Five Fall Favorites Day 1

Welcome to Five Fall Favorites, hosted by Kate Willis! We're celebrating books this week. Keep reading for my favorites, and don't neglect to enter the giveaway!

 

Every season is reading weather, but there’s something special about fall as we enter into the cozy time of year … when it’s pleasant to read outdoors or in, when we anticipate holidays and sharing books with family and friends, when the beauty of nature and the warmth of fall decorations inspire flights of imagination.

On Day 1 of this week celebrating reading, I’m sharing my Top 5 Books That Make Me Me. These are the books that I can’t imagine my life without. For one reason or another, they’ve settled into my soul and either helped shape me and my interests or answered a yearning I didn’t know was there. (I will leave out the obvious here—God’s book, the Bible—because that is an absolute given, the ultimate Book that has shaped me and fulfilled me.)

 

 

 

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

I didn’t know what I was getting into when I first read Sense and Sensibility. This novel ignited my identity as an Austenite, heavily influenced my identity as an Anglophile, and helped establish me as a classic literature lover. This story of two very different but loyal sisters, their loves and losses, inspired me to write my novel Suit and Suitability. Strong yet tender Elinor Dashwood, the main character, will probably always be my favorite literary character. Read my full review on Goodreads HERE.

The Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis

My mom read many books aloud to my brother and me, which helped make me a reader, but the Chronicles of Narnia were something special. I grew up with these stories as part of my psyche—the perfect blend of great storytelling, profound theology, and beautiful allegory captured my imagination and influenced my view of life and literature.

 

Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery

Anne is the most famous literary character with red hair, but apart from that similarity we share, I feel she is a kindred spirit. And I have her to thank for introducing that term to me. Her view of the world, finding beauty and cherishing the power of story, has helped shape mine. Her life on Prince Edward Island brought me to visit that lovely, peaceful place several years ago, and it remains one of my favorite places to this day. Many of Montgomery’s other novels also capture that beauty of life and story, but Anne of Green Gables is still foremost to me. 

 

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

Out of the canon of classic novels, I love Victorian the most. Jane Eyre is my favorite out of that era. It’s iconic in every aspect with a strong and relatable protagonist, deep characterization of all the characters, atmospheric setting, compelling plot, and lyrical prose. I love Jane, and this novel inspired a novella of my own, The Promise of Acorns, so you can see just how important this story is to me. Read my full review HERE.

The Scent of Water by Elizabeth Goudge

This is the most recently published and my most recently read novel on this list. I’d never heard of British Christian novelist Elizabeth Goudge until 2015. My mom recommended The Scent of Water, and I fell in love with Goudge’s style instantly. It’s about a group of people in a mid-twentieth-century English village who find themselves at the crossroads of personal change. Her writing and descriptions are pure art. She reveals profound spiritual truths that always seem relevant to my life at the time I’m reading. And in a most uplifting way, she celebrates what is good and beautiful. Read my full review HERE.