by Cass R. Sunstein

Not what I thought it would be…. It seemed mostly about nudges. He’s covered nudges elsewhere.

by Willa Cather

A little tragedy about a gay-hearted young woman in the early 20th century Great Plains. It really brought a feel for the times and the location. I liked it as a story; it kept me reading; though sometimes it risked getting a little too talky-feely. And I wish things could have gone better for Lucy.

Part of it reminded me of THE AWAKENING by Kate Chopin, particularly this: “Since then she had changed so much in her thoughts, in her ways, even in her looks, that she might wonder she knew herself – except that the changes were all in the direction of becoming more and more herself.”

Why she had to lie to her old beau, implying something had happened that hadn’t – and really why she couldn’t marry him in the first place: “She had tried to tell him the truth about a feeling; but a feeling meant nothing to him, he had to be clubbed by a situation.” I love that, “clubbed by a situation.”

by Madeleine L’Engle

Actually had never read this. It was a little wacky. But it all kind of made sense and had a good ending.

by Anne Bronte

I wish the middle had been much, much shorter. Very repetitive, and the protagonists were each over-the-top good or over-the-top bad. I was drawn in by the beginning section; it felt like it was going to be a slightly humorous family light comic novel. Bait & switch! It’s PAMELA/CLARISSA all over again. But I’d try another Bronte.

by Katherine May

Winter as a metaphor for hard times in your life.

“We like to imagine that it’s possible for life to be one eternal summer & that we have uniquely failed to achieve that for ourselves.” That’s why I recommend the anti-gratitude journal.

“Have we really got so far into the realm of electric light and central heating that the rhythm of the year is irrelevant to us…” That was me when I lived in the city. All I cared about was how heavy a jacket to wear. Or maybe it was because I was young. I have such a yearly rhythm now, though.

“Misery is not an option [sarcasm]. We must carry on looking jolly for the sake of the crowd.” Ha. I always hated the mandate to be happy.

Regarding someone with bouts of mania and depression, a GP changed her life by saying, “This isn’t about you getting better. This is about you living the best life you can with the parameters that you have.” Isn’t that what it’s about for all of us?