Posted by: @valiantarcher

@SnowAngel, any success with finding more of Georgette Heyer's books?

Nope, my library doesn't have any and currently my little sis has maxed out the interlibrary loan limit. I went to a used bookstore last weekend with some family members and had hope to stumble across some Georgette Heyer, but unfortunately I didn't find any.

Oh, I have been meaning to read John Buchan as well, unfortunately my library doesn't have any of his books either. I should have looked for his books when I was at the bookstore.

I read books 1 and 3 in the Belles of Lordsburg series by Stephen Bly earlier this year, and then my sister found the whole series while she was book shopping online...so I am now reading The General's Notorious Widow. It's probably the weakest book of the series, but I am still delighted to be able to complete the series.  

SnowAngel

@SnowAngel, Georgette Heyer seems to be pretty hit-or-miss to find in the wild and I think I've only seen John Buchan once in an used bookstore (granted, I don't usually remember to look because I currently have access to a large number of his books), but I hope you have some success soon!

 I finished The Island of Sheep. Somewhat surprisingly, I thought the climax of The Three Hostages was actually stronger suspense/setting-wise, though there were elements I did enjoy. Overall, though, my favourite parts of the book were the children, I think.

Posted by: @valiantarcher

I hope you enjoy the play of The Borrowers, @Courtenay!

I absolutely loved it! (It was last night.) Brilliantly and imaginatively done, excellent acting (and musical numbers!), all really captivating and moving, and I felt it captured the spirit of the books perfectly. The first act was all based on book 1, The Borrowers, very true to the original story, just somewhat abridged; the second act was based on parts of all the other 4 books, compressing the story a lot and changing the ending a bit, but still very much in keeping with the original. (I know there was also a BBC series and a film based on the books in, I think, the 1990s, but I've never seen either, so can't make any comparisons with those.)

I don't know if this particular production has ever travelled outside the UK, but if anyone gets the chance to see it, I would highly, highly recommend it for people of all ages, whether fans of the books or people who've never encountered these stories before! It's an adaptation by Theresa Heskins "presented with the permission of the deFaria Company", according to the leaflet — that's the only info I have on the production, as unfortunately they weren't selling programmes for it at the theatre.

Back on the topic of books specifically — I've had time to catch up with a bit of reading while I was away on holiday for two weeks, and one of the books I finished during that time was I Dared to Call Him Father by Bilquis Sheikh, a Pakistani woman who grew up in a prominent Muslim family and was unexpectedly led to find out more about the Bible and Jesus and eventually to become a Christian. It was really beautifully written and deeply moving and I'd recommend it to anyone here who might be interested.

I'm glad to hear you enjoyed the play, @Courtenay!

I've finished the Tolkien book (I did indeed enjoy "The Lay of Lethian" far more than "The Lay of the Children of Hurin") and, with a detour to read a book profiling a handful of the Righteous Among the Nations recipients, am now reading Right Ho, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. I am currently in my semi-occasional phase of a Wodehouse read wherein I attempt to determine if I've read the book before or if it's just that things seem familiar because his characters are always getting into the same sort of scrapes.

Any thoughts on The Little White Horse? I hope to get around to this children's novel eventually. 

I read at least one of the Borrowers books as a child. What stuck with me was the marvelous illustrations though. There was also an anime version called The Secret of Arriety where the beings in addition to having tails had mouse whiskers.

@cobalt-jade 

I remember remember reading The Borrowers in a children’s literature course in college.  I thought it was a very unique children’s book. And of course books like these have been around for many years and generations of children will continue to read them.  

@jewel adult friends recommended it years ago. I read it, and it was quite sweet. What else has Elizabeth Goudge written ?

At Christmas I think of it sometimes, as my Christmas music includes 2 songs by different people called White Horse  

@jewel I've read Little White Horse several times and am never quite sure what I think of it. Like @coracle said, it's very sweet--almost overly so--and fairy-tale like. (Fun trivia: The BBC did a mini series in the 90s and the same actress that played Jill plays Maria!)

I'm currently reading a series of memoirs by Sir Horace Rumbold; it starts with Recollections of a Diplomatist and the author talks about the various* cities he lived in between 1840 and 1873 (he also thinks nothing of including anecdotes in French, Italian, and German and seems of the opinion that the funniest stories were told in French) as well as the politics of the time and area and it has been an experience to hear of wars and other tragedies as if they're yesterday's news. 

