Category: general book tag

Career talk with my mother

Mum: You know what you need? A bit of tuberculosis.
Me: ... why do I need a bit of tuberculosis?
Mum: You could finish your book then.
Me: I don't think that finishing a book is one of the symptoms of tuberculosis.
Mum: Well, it worked for the Brontës, didn't it? They all had tuberculosis and they all finished their books.
Me: Yeah, and then they all died before the age of 40!
Mum: But they died having finished their books. I'm just saying. You should consider getting tuberculosis. Just a bit of it.
Me: ...
Mum: You'd have to be authentic, though. Call it consumption. Else it might not work.
Me: I'll bear that in mind.

Redwall, as narrated by Lemony Snicket

fuzzhugs:

It was the start of the Summer of the Late Rose. Mossflower country shimmered gently in a peaceful haze. Peaceful is a word which here means calm, tranquil, and highly unlikely to disturbed by violent events that would culminate in the dropping of a large bell from a very high place onto someone who would rather not have a large bell dropped upon them.

The Cottage Library

teabooksandsweets:

teabooksandsweets:

I just thought it would be neat to have a list of book recommendations with a sort of mild cottagecore vibe or books that would fit into it, despite not specifically being about these things – this is all about the right feeling after all, not specific elements, etc. 

Everyone can add to that list – that’s the point, actually – and maybe we can all find quite some good, fitting books.

The point is nice fiction and even non-fiction of any genre, can be country-life related, but doesn’t have to be, ideally of the more uplifting and cosy sort, but that doesn’t have to be either, there’s no strict rules, if you think it fits, it surely will fit, we all have our own tastes and ideas, after all. 

So, I’ll make a start:

The books of Elizabeth Goudge, especially

  • Linnets and Valerians – an enchanting children’s novel; the most cottagecore a book could ever be
  • The Little White Horse – a more famous children’s novel; also very cottagecore, but in a different way
  • The Eliots of Damerosay Trilogy: The Bird in the Tree, The Herb of Grace, The Heart of the Family – Extremely uplifting, lovely adult novels; especially the second book, The Herb of Grace (known as Pilgrim’s Inn in the US) is marvelously warm and wholesome, and often thought to be a single novel. If you’re not interested in the entire series, you might still give this one a try!
  • The Rosemary Tree – also a warm and sweet and wholesome adult novel
  • her other books, too, I suppose, but these in particular!

James Herriot’s books

  • His All Creatures Great and Small series of memoirs – A less sweet or cute, but in its own way enchanting recollection of stories from his life as a country vet in the Yorkshire Dales in the 30s-50s; lovely stories of animals and even more intriguing stories of people
  • His children’s books – often simplified, sweet stories that also appeared in his adult novels
  • James Herriot’s Yorkshire – with photos by Derry Brabbs; non-fiction, a lovely photo book about Yorkshire and the Dales
  • I cannot stress enough how lovely to read his books are and what a lovely picture of a hard, but wonderful way of life and a great many different and complex people in paints in such a light and quick manner that one doesn’t even notices it at first. If you want to read some country-fiction that is absolutely positive, but not entirely cottagecore-sweet, read Herriot!

Other adult novels, such as

  • The Blandings books by P. G. Wodehouse – or any other of his books, for the light and sunny energy and great fun, though the Blandings series is more…country.
  • The Green Thrush and Fairacre series by Miss Read
  • Classic romances and comedies of manners (Jane Austen, or Georgette Heyer, for example)
  • Cosy mysteries and classic detectvie stories (Dorothy L. Sayers, Agatha Christie, Arthur Conan Doyle, G. K. Chesterton)
  • Some more gothic novels and romances as well, I suppose? Yes, I guess those do fit in there too, for dark and stormy nights and the smell of wet heather, isn’t it? And classic mystery novels as well!
  • A lot of what is apparantly called “the feminine middlebrow”. Some of the books I have mentioned fall in that category, it seems, and it has many good fitting picks, I suppose.
  • Some adult fantasy novels, such as The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle, are, I think good fits as well.
  • Lud-in-the-Mist by Hope Mirrlees – another adult fantasy, that I nearly forgot about, and though very melancholy also very intriguing and I think it does belong in this list in some way
  • Phantastes by George MacDonald – I remembered alongside with Lud; ah, well, I does belong in this list too, I think. Very faerie.
  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, and a lot of the very warm of what is called classic literature (I call it warm, and think that fits)

