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| photograph by me |
I will be the first to admit my reading habits have been anything but consistent this year. So, I am hoping to work on remedying that this autumn.
The Stack
The Book That Changed Your World by Vishal Mangalwadi
I first spotted this book on Goodreads when Suzannah was reading it. I remember thinking that it sounded fascinating, so imagine my excitement when a couple weeks ago my former writing class teacher gave me a chance to read it. So thrilled to dig into it!
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
This book first crossed my radar when Lila, the third book in this trilogy, was a runner up in WORLD magazine's fiction books of the year a while back. I am very much looking forward to it, especially after hearing how much Joy and Schuyler enjoyed it.
Beowulf by Seamus Heaney
And so my journey into broadening my exposure to the great classics of literature begins...
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
A friend told me to read this and I hope to follow it up with George Orwell's Animal Farm.
Plenilune by Jennifer Freitag
This book. I CANNOT WAIT! Enough said.
Behold the Dawn by K.M. Weiland
I am on mission read all of K.M. Weiland's books after devouring Storming earlier this year. I have read the first chapter already and I am excited!
Persuasion by Jane Austen
I have never read this or seen any of the adaptations, so I am going into this one practically spoiler free. Austen has a dear place in my heart. Do not underestimate the depth of her writing. Also, I have heard this novel is particularly suited to the autumn season.
What books are on your autumn reading stack?
Oh yay! I think you'll enjoy Mangalwadi. GILEAD - I bought a copy a while ago but I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to lit fic, ha. PLENILUNE was much more my style! And I've read BEHOLD THE DAWN, but it was before I did all my Crusades research, so it would be interesting to read it again. I do recall her being distinctly unimpressed with Richard I, and I'm not sure I'd take the same view, though. It was a good adventure story though - I liked it much better than STORMING.
ReplyDeleteYes, I'm really looking forward to reading Mangalwadi. It will be interesting to compare his book to HOW CHRISTIANITY CHANGED THE WORLD by Alvin J. Schmidt.
DeleteHaha, that is rather funny about GILEAD. I've noticed I have a tendency to enjoy slower paced books, but I've never actually read any literary fiction.
You know, I'm a little in awe of your Crusades research. Which brings us to OUTREMER and my deep desire to read that tome someday. :)
I love your tbr for this season, and frankly smiled at the mention of all the books!
ReplyDeleteI really REALLY want to read Mangalwadi's new book. After Suzannah's rave-review a while back I realised I have actually personally met him at a conference in Oxford/Cambridge, England with the C.S. Lewis Institute in 2014, and heard him preach also. He was really good and very passionate! I remember my dad and mum talking with him and his wife after one of the services, and they were really lovely people.
Aww, I hope you enjoy Gilead! It's a tender, quiet, philosophical read, but really so beautiful I found.
Ah, I want to read all of Weiland's books too, but they're so expensive to buy online at the moment. Maybe I should get her e-books :). "Behold the Dawn" and "Storming" sound particularly exciting.
I started Burton Raffel's "Beowulf" a while back, though I didn't get to finish it yet. It was so good, what I read of it, but I want to read Seamus Heaney's translation, and Tolkien's if possible too. Such a classic!
I'm in the minority of those who didn't fall head-over-heels in love with PLENILUNE, sadly. It had SO much potential, and the writing was so gorgeous and beautiful, and gah! Also the characters were rich and developed and the story was really engaging. Alas, I struggled with a lot of the moral decisions of the characters, and their attitudes. But then again, I did read it back in 2014, and I feel I might have matured in my reading since then, and might appreciate it more on a second read? I don't mean to dampen your enthusiasm, though, because Freitag is a truly brilliant writer, and her book is worth reading even if you don't end up agreeing with her always. I'd love to know your thoughts when you read it.P.S. Have you read "Shadow Things"? I loved that novel for her!
Yay! I LOVE LOVE LOVE "Persuasion" - it's probably my favourite Austen novel, and while sadly I've never clicked with any of the adaptions (the old 1970s miniseries wasn't bad actually, just a bit slow-going), the novel is just so beautiful and will forever be close to my heart. I hope you enjoy it as immensely as I did ;)
Happy reading, Hanna!
Yes, all the books. I know I probably won't be able to manage of all them but I want to and there is no harm in trying.
DeleteThat is so cool you met Mangalwadi! And, oh to go to Oxford and Cambridge. *deep, wistful sigh* Someday, I will walk those cobbled streets. Are there cobbled streets still there?
Books can be so expensive. *sniff* Which is why I buy practically all of mine second hand. But, since I've started my job, I can afford to occasionally splurge on a book haul. If you don't want to pay the paperback prices, you should definitely look into the ebooks. STORMING is sooo much fun! I bought the ebook first, because I wasn't entirely sure how I would like STORMING, and then ordered the paperback because I loved it soo much and wanted my mom and sister to read it. It has it's faults I will admit, but I loved it. STORMING also happens to be one of the few books I actually rather fangirl over. :)
Yeah, I remember when you read PLENILUNE and weren't head-over-heels for it. I decided to wait a little until I read it after reading the reviews. I feel like I am now at a point where I can read it and still enjoy it, even if I don't agree with some of the storytelling choices. I haven't read "Shadow Things" yet, but I own it on Kindle. Oh, all the books, Joy. There are so many books and so little time.
Oooh interesting reads! (It's Evie from twitter)
ReplyDeleteOh hey, thanks for coming by!
DeleteNo worries! :D
DeleteWhat a great stack! I like how it's so varied.. I hope you enjoy them all, and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts - particularly about The Book That Made Your World and Gilead. I've heard lots about that last one, but haven't read it.. yet, of course. :)
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the new design and layout of your blog is lovely!
Yes, it is a varied stack. I cannot wait to read them all.
DeleteThank you! I am extremely happy with how the new design turned out.