I abandoned this a couple years ago as I couldn't stand her Feminist viewpoint and lackluster writing style, but decided to give it another try this week as I am preparing for a travelogue bookbox to come my way.

Ugh. If I hadn't already taken this same physical "walk" several times throughout England and weren't already aware of how much she completely butchered the experience, there is nothing in this book that would compel me to want to visit England at. all. She took everything that is wonderful and beautiful about the experience and made it sound like a living Hell.

I literally have pages of notes just on her self-centered, negative, totally downer attitude on almost every page, but the fact that this is a nonfiction about someone who was struggling with a serious, undiagnosed illness makes me want to go a little easier on her. Still, there is nothing uplifting in this book whatsoever and her attempts at praising God's grace and mercy are often overshadowed by immature thoughts and conversations about him. ("Anyway, Jack and I were talking with Spencer about how if heaven is this eternal hymn sing, then, please, just send me to hell.") In one breath she says she "loves God with all her heart" and in the next breath she's making fun of fellow Christians.

The way she wrote about Jack made her sound more and more psycho as the chapters went on. I kept thinking I hoped Jack had actually read this so he could see the crazy God saved him from. Yikes. She knew this guy one week. One. He told her several times he wasn't interested. Yet, she went on and on about their "shared" feelings and even intimacy. WHAT?!! This guy was from the South. I'm from the South. When Southern guys are nice, they're usually not hitting on you. They're actually just afraid their Mamas are gonna beat 'em if they're not. Southern Mamas have eyes in the backs of their heads that can see what goes on everywhere...even 8,000 miles away in Oxford.

The attempts at humor are immature and insulting. It's not funny to joke about being "blown up" on a train in the midst of a series of terrorist attacks on London. It's not funny to reference 911 in such a flippant way.

I was pleasantly and rarely surprised by a couple glimpses of maturity. At one point she talks about liturgy and rote prayers and how they bind us with one another, with Christians throughout history, and with God. Very comforting. There was also a time when she stopped to remember Anne LeFroy at her gravesite. I would have liked to see a lot more of this kind of behaviour and much less...of the other.

If you are wondering why I've not mentioned Jane Austen much it's because Jane Austen isn't the subject of this book. Contrary to a possibly stoned marketing team's promises, this book is 100% about a desperate, depressed, slightly mentally-ill woman who had an opportunity that very few women will have and spent the entire time griping about accommodations and lusting after a stranger. ( )

This would have been better without all the author's discussion of her Christianity. ( )

This is an interesting little memoir. Lori Smith, a single Christian writer and admirer of Jane Austen, decides to take a tour of places associated with Austen. For much of the book Smith compares her life with Austen's. Sprinkled throughout are historical facts about Austen'slife.

Smith tries to reconcile her faith in God, her singleness and the freedom that gives her in today's world. What I take away from this book is that we each have struggles. We each must make decisions and that those decisions shape the rest of our lives.

My favorite passage in the book centers on a conversation Smith has with her father. She tells him of her wish to meet the writer Madeline L'Engle. He asks her, "What are you going to do to make that happen?" For the first time Smith realizes that she gets to determine the path her life takes. ( )

I found this very odd. It wasn't so much about walking with Jane Austen as about the author's own problems - I spent half the time wanting to shriek "get a grip" at her. Especially when she spends half the book mooning over "Jack", which never even comes to very much at all. Whilst it was interesting getting an American's view of a trip round England (and very amusing in places) some things didn't really add up for me - such as why was she being so energetic if she was really feeling that bad? The faith and Christianity parts also didn't fit at all well - there was nothing on the outside of the book that mentioned anything to do with religion and I found that these parts mostly really grated (and I'm a Christian!) - and might be a shock for many readers?
From the front cover: "A modern woman's search for happiness, fulfilment and her very own Mr Darcy" make it sound quite light-hearted, maybe verging on the chick lit, when it isn't actually at all! ( )

NCLA Review -Lori Smith travels through the towns of England where Jane Austen lived and worked in the late 1700’s. The book parallels the Austen novels as this author is close in age to Jane Austen, unmarried, and experiencing a crush early on in her travels. Smith writes with an intimacy that is amazing involving her personal ups and downs, her angst at times and her challenges along the way. She uses the same grace and hope in her writing that Jane Austen wrote about so well. She intersperses various parts of Austen’s writings and life with her own experiences through the Bath, Lyme, London and the Hampshire countryside. Smith writes from the modern day perspective instead of the horse and buggy days. The book will make a welcome addition to anyone’s library who is an Austen devotee. It would make an excellent study book especially for a young woman’s group. Rating: 3 —RE ( )