Ayesha at Last - Uzma Jalaluddin

Ayesha at Last by Uzma Jalaluddin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This was a "stay up too late reading" kind of book. Perfect for a binge.

Ayesha is a modern Muslim woman in Toronto. She works as a substitute teacher in a co-ed schoo. She wears her hijab but also more modern clothing. Her best friend isn't Muslim, and she's not a faithful attender of mosque prayers. Ayesha, meet Khalid. Khalid is conservative and fundamental. He wears his beard long as well as his robes. He looks to his mother to provide the perfect arranged marriage. But all is not as it seems in either of their lives.

So...I would say that the publishers did this book a disservice by calling it "A modern-day Muslim Pride & Prejudice." However, that is what compelled me to pick it up. So the marketing worked despite the fact there is little in common with P&P until towards the end.

I thoroughly enjoyed both Ayesha and Khalid. Even knowing they were going to get together in the end (not a spoiler due to the P&P connection), it was fun to watch them navigate it. I appreciated the nuance in pretty much all the characters. Except for maybe Khalid's mom. She wasn't a very nuanced villain.

Definitely worth a read, whether you're a P&P fan or not. I flew through it in less than 24 hours, despite my husband's grumblings about the light being on. :)

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Eligible (The Austen Project #4) - Curtis Sittenfeld

Eligible by Curtis Sittenfeld


I'm really torn on this book. So I'm just not going to rate it. Just spew out my thoughts.
I think it was really well executed as far as the modern retelling of Pride & Prejudice. It was well written and a bit snarky. The character portrayals were great.
There was just SO MUCH SEX...and some language. Had I not been so interested in the story and how Sittenfeld managed to pull off this pretty accurate retelling of P&P, I would have quit it at several different points.
So proceed with caution and awareness should you decide to give it a go.

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A Jane Austen Education - William Deresiewicz

Synopsis from Borders.com: Austen scholar Deresiewicz turns to the author's novels to reveal the remarkable life lessons hidden within. With humor and candor, Deresiewicz employs his own experiences to demonstrate the enduring power of Austen's teachings.


I make no bones about the fact that I am a Jane Austen fan. The satire, the romance, the fun. So I was interested to read this book subtitled: “How Six Novels Taught Me About Love, Friendship, and the Things that Really Matter.” To look at Austen’s work from a more cerebral and educational perspective than from a purely entertainment one.

William Deresiewicz starts out his literary critique by stating that he was not a fan of Jane Austen and her work. It wasn’t highbrow enough for him. So I started out my reading not being a fan of him. However, as he progresses through Austen’s books and grows to like and learn from her, I also come to like him as an author.

I found it unique how Deresiewicz parallels the lessons he’s learning from the Austen novels to what he was currently experiencing in his own life.

Jane Austen does, indeed, have a lot to teach us all. And William Deresiewicz takes the time to point that out to us. Emma helps us to see and appreciate the little things in life. Pride and Prejudice is a story of growing up and becoming a better person. Mansfield Park can show its reader where to find true happiness if one only takes the time to look. The education continues through her six popular books

At times, he is a bit redundant. However, overall it was an interesting and informative book to read. And it helped me to look at one of my favorite authors from a new perspective. I can’t wait to go back and reread some of her books and see if I can connect to the lessons there.