Jane Austen discussion
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Introduce Yourself Part Two
Hello, my name is Susan. I first read Jane Austen while taking a Jane Austen course with an amazing professor at the University of Buffalo in my late 20's. I am now 42, a stay-at-home mom, part-time Masters student in English, and I am trying to be more serious about my writing these days. I am also kind of obsessed with Jane Austen and hope to time travel someday to the Regency period (as long as I can bring along a few modern day health and beauty items). Just when I have decided on a favorite Jane Austen novel, the next day I move on to another! Lately, it's been Emma, but I am restarting P&P, so I sure this will change! Looking forward to this group...
I forgot to add that my husband has been nudging me to read Patrick O'Brian for years, so it's great you are including Master and Commander in your discussions. I'll be following along!
Hello, I'm Em. I read Jane Austen for the first time at age 16 - it was Pride and Prejudice (probably still my over-all favourite) although since I share a name with Emma must admit to a bit of an afinity with that book as well. Somehow, I've managed not to read Persuasion or Northanger Abbey yet so the plan is to get to both of these this summer before re-reading the others for the zillionth time!
Susan wrote: "I forgot to add that my husband has been nudging me to read Patrick O'Brian for years, so it's great you are including Master and Commander in your discussions. I'll be following along!"
Welcome to the group Susan! My husband has been nudging me to read O'Brian, too. We have dubbed his series: "Jane Austen for guys."
My favorite JA is Persuasion and I don't waver on that one! :) Glad to have you in the group. Be sure to check out our polls, threads and bookshelves. Jump in any time!
Welcome to the group Susan! My husband has been nudging me to read O'Brian, too. We have dubbed his series: "Jane Austen for guys."
My favorite JA is Persuasion and I don't waver on that one! :) Glad to have you in the group. Be sure to check out our polls, threads and bookshelves. Jump in any time!
Welcome to the group Em! All I can say is get reading! Persuasion is wonderful and NA is funnier every time I read it! We'll pick one of Jane's books for discussion later in the summer probably; feel free to add to any of the older discussions when you finish NA and Persuasion.
Thanks Jeannette, I will do. Looking forward to joining some discussions! I think you've made my mind up for me when it comes to which one to read first - it'll have to be Persuasion.
Maybe I will have my husband join in, also! Persuasion is one of my favorites too, probably due to its being one of her more "mature" works. It's message is probably the most meaningful to me. Thanks for the warm welcome!
I have to say that I am so proud of all of you ladies who are about to get your feet wet, and brass buttons tarnished, with the salt of the sea with your upcoming reading of Master and Commander. Cheers! Chris
Christopher wrote: "I have to say that I am so proud of all of you ladies who are about to get your feet wet, and brass buttons tarnished, with the salt of the sea with your upcoming reading of Master and Commander. ..."
I am looking forward to reading the scene at the concert where Stephen meets Jack! :)
I am looking forward to reading the scene at the concert where Stephen meets Jack! :)
Chris - are you going to explain what some of these words mean? :) There was a particular paragraph this morning where I realized the only words I knew were determiners and conjunctions!
Paula wrote: "Chris - are you going to explain what some of these words mean? :) There was a particular paragraph this morning where I realized the only words I knew were determiners and conjunctions!"Paula, keep a list and add 'em when you have a moment. I'd be delighted to help! Also, I don't know if I mentioned it before, but there is a superb lexicon for the Aubrey-Maturin canon. It is by Dean King and is entitled, A Sea of Words; it is quite helpful for defining/describing all things nautical, medical, historical, and natural sciences related in the PO'B books.
While at first, PO'B can be daunting to those who aren't used to the language of the sea and sailing, but after a bit with continued reading you'll find that you do get into a rhythm and the tension associated with this 'new' language abates.
I'll be happy to start a thread of "What's this word mean?" in the discussion folder, if you are willing to help define them, Chris.
Jeannette wrote: "I'll be happy to start a thread of "What's this word mean?" in the discussion folder, if you are willing to help define them, Chris."Jeannette, I left a starter note over on that thread; and to reiterate, I'd be delighted to help.
I am off to Cheyenne, Wyoming, on business, on Tuesday, June 2nd, but will be taking Master and Commander and A Sea of Words along with me. I will check in each day and see how the discussions fare. Cheers! Chris
Thank you for the advice, Christopher. My husband has the book A Sea of Words, so I'll have a reference at hand. Also, we own a sailboat, so hopefully I will understand something, if things haven't changed in 200 years!
