October Wrap-Up, Furrowed Middlebrow Gift & Full Review of Miss Granby's Secret! 🤩🌟📚💚

Happy November, Friends! 😄🍂🍁

I'm so happy to be back on the blogging wagon. (I really need to make it a priority to post at least once a month.) How are you? Have you had a lovely autumn so far?

As usual, I have way too many books on my TBR (more than any human can possibly read—lol!), but I'm loving all of the ones I've read in October. Now that it's November, I'm finishing up reading my last "spooky" book (Jane-Emily by Patricia Clapp 👻) and getting ready to start my Christmas reading (my FAVORITE time of the year!) 😍❤️💚🎄

Quickly, I'll share a couple of pics from my October reading and ratings (with links to my Goodreads reviews).  Then, we'll get right to all of the Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow magic! 🤩✨✨

 OCTOBER READS:

🧡 One Dozen and One by Gladys Taber 4.75🌟 (buddy ready with @carosbookcase!)

🧡 Thornyhold by Mary Stewart (buddy re-read with @gina.stanyer.books) 4.75🌟

🧡 Halloween Party by Agatha Christie 5🌟

🧡 Countess Kate by Charlottte Mary Yonge 3.5🌟 (Victober)

🧡 The Gingerbread Shop by P.L. Travers 4🌟

🧡 A Doll for Marie by Louise Fatio 4.75🌟

🧡 Sunlight by Sally Cartwright 4🌟

🧡 Lady Living Alone by Norah Lofts 4.75🌟

🧡 Meg and the Ghost of Hidden Springs by Holly Beth Walker 4.25🌟

🧡 The Last Seance by Agatha Christie 4.5🌟

🧡 The Yellow Warning by Betsy Allen 4🌟

🧡 A Dark and Secret Magic by Wallis Kinney 4.5🌟

🧡 The Girl and the Cathedral by Nicolas Jester 4.5🌟

🧡 Over and Over by Charlotte Zolotow 5🌟 

🧡 Autumn Term by Antonia Forest 4🌟 (recommended by @carosbookcase!)

🧡 Secret Marriage by Kathleen Norris 4.5🌟 (buddy read with @sorrythankyou79!)

🧡 Marple by Naomi Alderman 3.5🌟

🧡 The Talking Dolls by G.R. Mills 4🌟

🧡 The Secret Gardens of Frances Hodgson Burnett 5🌟    

🧡 Mary Jane's Kindergarten by Claire Ingram Judson 5🌟

 

 

 

In my last Furrowed Middlebrow Friday post, I mentioned how much I would love to own some Dean Street Press post cards to hang on my wall. Victoria generously (and thoughtfully!) sent me a bunch of press samples for my post card collection. Omg, it was the BEST DAY EVER when I received that package in the mail with a sweet note from this lovely lady! 😍❤️

 

And a few pics along with similar books to my collection. Aren't they amazing?? If there were postcards for every book in the Furrowed Middlebrow and Golden Age mystery collection, I would totally buy them up! They're so awesome!
 

 

 

 

 

Now, onto my review of Miss Granby's Secret: or The Bastard of Pinsk by Eleanor Farjeon!

 

Rating: 4🌟

A crazy and compelling ride!

This is my first experience of Eleanor Farjeon's writing and I have to say that, at first, I was a little doubtful that I'd like it. I felt that the pace of the story fluctuated between slightly frantic to slow, with (for me) some confusion in between.

I wish I'd had a hard copy version of Miss Granby's Secret because there were some sections I wanted to go back and refer to a few times (such as Adelaide's own definition of terms). But, in spite of a transition at the beginning of the book (in which I was adjusting my mind to the way it was written), there came a point where the story completely caught hold of me and I was all in!

Both the main story with Miss Granby's niece, Pamela, and the story-within-the-story of The Bastard of Pinsk became entirely addictive. At one point, near the end, I forgot that this book wasn't entirely The Bastard of Pinsk by Miss Granby! lol. It was so amusing and I was dying to know what would happen at the end.

The very end of the story became confusing (for me) again and I'm not sure I fully loved the way the author brought the novel to a close. I was a little disappointed at the end, but this could be due to my not being used to Eleanor Farjeon's writing style. Overall, I enjoyed the book so much more than I imagined I would!

I own a pretty little book of Ms. Farjeon's poetry for children, so I'm excited to dip into that book very soon and see if I like it. Many thanks and gratitude to the wonderful team at Dean Street Press Ltd. for sharing this e-book with me for review! I always love a Furrowed Middlebrow book—and this one was definitely a new adventure for me!  

