No doubt along with many other readers, Austen (and Daphne du Maurier if you're interested) was kind of my first foray into the classics. I read my Mum's copy of Pride and Prejudice when I was in school and basically adored it. Considering good old Jane did provide me with a way in to the classics, I did not go around madly consuming all her novels. I have only read P&P, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey and some of her shorter fiction/juvenilia. It is almost an embarrassment to admit to my lack of Austen knowledge. Something needs to be done about this, like, NOW.
Enter Austen in August. For this event I am going to be reading Sense and Sensibility. I have only planned the one read because I only have one Austen on my Classics Club list. But I am not precluding the possibility of maybe just having a sneaky re-read of Persuasion if S&S makes me feel so inclined.
Since their releases I have also been very interested in reading Paula Byrne's The Real Jane Austen and John Mullan's What Matters in Jane Austen? I have just filled out the application to join my local library so I think, if either are available at the library, I may read some Austen related non-fiction too. August is after all quite a long month.
We all know I love to tweet (sometimes excessively, I'll grant you), so I will be tweeting away using the official event hashtag #AusteninAugustRBR
Who else is joining in with this event? Are you as excited as I am?
