Summer of reading

One of the perks of retirement is the luxury of reading.  I call it a luxury since during years of raising children and working, there just was not much time.  So now I am making up for lost time, especially this summer as we are living in limbo waiting for our new house to be done.   Also, summer in Arizona encourages more time inside.  I'm trying to catch up on some of the old classics.  I recently finished Jane Austen's Pride And Prejudice and enjoyed it so much.  Such an insight into women's roles of the day and so glad I live now!  The author, W. Somerset Maugham said, "Nothing very much happens in her books, and yet, when you come to the bottom of the page, you eagerly turn it to learn what will happen next.  Nothing very much does and again you eagerly turn the page.  The novelist who has the power to achieve this has the most precious gift a novelist can possess."  It was also refreshing to read a book with such rich literary phrasing and no profanity!  Here are two of my favorite quotes from the book:

"The wisest and best of men, - nay, the wisest and best of their actions, - may be rendered ridiculous by a person whose first object in life is a joke."

"....resignation (as in being resigned to something happening) is never so perfect as when the blessing denied begins to lose somewhat of its value..."

Another favorite read was A Wolf Called Romeo.  I just was mesmerized by this true story set in Juneau, Alaska.  I will never think of a wolf again without thinking of Romeo. 

Now I'm into Edith Wharton's A House of Mirth.  Additional insights into high society during the early 1900's and the limited opportunities for women. 

A while back I finished Pat Nixon, written in the 80's by her daughter, Julie.  Extremely well written and a testimony to an amazing woman.  Few know what she had to put up with.   Also wonderful was The Princesse Of Versailles, the story of Marie Adelaide of Savoy.  She married Louis the IV's grandson.  A fascinating woman.  A side note: books from this era give one a much greater appreciation for modern dentistry. 

Ok, that's all for now..let me know if you have any good recommendations.