Introduce Yourself Part Two Showing 501-550 of 1,693

[[deleted user]]

Hello MJ! Welcome. I used to work in libraries also - it is a great place to spend one's time. I hope you find our discussions here interesting and please join in!

[Rachel, The Honorable Miss Moderator]

Welcome, Mary Danielle and Silvia! You two are certainly right about Austen being a revelation and charming. Hope to see you around the group a lot!

[Kim]

Hi everyone

I joined goodreads and this group recently and made a comment in the Favourite Jane Austen thread. However, I thought that I would introduce myself here. I am 53 years old and I live in Sydney Australia. I am a lawyer, married with grown up children. My first degree was in English literature, as was my Masters degree, so there was plenty of scope for reading Jane Austen as as student. I started well before then. I can't quite remember when, but I seem to recall that I read P & P first, when I was about 13. I read Persuasion and Emma at school as part of the English curriculum. I definitely remember reading Mansfield Park at school when I was 17 and not liking it all that much. It remains the one Jane Austen that I tend not to re-read. (If there are any MP devotees out there, I'd love to hear from them. I suspect it may be time to give it another go!) Sense and Sensibility and Northanger Abbey came later, probably in my early 20s. Anyway, my love of Jane Austen has passed on to my daughter. I have recently started listening to audio books and have adored Juliet Stephenson's reading of Persuasion and Emilia Fox's reading of Pride and Prejudice. I'm looking forward to more JA audio books in the near future. I'm also looking forward to participating in this group!

[Mark]

Kim wrote: "Hi everyone

I joined goodreads and this group recently and made a comment in the Favourite Jane Austen thread. However, I thought that I would introduce myself here. I am 53 years old and I live..."

Welcome Kim. Hope you enjoy. Funny you say about MP. I remember reading it during my A Level studies as a 17 year old and thinking Fanny and Edmund were wonderful, noble and put upon. Then I reread it at 32 and found them both appalling self righteous prigs. This year, at 47, I read Lynn Shepherd's ' Murder at mansfield Park '. Classic and clever development of dialogue and characters, though,evidently, totally surreal

[Susan]

Hello Stephanie,
I hope you enjoy being part of this group.
My favourite Austin is also Northanger Abbey,I love the way it shows the author's sense of humour.
I recently saw a production of it in our local theatre, it was really fantastic.

[Rachel, The Honorable Miss Moderator]

Welcome, Kim and Stephanie!

It's easy to see you two will contribute a lot to our discussions here. Hope to hear from you a lot! :)

[[deleted user]]

Welcome to the group Stephanie!Jump in - we'd love to hear what you think!

[Robin]

Stephanie and Susan, My fave is Northanger Abbey as well, I used to think Pride and Prejudice was, but upon reading Northanger, I liked the writing style of Austen, it seemed quite different from her other novels, to me.

[Abigail]

Hi!

My name is Abby and I'm a Library Assistant. I was briefly introduced to Austen my first year of college but didn't have a change to actually realize what I was looking at until a friend introduced me to the BBC version of P&P. I love Austen's stories and I think the way she wrote her characters was amazing. My favorites are Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion.

[Manda]

Kim wrote: "I definitely remember reading Mansfield Park at school when I was 17 and not liking it all that much. It remains the one Jane Austen that I tend not to re-read. (If there are any MP devotees out there, I'd love to hear from them. I suspect it may be time to give it another go!)"

Hi Kim! I wouldn't call myself a MP devotee; I didn't really like it much at first reading. It is slower and heavier and doesn't display as much of that charming wit we come to expect from the other novels. However, after studying MP and JA more, I think she wrote it that way deliberately. I see this book as a veiled attack on Regency London and even at the Prince Regent, of whom she was not a fan. She had to dedicate Emma to him because he "asked" her to, but I remember at least one of her personal letters where she makes a jab at him by sympathyzing with his wife.

I think our Jane did not approve of the wild immorality running rampant in London and saw the Regent as the Head Libertine responsible, at least in part. MP draws a stark contrast between country morals (quiet, certainly, but steady and good) and city flash (bright and fun, but dangerous).

When Sir Thomas goes to take care of business elsewhere he leaves his eldest son Tom in charge (read as King George is ill, leaving Prince George in charge). Under Tom's care, the residents of MP run wild. The Crawfords bring that dangerous city element into MP and there is no steady hand of authority to balance and lead, culminating in the decision to put on a rather risqué play. This is by far the most fun part of the novel to read and JA uses her sparkling wit to bring it to life, but it also shows almost everyone behaving at their worst.

