Which is your favourite book?
What do you like about this book?
Would you be interested to join start a monthly/bi-monthly/yearly book club activities to share as in the movie?

Hello! Why don't you start the ball rolling by telling us your opinions first as a TS? That way it'll be easier to carry the discussion forward. ^___^

I only read 'EMMA' so far and I have difficulty finishing it, possibly because I was not used to such slow pacing (am used to reading fantasy). It's been a while since I finished it and in all honesty, I couldn't remember much out of the book, maybe I should try rereading it again...

Yes girl, you r right
As a newbie at LYN I would like to throw a stone and check the wave first...
I worry my sharing would be boring and being threw tomatoes at

I should consider myself done reading all of her 6 novels, except the Northanger Abbey is a bit hard to complete, i might give up, i dont know. Thats why Im starting this book club in order to get more supports. It is lonely out there for no one to share with

My fav is Pride and Prejudice. The story is simple and yet beautifully set in 19th century at a country gentleman's home with a house of beauties, 5 daughters and a wife. The love story in between Jane and Bingley; Elizabeth and Darcy are marvelous and perfect. I dont try to be stay being a dreamy little girl who is fond of love stories but I seriously enjoy Austen works on leading the emotions in English literature.

Emma is a comedy about match-making stories. It could be a bit boring for a starter. U may try P&P or S&S as a start.

we all wear monocles and drink tea.

scones, anyone?

nah! i dont take cream, would you pls hand the one with raspberries jam on top.

hey, althought your breasts are beautifully shown,(nice!) however u might want to mind your hat etiquette or get a pompadour


This post has been edited by secretsquirrel: Apr 26 2009, 01:11 AM

yes jane austen is a good place to start for some light english reading to explore the nuances of life in that era, from a ladies' view.

Pride and prejudice is definitely a very easy read - and if Jane Austen were writing it today, it would most probably be categorised as chick lit. Although, because of that, it probably is more accessible than anything else written around that time.

and i don't think any of the characters actually wear monocles nor do they eat scones.

i think monocles and scones is more of charles dickens...

jane austen more countryside mansion kinda deal...

ya , classic chic lit

I've always found it funny how Malaysian bookshops classified such books as chic-lit. Chic meaning stylish or fashionable - neither of which I've found to apply to such books. Although, chick-lit is probably as un-pc as you can get and probably sounds a bit misogynistic.

Personally, I prefer the term "Shit-lit" - due to the formulaic, throwaway and generally low calorie content of such books. I doubt book shops would agree to use my term though.

The thing about chick lit I believe, is that they acknowledge that that's all there is to it. The books are not trying to dissect the current crises of humanity or the innerworkings of human emotion etc. It's literary comfort food, that's all it is. It's not supposed to be insightful and it's not supposed to be deep or anything... Like comics or something, it's not supposed to be thought-provoking, it's just entertainment..

This post has been edited by budakjahat: Apr 30 2009, 04:12 PM

yes those are for light read and entertain, not for discovering your inner self or stuff.

back to topics,

"Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or
five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!"
said Mrs Bennet.


I wish got more aunty advertise me also, i need to move into a new neighbourhood and show my fortune to them

I got all her books in one volume...but I have only managed to read pride and prejudice so far..

once i get it done,will let you know..

but yes it is classic chic lit.

I disapprove of using 'chic-lit' because it seems to imply that reading bad(ly written) books is chic/cool.

'Shit-Lit' is a literary attempt of honesty of what you/we are actually reading.

"What are you reading?"

"Just some rubbish to pass the time. Some shit-lit"

Hopefully in 100 years, some online dictionary will credit me for coining the phrase!

And this thread isn't talking about chic-lit definition, open a new topic if you want.


TS> I got P&P from my cousin, but no good, I can't read pass 2 chapters for the love of book T^T. I guess this type of book is seriously not my cuppa.

I would disagree on that point since the heart of this discussion is going towards what makes Jane Austen's works "classics" implying something that has stood the test of time rather than something that you read once and throw away.

Moderator was right, U can have a "Kidicarus Category" on your own, it wont hurt anyone at all, among your own group of friends, and even start a new thread on LYN and I shall visit too.

Like many others from her time and in view of our time now, JA's works are well-known as a simple word - novel. Your suggestions is pointless cos it doesnt carry any specific meaning/contribution. Althought U r right, if AS was written now our modern world, her works would be c. under chic-lit. And I do agree those chic-lit are plain rubbish, but I do enjoy reading BJones's Diary and Shopaholic series, if these fell under your categories. Nevertheless, this are not the reason of this JA's book club. If you know why would a book club be formed, it is to gather people for in-depth discussions giving own prospective after reading some or all of her books Contents. U sound like a critic than anything else in your posts here so far. But you are still welcome here in here no matter how, since it is full of spider web ...

