[terry]

I remember when I was a teenager. Dragging myself through Jane Austen and swearing I'd never do that again.

Ha, I see what you're doing here. You probably figured you could safely diss Jane Austen without offending anyone on this board, right? I'll bet you thought the overlap of fanatical sports fans and Jane Austen fans must be negligible. Well, I got news for you, bub, you just trash-talked my girl. I will have my satisfaction -- I challenge you to icy stares at ten paces, in the Pump Room . . .

[terry]

I remember when I was a teenager. Dragging myself through Jane Austen and swearing I'd never do that again.

Ha, I see what you're doing here. You probably figured you could safely diss Jane Austen without offending anyone on this board, right? I'll bet you thought the overlap of fanatical sports fans and Jane Austen fans must be negligible. Well, I got news for you, bub, you just trash-talked my girl. I will have my satisfaction -- I challenge you to icy stares at ten paces, in the Pump Room . . .

[71Bear]

In the Garden of Beasts - Outstanding book (no surprise given that it was written by Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City).  I just finished reading Einstein by Walter Isaacson (I figured that I needed to learn more about the Cosmos since I'm currently watching that series).  Parts of the book are a tough read for a Poli Sci major like me but I stuck with it and was rewarded.  Isaacson does a good job of communicating Einstein's theories in a manner that is understandable to the unwashed masses...

[71Bear]

In the Garden of Beasts - Outstanding book (no surprise given that it was written by Erik Larson, author of The Devil in the White City).  I just finished reading Einstein by Walter Isaacson (I figured that I needed to learn more about the Cosmos since I'm currently watching that series).  Parts of the book are a tough read for a Poli Sci major like me but I stuck with it and was rewarded.  Isaacson does a good job of communicating Einstein's theories in a manner that is understandable to the unwashed masses...

[Nan3cy]

Since Third Reich-oriented books have been mentioned, I recommend the third volume of William Manchester's biography of Winston Churchill -- The Last Lion: Defender of the Realm. Manchester died before it was finished, so I don't know whether he or his co-writer deserve credit for how well written it is. It's a wonderful book -- all 1,053 pages of it...

[Nan3cy]

Since Third Reich-oriented books have been mentioned, I recommend the third volume of William Manchester's biography of Winston Churchill -- The Last Lion: Defender of the Realm. Manchester died before it was finished, so I don't know whether he or his co-writer deserve credit for how well written it is. It's a wonderful book -- all 1,053 pages of it...

[Mick]

Since Third Reich-oriented books have been mentioned, I recommend the third volume of William Manchester's biography of Winston Churchill -- The Last Lion: Defender of the Realm. Manchester died before it was finished, so I don't know whether he or his co-writer deserve credit for how well written it is. It's a wonderful book -- all 1,053 pages of it...

I loved the first two books in that series.  Really brought WC alive for me.  That will be my next purchase.

[Mick]

Since Third Reich-oriented books have been mentioned, I recommend the third volume of William Manchester's biography of Winston Churchill -- The Last Lion: Defender of the Realm. Manchester died before it was finished, so I don't know whether he or his co-writer deserve credit for how well written it is. It's a wonderful book -- all 1,053 pages of it...

I loved the first two books in that series.  Really brought WC alive for me.  That will be my next purchase.

[Redrum]

or quaff or whatever it was we were going to do to settle this,  a brief interrogation:

1.  At what age did you first read Jane Austen? 
2.  If you were 16, like I was,  did you fall immediately and rapturously in love with Jane Austen and the whole novels of British manners genre?
3.  Did a whole bunch of your male companions get together just to talk about Jane Austen?
4.  Did any young male you know other than yourself ever get into an involved argument-- supported by instances drawn from the novel-- about whether Mr. Darcy was being a dick or merely a complex, conflicted young man?
5.  Again as a young man, did you never put down a Jane Austen novel and say to yourself, "Think I'll go shoot some hoops." ?

My thesis wasn't that Jane Austen was trash.  It was that British novels of manners are kryptonite to most teenage males and Jane Austen is the torturer Pol Pot.  I've since learned there are much worse British novels of manners lurking out there.

