Thursday, September 27, 2018

Autumn Time Reading

Autumn is here.

It's time for dying leaves, scalding hot drinks, graying skies, layered clothes. My favorite time of the years for all those things and so much more. I have some seriously summer-inclined friends and they lament the arrival of Fall because to them it means...Winter is Coming. However, I refuse to have such glass-half-empty look on it. I don't wish fall wasn't here - I wish it was longer. Much, much longer. Like as long as summer. Or better - winter! I live in Iowa. I'd take any other season longer than winter. Except maybe summer. I'm not a summer girl. It's so hot. And I wilt. And then I do wilting things like drooping until I melt like the wicked witch did when Dorothy attacked her with water. It's not fun. I am...I am a autumn time girl. Give me the rain. Give me the dead leaves. Give me the LACK OF INSECTS TRYING TO GET ME TO INHALE THEM AND/OR EAT MY BLOOD. But, I'm getting distracted and off topic. Ahem...

In honor of my favorite season I've accumulated a small but mighty list of some of my favorite autumn time reads. Books that are natural fits for when the leaves turn orange and the nights grow longer and the air gets nippier and I am my best self living my best life.



The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen

Visual Description: The top half has the image of a back of a woman in a red tank top, dark loose hair staring out of a open window with autumn trees. Beside her is an open book. She's sitting on what seems to be a window seat with purple pillows. Below, in the bottom half, with a background of orange is the title in cursive 'The Sugar Queen" with the author's name in smaller, white letters above. Golden filigree borders the title in the background. 

The first thought I had was of this novel. Sarah Addison Allen's super power is invoking the seasons and the natural world and tying them firmly with her character's world and development. I would also highly suggest reading First Frost, her sequel to Garden Spells for equal fall vibes. The Sugar Queen is a standalone and holds bittersweet and happily ever afters that is best read and experienced in the Fall. 


Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery

Visual Description: Anne, a redheaded young woman, is strolling down a path with her arms around books, gazing towards the reader. She is wearing a straw hat, a oversized orange cardigan, and a dark green-brown tweedish looking skirt. Behind her and down the lane is a white house with a green roof. Several very large windy-blown trees surround it. In white cursive and above Anne's head is 'Anne of Windy Poplars'. Above that in blue, smaller and simpler print is  The Anne of Green Gables Novels #4, LM MONTGOMERY. The cover is bordered in sold dark pumpkin orange. 

Everything about Anne-with-a-E screams love for autumn. What is that quote? Oh yes. "I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers". I've read the entire series over and over again and out of the entire set - Anne of Windy Poplars, for me, is the most Autumnal. (With Anne of the Island a very strong second). Perhaps because it details her time as a teacher and the season of autumn is heavily featured. 


Frankenstein by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Visual Description: Top half is a artistic painting of a shirtless pale man, with black shaggy hair, staring down at his reflection in a pool (his reflection is staring back up at him). Behind him is a black sky, a leafless tree, and a huge rock. Red poppies are strewn across the pool of water before him. The bottom holds the title and author with a background of black. MARY SHELLEY in orange, Frankenstein : The 1818 Text in white, italicized font. 

Well, I'm sure this is a no-brainer. You cannot live through an October or even a November without reading something classic and gothic and enthralling. With the new movie that came out about Mary Shelley, I've been feeling the need to re-read Frankenstein this season. 


A Wrinkle In Time by Madeleine L'Engle

Visual Description: The cover is artistically drawn. The center has the title "A Wrinkle in Time" and the author's name "MADELEINE L'ENGLE' above in front of a black night sky with tiny white star. the border of the book is made up of cartoons. Top of the cover: three children flying. Left A small house, a old lady in black witches attire, a old woman drawn with white and pencil, below a old woman in a a top hat and oversized coat and skirt and boots. Below golden plains and mountains with a trio of children on the back of a winged pegasus. Right is a very tall school with children walking towards it. In the bottom right is a golden sticker. 

Children's books are my favorite to re-read and A Wrinkle In Time is TOP on the list for me. While it spans across the galaxy and universe and encompasses many types of worlds let alone seasonal-types - it starts on a stormy autumn-y night. A wild night when all the things start happening. Curling up with this and a hot cup of cocoa or cider while the wind is blustering orange and brown leaves around....hmmmm...yes. That sounds exactly right to me. 


Visual Description: Emerald green background, "The Magician's Nephew' in large white, all caps front and center and below a medallion shape with a child in blue, with blonde hair riding a winged caramel colored pegasus just barely flying out of it. The green background lightens around the medallion shape as if the shape was glowing light. C.S. Lewis in all white caps but smaller than the title at the very bottom. 

Ok, this is set in summer time. And it might not be the most autumnal of reads. But, it's magical and the start of amazing, classic series. And to me, that makes it worth being on this list. Autumn is the best time to re-read your favorites and start a series to last you through the winter. Chronicles of Narnia is one of THE best series to have on your reading plate for the colder months of the year. 


