are we done yet?

I hate to see our awesome book club fall by the wayside... but I know you are all just as busy as I am. I did finally finish P&P a couple of weeks ago. I loved it. I feel like I cheated my favorite book by barely posting about it. I had a hard time getting into it this time, I think because I didn't ever read it for a long stretch. It really caught my attention in the end though, the part when Elizabeth visits Pemberley for the first time is my favorite, and after that point I couldn't bear to put it down.

I'm a few chapters into Mansfield Park, and I am so thrilled to read a story that I don't know. I am really enjoying it so far... has anyone else started?

whats the story?

i was excited to here that you are still on P&P so i get to finish it after all! i am on chapter 19 of part II and, needless to say really, love love love it.

i think im in the mode of historical reference after having finished a bio of queen victoria (hoping to figure what charles dickens is always about) for peggys book club and thought it was fantastic to get a better idea of context. with that in mind i thought i would post this suuuuper simplified back ground study guide that really only whets the appetite. it looks like its intended for high school kids, but honestly that works fine with me: im below that level as far as my pre-queen-vic-english history is concerned.

here

there you have it. let me know what you think:)

Hellooooooooo

So how about if we read 15 more chapters by next Tues? Chapter 21 of Volume 2? Mom you're probably already done :) Whaddya say girlies?

This book couldn't possibly get any funnier...

I have been DYING over Mr. Collins. It would take me all day to type out all the parts about him, that make me laugh. That whole exchange when he is trying to convince Elizabeth to marry him, was unbelievable. "I am not now to learn that it is usual with young ladies to reject the addresses of the man whom they secretly mean to accept, when he first applies for their favour; and that sometimes the refusal is repeated a second or even a third time. I am therefore by no means discouraged by what you have just said, and shall hope to lead you to the altar ere long." So funny I can't even take it. I love when Mr. Bennett says, "An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents, Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do."

I am completely entertained and yet equally saddened at Charlotte marrying Mr. Collins. She can hardly stand him! "When Mr. Collins would be forgotten, there was really a great air of comfort throughout, and by Charlotte's evident enjoyment of it, Elizabeth supposed he must be often forgotten." Hilarious, yet so sad. I don't quite know what to think of the whole thing. Charlotte knew exactly what she was getting into, and actually orchestrated the whole thing. But, I still feel sorry for her.

So I am on Chapter 6 of the second volume. Mom you're way ahead of me. Sarah what about you? Paige?

Rachel

Hey girls, I'm reading. I'm on chap 17 of volume the 2nd. Where are you? I never cease to be amazed my Austen's humor. I've read this book a few times and watched the movie many many times and it draws me in every time. Your Dad laughs out loud when he watches it, he loves Mary and Mr Bingley the most. I don't really have a favorite character because I enjoy them all immensely but I must say Mr Bennet's dry sense of humor, (so characteristically British) is hard to beat. Of course Mr Collins is completely obtuse but so is Lady Catherine de Bourgh. I love the the evening when she is commenting on Elizabeth's piano playing telling her that she will never be very good unless she practices more. She admits to not being able to play herself then adds "but if I had ever learnt, I would have been a true proficient". So funny! She and Mr Collins are the perfect pair one constantly kissing up and the other condescending. Then there is Mr Hurst a complete buffoon who does nothing but eat, drink and sleep and sponge off his wife. He's awesome. Well let me know where you. Me

Looks like it's just you and me kid

Hey Sarey just letting you know I'm almost caught up. I'm almost done with Section 1. I'm really sorry I've been such a slacker. With school and dance going again things are a little crazy as I'm sure they are for you too.

I am laughing so hard at Mr. Collins. He's a little too much like some dates I've had. Ugh. He is so icky but I can't stop laughing. It's fun for me to read this because I don't remember the plot. I've only seen the movie once. I know Darcy and Elizabeth end up together but everything else in the middle is pretty new for me. There are a lot of similarities between this and S&S. If you didn't know the author and just read the two books, you'd be able to tell the same person wrote them. I love her style and sense of humor. I love the descriptions of how Mr. Bennett feels about Mr. Collins. So hilarious.

