I don't understand the hate feet get. I was hooking up with someone who would get really freaked out if my feet touched him. And with the exception of sort of triangular pinky toes, my feet are totally normal looking. Dude just could not stand feet. And I've known a few people like that. I mean, I guess feet have the…

What you're saying is way more in line with my own view of academia. Almost everything I've ever worked on has been very closely related to pop culture, and I've written a lot on things that have a big fan following like Buffy and Firefly, and I've always thought the interest people had in that was really cool. And I…

I'm kind of confused by your point. First you said that there mere existence of this stuff takes away from the seriousness of Austen scholarship but then you're said that cosplay etc. is fine as long as the communities are kept separate. Those seem contradictory. But also, where are these two groups of people being…

Wait where are you getting that any of these people are Austen scholars? That didn't come across to me in the trailer at all.

With you. Hopefully the movie is better than the trailer and hopefully it's much better than Lost in Austen which was so bleh.

I always had a really vivid inner life. I had to entertain myself a lot as a kid. When I was about 12 and started having big problems with my mother I made up a different family. I didn't imagine that I'd been adopted, but that I was just a different person born into a different family. Sometimes I still wonder what…

I've read those, actually. Totally love them!

Eh, those were the good old days of my early 20s before I became the tired homebody I now am in my late 20s :-) It depends on the situation, really, and the sense I get from another person. But I'm not generally afraid of striking up a conversation with someone I don't know.

Oh! Well, I'm a born and raised New Yorker, so I say go for it! You can definitely ask random people to take you picture for you (if you're nervous someone might take your camera you can ask a cop or a hotel doorman or someone who works at wherever you're trying to get your picture taken). If you're worried about your…

I have all the time in the world right now and I still can't manage to fit it all in! I genuinely can't imagine how people with jobs and money to leave the house find time.

I don't speak much German, but it was still super easy to get around. I speak enough Spanish to get by and chat a bit, but nothing too in depth. And no, I didn't know anybody most places I went. I did a volunteer program in Australia so I was housed with people, which made things easier. If you want to stay in one…

I'm so sorry you're going through that. I can't imagine how hard it would be to have to live with someone you just broke up with. I hope you're able to sort out a better living situation soon!

Yup. Seems about right.

You're like my mind twin. I'm mostly thinking about this because I spent like 2 hours in a book store today and picked out what was easily like $300 worth of books before walking away empty-handed. And then went to the library where I took out 3 books and reserved 2, even though my summer reading list is already overly…

Birdsong? I haven't read it myself but I enjoyed the miniseries. Regeneration. I don't remember how much romance was in it but there was definitely sex, and it's an amazing book. The Welsh Girl. The English Patient. The End of the Affair. The Deep Blue Sea, if you're interested in reading a play. Those are all war…

Know what's incredibly frustrating? Knowing that I will never ever have enough time to read all the things I want to read and watch all the movies I want to watch. THERE IS TOO MUCH GOOD STUFF! (Obviously this is not a real complaint. Well, it is. I hate the thought of missing out on something great, but I mean, it's…

Generally yay - I've done Australia, the UK, Germany and Spain on my own and loved it. But there are definitely places I wouldn't want to go alone to.

Agreed. The two romantic relationships I most wanted closure from, I never really got from the guys I was seeing. Eventually with each I realized that neither of them was someone I actually wanted to be with. But that had to come from me. Nothing either of them could have said would have be useful to me.

Why does this article keep specifically mentioning short stories and then use Lolita as an example? Shouldn't it just be literature?

I think people who aren't readers just haven't found the right thing for them yet. There's something out there for everyone. But there's also the problem that reading is something you have to work at. I'm an obsessive reader but for the last few years I only had time to read stuff for grad school. Switching back to…