Great Expectations by Charles Dickens

Visual Description: A painting of a large gate with two stone pillows. A foggy forest and green hills with a blue sky above lay beyond the gate. Below with a background of black states "Charles Dickens' in orange and in white, italics 'Great Expectations'. 

Speaking of re-reading...Great Expectations is dreary and spooky and heart-wrenching and classic. It's not quite as gothic and dark as Frankenstein but it's got that old Victorian gloomy tilt to it. And plus, well, Dickens. And reading (or re-reading) a Dickens novel is an excellent goal for every year. 


The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke

Visual Description: The title in the center in all caps, slightly Renaissance-esque font 'THE THIEF LORD". At the bottom in a cursive, handwritten font the author's name "Cornelia Funke". The background is entirely blue and white to give the painting a twilight/midnight feel. It is the end of a canal of Venice. You see ab bridge between two narrow buildings. And an archway at the top with a mysterious figure capering over the top of the arch with the details of the body invisible against the light of a full moon in a starry night sky. 

Set in autumn-time Venice with a smattering of snow. The runaways fight runny noses while they follow their Thief Lord and the friendly Detective who loves turtles chases them around. Cornelia Funke has several books that are perfect for the season. But this one is my favorite. It's stand-alone, it's enchanting, and it utterly transports you to another world even though it's set in this one. 


Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Visual Description: Bottom quarter is plain back with orange, all capital "CHARLOTTE BRONTE" and below white, italics title "Jane Eyre". Above is a classical painting. A a brown haired, pale sitting woman in a 19th century black gown with a white collar. She has a piece of paper on her lap and a child with ringlets and a red 18th century child's gown leaning over her lap and looking at it. To the left, standing is a golden haired woman in a rose 19th century gown with a bustle and lace. They are all posed in a corner by a window with large drapes where sunlight steeps in from. 

If you're new to my blog - oh hey, guess what? I love Jane Eyre. So I take any excuse to add it to a list or to mention it or to even think about it. If you're not into Jane Eyre then I encourage you to try it right now. It's part gothic, part romance, part female anthem of empowerment, and entirely classic. It's an invigorating read that, I believe, pairs well with walks in the park and tea. 


Blackbird House by Alice Hoffman

Visual Description: The background of the cover is a painting, very realistic that it seems almost like a photograph, except the softness of the hues. Old fashioned laced up red boots sit next to a roaring fire on a stone floor. The corner of a basket of what looks to be peaches or maybe bread next to it. The title is on top of the cover and in all capitals 'BLACKBIRD HOUSE' with 'A Novel' in smaller letters. Bottom part has the author's name 'ALICE HOFFMAN' with 'Author of 'The Probable Future' in smaller caps below it.

I checked this out as a audiobook on my library app last year and fell in love with it. Alice Hoffman is always a win, in my book. But, this one is special to me because it's a series of short stories but they all center around the same place and the people around this house. The Blackbird House. It's meandering and intimate at the same time and I love that kind of feeling in a book. It's why I treasure A Tree Grows In Brooklyn so much (it gets a honorary mention below!). And, of course, blackbirds - especially one in particular - soar in and out of the skies of the various stories. My favorite features the red boots which is central to the cover. Lots of possible-witchery happens, heart-warming charm, sad and melancholy resolution, happy and content endings. I really adored it and I think it fits well into the autumnal spirit of this list. 

Honorary Mentions! 


The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (my favorite HP!). Bram Stoker's Dracula. The Sleeper and the Spindle by Neil Gaiman. Coraline by Neil Gaiman. Ok...well...anything by Neil Gaiman. The Hobbit by Tolkien. The Book Thief by Marcus Zuzask. A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith. Uprooted by Naomi Novak. The Hounds of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie. 

I hope that this autumn is full of everything that you love about this season. I hope its crunchy underneath your boots, with lots of hot drinks that just only slightly burn the top of your mouth, rainy and blustery afternoons, nights that dip into freezing and bring frost to your windows just so you can trace happy faces on its surface, and I hope that you get many a-lazy hours to dive into each and everyone of these books to bring optimal autumnal reading glory into your lives. 

Until next time, 

Jess


Friday, September 14, 2018

Historical Romanticals

I have been crashing my way through a variety of books this summer. It's been in this book-bingeing summertime that I've rediscovered, to my great amusement, the historical romance. I love historical fiction. I love romance. The two combined is a no brainer, right? Yea, no. I've got to be in the right mood - no I'm not talking about that mood - for historical romance. Partly because I have to be in a amenable mood for inaccuracies for the sake of a breast-heaving, helpless, feisty damsels. I also have to be in the historical mood. It's one part fantasy mood and one part real world and then to top it all off - I must be in a wistful, dreamy heroes and heroine mood. Historical romance is one part dreamy, unrealistic fantasy and one part realistic, historicalness. I usually burn my way through it in a series of books and then move on to another genre. Historical romance isn't a genre I usually follow or get too vocal about. However, this summer I've discovered a couple of authors and books that I really wanted to share.


