Welcome to Weekend Bookblogging, where we discuss books by, about, and inspired by Jane Austen and her work.

Alert Janeite Trai spotted something interesting that we felt compelled to share with our readers. Two upcoming books from Sourcebooks Casablanca, both written by Abigail Reynolds, are mass market paperback (the smaller, cheaper kind) reprints of Austen paraliterature with new titles. The Man Who Loved Pride and Prejudice is the same as Pemberley by the Sea, and To Conquer Mr. Darcy is the same book as Impulse and Initiative.

We are of the opinion that the titles were changed to make it more obvious that they are Austen paraliterature; we have always joked about “Darcy” in the title of books making them big sellers (we always get more hits on blog posts with “Darcy” in the title), though it’s not really a joke; it’s a fact. There are two ways to look at this, in our opinion; good news and bad news, if you will. The good news is that readers who wanted to read these books and found the trade paperback versions a little too expensive now have an opportunity to purchase these books in a less-expensive edition, and you may take this posting as our advertisement of these new editions. The bad news is that readers excited by the possibility of a new book may purchase without investigating closely and discover that they have purchased books they have already read. Our fellow blogger Laurel Ann, who is a bookseller, reports that such title changes cause confusion, anger, and returns by disappointed buyers. So caveat emptor, Gentle Readers.

In other news, there are lots of reviews around for Jane’s Fame by Claire Harman, recently released in North America, including the New York Times, which is much less cranky than our own review. 😉

That’s it for this weekend’s Bookblogging, so until next time, Gentle Readers, always remember: Books Are Nice!