Yesterday, my friend Rose and I went to see the movie titled The Jane Austen Book Club. For any fan of fiction writing, literature and comedy I’d highly recommend this movie. My interest in it came mainly from the fact that I love book clubs (I belong to three), and, since I first began reading Austen when I was 12, I have most of her published works on my bookshelf at home. I wondered if the movie would bring to life some of the eccentricities one can experience while discussing writing styles and character development, forming many different opinions and conclusions from the same body of work, and it did. It also reminded me that sometimes, even books that are centuries old can remain extremely timely and relevant. I’ve always found that possibility intriguing, if not exhilarating, about literature.
After leaving the theater, Rose and I ran to the nearest bookstore to purchase what remaining copies of Austen’s work we didn’t have (for me, they were Persuasion and Northanger Abbey) and decided to read through them together.
As I rode on the bus commute into work yesterday morning I opened my fresh copy of Persuasion, our first pick, and I immediately felt like I had reconnected with an old, familiar friend.
There’s no getting lost like when you do so in a good book.