I've often thought of doing one myself but never have - but since I have been reading other people's interesting book lists, I thought that I might sit down and compile one for myself.
The trouble with me is that I'm not very disciplined - I think I'd have trouble systematically making my way through a list. I'm not really a list person, but I do admire people who are. My husband is always suggesting I write lists and I always give him a withering look.
The other thing is that I love to read children's books, and I love to read old favourites. I sort of think of books as friends and I like to re-visit with them from time to time.
And I have a strange quirk to my character where I have gone completely off romantic fiction.
I hate it.
There - I've said it. It's out.
I prefer real-life stories, thrillers, crime (not too gory though), and children's books, and books that teach you how to do things.
But I'm going to compile a little list - hoping that I stick to it - and write my reviews of them.
There are a few books that I have on hand that I want to read. Here they are:
By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder - after a break of probably 20 years or so, I am making my way through the Little House series again, and I have to tell you that I can't put them down. They are beautiful, wonderful books. I read them now with different eyes than I did when I was a child. I finish one, and I can't wait for the next one. Sliver Lake finds the Ingalls family moving from Plum Creek to De Smet in Dakota Territory. Things haven't worked out in Kansas. The wheat crops were poor and Mary has become blind through illness. Jack has died and Laura and her Pa are yearning for new adventures.
The Soapmaker's Companion by Susan Miller Cavitch - as recommended by Rhonda Jean of the Australian Down to Earth blog. This was my Christmas present two years ago! And it was my 2009 New Year's Resolution to make my own soap. I'm a little bit scared of the lye and am waiting for a day when I have no children around to try it out. Anyone want to look after 4 lively kids for the day?
Life Assured by Nicholas Rhea - this author is a recent discovery and I am hooked. His genre is a little bit of Miss Read and a little bit of James Herriot. Set in North Yorkshire in the 1960/70's, Matthew and Evelyn are looking for ways to keep his insurance business alive after breaking his leg. He can't drive his car to get out and meet his clients, so Evelyn takes on this side of the business while Matthew works with the new local vicar to start a community magazine. What I love about this series is the characterisation and the stories weaved around them. A very, very pleasurable indulgent read that will take you to another world.
A Long Slow Affair of the Heart by Bruce Ansley - I picked this book on a whim one day and was hooked by its description. Bruce Ansley is a New Zealander and he and his wife live their dream of buying a little boat and sailing it down the French canals. Hey! That's our dream too!
On Top of the World by Tom Barbash - this book completely changed my outlook on the world. I want to read it again. It is the story of Howard Lutnick and the Cantor Fitzgerald firm who lost most of their friends and employees in the 9/11 attacks when the building collapsed. It is a sad book; poignant, sobering but a triumph of the human spirit as well. I loved it.
Little Italy by Laura Zavan - I am getting tired of cooking the same old things, so I have a few cookbooks that I want to read. And a wish for many days of experimental cooking. This book has beautiful photography and an interesting insight into Italian cuisine.
The River Cottage Cookbook by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall - I love this man! He talks like the Queen, has a down-to-earth philosophy with expensive taste. I want to read all his books. And I especially want to try out his pumpkin soup - a pumpkin with the top taken off, seeds scooped out, filled up with cheese, cream and nutmeg and roasted in the oven until soft. Doesn't that sound delectable? We've been watching his autumn series on tv and he has even convinced me that shooting bunnies is not a bad thing, though I don't know if I could actually do it.
So that's it for now. Of course, there are tons of others - old favourites like Dickens and Agatha Christie and Jane Austen and John Grisham and Miss Read and LM Montgomery. They will keep coming back into my life and I love them. They are comfortable, reassuring and unchanging.
4 comments :
Sounds like some interesting reading there - may have to check some out!
I am just reading the Little House books for the first time. I have no idea why I missed them as a child. And I am glad I just finished Silver Lake so you didn't spoil anything for me!
So pleased to see that there is a "River Cottage Cookbook" I saw a couple of Hugh's episodes on television and loved every minute!
Yay! Another lady who doesn't read romance. I swore off of it in my mid to late twenties. It's something that some women don't understand and one grandmother was even offended. sigh.
I'm also happy to see another lady who likes children's books, and considers some books friends to be revisited from time to time. :-) I feel that way too! Some people would probably consider my sister-in-law and me weird, but we both like children's and young people's fiction better than a lot of adult level fiction even though neither of us have children yet. I think it's partly just a break from the heavier thinking of "real life", if you know what I mean. :-)
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