Would you like to leave something for me to find in my post-office in the hedge?
it's always hard to recommend books to other people, not knowing what they might like. However, you might enjoy the historic series by Sandra Worth. Here is her website:
http://www.sandraworth.com/
So good to see you back and also that you took the time off when life demanded that. I will always remember
that and what is important. ( your mom)
Books : Jane Eyre, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Peel Society ( great book for a reader), Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. There's a start if you haven't read them or a reread!!!
You give me a breath of peace when I come to your site. AND I adore letter writing.
Bonnie
NC
Have you read Elizabeth Goudge:
The Scent of Water, Green Dolphin Street, etc....any of her books?
Bonnie
Well...I was going to suggest "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Pie Peel Society", but Bonnie beat me to it
so I'll just give it hearty second! How about "Wives and Daughters" by Elizabeth Gaskell or Forster's "A Passage to India" or "A Room With A View"? Or maybe Dava Sobels' "Galileo's Daughter"?
I have enjoyed reading Maeve Binchey and Wilkie Collins is very good too. The Lady in White by Collins is excellent.
So glad that you are opening your shop again, you have such pretty designs, looking forward to your planner.
Shari
I will third "Guernsey" -- it's delightful. Easy read, but substantial, too. Fun, clever, moving. I hope you like it!
And I'm so glad your shop is back!
Lesley,
Here are some possibilities that you might find interesting:
Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs mysteries have a lot of the same feel as Sayers, and are set in the same time and place. A fine contemporary mystery series, with an older feel.
Robertson Davies's Tempest Toss'd also has a certian feel to it that you might like. It is set in Canada in a medium-sized town in the 1950s I think.
At this moody and autumnal time of year, I always like to read the very literary and artfully written ghost stories of MR James. James is a master of the late-Victorian period and tells eerie tales without and of the visceral gore of contemporary horror writers. These are stories of old books that should be left unread and occult knowledge better left to the ages. Very fun stuff, if not too scary to the modern reader.
Sarah Orne Jewett writes eloquently and movingly of family and community life in Maine in the late 19th century. The fisheries and seafaring trades are dying out, and there is a feeling of loss and alteration in Jewett's stories. Jewett also writes beautifully about nature, with moving depictions of the Maine woods and fields. Try The Country of the Pointed Firs.
Silas House writes lovingly of the land, in this case, the coal regions of the Appalachians. Family and home are at the center of House's stories, with all of the sorrows and delights that they bring. Start with House's first novel Clay
’s Quilt, in which a young miner delves into the life of his mother, who was killed when he was four years old. As he traces her past, he comes to understand how families are tied together by their stories. House writes lyrically of the changing seasons and the land, and is a fine storyteller as well.
All of these are at the library in Williamsburg!
Wow, I'm just trying to try and find some time for reading myself and I can't even begin to compete with the accomplished readers who've commented before me. The only title I've managed to complete lately is The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd. I thoroughly
enjoyed it.
I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of the planner as well.
One of my top 5 favorite reads ever is "I Am One of You Forever" by Fred Chappell. It was deeply satisfying - the luminous prose, the tying up of loose ends...just tight enough...the mix of strange and commonplace. There are few books that cause me to make audible sounds when I read them (unless I'm reading aloud of course). This book made me laugh outloud as well as gasp at the pure genius of how Chappell strings words together. His writing is filled with unique similes and metaphors, creating clear pictures for my mind's eye. These word pictures made his characters (cooky as many of them were) very nearly jump off the page and sit down next to me.
Yes. A deeply satisfying read for sure.
Ivan Doig, trained as a journalist, writes of his childhood growing up in Montana in the book "This House of Sky".
His novels, with lilting names such as "Ride With Me, Mariah Montana", "Prairie Nocturne", "English Creek" and "Dancing At The Rascal Fair" present the American west as seen through eyes of Scottish immigrants. But more importantly, he represents family and friendships in a real way that the reader can feel. I love that about his work.
~Carolyne
I recently read "Lessons At Blackberry Inn" by Karen Andreola...a bit different than the books already suggested but it was comforting,heart warming and made me long to live there....
blessings,
Amy M
PS...I have a lovely little framed piece from your shop that my best friend gave me when I moved away to SC last spring....it was one of her favorite things and such a treasure to me....I cant wait to browse your new things....
What I read this summer...The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is a great new mystery series, set in 1950's England.
Have you read the 2 Jill Paton Walsh/ Dorothy Sayers follow-up mysteries? I also enjoyed Paton Walsh's mystery series set in Oxford and I finished up the Jane Austen mysteries. BUT my absolute favorite is Lark Rise to Candleford --- I can't tell you how much I love this book. It begs to be read slowly and outside in the summer time...
