The World at Home by Ginny Kubitz Moyer 🥰❤️🧵

Omg, I LOVE this new novel by Ginny Moyer Kubitz! 🤩 

The World at Home is a tender and touching wartime romance that must be savored like a decadent chocolate truffle. I was enchanted by the very first page! 

How can Ginny Kubitz Moyer keep writing better and better novels? It blows my mind! 😱 I would love to absorb even a tiny bit of her sparkling creativity and novel-writing talent! 

When I first heard that Ginny was working on a third book, my first thought was..."When will I be able to buy a copy? I need to read it!" The themes, locations and times that she has chosen for all three of her novels (so far) are exactly what I love to read about:

Intelligent and creative women of the past who are making a life for themselves, discovering who they really are and what their place is in the world. 

There are very few authors that give me the feeling that I should read their novels slowly and experience each chapter in small, exquisite "bites". Two of those authors are Gladys Taber and Elizabeth Goudge. The third is Ginny Moyer.   

Ready for my rating and review? Let's get started! 

RATING: 10🌟! 

WHAT I LOVED MOST:

❤️ Orphan female protagonist 
❤️ Lovely, intelligent, talented Irene
❤️ Fascinating seamstress world
❤️ Sewing/clothing descriptions
❤️ Paper dolls and childhood memories
❤️ Living above a shop 
❤️ Captivating conversations 
❤️ Lost loves and wartime friendships
❤️ Cozy descriptions of clothing, food and everyday living

Once I became immersed in this wonderful world, I didn’t want to leave. Ginny is absolutely amazing at creating complex characters and gorgeous descriptions that are impossible to forget—in the very best way! 

Here are some of my favorite sections: 

'It was the first Friday in October, one of those glorious fall days in the city that make you willing to forgive the foggy overcast of summer. Buttery evening sunlight drenched the shop, and the vase of iris glowed like something in a painting. Benny Goodman was on the radio for the five o'clock hour, and I whistled along as I swept up snippet of thread and then pulled down the shades. '

'I've dressed it up with light green paint on the walls and violet-blue curtains around a three-way mirror and the storeroom entrance. There's a big folding screen hiding a dressing area, a screen which I painted the same violet as the curtains, with a design of gold and green scrolls. There's always a vase of iris on the counter by the door, and I added a framed picture of Paris and other tasteful knickknacks for a little cosmopolitan flair.'

'The fabric was exquisite, dark rose satin, the rich kind that looks like cool water rippling in a brook. It was a long evening dress with a high scoop neck and a fitted bodice, tight through the hips then flaring out gradually from there to the ground. The sleeves were long and full, falling gracefully to a band at the wrist.' 

'I lifted one of the bolts to my nose. It was kelly green cotton printed with tiny flowers in burgandy and navy blue, and it smelled clean, dry, and intoxicating, as new fabric always does to me.'

I wish I could share ALL of the parts that made me go back and read them again. But, let's face it...then, I would be sharing the entire book! lol. You'll just have to read it yourself. 😍

Don’t forget that The World At Home is available for pre-order now and I guarantee you’ll be 𝙎𝙊 happy you did!

Both The Seeing Garden and A Golden Life are absolute favorites of mine and, if you haven’t already read them, you need to! 😍 

Please consider signing up for Ginny Moyer's free newsletter (which is charming, lovely and everything you want a newsletter to be) and follow her on Instagram (@moyerginny, if you aren't already!). 

So many heartfelt thanks to Ginny for sending me this ARC for review!! I've been dying to read her new novel for months and it was an utter joy to have a chance to experience The World At Home a little bit early. 

I can't wait for early December when The World At Home will be on bookstore shelves! Yay! 🤩🌟📚

Hope you're doing well, my sweet book friends! Let me know in the comments if you've read any of Ginny's books or plan to! (You'll be very very happy you did!) 💕🌸🤗🌸💕

Peter and Paul by Susan Scarlett 👯‍♂️🏡❤️

Happy Furrowed Middlebrow Friday, Friends!

