Between the Pages

     Happy holidays everyone. Thankfully, at my house, books are gotten and given for Christmas. *CHEF's KISS - MUAH* Pieces of fiction, non-fiction, classics, first editions, and more flow out of brightly colored wrapping papers as the giver smiles with pride and the receiver shrieks exclamations of adoration and contentment. Here, without further adieu are the books (and bookish items) I got (and GAVE) for Christmas 2020. BOOKS I GOT     A Classical Mystery Collection     A Collection of New Yorker Short Stories (1925 - 1960)     A Collection of New York Times Crossword Puzzles     Virgo by Stella Andromeda       And Then There Were None (collector's edition) BOOKS I GAVE     The Grace Kelly Dress: A Novel  by Brenda Janowitz     This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald (collector's edition)     A Mysterious Christie Pair: Death on the Nile  and And Then There Were No...

     I am in the middle of two books. My resolution for 2020 was to read one book at a time. My thoughts: (1) it will be faster and more efficient to read one book at a time (2) I can focus on the characters and what the book is telling me (3) my reviews will be more spot-on, more critical, and more representative. Guess what? All year, I read multiple books at a time. I didn't meet the goal. That's fine, right? I read almost thirty books (so far), so my system mus have worked well.       Right now, I am reading Truman Capote's In Cold Blood  which I am LOVING, and Agatha Christie's Death on the Nile (surprise surprise she's reading Agatha Christie again ) is one of her best, truly amazing. Capote's work has so much journalistic importance. The writing is impeccable and the order of events *muah* -- chef's kiss.       Death on the Nile has some of the most vivid characters I have ever read. I got to a HUGE turning point last ni...

   Hello everyone and welcome back. It has been altogether too long since I have written a blog post, but here I am fairly well and mostly alive after exams. Jane Austen's birthday was December 16. On her 245th birthday, Austen still inspires and leaves her mark.  Jane Austen in an original family portrait.       This summer, I wrote a spotlight or Writing Women post on Jane Austen. Check it out here . Bookstagram was blowing up with love, birthday wishes, and graphics about and for Austen on the 16th. For me, a long time lover and three-time reader of Austen's Pride and Prejudice , the lively state of admiration for this classical author was heaven. Check out my following list on my Instagram @betweenthepgs for some accounts that posted about Jane Austen too. 

   The New York Times  came out with their list of the most notable books of 2020 on November 20th. I wanted to let that list ruminate in the book community for a while before I did a post on it. I want to preface this short post by saying that a lot of those books are AMAZING; however, they do not specifically pertain to this blog, its blogger, its audience, or its content. While it is never too early to start reading memoirs and poetry and complicated backstory fiction (and when I say never, I mean NEVER), I feel a lot of the books that made the list wouldn't necessarily inspire a love and passion for young readers. The intended purpose of this blog is to jumpstart reading and to make literature fun and accessible not daunting.     I am going to be frank and forthcoming. While you all do not know my name, you can hear my personality through my writing. So here it is: I have not read one book on that list. Not a one. As a person who claims to love books, r...