I never realised how lucky I am to have a father who has no problem reading female authors. He read Harry Potter when he saw how crazy I was about it, then he read Jane Eyre, and some years later he read Pride and Prejudice. He liked Jane Austen, but not as much as Charlotte Brontë. And he saw the 1995 and 2005 adaptations as well! He thought the 2005 one was ridiculous 🤷🏽♀️
As someone on the cursed dating apps I can tell you that most men (hashtag not all men etc etc I know) I've come across who claim to read books say that they only read biographies (about billionaires) and books about personal growth. When I say I read classics and name the one I'm currently reading they all ask why I read them. Like sorry I read books that have stood the test of time for centuries and sometimes even millennia super weird of me to not reading instruction manuals on how to be a human :)
I read “Pride and Prejudice” a few years ago and enjoyed it quite a bit, I did it because it's a pretty famous book and I was curious about it. What I enjoyed about the book was the beautiful setting and the fact that to my surprise it was a comedy (I was expecting a tear-jerking romance). I have no interest in reading any more of Jane Austen's novels but I'm glad I gave “Pride and Prejudice” a chance. It was fun and comfy
Hahaha! “Don’t be a John Thorpe” 😂 Great video! Even though my channel name is Austen inspired, I’ve been remarkably restrained in posting Austen content but I’m working on some fun Austen content for 2025.
for me, funnily enough it was the opposite. i avoided austen for much of my life because i was led to believe it was fluffy romantic nonsense. and as a (former) girl i was desperate not to be associated with such things out if fear no one would take me seriously. it was actually my pa who introduced me to them in the end, not as romances, but as works of social satire, in line with oscar wild or blackadder. im very glad he did. but it says a lot about how feminine interests, particularly romance fiction, are devalued, that he had to rebrand them for me to be interested. im just thankful he was enlightened enough to see past it, and passed that on to me in turn.
He sounds like an absolute gem! And yeah, the thought process from "Ew romance" to "wait a minute, why do we think romance is ew?" is not uncommon, but it still takes some reflection to get there.
"I'm a duuuuuude!" That was the perfect ending to this! I think another reason is that women's fiction is seen as frivolous and not serious. Like the Theory of Mind guy who kept trying to make her work applicable with life lessons and hacks. Why can't we enjoy a book because it's funny and sweet and heartfelt and makes us laugh? Those are all things that make us human and connect us to one another.
I read my first Austen this year (Northanger Abbey, my fav based on adaptations) and I laughed the whole way through it. I’m pretty intimidated by classics but I finally decided to go for it and I’m so glad I did. Persuasion and Pride & Prejudice are queued up next! Definitely at least in the US there’s an idea that boys and men-or at least the manly and straight ones-don’t read books by women. It’s why a certain famous TERF went by initials instead of a first name, though that was in the UK. I was browsing the shelves in the background of a male BookTuber I watch and I could only find one book written by a woman (it was Piranesi… which also has a male protagonist). Scaring them off Jane Austen is just another way the patriarchy is hurting men!
Its also weird as ther are plenty, aside ursula la guin and iother greats, are women, mary shalley? a grandmother of scifi and definitly extremely influencal. And even in the YA better books a lot are by women. I dont think Katniss meing a woman for example makes her a likable character, she could be a boy and not that different. Its wild how many better YA authors , are women, yeah some are men but plenty are women. And manga wise Dodehedero is very, i dont think the author bbeing a woman is obvious? Its fun punk.
You know I do love your YT channel, do you ? I've already told you, though I'm not the biggest commenter out there. But I've been following your channel for years and shared some of your videos to my family (daughters) and coworkers (librarians). I'm so happy whenever I see one of your videos pop up. Oh well, and please give Minerva a kiss for me 😻
Super interesting! Lots of stuff I didn't know about, including the Kipling story which I shall seek out. Thanks for interviewing me! It is strange how many men seems to need to justify reading Austen in some other mad context. I've had that John Mullan book sat on my shelves unread for years and this has made me want to read it.
Literally watching this video right now because my boyfriend went "What? Austen's for everyone!"... I mean granted, he's currently sewing up a tear in his jacket pocket, so maybe he's not the most typical man... but he's just confirmed that he reads Austen because "they're really good".
