A really cute little book. Reading the book as a memoir of growing up in Graduate school, I can definitely relate to some of what he is speaking about, though I found it a bit too preachy and pat to really get into the book.
In terms of his views on Austen...well, preachy and pat goes for that as well. I think that, in the interest of making it about his life, he sacrifices some of Austen's nuances.
Also, I disagree with his assessment of both Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility, though that was just me.
The memoir was a bit too didactic and the criticism was a bit too unaware of its own provenance. He was writing as if Austen speaks in the same voice to everyone, while the book is, in the end, about Austen spoke to him.