Rach

Ok...I'll make it a post!

So Sarah...I'm way behind you :) I'm only on chapter 10 in the first section. Yikes. Embarrassing. I tried to comment on your post but it took me to a really strange screen so maybe we'll just have to post in response to each other.

Mrs. Bennett IS absolutely hilarious but I laugh even harder at the things Mr. Bennett says to her. They are awesome. I am completely amused by Mr. Darcy. I love how it describes him as giving offense everywhere he goes, and yet he really likes Elizabeth. I didn't realize that he liked her so early on. It's almost instant, aside from his rudeness at the party.

Rach

steady as she goes

Admittedly, I'm not as far as I would like to be with the book. I do love it though. Right now, I'm on chapter 6 of part 2. Sorry, I hope I'm not too far behind you all. Please let me know where you are and I'll catch up!

This is one of my favorite parts from the book, Mrs. Bennet is such a funny and obnoxious character!

"I have no pleasure in talking to undutiful children.-Not that I have much pleasure indeed in talking to any body. People who suffer as I do from nervous complaints can have no great inclination for talking. Nobody can tell what I suffer!-But it is always so. Those who do not complain are never pitied!"

Oh my gosh, I laughed out loud!

Mr. Bennett is Jane Austen's Jerry Seinfeld

I tried to comment on Sarah's post but it didn't work. So I'll make it a new post. I am totally behind but I am LOVING it so far. It is so full of humor. Isn't it interesting how a classic book like this can make you laugh out loud and there's no cursing, crude remarks, etc.? Gee it's amazing to think we can be entertained by something wholesome.

My favorite character is Mr. Bennett. He is so funny with Mrs. Bennett, teasing her and being sarcastic all the time but you can also tell he loves her.

Rachel

don't know

I asked Brian, and he said he would check it out at lunch today. For now, lets just post when we have something to say. Sorry girls:(

So what does everyone think of the book so far? Is anyone else reading it?

Sarah

problem yes

I know! I can't make comments on posts. It doesn't work. Is there someone we contact to fix it? How does it work?

blog problem

Hey everyone,

I left a comment on Mom's post yesterday, and today it's gone. I have no clue what's wrong with the blog. Just thought I'd write a little something here.

I'm on chapter 17, and I'm really enjoying the book. I have already read Pride & Prejudice several times, it's my favorite book. What do you all think of it so far?

I love the way Austen writes about Mr. Collins. He is such a ridiculous fool of a character, "a mixture of pride and obsequiousness, self-importance and humility." I find myself laughing out loud often, the writing is so clever.

Sarah

Hi Everyone,

I was just wondering where you all are in your reading of P&P. I'm just getting started but I want to keep up so fess up all you intellectuals, where are you?

Mr Darcy, here we come...

on to the book about five sisters

How about we start Pride & Prejudice on Sunday the 15th, and read 15 chapters by Sunday the 22nd?

may they all find rich, amiable husbands!!

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed reading all your inciteful comments. I know it's no secret but I have such a love of good literature. It's wonderful to know you are taking the time to experience Jane Austen. I marvel at her wit, her ablility to turn a phrase, but most of all her uncanny understanding of human nature. We relate to her because she relates to us. Even though the social mores, language and customs change, people really don't and that is what makes her stories universally loved. Every single character reminds us of ourselves, or someone we know, someone we love, someone we admire or someone we dislike immensly. She causes us to reflect on our own personalities, our own strengths and weaknesses, and our own relationships. My favorite character is Elinor because I admire her. She is selfless and the personification of the phrase, "Quiet waters run deep." Edward has the depth of character to appreciate who and what she is, a woman of substance. Lucy would have made him miserable and he knew it yet he would have married her rather than breach his contract. Marianne was not interested in money or she would have jumped at the chance to marry Brandon as many in her situation would have. Interestingly, through her hearbreak she became a worthy partner for Brandon, who like Elinor was completely selfless. Willoughby is a tragic character. He is the perfect example of "where much is given, much is expected." He was raised to be a gentleman, he knew better. That was his regret, he knew he gave up the brass ring through his own stupidity.

