Five Fall Favorites is here, and most of you probably know what that is. It’s a bunch of bloggers getting together to share about their favorite books for a week! And here I am, joining them! (It’s hosted by Once Upon an Ordinary and Read Another Page!)
I know, I know. You’ve not seen me doing Five Fall Favorites since … *does a quick search* Uhhh … 2017?
For those of you who are like, “Kell has never done Five Fall Favorites!” Yeah, that’s right. Back in 2017, I was a part of Five Fall Favorites. See my intro post here. See? Proof is in the linking! Actually, I did it in 2016, too, so I was ~there from the beginning~ but after that …
Then I went, “Well, I’m not a fall person. At all. So will people think I’m lying if I do an autumnal activity? Will people think I’m a fraud? WILL THEY HATE ME? I DON’T WANT TO BE HATED! AAAAH!”
Spoiler alert: no one cares. It’s okay for me to not love autumn and still participate in Five Fall Favorites.
But regardless, I decided it was time. Why? I don’t know. I just wanted to talk about books. As someone who has little time for reading anymore, talking about books can be … fraught … for me. Embarrassing, one might even say. It makes me feel like a fraud!
But I do read … mostly, I just reread every book I’ve ever read before that I enjoyed, and then, when I’m done with that, I also read a lot for work and start a lot of books and don’t finish them. So most of the books I read (and am recommending this week!) are classics, not newer novels.
That doesn’t make me seem less like a fraud, but hey, I … don’t care.
I STILL WANT TO TALK ABOUT BOOKS.
SO THERE.
Today is about books I’ve recommended, so let’s talk about that!
Books I’ve Recommended
Emma by Jane Austen
Of course, I recommend Emma all the time! It’s my favorite Austen novel, and it’s just. so. good. I cannot describe what a hilarious, enjoyable, heartwarming story it is. Though not for everyone (as some people just don’t seem to get it – especially those who don’t like heroines with a little more spice than sweetness), it’s definitely a classic for a reason.
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë
I am forever recommending this novel! Anne is at her most talented here, and though it is in some ways a “Gothic drama,” it’s a seriously underrated novel comparable to the other sisters’ more popular novels such as Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights. It does have some insane moments (GILBERT I TRUSTED YOU FOR HALF A SECOND AND YOU DID WHAT?!), but like all the Brontë novels, it’s both progressive and problematic, and you have to acknowledge them both.
That said, it’s not “Hi, I’m Edward, and my wife is locked in the attic, and this is a child who I got … somehow (you know how don’t make me say it) … and this is my girlfriend, Blanche; I love her; I adore her; I will marry her; whoops, I was just kidding; anyway, want to get married?”
So … progress?
The Betsy-Tacy Series by Maud Hart Lovelace
I don’t hear a lot of people talking about Betsy-Tacy anymore, but I recommend this series to anyone who will listen! (As a sidenote, I even got to visit the author’s childhood home in Mankato, which was so fun!) This series grows up with you. The first several novels are children’s fiction, and by the end, the last few are geared more toward what I’d call a “new adult” audience. I’m only sad the author didn’t choose to continue the series!
Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter
I always think everyone should read Freckles at least once in their teenagerhood if only to realize how subtle eugenics can be and how prevalent it was I MEAN, if only to enjoy the drama! YES! THE DRAMA AND THE TRAUMA! THE DRAMA AND THE TRAUMA IS ALL THAT HAPPENS IN FRECKLES. There is only drama and trauma. As long as we ignore EVERYTHING ELSE, this is a very fun read.
But seriously, I do think it’s fun, but it’s tragically underdiscussed! And it’s not ANY MORE racist than, like, I don’t know, Wuthering Heights.
I’m sorry, this is becoming the “bash Emily and Charlotte hour” which is not what I intended
As such, I decided to make a meme since I couldn’t find one:
I am so sorry.
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
Ah, yes. Controvery.
Okay, so, hear me out. This book is a racist and deeply inaccurate (in terms of how the characters understand the world) product of its time, and it also features the most toxic romance you’ve ever experienced in your life (to the point where, once again, I ask you if we can call it a romance??), but I DO RECOMMEND IT.
I feel like this is the novel that really helped me understand a lot of things about that period in history that just seemed so obvious to me, and it also helped me understand myself a little better as a woman who was … um, not Melly Wilkes.
BUT it also helped me understand women who are like Melly Wilkes, too, and made me feel a little more like her. (And as a sidenote, I want to both be Melly and have a Melly in my life; I adore that woman.)
I’ll stop.
And move on.
But also, if you haven’t seen Went with the Wind, please see Went with the Wind.
My Team
This year, we’re divided into teams! Allow me to share about my team for this year!
Hannah: hereynolds.com
Katja: littleblossomsforjesus.wordpress.com
Sylvie: sylvieohara106.wixsite.com/my-site-2
Olivia: withloveolivia23.wordpress.com/my-blog
Riley: rileygwriterartist.wordpress.com
Rose: rewriteswithafaeriepen.wordpress.com
The Giveaway
There’s a giveaway for Five Fall Favorites this year! Click this link to find out more and enter:
http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/6113ead966/?
TTFN!
~Kell~
Are you interested in getting to know me & my books better? Join my email list!