Reading Susan Scarlett books is definitely one of the joys of my reading life. The more titles I read, the more I'm addicted. Thank goodness that the awesomely amazing Dean Street Press republished all of Noel Streatfeild's books under this adorable pseudonym! Yay!

This week, I'm sharing another book rating and review—Peter and Paul! 

RATING: 4.5🌟 

For me, Peter and Paul is the Furrowed Middlebrow version of a Sweet Valley High book!

Peter and Paul reminded me so much of Jessica and Elizabeth from the Sweet Valley High by Francine Pascal. I used to love reading this YA series when I was young and this Susan Scarlett book absolutely brought back the same fun "twin vibes" drama that I used to get from this series.

I really enjoyed:

• The alternated settings of the upscale fashion/clothing store (where the twins work) and the country vicarage (their home)
• The fascinating characters in each location: a moral-minded (and very behind-the-times) vicar, a loving (but frazzled) mother, a jealous (and deviously clever) store manager—plus, lots of employee gossip and unfulfilled Hollywood dreams balanced with the helpful, quiet and caring Paul (Pauline) and slightly clueless (but handsome) fashion designer, David Bliss.

If it wasn't for my frustration over the selfish behavior of Peter (Petronella), I would have given this novel another half star. But, this is a theme that frequently upsets me and slightly spoils the enjoyment of the story overall. I know that there must be some sort of conflict in a YA novel like this, but it's one that bothers me more than I like. So, even though it was a great story, it's not quite a 5 star read for me. 

But, I'm still very excited to read the rest of the Susan Scarlett books! In general, they are a such a treat to read and I'm always very grateful to Dean Street Press Ltd. for republishing all of these charming books by Susan Scarlett/Noel Streatfeild! 

Many thanks to my dear friend, Gina (@gina.stanyer.books on IG and YouTube), for buddy reading this book with me! 

Stay tuned for a full SUMMER READING BOOK LIST in my next post! I've been slowly creating a list of all of the books in my collection with "summer" in the title (or a summer theme) and I'm looking forward to sharing these books with you! 

Hope you're having a wonderful summer so far and please let me know what you've been reading in July and August 🤩💛  As always, lots of love and many hugs!! I'm so grateful for your support (both here and on Instagram!) 💕🌸🤗🌸💕

Turn Again Home by Ruby Ferguson ☺️🧡💚

10🌟! Beautiful, beautiful book! It's the BEST book I've read so far this year. 😍❤️

I literally just finished reading the last page of this lovely, touching, bittersweet and glorious novel. I wanted to write down my thoughts and feelings before they faded away—though, in this case, I doubt they will. 

The description on the flyleaf of my vintage edition: 

“𝘈 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘠𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘰𝘱𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘮𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘩 𝘤𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘸𝘭𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘳, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘢𝘯 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩 𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘨𝘴...𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘞𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘙𝘪𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨; 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘯𝘦𝘸. 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘴𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.“

I absolutely LOVED this book. I can't say it enough. Even though this Ruby Ferguson title didn't end quite the way I wanted it to, it was still a very satisfying ending. I'm still reeling, though! The last couple of chapters were a whirlwind of activity and I could not put the book down until I was done.

WHY I ADORED THIS NOVEL:

💚 Writing like a clear and sparkling crystal bell
🧡 Family reminisces expressed in the most touching way 
💚 Letting go of appearances and conceit
🧡 The small town of Hockworth and its people
💚 Clothing/woolen mill descriptions
🧡 Beautiful and wild nature of the Yorkshire country
💚 Separate chapters focusing on each of the family members and their thoughts about the past
🧡 The Bridmoor Family (𝘏𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩, 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵, 𝘝𝘪𝘥𝘢, 𝘋𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘯𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦)
💚 The feelings, the descriptions, the inner thoughts!!

FAVORITE QUOTES & PASSAGES:

'All experience is an arch where through gleams that unraveled world.'

