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Rating: 
Summary: entertaining and educational!
Review: I am a newcomer to the joys of Jane Austen (kind of embarrassing because of my age)and I read this after having read Ms. Austen's 6 completed and most widely read novels. I really enjoyed reading this book,it has a little biographical info, trivia and insight into the stories themselves. Although I didn't agree with everything the author expressed, I would turn a page and learn something about something else. And of course, as I was reading it, I kept saying to myself, oh, I need to go back and reread this book and see what this author is talking about. How cannot you not recommend a book that inspires you to reread all of Jane Austen's books! This book could also be useful in a classroom of high school students, what a fun way to introduce Jane Austen to students who think she is boring or hard to read.
Rating:
Summary: The best help I had
Review: I was doing a term paper formy english class, and I had picked jane austen as my topic. I won't go into detail about my topic, but I have to say that this was the only book that I used as my resource. I had other resources, but none of them compare to this book. It is beautifully written and developed. It isn't hard to understand and is very informative. From Jane Austen's birth to how the development of her author-self came about is shown. Also all info you would want to know about all of her major known works are in the book as well. It's seperated into chapters each being dedicated to a single book. In the chapters are interviews w/ well known jane austen historians, there are fun quizzes, in depth look at characters' personality, behavior, etc. .I had a wonderful time doing my term paper, because all the information I needed was in this book. It is really an aset for any jane austen fan to have. The book's fun, but serious manner doesn't put you to sleep, and makes it a great companion to have while reading or rewieving Austen's other books because at the start of every chapter is a summary as to what happens in the story the chapter is discussing. So incase you forget something about the story you have a refference right there w/ you. I really enjoyed this book and recommend it to all that want to learn about not only Austen's books (known & unknown), but also about her life and family. It really is a great read and catch.
Rating:
Summary: a fun and informative bathroom book
Review: It is astonishing to an Austen fan (or Janeite or Gentle, Ironic or Subversive Jane, as the case may be -- more later) that anyone would find Jane's work boring, but they do. This is a book that not only entertains confirmed fans but might also persuade others of her worth. I agree with another reviewer that this would be a great addition to a high school course. It is a book that can be as easily pored over as dipped into, being composed of a large number of short blurbs, quizzes, anecdotes, interviews, lists and even a recipe. A perfect book for the bathroom. The author is very knowledgeable and yet relates her information in a friendly and accessible way, beginning with descriptions of the various types of Austen fans, and quickly moving on to chapters about Jane's early life and juvenilia, each of the six major works, and Jane's legacy: film adaptations, fan clubs, internet presence, continuations and sequels. The book concludes with a bibliography and index. This is a fun read and there's no way you won't learn something interesting. A must-read for fans and a great supplement for reluctant readers.
Rating:
Summary: a fun and informative bathroom book
Review: It is astonishing to an Austen fan (or Janeite or Gentle, Ironic or Subversive Jane, as the case may be -- more later) that anyone would find Jane's work boring, but they do. This is a book that not only entertains confirmed fans but might also persuade others of her worth. I agree with another reviewer that this would be a great addition to a high school course. It is a book that can be as easily pored over as dipped into, being composed of a large number of short blurbs, quizzes, anecdotes, interviews, lists and even a recipe. A perfect book for the bathroom. The author is very knowledgeable and yet relates her information in a friendly and accessible way, beginning with descriptions of the various types of Austen fans, and quickly moving on to chapters about Jane's early life and juvenilia, each of the six major works, and Jane's legacy: film adaptations, fan clubs, internet presence, continuations and sequels. The book concludes with a bibliography and index. This is a fun read and there's no way you won't learn something interesting. A must-read for fans and a great supplement for reluctant readers.
Rating: 
Summary: A fun and educational read
Review: This book has given me a greater appreciation for Jane Austen and her novels. It is a fun and educational read. I especially love the quizzes. I highly recommend this book to all Jane Austen fans.
Rating:
Summary: Jane Austen Light
Review: This book is easy, fun, and entertaining. If you just looked at the sample pages provided by Amazon, you'd think it is nothing but a collection of quotations of people's opinions of Jane Austen. Well, there are a lot of opinionated quotations, from people you've heard of and people you haven't heard of. There are also Q&A interviews with knowledgable JA fans and actors who've played JA roles. There are quizzes. Most of the pieces are short, so it's a good book for readers with limited attention spans. The book also has a magazinelike format: the pages are bordered, and there are insets and decorative separators between chunks of text. I was delighted to learn that two columnists I admire, Miss Manners (Judith Martin) and Edith Lank, who writes about real estate and appears in our local house-and-garden section every Sunday, are big fans. That explains why I like them. There's quite a lot of information in this book in spite of its "light" look, and it's entertaining, but if you prefer sustained discussion and development, you'll want to choose another book.
Rating:
Summary: A Truth Universally Acknowledged
Review: This is a book for Janeites of any sort, people who recognize where the "truth universally acknowledged" quote comes from (Pride and Prejudice, for those of you who didn't recognize it). Rather than write a book of essays for critics and scholars as is so often done, Tyler takes a different route and gives us a collection for readers. And, by and large, it works. We're treated to brief biographical sketches and moments, factoids, quizzes, interviews, and quotes. I have to admit that a few pieces seemed to me excessively flippant or tangential. Still, the majority were not only enjoyable but also provided insight into the Austen library and its relevance and influence. So why give it four stars? My only reservation about the book is that the reader must have read all of Austen's books to fully enjoy it. The chapters devoted to each of the books dig deep enough that having not read one or more is a major problem. As for me, the chapters devoted to Persuasion and Sanditon referred to characters and situations I only vaguely remembered. I had to go back and reread before I began to enjoy the supplementary material that Tyler so painstakingly put together. Is this a major problem? Probably not. After all, it's probably safe to assume that most readers are already firm Janeites, and we don't need much of a push to visit or revisit her world for a while. But is this, as the blurb on the back cover claims, a resource for new converts? Is it a good selection for someone who has read a single Austen work, loved it, and wants to learn more? My belief is that it probably isn't. If you're new to Austen, my advice would be to seek out as many of her books as you can, and THEN come back to this one. Otherwise, it's a bit like listening to a group of friends discuss an inside joke. You know it's funny, but you're not quite sure why.
Rating:
Summary: A quiz and quote filled romp
Review: Whether you enjoy Austen for the gentle ways of the Regency era or for the sauciness of intelligent, modern heroines like Elizabeth Bennet, you'll love this book. In other words, whether you shop at Crabtree and Evelyn or the MAC counter, whether you're a professor of English or a bodice-ripper novel lover, you'll appreciate Tyler's fun, civilized and witty quote boxes, Austen quizzes, and short essays on the characters and novels of Austen. The book opens with a quiz, "What kind of Jane fan are you?" that sets the tone for the remainder of the volume. Even the lesser known works of Austen, like Sanditon and Lady Susan, get treated here. It's worth consulting for a serious essay on Austen or browsing for fun.
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