If you read ur lines again above, you have answered your own Q: Why would JA's works being c. as Classics/Novel bcos it has stood the test of time.

Define classic, it means a past time. Something we dont get to see anymore in our time. No matter how similar a song/book we compose in our time now, it is not Classic, but with some other names instead of Classic. And for JA's works, the environments presented, the way the ppl think and react, it is all OUT DATED. We dont do thing in THAT way anymore. Somehow, being an 80-y-o nanny, i do wish i get to meet Mr Darcy before my last breath and of cos, in love with him badly like Liz did

The major reason JA's work being c as Classic/novel/eng. lit. is the english literature reason.

Being a modern chic (tho an old one) somehow i have the fantasy to go back into JA's time and hold a quill pen, write slowly with thoughtful sentences, pause, a sip of tea,.... instead of having my fingers flying on the keyboards way faster than my thoughts...


**
Before it ends, here's FYI:

A Novelnovel (from the Italian novella, Spanish novela, French nouvelle for "new", "news", or "short story of something new") is today a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century.

The definition of the term in the last two or three centuries has usually embraced several other criteria. These include artistic merit, fictional content, a design to create an epic totality of life, and a focus on history and the individual. Critics and scholars have related the novel to several neighboring genres. On the one hand, it is related to public and private histories, such as the non-fiction memoir and the autobiography. On the other hand, the novel can be viewed as a form of art, to be evaluated critically in terms of the history of literature and calling for a specific sensitivity on the part of the reader to fully understand and properly appreciate it.

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Added on May 6, 2009, 12:18 pmOh u are the moderator! I didnt know it cos i was very new in LYN when i started this thread

Apparently your cousin was trying to test your patience by giving u such a book to you. But was it a gift or is it sth that she/he received from someone else? I ask this becos I have collected some of her books published by Collector's Library, the little pocket size in red velvet cover. It is slightly pricey than other publishers. So if you are holding one of these kind, please dont simply throw it away, u may throw it to me if u want

So, whats in ur cuppa then? Let's sit down and get a cuppa, together with ahjames, i know SHE is dying to meet you

This post has been edited by secretsquirrel: May 6 2009, 12:20 PM

i wonder how the bennet gals looked like hahaha

Thanks for the lengthy rebuttal of my post on what shit-lit is.

I think you actually missed the point of why i felt incline to contribute to your club. Ignoring the fact that I personally find her works quite entertaining and enjoyable, to truly appreciate why Jane Austen is considered as one of the great English Writers, you have to consider both the positive and negative aspects of her style. The fact that as a Woman her works were first published anonymously writing in the early 1800s also adds to the historical credibility

Comparing her work to shit lit, i feel, actually serves to raise the profile of her work by somehow highlighting the style of writing she had and it's influence on the writing of today.

And, as you clearly say in your cut and paste from wikipedia, the critical evaluation of the novel as a form of art has to take into consideration the history of literature as well a specific sensitivity on the part of the reader to fully understand and appreciate it.

(on a side note I'm also reading The Curtain by Milan Kundera which is a collection of essays about the art of the novel - so it's quite apt that you posted that wiki thingy)

I dont get it, kidi. When you have already read her books and feel enjoyable, U R MOST WELCOME to join us. U may critize, praise, question, answer or do anything u like to do related to the title of this thread. U were right that you may suggest anything u like to suggest upon the category of her works, but it is not even passing this tiny pity small book club... of cos i wont say it is wrong, u may go on trying out there to the world and try out your luck and insist on your points, no matter how, thats not my concern, my concern has already cleared stated in all posts here and in short, in the title of the thread.

I have not responded to shit-lit/chic-lit or not, dont stuff it into my mouth. I was trying to lay out facts that it is worldly recongnise as novel and classics and so forth. shit/chic lit or not i have not much say/comment at all, i dont like to waste time in fact. Im pure innocent in enjoying her works and would like to make friends with anyone who does enjoy it, even just two chapters(/-)

CHILLL OUT!



p.s. BTW, needless me to tell you, your presence in here is valuable to me

This post has been edited by secretsquirrel: May 7 2009, 09:23 AM

TS> nah it's her copy. I borrowed it because you suggested earlier. But yeah, romance is definitely out of my league! T^T I usually read fantasy, thriller, detectives, horror, or anything in between...