Other children’s literature, such as

  • The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis – I cannot not include them in a list of recommendations, and they really do fit into this one, which is good
  • C. S. Lewis’ Letters to Children – Perhaps even lovelier for adults, but I cannot take them out of the children’s list. Lovely, sort, and inspiring.
  • The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper – These enchanting books really do transport one to their settings and their seasons, whether it’s a hot summer in Cornwall, Christmas in the Thames’ Valley or autumn in Wales; very, very atmospheric and lovely
  • All that has lovely critters in clothes and things of that sort, whether it’s Winnie the Pooh, Wind in the Willows, the stories of Beatrix Potter, The Great Mouse Detective. You know what sort I mean.
  • The Happy Prince & Other Tales and The House of Pomegranates by Oscar Wilde – I was unsure whether to put them here or with the adult books, but as they started out as stories for his own children, here they are; absolutely lovely fairy tales that I cannot recommend enough
  • Generally classic retelltings for children
  • Generally fairy tales
  • I must admit, I am unfamiliar with the Green Knowe books, but I do think they fit in this list, from what I know about them (I need to get around to them) and from the lovely movie I saw
  • All Anne of Green Gables books by L. M. Montgomery
  • All Little Women books by Louisa May Alcott
  • The books of Frances Hodgson Burnett, especially The Secret Garden
  • Also the books of E. Nesbit
  • The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien – I nearly forgot such an obvious one!
  • Speaking of Tolkien, his Father Christmas Letters
  • Also generally classic children’s books


I’m excited to see your additions!

Self-reblog, because most of these are also very much comfort reads, and many of them focused on nature – the ideal books for these times.

I should also like to add, as I forgot about them earlier, the Chrestomanci series by Dianna Wynne Jones, and generally books by Anthony Trollope.

I also generally recommend some poetry, especially by Christina Rossetti and John Keats, as well as short stories and other “little things” that help one dream away when one’s concentration is a bit strained.

And, as I have mentioned Elizabeth Goudge above, her Torminster books, in particular A City of Bells, which can be seen as a stand-alone adult novel, its sequels being for children. And really all her books!

Other users have, so far, made following additions to this list:

@grey-skies-in-her-eyes

  • The Little House on the Prairie books by Laura Ingalls-Wilder
  • Books by Barbara Kingsolver, particularly Prodigal Summer and The Bean Trees

@sublimegentlemanalpaca

  • The King of Elfland’s Daughter by Lord Dunsany
  • The Kingdoms of Elfin by Sylvia Townsend Warner

@arcadism-and-amalgam

  • The Hilda series by Luke Pearson
  • Pollyana by Eleanor H. Porter

@momerath74

  • The Redwall series by Brian Jacques
  • Mandy by Julie Andrews Edwards (yes, the Julie Andrews!)
  • Caddie Woodlawn and The Winter Cottage by Carol Ryrie Brink
  • The Secret Language by Ursula Nordstrom
  • Heidi by Johanna Spyri

@unobtainius

  • The Moomin books by Tove Jansson

Thank you all so much for your help! I know some of the added books, and approve of them heartly, and I am very curious about the ones I am not yet familiar with.

city-of-fiction: I think my favourite thing about books is how they shape us. Your book history is…

city-of-fiction:

I think my favourite thing about books is how they shape us. Your book history is uniquely your own, no one else in the world has read the all the same books at the exact same times of their lives as you have, and all those books have changed you so intrinsically that you couldn’t erase their influence on you anymore then you could change your DNA.

m-l-rio: One real benefit of reading I rarely hear anybody mention is how much more interesting life…

m-l-rio:

One real benefit of reading I rarely hear anybody mention is how much more interesting life becomes when you read a lot. It depends what you’re reading, of course, but most (good) books will teach you something you didn’t already know, and even if you have to give the book back to the library, you get to take that much with you. A lot of people talk about things they wish they’d studied in school–I’ve done it, too–but it’s a nice consolation prize that you can always pick up a book and learn something new. And as that library in your brain collects more volumes, everything around you gains new resonances, new context, and new connections which make your lived experience richer. In quarantine alone I’ve read about religion and politics and history and evolution and computer science and astrophysics without even leaving my house and it’s already a more interesting world. 

Mid-Year Book Freakout Tag 2020

I was tagged by @lettersfromthelighthouse. Thank you, I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to do!

