That's exactly my feeling on Edmund Bertram!

Currently (not that I'm very far into the book), Emma annoys me. Not in the way that Mr Collins or Lucy Steele does, because Emma is likeable. But she still annoys me, haha.

I'll let you know if the Diaries spark my interest. Currently, I'm wanting to finish reading all Austen and watch an adaptation of Mansfield Park.

Oohhhh gooood to know about Artemis Fowl. In which case, I'll get them asap hehe thanks a lot Tooky

Finished Persuasion (thus far, I think it's my favourite Jane Austen book!). On to Mansfield Park.

Oh I loved Persuasion! (and Mansfield Parks as well!)

Just finished Mansfield Park. The last few chapters had me quite suddenly sucked in in a way that the rest of the book hadn't! As for Edmund Bertram, I don't think I've loved such a flawed character this much since Woody from Toy Story. (To be clear, Fitzwilliam Darcy is more flawed and still dear to me, but he had to improve on me; Edmund Bertram from the start had my empathy throughout.)

Emma is destined to be my next Jane Austen reading, but I didn't act on my notification from the library, so I have to wait till tomorrow evening to pick it up.
In the meantime, I'll start on... *peruses shelf* Wolf Willow. A prof from my college gave it to me with a particular desire to share the experience with me, and yet I've already read the other books he gave me after the presentation of this one.

I love Edmund Bertram even if he act stupidly sometimes, he is good hearted and I always liked him for being kind to Fannie when she was young.

Congrats on making it through Mansfield Park, Ariel! It's the only Austen book that I've yet to manage to make it through, I just can't make myself care. 😛 However I did like the recent adaptation of it and it being about a 2-3 hour experience as opposed to a novel let me engage in it enough to know the storyline. Edmund Bertram is flawed, but he gets away with it by being a good person. He might not speak up nearly as much as he should (Which is what made it one of the least engaging of the books for me...) but he is at heart a good person.

Have you watched any of the adaptations Tooky? It was having watched the the 2007 itv1 version of Persausion that helped me get through it when I first read it. I do the spoilery thing and watch the movie first. 😛 (I do sympathize however as Persuasion and Mansfield Parks are the only two I've managed to read through.

@Lil: Yeah, Edmund Bertram’s poor decisions were certainly not agreeable with me (especially as I did not agree with the person who wrote a foreword to the book, calling Fanny and Edmund “dull and constant” and the Crawfords “lively and appealing”: okay, Fanny and Edmund certainly weren’t as lively as the Crawfords, but both Crawfords left a horrid taste every time they showed up that I rarely ever thought them “appealing”). But as I was saying, though I viewed Edmund Bertram’s poor decisions as quite regrettable, I had a tendency to want to nudge him back in the right direction, as opposed to decreasing my favour for him.

I’m nearly through with Emma. Those who have expressed a liking of Emma Woodhouse will be pleased to know that she does not annoy me as she did at the beginning. Again, she has the benefit of having won my empathy (and, likely, the desire to downplay similar faults recognized in myself), even if I still think she meddles too much and has some unkind tendencies; but that rather was the point of her. (You were right, Tooky, in perceiving that I prefer my flawed characters cooked differently. 🙂 )
I think I’d get along with George Knightly, were I to meet him in RL, but he’s not dethroned Edmund Bertram in my regard, sorry, Jaygee. 😉

I expect to finish Emma tomorrow. Northamger Abbey came in today, so we’ll see if I get a start on it tomorrow.

By the by, I know I still have a book and a bit to go, but my Jane Austen favourites so far are as follows:
- Book: Pride and Prejudice or Persuasion (repeated readings and reflection will determine which will win out
- Female lead: Elizabeth Bennett
- Male lead: Edmund Bertram
- Side character: Captain Benwick from Persuasion (Yes, this category was made with him in mind. I’m not sure why, but he’s one of those side characters that occasionally pop up and present themselves as being far more interesting to me than they were meant to be.)
- Role model female (since my favourite male is also of the role model variety): Jane Bennett
- Parent: Mr Bennett (Not a great man, to be sure; his first reason for being here is his highly entertaining dry humour (which isn’t really a great recommendation), though he has an advantage over other Austen fathers in being not dead, not a deadbeat, and not frightfully languid or puffed up with himself.)

Yes, Mr. Bennett is the best. "Am unhappy choice is before you, Lizzie. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will not see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will not see you again if you do." Literally one of the best quotes ever!

@Jaygee: I love that one!! Along with his lecture to Kitty about not being allowed to have a social life unless heavily monitored.

reading Miraculous movements: How hundreds of thousands of Muslims are falling in love with Jesus by Jerry Trousdale. It basically is a mixture of testimonies and reports of discipleship training. Very inspiring and educative. (All stories and reports are from Africa)

@knight: that sounds like great reading!