"She was already bustling about, utterly happy, in her element, spreading a white cloth on the table and laying out a knife and a fork, with a flower-patterned plate of fine china, a cup and saucer. Then she cut two rounds of white bread and toasted them to a delicate brown on the fire, buttering them generously and popping them into the oven to keep hot."

'Your mother used to come along to the kitchen about the end of November, and we would make out the list for the grocer. Not only the currants and raisins and candied peel, but all the things you never hear about now: the crystallized rose-petals and violets, the angelica and icing sugar and Chinese ginger and glace cherries and fruits, and the sherry and the brandy for the puddings, and the ground almonds and crackers, and the sugar biscuits and the cheese assorted, and the Garibaldis—those were your father's favorites—and the Bourbons. I never could keep you children away from the Bourbons.' 

"And then trimming the Christmas-tree. The lovely things you used to get for a penny! Silver angels, and blown glass mandolines with tinsel strings, and crystal birds with long blue feather tails. And for a few pennies we used to buy pressed concertina things made of coloured paper, and, when you pulled, it came out about a mile long and hung with enormous paper bells. And Father used to take us to town before Christmas just to see the shops full of wonderful things, all colour and gaity and charm." 

"How many of Daphne's memories were of sewing! Sewing in the garden on summer afternoons with Mother and Vida, folds of white silk billowing to the green grass, taking a pride in choosing the finest needle, so that Mother would cry, 'How can you see to thread that?—What it is to be young!' And the chink of tea-cups mingling with the hum of the lawn mower in the sultry afternoon.." 

"He wandered over to his bookcases to choose a book, something soothing, but at the same time gripping. This was an hour he loved, late and quiet, the room lamp-lit, the fire steadied to a rich glow He ran his fingers along the shelves, touching a cover here and there, remembering happy hours spent with this and that volume. He liked to keep his favorite books, and read them again and again, having provided that every time one re-read a book there is something to be discovered." 

"They were all picturing the dining-room as it had been, handsome with its broad table covered with a green velvet cloth when not in use, and its sideboard display of silver articles and old-fashioned spirit heater. The aroma of good food had hung every around those walls, the rich scent of golden Yorkshire pudding and beef gravy, of roast meas and buttered vegetables, of apple pies stuck with cloves and Wensleydale cheeses and warm peaches and grapes, and creamy tea and strong coffee, and plum cake and Christmas puddings."

"Mother would run out of the drawing-room to press the child's cold cheeks between her warm, soft hands. 'Bed for you, my duck.' Then Patty would be running upstairs with paper and sticks and coal, and Carrie with hot-water bottles wrapped in red flannel for Hope's bed, and Mother would take her up and undress her before the cheerful blaze and pop her into the soft inviting bed. Chest rubbed with nice-smelling lotion, blue dressing-gown on, Hope would sit up like a queen for her supper, a tray with the rose-embroidered cloth and the pink fluted china, poached egg, hot buttered toast, pears and cream, hot custard, and Pink Milk, which was ordinary milk with just a few drops of raspberry essence to make it pretty." 

Sadly, Turn Again Home is very hard to find. At the time of my review, there is one copy available on Abebooks.com. I was so incredibly lucky that my husband bought this HC/DJ edition for my 52nd birthday this year (it was in a bookstore in Australia!! 😱). But, if you are lucky enough to see a copy somewhere, please buy it. It will be worth every penny!! 

I'm hoping SO MUCH that Dean Street Press will be able to republish some of Ruby Ferguson's out-of-print books (like they did with Apricot Sky!) This one is definitely a must and I'm crossing my fingers that, one day, everyone who loves Ruby Ferguson's books will be able to read this heartfelt story 😍❤️

Once again, Ruby Ferguson did not let me down. I've read 6 of her books so far and they've all been 5 stars. 🤩🌟

Highest of recommendations possible!!

If you want to find out more about this fabulous author, check out these pages: Pony Mad Book Lovers and Jane Badger Books (and also HERE!)