Have you read Robert Rodi's two volume "Bitch in a Bonnet"? He's an avid lover of Austen and wrote hilariously funny and very detailed reviews/analysis of her six published novels for his blog, which he later adapted into the BiaB books. He's also written two Austenesque works which are well worth the read.
This was superb!!! I would like to recommend to you Murasaki Shikibu's theory of fiction. In her novel (in modern terminology since one millennia ago in Japan it was called 'monogatari') The Tale of Genji, chapter Hotaru or Fireflies, she put in the voice of the eponymous Genji which is, to her as an author, the function of fiction. I think it is interesting how in 1008 a woman defended what we would call nowadays novels, through the voice of a male character, perhaps to make it valid. But also, the scene in which this topic is addressed is one of a man chastising a young woman for wasting her time with stories. And now we have men trying to justify their consumption of novels in the guise of philosophy or enlightenment 😮💨 Sorry for the long post 😝 I hope you will delight us with more of these types of videos essays soon ❤
A fandom is a kind of subculture. This is like saying "no officer i didn't do a crime. I did a murder." Murder is a crime. All fandoms are subcultures, but not all subcultures are fandoms. The only real difference in this case is calling something a subculture is a little bit more respectable. My only guess is that you saw the comparison to Star Trek as an insult for some reason.
I think Brett is definitely part of the Bro-culture & give him credit for reading JA. When I was in high school in the mid-1970's, JA wasn't viewed as a "Female" read, it was more of a classic read. So, the idea that Colin Firth made it more of a female read may have merit.
As a man I picked up one of her novels, pride and prejudice I think, started reading then got bored put the book down and moved on to something more interesting. Maybe I'll be more swayed by persuasion? I doubt it.
Oh its a webtoon, thats way better translated on mangadex, but kubera the last is goo, and while its still good, the start while conveying what matters, there is so much forshadowing its really rewarding to try to read deep into it, and yeah its a psychological drama that just shows more layers over time, and that, so good twists and why its fun to guess, a lot. Also good adventure but it hits so hard, and is a good romantic drama as well, with like 10 protagonists playing of each other, rewarding overthinking. Its great, and fun too, the humor is great , ha ha. Thank god with as good she is at hitting emotionally. Jusz some can be slow burn that when they hit, they hit. Also fights are more psychological focused but good, its just not a straight up action series. Oh and great epic fantasy too
1. Not wanting to hear Jane Austen’s thoughts is like not wanting to hear my wife’s thoughts 2. Jane Austen is filled with what we men pride ourselves in…pragmatism 3. Jane is the sort of female you would want to meet at a party 4. Being embarrassed of reading clasic female authors is tantamount to being ashamed of listening to Aretha Franklin
So, it's probably fairly wise to avoid, is reductive, in a place I avoid, and is about something I don't care about? Does it also give me a cold or something? This sounds awful.
I wish I could’ve added my two cents but I was so nervous and shy for no reason lol (Also, Jane Austen is definitely for the boys who have limp wrists)
Tristan and the Classics likes Jane Austen. youtube.com/@tristanandtheclassics6538?si=6cplPECDmwCiI8mo Just in case you were looking for another man. 🤗
![Why Accuracy Is Overrated [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/vbdY0CMaG50/mqdefault.jpg)
![Why Accuracy Is Overrated [CC]](/img/tr.png)
I never realised how lucky I am to have a father who has no problem reading female authors. He read Harry Potter when he saw how crazy I was about it, then he read Jane Eyre, and some years later he read Pride and Prejudice. He liked Jane Austen, but not as much as Charlotte Brontë. And he saw the 1995 and 2005 adaptations as well! He thought the 2005 one was ridiculous 🤷🏽♀️
As someone on the cursed dating apps I can tell you that most men (hashtag not all men etc etc I know) I've come across who claim to read books say that they only read biographies (about billionaires) and books about personal growth. When I say I read classics and name the one I'm currently reading they all ask why I read them. Like sorry I read books that have stood the test of time for centuries and sometimes even millennia super weird of me to not reading instruction manuals on how to be a human :)
Wait til you tell them the classics ARE instruction manuals on how to be a human 😉
I read “Pride and Prejudice” a few years ago and enjoyed it quite a bit, I did it because it's a pretty famous book and I was curious about it.
