If you want something special, a bit humorous and romantic to read for Valentine’s Day, here are a couple of ebook suggestions: Mr. Darcy’s Valentine by Heather Moll and As Only Mr. Darcy Can by Laura Hile.
Author: Barbara W. Klaser
I'm a blogger, novelist, editor, lifelong journal keeper, and a knitter. I'm the owner of Mystery of a Shrinking Violet as well as a few other blogs. For more about me, see the About page.
My year 2022 in books
This seems as good a day as any to finish up my year-end transition for reading books, since I just finished the last Christmas story I’d set aside to read in 2022, day-before-yesterday, nearly two weeks into 2023. Sometimes, in rebellious moments, I wonder why we insist on these demarcations between time periods, especially ending the year in the middle of a season. It feels so arbitrary to me, especially this year, for some reason. Maybe it’s that the same weather patterns are continuing, and I have some ongoing projects that are the same projects now as they were in December.
Father Christmas and the Goblins
This post includes links to two video treasures for the holidays, J.R.R. Tolkien’s “Father Christmas and the Goblins,” a fantasy tale of the North Pole read by Adam F. McCune; and a tour of a Medieval-themed German Christmas market in the city of Esslingen, Germany with Fruity Knitting.
How did Jane Austen celebrate Christmas?
A peek at the background of Jane Austen’s stories, and an exploration into how she might have celebrated Christmas. Links, quotes, and further reading sources included.
Revisiting Two Favorite Jane Austen Variations
Review of two favorite Jane Austen variations that I recently reread: Twelve Days of Christmas, by Jennifer Lang; and As Only Mr. Darcy Can, by Laura Hile. These two selections are available as ebooks from Amazon.com.
The Last Place She Expects to See Mr. Darcy
The Last House in Lambton, by Grace Gibson, is a variation on Pride and Prejudice. When Elizabeth volunteers to help out her great aunt by marriage, who is in need of companionship, in Lambton, Derbyshire, she has no idea that Pemberley is only five miles away.
The Flame Ignites
I just finished reading The Flame Ignites, by Donna Fletcher Crow. I enjoyed this novel a lot, and it’s a departure from the typical novel, in that it combines some fact with fiction in an unusual way.
The Classic Tradition of Haiku
The Classic Tradition of Haiku: An Anthology, by Faubion Bower. The collection in this anthology of classic haiku is gathered from the works of traditionally recognized haiku masters from Japanese history.
Grammar for a Full Life
If you love the English language, if you do a lot of writing, or if you want to communicate on a deeper level in everything you write, then this book might interest you. Even if you don’t write that much yourself, but enjoy reading thoughtful writing in the form of essays, I recommend this.
Three Simple Lines — a book about haiku and much more
Three Simple Lines: A Writer’s Pilgrimage into the Heart and Homeland of Haiku, by Natalie Goldberg, is a fascinating book for me, for a few different reasons. The subject of haiku is a poignant one for me, because of something my sister and I did when our mother was in hospice care in 2002. We…