Jane Austen discussion

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 their introductions. Please tell us about yourselves here!

Hi! Good idea! I'm Jennifer and I'm 27. I'm trying to finish my teaching degree after taking a few years off from school. Been slowly going back over the last two years and will hopefully graduate sometime in 2011!! I've loved Jane Austen ever since I discovered her in 6th grade. Even did a report on her in high school and freshman year in college. P&P was the first book I read of hers.

So glad to have you with us, Jennifer. What level do you plan to teach?

I'll be certified EC-6th...I want Kindergarten or 1st! I love that age.

Jennifer wrote: "I'll be certified EC-6th...I want Kindergarten or 1st! I love that age."

My wife spent thirty years teaching 1st grade; my daughters run small K-6 school. You've got some wonderful experiences ahead of you!

Everyman wrote: "Jennifer wrote: "I'll be certified EC-6th...I want Kindergarten or 1st! I love that age."

My wife spent thirty years teaching 1st grade; my daughters run small K-6 school. You've got some wonderf..."

I've worked in daycares with Preschoolers for years, so I love the little ones. I'll be so glad when I graduate! LOL

Hi! I'm Claire. I am 31 and a stay a home mother of two. I started my appreciation for Austen in my high school British lit class. I read P&P and I thought it was so fabulous that I continued on with the others.
I had recorded the P&P (Colin Firth version) from TV to tape. Between my College roommates and me we wore out that tape. I have converted 3 people who now love Jane Austen and her work.
It is so great to be able to share something I love with others and then be able to celebrate that commonality.
I'm glad I joined.

Welcome to the group Claire! Keep up the good work introducing people to Jane Austen. Which is your favorite JA book?

Such a common answer: P&P.

Such a good book! My favorite is Persuasion.

I agree very much with your comments, Niraja. So glad you are here. Welcome!

My name is Laura and I live in Kewaunee, Wisconsin. I'm 31 years old and work part time as a water resources engineer. The other part of my time is spent at home raising my two sons.

I first fell in love with Jane Austen as a teenager. I loved the A&E version of P&P, read all of the novels, watched any movie version I could find, and still read any spin-off novels I can get my hands on. I love Austen!

My favorite novels are Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion, but I consider them all masterpieces.

Hi Laura and welcome to the group! Hope you will join in on our discussion of Emma. We just started this week.

I'm jealous that you live so close to Lake Michigan!!

I'm Barbara and I live in Ireland where I homeschool my four children and read everything in sight--a behavior learned in my previous career as a lit professor! :)

Hi Barbara and welcome to the group! I homeschool, too! How nice to have a lit professor for a mom and a teacher! Raising a new generation of readers. :)

Hello all! My name is Hannah and I'm looking forward to participating in this group's discussions!

I came to Jane Austen fairly recently. Can you believe I graduated as an English Major without having read her once? Fortunately, I finally got around to reading P&P and now I understand why so many readers love the novel.

I read Emma last winter, so hopefully I remember enough details to jump into the conversations here. I picked up Jane Austen Ruined My Life at the library this week, and should be starting it soon.

Thanks for allowing me to participate in this group!

Hello everyone- My name is Ashley. I'm a speech therapist in North Carolina and have been a long time fan of language in general.

Jane Austen won my heart many years ago by her deft execution of style, wit, and charm. I am now re-reading Emma to balance an attempt to read William Faulkner (a joint venture with my husband, which exemplifies our wildly divergent tastes in literature). I expect to love JA all the more when measured in close proximity to a writer with such stark contrasts (to say the least).

I look forward to participating in your group.

Hello Hannah and welcome to the group! Hard to believe you weren't at least made to read something by Austen! lol Glad you finally did. Looking forward to your joining our discussions.

Welcome to the group Ashley! I think a lot of people enjoy Austen's language; it will be interesting to have you join in the discussion of Emma. I've never read Faulkner, so now I'll have to go read some reviews of his works.

Welcome Hannah and Ashley!

