Rosh's Reviews

AUTHOR: Devoney Looser GENRE: Literature, Biography PUBLICATION DATE: September 2, 2025 RATING: 3 stars. In a Nutshell: A nonfiction investigation of the ‘wildness’ contained in Austen’s writing, her life, and in the extraneous ventures capitalising on her name. Thus divided into three sections, the first section was easily my favourite. The second was a bit boring and the third went the mixed way. Might work for some Austen fans, though this Austenite was only partly impressed. Given that 2025 has the 250th birth anniversary of the evergreen Jane Austen, there are plenty of books coming out this year celebrating Austen and her timeless works. As a huge fan of all of Austen’s writing, I feel like I have a bonanza of Austen nonfiction to choose from. I have read three such titles so far. I loved ‘ Jane Austen’s Bookshelf ’ and found ‘ The Wicked Wit of Jane Austen ’ decent enough. This book, however, wasn't that easy to rate. I absolutely loved some chapters and was thoroughly bore...

AUTHOR: David Sedaris GENRE: Essay, Humour. RATING: 3.75 stars. In a Nutshell: An essay by an acclaimed humour writer, detailing some memorable experiences, “themes and variations” while interacting with readers during book tours. A quick, fun read. As a reader, you might have attended book-signing events, and while in queue, you might have wondered what to say to the author. Now here’s an essay that shows you the same event from an author’s point of view. When David Sedaris was a boy, he had a bad experience at a book signing event, where the visiting author didn’t acknowledge him or even glance at him while signing the book. He was so affected by this that many years later, when it was his turn to be on the other side of the signing table, he decided that he would make every reader feel special. What resulted from this decision was some intriguing reader interactions, amusing anecdotes, and unbelievable revelations, ranging from hilarious to outright bizarre. This little 19-page es...

Jane Austen 16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817 In spite of having produced only six full-length novels, Jane Austen is nonetheless regarded as one of the most popular authors ever to come from England. She has inspired a veritable industry of sequels, adaptations, movies, and miniseries. It has been 203 years since her untimely death at the age of 41. Sounds unbelievable to hear, doesn't it? Could she have ever imagined the immense popularity and fandom her work would continue to inspire more than 200 years later? Virginia Woolf called Jane Austen “the most perfect artist among women.” GK Chesterton praised her writing, saying, “I fancy that Jane Austen was stronger, sharper, and shrewder than Charlotte Brontë; I am quite sure that she was stronger, sharper, and shrewder than George Eliot. She could do one thing neither of them could do: she could coolly and sensibly describe a man.” JK Rowling, the author of the Harry Potter series, cites Austen as one of her influences and has read ...