It's summer! It's summer! The days of reading while soaking up the sun are finally here! But more importantly. . .

I don't have any fancy giveaways or anything. I just want to say thank you to everyone who has read my bookish thoughts or left me comments over the past year. I've enjoyed becoming part of this community so much, and I'm looking forward to seeing what the next year of blogging will bring!

Renaissance Florence on 5 Florins a Day by Charles FitzRoy
Two Memoirs of Renaissance Florence by Buonaccorso Pitti and Gregorio Dati (Sense a theme?)

King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard (My audiobook for gardening. Takes me awhile to get through these.)
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (My Classics Club spin book)

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (This is a LONG book! I didn't realize quite what I was getting myself into when I put it on my Classics Club list. Thankfully it's been an enjoyable and surprisingly easy read so far. It's just LONG!)

Jane Hayes is a woman obsessed with the idea of Mr. Darcy, especially the version of Darcy portrayed by Colin Firth in BBC’s Pride and Prejudice. And really, haven’t we all been there? I re-watch Pride and Prejudice once a year, constantly imagining myself in Elizabeth and Darcy’s world. The dresses, the countryside, the witty banter! Shannon Hale has created a way for her characters to actually enter this world – an English resort where you can shed your 21st century attire and mannerisms and be swept off your feet by a Darcy of your own.

Jane’s inheritance from her great-aunt Charlotte is three weeks at Pembroke Park – a chance to find her own Darcy, or to give up the fantasy all together. Jane’s not entirely sure which one she wants, a decision further complicated by all the acting taking place. Who is real? Who is fake? Just when Jane thinks she has it all figured out, she finds herself more confused than before.

I love the premise of this book. I think there’s a piece of every Austen lover that would love to live in her world for awhile. The plot is plenty twisty and turny to keep you intrigued, even though it’s a relatively slow-paced book. I was cheering Jane on, but I wasn’t entirely sold on any of the male characters. Some of that may be brought on Jane’s confusion. I could never get a handle on who a character really was because – just like Jane – I didn’t know when they were acting and when they weren’t. This book is a fun read for any Austen lover. It’s not a book I fell in love with, but it was still a good escape and an interesting take on all the Austen-related material out there.

I'm so glad I've been participating in the Reading to Know Book Club this year. It's introduced me to books that I should have read as a child yet hadn't even heard of before. The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge was one of these books. The Wolves of Willoughby Chase by Joan Aiken is another.

(It's also another book club book that I had some difficulty getting my hands on. The local library didn't have their copy on the shelves. They finally tracked it down in the Bookmobile, and said it hadn't been checked out in 14 years. How sad! Hopefully my checking it out bought it a few more years of life on the library shelves.)

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase embodies an element that all great classic children's literature has and that modern children's literature seems to be missing - simplicity. Life is simple and straight-forward, and the story is told simply and straight-forwardly. That doesn't mean that it's a happy book. A lot of terrible things happen to Bonnie and Sylvia. And you have to wait for the happy ending until nearly the last page. Life was scary and sad for them for a long time.

But I still came away from the book feeling refreshed. All the clutter of modern life was stripped away. Decisions were black and white; people were good or evil. Love and family were all-important. Loyalty to those you loved existed. Strangers would help you.

There's nothing wrong with modern children's books. But every once in awhile, it's necessary to read a classic like The Wolves of Willoughby Chase to remind us of the basics of life and how we should (and shouldn't!) treat one another.

Just one week of school left to go, and it will be summer! This is one of the longest weeks of the year, but also one of my favorite. Field trips, outside picnics, field day, Chapel. . . It's a great way to wrap up a wonderful school year.

The Cello Suites by Eric Siblin - Review (plus YouTube videos)
The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey - Review
Saturday Snapshot (Hot air balloon festival!)
I participated in Armchair BEA this past week, so these are all of my posts from that. What a fun time!
Armchair BEA Monday (Introduction)
Armchair BEA Tuesday (Author interaction & Audiobooks)
Armchair BEA Wednesday (Expanding blogging horizons & novellas/short stories)
Armchair BEA Thursday (Reading diversely)
Armchair BEA Friday (Reading from my own shelves vs. library books & Middle grade novels)

Kilmeny of the Orchard by L.M. Montgomery (A long bout of gardening allowed me to finish this audiobook sooner than expected. Good thing, too! It's a great book!)
Living in a Foreign Language by Michael Tucker (If you weren't already planning a visit to Italy, this book will make you plan a visit to Italy.)
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (Finished my book club book with a week to spare. Another great one!)
Flora & Ulysses: The Illuminated Adventures by Kate DiCamillo (I figured it was about time I read something for my Newbery Reading Challenge.)

Renaissance Florence on 5 Florins a Day by Charles FitzRoy (Don't be fooled by the cover - it actually has nothing to do with Duck Dynasty. :)
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard (This is my next audiobook, and it's also for the Reading to Know Book Club. It's been an interesting listen so far. . .)

Probably my Classics Club spin book - The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas