An Austenesque Lover’s Reader Problems is a reprisal of a post I did for Meryton Press in December.



From time to time, being a lover of all things Jane Austen can cause some minor difficulties in life. Let me explain what I mean. I’ve listed a few as examples that I've encountered over the years and okay, I might have stretched a few of these to be entertaining.

Problem #1 The Lone Austen lover for miles around.
On the job, I’ve discovered that quoting Jane or sharing my raptures over the book that kept me up until two in the morning gain me really odd looks and people who hang a louie for the closest door.
At home, there is the embarrassed tribe member who shoves my pile of lovelies from Meryton Press under the precarious stack of mags and papers on the coffee table when his friends come by. “And if you love me, don’t talk to my friend about Jane Austen even if there is a question of favorite books which there won’t be if you don’t bring it up.” And to make the agitated one happy I so do swear. Sigh…literary heathens! And this is why I have my on-line support group of other Austen lovers.

Problem #2 Scheduling Family Trips. (This is an exaggeration as my family trips are sacrosanct -LOL)
How is it that the tribe doesn’t get the need to consult the calendar for the regional Jane Austen conventions before purchasing plane tickets to the other side of the country? I ask you? So what if it was the deal of the century and I agreed to the trek for the annual family campout a year ago? JASNA hasn’t been in my neck of the woods for five years. Okay, but at least I’m reading Sunkissed: Effusions of Summer in my beach chair by a breathtaking mountain lake. There are small compensations.

Problem #3 Finding the privacy to read.
Did you know, I can do all my chores without a single person wishing to interact with me? However, the moment I park it in the lounger to read the latest, I get the ‘where is my… or you gotta hear this…’. I really need to work on my stink eye expression because it doesn’t even make the joe interrupting the good part pause for a second thought about the danger to his life if he doesn’t walk away now.

Problem #4 Wishlist Choice Overload.
I have a gift card. Hip hip hoorah and doing the Snoopy Dance! I now have to decide which book/s from my twenty page Amazon wishlist that I’ll be purchasing. Do I get that latest that my GoodReads buddies are all raving over? You know that Then Comes Winter one? Or maybe… But what about… Oh man, I’m starting to crack under the strain. It’s been an hour. For the love of Dove Dark Chocolate, I just need to make a choice. Eenie, Meenie, Minie…

Problem #5 Reading in public places.
I am a compulsive reader. Yep. No cure and trust me it’s been tried. I have a book tucked along for the ride no matter where I’m going. And, see, this leads to issues because I’m a very interactive reader. I laugh, snort, sigh, snarl, groan, bawl, mutter, and make faces that probably would scare the chainsaw guy in that horror show. It definitely has an effect on the folks at the dental office. I had this young buffed dude just get up and move across the room while never taking his eyes off me. How rude! I wasn’t going to do him violence and I certainly wasn’t going to hurt my precious Kindle. Yeesh, Wickham would bring out that response in most readers. This is why I make an effort to choose my public reading book wisely.

Now, tell me I’m not alone on this sort of thing. What type of reader issues have you encountered as an Austen lover or a reader in general?