Since I spend much of my workday in technical endeavors, I enjoy reading light romance novels (not the Harlequin sort) that are set in interesting locales for my "escape reading." One of my favorite authors is Emilie Richards. She's recently done a lovely series based on quilting and quilters in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.
(((hugs)))
I loved the Guernsey book as well. Classics are always a favorite: Jane Austen, Elizabeth Gaskell, the Brontes, but if you have not tried the stateside reading of Jan Karon, do so now! Charming in every way!
I just received Larkrise to Candleford in the mail, and I am loving it!!! The details of every-day life in that era (late 1800's) are so wonderful to read about, plus the story is so sweet. I think you'll *love* it! 
You might enjoy the Brother Cadfael mysteries by Ellis Peters. Susan Wittig Albert also has some good books--her herbal mysteries with China Bayles are fun. She also started a new historical fiction series featuring Beatrix Potter (these might be just the thing if you're missing England!).
I am currently engrossed in the latest book (#7, I think?) in Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series, called "An Echo In The Bone". If the notion of historical fiction with a dash of time travel appeals to you, then you might enjoy this series. The first book is called "Outlander", and if you begin at the beginning, the series will keep you occupied for a very long time!
All the best...
- Elizabeth
There are many good titles offered here - but I can't help mentioning 'anything' written by Rosamund Pilchur...also, "An American Childhood" by Annie Dillard....and...The Complete Poems of Elizabeth Bishop 1929-1979.
Loving your shop and wondering what lies ahead! Thank you.
kkkkaty
Hello Lesley
I've enjoyed reading all the reading suggestions left in comments ... At the moment on my bedside table I'm reading Digging Deep by Fran Sorin & The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans, I'd also recommend The Secret Life of Bees and The Mermaid Chair both by Sue Monk Kidd.
You must try the novels of British author Barbara Pym. Do you know Elizabeth Gaskell's work? For many years her book covers carried only the name "Mrs. Gaskell". Love, love, love these British authors. If you can find the books of Irish author Molly Keane, you're in for a treat. All three authors did not have a prolific output of books, but all are unforgettable. You will return to them again and again.
Lesley, I too enjoy Rosamunde Pilcher and her descriptions of people, places, and foods. Her "Winter Solstice" is a favorite. It's a lovely, fat book with a great story that intertwines the lives of 5 main characters. Elizabeth Goudge books are lovely: "The Castle on the Hill," "The Rosemary Tree," "Island Magic" and "The Bird in The Tree." A recent discovery is Jamie Langston Turner: "Suncatchers," "Some Wildflower in My Heart," and "A Garden to Keep." She always writes a good story and contrasts Christian and non-Christian perspectives without triteness.
Blessings on you in this new season.
Hello Lesley,
Have you read any of Laurie R. King's suspense series featuring Sherlock Holmes and his protégée, young Mary Russell? I have read the first book, "The Beekeeper's Apprentice", and highly recommend it.
Kind regards,
Holly
Hi Lesley,
I just thought of another book, given to me by my eldest daughter, that I loved -- "To Say Nothing of the Dog" by Connie Willis. It's a delight.
Holly
Lesley,
A series that I have enjoyed is by C.A. Belmond. They are "A Rather Lovely Inheritance" and " A Rather Curious Engagement". They are light reading with a setting of Europe. They are both mysteries that center around an inheritance of the main character. As I was looking them up, I realized that the next one will be out in 2010.
I think you have been given some very good choices. Several are on my must read list.
I read the Ya-Ya Prayer group series a couple years ago and enjoyed them.
Also,Dearest Dorothy series. I bought them at a Christian book store.
I don't read as much as I would like to.
Deb
Lesley,
Have you ever read any of Gladys Taber's books? Wow, you would love them. Gentle reads written sort of journal-style about an older woman who buys a dilapidated old farmhouse (Stillmeadow Farm) in Connecticut with a friend and how they renovate, garden, keep house, and survive some pretty brutal winters. She wrote a bunch of books covering several years of living there then wrote another series about a home on Cape Cod (Stillwater Cove). She passed away about 15 years ago? Most of her books are out of print but some have been republished due to some renewed interest in this fascinating lady.
I don't really know what you like, but I'm loving the series by Kathy Reichs, that the t.v. show Bones is based on. The main character is a forensic anthropologist. I *think* the first book is called Deja Dead.
You have a lovely lovely site and I have shared the post titled "Calm" with several people because it was wonderful. At least, I think that was what it was called.
I'm most excited to see you back and for your new offerings .
I'm currently reading the Dickens' Classics and I am LOVING all of them. Right now I am enjoying "Pickwick Papers" I so love Dickens.
I can also HIGHLY recommend "The Heretic's Daughter" by Kathleen Kent & The Physick Book Of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe..both excellent books and very fitting for this time of year.
Wishing you a joyous day,
Doreen
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