Books Finished In the Past Month

Anne of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery: Another favorite, of course. Almost as good as Anne of Green Gables. I have a little romantic spot in my heart that just loves the Miss Lavendar Lewis love story.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis: I know I had this read to me in school as a child, but didn't remember much about it. G and I are going through the series right now and are both enjoying it.

To Kill a Mocking Bird by Harper Lee: This is possibly my new all-time favorite book. I absolutely loved it and could not get enough of it. It was heavy and light all at the same time thanks to being written largely from the perspective of a child. That also gave it quite a bit of depth.

Excellent Women by Barbara Pym: It took some effort to get into this book, but Pym has actually become one of my new favorite authors for reasons stated below.

Jane and Prudence by Barbara Pym: Even better than Excellent Women (in my opinion), in this book, Pym earned my devotion. In both books Pym does a wonderful thing by not ending things in a "happily ever after" way. Nor does she end them in total tragedy. I loved and hated it all at the same time. I didn't want her to land her women in predictably gushy lovey relationships. At the same time, I really wanted to see those leading ladies happy. So, at the end of Excellent Women I was both happy and unsettled at the same time. Imagine the thrill I got when, in Jane and Prudence, she came back to the characters in Excellent Women and offered the "happily ever after" I sort of wanted at the end of that book. Now I'm wondering if she does that in all the books for all her characters. Guess I'll have to read and find out.