I spent the summer re-reading the Susan Howatch Starbridge series. It was great fun for me to revisit the characters of what I consider to be psychological mysteries set against the backdrop of the Church of England over the better part of the 20th century.

After Howatch, I was ready for some lighter fare. About 2 years ago, I enjoyed reading all of the Anne of Green Gables novels by LM Montgomery. So I decided to try out her other series, the Emily trilogy. I was enchanted by Emily of New Moon, and now I am reading the second book, Emily Climbs. The Emily Trilogy has some similarities to Anne of Green Gables. Like Anne, Emily is an orphan. This time, though, Emily is sent to live with relatives, rather than being adopted by someone. Emily is also a strong-willed, imaginative girl like Anne. She gets into situations that always challenge her mind and her values. I think I like the Anne books better. The style is a bit more rigid–less readable–than the Anne stories, but I am still finding Emily enjoyable for juvenile fiction. All in all, I hope someday in the not too distant future my daughters will enjoy reading LM Montgomery’s books.