Have the most awesome weekend, book friends! Much love and many hugs! 💕🌸🤗🌸💕 

Summer Pudding by Susan Scarlett 🥰🏡📗💙

 Happy Furrowed Middlebrow Friday!! 🥳💜

And, yay, for another Susan Scarlett book republished by Dean Street Press! I’ve had so many hours of lovely coziness reading these books. Thank you!! (I've read 6 out of 12 so far!) 😍

A light and sparkling summer novel! Susan Scarlett's (aka Noel Streatfeild) books are such a treat. So far, they've all been wonderfully entertaining. 

When I read that a reviewer from the Daily Telegraph (8 February 1941) declared, ‘Miss Scarlett has a way with her; she makes us accept the most unlikely things’, I immediately agreed! That's one of the elements that I usually dislike in other books, but Susan Scarlett manages to pull it off brilliantly!

Rating: 4.25🌟 

I adore this description in Summer Pudding:

"The cottage was as charming inside as out. There were beautiful oak beams in all the rooms, and they showed well against white distempered walls. There were two good sitting-rooms, a stone-flagged kitchen, a small scullery, four bedrooms, and halfway up the queer-shaped oak staircase, the pride of the cottage, a bathroom."

What I Loved:

☀️ Hardworking, helpful, independent, considerate and kind Janet Brain
☀️ Mrs. Maggie Brain and her determination to keep going and not give up on life
☀️ Lovely, thoughtful Barbara and her crusty-but-likable father, The Colonel
☀️ The sweet cottage at Worsingford
☀️ Adorable little Iris (she was my fav character!)

What I Didn't Love (and frustrated me greatly):

❊ The horribly selfish and self-centered sister, Sheila
❊ A somewhat rushed ending where things were resolved in a positive way, but all of the messed up situations seemed to be brushed over and dismissed.
❊ The misunderstanding between Donald and Janet that could have been resolved with just a few words. 

I had mixed feelings about Gladys—I felt indignation for her possessiveness of Donald, unkindness to Iris and general bad behavior...but, I could also pity her for the position she was in and how much she loved and counted on Donald's return affection.

Overall, I had fun reading this Furrowed Middlebrow novel and I would read it again. The only reason why I didn't rate it higher was because of the way the ending was written and the detestable, immature Sheila. Ughhh!

Many thanks to my dear friend, Gina (@gina.stanyer.books on IG) for buddy reading this book with me for July!

Definitely a worthwhile read...especially for the summer months! Happy July, my lovely reading friends!! 💕🌸🤗🌸💕

NOTE: Tarot cards shown are from the Herbcrafter's Tarot by Joanna Powell Colbert and Latisha Guthrie 😍

A Pink Front Door by Stella Gibbons 😊💖🏡

Guess what day it is?? You guessed it!— Furrowed Middlebrow Friday! Yay! 🥳

Since the sun is finally shining (after two full months of almost constant rain 😱☔️), it's the perfect time to share my review of A Pink Front Door by Stella Gibbons republished by Dean Street Press! 😍🌸🚪

 Book Rating: 4🌟 

It's hard to describe how I felt about this book. I really liked it, but the story also had a strange mixture of lively, social sections and quiet, introspective parts. These inner thoughts were my least favorite—they confused me a bit, even though there was nothing actually to be confused about. I believe they were supposed to give you insight into the mind of a particular character and explain why they were acting they way they were. But, sadly, I didn't really find them all that helpful or interesting. 

For the most part, I enjoyed reading about the married life of Daisy (a martyr of unquenchable energy trying to help her down-and-out friends...or even strangers...at any time of day or night) and James Muir (her long-suffering husband who misses having a wife to pay attention to him). Each chapter delves into Daisy's next "case" while she tries her best to rope in both friends and family to help her find homes and jobs for people that "need help". Meanwhile, when not working or taking care of their baby son, James Too (which I thought was such a cute nickname!), James is losing patience with this crazy life and has just about had enough of being the last on Daisy's list.

Daisy's constant activity (flurrying here and there) is fun to read about, but also frustrating when it comes to the seemingly ungrateful people who are taking away all of the time and energy from her little family. Daisy's father, aunt and cousin all play a small part in the drama of her life—though, mostly, they try to avoid being a part of her next "scheme".

