Time To Think About Austen

It's about time I got started on the book for my next Book Club meeting. This one is about a book club. We're reading The Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler. Now, I have never read anything by this author before and I am worried that I have forgotten more about the Jane Austen books than I ever knew, so I am beginning my reading with some trepidation. The book begins with something like "each of us has a private Austen," and I wondered if I could dredge up anything from memory. I thought of romantic stories, but "romantic" with a twist, lots of ironic situations, witty revelations, accurate little insights into people and their actions, good and bad. I began reading - and, lo! - the six members of this fictional club have "private" Austens that have some of these same qualities. Perhaps this will be a fun read! And I have an ace up my sleeve, so to speak: I have a book club friend who is a real Austen fan and who will fill me in on more than I need to know at her House of all Sorts - I see she has already started with Emma.