For the last time this year…
A selection of quotes and pictures to represent December’s reading:
commonplace book
noun
a book into which notable extracts from other works are copied for personal use.
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They repaired and reused everything: nothing was ever thrown away…They shared with their neighbours and pooled their resources. They looked after other families’ children and old folk to enable each other to work and earn. This was what it meant to have community; it was also what it meant to be oppressed in your own country. When tangible things were so sparse, you had at least to leave people their pride and their dreams, their religion and their sultan.
The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson (2023)
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A diamond has many facets: hold it with me facing you and you can see one facet, I another, but they’re both on the same stone. It’s the angle-of-sight question. There may be a third or a fourth angle we know nothing about, meanwhile we both feel something, you aversion, I attraction. That’s a starting-point.
A Footman for the Peacock by Rachel Ferguson (1940)
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‘Besides, we take pride in our traditions, no matter how ridiculous. Indeed, the more absurd the tradition, the more it is cherished.’
‘That makes no sense.’
‘Rationality, being a recent invention, is not widely embraced,’ Eleanor said with a smile.
A Lady to Treasure by Marianne Ratcliffe (2023)
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She thought, how little we know other people, no matter how closely we share our lives. There he is, that stick-in-the-mud who’s never wanted to try anything new, but some hidden part of him has broken open, some adventurous part of him I never knew was there, and maybe he didn’t either.
Restless Dolly Maunder by Kate Grenville (2023)
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“You see, Miss Furnivall, there isn’t only one kind of love, the kind between men and women. There are many different kinds – so many! And unless you can find the kind that you were created for, you won’t be satisfied here below. You will not.”
A Pink Front Door by Stella Gibbons (1959)
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Princess Nadezhda Petrovna of Russia with her brother, Prince Roman Petrovich of Russia
‘Nothing breaks like a heart,’ said Stana, patting her sister on the knee. ‘But nothing mends like it either.’
The Witch’s Daughter by Imogen Edwards-Jones (2023)
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“I hope no one will imagine I’m mocking at detective-story devices. In point of fact, I dote on them. But so long as criminals take them for a model, the police are going to have a very easy time; because, like the wretched Judith, your genuinely murderous addict will dig his cunning and complicated pits for the investigators, only, in the upshot, to fall head first into one of them himself.”
We Know You’re Busy Writing… by Edmund Crispin (2023)
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Favourite book read in December:
A Pink Front Door and A Lady to Treasure
Authors read for the first time in December:
Kate Grenville
Places visited in my December reading:
Morocco, England, Australia, Russia
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Reading notes: I didn’t finish as many books in December as I’d hoped, but I’ve also been immersed in two very thick books which are taking a long time to get through, so that’s my excuse! I’m pleased that I managed to read two books for Dean Street December and I’m also almost up to date with reviewing all of my 2023 reads, with only two reviews left to post in January.
Tomorrow I’ll be posting my reading resolutions for 2024, but meanwhile I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year!
She Reads Novels 
“Rationality, being a recent invention, is not widely embraced…” Spot on!
I wish you and yours all the best for 2024, Helen, hoping we all get what we need and deserve.
Yes, I thought that one was still quite relevant!
All the best for 2024 to you too.
Happy New Year Helen, and here’s to many happy hours reading in 2024. Your site has really expanded most pleasantly and educationally my reading horizons. Reading will always be my favourite hobby!
Happy New Year to you too, Paula. I hope you enjoy whatever you choose to read in 2024.
Happy New Year to you and your loved ones Helen, and wish you a great reading year ahead as well. Enjoyed all of these quotes from your commonplace book–the quote from Crispin reminded me how much I enjoy his writing!
Happy New Year! Yes, Crispin is great. I’ve only read his short stories and two of his novels, so have a lot more to look forward to.
What did you read from Morroco? I’m planning an African reading project for next year so trying to build a list of potential novels
The Moroccan book was The Black Crescent by Jane Johnson, which is set in the 1950s during the campaign for independence from the French protectorate. I learned a lot from it. Good luck with the African project!
Looks like an interesting selection for the month! Happy New Year, Helen!
Happy New Year to you too!
Goodness, whatever you think, I think you’ve been busy. Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you too!
Although less than you hoped, Helen looks like some good reading done and two chunk-sters to enjoy finishing off. I loved Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons, so should really try reading more of her books.
Blessings, Jessica 💌
I found A Pink Front Door very different from Cold Comfort Farm, but I really enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more by Stella Gibbons.