by

I Will Be Calm. I Will Be Mistress of Myself

Happy New Year!

So to say 2020 didn’t go as expected is an understatement. Most people spent the year like this:

I know whenever I am troubled, there is always something I turn to:

Or her other works. Or read her books.

That lead me to this year’s theme. There is no better book to help you get over 2020 and move forward than Sense and Sensibility. I mean the Dashwoods encountered grief, hardships, huge changes, etc.

As this year marks the 210th anniversary of its publication, of course it will be the theme of the year.

I’m not quite sure how I will work it in, will it be an Sense and Sensibility post every month or just more Sense and Sensibility? I reviewed the 1995 film this year, maybe I’ll do the miniseries? I guess we will just wait and see.

Now on to the year in review!

Let’s go!

The Views

From Clueless

This year I had over 118,200 views!

Wow! from The Blob

The most viewed day of the year was November 7th with 6225 views! That was the day I posted nothing, but the number one post viewed that day was What Happened to Ally Palmer?: The Good Student (2006) from Horrorfest VII. That doesn’t surprise me as the end is confusing and I’m sure many google and read it to try to find out the answer.

The Top Five Posts

Here are the top five most viewed posts of the year, although again none were posted this year. I guess whatever I post in the actual year is never popular enough? Who knows.

5) A Real Man from 2014

4) I Ran Out of Milk So I Put Buttermilk in My Tea from 2019

3) Fulfilling the List: A Walk to Remember (2002) from Romance is in the Air 2013

2) What Happened to Ally Palmer?: The Good Student (2006) from Horrorfest VII 2018

1) Being Friends is Good Enough: Catching Fire (2013) from Romance is in the Air II from 2014

The Followers!

So this community has really grown in numbers and I can not describe how pleased I am about that. We have gone from 14 followers in 2012, to 439 in 2015, to 1021 in 2017, and now 1714 in 2020.

Jane Austen Posts:

Of course there will be quite a bit of these as Jane Austen is the name of the blog.

Jane Austen

Jane Austen Products

Sense and Sensibility

Pride and Prejudice

Mansfield Park

Emma:

Northanger Abbey

Persuasion:

Recipes:

Nothing goes better with reading than something yummy to snack on!

Modesto Jane Con:

This year my book club and sister attended JaneCon in Modesto. I took copious notes which I transcribed into the following posts:

 

Mystery Posts:

From Knives Out

This year’s theme was mysteries in honor of the 100th anniversary of The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie being published. I tried to post at least one mystery a month. I also received a mysterious package every few months and detailed what was in it.

Mysteries:

Mysterious Packages in the Mail:

Romance is in the Air Part VII:

Every year I do 14 posts on a romantic moment in TV and film, below are this year’s picks.

 

Giveaways:

I love giveaways! Every time I win something I try to post a review of what I received.

Non-Austen Reads for Austen Readers:

There comes a time when you have read all the Austen books and quite a few adaptions and are searching for something else. Something like Jane Austen, but not a direct retellings. That’s why I created the Non-Austen Reads for Austen Readers and here are the ones I reviewed this year.

Catherine Morland’s Reading List:

Any Gothic novel lovers out there? Catherine Morland’s Reading List is a review of Gothic novels I know Catherine would love (if she were alive today).

Horrorfest IX:

Every year I let my Catherine Morland spooky girl side out and have 31 posts of different horror films or TV shows to countdown to Halloween.

BookishFirst Bingo:

On Instagram (@janeaustenrunsmylife) I try to achieve a Bookish Bingo every month. I usually read whatever I like and then see which slot it fills. I write how it fits the categories in my stories and save them for the moth and the one after, replacing it with the new month’s selections. It is a lot of fun, and I recommend trying it out.

Jane Austen Bingo:

So Jane Austen bingo is when you spot a Jane Austen actor in a non-Jane Austen film or TV show. Before I just snapped/shared a picture, now I post a picture on my Instagram (@janeaustenrunsmylife) that has the actor in their Jane Austen media alongside their other work. It’s a lot of fun and this year I determine the film with the most Jane Austen actors in a non-Jane Austen film is Love Actually as it has 8: Bill Nighly (Mr. Woodhouse in Emma 2020) as Billy Mack, Colin Firth (Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice (1995) & Mark Darcy in the Bridget Jones’ Diary series) as Jamie, Emma Thompson (Elinor Dashwood in Sense and Sensibility (1995) as Karen, Keira Knightley (Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice (2005) as Juliet, Julia Davis (Elizabeth Elliot in Persuasion (2007) as Nancy the caterer, Alan Rickman (Colonel Brandon in Sense and Sensibility (1995) as Harry, Hugh Grant (Edward Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility (1995) & as Mark Cleaver/Mr. Wickham in the Bridget Jones’ Diary series) as the Prime Minister Davis, and Kris Marshall (Tom Parker in Sanditon) as Colin Frissell.

