These days, physical bookstores are not as plentiful as they once were. Depending on where one lives, buying books in person may require getting into a car or relying on public transportation to get you to your book store of choice.
The Brooklyn Book Festival solves that problem for one beautiful and all too fleeting day.
Held this year on September 22nd, the book festival welcomed book lovers of all varieties. At the JASNA table, members of the JASNA-NY Metro region happily talked Jane with our fellow book lovers. From 10am to 6pm, we sold books and other Jane related paraphernalia, encouraged new members to join and spread the love of everything related to our favorite author.
I’ve been volunteering at the JASNA table for a few years now. Every year, I am amazed at the number of people who if they have not read Austen’s books, at least know her name. To say the name of “Jane Austen” is shorthand for a certain type of novel with a certain type of narrative and a specific set of characters. But her reputation, as we know, goes beyond that expectation.
-Adina Bernstein