The most lied about book....

[Thenamir]

I will reserve judgement on the books until I find enough time to read several hundred pages of the literary equivalent of a chick-flick.

Is it an indication of my cultural illiteracy to admit that I have no idea who Bridget Jones is?

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Thenamir

I will reserve judgement on the books until I find enough time to read several hundred pages of the literary equivalent of a chick-flick.

Is it an indication of my cultural illiteracy to admit that I have no idea who Bridget Jones is?

Bridget Jones' diary was chicklit then chickflick loosely inspired by Pride and Prejudice (long suffering father, batty mother desperate to marry off her daughterv and it's own Mr Darcy played in the film by the divine Mr Firth). Bridget has become a synonym (and heroine for) thirty something single women... especially those who drink too much chardonnay and are tormented by smug married friends.... ahem..

[Lalwendë]

If it's any consolation I can count the number of men I've met who liked Jane Austen on the fingers of one hand. I encouraged davem to watch the BBC P&P adaptation and after two hours when the credits came on (I had taped it in two hour 'chunks' from Sky) he asked was there any more. "Four more hours!" I brightly replied to which he pleaded with me not to make him watch any more and described it as "The most horrible thing I've ever had to put up with."



However, he has watched the Bridget Jones films and found them funny - which I do too, unlike the story when it appeared serialised in The Observer before being made into a book. I used to read it and then rant for about thirty minutes without ceasing, it annoyed me that much. It got so annoying I switched to The Sunday Times. And then to no paper at all because AA Gill annoyed me too....

I know someone who adores fantasy but has never read any Tolkien whatsoever; I'm the opposite, have read too much Tolkien but generally do not have any particular taste for fantasy. This guy I know loves to wind up Tolkien fans by telling them the films are the only thing worth bothering with. He only does it because it teasesssss....

[Mithalwen]

Well I guess I am just bitter and twisted (NOT from being single ) but because after I defended Miss Austen in a seminar (ie tore apart some hapless males, chewed them up and spat them out (oh maybe THAT's why I'm single ) my most brilliant and inspirational lecturer stopped me at the end of the class and told me that I should consider doing Austen for my dissertation and that if so she would like to supervise... and, heart breaking, I had to say that I was required to choose from French lit only and so ended up being supervised by Dr Sleazy Dwarf ..


However to get back on topic... it would be interesting to see the gender split per book - I wonder if Austen is an author guys pretend to have read to impress girls, whether Tolkien is one that girls read to grab themselves a geek :S

So Lal ... you won't be making a pilgrimage to Chawton when you descend to the infernal southern regions for Oxonmoot?

[Thenamir]

I don't dislike all Jane Austen -- I rather like Sense and Sensability, there were enough characters in it to which I could relate that made it tolerable. That, and I find Kate Winslet very easy on the eyes. (Oops, don't let Mrs. Thenamir hear that!)

After seeing several Austen titles in the form (X) And (Y) like Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensability, etc, When Dumb and Dumber came out I had to wonder if Austen had written it as the story of the elder Mrs. Bennett and her remaining daughters...

EDIT: After cross posting with Bethberry, I have to remark that perhaps A Brief History of Time be included in the Fiction section. I mean let's be real here, the man is discussing what happened in the first quintillionth of a second after the Big Bang with a straight face. (Actually, owing to the ravages of the disability which afflicts him, Hawking technically says everything with a straight face, but you know what I meant.)

[Mithalwen]

Oh noo ..that is worse liking Austen because of Kate Witless who at least doesn't lie to make herself seem more intelligent Quote " I am a huge fan of Iris Murdoch - of course I haven't had time to read any of her books" ... one wonders if it was the promiscuity or disloyalty that attracted La Winslet's admiration - or maybe some little known sphere of excellence - tiddlywinks perchance....

Persuasion is the best and Mansfield Park has interesting themes but an insufferable heroine. Northanger is the funniest especially if you have a taste for the Gothic Novel (which I have a spooky premonition that Thenamir might NOT) and the History of England is a little gem...

[Lalaith]

*brags to impress opposite sex*
I've read all the list except the rubbish. (Brown and Gray) No really. I have.

[Thenamir]

I didn't say that I liked S&S because of Winslet -- only that she made viewing it more bearable.

<Lazy Guy Mode=ON>Are there any plans to make the other stories which you mention into movies? <grin, duck, and run!>

[davem]

Actually quite a boring list - the books are too well known. Much more impressive to brag about reading more 'obscure' books - don't brag about reading War & Peace: brag about reading Resurrection, forget Jane Eyre & name drop Villette. Mention of The Anatomy of Melancholy, or Montaigne's essays will impress the educated far more than the ones listed. The list seems more about impressing the uneducated.

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Thenamir

IEDIT: After cross posting with Bethberry, I have to remark that perhaps A Brief History of Time be included in the Fiction section. I mean let's be real here, the man is discussing what happened in the first quintillionth of a second after the Big Bang with a straight face. (Actually, owing to the ravages of the disability which afflicts him, Hawking technically says everything with a straight face, but you know what I meant.)

I have to say, Thenamir, that, your personal beliefs notwithstanding (and I thoroughly understand and appreciate what you are suggesting here), such a remark does a Very Grave Disservice to the Sub-Creative Principle by which Tolkien placed such worth. Fiction belongs to storytelling, to narrative, to Art and Aesthetics. Indeed, it is the knowingness of its deception as Art which sets it apart from simple systematic speculation and probability.

[Bêthberry]

I'm a bit sceptical about the survey itself.

For instance, I would have expected this kind of "patter recognition' or coy mistressing to include Stephen Hawking's A Brief History of Time, said to be one of the most unread bought books of our time, yet the titles listed include only fiction. And I cannot believe that Joyce's Ulysses is no longer in this category. (Perhaps BloomsDay put paid to this quality of Joyce's epic?) And no Mrs. Dalloway?

Was the poll limited to fiction? Who chose the titles that were included? And how many were included? Were 'write-ins' allowed? Where was Tolkien placed on the poll? What is the statistical reliability of the results and are any other polling demographics available?

Frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if respondants were limited to males only.

EDIT: lol! cross posted with Mith. We both sniff some gender twisting here I think.