Non-fiction - 4 starsI got this nook book on a whim, mainly because of my ever-increasing love for all things Jane Austen. This non-fiction work by journalist Deborah Yaffe is made up of profiles of a cross-section of members of the Jane Austen Society of North America (JASNA) and beyond. From Cisco Systems co-founder Sandy Lerner, who spent $20 million of her buyout money on the purchase and renovation of Austen's Chawton House in England, to a speech pathologist who thinks Mr. Darcy and other characters have mild autism, to a nurse practitioner who sees "borderline personality disorder" in some of the characters, to Arnie, who sees subtle clues, disclosing a "shadow story" of abuse beneath the surface,Yaffe writes about fans, fanatics, scholars, and the occasional oddball who all have a deep love, if not obsession with Jane Austen and her works. I really enjoyed the witty style of Yaffe's writing, and I enjoyed learning about the society's founding and annual activities. mostly though, I learned that I am not alone in my love for Austen, and I learned that I am not nearly as fanatical as those profiled in the book. I just like Austen's writing, and her books make darn good movies.
