Jane Austen, Masterpiece Theater and the Adrian Public Library

Remember Meg Ryan telling Tom Hanks in the movie "You've Got Mail" that she reads Pride and Prejudice every year? Her character says she is always in suspense to see if Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy will end up together. She says she revels in the language--words like "thither" ("thither"?...really?). Do you also remember the scene where Tom Hanks' character tries to read Pride and Prejudice, slams the book closed in frustration, waits a beat, then pulls it back to him for another try? Now, be honest, which camp do you fall into, Meg or Tom's? Do you revel in Jane Austen and her world or do you quite honestly wonder what all the fuss is about? If it's the latter, I urge you, be like Tom and give Jane another try. This winter and into spring PBS and Masterpiece Theater is running The Complete Jane Austen on Sunday nights. These are wonderful film adaptions of Austen's novels; believe me, you have not appreciated Pride and Prejudice until you've seen Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy--or maybe you've not appreciated Colin Firth until you've seen him as Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice. At any rate, neither Colin nor the movie are to be missed; but if you did happen to miss it on PBS, we have the complete miniseries here at the library. But why stop at Pride and Prejudice? We have DVD's of Emma and Sense and Sensibility (in which Hugh Grant is equally as swoonable as Colin Firth) to name a few. In fact, if you do happen to be like Tom and want to give reading Austen another try, we have all of Jane Austen's books as well. So spend the rest of winter being caught up in Jane Austen's world--just don't let me hear you use the word "thither" in your everyday life.