Highly recommended you give this book a try! (or ANY Dean Street Press book!)

Please make sure to check out Caro's awesome review of Miss Granby's Secret, too!

So...

I guess that's about all for now. Ian and I went on a trip to Florida this month (post-cancer treatment for him plus a little late 31st wedding anniversary beach vacation for the two of us) and I'll share pics (along with my favorite lighthouse themed vintage books!) very soon.

I hope you're having the most cozy, comfortable and joyful book reading month, dear friends! I'll start sharing my holiday book favorites, recommendations and TBR at the beginning of December (including my favorite Christmas books by genre, favorite Christmas movies and activities!) I can't wait! 

Much love as always and would love to hear from you in the comments below! Tons of hugs! 💕🌸🤗🌸💕

Furrowed Middlebrow Collection! 🤩🌟📚💚

Happy Friday! ☺️💓

For #FurrowedMiddlebrowFriday this week, I'm sharing my current Dean Street Press Furrowed Middlebrow collection of 34 printed books (32 books on my Kindle)—yipppee!

I'm cheating with this photo because I usually double stack my Dean Street Press Books so that I can use the other shelf for other books. But, in my ideal library world, this is what they look like: 

And, here are my collections by author, along with ratings. Also, here's my link to my Instagram Furrowed Middlebrow Collection post!😍❤️

Molly Clavering:

Because of Sam 5🌟

Dear Hugo 4.5🌟

Love Comes Home (TBR)

Mrs. Lorimer's Quiet Summer 4🌟

Near Neighbors 5🌟

Susan Settles Down 5🌟

Touch Not the Nettle 4🌟

Yoked with a Lamb (TBR)

Elizabeth Eliot:

Mrs. Martell 4.5🌟

 

Elizabeth Fair:

(all on my Kindle) 

A Winter Away 4🌟

Bramton Wick 4🌟

Landscape in Sunlight 4🌟

Seaview House 4🌟

The Marble Staircase 3.5🌟

The Mingham Air 4🌟

The Native Heath 4🌟

 

Eleanor Farjeon:

Miss Granby's Secret (or the Bastard of Pinsk) 4🌟

 

Ruby Ferguson: 

Apricot Sky 5🌟

 

E. Nesbit:

The Lark 4🌟

 

Carola Oman:

Nothing to Report 3🌟

 

Ursula Orange:

Begin Again 4🌟

 

Susan Scarlett: 

Babbacombe's 4.25🌟

Clothes-Pegs 4🌟

Peter and Paul (TBR)

Sally-Ann 4.5🌟

Summer Pudding (TBR) 

Ten Way Street (TBR)

The Man in the Dark (TBR)

 

Margery Sharp:

Four Gardens 4🌟

Rhododendron Pie 3.5🌟

The Foolish Gentlewoman (TBR)

Dorothy Evelyn Smith:

Miss Plum and Miss Penny 5🌟

 

D.E. Stevenson:

Green Money 5🌟

Mrs. Tim Carries On 4🌟

Mrs. Tim Flies Home 4.5🌟

Mrs. Tim Gets a Job 4🌟

Music in the Hills 3🌟

Spring Magic 3🌟

The Fair Miss Fortune 5🌟

Vittoria Cottage 5🌟

Winter and Rough Weather 4🌟

TBR:

A House in the Country by Ruth Adam

Bewildering Cares by Winifred Peck

The House Opposite by Barbara Noble

 

BONUS! DSP Golden Age Crime Fiction by Moray Dalton: 

One by One They Disappeared 4🌟

The Night of Fear 4.5🌟 

The Belgrave Manor Crime 4🌟 

The Murder of Eve 4🌟

Note: I love Moray Dalton's books so much! I'm dying to get the rest of them! 🥰

FAQS about Dean Street Press Books
 

Do you wish you owned ALL the Furrowed Middlebrow books? Heck, yes! 

Who is your favorite DSP Furrowed Middlebrow author? Molly Clavering or D.E. Stevenson (TIE!)

Which author do you wish had more books in the Furrowed Middlebrow series? Omg, Ruby Ferugson for sure!

Do you have an all-time favorite Dean Street Press book? The hardest question everrrr! But, after lots of thought, it might be Apricot Sky. Or...Susan Settles Down. Too many 5🌟 books!