Hi,
I'm a recent newbie to the Jane Austen world. I've recently have fallen in love with it after borrowing the Gwyneth Paltrow version of "Emma" from someone i dog sit. Now i'm a bit obsessed. I'm currently reading "Emma" as my first Jane novel and have been quite greedily devouring the movies. ^^

Hi Melissa and welcome to the group. What fun to have all of Jane Austen's books and the movies ahead of you! Please join us in our discussion of Emma.

Jeannette wrote: "Hi Melissa and welcome to the group. What fun to have all of Jane Austen's books and the movies ahead of you! Please join us in our discussion of Emma."

Thanks ^^
I have a question though. Is there a difference between the unabridged and regular book versions of the Jane Austen books? I currently borrowing a copy of the complete collection from someone and i want to know whether i should get the complete unabridged collection or the individual books.

Hi Melissa,

Do you believe that the collection you are reading is abridged? There should be something on the cover or in the publishing information that will tell you. The novels published separately should also be the full, unabridged version unless stated otherwise. Does that answer your question, or am I off target?

Who publishes the collection you are borrowing?

Melissa,

I just took a quick look on amazon and all of the paperbacks ($8) were full-version. I don't know why your borrowed collection would say it was "unabridged." As long as the individual book does not say "abridged' then you can assume you are getting the complete work -- every lovely word.

I was given a collected works, but it weighs 5 pounds and it is a bit difficult to carry it with me to doctors' appointments! :)

Hi, I am new here, but have been discussing Jane Austen in various places on the Web for over eight years now.

I am working on a book project about what I call Jane Austen's "shadow stories" for the last 5 years, and hope to have the first book written this year.

Here is the URL of my blog, where I have given a taste of my discoveries:

sharpelvessociety.blogspot.com

I always enjoy talking about Jane Austen with others who love her novels, and I just realized you had this group here, so here I am! ;)

Cheers, ARNIE

Hey Melissa,

I will delete your previous comment since we try to avoid spoilers of the novels -- in other words not telling the ending for those who haven't read it yet.

If you begin to discuss the ending just say SPOILER ALERT in caps at the top.

You were referring to your borrowed edition
http://www.amazon.com/Jane-Austen-Una...

Editions of any novel should say they are abridged. I have been reading Austen a long time and haven't seen many abridgments out there, so I don't think you will find many.

The ending of an abridgment might be exactly the same though really, so you can't really tell by that.

Melissa,

My guess is that previously Barnes & Noble may have published an Austen collection that was abridged, so now they are proud of this "complete" edition, right? Just a guess, B&N has been around a long time and maybe during those days when condensed works were popular they may have done one -- seems like they were big in my parents' generation. That Barnes & Noble! -- I only poke fun at them because I feel I keep them afloat with all my book-buying!

Sarah wrote: "Melissa,

My guess is that previously Barnes & Noble may have published an Austen collection that was abridged, so now they are proud of this "complete" edition, right? Just a guess, B&N has been..."

Sarah wrote: "Hey Melissa,

I will delete your previous comment since we try to avoid spoilers of the novels -- in other words not telling the ending for those who haven't read it yet.

If you begin to discuss ..."

Sorry! I didn't even think of that. I was just thinking of trying to discern if it was the right ending or not.

Thanks for clearing things up. These abridged and unabridged things makes things really confusing sometimes.

Hi, all! I'm Erin Blakemore, a writer and a book-obsessed media/word nerd. My debut, The Heroine's Bookshelf, will be published by HarperCollins this October, and after sequestering myself in the proverbial writing cave to get it written, I'm excited to be out in the world again and interacting with other rabid Jane fans!

As for my favorite Jane Austen novel...I've always loved P&P, but I must admit that Mansfield Park is growing on me. I'm especially fascinated by naughty, amoral Mary Crawford (and how fascinated-yet-repulsed Jane seemed to be by her own creation...).

Nice to meet you all!

