tntgoodwin Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Pick a side! I haven't any right to criticize books, and I don't do it except when I hate them. I often want to criticize Jane Austen, but her books madden me so that I can't conceal my frenzy from the reader; and therefore I have to stop every time I begin. Every time I read 'Pride and Prejudice,' I want to dig her up and hit her over the skull with her own shin-bone. Jane Austen's books, too, are absent from this library. Just that one omission alone would make a fairly good library out of a library that hadn't a book in it. both by Mark Twain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Meh... I won't tell him he has to read Austen, if he will agree to not forbid me from reading her. Personally, I'd rather read Austen than Twain. Maybe Twain was force fed too much in school... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aggieamy Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I like them both. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JudoMom Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Pick a side! :lol: I'm with Twain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkInTheBlue Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I would much rather read Austen than Twain. However, that might be unfair to Twain because when I think of him I think of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn which I despise reading because of wading through all the old southern accent. I feel like I'm trying to read a book written in a foreign language that I faintly know. It's exhausting and annoying. I had to warm up to Austen and then found I loved her. It was not love at first sight though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorMama Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 :lol: I'm with Twain. Me too! All the way! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PinkInTheBlue Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Meh... Personally, I'd rather read Austen than Twain. Maybe Twain was force fed too much in school... I feel this way about Dickens. A writer I greatly respect recently wrote an article praising Great Expectations as being the best book ever. I had to force myself to not let that affect my opinion of the author personally. :) I'd be happy to never read Dickens again. I haven't tried A Tale of Two Cities yet, however. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joker Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 :lol: I'm with Twain. Me, too! My older dd loves Twain and I've had her try to read Austen a few times but she hates it. I prefer Twain over Austen but I don't loathe her work as my dd does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veritaserum Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Can't we all just get along? :D I like them both. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Geek Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I didn't read either until the last year or two and haven't finished the first Jane Austen book yet. I am reading Sense and Sensibility. It is pretty boring and not keeping my attention or I would be close to finished with it by now. I liked Tom Sawyer well enough to read Huck Finn. I didn't like Huck Finn quite as well, but still enjoyed it. I then read Puddenhead Wilson and it was decent. I wouldn't mind reading more of Mark Twain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WarriorMama Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 For the record, I'm not an Austen hater. Just a Twain lover. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tntgoodwin Posted October 13, 2011 Author Share Posted October 13, 2011 If you chose "other" you are incorrect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsrevmeg Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 LOVE Jane Austen! I have always despised Twain. It only got worse when I watched an episode of Star Trek The Next Generation where some of the Enterprise crew went back in time and met Twain. Yes, that is ridiculously silly, but so are his quotes about Jane Austen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I won't pick a side!! Won't! *stamp* Won't! *stamp* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mimm Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Aw, I love them both. Twain is SO very quotable. :) But I had to vote for Austen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 LOVE Jane Austen! I have always despised Twain. It only got worse when I watched an episode of Star Trek The Next Generation where some of the Enterprise crew went back in time and met Twain. Yes, that is ridiculously silly, but so are his quotes about Jane Austen. :lol::lol::lol::lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrothead Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Please don't make me read either of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mergath Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Austen. Hands-down. Sorry. I've read various works by Twain more times than I can count, and every time I was bored out of my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I feel this way about Dickens. A writer I greatly respect recently wrote an article praising Great Expectations as being the best book ever. I had to force myself to not let that affect my opinion of the author personally. :) I'd be happy to never read Dickens again. I haven't tried A Tale of Two Cities yet, however. :) There are things I love about Dickens--the wit, the irony . . . but I really, REALLY wish he had lived in a different era and hadn't published his books serially in newspapers/magazines. You gotta put on your waders to get through most of Dickens! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thescrappyhomeschooler Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I can tolerate Mark Twain's books. Haven't been able to make it through any Austen books, unless they are made into films starring Colin Firth. So, I had to go with Twain. ETA: I love Dickens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nakia Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I love love love Jane Austen. Always will! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twoxcell Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 For the record, I'm not an Austen hater. Just a Twain lover. :lol: :iagree: I love Mark Twain! I enjoy Jane Austen's books made into movies, but I have yet to actually make it through a complete book. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirch Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I believe the best answer would be to paraphrase Jane Austen herself: "He does not deserve the compliment of rational opposition." :tongue_smilie: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blessedchaos Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I LOVE Jane Austen. LOVE her! I own and have read all of her books several times. But... I've never read Twain, so I guess my vote isn't really fair:blushing:. I feel like I should read something of his now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leeannpal Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 If you chose "other" you are incorrect. Well, I'm probably often incorrect, but I did pick "other." My favorite author is Charles Dickens. If I had to choose between Twain and Austen, Twain wins hands down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stacia Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Twain, of course. He has the sharper wit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 If you chose "other" you are incorrect. Nope, just aware of my own opinion and completely comfortable with it. I won't pick a side!! Won't! *stamp* Won't! *stamp* :iagree: Pride and Prejudice and Roughing It are two of my top 5 favorites. I don't have to choose and no poll can make me! :001_tt2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Twain. Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates. – Life on the Mississippi I was thinking of Twain today as I dug out and wore my son's skull ring that was given to him by a pirate. It was a pretend pirate, but he looked the part. Austen? :glare: But I was never very girly, I would have rather been a pirate than been skilled at drawing and pianoforte. :lol: And I'm from Missouri. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FO4UR Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I *heart* Austen, but I also lived several years in Hannibal, MO and so feel a unique connection to Twain. I'm reading The Prince and the Pauper right now...and I read Sense and Sensibility just a few weeks ago. Both are staying firmly on my shelf. If you chose "other" you are incorrect. It is what you choose when you can't possibly choose.:D I believe the best answer would be to paraphrase Jane Austen herself: "He does not deserve the compliment of rational opposition." :tongue_smilie: :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mytwomonkeys Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 i love jane austen. love. love. love. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FairyMom Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Austen. Hands-down. Sorry. I've read various works by Twain more times than I can count, and every time I was bored out of my mind. :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BabyBre Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Hilarious quotes! I love Twain, but had to vote Austen. She's my avatar - poolside and on the phone discussing Pride & Prejudice with her bff. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Both. Depends on the mood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I despise reading because of wading through all the old southern accent. I feel like I'm trying to read a book written in a foreign language that I faintly know. It's exhausting and annoying. I hate reading dialect. I had the same trouble with Wuthering Heights. Does anyone know if these classics have been published without the dialect? Just translated into plain English? It would make reading them so much easier and more enjoyable. I have to wonder if that's a reason that the classics have been dropped in so many high school English classes. If not, maybe someone should... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onceuponatime Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Both. Depends on the mood. :iagree: Everyone must go further afield than just Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. His book on Joan of Arc is brilliant, also Puddin' Head Wilson. When you get into his even more obscure stuff, you get a better sense of his sarcastic wit. I imagine he offended quite a few people in his day. Jane is a little more gentle with her sarcasm. There is always the love story to soften the blow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cuckoomamma Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Jane Austen. I don't think she's amazing, but prefer her to Twain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SeekingHim77 Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Ack! Mark Twain and Jane Austen are apples and oranges-I can' compare them. Of course Mark Twain didn't like her writings-most men wouldn't. I love both! Both of my kids adore Huckleberry Finn and I have my well worn copy of Tom Sawyer that my parents gave me when I was a little girl. The Prince and the Pauper is fantastic! Jane Austen's books are the ones I want to curl up with on a rainy day. I've read them all and they are comfort reading for me. The story of Pride and Prejudice is so classic and we can learn much from it. Admittedly, all of her books kind of run together. They are very similiar but each unique in it's own right. I adore Dickens but he does get a little too wordy at times-he was paid by the word. :001_smile: We read A Christmas Carol every year together and I love it more each time. A Tale of Two Cities is a little hard to wade through for the first half but the rest is superb! The ending brought me to tears. Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, etc. His characters and stories are so memorable. Maybe that's because of his wordy descriptions though.;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 That's like asking me to choose between chocolate and fruit. Enjoy them both, impossible to choose for all time because I feel like eating different things at different times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LaxMom Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 Austen. I can't stand reading his vernacular. :ack2: Love Twain, would absolutely lose my mind reading him, though. (audiobooks are awesome!) (I'm going to fly my crazy flag here and admit this applies to Junie B Jones, as well. :tongue_smilie: ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfatherslily Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I choose Twain! :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I believe the best answer would be to paraphrase Jane Austen herself: "He does not deserve the compliment of rational opposition." :tongue_smilie: :lol: You guys are cracking me up! I can appreciate Austen. I *finally* made it through one of her books last year...Pride & Prejudice. It was well done. I can see why people like her. She's not my style, though. Twain...I LOVE Huck Finn, but other than that...well, he's not really my style, either. Except that he's my *style,* if that makes sense. I love southern American lit. I was going to pick Twain, despite my feelings for the dearth at my library right now & the pain it brings me to imagine a "library" w/out a book :lol: but then I saw "other." So I guess I'm "wrong." :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquinas Academy Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 You mean I have to choose?! I vote Twain, but I don't share his sentiments about Austen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aubrey Posted October 13, 2011 Share Posted October 13, 2011 I hate reading dialect. I had the same trouble with Wuthering Heights. Does anyone know if these classics have been published without the dialect? Just translated into plain English? It would make reading them so much easier and more enjoyable. I have to wonder if that's a reason that the classics have been dropped in so many high school English classes. If not, maybe someone should... :svengo: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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