December 16th was, of course, Jane Austen’s birthday, and was also the date of JASNA-NJ’s holiday party. One of our chapter’s traditions is an annual “Pollyanna” book exchange between members. In case you’re still stumped for last-minute stocking stuffers or end-of-the year thank-you gifts, here’s a list of what our members exchanged:
Jane Austen’s Table by Robert Tuesley Anderson
Jane and the Year Without a Summer by Stephanie Barron
Cards on the Table by Agatha Christie
The Personal Librarian by Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Ashes on the Moor by Sarah Eden
Jane Austen Book Club by Karen Joy Fowler
Murder of Mr. Wickham by Claudia Gray
The Accomplice by Lisa Lutz
Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano
Our Missing Heart by Celeste Ng
The Greenhouse by Audur Olafsdottir
You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld
Even though none of Jane Austen’s texts were exchanged, as you can see, her name came up many times in the selection, as well as many other great classics. As for the modern works, only time will tell if the prose has as long a life as Austen’s! There’s an obligatory joke that Jane looks pretty good for 248, but it’s no joke that very few authors are read with even more enthusiasm that many years after they were first pubilshed.
Jane Austen Society of North America - New Jersey Region 