Austenland, Shannon Hale

One of the big jokes around the Children's Room in the library where I work is how I check books out, don't read them and turn them in, and then check them out again, with the whole cycle repeating, sometimes more than once. It's not that I just check books out for the sake of checking them out (although sometimes I do just that; I feel sad for the books that never get to leave the library). It's just that I have so many books checked out, I never get to all of them (remember the name of the blog?). It's like the old phrase, "eyes bigger than my stomach", only in these cases, it's "eyes bigger than the time I have to read 14 books".

Austenland, by Shannon Hale, was one of those books. I swear, I checked it out three times before FINALLY reading it. It's not even a long book. Or very thought-provoking. It shouldn't have taken so much time. I just always pushed it to the bottom of the pile. Well this time I was determined to finish it, and finish it I did. And then, half-way through, I learned that a film version of the book just premiered at Sundance. So now I feel great because even though it took me 3 tries, I am still somewhat ahead of the curve on this one.

I have seen "Sense and Sensibility" (cried right along with Elinor when Edward was finally able to tell her he loved her, cried BUCKETS when Marianne thanked Colonel Brandon for bringing her mother) and "Clueless" and have read and seen "Pride and Prejudice" (more than one version, but really, it's the Colin Firth one that counts) and have loved them all. And then one day, whilst paging through Netflix choices, I came upon a little gem called "Lost in Austen", a BBC mini-series. If you haven't seen it, make the time and watch it. Seriously. Stop reading this and go watch it. Then come back and let me know what you thought. Go. Now.

OK. So now you've seen it and I'm certain you love it too. We can now move on. Well, when I first found it online, Austenland kind of reminded me of "Lost in Austen" and so I was completely drawn to it. But for various unimportant reasons I could never fit it into my reading schedule. Well I am so glad I finally did. It is not a book that is going to save lives, but it might make you reevaluate the life you are living.

Jane Hayes (yes, she is perfectly named, isn't she?), a single thirty something, is obsessed with Jane Austen, and especially with Mr Darcy. So much so that her real-life relationships always fall short for her. Imagine her delight when her aunt, who she barely knew, leaves her something special in her will: an all-expenses paid trip to England's Austenland, a Jane Austen-themed getaway where you can go and live, total immersion style, like a Jane Austen character for a few weeks. Our heroine decides to take advantage of this opportunity to not only rid herself of her Darcy obsession but to also swear off all men entirely. Now, since this is all about Jane Austen, we all know that's not going to really happen, but getting to what eventually does happen is a wonderful journey. Yes, it's kind of a "What I needed was always inside of me" book, kind of a "Don't give up on your dreams" book, it's a little bit of fluff, but it will make you smile, it will make you happy, and that is a good, good thing.

(And here are a few pictures from the upcoming movie. I think Keri Russell will be SMASHING as Jane Hayes and Jennifer Coolidge is going to kill as Ms. Charming.)