What I enjoyed about the book was the beautiful setting and the fact that to my surprise it was a comedy (I was expecting a tear-jerking romance). I have no interest in reading any more of Jane Austen's novels but I'm glad I gave “Pride and Prejudice” a chance. It was fun and comfy
Hahaha! “Don’t be a John Thorpe” 😂 Great video! Even though my channel name is Austen inspired, I’ve been remarkably restrained in posting Austen content but I’m working on some fun Austen content for 2025.
moisturize your face and read Jane Austen😂😅 couldn't have said it any better
This is a wonderful video! Thank you for the time and effort you put into it.
Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
for me, funnily enough it was the opposite. i avoided austen for much of my life because i was led to believe it was fluffy romantic nonsense. and as a (former) girl i was desperate not to be associated with such things out if fear no one would take me seriously. it was actually my pa who introduced me to them in the end, not as romances, but as works of social satire, in line with oscar wild or blackadder.
im very glad he did. but it says a lot about how feminine interests, particularly romance fiction, are devalued, that he had to rebrand them for me to be interested.
im just thankful he was enlightened enough to see past it, and passed that on to me in turn.
He sounds like an absolute gem! And yeah, the thought process from "Ew romance" to "wait a minute, why do we think romance is ew?" is not uncommon, but it still takes some reflection to get there.
"I'm a duuuuuude!" That was the perfect ending to this! I think another reason is that women's fiction is seen as frivolous and not serious. Like the Theory of Mind guy who kept trying to make her work applicable with life lessons and hacks. Why can't we enjoy a book because it's funny and sweet and heartfelt and makes us laugh? Those are all things that make us human and connect us to one another.
You are a star, Claudia. Thank you for this.
I read my first Austen this year (Northanger Abbey, my fav based on adaptations) and I laughed the whole way through it. I’m pretty intimidated by classics but I finally decided to go for it and I’m so glad I did. Persuasion and Pride & Prejudice are queued up next!
Definitely at least in the US there’s an idea that boys and men-or at least the manly and straight ones-don’t read books by women. It’s why a certain famous TERF went by initials instead of a first name, though that was in the UK. I was browsing the shelves in the background of a male BookTuber I watch and I could only find one book written by a woman (it was Piranesi… which also has a male protagonist). Scaring them off Jane Austen is just another way the patriarchy is hurting men!
Its also weird as ther are plenty, aside ursula la guin and iother greats, are women, mary shalley? a grandmother of scifi and definitly extremely influencal.
And even in the YA better books a lot are by women. I dont think Katniss meing a woman for example makes her a likable character, she could be a boy and not that different. Its wild how many better YA authors , are women, yeah some are men but plenty are women.
And manga wise Dodehedero is very, i dont think the author bbeing a woman is obvious? Its fun punk.
You know I do love your YT channel, do you ? I've already told you, though I'm not the biggest commenter out there. But I've been following your channel for years and shared some of your videos to my family (daughters) and coworkers (librarians). I'm so happy whenever I see one of your videos pop up. Oh well, and please give Minerva a kiss for me 😻
I was hoping you’d leave that last answer out.😂😂😂
I will continue to read Austen, but I refuse to moisturize!
Oh no 🤣 well you can't win them all over. Thank you again for being a part of this video ❤️
Super interesting! Lots of stuff I didn't know about, including the Kipling story which I shall seek out. Thanks for interviewing me! It is strange how many men seems to need to justify reading Austen in some other mad context. I've had that John Mullan book sat on my shelves unread for years and this has made me want to read it.
It's a really fun read that makes you pay attention to some details in Austen that are easily missed. Thank you so much for being in this video ❤️
Literally watching this video right now because my boyfriend went "What? Austen's for everyone!"... I mean granted, he's currently sewing up a tear in his jacket pocket, so maybe he's not the most typical man... but he's just confirmed that he reads Austen because "they're really good".
This was such a good video Claudia, thank you!
