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| Jane Austen July 2026 Reads |
This was my third year of participating in Jane Austen July, and again, I had a great time. That means that most of the books I read this month were Austen-related.
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| Mansfield Park by Jane Austen |
“Fanny Price was at this time just ten years old, and though there might not be much in her first appearance to captivate, there was, at least, nothing to disgust her relations. She was small of her age, with no glow of complexion, nor any other striking beauty; exceedingly timid and shy, and shrinking from notice; but her air, though awkward, was not vulgar, her voice was sweet, and when she spoke her countenance was pretty.”
My choice for this year’s Jane Austen July was Austen’s third published novel, Mansfield Park. This review is a rather spoilery one, so if you haven’t read all (or any) of Jane Austen’s novels, be warned. Ten-year-old Fanny Price is sent to live with her rich relatives at Mansfield Park. Growing up with her cousins, she is constantly aware how precarious her place in society is. When a dashing couple from London, Henry and Mary Crawford, enter this rural world, they manage to dazzle everyone except Fanny, who sees through their superficial glamour.
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| Jane Austen July hopefuls |
Jane Austen
July is a month long readathon all about Jane Austen, her novels and other
writings, and her time period. I’ve taken part in the challenge the last two
years (you can find my 2024 TBR and wrap-up as well as the 2025 TBR and wrap-up
behind the links). As Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors, I’ve loved
this challenge, and naturally, I want to take part this year as well.
There are seven challenges in this readathon: five books and two screen adaptations. You can find more information about the challenge from the Youtube videos posted by the hosts of the challenge (Katie from Books and Things, Marissa from Blatantly Bookish, and Claudia from Spinster’s Library).
Here’s what I’m planning to read this year and my reasons for picking them.
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| July reads |
This was my second year of participating in Jane Austen July, and even though it wasn’t quite as fun as last year, I still had a great time. And as the average rating shows, there was nothing wrong with the books I read, as most of them were four or five-star reads. Besides Jane Austen related books, the first book I finished in July was Agatha Christie’s A Murder Is Announced (4/5 stars). I actually reviewed it as part of my June wrap-up, as I started it in June and finished it in the beginning of July. The rest of the books were Austen-related, though.
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| Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen |
After their father’s death, the Dashwood sisters are left with very little money and have to find love in a world that values wealth. Elinor’s stoic and detached sense and Marianne’s romantic and passionate sensibility cause them their own trials and tribulations. Elinor must suffer silently after she falls in love with secretly engaged Edward and Marianne is jilted by the immoral Mr. Willoughby.
Sense and Sensibility is Jane Austen’s first published novel. It has always been on the lower half of the list of my favorite Jane Austen novels, and that was partly the reason I was interested in reading it this Jane Austen July. I wanted to see if my feelings for it have changed, and whether I could pinpoint more clearly what it is about this book that I don’t like. I’m sorry to say that even after this reread, Sense and Sensibility still remains at the bottom, possibly only besting Emma (but then again, I need to reread Emma as well, so the situation may change!).
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| Jane Austen July TBR |
There are seven challenges in this readathon: five books and two screen adaptations. There is also a readalong associated with the challenge. I won’t be participating in the readalong because I had already decided what I wanted to read before the readalong book (which is Emma this year) was announced. You can find more information about the challenge from the Youtube videos posted by the hosts of the challenge (Katie from Books and Things, Marissa from Blatantly Bookish, and Claudia from Spinster’s Library).
Anyway, without further ado, here are my choices for this year’s readathon and my reasons for picking them.
That’s me. I’m the beginner. And here’s a little guide to how I annotated my first novel.
Before last month, I had never annotated a novel. I have annotated nonfiction books before, but those were mostly for my studies. But annotating fiction purely for fun was something I had never done. I couldn’t figure out what it was that I was supposed to annotate and how to do it, probably because we never annotated fiction books in school. However, my bookstagram feed was full of photos of annotated books with beautiful doodles and color-coded sticky tabs, and I was intrigued. So during Jane Austen July, I annotated my all-time favorite book, Pride and Prejudice. Here’s a recap of what I learned from the experiment as well as some tips on how to annotate a novel.
Jane Austen July Reads
I had so much fun last month! July was full of Jane Austen and related literature as I participated on Jane Austen July for the first time. Here are short reviews of all the books I read in July, and a quick look forward to the books I’m planning to read in August. All links with * are Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon affiliate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”
The Bennet family has five daughters and only a moderate amount of money to share as dowries to them. It is no wonder that Mrs. Bennet’s dearest wish is to see her daughters well married – preferably to men of good fortune. Her second daughter Elizabeth, however, believes in first impressions and is determined not to marry just anyone. So when the rich but extremely proud and disagreeable Mr. Darcy slights her, she knows exactly what to think about him. But appearances can be deceiving, as Elizabeth is forced to acknowledge after Mr. Darcy becomes captivated by her lively manners, bright eyes, and sparkling wit.
It’s odd to write a review of a book I’ve loved ever since I read if for the first time 25 years ago and have read multiple times afterwards. Pride and Prejudice is my favorite Jane Austen novel, and although it was not the first Austen novel I read (that honor belongs to Mansfield Park), it was the book that made me binge-read everything else Austen had written. The humor, the wit, the characters, the historical setting, and the world and the people Jane Austen so accurately describes and at times ridicules are all features that made me fall in love with her writing, and Pride and Prejudice is a perfect example of Austen’s style.
