I never have enough time to read. I didn't when I was a teenager and would spend an entire Saturday lying on my bed with a book in hand (we're talking at least 12 hours if not more - how did I do that?). Nor in my 20s when I held sporadic part time jobs and finish my college education. And now it my 30s with a full time job, tennis, errands, chores, building a dollhouse, balancing my checkbook - and other mundane, adult things - I certainly don't have much time to read. But I do steal moments here and there when sweeping my floor can be held off just one more day...
So a couple of weeks ago I found a new favorite. The kind of book you put off sweeping your floor for two more days...and stay up late even though you have to get up early. The kind of book that reminds you of all your other favorite books you need to read again - isn't that why I chose to move them to Texas instead of being put in a box in an attic in Indiana? The kind of book you just have to tell people about. And since you're on the subject, you may as well share a few other favorites.
The book was Tuesdays at the Castle by Jessica Day George. It's about a princess (no, I haven't outgrown princesses - just the costume). She lives in a castle that's alive. I mean, it grows. Or shrinks. Or moves around it's rooms. When her parents and oldest brother are attacked by bandits and the council tries to control her brother who is to become the king, Princess Celie and her beloved castle must save the day.
The Runaway Princess by Kate Coombs is one my favorite princess stories ever. Princess Meg doesn't want to be a normal princess, married off to the prince who wins her father's contest. Instead, she'll win the contest herself...even if that does mean escaping the tower her father's locks her in. Which may be the easy part - witches, dragons, stuck up princes and bandits can be a bit challenging...even with the help of friends and a wizard.
Of course, not everything I read is about princesses. Patricia Beatty never wrote a princess book, but she wrote lots of others I could read a dozen times each. There's O, the Red Rose Tree where three young friends decide to help an elderly neighbor make a final quilt. The only hitch: it must have 7 red fabrics that don't bleed. Shipwrecks and actresses' petticoats are a good place to start. Or Melinda Takes a Hand when young Melinda decides her sister's heartbreak over a missing fiance can be solved by rejected British lords who build castles on the plains of Colorado. And if she's not busy with that, she's got a Great Dane to chase after.
If you want funny, try Boston Jane by Jennifer Holm. Jane wasn't much of a lady when she went to finishing school in Philadelphia, even though she tried very hard. She'll try all the harder to maintain her ladylike ways in the wilds of Oregon Territory while she waits for her fiance to show up. Only when he does,well...there are two sequels to read that story in.
I suppose I'll end there - for now. But there are so many more! Wise King Solomon stated correctly in Ecclesiastes, "...of making many books there is no end..." If only I had more time to read them all!
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