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Francisco Perez's avatar

Love your choice of authors. It shows your depth and breath of your knowledge of master works of literature. I am so jealous! Francisco.

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Mike Goodenow Weber's avatar

Haha. Thank you.

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<Mary L. Tabor>'s avatar

I too love these two authors. I recently reread Northanger Abbey and I go beck to Emma often. I go back to Austen like so many others do. I gave her entire collection to my granddaughter and she's now reading all of them and adores her and reads her deeply --and in the latter book, published posthumously my granddaughter and I discussed her sophisticate satire of the gothic novel. She's just 13. Wonderful to discover these authors early, introduce them to others and then revisit.

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Mike Goodenow Weber's avatar

Wonderful, Mary.

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Bill Bradbury's avatar

Great descriptions! I read Middlemarch a year or so ago and was blown away. Looking forward to a reread or diving into her other works. Fan of JA as well. My wife got me interested in her with P&P and I've been working my way through her collection. Emma is on my list for this year.

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Mike Goodenow Weber's avatar

Very cool, Bill. Emma is the most fun one. Thanks.

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De's avatar

Although I have always been a writer in one form or another I have never been a great reader. Jane Austen yes, and fav TV Mr. Darcy is Colin Firth by far. George Eliot is an author yet to know I will search for her work. Any reads available free online? Now Mike, I have three novels here you might search. My Antonia by Willa Cather. Her discription of landscapes are like oil paintings and if I could create on canvas ..well. Only A Fisherman's Daughter by Anastasia English lovely read. I read it twice and that's saying something. Best of Robert Service is another. The first book I ever read through to the end was Johnathan Livingston Seagull and I traveled with it everywhere and read it again and again. You may chuckle when you see the size of it, but that was the book. I should mention the great O J Mitchell's (spx) 'Who has seen the Wind' He has inspired a longing to see the great Saskatchewan prairie. Northern America writers are overlooked and there quite a few emerging from Newfoundland 😊

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Mike Goodenow Weber's avatar

Colin Firth, yes, thanks for reminding me, De. I've tried to appreciate My Antonia a couple of times and just didn't get there. I'll try Anastatia English's book. Seagull was a runaway bestseller in the 1970s, as you know, although I enjoyed Richard Bach's other major book, Bridge Across Forever, much more, and read it three times in my twenties, and should probably read it again now. Tell me more about Robert Service, if you care to.

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De's avatar

Robert Service was a poet who wrote about the beauty of the Canadian North, the Yukon gold rush era in particular. The content can be a bit difficult in a Jack London 'Call of The Wild' sort of way. I was given a Best OF copy of his work as gift and I read it here and there. The Writing is good and lyrical and the stories, well, from the very first lines you know you have your relax day book selection sorted 😊

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Mike Goodenow Weber's avatar

Interesting.

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Felix Purat's avatar

This reminds me: I have a lot of catching up to do with the British. Though it took time to settle in, I liked Silas Marner. He was a character who not only made it easy to empathize with, but who you learned something from in the process. If that makes sense.

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Mike Goodenow Weber's avatar

Definitely, Felix.

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Zoe E. DiGesare's avatar

Both grea

t authors

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Theresa Christine's avatar

Thanks for sharing this! I've started Emma by Jane Austen but that will be my first work of hers. I think Pride & Prejudice might be next!

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Mike Goodenow Weber's avatar

That's great, Theresa. Who are your favorite novelists?

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Theresa Christine's avatar

George Orwell is an all-time fave, and for something more contemporary I love the heart-wrenching stories from Josie Silver. I'm a romance and women's fiction girlie, and Jane Austen is revered in those communities. I'm excited to get more into her work!

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Mike Goodenow Weber's avatar

Terrific, Theresa. I haven't heard of Josie Silver. Will look up. What else did Orwell write besides 1984?

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Richard Bryant's avatar

A wonderful analysis of two of the greats. Thank you for these insights. Well done.

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Mike Goodenow Weber's avatar

Glad you liked it, Richard. Thank you.

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Julie Weigley's avatar

Jane Austen is one of my favorite authors. I've read all her novels; Emma is my favorite, with Sanditon high up on the list. I've yet to read Middlemarch, but plan to. My favorite novelist is a contemporary of George Eliot, but not widely known: Elizabeth Stoddard. I highly recommend her novel, The Morgesons.

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Mike Goodenow Weber's avatar

Very cool, Julie. I've heard of Elizabeth Stoddard but have never read anything by her. I'll give The Morgesons a try sometime. Thanks for the recommendation.

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Pavel S.'s avatar

Agreed. I read Middlemarch last year, and it resonated a lot with me, in a number of different ways. Coincidentally, I read Pride and Prejudice afterwards, at long last. There are definitely strong parallels between the protagonist women characters in both novels. I have other novels of both authors in my (long) to-read list. If only we all had more time to read leisurely!

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Mike Goodenow Weber's avatar

Very interesting, Pavel.

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