Reading is my oldest and favorite hobby. I literally can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t love to curl up with a good book. Here are my reads for January, 2021.
Death on the Nile (Hercule Poirot # 17), by Agatha Christie – I so enjoyed this classic installment of Hercule Poirot’s adventures. The great detective, looking for some rest and relaxation, heads off to Egypt for a Nile cruise. Of course, where Poirot goes, murder is sure to follow. When a beautiful heiress on her honeymoon is found with a bullet through her head, Poirot is pulled in to investigate the crime. A new adaptation of Death on the Nile, starring Gal Gadot as Linnet Doyle and the great Kenneth Branagh as Poirot, is scheduled to hit theaters later this year – I can’t wait!
The Mitfords: Letters Between Six Sisters, ed. Charlotte Mosley – Like so many readers and anglophiles, I am fascinated by the Mitford sisters – especially my favorites, Nancy and Deborah. I’ve had this collection of their correspondence on my TBR for ages and finally got to it, via my kindle. The Mitford correspondence is voluminous – hard to believe, but this 850+ page collection represents only 5% of their total written communication. It was so interesting; the letters selected (by Diana Mitford’s daughter-in-law Charlotte) showcased the sisters’ different personalities and voices and provided a window into unfolding history. It could be uncomfortable to read (Unity’s and Diana’s letters gushing about Hitler were particularly disgusting) but it’s also important to see that angle of history so we can prevent it from happening again. Naturally, I enjoyed Deborah’s letters about her friends the Kennedy family much more, though!
The Provincial Lady in London (The Provincial Lady #2), by E.M. Delafield – Looking for something short and sweet after the epic long collection of Mitford letters, I decided to continue on with the Provincial Lady. In this volume, the PL is now a mild literary celebrity and her diaries follow her to a writers’ conference in Brussels, vacation in Brittany, and of course London. I especially enjoyed the family’s relationship with the holiday tutor, “Casabianca.”
Word from Wormingford: A Parish Year, by Ronald Blythe – After two weeks of long hours and stressful projects at work, I really needed something to relax my brain. A slow, seasonal meditation on the natural rhythms of the English countryside and the liturgical calendar in the Church of England was just what the doctor ordered. (Don’t @ me.)
The Truths We Hold: An American Journey, by Vice President Kamala Harris – Saved this one for Inauguration Week and it was the perfect choice. I really enjoyed our new Vice President’s memoir, in which she combines her personal story with her thoughts on policy. VP Harris, a former prosecutor, sees a lot of policy through a criminal justice lens, and that was interesting to read about. I loved every page, but it did suffer a bit in comparison to the last political memoir I read – A Promised Land. An unfair comparison, because no one, no matter how brilliant and talented a politician they are, writes like President Obama.
Bewildering Cares, by Winifred Peck – “It’s a tempest in a teacup, but we happen to live in the teacup.” Bewildering Cares follows one eventful week in the life of a clergyman’s wife in an industrial town outside of Manchester, during the first full year of World War II. Camilla Lacely, the protagonist, is a delight – a little frazzled, constantly being outfoxed by her one maid, worried about finances, and harangued by the grande dames of the parish about the firebrand curate, Mr. Strang. But Mrs. Lacely faces it all with good grace and her “diary” is a lovely, calming read.
A Fine Romance: Falling in Love with the English Countryside, by Susan Branch – Not sure how I stumbled across this, but darn glad I decided to give it a try! My Grandmama was a huge fan of Susan Branch’s books and artwork, but I sort of assumed she was just the littlest bit too twee for me. (I have a high tolerance for twee, as is probably obvious by now, but for some reason I thought Susan Branch would be a bridge too far.) Y’all. I am appropriately chastened, because I loved this – handwritten, hand-painted scrapbook/diary of the author’s grand 25th anniversary trip with her sweet husband. It was one of those maddening books that you both can’t put down and simultaneously don’t want to end.
The School at the Chalet (Chalet School #1), by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer – Okay, speaking of twee. Let’s get one thing out of the way? High-brow literature this is not. Well-written? Well… it’s not awful. But fun, yes, atmospheric, yes, and just what I wanted to read – definitely. Perhaps it’s the times. This beginning of the Chalet School series took place when World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic were very fresh in people’s memory, and maybe they just wanted a piece of fluff – Alps, Tyrolean lederhosen, and the comforting knowledge that everything is going to come right in the end. And in 2021, with the current pandemic stretching on and on and our democracy reeling from the body blows of the last four years (as much confidence as I do have in our current healer-in-chief) I also want comfort reading, and this is comfort reading. I intend to re-read it, and to continue on with the series in short order.
Well – eight books to start off the year, which in a long month isn’t exactly a high total for me. But January was a doozy, both at work and in life. Starting off the month with two 60+ hour workweeks, coupled with a coup attempt while I was at work just blocks away from the violence (and then driving white-knuckled home to Virginia) is just not a recipe for lots of pages. But things did pick up toward the end of the month, and even if the numbers aren’t especially high, there were still plenty of highlights. First of all, you can never go wrong in starting a year off with Agatha Christie. And then following her with Mitfords – as Debo would say, get on. Vice President Harris’s memoir was another high point (and it never gets old to say “Vice President Harris,” you guys), and falling in love with Susan Branch’s work was long overdue. So, a light month, but a good month!
How was your January in books? And life?
covered in flour 
Some wonderful reads on your list. I loved the Poirot book, also the provincial Lady and am as excited as you about anything on the Mitfords, though I haven’t read these letters yet. Was interested to see your thoughts on the Chalet School book–I’ve heard about this series from forever but have never yet read one.
It was a good month in reading for sure! The Chalet School book was fun – you have to suspend disbelief a little bit (because why not open a school in the Alps with no capital and no experience, it will for sure be a huge overnight success!) but I loved the atmosphere and the descriptions of food and scenery. Not highbrow literature, but a good time.