I love reading seasonally or at least I get in certain reading moods as the seasons ease into the next. 😄🍁🍂🌾🍃🍄🐿️🌻♥️ 📚Here are five reads that I recommend that feel September-ish…
1. From the Heart of the Home: Autumn by Susan Branch {this is a delightful collection of joyful reflections, illustrations, quotes, and recipes to get you into the fall mood}♥️🌻
2. Pat of the Silverbush by L.M. Montgomery {I’m reading this currently for the first time and it’s lovely and cozy for this time of year}
3. Christy by Catherine Marshall {beautiful story full of hope, growth, faith, and wonderful female friendships}
4. The Peace of Wild Things by Wendell Berry {honestly, I pull this short poetry collection out all times of year, but have been craving it lately}
5. The Grasmere Journals by Dorothy Wordsworth {beautifully simple journal entries from the sister of the poet William Wordsworth. The domesticity and pace of life is just so relaxing to me and the English Lake District setting is perfect}
P.S. William Shakespeare is another I feel drawn towards. What’s your favorite play of his?
Do you have any favorite reads that smell and feel of September? ♥️ Please share!
Listening… Johnny Cash – there’s a bit of truth for life I can pull out of this classic. Thinking on it. The things IN my heart are what come out.
Reading… Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc by Mark Twain. I’m interested in the history, but the portrayal of Joan is hard to swallow. So saintly she’s a bit bland? 😅 The writing is very flowery which I normally kind of like, but not loving it here. I’m going to see how much I can do by the end of this week and possibly attend Zoom discussion. Has anyone else read this?
Reading… I’m loving reading along with the Librivox audio to Jerome K. Jerome’s Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of The Dog) . This is a hilarious Victorian story full of sarcasm and British wit. I’m really enjoying it. I hope to finish it this week so I can attend a Zoom discussion on it.
Noticing…we’ve had a super dry summer, but are having a high humidity wave currently. I love the warmth, but it’s not fun to work in! I’m loving the mixture of yellows and purples on the roadsides. Late summer flowers. ♥️
What are you listening to, reading, watching, and noticing? There is so much wonder! ♥️
Reading…Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster and Touch Not the Nettle by Molly Clavering are my two current reads I’m excited about. I also have Wild Strawberries 🍓 by Angela Thirkell waiting in the wings.
Reading… on the top of my stack: Seasons of Your Heart: Prayers & Reflections by Macrina Wiederkehr and Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen. A wonderful, intriguing bit of Miyazaki to fill your joy cup.
Noticing…summer flowers, clouds, barn swallows, warmth, and summer smells! 🌿
Summer by Susan BranchPine-scented air and Life-giving words ♥️🌿Lake Michigan, little boys, sand, heart-shaped rock from almost 16 yo son, and comfy orange pants ♥️
What are you listening to, reading, watching, & noticing? ♥️🥰🌿
The whole country about them abounded in beautiful walks. The high downs which invited them from almost every window of the cottage to seek exquisite enjoyment of air on their summits, were a happy alternative when the dirt of the valleys beneath shut up their superior beauties; and towards one of these hills did Marianne and Margaret one memorable morning direct their steps, attracted by the partial sunshine of a showery sky, and unable longer to bear the confinement which the settled rain of the two preceding days had occasioned. The weather was not tempting enough to draw the two others from their pencil and their book, in spite of Marianne’s declaration that the day would be lastingly fair, and that every threatening cloud would be drawn off from their hills; and the two girls set off together.
They gaily ascended the downs, rejoicing in their own penetration at every glimpse of blue sky; and when they caught in their faces the animating gales of an high south-westerly wind, they pitied the fears which prevented their mother and Elinor from sharing such delightful sensations.
“ Is there a felicity in the world,” said Marianne, “superior to this?-Margaret, we will walk here at least two hours.”
Original Painting by Lore Pemberton. My friend protecting her plants.Image originally from National Geographic 1976.
These three above selections were shared by my friend and this is what I think has been brewing for awhile in my heart, but started coming out as I simmered a bit over them. A collage of bits of letters, ephemera, and poetry for you! ♥️🌿
Nature🌲 and books 📚 – two of my very favorite things! ♥️
Hi Friends! I’m loving all the summer space to soak in GREEN & BOOKS. I’m closing out the books 😉, so to speak, on my favorite second quarter reading today! Here’s first quarter’s favorites, if you are interested. I had a WONDERFUL few months of reading and I was surprised how they fell into a few main genres with a couple of wildcards. I’m grouping my snippet reviews under those for your ease! Happiest Reading!
Historical Fiction ~
Until Tomorrow, Mr. Marsworth by Shelia O’Conner ~ 5 stars – lovely tale told through letters between a young girl and an older gentleman on her paper route. This is set during the Vietnam War and addresses conscientious objectors, war, prejudice, family, and is SO well done.
Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck ~ 4 stars – set during the Great Depression/Dust Bowl era we follow a family leaving Oklahoma to find work in California. This gorgeously written, raw, heartfelt, and disturbing. I will be thinking about it for a long time. Ma Joad was my favorite character to follow. Adult content and language.
Paint Chips by Susie Finkbeiner ~ 4 stars – sobering and disturbing look at a mother (and her twin sister) and daughter’s journey through abuse and sexual trafficking. The Christian message was super well done, woven through this contemporary setting and difficult topic. This was told through alternating chapters and flashbacks. Good twist at ending.
Rose & Thistle by Laura Franz ~ 4 stars – this is a Christian historical fiction/ romance that I felt was pretty well done. A little bit of the clean cheesy romance, but overall, lovely setting and characters! This was set in England/ Scotland around the Jacobite Rebellion.
Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee ~ 4 stars – I really enjoyed this YA historical fiction that I received for my birthday about a Chinese American girl in the late 1800’s in Atlanta. Some of it seemed a wee bit unbelievable, but overall, so interesting with great characters, humor, and twists!!!! There was one weird, random sexual moment so FYI, if you are handing it to teens.
The Princess Game by Melanie Cellier ~ 4 stars – unique, clean retelling of Sleeping Beauty. Interesting twist on fairytale, great main characters, plot, and action.
The Sword of Kaigen by M. L. Wang ~ 4 stars – I really loved this Asian (Japanese?)-inspired elemental magic fantasy novel. It started off VERY slow, but I grew to love the characters, mothering, family aspect to this and some deep, beautiful lessons about growing through terrible circumstances. FYI: This is EXTREMELY violent with sword-type warfare, war crimes etc.
Katherine Wentworth by D. E. Stevenson ~ 5 stars – so gentle, full of peace, hope, nature, and a charming cottage. Second chance story with lovely mother & children. This reminds me slightly of The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery, although not quite as quirky!
Mrs. Lorimer’s Quiet Summer by Molly Clavering ~ 5 stars – I read a lot of stories set in Scotland 🏴 this quarter! Must be a sign. 😉😍 A sweet family tale set in beautiful Scottish scenery. I found out that Clavering and D.E. Stevenson were friends. 😍
Because of Sam by Molly Clavering ~ 4 stars – A widow and her adult daughter living in Scotland! 😂🥰 Sweet, humorous story with lots of delicious domestic details. I’ve read 3 of Clavering’s 8 novels so far and they are charming.
The Alpine Path by L.M. Montgomery ~ 5 stars -reread. A short memoir on Montgomery’s creative journey.
School Education by Charlotte Mason ~ 5 stars – reread. A challenging and encouraging vision for learning with children. The appendices are so helpful for practical application, too
Lady of Shalott by Alfred Lord Tennyson ~ 5 stars – a haunting poem that I so enjoyed. Thanks, Anne Shirley, for the recommendation. 😉😍
Unearthing the Secret Garden by Marta McDowell ~ 5 stars – such a lovely look at the 3 gardens created by Frances Hodgson Burnett in her lifetime.
Ourselves by Charlotte Mason ~ 5 stars – beautiful Christian philosophy for life! Reread with a friend!
The Moorland Cottage by Elizabeth Gaskell ~ 4 stars – a Victorian novella/short story. I read and discussed this on Zoom with Booktube group. Beautiful setting, interesting widow with two children and how good parenting can make a difference. A bit over the top twisted ending, but overall, enjoyable.
Lonesome Road by Patricia Wentworth ~ a Golden Age-type mystery. The third in the Miss Silver mystery series. Very interesting and fun mystery solved by an older woman. I like these a little better than Miss Marple.
What a wonderful reading quarter! Can you believe we are halfway through the year? 😍📚🌲 What were your favorite reads the past few months? I’d love to chat below! ♥️
Grandma, Felix, and Mustapha Biscuit by Victor Ambrus ~ I love this, I hope this is me someday! 😄♥️🌿💗
Homemaking Inspiration from Emily of Deep Valley ~
After pumping a pail of fresh water, she went into get into dinner. She put potatoes to boil, fried pork chops and opened a jar of tomatoes she had canned the summer before. She laid a cloth on the dining room table and put on jelly, bread and butter, a pot of tea. They sat down and her grandfather said grace. Through the bow window in which his easy chair stood, they could see small crooked willows and the slough, still wet from the spring rains. Some Syrian boys had a homemade boat in the pond. ♥️🌿
From the southeast came a steady summer wind that whispered sleepily around the house and on across the island. She could hear the weather report on the radio inside the house. A corner of sunshine edged across the windowsill.
Tove Jansson, The Summerbook, p.27
~Tove~
weird and wacky, yes
brightly thoughtful, I am seen
sun, moomins, and me
~ 🌲A. M. Pine🌲
What about you? Who’s art do you feel “seen” by? Tove’s combination of beautiful writing, bright painting, and whimsical illustration is a feast for me. ♥️💕🌿
A.M. Pine - Hearth Ridge Reflections 