Saturday, November 5, 2011

Nightingale Wood by Stella Gibbons

Sometimes I just see a book and know I want to read it.  Major Pettigrew's Last Stand comes to mind and most recently Nightingale Wood.  I didn't hesitate for a second when I clicked BUY NOW on the Audible website where there are some books I let linger for months on my wishlist before I can make a decision.

I've decided the commonality between my instant purchases is that I am totally, completely and forevermore an Anglophile.  Set a book, TV show, or movie in the British countryside and I'm there.  You had me at "G'day."  I could read Austen, Dickens, Wilkie Collins, George Eliot, J.K Rowling to the end of my days and never grow weary.  And so, Nightingale Wood was such a treat!  It's a book with lots of characters you've met in so many other books.  Mr. Wither = Mr. Dursley, Phyllis Barlow = Rachel McAdams in Mean Girls and for much of the book nothing seems to really happen, however, just like my life in which nothing ever seems to really happen, I find myself vastly entertained (only joking, my life isn't that boring). 

From what I've read, Nightingale Wood was out of print for many years and just recently Virago republished.  Smart publishers they are.  I'm ready to read Cold Comfort Farm now, also by Stella Gibbons, and wonder how it could be that I haven't read it before!

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

The Night Circus (by Erin Morgenstern)

I can't help but put both these images on this post because... I like them so much! JUST LIKE I LIKED THIS BOOK! There are so many reasons to too, that can be likened to our beloved Harry Potter: young characters, magic, danger, a duel of talent and wit, and... oh yes... narrated by JIM DALE. As soon as I heard his voice, my heart lept. 
To quote the author herself however, 'I find the JK Rowling comparison hugely flattering but not particularly apt'  ... which I must agree to. This is an entirely different book. I can, however, recommend it truly, madly, deeply as a fantastic audio read. I don't know what more to say other than I got through repairing 3 pairs of jeans, multiple other clothing items, and re-vamped about 6 tshirts on the sewing machine. Magical! Sorry if this post seems so fluffy... the book is not... read/listen and comment away!