Wednesday Reading Meme

[osprey_archer]

What I’ve Just Finished Reading

Juliana Horatia Ewing’s Six to Sixteen! (Isn’t the author’s name splendidly euphonious?) I stumbled upon this book years ago and then lost track of it, so it was with great enthusiasm that I rediscovered it and finally got to read it. Young Margery and her best friend Eleanor have decided that they shall write their memoirs of their lives so far (from six to the advanced age of sixteen!) and then exchange them, so that if they are ever separated they can reread these memoirs and it will be as if they were talking to their friends.

This is just the sort of sentimental friendship project that I like. The book is a cozy comfort read (for all that it has a very nineteenth century death rate), starting with the description of the snug kitchen that the girls use for their office in the evenings, and mixing pleasant descriptions of sketching parties and train journeys with earnest disquisitions on the importance of female education and the consolation of intellectual pursuits.

What I’m Reading Now

I’m still plugging away on The Summer Before the War, which is one of those books that I enjoy while I’m reading it - but when I put it down I feel no real call to pick it back up.

What I Plan to Read Next

I’m not sure! I got a good many books at Christmas and perhaps ought to get started on those. It’s hard to go wrong with a book entitled My Beloved Brontosaurus: On the Road with Old Bones, New Science, and Our Favorite Dinosaurs.

Comments

[thawrecka]

I found My Beloved Brontosaurus a really fun book, so it's definitely worth reading.

[osprey_archer]

Oooh! It's so rare to find someone else who has read a nonfiction book that I'm reading; it's generally a solitary pleasure, nonfiction.

[thawrecka]

Yes! It often feels like nonfiction is more individual and fiction is more communal, because book clubs and group discussion are so much more focused on fiction, and nonfiction often doesn't have that same sort of 'catch on' appeal.

[evelyn_b]

Young Margery and her best friend Eleanor have decided that they shall write their memoirs of their lives so far (from six to the advanced age of sixteen!) and then exchange them, so that if they are ever separated they can reread these memoirs and it will be as if they were talking to their friends.

That is the most adorable thing I have heard all day. I haven't been out of the house today, but even if I had, there's a good chance that Six to Sixteen would still be the most adorable thing.

which is one of those books that I enjoy while I’m reading it - but when I put it down I feel no real call to pick it back up.

So familiar a feeling! Is it a good book, do you think?

[osprey_archer]

I suspect that you would find Six to Sixteen adorable all the way through, so if you ever stumble upon a copy you should treat yourself.

Alternately - there's a used bookstore near my place that has a copy (unless someone has bought it but it would be too cruel if someone bought my obscure book). Would you like me to procure it for you? (I knew there would be a day when I could return the favor for those Ngaio Marsh books! And also book exchanges seem like a v. Six to Sixteen thing to do.)

I am having a bit of trouble telling the characters apart in The Summer Before the War, so I wouldn't say it's as good as all that, no. Possibly I'm just not paying it enough attention? I feel that I ought to be able to tell characters apart without giving it special thought, though, unless I'm reading something like War and Peace that has 500 characters, and also I didn't like W&P that much in the end either and possibly the difficulty of keeping track of the characters is why.

[evelyn_b]

I ABSOLUTELY DO WANT THAT, and will send you the price of it as soon as you tell me what it is (you can send an email or PM if you want)!

Also, do you want a copy of The Cloister Walk? It would be the easiest thing in the world for me to toss it in the mail.

[osprey_archer]

Oh, don't worry about the price. It was quite reasonable for a book of its age and I have a gift card to the bookstore anyway. Is your address still the same?

And YES I do want a copy of The Cloister Walk! Book exchanges FTW!

[evelyn_b]

I think you have my latest address and I have yours, but let's hop onto the PM for a quick address swap just to be sure!

I'll put TCW in the mail today!