Reading

Hello Dear Ones!  Are you having a good January so far?  I hate that it's been two weeks since I last posted, but I've had after-Christmas cleanup to do here.  What a good feeling to get things put back in their places until next year!  Hal installed some new shelves for me in two of our closets back in the summer, and they are proving to be oh-so-handy.        How have you been keeping yourself occupied in this winter season?  As I mentioned above, I've been putting things away, as well as sweeping and dusting.  I've also been reading.  I mean to start keeping a list of what I read each year because sometimes just looking back to the previous year, I can't always remember exactly what I read during that time.  I'm convinced that part of the reason for this is that time flies by so quickly anymore, something I think occurred just a year or two ago actually happened five years ago.  Does that happen with you too?     

         I didn't read a large number of new books in 2020, but I also re-read some of my favorites.  Sometimes I want an easy read, especially at bedtime, and I don't mind in the least re-reading my old favorites.       

You'll notice that my Kindle is on top of these books, because many of the books I read have been purchased and downloaded onto Kindle.  When Kindles first came out, I was sure I would never want one, but it's amazing how easily I got spoiled used to it.  The best part is that with this Kindle Paperwhite, it's backlit, so it's perfect for reading at bedtime and not keeping my husband awake by having a lamp on.  Also, you can adjust the font size -- another helpful feature on all the Kindle versions.  One of my favorite things about the Kindle is that I can lay it down on my lap or a table, and I don't have to hold it open with my hand like I do a real book.  I think many of us at this age have some arthritis in our hands and/or carpal tunnel syndrome.  Having said all this, I will always love the look and feel of real books, both old and new.              

      
Our son gave me the two Wilkie Collins books, and I'm actually counting "The Woman in White" for 2020 and 2021 because I started reading it the week after Christmas and finished it last week.  Our son also gave me the Ken Follett book for my birthday, and I wrote a little about it back in the fall.  I find that time period in Britain very interesting and that part was a positive, but the book had way too much gratuitous sex and violence, which was a big negative.  I know these things are a part of life, and I'm not a prude, but I prefer a good story without all that other stuff.      The two books shown below I read on Kindle.  "When Christ and His Saints Slept" was a long read, but still very good, I thought.    

      

I read "A Redbird Christmas" back in December and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Carole, who writes From My Carolina Home blog recommended it to me -- thank you very much, Carole!  This book was an easy Christmas read and a sweet story.  My favorite Fannie Flagg book is still "Standing in the Rainbow."  I loved, loved that book.  I like Fannie Flagg's writing style and her quirky, loveable, and very human characters.  I re-read "Winter's Solstice" and "Aunt Dimity's Christmas" as well as all my Aunt Dimity books in 2020.  All these books I read on Kindle.   

   For 2021, I'm currently reading "Emma" and I purchased "A City of Bells" from Amazon.  I've also ordered "The Woolworths Girls" by Elaine Everest for this year's reading.  That one is coming from the U.K., so it won't arrive for a few weeks yet.  We're getting a new library in our town, and it appears mostly finished on the outside; I believe it's supposed to open this year.  I plan to start using the public library again, as much as possible.  It seems like many of the books that I want to read are not readily available at the library, but maybe they can get them for me.      My last topic for this post -- our son told us awhile ago that the movie "Clueless" is supposed to be a modern telling of Jane Austen's "Emma."  Have you heard this?  "Clueless" was on Netflix, so we watched it before Christmas, and I have to say, it was really funny -- all three of us thought so.  If you haven't seen it, think Valley Girl meets Jane Austen, if you can imagine such a thing.  😁  The movie has some laugh-out-loud moments and just a couple of crude remarks, which is the best you can hope for nowadays.  After watching the movie, I decided to read "Emma."  I've had the book for several years, but hadn't read it before.  So far, I've determined that the movie is amazingly faithful to the book (as far as the overall story is concerned).    I'd love to hear what you're reading in this new year.  Thanks so much for your visit and have a great week!!