Just a slob like one of us?

Disqus kills people.

UPVOTED

Eh, I preferred the last Spiderman to the Raimi ones, so… go ahead, I'll watch it.

@avclub-3be42d8a3412057f79af152555e39bd4:disqus Hehe, maybe not being too complex helps a work
endure, because it avoids being too much a product of its time and alien
to others. But in the end there are so many things influencing which
works of art are remembered and which are forgotten that it might as
well be…

To be honest, I don't find Sepinwall's reviews all that great. They are pretty short, and not all that in-depth either. They certainly don't hold a candle to Zack Handlen's Star Trek reviews, for example.

I guess P&P was just self-aware enough to realize that it's a bit of wish fulfillment. The ending has Austen's usual light touch which saves it from being overbearing or hackneyed.

Apart from Dickens being a literary bigshot in his time, and thus being better placed to have a lasting legacy, I think it's because everything in his works tends to be heightened, exaggerrated, and through that manages to be more memorable and, ultimately, archetypal.
Many of Dickens' creations, especially characters,…

Du Maurier wrote Rebecca, right? It's been a while since I read that, but I remember being pleasantly surprised by it, despite it not being my usual kind of jam, with its gothic novel trappings and all.

Finally finished North and South.
I was a bit disappointed that the love story took over the plot in the second half of the book, pushing everything else to the margins. According to the introductory essay accompanying my edition that was to focus the conflicts of the book on the central couple, and internalize them…

It's harsh barley, man. Harsh barley.

Only with Soderbergh directing.

The central love story is indeed similar to the one in Pride and Prejudice, but, even moreso than in P&P, I feel that's just the vehicle for what's really the point.
North and South is an examination of mid-19th-century British society, especially the clash between the Austen-like countryside and the emerging…

Aw, but the relationship between Silas and Eppie is totally heart-warming, is it not?

Ha, yeah, Hardy is definitely sexier than Eliot.
I've come to appreciate Eliot's philosophy and world view, though, because it's very different from anything today. I'm not sure any of her books that I've read are really good starting-points, however. Maybe Silas Marner? At least that's… short?

Aw, it might still be good. If only for reading aloud late at night to annoy your neighbors!

Hehe, you know, the dullness might be by design a bit. Mr Hale is rather fascinated by Milton after a short while there, and Mrs Hale seemed constantly bored out of her skull at the parsonage (though she doesn't fare much better in Milton). Only Margaret seems to really pine for it, which might simply be her…

It may not be a favorite Shakespeare play because it's a poem. ;)

Considering the size of Shakespeare's works it's kinda difficult to recommend something point blank. What did you like/dislike about Romeo and Juliet? In general, if you're not very familiar with the style I would avoid the fast-talking comedies, because too many jokes might go unnoticed.
I think A Midsummer Night's…

That scene was very pretty in the movie, too. And, having seen the movie, I also now understand your comparison to Austen from a couple weeks ago. There is certainly a bit of a satirical bent to the early parts.
What exactly reminded you of Bartledan? The apathy of the peasants? That's a whole theme in Russian…