Best book you’ve read so far in 2020:  

It’s a three-way tie between Burn by Patrick Ness, Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, and Folk by Zoe Gilbert. Very different books but all absolutely engrossing.

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2020:

Not applicable. I’ve read two books this year that are the first in a series - namely The Cruel Prince by Holly Black and The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill - but no sequels. The Cruel Prince just didn’t grab me enough, although I might still get to the next book eventually. I really need the other Tea Dragon books though because, wow, tea dragons are just the cutest things and if I can’t have a real one I at least need to read more about them.

New release you haven’t read yet, but want to:

It’s been out for a couple of months now, I think, but Highfire by Eoin Colfer looks like it’ll be a fun read! I’m a big fan of Artemis Fowl and his children’s books, so I’m interested to see how he approaches an adult audience. (Also, just in case you were wondering, not everything I read is about dragons, I promise.)

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:

I’m very intrigued by Susanna’s Clarke’s new novel, Piranesi. The labyrinthine house with infinite rooms and endless corridors sounds like a wonderful setting. It also seems as if it might be more manageable for me than Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, which I do want to read but is rather intimidating length-wise.

Generally speaking, I don’t really keep track of new releases though. Is that weird?

Favorite new author (debut or new to you):

I’ll say Zoe Gilbert here. Folk is a wonderful debut and I adore how atmospheric her writing is.

Biggest disappointment:

Probably Jeanette Winterson’s Frankisstein. It seemed like the kind of book I would love - I like Frankenstein, I like retellings, I like other things by Winterson - but in the end the weirdly fetishistic treatment of the trans main character overshadowed all the good points.

Biggest surprise:

Boring answer, but I can’t really think of any major surprises. I guess Snowflake, AZ by Marcus Sedgwick was a much more contemplative/ideas-based novel than I was expecting. I was anticipating something with more… plot, I suppose.

Book that made you happy:

I already mentioned this book above, but I often go back to children’s fiction when I need cheering up and wonderful The Tea Dragon Society by Katie O’Neill just left me with a great big smile on my face. It’s just such a warm, comforting story.

Newest fictional crush/newest favorite character:

Vivienne from The Cruel Prince by Holly Black was very enjoyable to read about. She’s the main character’s half-sister and doesn’t have a massive role, but I liked her more than the actual protagonist.

Burn by Patrick Ness has some great characters as well. I loved Sarah Dewhurst, Jason Inagawa, and Kazimir in particular.

Also, Albína Horáková, the landlady in Sarah Perry’s Melmoth, was not at all pleasant but a great character.

Book that made you cry:

The Silence of the Girls by Pat Barker. They were angry tears. Briseis deserved so much better.

Favorite book to film adaptation you saw this year:

I don’t think I’ve seen actually any this year, apart from the Stargirl film based on the YA novel by Jerry Spinelli. Wouldn’t call it a favourite really. I loved the book when I was a teenager so I watched it on Disney+ while I was using up my free trial, but it was just okay really. There are a lot of movies dealing with the same themes in a more interesting way and, for me, it didn’t quite have the charm of the book.

Very much looking forward to seeing the new Little Women film and The Personal History of David Copperfield though, the latter especially just looks really charming and I do love Dev Patel (speaking of which, does Gawain and the Green Knight count?).

Most beautiful book you’ve bought or received this year so far:

Hamnet and Folk again. Just look at that gorgeous illuminated H! And the strong colours and the detail in the birds and leaves on Folk’s cover are just gorgeous!

Book you need to read by the end of the year:

I’ve been promising a friend that I’ll read Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo for ages now so definitely that.

Otherwise, I really need to read more non-fiction, especially around current events. I’m just hoping my ability to focus/concentrate will come back soon because it’s been absent for a while and I hate it.

Tagging: Um, anyone who wants to talk about books! If you see this and want to answer the questions then just say I tagged you. :)

hedgehog-moss: I recently told my librarian that late Thursday afternoons are a special time in my…

hedgehog-moss:

I recently told my librarian that late Thursday afternoons are a special time in my week because Friday is my library day, so I often end up like “ahhh I still haven’t finished my library books!!” the day before, and then I have no choice but to sit down and read no matter how much work I have to do. And she was like “aw but you can return some books late, you know I don’t mind at all!” and I paused then repeated “and then I have no choice but to sit down and read no matter how much work I have to do” and she said “OH!! Our deadlines are very strict actually. Yes… just remembered the huge fine.”