In Which I Make a Plan to Keep My Spirits Up

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.

The Hundred Acre Wood

In which Winne-the-Pooh impersonates a storm cloud to trick some bees
by
Ernest H. Shepard

I spent the morning in the Hundred Acre Wood with Winnie-the-Pooh and compatriots Piglet, Rabbit, Eyeore, Owl, Kanga and Little Roo. What fun we had when Christopher Robin led us on an Expedition to find the North Pole. And we celebrated Eyeore's birthday, pulled Pooh out of the rabbit's hole when he got stuck, set a trap for a Heffalump, pretended to be a storm cloud to trick the bees into giving up some honey, and most helpful of all, we found Eyeore's tail.

I am talking of course of the wonderful escapades of A.A.Milne's creatures who live in The Forest. Nothing really bad happens that can't be set right by Christopher Robin. And in time of troubles it is best to hum a little tune of your own creation.

There are probably lessons of tolerance to be learned when Kanga and Little Roo come to the wood and no one knows how they got there. "The Usual Way," is CR's explanation although no one knows exactly what that means. The gang kidnaps Little Roo in hopes that Kanga will decided the wood is not a good home, but as usual plans go awry and everyone becomes friends in the end. And Piglet gets a bath.

But that is not the point of these delightful stories. At least I hope not. There is too much enjoyment and laughter to be had to be thinking about Serious Meanings. What good companions these inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood turned out to be on a Saturday morning.

Taking Childhood Reading in Hand

Illustration by Kate Greenaway

Since my post the other day on the pitiful state of my reading during childhood, I decided to make a more concerted effort to catch up. So between now and the end of the year I will read 10 books that come from the lists of classics for kids.

I found a lovely used hardback copy of Winnie-the-Pooh on the Grand Southern Literary Tour and although I have read it, I will start with Winnie and the crew and work my way through a list of my own devising.

I know for sure I want to read Anne of Green Gables. (I had a copy that got water damaged in a storage box before I ever got around to reading it.) And I have never read any of the Little House on the Prairie books.

I know that Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project, is a big fan of children's literature and even started a book club devoted to the genre...if is a genre.

Maybe the reason I don't read much fiction is because I was not exposed to it so much as a child so I don't have that 'tell me a story' yearning.

If anyone has any suggestions, let me know. I am not interested in vampires or any of the newer politically correct books. I just want a good, old-fashioned read.