I would like to share some of the writings of Sterling W. Sill on books:

"Charles Kingsley has said, "there is nothing more wonderful than a book. It may be a message to us from the dead, from human souls we never saw, who have lived thousands of miles away, and yet these little sheets of paper speak to us, arouse us, teach us, open our hearts, and in turn open their hearts to us like brothers. Without books God is silent, justice is dormant, philosophy lame, and all things are involved in darkness."

Charles Lamb said, "I love to lose myself in other men's minds." Through books we may enjoy with Shakespeare, and think with Emerson, and pray with Jesus. We can see into the mind of Moses, feel the faith of the Apostle Paul, and live the visions of John the Revelator. It is much easier to make our lives productive if we have some good books to help us. Erasmus said, "When I get a little money I buy books and if any is left over, I buy food and clothes."

Thank you all for allowing me to join you, I look forward to experiencing the genius of Jane Austen with all of you.

Love this book!

I finished my 7 pages last night and I absolutely loved the ending. I loved every sentence of it and the descriptions of each character. I really enjoyed the closeness of the Dashwood family as the last chapter described how often their mother visited them, and how happy they all were. I cannot find the exact passage but I love the way the relationship between Edward and Colonel Brandon is described, and how well they get along and have such respect for one another.

Although tragic circumstances made the book emotionally interesting, I'm not one for tragic endings. I like things to turn out well in the end, and the characters to finish happily. LOVE this book and love the characters. When do we start P&P?

Rachel

A blockhead and a rascal

Sorry I disappeared for a while. I have been working on these quilts every chance I get, and I got behind in my reading. Are you both done? I have 7 pages left. I was falling asleep last night and despite wanting to finish, I couldn't.

Now. This whole thing with Willoughby is very interesting. It adds more to the story for sure. However, all his confession to Elinor did not redeem him even a little in my eyes. He is horrible and I don't agree with the Dashwood family that he has justified his actions in the smallest degree.

"Marianne said not a word. She trembled, her eyes were fixed on the ground, and her lips became whiter than even sickness had left them. A thousand enquiries sprung up from her heart, but she dared not urge one. She caught every syllable with panting eagerness; her hand, unknowingly to herself, closely pressed her sister's, and tears covered her cheeks." This description of Marianne is so sad to me. Her character has changed and matured, showing restraint. I can't decide if I like it, or feel saddened, that she has learned to keep her emotions from bubbling over.

I was disappointed that there were no details of the proposal of Edward to Elinor. The whole description of his arrival and the conversation that took place built up so much emotion and suspense in me (even though I know what ultimately happens) that it was a let down to have it summed up in a few sentences that they were suddenly engaged. I think of the exchange at the end of Emma when he proposes and calls her "my darling friend". We've come on this journey with these characters, and then we're kept out of the conversation. But I do love the description "...when they all sat down at four o'clock, about three hours after his arrival, he had secured his lady, engaged her mother's consent, and was not only in the rapturous profession of the lover, but in the reality of reason and truth, one of the happiest of men."

Rachel

a question!

first i must repent. i think i was in a crabby mood the day i was so fed up with things (the elinor saga including lucy). after the storm finally broke (the truth being outed about edward) and then -gasp- everything that happened at the palmer's i am loving the book again.

i was trying to figure out what was lackluster for me in that section of the book and i think that i was missing some comedy. If it was supposed to be found in mrs jennings and her daughter it was too little to keep me happy. What a depressing story there for the longest time! when they got to london and the whole fiasco and aftermath of willoughby-marianne...ouch! my heart was seriously just aching.