*mostly European, but he made a trip out to China, and was later stationed in South America

I'm also reading the Dance of Thieves duology by Mary Pearson, which is YA fantasy with a thick Western flair. It's interesting to compare the aesthetic with Emily B. Martin's Sunshield Bandit duology, and also interesting to note that thieves are very popular characters at the moment.

Posted by: @valiantarcher

@SnowAngel, Georgette Heyer seems to be pretty hit-or-miss to find in the wild and I think I've only seen John Buchan once in an used bookstore (granted, I don't usually remember to look because I currently have access to a large number of his books), but I hope you have some success soon!

I got to visit another bookstore, sadly they didn't have of the older fiction I have been looking for. I did find three Leisha Kelly books and a couple by Terri Blackstock, definitely not classic fiction, but still some from my favorite authors.  

Question for Laura Ingalls Wilder or kids historical fiction fans, anyone read the Days of Laura Ingalls Wilder series by Thomas L. Tedrow? Scarlet recently stumbled across them online. I recognized them after seeing the covers and I know I read most of the series years ago, but I don't remember if I liked them or not. The reviews I looked at online are so mixed, I can't figure if they are worth trying to get via interlibrary loan.

My younger siblings have been reading The Orphan Train Adventures by Joan Lowery Nixon via the library, another series I read as a kid. So, I'm reading A Family Apart, I will probably read books 2 and 3 before pulling some Christmas books off of my own shelf to read.

SnowAngel

Some years back, I've read a book called The Peasant Prince. It is a book about Thaddeus Kosciusko, a man from Poland who came to America and fought during the War for Independence. He was known to be in engineering in building forts. He returned to his home in Poland, and fought for independence there from Russia. However, it would not be until another century or two that Poland would be free from Russia. The book is actually tear-jerking. I've actually cried when I've read it. 

Posted by: @mel

@jewel I've read Little White Horse several times and am never quite sure what I think of it. Like @coracle said, it's very sweet--almost overly so--and fairy-tale like. (Fun trivia: The BBC did a mini series in the 90s and the same actress that played Jill plays Maria!)

My memory was jogged when I read your words. I've seen what I think was a movie, not with Camilla Power, so it must have been the later one, The Secret of Moonacre 2009. I really didn't like it; it was a very contemporary adaptation, with Dakota Blue Richards. Something was really missing from the book - the fairy tale quality? I'll try to find the BBC serial online instead.
EDIT: here it is: 

Posted by: @courtenay

Back on the topic of books specifically — I've had time to catch up with a bit of reading while I was away on holiday for two weeks, and one of the books I finished during that time was I Dared to Call Him Father by Bilquis Sheikh, a Pakistani woman who grew up in a prominent Muslim family and was unexpectedly led to find out more about the Bible and Jesus and eventually to become a Christian. It was really beautifully written and deeply moving and I'd recommend it to anyone here who might be interested.

Yes, another one I read years ago, recommended by a friend.

How was the Dance of Thieves duology, @Mel?

@SnowAngel, The Days of Laura Ingalls Wilder books don't look familiar at all to me, sorry. How are you and your siblings enjoying The Orphan Train Adventures? I'm pretty sure that's a series we read growing up, though we picked up the third or fourth one in the series before the others and it took years before we found the others.

I'm pretty sure I had previously read Right Ho, Jeeves - just perhaps as an audiobook on a trip. Now I'm rereading The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy L. Sayers; I'm currently appreciating the fact that she takes time to distinguish between laws of nature and man-made laws as I read an essay by G. K. Chesterton earlier this year that frustratingly did not.

The Star Trek log books are actually better than the animated series that they were based on. My feeling is that the stories for the cartoons as they were broadcast were too short and were not allowing much character development. I highly recommend the books if you like the animated series and especially if you are a Star Trek fan. They are easily as good as many of the episodes of the original series. 🙂

I've also read 1776 by McCullough. It's about the American War for Independence, focusing on events in 1775 and 1776. There's even insight about the Declaration of Independence.

If you are a lover of history like I am, then I would recommend 1776 and The Peasant Prince: Thaddeus Koscuiszko and the Age of the Revolution. There's such insight in those books.