My Happy Pile
This past year I have been disappointed in my reading. I spent way too much time perusing 'stuff' online leaving my once robust reading routine in tatters.
On the upside, I did attend many author events in 2016 - more than I wrote about - and am grateful to my library for inviting so many outstanding writers to speak here. At least I brushed against some fine writing.
I rarely seek out new books anymore although I do occasionally stumble across one that piques my interest. I am especially put off by book reviews that use words such as 'sweeping', 'saga', 'multi-generational', 'dark', 'violent', 'tragic', 'downfall', or 'dystopian'. And it seems as if most reviews do.
Sigh. I do believe I am in a grand reading funk.
Maybe this is what "a certain age" looks like. I long for the comfort of a book I know is well written, entertaining, and if it makes me laugh all the better.
To combat my despair - not only about my reading but other things as well - I made a plan to read books that will Keep My Spirits Up. (OK, I know it should be Keep Up My Spirits but it sounds better with the preposition at the end.)
So, to make it easy to grab one, I have created My Happy Pile of books that I know will make my spirits soar:
Merry Hall trilogy by Beverley Nichols - One cannot be blue when in the company of Mr. Nichols, his cats, and his house and garden restoration schemes.
One Summer: America, 1927 by Bill Bryson - A book I bought when it was first published but has languished on the shelf. Mr. Bryson is guaranteed to make me laugh out loud.
Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne - What could be more pleasant than spending time in the Hundred Acre Wood.
Diary of a Provincial Lady by E.M. Delafield - I feel my spirits brightening just thinking about this delightful book.
My Life and Hard Times by James Thurber - Things that go bump in the night are sure to bring on a smile or two.
Endangered Pleasures by Barbara Holland - A refreshing defense of naps, bacon, martinis, and other indulgences.
Simple Pleasures - British writers look at 'the little things that make life worth living' - published by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Of course there will be the gentle mystery or comic crime caper at bedtime.
In case my choices leave you cold, I have received responses to my call to bloggers and commenters with suggestions for their own Happy Pile and will be putting them together for you next week.
Let's all hang tight and Keep Our Spirits Up.
