Jane Austen

[literarylover+]

I would recommend starting with "Pride and Prejudice" for the ultimate Austen experience! If you don't like that then I wouldn't pursue any more of her books. I have read "Sense and Sensibility", "Emma", "Pride and Prejudice", and "Persuasion". I also loved "Persuasion", while the other two I didn't like as much. I would have to say that Jane Austen is responsible for most of my unrealistic, impossibly high expectations for male heroes in literature! lol

[myrna]

I love Jane Austen's books. I consider Emma is the best. Sometimes her stories ar hard to follow in the beginning like in Persuasion, but the other chapters are great

[krisliz88]

I actually had a whole college class dedicated to Jane Austin's books. It was four books though the semester. They can be hard to get through but they are worth the read.

[jonesh91]

I love Austen. For someone having trouble getting into her novels, I would recommend Northanger Abbey. It was her earliest book- and the style is more relaxed than in her later novels. It's also the most fun in my opinion. The characters are sweet and joke around a lot. It's very engaging, gets to the point fairly quickly, and is a short read.

[Melanie_Page]

I love P and P but Persuasion is an Austen novel that is sadly overlooked. Austen wrote it quite deliberately about a character who had let love pass her by, choosing to follow sensible advice rather than make a risky marriage. That advice proved to be wrong but Austen says and in his analysis C S Lewis agrees that Anne Elliott is the perfect character. She has no flaws, she has nothing for which to reproach herself. In this respect she is like Elinor Dashwood. I sometimes wonder is Austen saw something of herself in Anne Elliott.

[ALynnPowers]

Just "bought" a bunch of her books and have started (re)reading P&P. It's the only one I have read so far, but I remember loving it and her style, so I thought I would try out some others as well.

[gali]

Just "bought" a bunch of her books and have started (re)reading P&P. It's the only one I have read so far, but I remember loving it and her style, so I thought I would try out some others as well.

Enjoy the books!

P&P is her best in my view, though the others are good as well.

[domestic_yetti]

I had the same issues but I pushed through. I did enjoy the novel very much. Hands down Pride and Prejudice was my favorite. If you find you cannot get into Sense and Sensibility I recommend trying another one of her novels then maybe going back. Sometimes it helps to get a sense of the author's writing style then attempting to tackle a book that is slower in the beginning.

[HMJones]

I'd go for Pride and Prejudice first. There's a reason it's the most famous of the lot. But, my personal favourite Austen is Northanger Abbey. I loved pretty much every second of reading that one.

[Kaitlin Lake]

I absolutely love pride and prejudice by ; Jane Austen. My favorite love story couple in the book is Elizabeth and Mr.Darcy.

[steinhm]

I have to say the first time I read Jane Austen was back i high school, it was Emma, and for the life of me I couldn't get into it. I swore from then on I would never read Jane Austen again but that is simply not true.

As I've gotten a bit older I've learned I actually love her books. I think it's less about the plots and everything but more that I just love the feeling of being transported to completely a different place and a different time. It's nice to kind of pretend like I live in that era in England and I really enjoy it.

Since then I've read Emma again and I love it, I think it's funny and light hearted, and I will also love Pride and Prejudice but I can't say I've read Sense and Sensibility.

[Brandi Noelle]

I loved "Sense and Sensibility" myself, but I have heard others say it's a little slow. "Pride and Prejudice" seems to be the favorite among most Austen readers, so I would probably start there. "Persuasion" is a good one and "Northanger Abbey" has a nice haunting feel to it. Fun to read around Halloween.

[uyky]

I also had problems with Sense and Sensibility. I love Pride and Prejudice, and Emma was good.

[Kieran_Obrien]

Pride and Prejudice is a beautifully written book. There is something undeniably musical about its sentences... but the story is a bit boring. Maybe back in the day it was revolutionary but I don't think I'll ever have the patience to read it again!

[RebeccasReading]

Jane Austen is one of the few examples where I prefer the films to the books. I appreciate her great work, especially in a time period that discourage female authors. But the films help break up the monotony of the novels and focus on the great story lines. Her novels are wonderful but they are definitely a little slow and difficult to get through at times.