The Darwin Conspiracy by John Darton, which I won over at Fyrefly’s Book Blog in celebration of Nicki’s brand new doctoral degree. She says it’s a good read (and I believe her), so here’s crossing my finger and hoping for the best.

Then there’s Emma and the Vampires by Jane Austen (of course) and Wayne Josephson which arrived courtesy of Sourcebooks, Inc.

But I have a tiny confession to make: I’ve been so entranced by Pride & Prejudice that I’ve been unable to move on from it and have not yet read Emma. I’ll add that to my reading schedule this weekend so I have something by which to gauge this new title.

On another note, I have this odd feeling that I’m forgetting something. I’m sure it will eventually come to me. When it does (if it does), then I’ll update. ‘Til then, whaddya get?

Recent Arrivals chronicles the books that have made their way onto the Today, I Read… bookshelf. Here’s the latest arrival: Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange

First line: Elizabeth Bennet’s wedding morning was one of soft mists and mellow sunshine.*

Initial thoughts: After discovering the awesomeness that is Pride & Prejudice, I was hooked. Since reading it that first time, I went back and read it again.

Noticing the early signs of an addict, I decided to set Austen aside and read other books, mainly with supernatural characters such as vampires and werewolves and such.

But then I see this title–Mr. Darcy, Vampyre–how could I possibly deny myself such pleasure? I’m not completely falling off the wagon, am I? Even if I am, I fully intend to enjoy myself on the way down.

Book description:

A married man in possession of a dark fortune must be in want of an eternal wife…

December 1802

My hand is trembling as I write this letter. My nerves are in tatters and I am so altered that I believe you would not recognize me. The past two months have been a nightmarish whirl of strange and disturbing circumstances, and the future…

I am afraid.

If anything happens to me, remember that I love you and that my spirit will always be with you, though we may never see each other again. The world is a cold and frightening place where nothing is as it seems.

Book Details: 320 pages; Sourcebooks Landmark; Pub. August 1, 2009

Learn more:

• Mr. Darcy, Vampyre blog
• Reviews
  • Romance B(u)y the Book review
  • Becky’s Book Reviews
  • Sia McKye’s thoughts…

* First line taken from Chapter 1, not the prologue.

I’ve met so many wonderful people in the book-blogosphere that every moment I was away from TIR, I was suffering from withdrawal symptoms.

This month has been a busy/crazy one, without going into details, but things are starting to calm down a little bit and I’ll have more time to devote to reading and writing reviews.

In the meantime, however, I’ve just discovered something I think I love: Pride & Prejudice by Jane Austen.

A while ago, I picked up the complete works of Jane Austen and began reading Sense & Sensibility, but it didn’t suck me in and life got in the way. Eventually I put down that book and dove into the Chronicles of Narnia (as part of the re-reading challenge).

After spending three books in Narnia, I decided I needed a break and picked up Jane again. This time I skipped ahead and started reading Pride & Prejudice (based on the synchronicity of two of my friends’ comments) and let’s just say I started reading the wrong book first. P&P sucked me in from the beginning and kept my attention through ’til the end.

One interesting thing that I noted while reading the book is how easy it is for our own perceptions to cloud better judgment. Austen truly captured the nuances of the different personalities and how those nuances can affect an individual’s actions, for better or worse.

I’m debating on writing a review since Austen reviews already abound. I may just write a very short one explaining why I liked it specifically, but leave out all the summations and analysis. Until that day comes though, just know that I thoroughly enjoyed it and can see it being added to my re-read list. It made me laugh out loud, gasp, and experience the full range of emotion while reading–which is what a good book ought to do.

(On a completely random tangent, I have the roughcut edition and I love it; I feel as if the rough edges give the physical book some character.)