Welcome to Excessively Diverting. We’re a (mostly) Jane Austen blog with an occasional Brontë thrown in. (The Brontës despised Jane so this pleases me they will be sharing a blog.)
There are a zillion Jane Austen / Brontë blogs, why another one?
Three reasons:
- I was doing a front-end web development course and I needed a project to work on. I love Jane / Brontës so this is a perfect fit.
- I want a to read a blog covering news, book reviews, listicles, and other Jane / Brontë stuff and less on the personal stuff. (This is not to say personal stuff won’t make an appearance but this is about Jane (and the occasional Brontë), not about me.)
- There is a zillion dollar Jane Austen / Brontë cottage industry that includes not just the books, but also toothpaste and computer games to name a few things Janeites can buy. Jane is everywhere and her legion keeps growing.
Why the Brontës?
I explain this in-depth here and to sum: Brontës and Jane’s work have a lot of similarities; Brontës are enjoying a renaissance of their own and I’m curious about their work, and finally, Brontës are well known to not be a fan of Jane’s and them sharing a blog is delightful in its own twisted way.
How’d you come up with the name of the blog?
The name comes from the Etsy store I ran for a few years where I sold Jane items such as Christmas ornaments, bookmarks, and pins. The store did well but it was hard to keep up with the orders while working a full-time gig so I shuttered it temporarily. The name itself comes was bestowed from my friend Carrie-Anne. I have plans to open the store in the future — I just don’t know when.
Who are you?
I’m Lisa and I’m a slasher (writer / librarian / geek). A Most Unreliable Narrator is my tell-all newsletter. You can find me on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. I live where the midwest meets the south with my partner J. and our pug Thursday. I am a huge fan of the Oxford comma. I drive a MINI Cooper, watch the Beeb on a regular basis, and my musical tastes tend to run to shoegaze and Brit pop. I have over 20 tattoos and none of them (as of this writing) are Jane or Brontë related. (I know, right!?)
I’m also a member of good standing in JASNA and JASNA – Greater Louisville Region, where I’m also the chapter’s librarian.
…and your Jane obsession?
I cannot tell you when I first started reading Jane but I can tell you I’ve been obsessed with her for as long as I can remember. I collect cover variations, para-literature, and Jane accouterments. I started reading the Brontë’s during my later days in high school but it wasn’t until recently that I started getting into them again.
- Fave book(s): Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion
- Fave movie(s): Pride & Prejudice (2005) (I’ll fight to the death defending this movie). I tend to steer towards more modern adaptations as the production tends to be lush and the faithfulness to the books is pleasing. From the Brontës, the 2011 version of Jane Eyre with Mia Wasikowska and Michael Fassbender.
- Fave characters? Still thinking about this one. Anne Elliot from Persuasion is up there but she’s also a bit wet.
Contact! I need to contact you!
Use the contact form.
I’m always open to reading ARCs and reviewing products. Contact me and we’ll talk.
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Updated April 30, 2021