Jane Austen discussion
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Introduce Yourself Part Two
message 651:
by
Robin
(new)
May 08, 2011 09:10PM
Never read Jane until probably in my 40's or so. So you are in good company. Northanger is one of the first Austen books written, so it is unlike her later works. I personally liked Northanger Abbey. Mansfield, takes a little more getting used to.
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Alisa wrote: "I'm Alisa, and I'm a Jane Austen addict. I'm ashamed to admit it, but even though I was an English major, I never read JA until my 30s, when I was immediately hooked. Persuasion and Pride & Pre..."
Welcome Alisa. Like Robin says, as a Jane Austen addict you are indeed in good company here! Persuasion and P&P are also my favourite Austen novels. I've read them so often I feel that I could recite slabs of them off by heart! I love all of Austen's works, but I think MP is the one which requires the most effort to really appreciate. (And I say that as someone who has been reading JA since I was a young teen). Enjoy the group!
Thanks, ladies!I enjoy Northanger Abbey for what it is, though I don't think it's up there with Persuasion, Pride & Prejudice, and Emma. It would probably read better if I were more familiar with the sources Austen was parodying.
I liked Mansfield Park better the second time I read it. The first time, I was disappointed in Fanny and found her to be a bit of a prig. The second time, I appreciated her more.
I'm Gini, and I'm another who didn't read Austen until I was in my 30s. I'm actually glad though; I don't think I could have appreciated it if I'd read her in school. As it was, Pride and Prejudice was the first book I picked up when I embarked on a personal campaign to make up for the poor education in literature I had received. I expected it to be like other things that are "good for me": a grueling slog. Imagine my delight upon reading the first page of the book and finding myself laughing out loud! I've done a good deal of reading in the classics since then, and enjoyed many of the books, but no author beats Austen for sheer delight.
Hello Alisa and Gini! Welcome to the group! We are all very happy you have joined us. It doesn't matter when you started reading dear Ms. A - it just matters that you do! Looking forward to "seeing" both of you around!
Mod
No matter how late in life you came to Austen, all that's required in this group is a love for her works! :) Glad to have you here!
I am Robin, and I come in and out sporadically in these discussion threads, Welcome Alisa and Gini, you are bound to have lots of interesting discussions on your reading Austen. We all love her writing, and everything about Austen. Glad you are here.
Hi! My name is Jamie Walter. I'm 41, live in Maryland, and have loved Austen's books since high school. I admit I loved Jane Eyre more in HS than P&P, but as I've matured, this has switched. Now I love the subtlety of Austen and her heroines. My favorite book is P&P. I can't tell you how many times I've read it or how many times I've watched the BBC miniseries. There is no Darcy better than Colin Firth!!!
I love Emma and Persuasion, too.
Welcome Jamie! Glad to have your join us. Austen's writing is amazing and every time you read her, there is something new. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say.
Hi Anna! I think it is okay to be like Emma - we all like Emma! ;-) Welcome to the group!
Mod
I agree with you about Colin Firth, Jamie, and Persuasion is one of my faves, too, Anna!
Glad to have you both here!
Hi, all! I'm Tracey, from and of and in Connecticut, and have been a Janeite for more than half my life - though a kind of poor one, as I admit I still haven't read all of the books. I honestly can't remember whether I read P&P first or saw the movie - but the movie I saw first was the Greer Garson/Laurence Olivier version, which was lovely but left me gasping when I saw the Colin Firth/Jennifer Ehle. My favorite, though, is always and forever Persuasion, with and because of Ciarán Hinds.I get this sort of feeling I'm in good company there...!
Mod
Yes, you have LOTS of good company here in your preference for the '95 Persuasion?! Glad to have you here!
Tracey wrote: "Hi, all! I'm Tracey, from and of and in Connecticut, and have been a Janeite for more than half my life - though a kind of poor one, as I admit I still haven't read all of the books. I honestly c..."Hi there Tracey. You most definitely are in very good company!!
Hey Tracey!You DO have lots of company here! Very glad you have joined us and looking forward to "seeing" you in the discussions.
Hello everybody! My name is Michele and I'm thirty years old. I've been reading Jane Austen for six years. A little dissapointed that I did not start reading her sooner. I'm a memeber of the JASNA and I recently started a Jane Austen Book Club at the library.
Welcome Michele (waving). Fellow JASNA member here! Glad you found us and decided to join us. Looking forward to hearing what you have to say!
Wish we had JASNA in Hawaii. But with the humidity the dresses would not stand up to the weather. Even though in the days of the monarchy they did have to wear clothes similar to the Austen period of dress.
Hi Megan! (waves back). It's good to be here. Looking foward to the discussions. Robin, I'm surprised there isn't a JASNA in Hawaii. I've heard about Jane Austen groups all over the world.
Below is a link to the listing of organized JASNA chapters in the United States. No Hawaii.
http://www.jasna.org/regions/us.html
http://www.jasna.org/regions/us.html
I know**sigh**
Mod
Glad to have you here! :)
Im Minna...new to the computer world...but not to Jane Austen. My granny was a book lover and introduced me to all types of literature. Austen novels are one of my first loves and had read them all many times over before they were required reading in high school. Had a tough time accepting other peoples interpretations, but have learned to chill a little since then! I love Pride and Pred' above all others. Have taken a chance and read some sequels lately...and have been pleasantly surprised. any discussions on those?
