4.5 stars
On the 30th of April 2012, internet geek goddess Felicia Day recommended a new YouTube series called The Lizzie Bennet Diaries on her YouTube-series The Flog. As a huge fan of most things Austen (I just can’t with Mansfield Park, it’s so boring), and as someone very interested in modern adaptations of classical works, not to mention willing to trust Felicia Day as I monthly tune in to her Vaginal Fantasy book club, I decided to check this thing out. I didn’t really have a lot of experience with vlogs as a medium. With the exception of Ms. Day’s own Flog, I hadn’t really watched any. But I do know my Pride and Prejudice,and the concept intrigued me.
Having now pinpointed the date when Ms. Day first recommended the series, I can conclude that I started watching The Lizzie Bennet Diaries with episode 8: Charlotte’s Back! I got hooked really early on. At first, there were two episodes a week, and I quickly grew to wait with bated breath for each one. Then I discovered that the creators weren’t just doing videos, there were fictional accounts for most of the major characters on Twitter and Tumblr, Pinterest and other social media sites. Vivacious youngest sister Lydia Bennet started making her own video blog, so I got more content. Occasionally, there would be a Q & A video. If I was really lucky, I’d get up to FOUR videos in one week. Mondays and Tuesdays were seriously the best days of my week, because I’d get a new short video showing me the further adventures of Lizzie, Jane and Lydia Bennet, as well as Charlotte Lu. It didn’t matter that I knew the source material. The creators, Hank Green and Bernie Su, twisted and adapted the story in such creative ways, turning Mary Bennet into the Bennet’s Goth cousin, and Kitty became Lydia’s cat. All of the parental characters and non-core cast were portrayed through costume theatre. This made it even more exciting every time a new actor actually appeared in the videos.
Full review.
It sounds like I need to watch the series first? Okay. I will add the series and this book to my list for when I get done with writing. That should motivate me a little to keep on. Great review! I can’t wait to get started.
Definitely watch it, and probably soon. You can probably finish the whole thing in a weekend. Soooooo good.
I consider it my life’s goal to get as many people hooked on The Lizzie Bennet as I can. At least you can watch the whole thing in a weekend. I had to suffer the agonizing wait for pretty much each and every episode, what with being snared with episode 8.
I have this book on my bedside table but I am not allowed to touch it until I finish Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Which is exactly why you never try to read serious literature in the summer.
I loooooved Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Loved it. But it’s a long, slow burn of a book. Thankfully, I saw the movie first so (a) I knew what was happening and (b) I could fantasize about Benedict Cumberbatch as Peter Guillam. Win!
Maybe I should pause my reading and watch the movie. Part of the problem is that it’s so dense, and he throws around a lot of spy terminology all the time, and I get confused. But nah . . . well maybe. I don’t know. We’ll see.
You should totally watch the movie, unless you’re worried about spoilers.
Yeah, I read Emma, and that was mostly on audio book. I just can’t do big, heavy books. It’s why I keep putting off Sanderson’s two epic books as well. I just need light entertainment.
Good luck finishing Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. This will be a good, light palate cleanser for you when you’re done.
I’ve found recently that it’s a lot easier for me to read serious books on audio, so when possible, that’s how I will do it! I think it’s because I listen in the car, and I can’t really leave my car while I’m driving, so . . .
I am at the beach, and it is raining today. Heading to YouTube right now to start watching.