Anyway, it will never be my favorite, but it became more interesting to read when I was looking at it that way.

[[deleted user]]

Welcome Abby! Those are my favorite titles also. Hope you enjoy our discussions and join in!

[Rachel, The Honorable Miss Moderator]

Abigail wrote: "Hi!

My name is Abby and I'm a Library Assistant. I was briefly introduced to Austen my first year of college but didn't have a change to actually realize what I was looking at until a friend intro..."

Welcome to the group, Abby! P&P and Persuasion are my faves too! :)

[Robin]

I love most of Austens, books, Pride and Prejudice, Northanger Abbey, I have a copy of Sense and Sensibility and have not read Emma yet.

[Karlyne]

Manda, your comments on Mansfield Park were really insightful! And, I think that I've come to love MP just for the reasons you give. Country life vs city life, thinking & reasoning vs the do-first-reap-what-you-sow-later mentality. I agree that Jane knew what she was writing about but that her slyness kept the book from being understood. Probably a good thing that the "royals" didn't get it!

[Alicia]

Mansfield Park may or may not be Jane Austen's worst novel. But Jane Austen's worst novel is still way better than almost anyone else's best novel.

[Robin]

Never read Mansfield Park, but did see a video version with Frances O'Connor and thought it was well made.

[Karlyne]

MP is the hardest of the Austen novels to read, because it is the most alien to our culture, and because it is also quite serious. The sparkling wit that we're used to in her others is much, much quieter in MP. But on re-reading and re-reading (ok, I'm a slow learner!), I really do enjoy it now!

[Robin]

I guess that is another Austen book I must attempt after my forays with Dickens-Bleak House, and Agatha Christie, from another reading group, oh and also after reading Emma.

[Karlyne]

i love Agatha, too! What are you reading now from that group?

[Robin]

I just finished The Mysterious Affair at Styles, and also Murder at the Vicarage, which was a play adaptation.

[Karlyne]

Aren't they fun?! I have a big collection of Agatha; my aunt gave me all of her hard-bound copies when she downsized and I've been adding paperbacks for years.

[Robin]

Lucky you, I enjoy her writing style, she seems to draw the reader in from the first page.

[Anayeli]

Hi! My name is Anayeli and I'm from Nebraska. I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice for my English class and now it is one of my favorite books!I plan to read many more of Jane Austen's books very soon.

[[deleted user]]

Hi Anayeli! Thanks for joining our group. I hope you read more of Austen's books - look around and you will find lots of discussions here about all her work. I hope you will tell us what you think as you read!

[Kim]

Manda wrote: "Kim wrote: "I definitely remember reading Mansfield Park at school when I was 17 and not liking it all that much. It remains the one Jane Austen that I tend not to re-read. (If there are any MP dev..."

That's a really interesting take on the book, Manda. I'd never thought about MP as allegory. Definitely time for a re-read!!

[Abigail]

Rachel wrote: "Abigail wrote: "Hi!

My name is Abby and I'm a Library Assistant. I was briefly introduced to Austen my first year of college but didn't have a change to actually realize what I was looking at unti..."

Thanks! Persuasion is the first Austen novel I finished and I'm closer to the heroine's age so I think that one will always be special to me. Pride and Prejudice is classic :)

[michelle]

Hello, I'm Michelle Nguyen. I am currently twenty years of age (turning twenty-one in two months), and a community college student with hopes to transfer to university by next fall. I started reading Jane Austen two summers ago and fell in love with her eloquent prose and writing style, not to mention her stories as well. I've read all of Jane Austen's books, but now I am re-reading them again to better understand them since I was rather new to classic novels when I first read her works, and thus had a little difficulty in understanding them. I'm hoping to join JASNA one day when I have my own money to pay for my membership.

[[deleted user]]

Michelle - I hope you can find a local chapter of JASNA in your area. It is a very fun organization.

[Sandy]

Hello everyone. My name is Sandy and I am a university instructor teaching English as a Second Language. I love to read in my spare time, so I was delighted to learn about this site from Lee Woodruff whose blog I follow. A couple of years ago I started reading the classics that I read in my growing up years. Jane Austen has been a favorite of mine, so I thought this would be a great site for me. I look forward to it.

[[deleted user]]

Welcome Sandy! We look forward to hearing what you think!

[Alice]

Hi, I'm Alice and I love Jane Austen. I simply love her writing. My favorite novels are Pride and Prejudice, and Persuasion. I like to read and to write.

