Atmospheric Spring Reading

We are now headlong into spring and I haven’t yet given you a spring book list. So I’m going to do that for you but with the added bonus of some ideas on how to make your reading more atmospheric!

What do you mean Belle? I know you’re asking that. Well, I want to provide you with some fun snack ideas and ideas on how to romanticize your reading experience.
    Let’s get into it!

The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
    This book is one of those books that everyone has tried to read or thinks they have read but maybe haven’t fully experienced it.
    I’ll be honest, the first chapter drags a bit, but once you get into it, the book is so very sweet and charming. 
    It’s the story of orphaned Mary Lennox who is sent to live with her uncle in Yorkshire. She starts off as a very grumpy and disagreeable girl, but as she discovers the beauty of friendship and spring, she changes.
    Of course, she discovers a secret garden, and that just adds to the beauty of it.

{image credit: goodreads}

I would recommend reading this book in a garden of course. Frankly, that isn’t easy for everyone, so reading it outside is just as good if you don’t have a garden.
    As for snacks, in the book there is a big focus on Mary’s appetite, how at first she hardly eats a thing, but as time goes on and she spends time outside playing and growing stronger, her appetite grows. Mary eats lots of hearty English foods like muffins, porridge, potatoes, cakes, and bread. For the modern reader I think that a cup of black tea and some good bread spread thick with butter would be a fantastic snack for reading The Secret Garden.

Under The Lilacs by Louisa May Alcott
    This book is one of the much lesser-known Louisa May Alcott books. It’s a story about two little girls, Bab and Betty, and their meeting of a young circus runaway, Ben.
    The girls love making up games, making plays,  and, of course, getting into trouble.

{image credit: simon and schuster publications} 

If you happen to have a lilac bush, then I would urge you to read this book under or near it, but if you don’t under any tree will do (especially if it has flowers.)
    This book reminds me of childhood tea parties with lemonade instead of tea, and as is typical  of Louisa May Alcott this book stresses gingerbread as an essential part of the diet.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
    I cannot keep it a secret - I’m not a very big fan of Jane Austen. But, I occasionally love to read her books (it’s part of my plot to become very well-read). Pride and Prejudice is my favorite Jane Austen book that I have read as of yet. It's always good to read when I need some extra stress in my life (just kidding hehe.)
    The story (in case you are for some reason not familiar with it) follows the lives of the five Bennet sisters as their mother tries to find each a husband. Elizabeth (Lizzy) is the one the story focuses on the most, she juggles loyalties and prejudices as she deals with her own suitors (including the ever-famous and ever-irritable Fitzwilliam Darcy, I mean really, what kind of name is Fitzwilliam?)  and those of her sister Jane.

{image credit: goodreads}

This is a book that can truly be read anywhere, out in the sunshine or by a fireplace, holed up in your room, riding through the countryside. You choose.
    Regency-era food doesn’t appeal to me very much, and Jane Austen rarely mentions food in her works, so I have decided to pretend that P&P is set in the Victorian era, and therefore offer you tea and cookies.

Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
    This book is the companion novel to Levine’s Newberry Award-winning novel Ella Enchanted (one of my all-time favorites). Fairest is a medieval inspired fairy tale retelling of snow white. It is beautiful, action-packed, and brings about answers to the question, what is true beauty? Spoiler, it isn’t merely looking pretty.

{image credit: goodreads}

You will not want to put down this book, so read it in a comfortable and pretty spot!
    All of Gail Carson Levine’s books are full of beautiful food descriptions (I actually once went through all of her books that I own and made a list of the items and began writing a cookbook! Would you ever like to see something from that??) 
    The most mentioned dish from this specific book is ostumo, a molasses and grain drink. I have no idea how that would be made or how it would taste, so instead I’d recommend an omelet sandwich, because in the book all members of the royal court eat them after a centaur show.

So that is my spring book recommendations!
Will you be reading any of these? If so will you use any of my suggestions? If not, what books have you read this spring?

Belle Thomas

​Belle is the writer behind An Old Fashioned Girl. She is passionate about Jesus, good books, and living a beautiful life.