I rather liked the two film versions of Pride and Prejudice that I've seen,  but maybe I was just bewitched by Keira Knightley.  My wife and oldest daughter are on your side.  The daughter can quote pages of dialog.  My wife told me to memorize Mr. Bennet's final scene with daughter Elizabeth, the one where he gives consent to her marrying  Darcy.  Wife informed me that if my daughter ever comes to tell us she's getting married and I were to quote what Mr. Bennet said to Elizabeth,  we could probably get off without paying a cent for the wedding. 

[Redrum]

or quaff or whatever it was we were going to do to settle this,  a brief interrogation:

1.  At what age did you first read Jane Austen? 
2.  If you were 16, like I was,  did you fall immediately and rapturously in love with Jane Austen and the whole novels of British manners genre?
3.  Did a whole bunch of your male companions get together just to talk about Jane Austen?
4.  Did any young male you know other than yourself ever get into an involved argument-- supported by instances drawn from the novel-- about whether Mr. Darcy was being a dick or merely a complex, conflicted young man?
5.  Again as a young man, did you never put down a Jane Austen novel and say to yourself, "Think I'll go shoot some hoops." ?

My thesis wasn't that Jane Austen was trash.  It was that British novels of manners are kryptonite to most teenage males and Jane Austen is the torturer Pol Pot.  I've since learned there are much worse British novels of manners lurking out there.

I rather liked the two film versions of Pride and Prejudice that I've seen,  but maybe I was just bewitched by Keira Knightley.  My wife and oldest daughter are on your side.  The daughter can quote pages of dialog.  My wife told me to memorize Mr. Bennet's final scene with daughter Elizabeth, the one where he gives consent to her marrying  Darcy.  Wife informed me that if my daughter ever comes to tell us she's getting married and I were to quote what Mr. Bennet said to Elizabeth,  we could probably get off without paying a cent for the wedding. 

[Redrum]

If all this Third Reich groupie stuff is weirding you out or depressing you and you just want to have a fun ride with some emotional tweaking ,  The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.  Been out for a while.  Will be a 2015 movie but the book is the opposite of many listed here.  Just lose yourself briefly,  then go pet your dog and scratch him/her behind the ears.  They love that.

AND  I love this thread.  Recommendations from people on this and (ahem) elsewhere have really put me on to some good reads.  Keep 'em coming.

[Redrum]

If all this Third Reich groupie stuff is weirding you out or depressing you and you just want to have a fun ride with some emotional tweaking ,  The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein.  Been out for a while.  Will be a 2015 movie but the book is the opposite of many listed here.  Just lose yourself briefly,  then go pet your dog and scratch him/her behind the ears.  They love that.

AND  I love this thread.  Recommendations from people on this and (ahem) elsewhere have really put me on to some good reads.  Keep 'em coming.

[terry]

1.  At what age did you first read Jane Austen? 
2.  If you were 16, like I was,  did you fall immediately and rapturously in love with Jane Austen and the whole novels of British manners genre?
3.  Did a whole bunch of your male companions get together just to talk about Jane Austen?
4.  Did any young male you know other than yourself ever get into an involved argument-- supported by instances drawn from the novel-- about whether Mr. Darcy was being a dick or merely a complex, conflicted young man?
5.  Again as a young man, did you never put down a Jane Austen novel and say to yourself, "Think I'll go shoot some hoops." ?

My thesis wasn't that Jane Austen was trash.  It was that British novels of manners are kryptonite to most teenage males and Jane Austen is the torturer Pol Pot. . . .

Fair point. I was probably in my late 30s to early 40s when I read Austen's books for the first time. I probably wouldn't have liked them as well when I was a teenager. When I finally got around to reading them, I really enjoyed them. I wish she had lived longer and written more books. There have been some really good adaptations of Austen's books on British TV. After Austen, I went on to read the Brontes, Scott, Thackeray, Eliot, Collins, Gaskell, Hardy, Trollope, and others, and I've started re-reading Dickens. I enjoy that period.