Susan wrote: "Thank you for the advice, Christopher. My husband has the book A Sea of Words, so I'll have a reference at hand. Also, we own a sailboat, so hopefully I will understand something, if things haven..."Actually, things haven't changed much at all when it comes to sailing terminology. You'll do just fine, I'm sure, Susan! Cheers! Chris
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Em wrote: "Hello, I'm Em. I read Jane Austen for the first time at age 16 - it was Pride and Prejudice (probably still my over-all favourite) although since I share a name with [bo..."Persuasion is the best of Austen to me and Northanger will make a great easy summer read--read both :)
Thanks for the welcome! Joy, I promise to read both - I have both books on my shelf ready to go. I'm looking forward to discussing them too... I noticed the group read is Master and Commander - I would've liked to have read this but I'm a bit swamped so think I'll have to save it for a better time!
Hello, my name is Jess and I'm a 20-year-old college student who is a little ashamed to say that this past year was the first time I had ever read any Jane Austen. I started with the ever-popular Pride and Prejudice and discovered that I adore Jane Austen's writing. I found this group and thought it would be a great way for me to learn more about her various works so that I can get reading! I look forwarding to chatting with you all and getting to know everyone :)
Hi Jess! Nice to see you here on Jane Austen. I started with P&P when I was 48, so don't feel bad. If you haven't read Persuasion.... it's my favorite. I highly recommend it, especially now that you have some free time to devote to reading!
Jump in on any of the discussion threads, check out our bookshelves and our polls! :)
Jump in on any of the discussion threads, check out our bookshelves and our polls! :)
Jess wrote: "Hello, my name is Jess and I'm a 20-year-old college student who is a little ashamed to say that this past year was the first time I had ever read any Jane Austen. I started with the ever-popular P..."Jess, it is never, ever too late to find Austen! All I can say is read anything that crosses your path that looks interesting to you; and that it is delightful to have you in our little family of Janeites! I guarantee you'll have fun with all of us! Cheers! Chris
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Thanks for the great welcome, everyone! I can't wait to jump into some discussions! :)
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Hi I'm Kelly. I'm a 28 yr old who has been in love with Jane Austen since I was required to read Pride and Prejudice for English in hs. Over the years I have read Austen's other works but my favorite is still P&P.
Hi Kelly and welcome to the group. Kudos to the teacher who assigned P&P! Take a look around and join in when and where you like. :)
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Hello, My name is Maureen and I have been reading Jane Austen for sometime now. I have read about all her works, my favourtie has to be Pride and Prejudice closely followed by Persuasion. I am only to happy to able to discuss these novels.Maureen Young
Hello Maureen and welcome! We will be reading and discussing one of Jane's books toward the end of summer. Feel free to comment on any of the existing discussions (they stay pretty active). Check out our bookshelves and our polls, too.
Maureen wrote: "Hello, My name is Maureen and I have been reading Jane Austen for sometime now. I have read about all her works, my favourtie has to be Pride and Prejudice closely followed by Persuasion. I am onl..."Welcome to a very cool and fun group, Maureen! Nice to have you here! Cheers! Chris
Hi all,My first exposure to Jane was in high school with "Pride & Prejudice". I had a book report assignment for AP English and I chose it almost at random from a list of books the teacher gave us. It was one of the first "literary" novels I read that I actually considered fun to read.
A few years later I read "Emma" and liked it, although, at twenty years of age, I don't think I could truly appreciate that novel's towering greatness. I was living by myself in campus housing, no stereo, no TV, and no Internet (it was 1989); but the residents of Highbury were excellent company.
Then, a year later, during my final semester in college, I took a Jane Austen course and discovered "Mansfield Park". I think I can pinpoint the exact sentence -- "It would be something to be loved by such a girl, to excite the first ardors of her young, unsophisticated mind!" -- that I knew I wanted to take on writing novels myself. How Henry pursues Fanny! And how valiantly she resists! I've read that book over and over again and I still never get tired of it.
And so I started writing myself. I am now the proud author of a romantic comedy based loosely (very loosely) on "Pride & Prejudice." It's hard not to get inspired by that novel -- it's too fun-loving.
But my true passion is for "Mansfield Park". That novel is like a movie that runs through my head all the time. And though it's been over twenty years since that first time I read "Emma," I'm thinking maybe someday I'll manage to fully appreciate that novel's greatness.
So glad to meet all of you!
Chris Delyani
http://www.chrisdelyani.com
Welcome to our group Chris! I hope you will join in on some of our discussions. You might enjoy our current read, Master and Commander. We will be discussing one of Austen's books later in the summer.
