tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post4068316669929802881..comments2024-03-29T00:34:36.786-05:00Comments on Book Chase: Jane's Fame: How Jane Austen Conquered the WorldSam http://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-81058288368724047272010-04-22T10:39:06.217-05:002010-04-22T10:39:06.217-05:00I missed those bumper stickers, CB. I think your ...I missed those bumper stickers, CB. I think your right on the cultishness part of Austen...she's not someone I have any desire to re-read...once is enough for me, but she has a huge appeal to female readers.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-33692583740217747852010-04-14T16:46:14.492-05:002010-04-14T16:46:14.492-05:00I think she's a bit like Lord of the Rings. B...I think she's a bit like Lord of the Rings. Both always had a very loyal fan base, and some cache among English professors and literary critics. But when the movies started coming out everyone loved them, couldn't get enough.<br /><br />I'm old enough to remember when a "I'd rather be reading Jane Austen" bumper sticker was about a cultish as a "Frodo Lives" Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06906212382849291562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-63134074982567905502010-04-14T09:03:05.505-05:002010-04-14T09:03:05.505-05:00Annie, if there was one dead author I could spend ...Annie, if there was one dead author I could spend some time with, it would have to be Mark Twain. The man's sense of humor almost always cracks me up, even when I sympathize with his target. Jane Austen is more of a woman's writer, IMO, but I do recognize her talent and her place in history...just too much of a "romance" style to suit my tastes, especially when it comes to Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-8710910232308933142010-04-14T08:59:52.580-05:002010-04-14T08:59:52.580-05:00Sherry, that's the quote from when Twain had b...Sherry, that's the quote from when Twain had been forced to read a lot of Austen on a cruise ship and was happy to find none of her books on the next cruise he took. Gotta love the man's wit...Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-76356187334159372272010-04-14T08:58:56.422-05:002010-04-14T08:58:56.422-05:00Interesting theory, Bybee. According to the book,...Interesting theory, Bybee. According to the book, his daughters were Jane Austen fans and I imagine that's exactly why he read her books more than once despite his feelings about their content.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-69409129900129985522010-04-14T08:57:48.441-05:002010-04-14T08:57:48.441-05:00Factotum, have you read "Drood" by Dan ...Factotum, have you read "Drood" by Dan Simmons? I just finished the audio book (30 hours long) and was fascinated by the relationship between Dickens and Wilkie Collins.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-73890162911222429772010-04-14T08:56:25.452-05:002010-04-14T08:56:25.452-05:00Elise, I imagine she gained hundreds of thousands ...Elise, I imagine she gained hundreds of thousands of new readers when that scene played out on the BBC. Funny thing is, the scene was added specifically for the movie and wasn't even in the book.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-3474000306933365862010-04-12T20:07:08.754-05:002010-04-12T20:07:08.754-05:00I wish you wouldn't have Twain's comment o...I wish you wouldn't have Twain's comment on your profile. :( ;)<br /><br />I love Austen - I think she's smart, witty, and insightful. And I think she's a good writer. <br /><br />I disagree with the author here - Austen was popular before Colin Firth's wet shirt. That movie just brought Austen into popular fiction, rather than popular literature, if that makes sense. ItJanda/Annehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16754631494233387294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-22427796179967233222010-04-09T21:10:15.028-05:002010-04-09T21:10:15.028-05:00I, too, immediately wondered why Mr. Twian was re-...I, too, immediately wondered why Mr. Twian was re-reading an author for which he had such disdain. Twain also said: "Jane Austen? Why I go so far as to say that any library is a good library that does not contain a volume by Jane Austen. Even if it contains no other book.”Sherryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04664642293286996220noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-81626737827269253002010-04-09T00:14:18.453-05:002010-04-09T00:14:18.453-05:00I took a whole Jane Austen class back in the mid-8...I took a whole Jane Austen class back in the mid-80s and burned out on her for a while.<br /><br />However, I do like to muse about Colin Firth's wet shirt and also Colin Firth in the bathtub.<br /><br />The Mark Twain quote is so funny, but the real humor is the EVERY part. If he doesn't like her, why does he reread her? One of my theories is that he was the only guy in a houseful of Bybeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10061186489010154661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-33330189440563367492010-04-08T21:00:26.121-05:002010-04-08T21:00:26.121-05:00I had to read "Sense and Sensibility" fo...I had to read "Sense and Sensibility" for one of my college English classes in the early 80s, so English profs definitely knew who she was. She was not my favorite. I still don't quite get the appeal. Give me Dickens any day.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-6225306480874818622010-04-08T17:35:48.165-05:002010-04-08T17:35:48.165-05:00Oh, I forgot to mention the famous wet shirt scene...Oh, I forgot to mention the famous wet shirt scene, Elise. That does seem to have brought Jane to the attention of a lot of folks who had made their way through life for the most part barely knowing her name - and nothing about her.Sam https://www.blogger.com/profile/17448913705757509608noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38656633.post-71386394049667769852010-04-08T17:12:43.236-05:002010-04-08T17:12:43.236-05:00Interesting post, thanks!! I never knew that she w...Interesting post, thanks!! I never knew that she wasn't 'mainstream' until, well, Colin Firth!!Elisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11106569383402671571noreply@blogger.com