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tacochelle 's review for:
Jane Austen's Bookshelf
by Rebecca Romney
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon Element for the ARC.
My withered English-major soul was replenished with this examination of not just the books mentioned by Jane Austen in her stories or letters, but of the culture around academia, how the canon is formed, changed and manipulated over time. Yes, time is limited, we cannot include every book in a syllabus for a semester of reading. But it is worth asking ourselves why this, why not that, because the answer isn't necessarily "this is a bad book". I also enjoyed the window into the career of a book collector. I might not have the money to do much collecting, but as a librarian who keeps an close eye on the donations we receive and whether they'll be added to our collection or sold in our used bookstore (selfish, I know), I relate to the excitement of finding the right copy at the right price, like the world aligned so you could find that book. It's very well researched, and the author doesn't lose her narrative voice among the many details and annotations. The one unfortunate side effect is that I was compelled to add a handful of books to my overwhelming tbr.
My withered English-major soul was replenished with this examination of not just the books mentioned by Jane Austen in her stories or letters, but of the culture around academia, how the canon is formed, changed and manipulated over time. Yes, time is limited, we cannot include every book in a syllabus for a semester of reading. But it is worth asking ourselves why this, why not that, because the answer isn't necessarily "this is a bad book". I also enjoyed the window into the career of a book collector. I might not have the money to do much collecting, but as a librarian who keeps an close eye on the donations we receive and whether they'll be added to our collection or sold in our used bookstore (selfish, I know), I relate to the excitement of finding the right copy at the right price, like the world aligned so you could find that book. It's very well researched, and the author doesn't lose her narrative voice among the many details and annotations. The one unfortunate side effect is that I was compelled to add a handful of books to my overwhelming tbr.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Classism