This weekend I went to the bookstore, gift card in hand and all intentions on choosing a new book to buy . . . Curiously I came away with only a magazine! I did look and I had a few books in hand, but as interesting as they looked I just was not quite in the mood for any of them. And then I thought, why would I buy a new book which I am not going to start reading right away when I have this pile of books waiting for me. One of these is going to be my February prompt book!
This month my prompt is "Something Old", which I have decided to interpret as a book with a historical setting or a book about a period of history much earlier than 20th century or after. I thought about choosing some books that are old and long sitting on my shelves as yet unread. But as I have so very many of those, how would I ever choose? These seem much more appealing to me at the moment!
Aristocrats, Stella Tillyard -- "A superb study of a remarkable family in eighteenth-century England that 'leads us skillfully into the unseen spaces of women's lives'." --Lyndall Gordon, The New York Times Book Review
The Firebrird, Susanna Kearsley -- "Nicola Marter was born with a gift so rare and dangerous, she kept it buried deep. When she encounters a desperate woman trying to sell a small wooden carving called 'The Firebird', claiming it belonged to Russia's Empress Catherine, it's a problem. There's no proof. But Nicola's held the object. She knows the woman is telling the truth."
As I Crossed a Bridge of Dreams: Recollections of a Woman in 11th-Century Japan -- "Born at the height of the Heian period, the pseudonymous Lady Sarashina reveals much about the Japanese literary tradition in this haunting self-portrait. Born in 1008, Lady Sarashina was a lady-in-waiting of Heian-period Japan. Her work stands out for its descriptions of her travels and pilgrimages and is unique in the literature of the period, as well as one of the first in the genre of travel writing."
Louisa: The Extraordinary Life of Mrs. Adams, Louisa Thomas -- "Born in London to an American father and a British mother on the eve of the Revolutionary War, Louisa Catherine Johnson was raised in circumstances very different from the New England upbringing of the future president John Quincy Adams, whose life had been dedicated to public service from the earliest age. And yet John Quincy fell in love with her, almost despite himself. Their often tempestuous but deeply close marriage lasted half a century."
First Family: Abigail and John Adams, Joseph J. Ellis -- "Drawing on over 1,200 letters exchanged between the couple, Ellis tells a story both personal and panoramic. We learn about the many years Abigail and John spent apart as John’s political career sent him first to Philadelphia, then to Paris and Amsterdam; their relationship with their children; and Abigail’s role as John’s closest and most valued advisor. Exquisitely researched and beautifully written, First Family is both a revealing portrait of a marriage and a unique study of America’s early years."
The Essex Serpent, Sarah Perry -- "An exquisitely talented young British author makes her American debut with this rapturously acclaimed historical novel, set in late nineteenth-century England, about an intellectually minded young widow, a pious vicar, and a rumored mythical serpent that explores questions about science and religion, skepticism, and faith, independence and love."
Circe, Madeline Miller -- "With unforgettably vivid characters, mesmerizing language and page-turning suspense, Circe is a triumph of storytelling, an intoxicating epic of family rivalry, palace intrigue, love and loss, as well as a celebration of indomitable female strength in a man's world."
Which direction to go in? Mythology? History? Biography? Fiction? Lush and colorful? A Garden? Time travel? This is why I didn't buy a book at the bookstore this weekend. Who needs anything new when I have all these to choose from? Now for the pleasure of dipping into each one and having a little taste before making a selection!