“The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

I finally read Northanger Abbey! I picked it up because The Modern Mrs. Darcy book club is reading it this month (even though I’m not a member) and I wanted to join along. I love the cover of this edition — with Catherine digging through the mysterious chest!

It seemed like this book was written in two distinct halves: the first half finds us with Catherine Morland, a jovial 17 year old, visiting Bath with a friend. It’s full of the regency stuff you’d expect: dresses, balls, dancing, swooning. But I found this one much funnier, probably because I’ve learned more about Austen over the last few years. I enjoyed the second half much more – she visits the home of her love interest, Northanger Abbey. The Abbey is a gothic treasure: potentially haunted, strange doors and closets, a mysterious chest in her own suite. Catherine goes a little over the top at times, trying to uncover a mystery that’s simply not there.

I’ve seen it written that this is Austen’s ode to the novel. She’s almost sneering at the people who say that novels are a waste a time – which tickled me, an unabashed fiction lover. I’m hoping to return to more Jane Austen novels over the next few months.

“Time’s passage through the memory is like molten glass that can be opaque or crystallize at any given moment at will: a thousand days are melted into one conversation, one glance, one hurt, and one hurt can be shattered and sprinkled over a thousand days.”

I read this for an upcoming Novel Pairings episode and wow – it was much more powerful than I anticipated. It’s less than 200 pages but packed a punch. It’s a collection of interconnected short stories about black women living in the inner-city. Sometimes funny, sometimes devastating, always thought-provoking. I took so many notes and will be thinking about these women for a long time. Their lessons of generosity, kindness, and vulnerability are life giving.

I read The Whispering House because it was paired with Northanger Abbey for the Modern Mrs. Darcy bookclub. I was enthusiastic because I’d read an earlier work from this author, The Orphan of Salt Winds, and she has a promising Kate Morton way about her. The Whispering House was good fun: gothic and dark, full of broody artists, hidden rooms, and very questionable choices.

Like many gothic novels, the house itself is a character. Byrne Hall seems to almost trap our main character, Freya, within its walls and just won’t let her go. It’s as though she’s in a spell when she’s there, despite knowing she must escape. I couldn’t help but think that Brooks was using it to show how women can feel trapped in abusive relationships and wanted her to explore that idea some more.

I’m giving it 3 stars because I wish there had been just a little more oomph to the story, which is exactly what I wrote about The Orphan of Salt Winds. I will definitely be reading more by Elizabeth Brooks because I can’t wait to see her grow as an author.

“I couldn’t forgive him or like him, but I saw that what he had done was, to him, entirely justified. It was all very careless and confused. They were careless people, Tom and Daisy—they smashed up things and creatures and then retreated back into their money or their vast carelessness, or whatever it was that kept them together, and let other people clean up the mess they had made.”

Can you believe I’ve never read The Great Gatsby? I finally decided to pick it up because there’s a Novel Pairings episode and knew I’d need support from the hosts.

I hated it. I don’t think I’ve missed anything by not reading it all these years. I didn’t like the narrator, I didn’t like any of the characters, I didn’t like the plot, and I didn’t understand the point of any of it. And the love story between Daisy and Jay wasn’t even all that interesting, which I thought was one of the main draws?

I was relieved to listen to the Novel Pairings episode and learn that they seemed to feel the same way. I’m glad I listened to the book on audio and it was relatively short or I would have felt like this one was a waste of precious reading time.

“It’s about believing two opposing ideas in your head at the same time: hope and grief.”

My fourth Claire Fuller novel did not disappoint! Like everything else I’ve read by her, Swimming Lessons was full of intrigue and suspense. This one felt especially perfect because Gil’s wife, Ingrid, writes him letters and hides them in his books before her disappearance (!). Those letters give the reader an understanding of Gil and Ingrid’s relationship from its inception, while a present day storyline told by one of their daughters, Flora, leads us through the family’s current predicament: a seriously ill Gil who brings a wily cast of characters back to their seaside home.

The mystery involves the disappearance of Ingrid in the early 90s. One day she didn’t come home from her daily swim in the ocean. Most people believe that the current pulled her out and she drowned, but some still hold out hope that she’s alive and will return to them someday.

One fun thing that Fuller did throughout this novel was use colors to describe smells. Here’s a few examples:

“the house smelled as it always did: old books, damp in the bathroom, fried eggs; home was the colour of toasted fennel seeds – a warm speckled brown.”

“his familiar odour: pepper, dust, and leather – otter brown”

“the only smell that was pure black.”

I find that so cozy! It was as if the smells painted a visual picture of the house, which was a completely new idea to me.

The ending? Well, let’s talk via email.

“My mother always said that a lot of men think that having bosoms means you’re a nitwit. She said the cleverest thing is to let them assume you’re an idiot, so you can crack on and prove them all wrong.”

This was my second effort with Dear Mrs. Bird. I wanted to try again because the second book in this series was published last week and they both seem perfectly up my alley. I’m not sure why I abandoned it the first time, but I chose to listen on audio this go round and it made all of the difference. I loved it!

Emmy Lake is ecstatic about her new job, believing that she was hired as a reporter at a local newspaper and dreaming about being a “lady war correspondent.” Imagine her horror when she’s hired at a women’s magazine as an assistant to a stuffy advice columnist. There’s a whole list of topics that Mrs. Bird won’t even touch, which includes basically everything that a woman in the midst of WWII might be struggling with. Emmy soon takes it upon herself to start responding to some of these letters and, of course, trouble ensues.

This was full of the real emotions behind the keep calm and carry on attitude of WWII. I appreciated the vulnerability Emmy expressed between the pages while doing her best to keep smiling through it all. I loved the scenes at the magazine – full of typewriters, tea, and letters. And the flat that she lives in with her best friend Bunty is amazingly cozy. I cannot wait until I can get my hands on the second book in the series!

“Maybe it’s easier to forgive others once you’ve learned how to forgive yourself.”

The One and Only Bob was the Dart selection for August and what a way to start the school year! I was nervous because it’s a little long for us, so we started reading it the last week of July — but it looks like we would have had plenty of time to read it in August! This is the second book in the series, but it didn’t feel like we’d missed too much by starting here.

This book was full of opportunities for juicy discussions. Our main character, Bob, is a rescued chihuahua mix with a troubled past. He is riddled with guilt and anxiety over his past decisions, but we are right by his side while he finds redemption and a renewed understanding of bravery.