I've rediscovered The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge and I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith, both books I loved in my early teens. Even now they have a charm that make them worth reading.
Next I visited Jane Austen and remembered just how much I like her. These days I guess it's not cool liking classic romance, I should be reading edgier stuff, but I can't help myself. Liking romance these days is like admitting you've sung along to a Michael Bolton song or cried at Neighbours! It's just not admitted to.
My younger preference for Pride and Prejudice has been replaced by my older and wiser self and Persuasion is current favorite. I feel as though some books are like old friends, warm and welcoming and reassuringly familiar. I'm all for boldly pushing the boundaries on fiction (I love Hunter S Thompson, Chuck Palahnuik) but sometimes there is something beautiful to be found in the familiar.
I feel myself luxuriating in characters I know better than some friends I've had. They are the books of my years and I'll always have a soft spot for them.
Next stop Room With a View and then perhaps I'll dive back into a Margaret Atwood.
1 comment:
This is one area where we never agree. I thank god my old friends are not those awful women from Austin novels who mutter on a load of old rubbish and act like spoilt brats. They seem to only muddle through to a conclusion without messing up too many lives. But hey that is just my opinion.
But I love Rebecca by Daphine Du Maurier because the second Mrs De Winter is more of an innocent trying to get through life, more a victim with a lack of understanding of her situation. Don't mind Jane Eyre either but would love to know more about the first wife locked away upstairs.
For me I find so many wonderful new books that I rarely read the books more than twice. I find modern gems - The Book Thief, The Sea and will devour them a second time but then I want to move forward.
My motto
So many books not enough time.
Ps excuse hideous spelling having a dyslexia morning.
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