What do you wish you could change about the Furrowed Middlebrow books? Although I think they're pretty perfect, I would change these three little things:

1. Make the printed books easier to hold open while reading and have a larger gutter so that I don't have to crack the spine to read it.
2. Figure out a way to make all of the DSP logos line up so that the look prettier displayed on bookshelves. (Perhaps make a different color symbol for each author?)
3. Discover an ingenious way to display this beautiful collection so that the covers are facing out to admire all of the time. Or, better yet, sell a set of postcards or small prints of the covers so that readers can have a wall of lovely artwork in their libraries. (Please, please, please!)
   

Well, I guess that's all for now, book friends! I'm sure I'll do an update in the future with more (and more!) books that I collect from the amazing Dean Street Press Ltd.!

I'd love to know in the comments below what YOUR favorite DSP Furrowed Middlebrow book is at the moment! Let's share the love!! Sending tons of love and hugs to youuuuuuu! 💕🌸🤗🌸💕

Hope you enjoyed seeing my collection! 🥳💜🌟

 

Miss Granby's Secret by Eleanor Farjeon

Hello again, friends! It's been so long since I posted anything. I've been busy reading, finding and collecting vintage books (too many, as usual...lol!) and feeling overwhelmed by life. Does this happen to you, too?

The roller coaster weather here in New Hampshire (one day so hot and humid and the next day brisk and chilly...or both in one day!) has been getting me down and I hope that the steady beauty of autumn (my favorite season!) will be here soon. I'm looking forward to it so much! How about you?

Anyway, down to business—and, by that, I mean NEW book review! Woo!

I was recently sent a review copy of Miss Granby's Secret (or the Bastard of Pinsk) by Eleanor Farjeon by the wonderful and amazing Dean Street Press Ltd. team (Victoria, you're the best! 😍) 

I so, so incredibly happy that Dean Street Press is going to continue publishing books for the Furrowed Middlebrow series. Isn't that the best news you've heard in a long time?? It was for me! 

[Side note: If I had to choose one future career dream, it would be to work on the Dean Street Press team. Since my degree is in Mathematics and my amazing current job have nothing at all to do with the book publishing world, I guess I will have to live this lovely thought only in my mind. But, if for some reason anyone on the team is reading this and you need someone in the U.S. to help with any step of the process, please keep me in mind! 😁💓📕]

Sorry for going on a crazy tangent...back to the book review!

Rating: 4🌟

A crazy and compelling ride!

This was my first experience reading Eleanor Farjeon's writing and I have to say that, at first, I was a little doubtful that I'd like it. I thought the pace of the story fluctuated between slightly frantic to pretty slow, with some confusion in between.

I wish I'd had a hard copy version of Miss Granby's Secret because there were some sections I wanted to go back and refer to a few times, such as Adelaide's own definition of terms. (I'll be buying a hard copy very soon to add to my collection)

But, in spite of my slightly rocky transition at the beginning of the book (in which I was adjusting my mind to the way it was written), there came a point where the story completely caught hold of me and I was all in!

Both the main story with Miss Granby's niece, Pamela, and the story-within-the-story of The Bastard of Pinsk became entirely addictive. At one point, near the end, I forgot that this book wasn't entirely The Bastard of Pinsk by Miss Granby! 😂😂 It was so amusing and I was dying to know what would happen for the finale.

The very end of the story became confusing again and I'm not sure if I really liked the way the author brought the novel to a close. I was a little disappointed at the end, but this could be due to my not being used to Eleanor Farjeon's writing style. I think that means I need to read more of her books!

Overall, I enjoyed the book so much more than I imagined I would! I highly recommend you give it a try!

Make sure to check in tomorrow (or, better yet, SUBSCRIBE to my blog by typing your email into the blue box at the top right and pressing the pink button! If you do, you'll make my day, sweet friend!) for another #furrowedmiddlebrowfriday (a hashtag I created on 8/16/24) post here and on Instagram!

Note: I own a pretty little book of Ms. Farjeon's poetry for children (pictured above), so I'm excited to dip into that book very soon and see if I like it. The illustrations look very sweet!

Please check out my dear friend, Caro's review of this book on her new website! Her reviews are incredibly thoughtful, intelligent, amusing and filled with gorgeous photos. You'll love them 🤩 Make sure to follow her on Instagram @carosbookcase!

Much love and many hugs!!! Would love to hear from you in the comments below! 💕🌸🤗🌸💕