[[deleted user]]

Hello Alice! We all love Austen! Hope you will look around and comment!

[Lori]

Hello! My name is Lori, I'm a Canadian, living in Europe. I have loved Jane Austen since highschool, and love books that are related to her works! I'm looking forward to chatting with you!

[[deleted user]]

Hi Lori! We look forward to chatting with you also! Welcome to the group.

[Rachel, The Honorable Miss Moderator]

Welcome again, Michelle and Sandy and welcome Alice and Lori!

I'm so glad our group keeps expanding. I hope you four will be very active here! :)

[Charlotta]

Moi! My name is Sadie, I'm from Finland. I started Pride and Prejudice a while back and I'm loving it! Haven't finished it yet but it's quite possible that it's one of the best books I've ever read :D I hope I'll find time to finish it sometime soon. I fell in love with Jane Austen after I watched Pride and Prejudice and Emma <3

[[deleted user]]

Hello Sadie. It is very nice to have you in the group! Keep reading! We all love Jane Austen here ;-)

[Rachel, The Honorable Miss Moderator]

Welcome, Sadie! P & P is my fave--I'll never forget my first time reading it! Enjoy! :)

[Zeena]

Hello! My name is Zeena, I'm 20 years old and I'm a third year biology major in university. My first experience with Jane Austen was when I was 14 and my teacher decided that all the other books on the reading lists were below my reading level and that I should try P&P. I found it boring and hard to read at first, but somewhere along the way I found that I couldn't put it down and it soon became my favorite book!

It wasn't until this past summer that I finally got around to reading Austen's other novels. At this point, I've read everything except Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, but I hope to read them soon.

[[deleted user]]

Hi Zeena! Nice to have you join us! Keep reading and tell us what you think. Welcome!

[Rachel, The Honorable Miss Moderator]

Nice to have you here, Zeena! You're in for a treat with Northanger Abbey! Be sure to let us know when you read it and welcome to the group!

[[deleted user]]

Hi! My name is Stephanie, I live in Atlanta GA. I've been a HUGE fan of JA since high-school. I read her books over and over again. About to read P&P again for the hundreth time! That is my favorite book! I'm so thrilled to join this site! :)

[Robin]

Zeena, Northanger Abbey is a good read. A different way of writing I thought as opposed to Pride and Prejudice. It is worth it to read.

[[deleted user]]

Hello Stephanie! Nice to have you with us. Look around and jump in the discussions. We would love to have your opinion!

[Rachel, The Honorable Miss Moderator]

Welcome, Stephanie! We're of the same opinion about P & P-- I've lost track of how many times I've read it! Glad to have you here!

[Nicky]

Hi, I'm Nicky, 61, grew up on the Gulf Coast, have lived in New York City and then New England for the last 34 years. I can't even remember when I first started reading Jane Austen but I think it was probably in my late teens. I re-read the entire group about every few years or so. At this point that's a number of times. I love every single book for different reasons. I've listened to them on audio, seen all the films and all the BBC versions a number of times as well so I guess that qualifies me as a bona fide Janeist! This is the first time I've participated in a Jane group so I'm thrilled to be here. Thanks.

[[deleted user]]

Hello Nicky! Welcome to the group. We are all Janeites here! We all love Austen's books in all their various formats. Look around and jump in the discussions - you will find lots of wonderful, opinionated and fun people!

[Rachel, The Honorable Miss Moderator]

Welcome, Nicky!

Glad to have such a Jane enthusiast here! I am a huge film buff, so I've viewed all the Austen adaptations multiple times, too! Hope you like it here!

[Nicky]

Thanks for the welcome Megan and Rachel. Will jump in to some of the discussions.

[Shea]

Hello! I am a working mom (pharmacist) from Michigan who loves Jane Austen more and more as I complete each novel. I have read Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Persuasion. I plan to read Emma soon. Northanger Abby and Mansfield Park are also on my bookshelf waiting to be read. I made sure I had the Barnes and Noble classics edition of each novel after I finished Pride and Prejudice. I knew I would want to read all of her novels and I would want to be able to re-read them multiple times. I have also enjoyed other Austen related books like "Confessions of a Jane Austen Addict" and "Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict." I also enjoyed the BBC mini-series "Lost in Austen" and the movie "The Jane Austen Book Club." I get excited whenever Austen is mentioned in any other movie and it makes me want to read that book. I read "Persuasion" when I did because it was referenced in "The Lake House." I think I am a lost cause and I have found kindered spirits here :-)