I will be curious to see what they do with the movie version of The Art of Racing in the Rain. I like the book, but I am not sure how they're going to capture the spirit of the book in a movie. On one hand, it's a nice story about a family dog, but on the other hand, it has some pretty mature themes that really aren't appropriate for pre-teens. I believe there's a sanitized version of the book for kids. Do you know which version of the book they are using for the movie?

[terry]

1.  At what age did you first read Jane Austen? 
2.  If you were 16, like I was,  did you fall immediately and rapturously in love with Jane Austen and the whole novels of British manners genre?
3.  Did a whole bunch of your male companions get together just to talk about Jane Austen?
4.  Did any young male you know other than yourself ever get into an involved argument-- supported by instances drawn from the novel-- about whether Mr. Darcy was being a dick or merely a complex, conflicted young man?
5.  Again as a young man, did you never put down a Jane Austen novel and say to yourself, "Think I'll go shoot some hoops." ?

My thesis wasn't that Jane Austen was trash.  It was that British novels of manners are kryptonite to most teenage males and Jane Austen is the torturer Pol Pot. . . .

Fair point. I was probably in my late 30s to early 40s when I read Austen's books for the first time. I probably wouldn't have liked them as well when I was a teenager. When I finally got around to reading them, I really enjoyed them. I wish she had lived longer and written more books. There have been some really good adaptations of Austen's books on British TV. After Austen, I went on to read the Brontes, Scott, Thackeray, Eliot, Collins, Gaskell, Hardy, Trollope, and others, and I've started re-reading Dickens. I enjoy that period.

I will be curious to see what they do with the movie version of The Art of Racing in the Rain. I like the book, but I am not sure how they're going to capture the spirit of the book in a movie. On one hand, it's a nice story about a family dog, but on the other hand, it has some pretty mature themes that really aren't appropriate for pre-teens. I believe there's a sanitized version of the book for kids. Do you know which version of the book they are using for the movie?

[SUBuddha]

In the interest of full disclosure, I have also read a ton of Young Adult (YA) and New Adult (NA) fiction in the last year to learn my wife's craft. She self published her first book about 1.5 years ago and is a founder of NAlley a NA blog and website. I must admit some of the fantasy and sci-fi stuff from the "amateur's" is quite entertaining, if not as well edited as the materials from bigger publishers.

[SUBuddha]

In the interest of full disclosure, I have also read a ton of Young Adult (YA) and New Adult (NA) fiction in the last year to learn my wife's craft. She self published her first book about 1.5 years ago and is a founder of NAlley a NA blog and website. I must admit some of the fantasy and sci-fi stuff from the "amateur's" is quite entertaining, if not as well edited as the materials from bigger publishers.

[Bruce Wang]

It seems that there might be a market here for Pride and Prejudice and Nazis.

[Bruce Wang]

It seems that there might be a market here for Pride and Prejudice and Nazis.

[SUBuddha]

It seems that there might be a market here for Pride and Prejudice and Nazis.

Well a couple of us might set it in a dystopian future with long lifers as the protagonists that the Nazi's see as the master race, but they (the long lifers) refuse the eugenic platform of the Nazi's in the interest of marrying for love.

[SUBuddha]

It seems that there might be a market here for Pride and Prejudice and Nazis.

Well a couple of us might set it in a dystopian future with long lifers as the protagonists that the Nazi's see as the master race, but they (the long lifers) refuse the eugenic platform of the Nazi's in the interest of marrying for love.

[CompSci87]

I've been working my way through a lot of Jack Vance -- a writer of SF (and occasionally other genres) with a unique style that I enjoy. His complete works are available as eBooks these days, thanks to a fan-led project: http://www.integralarchive.org/

[CompSci87]

I've been working my way through a lot of Jack Vance -- a writer of SF (and occasionally other genres) with a unique style that I enjoy. His complete works are available as eBooks these days, thanks to a fan-led project: http://www.integralarchive.org/