The final straw comes when Daisy tries to find a home in Mrs. Cavendish's icy, impoverished mansion for her old friend, Don ("the Hulk"), his dissatisfied wife and his quiet, hungry children. After that, things really ramp up in craziness.

If the more detailed, introspective sections could have been slightly reduced in length, I would have given this book an even better rating. (At times, it seemed like those sections were written by another author 😱)

Overall, I thought this was an entertaining, occassionally very funny, and (in the end) very satisfying novel. I believe I would read it again! 

Thank you so much, Victoria, for sending this book to me!! 🥰💓💓

The praise A Pink Front Door received (noted on the DSP website) is absolutely perfect:

‘As usual Stella Gibbons tells a good story, combining a sharp eye for absurdities with pity for poor humans’ —Birmingham Post 

**Have you read this book? What did you think? Let me know in the comments if you are a Stella Gibbons fan! If so, do you have a favorite title? I'd love to know!**

Many thanks to Michelle (@myelecticshelf on Instagram) for the adorable, handmade pink felted mouse and to Caro (@carosbookcase on Instagram) and her husband for the beautiful, hand carved tulip! I love them both!😊🐭💖🌷

Wishing you a wonderful weekend, friends! I'm hoping to share a birthday post very soon with all of the amazing book gifts I've received—May was so awesome! 😍💝✨

Tons of love and hugs!! 💕🌸🤗🌸💕

P.S. Even though I have a pale turquoise front door (not a pink one), I wanted to share a photo of our gorgeous rhododendron bushes! The rain seems to have had one benefit...TRIPLE the blooms this spring. Yipppee! 

Help Me Tackle My TBR! 😱📚✨

Yay! It’s Furrowed Middlebrow Friday! 🥳💜

Books, plus some of the toys from my vintage Fisher Price collection!

Which Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow book should I read in June? 🤔 

Love my disco ball table and plant pot! Thanks to Home Goods & TJs!

First, Happy May! May is my absolutely my FAV month of the year (followed closely by October) ☺️💕

My little tulip garden!

I love May because: 😊🌸🌼🌿🌱

• My Birthday! (I'll be 52 this year...but I feel 32!)
• My Daughter, Rose's Birthday! (she turned 32 this year 😱)
• Lilacs and Tulips (I have a lovely little 4' x 4' tulip garden...when the blooms don't get eaten by our resident Groundhog Mamma) 
• Beautiful Weather (sunshiny days, cool nights, breezes!)
• Bird Song (love to wake up to singing outside our bedroom window!)
• Mother's Day (Ian took me to a bookstore, coffee shop and out to lunch and the "kids" gave me the sweetest cards!)
• Prepping My Garden (also, putting out our outdoor furniture on the patio with canopy!)
• The Start of Spring Reading (including all of the books I put aside that have new beginnings, gardening, and/or Spring as a theme)

Sweet smelling lilacs from my New Hampshire garden...my fav!

Anyway back to BOOKS!!!

Here is my current DSP Furrowed Middlebrow collection...though, not including my lovely Moray Dalton books (half of which were gifted to me by my Bestie, Caro of @carosbookcase!)

Books I've Read:

(not including my 𝘌𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘍𝘢𝘪𝘳 books, which I only have on my Kindle at the moment 😭)

Sorry about the dusty arcade room carpet! I should have vacuumed first - lol!

 

My TBR:

• The House Opposite by Barbara Noble
• Summer Pudding by Susan Scarlett
• A House in the Country by Ruth Adam
• Bewildering Cares by Winifred Peck
• The Foolish Gentlewoman by Margery Sharp
• Peter and Paul by Susan Scarlett

NOTE—I also have a bunch of other e-book titles on my Kindle. So, I'll need to sort those out next! 

My DSP Furrowed Middlebrow TBR books on Ian's arcade room carpet!