32 Responses
I’m so glad you’re back XD XD somehow I always pictured you as a part of FFF but maybe it was because I remembered you participating that one time so well?? I don’t know. anyways. 10/10 autumnal recs, as always; I really need to read Betsy Tacy, Freckles, and GWTW, so thank you for the yearly reminder…
Also Emma is TRAGICALLY underrated.
I think it’s because I was in on the ground floor, lol! I’ve had a couple people mention that I always do FFF, and I was like, “… alas, I cannot be counted as such …”
I feel like you’d love Betsy-Tacy so much! And Freckles has so many noble moments. GWTW is … well, it’s a story. I think you have to be into the melodrama, haha. But Betsy-Tacy for sure … if nothing else, it’s such a cute children’s book. There is a lot of “boy talk” in the teenager years, but that’s what I personally liked about it? So I don’t know!
YES! I love Emma!
I love your thoughts on Emma. As much as Emma drives me crazy for a large part of the novel, her story of growth is beautiful. And it is such a funny book! Also, I need to read Tenant of Wildfell Hall! My sister read and loved it, and I haven’t gotten around to it. Definitely putting it on my TBR!
Emma is my favorite Austen heroine, lol, but I do get that she can be … less popular!
Aw, I loved Betsy-Tacy! I haven’t read it in YEARS, I need to again so much.
Freckles: *Makes approving Pacha face*
Gone With the Wind: LOLOLOLOLOLOL I had such a laugh from Went With the Wind. My dad loved that bit as a kid and shared it with me. It was my one-and-only Halloween costume (Had a little Halloween party all of once… other than that, we just shut the curtains and pretend we’re not home.)
A Went with the Wind Halloween costume would be really cool! That skit never fails to crack me up.
Yes, Betsy-Tacy is just so sweet!
Oh, I remember reading some Betsy–Tacey books many years ago. And Freckles! I still like that book and need to reread it. Yes, I love to reread favorite books too, Kell!
Thanks for joining the FFF once again!
I need to do a reread of Betsy-Tacy again some time! I’ve been putting it off!
Emma and The Tenant of Wildfell Hall are definite favorites of mine. They are true to life and oh so moving. I need to read the Betsy-Tacey books…I’ve heard many good things about them. Freckles was a fun read though I enjoyed Stratton-Porter’s A Girl of the Limberlost and The Keeper of Bees even more. Gone with the Wind … maybe someday! I know it’s an extraordinary book.
Yes, they’re both such impactful books for me! Oh, yes, I actually have A Girl of the Limberlost and The Keeper of the Bees later on in this week, haha! I had to talk about all of them!
Emma is definitely the best of Austen’s novels ❤️❤️❤️!
Agreed! It’s my favorite!
I’ll admit, I’ve never read Emma, but my sister LOVES the latest movie of it, so I know the story from that.
Abigail @ https://authorabigailkay.wordpress.com/
Oh, that’s funny! That’s the only adaptation of it I can’t stand, lol! Though I know I’m in the minority.
That is funny!
Went with the Wind is so funny. I have Gone with the Wind, but never finished it. The movie was awesome!
Yes, I love the movie, too!
Oh my word, Kell. I love this post SO incredibly much XD Also it makes me happy you mentioned Freckles while I had AGotL on the same day 🙂
Yes! I actually have AGotL later this week!!!
YES, GONE WITH THE WIND!!!!!! I adore that book too! Ah, I need to watch Went With the Wind again, now that I’ve read GWtW… I want to be a Melly, I am unfortunately kind of a Scarlett, naturally (In all honesty I would likely act the way Scarlett does toward Melanie if I had one in my life… *hides and cries*)
I haven’t read Anne Bronte’s book yet! I need to.
I think that’s a big part of why I want to be Melly so badly … I want to grow from one to the other! 😛
Oh! I’m so glad I went back and read this post. Your description of Freckles, “drama and trauma”, is 100% accurate, down to the all caps. I completely agree with your sentiment and don’t want to hear any criticism about precious Freckles.
Speaking of not wanting to hear criticism, (cough, cough, Melanie Wilkes), I just finished Gone with the Wind today, and wow! That was an experience. I am really glad I read it (and equally glad I waited until I was over 20 to do so), and I feel as if I could spend hours analyzing and discussing Melly, not to mention Rhett and Scarlett. Yes, a brilliant masterpiece, even if it failed to convert me to the Southern Cause.
CutePolarBear/Hanna Kraft
Haha, yes, I felt that was an accurate description!
Oh, yes, it’s definitely an experience! I read it first at maybe 14 or 15, though I don’t accurately remember, and have read it many times since then. I feel like it has a lot of depth for sure … but yeah, no part of me has become less of a Yankee due to it!
Emma very rightly is a classic. I love Jane Austen!
I’m so happy you’re participating in FFF this year! <3 These are great recommendations. I've yet to read any of them, but Gone With the Win,d, Emma, and Freckles all sound so interesting.
All of them are worth reading! Emma, especially, is a book everyone has read. Even my brothers have, for school!
Ooh, I LOVED Betsy Tacy!!! Like, those were my early teen years (I found them later). I still have to read beyond the high school years!!!!! And the author’s other works. Have you read Emily of Deep Valley?
The last several books are my favorites, so they’re definitely worth reading! Yes, I loved Emily of Deep Valley! And Carney’s House Party!
Fabulous FFF! Thanks for sharing.
Of course!