I reassured her that in some respects, making your way through the world's great literature is a numbers game: Someone twice your age has simply spent more time on the planet-and has therefore had more time to turn pages. But no number of hours can fill every gap in the knowledge of a mortal reader, even one who's a professional critic.
Jane Austen was born 250 years ago today, making her a few months older than American independence, 14 years older than the French Revolution, and 25 years older than the electric battery. Like many other English women of her era, she lived primarily in small towns in the countryside, and because she never married, she spent much of her time helping to care for her aging mother and doling out advice to her nieces. Yet unlike most of her peers, who have vanished into history, the 250 th anniversary of Austen's birth has been cause for celebration across the world. From her superficially quiet life in the English countryside, Austen wrote six novels that became, and have remained, among the most beloved works of English literature.
Imagine you're shopping for your next read. You scan the bookstore shelves, registering the promising titles and colorful covers as you go. Among them are several older classics you promised yourself you'd read one day, and you feel a familiar pang of guilt over having not picked them up yet. Is today the day? No, you decide, and opt for a newer book that is currently trending on social media.