Period Drama Saturdays

With COVID19 my sister and I have started a new tradition, Period Drama Saturdays. Every Saturday we make a pot of tea and watch a period drama, alternating who gets to pick. Quite a few of these I plan to review for Non-Austen Films for Austen Fans, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Here are the ones we have watched this year:

  • Poldark (1996)
  • Drover’s Gold (1997)
  • Ever After (1998)
  • Turn of the Screw (1999)
  • Lorna Doone (2000)
  • Under the Greenwood Tree (2005)
  • Little Dorrit (2008)
  • The Young Victoria (2009)
  • Titanic: Blood and Steel (2012)
  • Poldark (2015-2019)
  • Dr. Thorne (2016)
  • The Moonstone (2016)
  • Victoria (2016-)
  • Selena: The Series (2020-)

Instagram Photo Challenges

From Clueless

So I have only done a few photo challenges in the past but this year I decided to try a few others. All are on my Instagram (@janeaustenrunsmylife) if you are interested in seeing the pics, and if any interest you-join me this year.

  • 30 Days of Jane Photo Challenge from Jane Austen Festival Kentucky
  • 30 Day Literacy Challenge from Jane Austen Literacy Foundation
  • Sip Down September 30 Day Photo Challenge
  • 31 Days of Hallotean
  • Tea Advent Calendar Swap on Instagram: This year I did another tea advent calendar swap and posted a photo every day leading up to Christmas on the tea. I will be doing a full review later.

Blogiversary Jane Austen July

My blogiversary is in July and alongside a post, I also like to do a series of questions on Instagram (@janeaustenrunsmylife) and post the results. This year I asked the following questions with the results on my Instagram if you are interested.

  • If you were going to match up Georgiana Darcy with one of Jane Austen’s remaining bachelors (Colonel Fitzwilliam, William Price, Thomas Bertram, or James Morland) who would you pair her up with, and why?
  • Who was the worst of Jane Austen?
  • Which Jane Austen character has the best clothes?
  • Which Jane Austen character needs their own story?
  • Which actor/actress would you love to cast in a Jane Austen film or miniseries?
  • What period drama would you love to see a crossover with a Jane Austen story (time period and country doesn’t matter)?
  • Who is the worst Mr. Darcy?
  • If the Jane Austen characters lived today what jobs would they have?
  • Do we need more Virtual Jane Austen festivals/events that run on PST?
  • What Jane Austen mashup do I need to do next?
  • If you had to wait in line with a Jane Austen character, who would be the worst one and why?
  • If you could live in any Jane Austen home or estate which one would you want to live in?
  • What Jane Austen adaption needs to be turned into a TV show or film?
  • What is something from the Regency Era you wished we had today?
  • If the Jane Austen characters could eat any food we have today, which one would they be going crazy over?
  • If you could cast any actor as Mr. Darcy (alive or passed on) in a Regency or modern adaption, who would you pick?
  • If you could cast any actress as Elizabeth Bennet (alive or passed on) in a Regency or modern adaption, who would you pick?

25 Films of Christmas

So I started a few years ago on Instagram (@janeaustenrunsmylife), watching and posting a Christmas movie everyday in December. This year I actually ended up watching 29, but the original 25 were:

  • A Christmas Carol (1954)
  • Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
  • Mickey’s Christmas Carol (1983)
  • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (1988)
  • Goodfellas (1990)
  • Home Alone (1990)
  • The Santa Clause (1994)
  • Jingle All the Way (1996)
  • Borrowed Hearts (1997)
  • Eloise at Christmas (2003)
  • Love Actually (2003)
  • Christmas Child (2004)
  • Deck the Halls (2006)
  • Christmas in Wonderland (2007)
  • 12 Men of Christmas (2009)
  • RED (2010)
  • Rise of the Guardians (2012)
  • The Christmas Candle (2013)
  • Christmas in the City (2013)
  • A Christmas Mystery (2014)
  • The Holiday Calendar (2018)
  • Pride and Prejudice and Mistletoe (2018)
  • A Very Nutty Christmas (2018)
  • A Kiss on Candy Cane Lane (2019)
  • A Recipe for Seduction (2020)

Other Posts:

Here are the others who don’t fit a theme (or I didn’t have enough similar posts to give them their own):

That’s it for 2020, here’s hoping 2021 will be better!

For 2019 in review, go to The Mysterious Affair at Jane Austen Runs My Life

For 2018 in review, go to The Future is Bulletproof

For 2017 in review, go to Life Seems But a Quick Succession of Busy Nothings

For 2016 in review, go to A New Hope

For 2015 in review, go to To Boldy Go Where No Man Has Gone Before

For 2014 in review, go to Where We’re Going, We Don’t Need Roads

For 2013 in review, go to Looking at the Past, Focusing on the Future

For 2012 in review, go to Looking Back, Moving Forward

 

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