January books

There's been quite a bit of publicity recently for the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice... so last night I picked it up to re-read.  This book has long been a favourite, so I didn't need too much encouragement to look again.

It's amazing how a new aspect of a book can jump out at you on a repeat reading.  This time I'm noticing much more of Darcy's reactions to Lizzy and the way he's captivated by her from the outset. (I'm still fairly early in the book - Jane has been staying at Netherfield because she's caught cold and Lizzy was looking after her).  I'd read before that Jane Austen's male characters often aren't as well defined as her heroines, but this time I feel I'm seeing much more about his feelings and reactions than I'd expected.  Perhaps it's because I know how the story continues so that I'm reading more into the early parts than I'm supposed to know.

Other books I've read this month include:

1. A Deadly Yarn by Maggie Sefton.  ok - maybe I don't want to own up to this one!  It's the 3rd in a series of murder mysteries based around knitting... I've read them as a bit of mindless fun, and keep saying I won't bother with the next in the series but then go on to buy it from the Amazon marketplace.  They're getting a bit formulaic now, but I guess they don't claim to be anything else...
2. A Good Yarn by Debbie Macomber.  This was a Christmas present from a fellow knitter, and is the 2nd in a series.  I'm glad she chose to give me this as the first one to try and I found myself quite getting into the story.  It was a relaxing read, where nothing too bad happened for too long and people found the best in each other.  I liked that the knitting side was just a small part of the story (essentially just an excuse for 4 random women to meet each other), compared to the Maggie Sefton books where it feels more heavily worked in (and less authentic because of that).  I'll probably have a look in the library to see if there are more to try.
3. At Knit's End by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee.  Maybe there's a theme emerging here... Actually this is more a collection of thoughts and musings, which is quite fun to dip into from time to time.  I like that I feel normal when I read about other women's eccentricities.
4. One Hundred Favourite Poems from Classic FM.  I don't normally read poetry, but when I was invited to a Burns Supper last weekend I needed to prepare a poem to recite and chose the Ode to a Mouse.  There was a copy in this book, which led to me browsing through and spotting other poems which I'd forgotten.  I hope I'll spend a bit more time dipping into this now as well.