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Old 10-11-2011, 04:25 PM
 
2,319 posts, read 4,784,256 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DandJ View Post
Thanks, everyone. You've given me some food for thought here, in terms of where to start and also about the film as a complement, rather than a replacement.

In the meantime, I'm going to also download Sense and Sensibility. Might as well add to the growing list...
If you start getting into Jane Austen, pay attention to her lesser known novels like Mansfield Park and Persuasion. They are very, very good.
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Old 10-11-2011, 04:27 PM
 
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 32,887,193 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by peppermint View Post
If you start getting into Jane Austen, pay attention to her lesser known novels like Mansfield Park and Persuasion. They are very, very good.
And two more to add to the download list... LOL! Thanks!
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Old 10-11-2011, 08:54 PM
 
2,319 posts, read 4,784,256 times
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I liked them better than Emma or S&S. I do think the majority vote was for Little Women, and I think that's a good one to start with. It was the first I read, I think. Then The Scarlet Letter and the Austens. I read Middlemarch a few years ago, and it's a wonderful tale of the complexity of marriage. Love, love, love it. Wish high school or college kids could really "get" it before looking for a spouse. I read The Woman in White a few months ago, and I tore right through it. I thought it was so good, and I couldn't have predicted the ending. More twists than I had expected. I also read Jane Eyre for the first time a few months ago. I didn't like it as much as the Austens, but my bff likes it more. To each her own!

I think you're starting with a great batch of books. Be sure to let us know which ones you like.
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Old 10-11-2011, 10:19 PM
 
Location: Coastal North Carolina
220 posts, read 280,973 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DandJ View Post
  • Jane Eyre
  • Wuthering Heights
  • The Scarlet Letter
  • The Woman in White
  • Little Women
  • Middlemarch
  • Anna Karenina
  • Pride and Prejudice
Thanks!
Well, I actually prefer the classics when it comes to fiction. To each their own. I have read about half of these books, and Little Women is definitely the easiest to read. It would be a good intro book but it really is a lot different (i.e., easier) than the others so I don't know how good of a bridge it truly would be. The Scarlet Letter is also a pretty easy one. Maybe because Americans wrote them? Don't know.

However, my most favorite book of all time is Pride and Prejudice. I think Austen is fantastic, but she's not for everyone. Men, for one. Ok, ok, that's a pretty broad generalization but my husband can't stand her. Her writing is definitely the antiquated language you mention but once you get into it the story is just wonderful. She just has this way with words. Emma and Sense and Sensibility are two others of hers I really like, Emma a little more of those two.

Good luck!
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Old 10-11-2011, 10:20 PM
 
Location: DFW
12,229 posts, read 21,401,510 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DandJ View Post
Are you saying that I'm immoral????

(I know, I know... based on my OP.)
LOL. I have such a girl crush on you.


Persuasion is my favorite Austen novel, but not the cinematic version with the yummiest characters.
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Old 10-11-2011, 10:33 PM
 
Location: Coastal North Carolina
220 posts, read 280,973 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TracySam View Post

The BBC Pride & Prejudice miniseries with Colin Firth--I can watch that at least 2-3 times a year! I just saw the newest movie version of Jane Eyre, and after seeing the old black & white version and reading the book, I still enjoyed the new movie, and even appreciated the memory of the older movie and the book even more.
I LOVE(!) the A&E Pride and Prejudice mini-series. They did a great job with it. Oh, and then there's Colin Firth. This was when my crush on him started. He's supposed to be shooting a film in my town around now and I've contemplated following him around. (Kidding!) Love Jennifer Ehle in P&P, too.

Dawn, this is one of those mini-series that you will have to watch in addition to reading the book. Trust all of us who love this mini-series. You won't regret it.
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Old 10-12-2011, 05:17 AM
 
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 32,887,193 times
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Pep: I'm not ready to start on any of them yet, but when I do get the urge (and I really want to have the urge, not just the "OK, let's get this done already" feeling), it'll be Little Women, I think. And I'll definitely let you know how I did and what I thought. Thank you!

Midge: Thank you so much for your insight. As TracySam urged me, I will have to relax my aversion to TV and movies, and trust you. And... now I have to download Emma, too!

Debsi: Smooooooch!
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Old 10-12-2011, 01:17 PM
 
16,579 posts, read 20,622,103 times
Reputation: 26860
Quote:
Originally Posted by fleetiebelle View Post
I really enjoyed both of these. I also really liked Vanity Fair, but it's kind of a brick.
Quote:
Originally Posted by peppermint View Post
If you start getting into Jane Austen, pay attention to her lesser known novels like Mansfield Park and Persuasion. They are very, very good.
Quote:
Originally Posted by peppermint View Post
I liked them better than Emma or S&S. I do think the majority vote was for Little Women, and I think that's a good one to start with. It was the first I read, I think. Then The Scarlet Letter and the Austens. I read Middlemarch a few years ago, and it's a wonderful tale of the complexity of marriage. Love, love, love it. Wish high school or college kids could really "get" it before looking for a spouse. I read The Woman in White a few months ago, and I tore right through it. I thought it was so good, and I couldn't have predicted the ending. More twists than I had expected. I also read Jane Eyre for the first time a few months ago. I didn't like it as much as the Austens, but my bff likes it more. To each her own!

I think you're starting with a great batch of books. Be sure to let us know which ones you like.
Thanks for starting this thread--I just added a bunch of books to me "read me" pile!
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Old 10-12-2011, 01:38 PM
 
Location: Montreal -> CT -> MA -> Montreal -> Ottawa
17,330 posts, read 32,887,193 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marlow View Post
Thanks for starting this thread--I just added a bunch of books to me "read me" pile!
You're welcome!

I'm kind of kicking myself for starting it, though, because now I have 15 classics loaded onto my Kindle. They're taunting me, goading me on. But I'm not ready to start on any of them yet. Yet.
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Old 10-12-2011, 02:25 PM
 
Location: ATL suburb
1,364 posts, read 4,135,639 times
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Edited:
Quote:
Originally Posted by DandJ View Post
I've never been able to read any of the classics. I just can't get into the antiquated language and the slow pace of the story.
I'm glad people have given you suggestions because I'd shoot myself if I had to read some of those books again. I've tried again as an adult and they're just as slow and boring as ever.

I'm clearly not a classics person.
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