i know that this is all a long time ago in reading but i just had to ask this question. Rachel had the best idea of coming up with discussion topics/questions and i was totally stumped...but i have one for you:

why did willoughby come back?!!!!

what do you think austens reasoning was for that? i really cant figure it out. was it too yucky for her to leave him a horrible scoundrel? or did she feel like the plot needed to be complicated more still? i know that getting over someone is usually much easier if you believe them to be completely no good...i cant wait to find out if elinor tells marianne- why would she though? (personally i LOVED it, but why it makes things so much more messy! poor willoughby. poor marianne.)

i was thinking that maybe to stay on track we could commit to each of us posting once a week (not counting comments on others). does that sound do-able? i really want to hear your thoughts all the way through the books:) im excited to hone our club-skills as we get farther into them.

oh and was i the only one totally surprised by willoughby showing up? obvisously i still cant get over it. thats what i get for relying on a two hour movie to sum up the book:)

I'm enjoying it too much...

...almost too much to think of anything interesting to write about. So while I was reading today in the waiting room at the doctor's office, I took a few notes so I could contribute to the discussion.

I like Elinor more and more everyday. I loved in chapter 5 of part 2, where Colonel Brandon visits and Elinor is concerned that his feelings for Marianne are getting stronger. She has so much compassion for him, I really like that about her.

I also got to thinking about Marianne (aka little miss denial). I find it interesting that she is so open about her thoughts and feelings, yet she reveals nothing about her relationship with Willoughby. While they are in London, she is especially quiet about it. I think it's terribly sad that she becomes so vulnerable, as a result of loving him so deeply. I think in the end she starts to panic because he is capable of hurting her badly, and she is seeing the writing on the wall. When she finally sees him at the party and he treats her with indifference, I don't think she's really surprised. I think it's more that her worst fear is realized.

veddy eenteresting

here is a great little bit of discussion on this books themes. i know they (the themes) maybe arent the most complex but i think it is fascinating trying to figure just why jane austens books are sooo popular still. what do you think? i love the part about the bridging of the different movments. its nice to put her books in a timeline for perpective.

am i the only one?

who else has a hard time with all this "etiquette"? i wonder if jane austen didnt write this book as a commentary on how stupid the social boundaries were. for fear of being "impertinently curious" no one can ask a simple question about anything!

while reading the sistuation with lucy steele and elinor i got a bad taste in my mouth. with all this "good breeding" it seems like it lends people (at least these women) to being deceitful and conniving. whatever fault marianne may have with overdramatizing at least she is honest and i would rather have those traits any day. i suppose i should take back my feelings formerly posted- marianne is awesome and elinor is driving me a little crazy. i think this is stemming from the book being so different from the movie...is it possible to not love emma thompson? i subit that it is not! :) her character here, in my opinion, seems like while she may be trying to keep everything prim and proper she in the process raises herself above everyone. She obviously feels like no one can manage without her help to keep them on the strait and narrow (even though this is partially true) but gosh she is so condescending!

i feel bad for lucy steele. maybe i just dont get it. i see her as a poor, uneducated, sorry girl who has been in an engagement long enough to not want to let her man go easily. this is a bad thing?please tell me your thoughts.

whew. ok im sure that i will yet again form a different opinion of her as the book progresses but i have to say the last few chapters have not improved my opinion of our dear elinor.

the good and bad news

bad news:

ok i feel like a bum for so many reasons.

1. somehow i made myself a follower here. ha ha

2. i cant figure out how to comment on rachels post

3. i am a loser and dont think im up to 25 chapters a week. you guys are wonderwomen seriously...i can barely manage 1 baby and reading, forget about everything else you guys are involved in! long story short this is what i think i feel comfortable with: 1 book per month every other month. that would be about 15 chapters a week (so we have plenty of time to do a bit of research too)and then a break month so we dont start referring our husbands accidentally as book character names (my bad). ha ha i feel bad and am so impressed at you gusto. the beauty of 3 members is one of us can be trumped...so please let me know what you guys feel like. i dont mind if i skip a book and you both continue reading next month either- its just super busy w/ vacations etc.

