Austen in August: Persuasion

Posted on August 1, 2021 by

18 Comments

31693Greetings!

Today is August 1st, which means the (very lowkey) Austen In August event is here again!

Two months ago, I sent out a call for volunteers to participate in a reboot of Austen in August. Typically, the event is jam-packed with guest posts and giveaways, including blog hopping and a wide range of reading on all things Austen, including her original works plus the many contemporary spin-offs. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it all together this time (perhaps the pandemic has changed blogging? There’s a research project for anyone who wants it!)

Anyhow! I’m trudging ahead on my own with a re-read of Persuasion. This is the Austen book I remember least, and it’s also one of the shorter reads, so I basically chose it for those two reasons. I also haven’t read the book since 2013. I think I also read Mansfield Park that year, and Sense and Sensibility the year before, but I’ve read Northanger Abbey and Pride and Prejudice more recently. So, I’m inviting anyone who’d like to read-along with me to do so, and perhaps next year I’ll return to either Mansfield Park (which I know a lot of you are reading this year!) or Sense and Sensibility. I’ve got my own reading schedule below. I plan to post a reading update here on August 15th and then again on August 31st, to wrap-up.

“I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.”

Schedule

  • August 1-August 7: Volume 1, Chapter 1 through Volume 1, Chapter 7
  • August 8-August 14: Volume 1, Chapter 8 through Volume 1, Chapter 12
  • August 15: Mid-Point Post
  • August 15-August 21: Volume 2, Chapter 1 through Volume 2, Chapter 6
  • August 22-August 28: Volume 2, Chapter 7 through Volume 2, Chapter 10
  • August 29-30: Volume 2, Chapter 11 and Volume 2, Chapter 12
  • August 31: Wrap-Up Post

Feel free to join in, or if you’re participating in Austen in August but reading something else, definitely share your thoughts (and links to your own blog posts!) in the comments here, or on the August 15th and August 31st posts.

Category: Austen in August, Jane Austen

18 Comments on “Austen in August: Persuasion”

  2. Persuasion is my most recent Austen read, & as much as I’d love to reread it given it’s my favourite, I will read my annotated Northanger Abbey instead (it’s also my next cc spin book).
    I also have a 2 Austenesque books that may make it into my schedule – Sansei and Sensibility: Stories | Karen Tei Yamashita and Austen Years: A Memoir in 5 Novels | Rachel Cohen. One day I may finish her juvenilia too!!
    I look forward to hearing your thoughts about Persuasion.

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  3. I would have joined in, but I’m starting Les Miserables, which we’re reading for my 1000 Books Project challenge August through December. I’d say pray for me, if I believed all that. lol Send up some good vibes to the universe. I’m going to need it.

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  4. I was hoping to do a guest post, but I couldn’t settle on a topic! Sorry! Persuasion is my favourite Austen, hands-down though!

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  5. I was hoping to do a guest post, but I couldn’t settle on a topic. Sorry! Persuasion is hands-down my favourite Austen though!

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  6. Persuasion is my current favourite Austen – I reread it fairly recently, so I won’t be joining in with the readalong, but I do look forward to seeing people’s posts!

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  7. So sorry for arriving late to the party Adam as it’s been ridiculous at work. I recently reread Northanger Abbey and am planning to slot Persuasion in this month. I’m also reading a short story collection of Austen-inspired tales called Jane Austen Made Me Do It. I hope you are well my friend!

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    • Sounds like a great plan! We’ve got an author guest post coming up on Monday and a blogger/reader guest post late in the month. And I’ll be posting about Persuasion on the 15th and 30th. 🙂

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  8. Hallo, Hallo Adam,
    I’m thankful you posted a reading schedule for this RAL; I’m starting this weekend, so I’m a bit behind the schedule already but I’m determined to catch-up with the group. I decided to read a print copy and listen to a new adaptation in audio – as with my crazy Summer, I knew I might need a double viewing of this work as it wasn’t the one I remembered least, it is the one I never felt inspired to read at all; hence why I was thrilled when you said you’d host this RAL this year.
    Likewise, I’m hoping you’ll host Mansfield Park next year, as that is another book by Austen I’ve never settled into despite the fact my parents gifted me a lovely copy of it my first year as a bookblogger (ie. 2013-2014). Oy. I find sometimes joining these kinds of RALs are helpful to me a reader but also to engage with others who are reading the same story and peering into their impressions and reactions as well. Its a lovely way to find engagement and conversation.
    Towards that end, thanks for hosting and I’m also inking together my guest post for you this weekend as well. It is my first weekend off in over a month and I’m relishing in it!! Laughs.
    If all goes well, I’ll be able to post on the 15th as well but I might update after I reach each chapter break you’ve shared, too, as I want to try to populate my blog this August with content as June/July were a bit of a washout for me as a book blogger as our lightning storms knocked me offline too much to accomplish anything at all that I had planned to share. July especially was brutal; only 3x posts the whole month! (gasp)

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  9. I read The Last Detective by Peter Lovesey because it had a Bath/Austen connection but found it was pretty minimal. And I started All Roads Lead to Austen, but it was too fluffy and I lost interest. Now I’m reading Reading Lolita in Tehran, but I haven’t gotten to the part about Pride and Prejudice yet. And I may still get to an actual Austen reread this month! Feeling a little scattered, so I couldn’t get things together to offer a guest post etc, but definitely glad you’re doing this again and hope everybody has a great month.

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  10. Jane Austen is one of my favourite authors and Persuasion is my favourite book by her.
    Unfortunately, I have already started quite a few books that I need to read for some challenges this month but I will keep “Austen in August” in my mind and will see what else you come up with this month. Thanks for that.

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  12. Pingback: Persuasion, Volume 1 – A.W. Burgess

  13. I have all Austen’s juvenilia to finish (I’ve only read Volume I of her notebooks) and I wasn’t planning any rereads of her published novels just yet, but I have completed and reviewed a couple of Austen-related titles this month: one is a collection of verse by Jane and her extended family and the other is Irene Collins’ excellent study Jane Austen and the Clergy. https://calmgrove.wordpress.com/tag/austen-in-august/

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