So, Friends...it's time for you to comment below with which book you think I should read next! (I feel like I might be able to read them all by the end of the year. I hope!!)

Also, please tell me which of these authors AND which books are your favorites! 

 

Don’t forget to check out my Instagram post, too! (@babsbelovedbooks)

You are so amazing for reading this far, for supporting my blog and for being YOU! Thank you!!!! 💕🌸🤗🌸💕

Molly Clavering Book Collection (and Ratings!) 🤩🌟📚

It's my favorite day of the week— Furrowed Middlebrow Friday! Woo-hoo!

Today, I'm celebrating this awesome spring-time day with my Furrowed Middlebrow Molly Clavering book collection from Dean Street Press! Yay! 

The only reason I have this gorgeous collection of books is because my awesome husband, Ian, bought me all of the books the very day that they were published by Dean Street Press! (I'm so lucky!) 😍

I first heard of Molly Clavering through Emma's YouTube Channel, The Bookish Princess, where she mentioned Near Neighbors. At that time, you couldn't easily find a copy of this book (which was very sad). But, in July 2023,  I found a used, hardcover copy of Mrs. Lorimer's Quiet Summer on eBay, read it and really liked it.

Then, thank goodness, the amazing team at DSP republished EIGHT of her novels under the Furrowed Middlebrow collection. Yippee!

Besides reading the interesting and helpful introduction in the DSP Molly Clavering books, I also found tons of great information about this fabulous author in Scott's blog post. I highly encourage you to check it out! 

So, without further ado, here are my book ratings! Click on each title to read my full review on Goodreads 😁

 

MY BOOK RATINGS: 

5🌟 Because of Sam
5🌟 Susan Settles Down
5🌟 Near Neighbors
4.5🌟 Dear Hugo

4🌟 Touch Not the Nettle
4🌟 Love Comes Home
4🌟 Mrs. Lorimer’s Quiet Summer
3.5🌟 Yoked with a Lamb 

These three books are on my to-be-read/wish list—I hope to find more of her stories in the future!

 

MY TBR: 

• From the Border Hills (own, see pic below)
• Result of the Finals  
• Dr. Glasgow's Family
  

As you know, I love making lists of my thoughts instead of writing long, detailed descriptions for my reviews. So, I'm going to stick with my usual pattern 😂

WHY I LOVE MOLLY CLAVERING'S BOOKS:

💛  Beautiful, cozy settings in Scotland (usually in small villages)

💛  Female protagonists with common sense, intelligence and kindness

💛  Likable characters that have deep inner strength and help others generously

Keeping that in mind, here are some aspects that I struggled with while reading this author's novels:

❊ A level of written Scottish dialect that was unfamiliar to me and, sometimes, lasted for a whole page or more. I've never been to Scotland, so it took me a bit longer to try and understand what the character was trying to say. In the end, I understood it all...but those parts were not quick for me to read.

❊ Nature descriptions that I could picture in my head. Again, I'm absolutely sure this is because I have never visited this country and some terms are just unknown to me. Although Molly Clavering's words are wonderfully written, I did find that reading these sections to be slow going (especially if they were longer in length).

MOLLY CLAVERING vs. D.E. STEVENSON:

These talented (and favorite) authors were not only neighbors in Moffat, Scotland for a time, but they were also close friends. I know that some readers prefer one writer over the other, but I find that most usually love both!  While I definitely could not choose which author's work I like best, here are my general thoughts:

💙 Joy - DES' books bring me more joy overall than MC.

💙 Lovely Prose - MC's novels take the win for beautiful and thoughtful writing.

💙 Laughter - DES makes me laugh often and giggle uncontrollably.  

💙 Safety - For some reason, MC's writing gives me a sense of safety, protection and stability.

💙 Ratings - Overall (for me), MC writes books that are predictably steady and solidly VERY GOOD. While, DES writes stories that seem to be all over the place—either 5🌟 favorites or 1🌟 duds. There's a huge range of value in her finished writing.  

