Something in the air

We live in a Jane Austen universe.

-- Jane Austen: A Love Story Jennifer Frey

It's probably due to Kassia's article at Romancing the Blog that there is a few blog entries about romance reviews. The interesting ones are: Readergrrl's Sold Bill of Goods The Red Pen Diaries's X-POST: Heyy baby...wanna good book?? [She says enough in her entry that reveals herself a regular on a message board, so she definitely knows what she's on about]. I forgot to list another favourite reader's blog: Keishon. I'd list Cranky Reader, but she posts irregularly. [Are you listening, CW?] On a lighter note, there is an old but seriously amusing and insightful article from Jennifer Frey at the Washington Post about the current mania for all things Jane Austen:

Austen, it appears, is our new Shakespeare. In pop culture terms, that is. Two hundred years after her novels were written, she's ascended to that level where her work is widely imitated, flippantly quoted, frequently ripped off and, yes, very much revered -- by those who have actually read her, that is.

Please do read the rest of the article: Jane Austen: A Love Story: For England's 228-Year-Old Novelist, the Ink Has Yet to Dry I have a question: what is exactly a 'fanlisting'? I come across quite a few web sites that promote themselves as 'fanlisting'. Whenever I'm at one, I'm stumped. What does it actually do? What is the purpose? And what does one do with it? There are some that say you don't need a web site and la la, so what does it serve? What does it do that gets an approval from the "fanlisting network"? I know I'm not that bright, but I also know that I'm not that thick-headed, so this one really has me stumped. An explanation is very much welcomed here. Thanks. Be good, be bad & be safe.