good news:

a thought about supplementing reading. in another book club we have taken characters and then discussed our thoughts on them (traits, our feelings, what critics have said etc.)as a club as the book progresses. thats a pretty easy (and it is always so fun)way to get our feet wet in book clubbing Jane i think. we can also do questions too... whatever we want.

love you guys- and again sorry im a pill, ill be checking back for your thoughts!

love paige

Sounds good to me Sarah

Hello girls, FB is not working when I send messages so I'll respond here. 25 chapters per week sounds good to me. How about we reach chapter 50, by next Wednesday?

We can all comment and blog as much as we want along the way, but each of us comes up with at least one discussion question during the reading of the 25 chapters? What do you think? I've never done a book club before so I'm kind of clueless.

Rachel

im really doing it!

ah i think this will end up as a "post" if my instincts dont deceive me! i am congratulating myself on figuring it out myself.

how funny it is reading about your thoughts on marianne...instead of wishing to be her i feel more embarrassment of our similarities. when elinor says" do not you know that she calls every one reserved who does not talk as fast, and admire what she admires as rapturously as herself? I feel like that is a characature of some of my nasty bad habits- how horrible! If only we could all be a mixture of marianne passion of heart and elinors presence of mind we would be set for life with no faults at all!

My favorite chapter so far is definitely 16- the entire saga of mariannes despair is hilarious. she is so melodramatic nothing is more fun to read than her parts. "m. would have thought herself very inexcusable had she been able to sleep at all the first night after parting from w.",When she describes the leaves at norland, censures edward ("how can you think of dirt with such objects before you?") all of it is like she is on a stage. i think i enjoyed this particularly b/c my mom asked me to read it out loud -I got such a better feel for the humour and just how rediculous everyones comments are. i LOVE this book!

One more night...gimme just one more night...

Ah Phil Collins...

So I read 38 more pages last night. Got in bed at 10 - I was so proud of myself. I am now on chapter 14. It has taken me a while to get used to the writing style and vocabulary but I think I'm getting better at it. I have had to re-read several portions so my speed is much slower than usual.

I'm so glad you both thought of doing this. I have so many things to do that I rarely have time to read. It took me a couple of months to read Angels and Demons, even though I loved it. I like knowing that I have other readers to keep up with. It forces me to stop bustling around and pick up a book.

I thoroughly enjoy Jane Austen's humor, "...and she was reasonable enough to allow that a man of five and thirty might well have outlived all acuteness of feeling and every exquisite power of enjoyment. She was perfectly disposed to make every allowance for the colonel's advanced state of life which humanity required."

"Elinor attempted no more. But Marianne, in her place, would not have done so little. The whole story would have been speedily formed under her active imagination; and every thing established in the most melancholy order of disastrous love."

Rachel

Cut from the same cloth

Marianne is my favorite too. It is nearly impossible for me to conceal my own feelings. Usually they are on my sleeve and plastered on my face. A blessing and a curse.

I love Elinor's responses to Marianne "Excuse me and be assured that I meant no offence to you, by speaking, in so quiet a way, of my own feelings. Believe them to be stronger than I have declared." She has a quiet strength and though she does not express things outwardly, she has just as much emotion as Marianne.

I am surprised at the character of the mother. I didn't know her character was so much like Marianne. Especially surprising was the fact that Elinor has to keep her mother in check where finances are concerned.

Rachel

I want to be Marianne

I'm 25 chapters into Sense & Sensibility. My thoughts so far....

I'm always in a state of shock over the despicable-ness of Mrs. John Dashwood... "I am convinced within myself that your father had no idea of your giving them any money at all"... nice.

Willoughby just left and my heart is breaking for Marianne. She has always been my favorite character in the story. I love her passion for life and the fact that she never conceals her feelings. Marianne is determined to find true love and enjoy her life, and there isn't much else that matters to her.

-Sarah