Just finished Northanger Abbey and enjoyed it more than I expected to, based on my parents’ impression of an adaptation that played too much with the Gothic creepiness that lasted all of, what, three chapters? Henry Tilney is officially my second-favourite Austen hero. He’s like... like Edmund Bertram and Charles Bingley rolled into one, with an dash (or two or three) of sarcastic humour.

Finally finished Wolf Willow. If you want to know about the untamed Canadian frontier, this would be a good source but for the swearing, which is mainly confined to the dramatization of cowboys.

Aaaaand started The Maze Runner. (I won a prize from that reading contest and my choices were The Maze Runner series or three Nicholas Sparks books.)

MMMAAAAAAZZZZEEE RUNNNER!!!!

Tell me how yuo like them, would you?! One of the best series in the WORLD!

Ah, and here we are in Austen agreement, Ariel! Northranger Abbey is my favorite of the "minor" Austen books, and I adore Henry Tilney. And I do agree that the BBC adaptation did add in more gothic elements than was needed, though I get why they did it since it's a parody of gothic literature...it just made it a little less lighthearted and innocent than the book and I didn't particularly care for that.

I wasn't a huge fan of the Maze Runner. Too many plot holes and Thomas is a boring main character. However, Newt makes the series have at least some enjoyment.

@Tooky: I haven’t seen any adaptations myself, so I can’t really comment on that front. (I should see if I can get one from the library....) I might be able to deal with extra gothic-ness so long as they don’t butcher Henry Tilney the way Edmund Bertram was in the 1999 Mansfield Park.

@Tooky and Pev: I’m not far into Maze Runner just yet, but so far...
Something about the writing isn’t quite impressing me. The story’s fine, just... the telling seems like it could be improved some.
I’m liking the niggling questions that have come up. Why does Thomas think the maze and Teresa are familiar? What are Gally and Ben on about when they say they’ve “seen” Thomas? How did that Griever die? I mean, I have some spoilers from having read PluggedIn’s movie reviews, but if I know the answers to these, I’ve forgotten them.
Thomas does way too much of the whole wanting-to-scream-in-frustration thing. I get that he’s frustrated and also understand that I have the benefit of sitting comfortably whilst getting the answers while he doesn’t, but in my experience, boys tend to prefer growling, stewing, and small violence over screaming. (Not true of all boys, I’m sure. Just... Thomas does too much of it for me. 😉 )
Speaking of Thomas, he hasn’t done much to endear himself to me, other than begin to feel something for some of the Gladers and jumping into the maze to help Minho and Alby (that’s as far as I got before my lunch break was over).
So far, I like Alby and Newt. I feel that liking Alby is perhaps not what the author was going for (at this point, anyway), considering that Thomas isn’t a big fan himself, but he and Newt have been checking off items on the patented Ariel_of_Narnia Checklist of Characteristics That Most Often Appear in Her Favourite Characters. Not saying they’re Peter Pevensie, Aragorn, or Captain America here; just that they have been earning a few points in that general direction.
And, I’ll be honest, I was hoping for more time getting to know the Glade before Teresa’s appearance (not that she’s awake yet).

@Ariel:
From your review here.......

I am not at all sure what to think. 😀

how do you LIKE it so far?

Heh. Well, now that I've finished The Maze Runner (and the first three chapters of The Scorch Trials), I have more thoughts.
Thus far, The Maze Runner has succeeded in interesting me, mainly through the use of the aforementioned niggling questions and the puzzling that's involved. I'll give the author credit for keeping me engaged despite the fact that I haven't fallen in love with his characters. And that's pretty good, considering how much stock I put into characters.
That said, Newt has pulled ahead of Alby for the prized spot of favourite character (and Alby only fell back once he went through the Changing and... well, changed... which isn't his fault, but anyway). My preference for leaders strikes again! lol (Even told a friend that my top two were leaders and she just said, "Of course.")
My overall lack of interest in Thomas has continued and I know why: he's so very reactionary. For a lot of the book, he was so passive. Sure, he had his active moments, times when he took initiative, but it seemed like most of what he did was an effect of what happened to him or thanks to that sense of familiarity that he and Teresa alone possessed. I was actually shocked (though grateful) that, despite Minho's vote, Thomas did not become a Keeper. I will say that I liked that he's an everyman so far as his interactions and relationships go: he wasn't all "let's-jump-in-guns-blazing-and-be-heroes", but rather "I'm-so-scared-I'm-ready-to-puke-but-I-have-to-do-something-as-soon-as-I-can-screw-up-the-courage-to-do-it."

But since I realize I'm giving a mixed review again, here's the short synopsis of my thoughts: It's alright so far, it's got me engaged, I expect to blaze through the whole series; but I don't expect it to be even a minor fandom (even if I nitpicked things I saw in the movie trailer and things indicated by the movie trivia section on imdb 😛 ).

Fair points. I didn't appreciate Thomas a lot in comparison. I did appreciate Teressa more than most, but mainly later on. She scared me though.

Who doesn't love Newt!!!!! 😀