MY JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB: A BIT DISAPPOINTING BUT ... HOWEVER, A START !

Doesn't she look sad? Yeah, she does. (...)

This morning.  I had been looking forward to  today for the last long month since the local library phoned  to propose me something I immediately accepted. I got up early in order to have a shower and get presentable, to leave the house tidied up and be back for lunch with part of the housework done, had breakfast while reading some notes. While I was preparing a couple of books to take with me ... it started snowing. "What shall I do?"  I thought "Nah, it rained before ,  it won't snow for long , it won't be dangerous to drive in this weather. I'm going  , anyway. I have to be there in half an hour and do not want to be late. I have to look for a car park and there may be some traffic..." . I got to the local library just on time . I was so enthusiastic to start my own  JANE AUSTEN BOOK CLUB that I didn't want to realize it was   SNOWING!  Once inside I met a couple of  young people (boys, former students of mine) and I talked with them for a while, they were studying for their university exams. I hurried to the offices where I found the librarian, the lady who organized the reading club, waiting for me with a smiling-sorry face. It was snowing so some of the participants had called to say they couldn't come today but wanted to take part in the club. We waited for a while chatting about the reading schedule and the dates, she showed me the room and the bookshelves and the tables and the chairs for our meetings, I told her about  the activities I had thought to propose, asked about the possibility to use movies and get home-made cakes ...  at last , after 20 minutes, only one very brave (she defied bad weather!)  kind  middle-aged lady arrived. We warmly welcomed her, communicating the title of the first book to be read by the end of the month and other details about the reading group. We wondered if she had any questions to ask. "Yes, only one. Why Jane Austen?" Honestly I was stunned and speechless... if she had joined the Jane Austen Book Club reading group, what did she expect? To read Alessandro Manzoni , Gustave Flaubert or Charles Dickens? Since we didn't answer she went on asking "How did you come to choose just THAT writer?" The lady librarian decided she had to distract the lady guest with another question :

"So, since we start reading Sense and Sensibility, do you have a copy of this book? Otherwise you can borrow one of ours. Do you know, I saw a film titled the Jane Austen Book Club and I liked it and bla...bla...bla" . They moved back to the office talking and I had some time to recover from my disappointment : I had a look at the list of names of the people who had accepted the invitation. All female names, some familiar to me, aged from 16 to 75. Not a big group, but the perfect number for a reading group. "Ok" I thought "I'll meet them at the end of the month, after reading Sense and Sensibility".

I said goodbye to the ladies and drove back home. Not very happy as you can imagine.  I glanced at the mailbox approaching the main door and looking for the right key to open it. A parcel! So, maybe Aunt Jane (Austen) from up there has just seen my sad mood and arranged a surprise for me!

What is it? My secret Santa in the Book Blogger Holiday Swap  decided I had not been that naughty and though a bit after Christmas  I deserved a Christmas gift! ( My parcel had got to Denmark on 10th December, Do you remember? HERE) I winked up there at Auntie Jane, she really knows how to make me happy. As soon as I was inside I started opening the parcel ... I just had the time to read that it came from the Usa, Jenison, MI ... then , I saw a monster and an aggressive young woman with a sward which peeped from the torn paper: it was a book! John Ringo, Princess of Wands. I felt rather a disappointed Princess,  without any wand nor crown. I remained there looking at that disquieting cover picture, still and silent.

I have to face facts. Today is NOT one of my best days. Let's forget about it and wait for tomorrow. ( ...)


But, maybe this present was by someone like Grigg (Hugh Dancy) in the movie Jane Austen Book Club, someone who wanted me to widen my horizons and start reading science fiction? Thank you my Secret Santa, you are right, I desperately need to widen my horizons. I'll try to read your gift book. For now , I can't even read your name in your hand written paper.And you didn't give me any link or url to find you on line either! But , anyway, I'll thank you from here, hoping you had the url to my blog with my address. Thanks for the chocolate, too.

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