"Austenland"

Since I am a Jane Austen fan, I came across this book as I was browsing in Barnes and Nobles bookstore a few days ago. I finished reading my September book choice, so decided to read this book as my second book choice for the rest of the month of September.

Austenland is a novel written by Shannon Hale. I have never read any of her books before. However, the little write-up on the inside cover sounds like it will be a fun read for Austen fans.

"Jane Hayes is a seemingly normal young New Yorker, but she has a secret. Her obsession with Mr. Darcy, as played by Colin Firth in the BBC adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, is ruining her life. No real man can compare.

When a wealthy relative bequeaths her a trip to an English resort catering to Austen-crazed women, Jane's fantasies of meeting the perfect Regency-era gentleman suddenly become realer than she ever could have imagined. Decked out in empire-waist gowns, stripped of her modern appliances, Jane throws herself into mastering Regency etiquette and flirts with gardeners and gentlemen--or maybe even she suspects, with the actors who are playing them.

It's all a game, Jane knows. And yet the longer she stays, the more her insecurities seem to vanish. Is she about to kick the Austen obsession for good, or could all her dreams actually culminate in a Mr. Darcy fo her own?

With humor, charm, and perfect sympathy, Shannon Hale delivers a novel that will delight every reader who has ever dreamed of escaping into Austenland." So reads the inside cover....

As I said before, this is a novel for Jane Austen Fans....

Now, I'm off to Austenland....for the next day or two. See you when I get back!

October 5th, 2009, Monday.

I finished reading Austenland today, and it was a fun read, but not a favorite of mine. On a scale of 1 to 5, I would give it a 31/2. Maybe because I was busy all month and sick for a week, I just couldn't get into the book. Maybe because I read it in bits and pieces, had something to do with it not being as interesting a book as I thought it was going to be. Whatever the reason, I hope anyone else who reads it enjoys it more then I did. And Oh Yes, you need to be a Jane Austen fan to even begin to enjoy this book a little bit.