers seem to be sensitive to the reading of the Austen originals in another way too: they imagine stories that fill in gaps of interest to Austen readers, and they show the parts of characters' minds and experience that make the originals even more enjoyable. The focus on rational female characters is pleasing and plausible--not forced.

Overall, it is impressive that these writers create something original that fits with Austen's works and don't just rehash Austen's plots and throw in some few new or extra-ordinary twists. Two thumbs up!

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Needs a PDF

Revisado: 04-23-19

Why isn't there a PDF of the recipes?????

Well-written overall. Interesting read. Made me think differently about a lot of things--like my relationship with food. I'm not as much of a foodie as people think I am. I don't love or think nearly as much as Ann Mah! =) She is INTO it. Illuminating slice of her life. Great memoir.

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Oh boy...

Revisado: 09-14-18

I didn't read any reviews before I started the book. When I did, I felt bad. I thought people were harsh, but...I have to say this was just not very good. I was so glad when it was over. The collaboration between Clinton and Patterson was intriguing, and I wanted to like it, but so much of it does not make any sense. As many have pointed out, the reading os a bit weird. Quaid sounds like a robot trying to sound tough. It also ends up being a bit misogynistic. There are a bunch of high-powered, intelligent women, but the way they are treated by the writers and characters...doesn't quite make sense or match their build-up.

I've never read any Patterson books before (and probably won't now). If this is typical of the genre, then it's definitely not for me. I'm just disappointed overall. I'm tempted to ask for my credit back. =/

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Makes me want to take a trip!

Revisado: 05-30-18

Tilar Mazzeo does an excellent job of conjuring a character out of a dearth of personal records. Telling this story through the lens of the business that Clicquot left behind and the goings-on of her day was a clever strategy--and a successful one. One forms an image and gets a sense of a great and formidable woman through the juxtaposition of Mme Clicquot's accomplishments and a vivid description of the times in which she lived. Mazzeo tells the story with creativity, affection, admiration, and empathy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It opened a new world to me--one I want to explore more.

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EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK

Revisado: 02-09-18

This book answers questions we secretly ask ourselves about meaning and life. It instructs without taking away our choices, and it points out human shortcomings with incredible compassion and understanding, all while pushing us to be and do better.

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