Welcome Chris! I usually rank Mansfield Park as my least favorite Austen novel; however, every time I re-read it I forget how much I do enjoy it :) Upon this last reading, I was interested to look at the importance of landscape in the novel. In particular, the excursion in the wilderness on Mr. Rushworth's estate is very revealing to plot and characters alike. Hope you enjoy the group!
Hi everyone!I'm Katie; I'm 20 and I'm such an Austen geek! I'm studying English Lit with Creative Writing at uni (just finished my 2nd year, out of 3). I just did an Austen and the Brontes module, and I actually enjoyed the exam in it... first time ever!
I like to pretend my life is an Austen novel, but unfortunately have unrealistic expectations of men because of it! I genuinely wish it was appropriate for me to wear a bonnet for everyday life.
My deepest, darkest secret is that every time I read Pride and Prejudice I want Lizzie to run off with Wickham... I always long for him to be the good guy!
Welcome Katie! Poor Wickham, even Lizzie wouldn't have been able to reform him!
Check out our polls and bookshelves. Feel free to join in on the discussion threads, too!
Check out our polls and bookshelves. Feel free to join in on the discussion threads, too!
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Sarah wrote: "Welcome All!We have such a growing member list I thought it would ease the scrolling a little to begin a new introduction topic. New members at this point onward can use this new thread for th..."
Hi, I'm Jamie! I'm 26 years old. I've been a Jane Austen Fan since age 11. There is no way I can pick which of her novels I love the most. However, the last one I read was "Emma" and it is definately a favorite.
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Hi,My sister in law mentioned that I should fan this group, I had to look it up. lol
Online I go by Ria (Rummy Ria if you have every played farmtown on Facebook).
I've been trying to establish a blog on book trivia questions. This week I thought I would try some of the Jane Austen books. Right now its about Emma, since I just started the book, I'm sure that I will be posting more questions.
If anyone would like to play along just follow the think link that I will be putting up in the general discussion section of this group.
Yes, I know that I didn't mention hardly anything about Jane Austen, but I have just started reading her books, I have seen the older films done on her books and like them.
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This is the second time that I have tried reading the book. I haven't got very far into yet, but it does seem to be interesting.Thank you.
Hello. I'm Kayla, and I'm actually fairly new to Jane Austen, so I'm looking for some information on her books. I've watched movies based on her books, but I've never actually read one. They've always been recommended to me, but I've never gotten a chance to read one.I've heard that some Jane Austen books are challenging reads, so, to start out I was wondering what Jane Austen book you think is the easiest read. Also, what Jane Austen book is the best in your opinion. Thank you so much for your help!!!
Kayla wrote: "Hello. I'm Kayla, and I'm actually fairly new to Jane Austen, so I'm looking for some information on her books. I've watched movies based on her books, but I've never actually read one. They've ..."Hi, Kayla! Welcome to our group! I think you'll enjoy all of the 'to an fro' that goes on here, as it really is a wonderful group of readers.
I think you'll find that reading Austen's novels is no more difficult than reading any other book; but you will find that they end up becoming some of your most favorite and endearing novels of all time. They are the timeless stories of human relationships, with all of its attendant joys, pains, aches, warts, and all.
Personally, knowing what I know now, were I to start reading Austen for the first time, I'd be inclined to start with either Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility. Not only is Pride and Prejudice a wonderful love story, it is also drop-dead funny! Have fun, and enjoy Jane Austen, Kayla! Cheers! Chris
Welcome Kayla!Take a look at this on-going poll that asked members what their favorite Austen novel is. Also, this Rate Austen's Works discussion thread might be useful to you.
Pride and Prejudice is a great way to introduce yourself to Austen because it is just so funny and accessible. I envy you being able to read Austen for the first time and having all of her novels ahead of you :) Enjoy!
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You won't necessarily find it challenging at all.
Thank you all so much for the welcome and your help! I will be sure to look at the poll and the discussion thread you suggested, Joy. From what I've heard about it and from the recommendations I've gotten here and elsewhere, I am leaning toward starting with Pride and Prejudice. Thank you all again! I am so glad I joined this group!
Kayla, I started reading Jane Austen's books as a teenager or younger--I actually cannot remember when I read my first one or which one it was because it seems like I have been reading her books my whole life. They may seem hard to read at first, because there is a lot of different vocabulary, and the customs were different. The meaning of the new words you can usually guess from the context. For example, someone pulls personal items out of her reticule, so you can tell that a reticule is a purse. Or they go for a ride in a barouche, so you know that it is a kind of carriage. You'll pick up the customs as you go along, too, until they become perfectly ordinary to you. If something is totally baffling to you, there are plenty of us here who can give you a clue, so just ask.
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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And WELCOME, Amy! It doesn't matter when you start Austen as long as you love her work!