![Carla [saelicreads] (saelicreads)](https://images.gr-assets.com/users/1715866069p1/5573807.jpg)
Greetings fellow Janeites :)My name is Carla, 21 years young, and hailing from the Netherlands. I'm a member of JASNL and of the Dutch Jane Austen forum. I loooove Jane Austen, but I believe that doesn't come as a surprise. ;)
We have Jane Austen Balls here but I have not yet had the pleasure to attend one :( I don't even have a proper dress yet because I can't sew a stitch. Will need to take some lessons or ask a sister to help me someday.
Hello Carla! Welcome to the group. We are glad you are here and hope to see in the discussions!
Welcome to the group Stacey!! Very pleased that you have joined us. Have a look around and tell us what you think! Austen is indeed a revelation!
Mod
Congrats on the degree! Glad to have you here. :)
hello everyone!I'm Katja from Malta (EU) and an avid Jane Austen fan! I fell in love with Jane Austen's work when I read Pride and Prejudice.. and guess what? I got hooked on it!! My second favourite novel is Mansfield Park and at first I really liked watching the movie!
Looking forward for all the lovely discussions here!!
Hello Kat! Welcome to the group! Please have a look around and jump in. Let us know what you are thinking!
Mod
Great to have you here! Malta is somewhere I have always wanted to visit. Pride and Prejudice is my fave too!
Hello! My name is Shelby Sorensen. I'm 20 and currently going to college for computers. I read a large amount of books that I truly don't have the worse case of deciding what book to read next. My favorite author is Jane Austen. I'm actually currently reading Sense and Sensibility. When I have my own house, I plan to have a large library filled with the many books I own.
Hi Shelly! Welcome to our group! We are happy to have you join us!
Mod
I would love a library like that too. I always feel like there are too many books, not enough time! Hope you like it here!
Hello everyone! I'm Amanda and I just now started reading Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice and I am in love with it! I can't wait to read more of her books in the future.(next one being Emma)
Welcome to the group Amanda! I hope you read all of Austen's work and then tell us what you think! Nice to have you here.
Mod
Keep reading Austen--discovering each novel for the first time is a treat! Glad to have you here!
With the next member "Jane Austen" will have 2011 members!
Amalie wrote: "With the next member "Jane Austen" will have 2011 members!"There should be a special ceremony!
Wow, 2011 members and this being the year 2011. The mind boggles.
Hi everyone. I'm Victoria and I'm 23. I just graduated with a degree in art history with minors in history and American studies. Sadly, I was only one class shy of an English minor as well but didn't want to postpone graduation for one class. And I hope to go back to school sometime for my masters degree. I've seen just about every version of every Jane Austen inspired movie before I even started reading the books. I always loved her stories but until a friend suggested reading P&P to help to put some GRE vocabulary words into context, I never thought about reading them. After P&P I decided I wanted to read them all. Currently, I have only read 2 Jane Austen novels because there are just so many other books I want to read too (most of which I decided I wanted to read before picking up P&P), but I hope to read them all sometime soon.
Hello Victoria! Welcome to our group! I know all about the "too be read" list - it just keeps growing! Once you get to reading some more Austen, look around in here - we have had discussions in the past on all the books. Please let us know what you think!
Mod
Yes, you must read the rest of Austen soon--you will love them! I am a huge film fan, so I saw one or two of the films before reading the books too. Hope you like it here!
Hello,my name is Konstantina and I'm from Greece. I am 21 years old and I could say that Jane Austen is one of my favourite authors since I was 15. Since then, I have already read all of her novels several times and in many languages too. Naturally, I first read them in greek but reading the original text was something different (and exceptional). A couple of years ago in order to keep up with my spanish I read Pride and Prejudice in Spanish too. So I can't wait to talk to other people about those favourite works of hers.
Konstantina
Welcome to the group Konstantina! We are very glad you are here! We are planning to do a read along of Sense and Sensibility this fall - hope you will join us!
Mod
Your love of Austen and languages will surely make you a valuable member of this group! Hope you like it here!
Hiya! I'm Maggie, 15, and have a current obsession with Jane Austen, particularly P&P (my favorite). I read P&P when I was in 8th grade and followed it up with Northanger Abbey and Emma. I've seen the movies for Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion, but don't know anything about Mansfield Park. I love fanfiction revolving around P&P, and especially enjoyed the trilogy Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman. One of my favorite movies is the A&E BBC version of P&P. I thought the characters were a lot better, and the lines were truer to the book than the 2005 version.
Jane Austen
Books mentioned in this topic
The Lord of the Rings (other topics)Emma (other topics)
Georgette Heyer's Regency World (other topics)
Pride and Prejudice (other topics)
Sense and Sensibility (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Angela Thirkell (other topics)D.E. Stevenson (other topics)
Georgette Heyer (other topics)
Katherine Reay (other topics)
Marian Devon (other topics)
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