Welcome Erin. Enjoy life on the outside! ha ha Best wishes for your book's debut. It is hard to pick an Austen favorite. We'll soon be polling on which Austen we will discuss next in the group. Stay tuned!

Welcome Erin back to the world of rabid Jane Austen fans! :) We're discussing Emma right now, but we just finished a Mansfield Park discussion in December. Join in sometime!

Welcome Melissa and Arnie! You jumped right into the discussion threads, so the greeting is belated. Hope you will enjoy the group.

There is a topic titled "Fan Fiction/Continuations" for authors of Austen-related works. Good place for all of the new author-members to post about their Austen-related works.

Thanks, Jeannette. I will check it out.

Erin wrote: "Thanks, Jeannette. I will check it out. "

There is also a "Book/Video News" thread if your book is not strictly Austen-related, or fan fiction.

I agree with Jeannette. Our members can describe what they are working on or completing and this can be in a totally different area of interest. And that folder can also be used simply for news of interest that anyone can pass along on books or film.

Hi there! My name is Maeghan. I've been a shadow member of this group for a while...I don't post often, but I love to read what people are thinking about and will jump in occasionally.
My favorite JA novel is Sense and Sensibility; I love Elinor's self-possession and clear thinking. I've read it several times and my heart still pounds with worry for the sisters and their suitors.
Is anyone here a member at http://www.pemberley.com/ ?

Hello Maeghan! We're happy that you've introduced yourself and we hope you'll continue to join in. It's nice to have a book like S&S that you can enjoy over and over without losing the "thrill" of the story. I feel that way about Persuasion.

Hi, Maeghan! I know what you mean about Elinor. I love how a character can be so reasoned, but still get herself into heartsickness and worry...with that romantic happy ending, of course :) Looking forward to getting to know you!

Maeghan wrote: "Hi there! My name is Maeghan. I've been a shadow member of this group for a while...I don't post often, but I love to read what people are thinking about and will jump in occasionally.
My favorite ..."

Maeghan, thanks for sending that link. I am not a member but have read lots of information on the site.

Hello! I'm Leilani and was first introduced to Jane Austen when I watched Emma Thompson's version of "Sense and Sensibility." I checked out the novel the next day and it's been Jane all the way ever since.

Welcome, Leilani! We were just discussing on the BBC Emma thread that many people get hooked on Austen after watching the films. Glad to have you in the group.

Leilani, Emma Thompson's is one of my favorites! Brilliant cast. Welcome!

I'm Megan. I first read Jane Austen's Emma, thousands of years ago in high school (enforced). Years later, I read some of the novels at the recommendation of an English professor. Then I became interested in the various movie/BBC versions. After that, I read various "guides" to the novels and the period. And then I discovered all the sequels, prequels, spoofs, and "modern" renditions. I have since joined the Jane Austen Society of North America and found it to been a very slippery slope!

Welcome to the group Megan! Unfortunately, you've come to the wrong place if you're looking for help breaking your JA addiction. :)

Jeannette wrote: "Welcome to the group Megan! Unfortunately, you've come to the wrong place if you're looking for help breaking your JA addiction. :)"

Nope - looking for more "enabling" and "like minded" people! I am very comfortable with my current affliction.

Megan, we will are a support group for the Austen affliction! A laughing welcome to the group! I doubt anyone ever breaks the Austen addiction. At least it is a healthy one.

Hello!

My name is Jessica Tapia. I'm 20 and one could say that my addiction to Jane Austen started about a year ago. I'm reading the books at a very slow pace. I want to make sure to grab every possible morsel from her writing (I'll probably gain even more from re-reading them all). I've joined JASNA and I'm a very proud member. Looking forward to discussing her works and other such Jane Austen related works. Thank you for your time

-Jessica Tapia ^_^

Hello Jessica and welcome to the group. The books are great the first time or the fifth! And, being in this group and participating in the discussions has shown me things I missed or helped me see things in a new light. Hope you will join us in this month's discussion of Emma.