AustenBlog 2.0
Welcome to the new look of AustenBlog!
We took the opportunity of upgrading to a new version of WordPress to update our template as well (using the Jane Austen font yet!). It needs some tweaking, but will do for now. Do let us know if you encounter any difficulties.
If you miss the old look, it may become available again. Stay tuned!
P.S. We also upgraded our spam prevention tool, so if your comment is tagged for spam, please be patient–as long as it is a legitimate comment from a real AustenBlog reader, we will approve it as soon as possible. 
February 13th, 2006 at 12:24 am
Excellent, I love this new version.
February 13th, 2006 at 12:50 am
I like the heading. I think I like the old color scheme better, but this is definitely fun. I’ll take two snarks please.
February 13th, 2006 at 2:17 am
Huuuuuuu…. Changes are exciting as always! Looks nice though I really don’t like the picture in the header. But the new slogan makes up for it!
February 13th, 2006 at 3:48 am
I like this new look! But I agree that the picture could have been different. What about a picture of Jane Austen?
February 13th, 2006 at 9:05 am
I love the new look but not the pic, it seems to reflect the wrong opinion of those who think that Austenites are old and crusty! How about a pic of Jane?
February 13th, 2006 at 9:24 am
It’s Mrs. Bennet!
I liked the idea of tea, with the one lump or two, and I think the look on her face is hilarious in this context.
Does no one find the idea of the crusty old lady kind of humorously ironic?
February 13th, 2006 at 9:26 am
Hmm…it occurs to me that the color scheme is, perhaps, a bit Christmasy, which was not my intention.
February 13th, 2006 at 11:38 am
I absolutely love the heading, it’s so funny and suits you to a ‘tea’ Mags! lol!
The colors could use a little work but I love the green and the Jane script, I wondered when you’d start using that! This white on the background makes it seem a bit too much like writing an e-mail to me and the gray is so bland!
February 13th, 2006 at 12:09 pm
I appreciate all this feedback, btw.
The idea behind the white background is that I’ve had some complaints that the blog was hard to read in its former incarnation, where there wasn’t a lot of contrast between the text and the background.
I’m thinking a bluer shade of teal might be a better choice than the green-teal. I like teal, though. (It’s not really red and green, it’s teal and cranberry!!!) It’s basically the same color scheme I used for the e-texts.
February 13th, 2006 at 1:41 pm
mm. i enjoy the jane font immensely, but i must admit that overall, i miss the old version. (tear)
but one must roll with the times
February 13th, 2006 at 1:52 pm
Ha! For a moment there I didn’t know where I was
I loved the old layout and this one will take some getting used to but I like it too. Love the font and the colours, but as others have mentioned before the picture is a little bit odd.
Anyway, it’s what you write that counts, isn’t it?
February 13th, 2006 at 2:16 pm
Love the new look, especially: One lump of snark or two?
February 13th, 2006 at 2:38 pm
I was really comfortable with the old version, though I confess I found it hard to read, sometimes. Like the font. Love the image; tongue in cheek, to me. Maybe a bit more colour? Grey is very… Grey. It’s kinda cold, and I always think of this site with such warmth!
February 13th, 2006 at 3:09 pm
I must say I liked the old look better, but maybe it will grow on me.
My one complaint is the color scheme. Something a little warmer would suit me better.
Maria B.
February 13th, 2006 at 3:14 pm
Hmm. Maybe I will do that periwinkle layout I’ve been threatening to do after all.
February 13th, 2006 at 3:43 pm
How is this background color rather than the gray? It’s more of a light greenish color with a hint of gray now (it’s the same bg color as the menu).
February 13th, 2006 at 7:08 pm
Forgive me, don’t be offended–but I thought the picture in the header was meant to represent “middle-aged Austen-whores” around the globe!
February 13th, 2006 at 11:00 pm
Hmmm, quite a makeover! I like the brightness of it, and love the Austen font! I agree the image is a bit off-putting… plus the detailed lines and small size make it a bit hard to make out–maybe you could enlarge it a bit? I do like the tea theme as well.
February 14th, 2006 at 8:06 am
Missyisms–exactly!!!
But I agree with JaneFan as well, the image itself is a little hard to see. I have something else in mind and may do a slight redesign and change in colors.
February 14th, 2006 at 9:16 am
This color scheme hurts my eyes. It’s very bright. I’m in flourescent light now, but it’s too bright even at home.
February 14th, 2006 at 10:33 am
We could call the gentlewoman in the image MAAW for short.
“MAAW! Are you snarking again?”
February 14th, 2006 at 11:33 am
I came in for my daily AustenBlog skim and thought I’d come to the wrong place. Once I got over the heart attack, I like the new layout very much! Big thanks for the link to the font … I can get my font fix AND my Jane Austen fix in one shot today!
(And I’ll take two snarks, please!)
February 14th, 2006 at 2:38 pm
Changes are a-coming. Be of good cheer and patience. We’ll keep the good and dump the not-so-good. Thanks for all the feedback, it is much appreciated.
(However, maybe we’ll keep MAAW around somewhere as a sort of mascot.)
February 14th, 2006 at 11:36 pm
It is terrific and I love the snark! It is fun and the font is great. Sure seems easier to read.
Thanks!
February 18th, 2006 at 6:12 pm
Well… I think it looks very nice!
February 19th, 2006 at 9:36 am
I think I liked the old design better…. But I am very much in favor of redesigning things like this because 1) it’s fun for the designer to try out new things and 2) it’s fun for the readers to see the changes and 3) you can always change them again. It’s still a nice-looking blog and easy to read and navigate, so I’ll just be happy with what’s here until you change it again.