Jaclyn posted: " Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby. I literally can't remember a time in my life when I didn't love to curl up with a good book. Here are my reads for May, 2022. The Blessing, by Nancy Mitford - When a young Englishwoman finds h" covered in flour
Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby. I literally can't remember a time in my life when I didn't love to curl up with a good book. Here are my reads for May, 2022.
The Blessing, by Nancy Mitford - When a young Englishwoman finds herself swept off her feet by a dashing, aristocratic Frenchman, culture shock ensues. Grace Allingham marries Charles-Edouard de Vallhubert and follows him to Paris with their "blessing," Sigismund, in tow. But the cultural differences take their toll and when Grace decides she can no longer abide Charles-Edouard's extracurricular activities, she decamps for London. Sigi, now a precocious little boy of eight years old, discovers that he can get spoiled much more easily with his parents apart, so he embarks on a campaign to keep them separated - a campaign characterized, as one review I read put it, by "Napoleonic cunning and Saxon thoroughness" - just perfect. This was absolutely hilarious.
The Song of the Lark, by Willa Cather - Considered Cather's most autobiographical novel, The Song of the Lark follows young singer Thea Kronborg through her childhood on the Colorado plains and her awakening as an artist. Full review - for The Classics Club Challenge - coming soon.
Light Rains Sometimes Fall: A British Year Through Japan's 72 Seasons, by Lev Parikian - So, the subtitle is a bit of a misnomer. Parikian (an orchestral conductor and nature writer, there's a perfect combination for you!) does view the British year through the Japanese framework of 72 seasons, but he gives each microseason its own, very English, name. I read slowly through this, savoring every descriptive paragraph - it was lovely.
The Darling Buds of May (Larkin Family Chronicles #1), by H.E. Bates - The Larkins are a free-spirited family, living for good food, good company, and the good life generally. But their freewheeling ways seem to have caught up with them in the form of Mr. Cedric Charlston, a young tax inspector who arrives unexpectedly one day to find out why they haven't submitted their tax returns. The Larkins promptly absorb Mr. Charlston into the family, rechristen him "Charley," and go right on about their merry business. This was a fun, light read.
Delight, by J.B. Priestley - I had never heard of J.B. Priestley before, but apparently he is known as a master of the short form essay. This collection - compiled as a beautiful 70th anniversary edition, with a really eye-catching cover - explores 114 little things that bring Priestley delight - everything from fountains, to "cosy planning" (I felt that one deeply), to walking holidays and women discussing clothes. I loved it; it was one of those conflicting books that you want to both swallow in one gulp and also savor slowly.
Tom's Midnight Garden, by Philippa Pearce - Tom Long is disappointed and angry. He had been looking forward to a carefree summer climbing trees with his brother, Peter. But when Peter is quarantined with measles, Tom is sent to stay with his aunt and uncle in their gloomy flat in a converted Victorian mansion. It doesn't take long for Tom to discover that not everything is what it seems in the rambling old house. The grandfather clock in the hallway strikes thirteen, and Tom is transported every night to a magical garden, sometime in the cloudy past, where he meets a young girl named Hatty. Together, Tom and Hatty spin tales and construct adventures - but as the summer winds to a close and Hatty begins to draw away and grow up, Tom plots how he can put one over on Time itself and stay in the garden, with Hatty, forever. I loved this.
Well - May is a long month but I didn't get much reading done. Between being under the weather earlier in the month and doomscrolling toward the end of the month, I just couldn't seem to focus on a book. I did really enjoy everything I read, especially "The Blessing" and "Delight" - highlights of the year, both. For June, I have a big stack I'd like to get to reading, so I'm going to really need to put the phone in the other room, get the news-induced spiral of despair under control, and rekindle my reading evenings.
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