NOTE:

Keep in mind that DES has published at least 50 novels, while MC has around 38 (most of which were published in serialized/pocket novels and lost in the abyss somewhere 😭) .

Now that I have read these 8 Furrowed Middlebrow titles, I'm hoping that more will crop up in the future! Until then, I have her non-fiction book, From the Border Hills, and I can re-read the books I own as many times as I like (which is very cheering)!

YOUR ASSIGNMENT:

Please comment below with your favorite Molly Clavering titles and any thoughts you have about her books vs. D.E. Stevenson's books! 😄

Some of my Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow Collection!

So many thanks to my dear friend Caro (@carosbookcase) for buddy reading three of these books with me (including Touch Not the Nettle,  Susan Settles Down and Yoked by a Lamb) and to the lovely Chelcy (@cbstutzman) for reading and discussing Love Comes Home last year!

By the way, if you love the lace shawl in the background of some of these photos, it's my own knitwear design—the Maitri Shawl! It's available for purchase here on Ravelry and I used the most beautiful Albireo organic cotton/bamboo yarn from VeganYarn.com 🥰❤️🧶

Happy Friday, Friends!!! Many hugs! 💕🌸🤗🌸💕 

Children & Adult Books = Same Author ✍🏻📘💙

I absolutely loved Tea or Books? Podcast #118! 😍

It's such a fantastic and interesting idea—and one that I’ve thought about often. Rachel (Booksnob on Substack) and Simon (@simondavidthomas on Instagram and Stuck in a Book blog) did an AMAZING job discussing books by authors who have written books for both children and adults!

Although I planned to post this a long time ago, I'm finally getting around to sharing photos and this book list! 😂

 

MY FAVORITE AUTHOR/BOOK PAIRINGS (📓children and 📗adult):

[BONUS! Click on each name to see my book collection (or a post) by that author!]

RUBY FERGUSON
📓A Paintbox for Pauline
📗Apricot Sky

DOROTHY CANFIELD FISHER
📓Understood Betsy
📗The Home-Maker

ELIZABETH GOUDGE
📓Linnets and Valerians
📗The Dean’s Watch 

FRANCES HODGSON BURNETT
📓The Secret Garden
📗The Making of a Marchioness (Persephone Books)

LOUISA MAY ALCOTT
📓Marjorie’s Three Wishes
📗A Long Fatal Love Chase

NOEL STREATFEILD
📓A Vicarage Family (Puffin - Penguin Books)
📗The Man in the Dark (as Susan Scarlett) (Dean Street Press Ltd.)

E. NESBIT
📓The Railway Children (The Sisterhood edition by Penguin Books)
📗The Lark (Dean Street Press Ltd.)

PEARL S. BUCK
📓The Big Wave
📗The Three Daughters of Madam Liang

MARGERY SHARP
📓Miss Bianca
📗The Nutmeg Tree

MISS READ
📓The Little Red Bus
📗The World of Thrush Green (and the entire Thrush Green series)

PHYLLIS A. WHITNEY
📓Mystery of the Green Cat
📗Hunter’s Green

RUMER GODDEN
📓The Doll's House
📗China Court (Manderley Press)

A.A. MILNE
📓Winnie the Pooh
📗The Red House Mystery

ELIZABETH VON ARNIM
📓The April Baby’s Book of Tunes
📗The Solitary Summer

D.E. STEVENSON
📓Alister & Co/It’s Nice To Be Me (Anglophile Books)
📗The English Air

MARY STEWART
📓The Little Broomstick
📗Madam, Will You Talk?

I also know that Gladys Taber has a couple of children's books but, sadly, I don't own any of them at the moment. Maybe someday!! Many thanks to Sue (@myownbookjourneys on Instagram) for letting me know that Mabel Esther Allan also wrote books for adults, as well as children! I'll be purchasing the three books here on the Greyladies website 🥳💜

I would love to hear your favorite adult/children’s book pairings! Please let me know in the comments below 🤩

Happy Reading and many hugs!! 💕🌸🤗🌸💕