Under the Greenwood Tree; Or, The Mellstock Quire: A Rural Painting the the Dutch School | 
pickAnother one of Hardy‘s books that do not disappoint. This was a short story but still had some depth. After reading several of his novels, you can see this being one of his earlier works as he has developed further as a writer as time passed on between novels. I really enjoyed the antiquated, hardy characters set in the pastoral English scene, painted by the author in a way that no other could match.
📚 Tagged book and Under Milkwood Dylan Thomas
✍️ Ursula Le Guin
🎥 UP!
Band U2 and UB40
🎵 Under the Milky Way by The Church
#manicmonday
#letteru
@CBee
In response to @julesG ‘s post about the Wordsworth Classics - These were bought in he 90‘s from a book outlet, so they‘re probably older than that. But they (Wordsworth) used to use art for their covers. It didn‘t always have anything to do with the book, but at least it didn‘t assault the eyes. 😀
pickGoodreads said I hadn‘t read this before, but parts of it were very familiar. Maybe because I read a lot of Hardy, or maybe it was a reread. 🤷🏻♀️ But it‘s a quick read with lots of good-natured humor. Fancy and Dick annoyed me from time to time, but all the supporting characters were wonderful.
pickIt was a fun easy read for sure. Perfect for spring.
'When you've made up your mind to marry, take the first respectable body that comes to hand - she's as good as any other; they be all alike in the groundwork; 'tis only in the flourishes there's a difference.'
'Parsons look so miserable and awkward when one's house is in a muddle; walking about and making impossible suggestions in quaint academic phrases till your flesh creeps and you wish them dead.'
Love running across a Harry Potter word 'in the wild'. Truly J. K. Rowling is a genius when it comes to naming.
The last day of the story is dated just subsequent to that point in the development of the seasons when country people go to bed among nearly naked trees & wake next morning among green ones; when the landscape appears embarrassed with the sudden weight & brilliancy of its leaves; when the nightjar comes & commences for the summer his tune of one note; when apple trees have bloomed & the roads & orchards become spotted with fallen petals […]
pickRich historical setting, lovely language & farcical humour. The cast of village characters are portrayed at a bit of a remove: amusing pawns for the author. I did a print/audiobook combo because I wanted to hear the Dorset dialect that is a distinctive feature of this classic pastoral novel. I even compared two #audiobook narrators: Simon Vance & Jamie Parker. Both excellent, but I prefer Vance particularly because of his dialect interpretation.
Interesting to listen to variations in text while listening and reading at the same time. Penguin Classics omits a funny line, when Mr Penny confirms that his married daughter has just had her fifth child: “She do know the multiplication table unmistakable well.”
This Penguin Classics edition has about 100 pages of externals—preface, chronology, map, introduction, notes, appendices, glossary, etc.—but not the information I want, which is in regards to the Dorset dialect. I don‘t know how to make sense of words spelled in an alternate way, presumably to capture the local accent, when I would pronounce them exactly the same way. Examples: “trew” for “true” and “naibour” for “neighbour.” Help, Littens!
so-soThis book was on the GCSE English reading list in 1988. It probably put off all my peer group from ever picking up another book again.
#underthegreenwoodtree
#thomashardy
I love the colorful #stripes on the spines of the Penguin English Library series ❤️💛💚💜
#JuneBookBugs
I couldn't pick a single #paperbackwriter for today's prompt, so instead I went with a paperback design series, that I am crazy about - the Penguin English Library. 😍📚
#RockinMay
I found quite a lot of books that #startwithUVW - one beginning with U, 4 beginning with V and 7 beginning with W. I did have to use Goodreads to find them though, it just seemed to large a task going through my shelves without knowing which books to look for 😄
#MarchIntoReading
pickNot the typical tragic ending Hardy is most known for, but this does have a more subtle tragedy that will probably unfold after the book ends. Still, so much beautiful language and the characters are as compelling as usual!
