Weekly Wrap Up 3/20/17

I finished up two books this week, one of which I had been working on for a long time. So even though it's only two, I still feel accomplished!

                                  
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke
True confessions: It took me four months to read this book. I have been plugging away at it for what seems like forever. In other words, this book moves very slowly, especially in the beginning. This novel tells the tale of two rival magicians in early nineteenth century England. It reads almost like a Dickens novel with many over the top characters to keep track of. In the end, I did end up really enjoying the novel. It picks up speed the further into it you get but still be prepared for a fairly long commitment. If you can stick with it long enough the pay off is definitely worth it. 

Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen
True confessions: I read this book in two days. (It would have been one but I started it in the evening.) I really really loved this book. It's not great literature. There is nothing profound about it. The story line is fairly predictable. But there was something in the story that I just connected with. Claire and Sydney are sisters. Claire has always been the dutiful steady daughter and Sydney is the wild one who ran away and is now returning home with her young daughter in tow. Two sisters learning to trust each other, to embrace their family legacy, and to find out who they really are. A sweet and simple story that just made me happy. I need to read more books that just make me happy.