Image Description: Three covers, side by side. The first says "Romancing the Duke" and has a dark haired woman in a long red gown in front of a castle. The second says "When a Scot Ties the Knot" and features a woman in a pale green gown and pale brown hair playing with kilt of a sandy haired Scotsman who is not wearing a proper shirt. The third is called "A Lady by Midnight" and is a blue themed cover with a brunette woman in a gown of midnight blue laying down with a dark haired man on top of her. 

My favorite of the above covers happens to have the most salacious cover - A Lady by Midnight - however I found it to be the most heartwarming. So I guess, I really finally learn the whole 'don't by a book by it's cover. But, I can't help myself. Honestly I think that's this genre's most sabotaging feature. There's probably bunches of fabulous writers hiding under breast-heaving damsels clutching shirtless rakes in historically life-ruining poses. Which is one of the reasons I'm doing this post. Because I don't normally cover historical romances - well...these specific kind of historical romances.

Tessa Dare is probably well known. I checked these books out from my library's app and I had to go on the waiting list for two of them and one of her newer books (not released yet) already has a waiting list. Also - they have quite a few of her books on the digital library and that's a tell tale sign that the author or the series is a big deal since libraries can't just go buy a bunch of books nowadays and hope for the best. If they ever did that, ever. lol. Budgets. :/ But, I could tell that she'd be popular regardless of her presence on my library's digital e-book app. Because she's funny. And heartwarming. And she uses small animals and lovable supporting characters to flesh out the world. Like, in A Lady by Midnight - I was scouring her reading list for any hint that she had written more about a set of supporting characters introduced. It really felt like there should be. I really, really wanted there to be more, dammit. lol. The plots are usually well paced. And yes, there are some unrealistically bodice-ripping scenes but not to the point of over-doing it. It doesn't take over the ENTIRE plot line. Furthermore - in the 'Castles Ever After' series - the unrealistic premise nods to the very realistic societal and economical limitations a woman suffered in the chosen historical timeframe. This old man gifts each of his unrelated goddaughters with a Castle upon his death. Thus giving them a land and potential income and a home that is entirely their own. Which means...independence. None of them are willing to give this up and fight to protect it with fierce feminine awesomeness.

Lynsay Sands


Image Description: I'll just sum it up like this: Shirtless Scottish men in kilts. First one basking on a log entitled "Surrender to the Highlander". Second in a embrace with a busy brunette in a ravishing ruby, silk gown entitled "The Highlander Takes a Bride'. The third set in night time, his back to the viewer, he's leaning up against a stone wall looking brooding and emotionally tense - entitled "Falling for the Highlander'. 

HIGHLANDERS are basically like...honestly, I think...50% of the historical romance fiction output right now. And have been for like a long time. The biggest question I've wondered is if it was so saturated before Outlander hit the tv screen? I've always felt that I got my whole fill on the highlander romance because I've read and watched Outlander. But, I was cruising along on my binge-fest and was like...well, can't hurt to try, right? I was already down the rabbit hole of ravishing, heroic rakes and feisty damsels-in-distress.

Lynsay Sands is a positive that came out of my diving into romantic Highlander territory. I'm not entirely sure what era of time her Highlander and their Damsels are set in but I want to gander that's its before Protestantism became a huge thing because girls kept being almost sent to nunneries. And definitely before the Battle of Culloden (shout out out to Outlander for that piece of Scottish/English history!) because the Clans are still in place and active. Yet they reference an ominous 'King' every once in a while. 

Despite the ambiguous time era she sets her stories in - she does a great job in creating the realistic female character and their roles and limitations. Status of dowries are a big deal, their day-to-day activities and roles are in-character, they are literally trapped between a nunnery, goodwifery, or spinsterhood dependency. They are also unconcerned with sex (well, at least at first, lol) because back then - women were told that sex was a chore for babies and to make their husbands happy. They were coached early on (if at all!) that it was duty to perform. Marriage was meant to provide a position and an avenue for the source of love that women were allowed to be hopeful for - that of a child. I give her strong kudos for blending that in. With alot of historical romance female characters its like...."Have some realistic societal roles and limitations with all that fiesty, adventure-seeking, romping sexual independence". And with Sands's character's it's far more blended and realistic. They think like I could feel a woman who is independent and determined would think about their situations in that time. 

Oh, don't worry - there's plenty bodice ripping and ravishing adventuring to be read. To be honest, a little too much for my preference. But, there's also mystery, poison, great supporting characters (who seem to feature in other books too!), and comedic timing. 

Summary

Romantical Historical novels need balance. They need great supporting characters, a touch in someway to reality, and a plot outside bodice ripping and Era-innapropriate dalliances. They also need voice and they, and in some ways moreso than any other genre, really need that extra chemistry with the reader. Not THAT kind of chemistry. Although that is incredibly helpful for that particular genre. But the kind of charming chemistry a writer with that spark has with their reader.

So the next time you start jonesing for a little bit of historical romanticalness in your reading diet - try some of the titles in this post and rest in the knowledge that they've been fully vetted and are A+ Historic Romances. Only the best for you, dear reader. Only the best.

Until next time,

Jess