The Pemberly Reading Room

I’m posting this on all three of my blogs, so hopefully it will be seen by as many ladies as possible! *grin*

After some conversations lately with a dear friend about how lovely it would be to read through Jane Austen’s novels together and have informal discussions as we do so, I have been inspired with an idea: The Pemberly Reading Room! (Credit to my dear sister for the name.) Here are my general ramblings so far.

I will set up a new blog—probably both a Xanga account and a Blogger account, since I know some people have quite distinct preferences—dedicated to the group. Members will have the login information, so each member will have the ability to post to the blog. We will read through each of Jane Austen’s six major novels (Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Mansfield Park, Emma, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey) at a reasonably sedate pace; I’m estimating it would probably be two to five chapters per week, depending on how busy we are. As we read, we will have informal discussions via the blog. If you come across a favorite quote, post it and share. If you have a question, post it so others can (hopefully!) answer. If you have a comment on a particularly brilliant section of prose, post it. Et cetera, et cetera. In this way, we would be able to have informal but hopefully informative discussions of the books as we read through them together.

Now. I will need to know that I’m going to have enough active members to justify setting up the blog. I’m not saying that you have to agree to post once a day in order to join or any such nonsense, but I do need to know that I will have at least a core group of ladies who will be reasonably consistent in contributing to the discussions. It would be no fun if I was the only one posting!

I will also need to know that members are serious enough to use proper mechanics when they post. Proper mechanics means a proper use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, et cetera. Call it a pet peeve, but I can’t abide people who cannot be bothered to proofread their own writing! I will be a “stickler” about this one, so beware.

All of that said, however, I would love to see some of you ladies out there join. I’m not setting any restrictions/qualifications besides these three: 1) Be willing to keep up with the reading schedule (as I said, probably two to five chapters each week), 2) Be committed to contributing to blog discussions, and 3) Be serious enough to write as Jane Austen would have—carefully!

Do I have any takers? Please leave me a comment/Xanga message/email/IM if you’re interested. And please do let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. I hope to hear from some of you soon!