January Reading Recommendations

I. The Country of the Pointed Firs by Sarah Orne Jewett - "Her vision was of a gentle and generous people on a rugged and dangerous coast, of New England character and “characters” limned in colors of high summer and blue skies. Here, too, you will meet the people of Dunnet Landing; the women, who are probably the most unforgettable characters of her book; and Elijah Tilley (among the very few men in Jewett’s cast) who, after the death of his wife, learns the skills of husband and wife, of farm and sea."

II. The Marble Fawn by Nathaniel Hawthorne - "Hawthorne's 'International Novel' dramatizes the confrontation of the Old World and the New and the uncertain relationship between the 'authentic' and the 'fake' in life as in art. The author's evocative descriptions of classic sites made The Marble Faun a favorite guidebook to Rome for Victorian tourists, but this richly ambiguous symbolic romance is also the story of a murder, and a parable of the Fall of Man."

III. Howards End by E.M. Forster - "Frequently cited as E. M. Forster's finest work, Howards End brilliantly explores class warfare, conflict and the English character."

IV. The Mill on the Floss by George Eliot - "With its poignant portrayal of sibling relationships and its vivid depiction of rural England, The Mill on the Floss (1860) is considered George Eliot's most autobiographical novel. In the strong-minded, tormented Maggie, she created one of literature's greatest heroines."

V. The Bride of Lammermoore by Sir Walter Scott - "The plans of Edgar, Master of Ravenswood to regain his ancient family estate from the corrupt Lord Keeper of the Great Seal of Scotland are frustrated by the complexities of the legal and political situations following the 1707 Act of Union, and by his passion for his enemy's beautiful daughter Lucy.'

VI. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane - "Henry Fleming is a young private in the Union army during the American Civil War - a farm boy untested by battle. Faced with charging rebels, he flees. With his ideals shattered and his heart burdened by shame, Henry seeks an opportunity to redeem himself, even hoping for a wound - a “red badge of courage” - to prove his bravery."

YOUNG READERS:

Phoebe the Spy by Judith Griffin 

PICTURE BOOKS:

The Complete Brambly Hedge by Jill Barklem (trust us, you're going to want to buy the whole set!)

To see all of the books we have recommended, CLICK HERE.  

Happy Reading!

Blair | Founder