Gwendolyn B over at A Sea of Books introduced me today to a new feature she got from Alyce of At home with Books. I liked it so much I've decided this is one periodic feature I can handle. I spend a good part of my day in an office/library at home surround by over 1000 books. Often I look up and see one I've read and think "Wow, that was such a great read, I wish I had time to read it again." However, there are also hundreds waiting to be read for the first time. So here, I'll just mention periodically "good reads" from the past. I hope you find them inspiring.
This weeks' favorite is R.L. Delderfield's God is an Englishman. I remember reading the entire series (this was the first) several times, enjoying them so much that one year for Christmas I told my husband to scour the used book venues so I could have copies of them all in my personal library. It's now been at least 5 years since I read any of them, but as I remember, the story is set in the Victorian England, as the Industrial Revolution is going strong, the railroads are beginning to change the face of rural England and Adam Swain, the main character sets out to form a dynasty (with the help of his wife Henrietta) in the shipping business by recognizing the advantages of horse drawn wagons in areas where the railroads just aren't available. This sounds dull and boring, but it's not. There are incredible descriptions of all parts of England, well-developed and memorable characters, and several sub-plots running along. I remember being able to sink into this book: there is romance, history, sociological discussion, war stories (from the Crimea, and later in the series, WWI), mystery, villains, and real life disasters. I must find time to stroll through this one again before the year is out.
Friday, June 5, 2009
From the Past: My Favorite Reads
Gwendolyn B over at A Sea of Books introduced me today to a new feature she got from Alyce of At home with Books. I liked it so much I've decided this is one periodic feature I can handle. I spend a good part of my day in an office/library at home surround by over 1000 books. Often I look up and see one I've read and think "Wow, that was such a great read, I wish I had time to read it again." However, there are also hundreds waiting to be read for the first time. So here, I'll just mention periodically "good reads" from the past. I hope you find them inspiring.
This weeks' favorite is R.L. Delderfield's God is an Englishman. I remember reading the entire series (this was the first) several times, enjoying them so much that one year for Christmas I told my husband to scour the used book venues so I could have copies of them all in my personal library. It's now been at least 5 years since I read any of them, but as I remember, the story is set in the Victorian England, as the Industrial Revolution is going strong, the railroads are beginning to change the face of rural England and Adam Swain, the main character sets out to form a dynasty (with the help of his wife Henrietta) in the shipping business by recognizing the advantages of horse drawn wagons in areas where the railroads just aren't available. This sounds dull and boring, but it's not. There are incredible descriptions of all parts of England, well-developed and memorable characters, and several sub-plots running along. I remember being able to sink into this book: there is romance, history, sociological discussion, war stories (from the Crimea, and later in the series, WWI), mystery, villains, and real life disasters. I must find time to stroll through this one again before the year is out.
4 comments:
Welcome, thanks for stopping by. Now that you've heard our two cents, perhaps you have a few pennies to throw into the discussion. Due to a bunch more anonymous spam getting through, I've had to disallow anonymous comments. I try to respond to all comments posing a question, but may not always get to you right away.
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I haven't heard of this title (or series) before. Thank you so much for sharing it!
ReplyDeleteYour description sounds like the Series, "Upstairs, Downstairs" in terms of the way it engages.
ReplyDeleteThanks for visiting, Tina! It is so nice to "meet" a New England neighbor! I really enjoyed God is an Englishman and look forward to reading the rest of the series. One place online said that it was unfinished at the author's death, but I don't know if that is true.
ReplyDeleteCarey
Tome Traveller....(Love the name)
ReplyDeleteI hadn't heard that about it being unfinished before he died....but that would mean he wrote the rest of the series first? And that doesn't make sense....hmmm...must do some research.