The leftovers are put away. The dishes are clean. A piece of pumpkin pie awaits. My annual viewing of Home for the Holidays has concluded. The house is decorated and the presents are wrapped for the youngest's birthday tomorrow. Amidst the bustle and moments of chaos, I finished Time Remembered by Miss Read. Lamentably, it is too short a work, as is her A Fortunate Grandchild which I finished about a week ago. Both are autobiographical volumes that cover her childhood years, respectively, those that tell of her move to the countryside and her attendance at a village school, and the earlier years of living in London and her interactions with her two grandmothers. Reading both of these works gives a glimpse into some of the real life experiences that influenced her fiction. If you have read Miss Read, these two works are just as delightful. If you haven't read Miss Read, I believe they stand up wonderfully on there own merit. I am thankful for these two books as well as all the other fabulous reads I have enjoyed in 2009. I am thankful for the book bloggers that led me to a lot of these books and authors. I am thankful for books, friends, family...I am thankful for this day.
13 comments:
Happy Belated Thanksgiving! How did we get to the end of November so quickly?
Happy Birthday Sweetie Pie!
Lovely post. Hope your holiday is grand.
Glad you had such a good day yesterday. I read a few Miss Reads when I was much younger but your enthusiasm is making me think of looking for them in the library next time I'm there. I could do with some comfort reading I think. Also love the sound of these autobiographical ones.
That was lovely! Happy Thanksgiving!
I love those two Miss Read autobiographies as well! Don't know if you've ever read No Holly for Miss Quinn, but it's a Christmas favourite of mine, and I really recommend it.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving Weekend and the fabulous food if you're feasting! I still miss American style pies, apple crisps, and Stove Top Stuffing from my years living over there!
Glad you had a Happy Thanksgiving, and hope your youngest is enjoying her birthday celebration today. It's my nephew's birthday, too!
There was some reading time this morning, and I finished North River by Pete Hamill. Now we're getting ready to to host the 'leftovers' feast. Holidays are the best!
JoAnn - How funny...is it kind of strange for your nephew to have it so close to Thanksgiving? The past couple of years have been interesting trying to coordinate the two. She had a lovely day full of surprises which made it fun for us all. Mmm...leftovers:) Holidays ARE the best!
Cath - It seems the perfect time for comfort reads and Miss Read is perfect. I am also enjoying one of her Christmas collections. I hope there will be another autobiography at some point. I would love to know what happens beyond her childhood.
Amused - Thank you! Hope yours was a happy one as well:)
Darlene - Thank you. The youngest had a great day. She wanted a Christmas themed birthday, so we put up Christmas decorations the night before and then took her to a theme park that is decorated for Christmas as a surprise. Lots of fun had by all but oh the magic of turning four:)
Beth F - Thank you. Hope yours is too and that you are thankfully reading:)
ramblingfancy - I am so excited to know that you recommend No Holly. It is in the Christmas at Fairacre collection I just received. So far I am really enjoying The Christmas Mouse and now look forward to reading No Holly for Miss Quinn. We have been feasting a little too much:) Did you find yourself wishing the autobiographies were longer? I just didn't want them to end.
I certainly did! In fact I remember looking up the Schafe family (if that is right name/spelling?) in the 1901 census I so wanted to know more about the family after reading the books. Can't remember if I actually found them now though!
ramblingfancy - I visited your live journal last night and enjoyed reading your posts (especially the one about what to read to 4 year old because I am always looking for ideas for books for my youngest). I am hoping I have this right but are you mother to Miranda of Skirmish of Wit. If so, she left me a comment on another Miss Read post saying how much her mum loves her books. Is that you? I have so enjoyed reading about you reading to her. You both have lovely blogs. Did you stop a couple of months ago or do you blog elsewhere now? Very close...it is Shafe. That is one of those names I have a hard time with. After reading the Guernsey Potato Pie book, I had to keep looking up the spelling of one of the authors, Schaffer, and I still don't think it is right. Oh well:) I finished Christmas Mouse last night and will be moving onto Storm in the Village. I will save No Holly and Village Christmas for when it gets closer to Christmas.
I, too, have a thankful heart. Also, it took me awhile to get here, but I'm glad I've met you!
dolcebellezza - You are too sweet! Thank you:)
No you got it exactly right! I am indeed skirmishofwit's (Miranda's) mum. But thank you so much for your kind comments. I'm so glad you enjoyed the old posts. I did stop posting in July as I bought Miranda a typepad account, and the idea was I would move my blog to that provider as well. Of course I just got busy and lazy and didn't start up again!
It's hard not to want to gobble up the Miss Reads isn't it? Two other autobiographical series I thoroughly enjoy and if you haven't read already you also might like are those by M V Hughes (A London Child of the 1870s etc) and Winfred Foley's A Child in the Forest etc. They're very different from each other and Miss Read but lovely in their own ways.
ramblingfancy - Thank you for the recommendations. I jotted them down to check out as I look forward to what to read in 2010. I completely understand about not starting up again. I have thought about joining wordpress but the thought of the work is daunting and so just deal with my blogger frustrations.
Post a Comment