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1sweetiegherkin
Whew, almost 2017 already! Where did the time go??
At any rate, we'll start off the new year with an "oldie but goodie" author, Jane Austen. (By the by, Ms. Austen has a birthday coming up soon -- December 16th. Whatever shall we get her?)
All six of Austen's full-length novels are on the list of 1,001 Books to Read Before You Die:
Sense and Sensibility
Pride and Prejudice
Mansfield Park
Emma
Northanger Abbey
Persuasion
She also has a number of minor works, such as short stories, novellas, and unfinished novels.
So plenty of reading material choices! What does everyone plan on reading to ring in the new year?
At any rate, we'll start off the new year with an "oldie but goodie" author, Jane Austen. (By the by, Ms. Austen has a birthday coming up soon -- December 16th. Whatever shall we get her?)
All six of Austen's full-length novels are on the list of 1,001 Books to Read Before You Die:
Sense and Sensibility
Pride and Prejudice
Mansfield Park
Emma
Northanger Abbey
Persuasion
She also has a number of minor works, such as short stories, novellas, and unfinished novels.
So plenty of reading material choices! What does everyone plan on reading to ring in the new year?
2sweetiegherkin
Being as I read all the novels at least twice, I'm hoping to get to either her juvenilia (short stories written in her youth) and/or her correspondence. I have copies of both sitting on my shelf just waiting to be read!
3Yells
I am in! I started Austen in August (it was actually Bronte in August but I apparently don't pay attention) and have worked my way through to Emma. I still have Northanger Abbey and Persuasion to go.
4rainpebble
I will be reading Austen's Pride and Prejudice. I think that this is my favorite of hers & so am really looking forward to it. Of course, any Austen I am reading at any given time is my current favorite. Funny how that just happens with some authors.
5sweetiegherkin
>3 Yells: How's it going ?? Did you get to either Northanger Abbey or Persuasion?
>4 rainpebble: I always have trouble picking a favorite Austen! Out of 6 novels, I can at best narrow it down to 3 favorites: Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and Northanger Abbey.
>4 rainpebble: I always have trouble picking a favorite Austen! Out of 6 novels, I can at best narrow it down to 3 favorites: Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and Northanger Abbey.
6Yells
All right, I will 'fess up. I totally stalled in re-reading Emma. I love Austen but for whatever reason, I really, really don't like Emma. Read it in university and didn't like it. Figured since tastes change, I will try a re-read as I work my way through her novels but nope, still don't like her. The 1001 Books entry states that Austen herself figured that readers wouldn't like Emma so I could be in good company (although others seem to love her so who knows!)
To make up for it, I ploughed ahead and am now 2/3 of the way through Northanger Abbey. This one I am really enjoying although it almost seems like 2 different novels. The first part is vintage Austen: fancy dress balls, romance and lots of misunderstandings. The second half is a little odd. It's like she decided halfway through that she really should be writing a gothic mystery so she changed course. I am rather liking it but it has a weird flow.
As for my favourite, I am definitely in the minority as I quite like Mansfield Park. I love Fanny. She is largely ignored/treated badly throughout the novel but at the end, people finally see her for who she is and fall in love.
To make up for it, I ploughed ahead and am now 2/3 of the way through Northanger Abbey. This one I am really enjoying although it almost seems like 2 different novels. The first part is vintage Austen: fancy dress balls, romance and lots of misunderstandings. The second half is a little odd. It's like she decided halfway through that she really should be writing a gothic mystery so she changed course. I am rather liking it but it has a weird flow.
As for my favourite, I am definitely in the minority as I quite like Mansfield Park. I love Fanny. She is largely ignored/treated badly throughout the novel but at the end, people finally see her for who she is and fall in love.
7kac522
This month I listened to Juliet Stevenson read Northanger Abbey. When I first read it years ago, I was largely unfamiliar with gothic novels. Since then I've read one by Ann Radcliffe, so the gothic sections (and spoofs) meant a whole lot more.
>6 Yells: I had a hard time making it through Emma for years, and like you, I love Fanny Price. I don't think I actually got through Emma until I saw the movie first. If you don't want to watch a movie adaptation, as an alternative, I'd recommend listening to Juliet Stevenson read Emma. If you get nothing else out of it, you will love the way Stevenson does the comic characters, like Mr. Woodhouse, Miss Bates and Mrs. Elton. And by the end, you may even tolerate Emma.
>6 Yells: I had a hard time making it through Emma for years, and like you, I love Fanny Price. I don't think I actually got through Emma until I saw the movie first. If you don't want to watch a movie adaptation, as an alternative, I'd recommend listening to Juliet Stevenson read Emma. If you get nothing else out of it, you will love the way Stevenson does the comic characters, like Mr. Woodhouse, Miss Bates and Mrs. Elton. And by the end, you may even tolerate Emma.
8Yells
I just might try that! Thanks :)
So I finished Northanger Abbey and since I had nothing better planned for today (and I am sick with a cold), I went ahead and read Persuasion. Someone here reviewed that this was probably the ending that Austen wanted for herself. I had that thought in mind throughout the book.
So I finished Northanger Abbey and since I had nothing better planned for today (and I am sick with a cold), I went ahead and read Persuasion. Someone here reviewed that this was probably the ending that Austen wanted for herself. I had that thought in mind throughout the book.
9Lexickoops
I love all these books! I just finished reading Pride and Prejudice again.
10sweetiegherkin
>6 Yells: Aww, it's okay! Not every book (or every character) is for every reader. I personally like Emma, both the book and the character. She can be an awful person at times, but she's trying to get better. I feel like I can relate to that more than the other heroines that are sort of "perfect." (I put in quotes because you can argue they have flaws as well.)
You hit the nail on the head with Northanger Abbey. It does read like two different novels. She is definitely trying for a parody of gothic novels though, so it helps if you have some knowledge of those (not necessarily having read them but at least knowing common tropes, etc.)
I also happen to love Mansfield Park and Fanny. I feel bad for how misunderstood and ignored she is for much of the book. Luckily things turn around for her. :)
>7 kac522: Oh yes, I very much recommend the audiobook versions of Austen's works. I forget which narrators I had though.... I could look it up if anyone was interested.
You hit the nail on the head with Northanger Abbey. It does read like two different novels. She is definitely trying for a parody of gothic novels though, so it helps if you have some knowledge of those (not necessarily having read them but at least knowing common tropes, etc.)
I also happen to love Mansfield Park and Fanny. I feel bad for how misunderstood and ignored she is for much of the book. Luckily things turn around for her. :)
>7 kac522: Oh yes, I very much recommend the audiobook versions of Austen's works. I forget which narrators I had though.... I could look it up if anyone was interested.
11Tess_W
No Jane Austen for me, I'm not a fan! Does watching Pride and Prejudice, the movie count?!!!!!
