Kicking off the weekend the best way I know how - another YA adaptation for the #PemberLittens and a strong, cold G&T. Hope everyone has at least a little bit of laziness in front of them! #BooksAndBooze #BooksAndBlooms #JaneAustenThenAndNow
Halfway through this book for #MidsummerSolace and it's perfectly lovely. I'm really enjoying the easy pace, and each vignette is building a stronger picture of Grandmother and Sophia and their summer together full of simple pleasures. It's starting to veer toward melancholy but I actually love that; the mood is keeping me hooked. Who else is reading this one right now? #BooksAndBlooms
pickI really enjoyed this R&J retelling, which centers Rosaline's POV. Sure, it takes a bunch of liberties and they may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it was a great new viewpoint to read Romeo as a Very Bad Man. I didn't love Tybalt's characterization but seeing the Friar in a new light was fascinating and chilling. Now I need to go search for every Rosaline-centric work out there! #BooksAndBlooms
And we end with happiness! Elinor and Edward marry and Mrs. F relents, offering them a bit of cash to settle more comfortably at Delaford. Marianne eventually has to eat all her words because she falls - not passionately - but quietly in love with an old man who wears flannel waistcoats. And now Margaret is of age to dance and have beaux and be teased, so triumph for Mrs. J! My love for this book is unceasing; I will never tire of it. Brava, Jane!
pickRebelling against a restrictive and rigid faith, mad support for the LGBTQ+, a girl inspired by art, and a literal musical triumph over the high school alt-right? What's not to love?! Sure, Hope's mom's turnaround in perspective felt a little too good to be true, and OK, I skipped most of the sci-fi story-within-a-story, but overall, so enjoyable. I can never resist self-discovery, good friends, and great music. #BooksAndBlooms
Sunday night with blooming peonies and a new book, rain pouring down, a bellini in hand, and another day off tomorrow. Vibes are immaculate. Books of essays aren't always my jam, but a good friend and reading buddy recommended this one, so here we go! #CurrentlyReading #BooksAndBlooms
Last time I dipped into Austen's unfinished works, I skipped The Watsons, so time to right that wrong! I'm addicted to these gorgeous editions, can't stop won't stop (collecting books I don't need). #PemberLittens
pickThis is such a a lovely and interesting biography! Light on the personal details of the life of Frances Hodgson Burnett but heavy on her relationship with the gardens she tended throughout her life, in England, New York, and Bermuda. Naturally it also focuses quite a bit on The Secret Garden and includes three other examples of her "garden writing" that were such a treat to read. Fellow Mary Lennox girls, you should definitely pick this one up!
I had a complete letdown of a reading month in March, but I plan to use April to claw my way back on track with the #PemberLittens, with my monthly #PersephonePick, and with the #ChunksterChallenge. I'm also REALLY looking forward to the May reads with the #PemberLittens- Lady Susan, here we come!
And I'm caught up! We've encountered bathing machines and a trip to Weymouth and a growing confidence between Jane and Frank Churchill and...drumroll... Jane's first proposal of marriage! I'm not entirely certain I could ever buy into this story enough for it to become personal headcanon, but I'm definitely enjoying the ride. #PemberLittens
