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( Info regarding FO-ing of my journal for those currently on the FL )

***Be prepared for spoilers in every single one of these entries.***

Books 2008
1. The Amber Spyglass - Philip Pullman, 518pp (start: 1-2-08 // end: 1-14-08)
2. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, 325pp (start: 1-21-08 // end: 2-16-08)
3. Persuasion by Jane Austen, 224pp (start: 2-18-08 // end: 3-6-08)
4. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen, 288pp (start: 3-9-08 // end: 3-29-08)
5. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, 427pp (start: 4-6-08 // end: 5-7-08)
6. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, 544pp (start: 5-7-08 // end: 5-11-08)
7. New Moon by Stephenie Meyer, 564pp (start: 5-11-08 // end: 5-13-08)
8. Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer, 640pp (start: 5-13-08 // end: 5-16-08)
9. The Host by Stephenie Meyer, 624pp (start: 5-17-08 // end: 5-22-08)
10. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding, 288pp (start: 5-24-08 // end: 5-28-08)
11. Cell by Stephen King, 384pp (start: 5-29-08 // end: 6-7-08)
12. Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman, 336pp (start: 6-9-08 // end: 6-14-08)
13. Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman, 360pp (start: 6-15-08 // end: 6-25-08)
14. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield, 416pp (start: 6-25-08 // end: 6-29-08)
15. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger, 546pp (start: 6-30-08 // end: 7-7-08)
16. Atonement by Ian McEwan, 351pp (start: 7-8-08 // end: 7-16-08)
17. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, 167pp (start/end: 7-12-08)
18. Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K Hamilton, 266pp (start: 7-17-08 // end: ??)

Movies 2008
1. Atonement (1-8-08)
2. Sweeney Todd (1-10-08)
3. Persuasion (1-13-08)
4. 3:10 to Yuma (1-14-08)
5. Northanger Abbey (1-20-08)
6. Mansfield Park (1-27-08)
7. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2-2-08)
8. Marie Antoinette (2-2-08)
9. Juno (2-3-08)
10. Miss Austen Regrets (2-3-08)
11. The Last King of Scotland (2-7-08)
12. Amazing Grace (2-9-08)
13. As You Like It (2-10-08)
14. Becoming Jane (2-12-08)
15. Meet the Robinsons (3-16-08)
16. No Country For Old Men (3-17-08)
17. Iron Man (5-10-08)
18. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (5-18-08)
19. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (5-22-08)
20. Dan In Real Life (5-24-08)
21. Beowulf (5-24-08)
22. Hairspray: The Musical (5-24-08)
23. Wall-E (7-1-08)
24. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (7-3-08)
25. Get Smart (7-5-08)
26. Mamma Mia (7-19-08)
27. The Dark Knight (7-20-08)

I forgot to mention in my last post that I finally finished Northanger Abbey today. I'd been a few pages from the end for about a week but I just hadn't bothered. I guess that happens when you already know the ending.

ANYWAY, I really liked it. I didn't think I would just because I found the movie interpretation so boring. I mean, it was really boring. But as I was reading it, I really enjoyed it. I liked Catherine more than I thought I would. Who doesn't love Eleanor Tilney? And I really liked Henry Tilney as well. Aside from Captain Wentworth in Persuasion and Mr Darcy in P&P, I think he's my favorite of Austen's men.

The ending felt a bit rushed though. She started out with a god-like narration, went into one with less interruptions from the narrator, and then right back into god-like narration to explain why General Tilney treated Catherine like he did. Henry may or may not have known it at the time, but we were finding it out irregardless. I thought that was kind of strange. I also found it odd that anybody would be stupid enough to listen to Thorpe. That whole family was bad news.

Anyway, I was looking up more stuff on Henry to see if there was a wikipedia page for the character or anything because sometimes you can pick up on things you might've missed or whatever. But he didn't have one. I did, however, find a page with this quote on it: "Henry Tilney is perhaps one of the most misunderstood characters in the Austen oeuvre; he has been called effete, sexist, and cruel." This made me go: "Wtf?" Who thinks that about Henry?? Maybe his brother, Frederick, or his father, but not Henry. Apparently people take his teasing seriously. I thought it was obvious he was teasing just based on Catherine's reactions. Not to mention that he's a gentleman and gentlemen don't just come out and say some of things that he said without some teasing behind it. People are strange. Jane Austen fans are strange... And some of them are horrible snobs too, might I add.

Next up? Mansfield Park. I'm not looking forward to it. Most people complain about this book. About Fanny being boring, Edmund being insincere and fickle, and about the plot just being generally slow moving. YAY. I tried reading it before while I was reading Emma and stopped because I was getting confused with all the characters, so maybe it'll be an easier go this time.