The Eyre Affair

Executive Summary: This is a book that should be right up my alley. However while I did enjoy it, I found the execution wasn't quite as good as I hoped.Audiobook: Susan Duerdan did a fine job with the narration. She spoke clearly and with good inflection. Audio is definitely a good option for this one.Full ReviewOne of my favorite games as a kid was called Myst. If you're not familiar, you find yourself in a strange place with little understanding of where you are and how you got there. As you explore you discover it's possible to travel between worlds with magical books.The general premise of this book had a similar feel to me. It also adds in some extra things like time travel, that I thought bordered on “too much” but was handled pretty well overall. The book is fun, and the main character Thursday Next is quite likeable. She's smart and capable. Plush, the bibliophile in me loves the idea of a “book division” of the British Secret Service. So why only three stars? Well I imagine it's much for the same reason some people don't love [b:Ready Player One 9969571 Ready Player One Ernest Cline https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1489368740s/9969571.jpg 14863741] like I did. I didn't get most of the references. I didn't even know [b:Jane Eyre 10210 Jane Eyre Charlotte Brontë https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327867269s/10210.jpg 2977639] was an actual book. I thought he had made it up for this novel. Oops.It turns out despite having read a ton of books in my lifetime, and this book being rather fantastical, I didn't read the “right” books. I only had a vague knowledge and interest in most of the authors besides Shakespeare, and I haven't touched him since High School.I will say this book is probably better written than [b:Ready Player One 9969571 Ready Player One Ernest Cline https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1489368740s/9969571.jpg 14863741] is, and that can make up for some of it. However it was only enough for it to get a good, not great opinion from me.I think if you're a classic/British literature fan, and you enjoy the premise of traveling into your favorite book this book may be more enjoyable for you than it was for me. I may continue on in the series, but at this point I'm not in any rush. I think it ended well enough for me to stop here if that's what I end up doing.