On my bookshelf

“A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say something radical. I believe everyone should read this book. And no, don’t try to get out of it by saying you’ve watched “A Muppet Christmas Carol”. The book, while very short, goes much deeper than the movies can and will make you pause and consider the role of generosity in your own life. It’s quite excellent. 

“Jane Eyre” by Charlotte Bronte

I’m only 70 pages in but I’ve been thoroughly captivated by the tempestuousness and passion of little Jane Eyre. This is one of the few books that I’ve picked up without reading any summaries or picking up any clues at all on what the book might be about (save that it’s about a girl named Jane) and I’m enjoying discovering the plot on my own. I’m an “advanced notice” kind of person in that I like to know what I’m getting into, so I always research movies we watch or read the summaries of TV episodes before I watch them. I just like to be prepared, I guess!

So why am I into the classics at the moment? I downloaded the Kindle app to my iPad and searched their free collections for classic books I’ve never read that have made it into the public domain. Also waiting for me in my virtual bookshelf: “The Time Machine” by H.G. Wells and “Les Miserables” by Victor Hugo.