Just plain fun

I just finished reading Austenland by Shannon Hale, and as I set it down I did so with a smile on my face. Maybe more like a silly grin. I enjoyed it immensely in a guilty pleasure sort of way. I knew it had captured me upon opening to the dedication page:

For Colin Firth

You're a really great guy, but I'm married,

so I think we should just be friends.

Win! I was already a Hale fan, having read The Goose Girl and Princess Academy several years ago. In comparison, this book is geared toward a more adult crowd. [Read: lots of making out and, in the words of main character Jane, "Zings". Not really offensive, but not a kid book either.] Austenland assumes of its readers a fairly adequate knowledge of Jane Austen's [and other writers'] literary works. I must shamefacedly admit I was sub par in that regard, and at times it went over my head. And, of course, if you haven't watched the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, do that first or you'll really be lost. This book also lacks some of the lovely prose that won me in Hale's other books. In the end, however, I giggled a lot and read late into the night, happily tucked in my covers with this very recommend-able book that was such great fun.