Books are my love

Seems like every spring I rediscover my love of classic lit. Winter is spent doing the crochet things - blanket making keeps one much warmer than the pages of a novel.

As the spring winds start blowing once more, my mind begins to dream once more of sprawling English gardens, budding trees, blooming flowers, long strolls with nothing better to do than find a great patch of sun (or a handy bench) and just sit.

Sure its yet another form of escapism - and I love every minute of it.

So what makes a good novel? A story that's engrossing, characters that are engaging, and has at least a few notes of unpredictability. The best novels are the ones where I'm pretty sure I know how it will end - but I keep reading because I just have to know how characters get from point A to point B.

This week that meant A Room with a View. I love Lucy Honeychurch - she's such a typical girl! Her struggle between what her culture desires and what her heart cries out for is beautifully written, creating a sympathy within the reader that understands her "muddle". The book describes numerous views - and Forester writes so vividly that I can perfectly picture Lucy standing in a field of violets, watching George Emerson enjoy the Italian countryside.

The book gently urges its reader to examine the "why" - to not simply accept what has always been done, but to search for what truly makes them happy and go for it. What a great way to begin my spring/summer rediscovery.