Five books that define your reading taste?
This was so much harder than I thought it would be! I went back and forth, but finally I pulled these together—I think they represent my favorite genres pretty well. I enjoy mythology, witchy fantasy, magical realism, nature poetry and classics. And of course my ultimate favorite is Jane.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
It’s no secret that this is my favorite book. Anyone who knows me knows of my obsession with all things Jane Austen. (I wont go into it here because this is a post for the 5, but if you want to read more about how I fell in love with Jane read my blog post here!)
Emily Dickinson’s Gardening Life
I love books about nature, because I want to gain a better understanding of our amazing home and how it works. We are all connected and I want to understand that relationship, and sustain it when I can. It is important as a human being to know about the world you live in. I believe it is our duty to protect the environment and hopefully make the world a better place, if possible. We affect nature, we are nature. Dickinson’s musings on nature give us all a great reason to remember and reestablish that relationship with Mother Earth, and I love coming back to the lines in this book when I need to realign myself with nature.
The Greek Myths by Robert Graves
I have loved Greek Mythology since I was a teen. I first read this book, along with Edith Hamilton’s Mythology, and they sparked a huge love of myths that I never could shake! I was lucky enough to be offered classes in both high school and college that taught me so much more about the myths, but I will never be done learning about them. C. S. Lewis’ Til We Have Faces was the first ‘myth retold’ that I ever picked up, but not the last.
Flower Fables by Louisa May Alcott
I love this book. So so much! It is a lovely little collection of shorts, telling of all the good deeds done by the fairies of the flowers. Elves and Spirits, Kings and Queens, Roses and Clovers, Birds and Butterflies — nature spirits dwell all around us. “Few are the mortals to whom we give this lovely gift;” But, if you can learn to look and listen, you will find them, in the sweet melody of songbirds and the sweet scent of the flowers. This is essential cannon if you love fae folk!
The House of The Spirits by Isabel Allende
Isabel Allende is another one of my all-time favorite authors. I love her books and will seriously read anything she writes. I just love the way she weaves together history and whimsy and romance!
MANDY'S READING LIST 