The weekend’s weather was stunningly beautiful, full of promise for open windows, walks in the breeze and warmer blankets on the bed. These are the days when being outdoors is a much missed treat, one we haven’t been able to experience comfortably since March. And thankfully, it seems my reading desire is returning just when it is possible to sit on the porch with a good book.
There are four books that have helped to engage my brain this weekend and saturate it with the joy of a well-told story.
The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. This children’s classic is full of adventure and incredible atmosphere.
Great Ghost Stories is a collection published by Dover Thrift Editions that I found at a used book store a few months ago. It contains stories by E.F. Benson, M.R. James, Charles Dickens and Jerome K. Jerome. A perfect little volume for this time of the year, don’t you think?
Katherine Mansfield’s collected stories is the book that vaulted me over the reading block on Thursday evening. Lisa suggested I try short stories and this is the only volume of them (other than the ghost stories) that I had on my shelves. Mansfield’s writing is very fluid, wry and concise – just what I needed to get me started on the reading path again.
Agnes Grey is a short novel by Anne Bronte. I ordered this a while ago and when it came in the mail on Saturday I was pleasantly surprised (do you ever forget you ordered something?) I started reading it right away and can tell that it is a keeper. Agnes’s deep innocence yet humble confidence have already endeared me to her. I’m so happy that a novel has made me so excited.
Did you all have magical weekends? Or, at least, content ones?
A Certain Fondness 
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