Every year, I set myself a reading goal. In 2021, it was simply to read an average of one book per month for a total of twelve over the year. With our first kiddo arriving in April, I’m not as sure about what the year will look like in terms of the time I have available to read. So I’m taking a goal out of the mix and focusing on spending some time reading a few books I’ve been eyeing up prior to my due date. I’m hoping to read three of the below books prior to baby, but we’ll see what happens! This year, I’m choosing to give myself some grace and listen to how I’m feeling so that I’m enjoying reading instead of forcing it. I hope you do the same!
I’m a huge fan of Jane Austen and have read Pride & Prejudice too many times to count now. Sandition was Jane’s final work that was sadly incomplete as she died before finishing the novel. I found this copy that was completed by ‘Another Lady’ and have just started to dive in. So far it feels a little different than her others, but holds to her classic style of writing still. If you’re interested but don’t have the time to read it, PBS did a Masterpiece series on it that you can watch to get the gist.
I am a huge fan of the House of Dior; the collections, the history, the original designer himself. So this book by Justine Picardie intrigued me from the moment the press release came out about it. It is a biography of Christian Dior’s sister, Catherine. She was a badass woman if there ever was one! She acted as both a muse for the perfumes and collections of her brother but was also a spy during the war. She held fast in her beliefs and was a strong women in a time when women weren’t always encouraged to be. I cannot wait to learn more about her fascinating life.
I’ve had this on my ‘to-read’ list forever and am finally going to crack it open! I tried to read Emily Bronte’s Withering Heights last year, but it was a bit too chaotic and honestly a little weird. So I’m trying a different Bronte in hopes for a more romantic classic read.
A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler
I read Z by Therese Anne Fowler years ago while on a beach vacation and loved it, so I have high hopes that this novel of the Vanderbilts will live up to that. Any time a novel weaves in factual historical events and people, I’m in. I love when an author can make a more drab historical event truly come to life with the fictional side they imbue within the tale. Given the Vanderbilts are American royalty, I am interested to learn more about their storied family.