Claudia, this was brilliant! Well done!
Brilliant Claudia. Just brilliant. I have convinced John to read P&P and Emma. He enjoyed both. This was a clever clever video.
I think I will have to go and get me a dress 👗 seeing I am male and love Jane Austin 100 percent ❤❤❤
Have you read Robert Rodi's two volume "Bitch in a Bonnet"? He's an avid lover of Austen and wrote hilariously funny and very detailed reviews/analysis of her six published novels for his blog, which he later adapted into the BiaB books. He's also written two Austenesque works which are well worth the read.
This was great!
Brilliant, Claudia!
That was positively glorious.
This was superb!!! I would like to recommend to you Murasaki Shikibu's theory of fiction. In her novel (in modern terminology since one millennia ago in Japan it was called 'monogatari') The Tale of Genji, chapter Hotaru or Fireflies, she put in the voice of the eponymous Genji which is, to her as an author, the function of fiction. I think it is interesting how in 1008 a woman defended what we would call nowadays novels, through the voice of a male character, perhaps to make it valid. But also, the scene in which this topic is addressed is one of a man chastising a young woman for wasting her time with stories. And now we have men trying to justify their consumption of novels in the guise of philosophy or enlightenment 😮💨 Sorry for the long post 😝 I hope you will delight us with more of these types of videos essays soon ❤
A fandom is a kind of subculture. This is like saying "no officer i didn't do a crime. I did a murder." Murder is a crime. All fandoms are subcultures, but not all subcultures are fandoms. The only real difference in this case is calling something a subculture is a little bit more respectable. My only guess is that you saw the comparison to Star Trek as an insult for some reason.
I think Brett is definitely part of the Bro-culture & give him credit for reading JA. When I was in high school in the mid-1970's, JA wasn't viewed as a "Female" read, it was more of a classic read. So, the idea that Colin Firth made it more of a female read may have merit.
As a man I picked up one of her novels, pride and prejudice I think, started reading then got bored put the book down and moved on to something more interesting. Maybe I'll be more swayed by persuasion? I doubt it.
There will always be people who do not enjoy a certain work. It's ok.
"Because you're worth it" 😂
Oh its a webtoon, thats way better translated on mangadex, but kubera the last is goo, and while its still good, the start while conveying what matters, there is so much forshadowing its really rewarding to try to read deep into it, and yeah its a psychological drama that just shows more layers over time, and that, so good twists and why its fun to guess, a lot.
Also good adventure but it hits so hard, and is a good romantic drama as well, with like 10 protagonists playing of each other, rewarding overthinking. Its great, and fun too, the humor is great , ha ha. Thank god with as good she is at hitting emotionally. Jusz some can be slow burn that when they hit, they hit. Also fights are more psychological focused but good, its just not a straight up action series.
Oh and great epic fantasy too
1. Not wanting to hear Jane Austen’s thoughts is like not wanting to hear my wife’s thoughts
2. Jane Austen is filled with what we men pride ourselves in…pragmatism
3. Jane is the sort of female you would want to meet at a party
4. Being embarrassed of reading clasic female authors is tantamount to being ashamed of listening to Aretha Franklin
So, it's probably fairly wise to avoid, is reductive, in a place I avoid, and is about something I don't care about? Does it also give me a cold or something? This sounds awful.
I have never considered Jane Austen just for women, that is just silly.
I wish I could’ve added my two cents but I was so nervous and shy for no reason lol
(Also, Jane Austen is definitely for the boys who have limp wrists)
Aw it would have been lovely to have you in this video, but I understand not wanting to be on screen like that ❤️
I'M A DUUUUUUUUDE
I agree with Peter J Leithart
th-cam.com/users/clipUgkx8uhOgwfkVeeFh2DF7mKK_1PbTgZM9A4o?si=tQ9SFYPXyzxbjmEk
Amazing! Had I seen this while editing, I would have put that into the video.
@SpinstersLibrary
😁👍🏼
Tristan and the Classics likes Jane Austen. youtube.com/@tristanandtheclassics6538?si=6cplPECDmwCiI8mo
Just in case you were looking for another man. 🤗