Hey Everyone!!
I hope you’d enjoyed ‘Adam Bede’ by George Eliot!! I had!!
And still am!!
Why??
Well, I’ve both ‘terrific’ and ‘not so terrific’ news. The ‘not so terrific’ news is, for me, concluding ‘Adam Bede’s’ a week away.
I know—my apologies…
The ‘terrific’ news is it’s not because I’d been ill (thank God!), but because last month, I’d spent three weeks on an unexpected business trip to Durham, England!!
Nestled in northeast England along a bend in the River Wear, Durham is a city which brims with medieval architecture, vibrant student life (Durham University), and historic landmarks which includes Durham Castle, Durham Cathedral, and Elvet Bridge.
Even though I’d worked weekdays (…and nope, I haven’t quit my day job! lol), weekends however had afforded time to poke around. On one such poke, a co-worker and I’d snagged a train one-hour and thirty minutes north to Edinburgh, Scotland where we’d visited Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, and The Elephant House, a café where a near-homeless J.K. Rowling had penned ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’!
That said, this trip was near-and-dear to me not only because it’d granted an occasion to travel to gorgeous United Kingdom, but because as an English literature aficionado, most of my heroes had originated (…or resided) there: Charlotte, Emily, and Anne Bronte, Oscar Wilde, Charles Dickens, George Eliot, Jane Austin, and J.K. Rowling to name a few!
Given this, creative energies gushed from my ears which I’d redirected more toward my next literary work and less toward our latest reading (…as opposed to my usual balanced schedule). Hence, again my apologies, as while there, there was something about crafting original fiction. Perhaps I’d tried to emulate my aforementioned heroes. Except in retrospection, I’d realized my heroes hadn’t only wrote but likely read… A LOT!
Nonetheless, lesson learned… hence no worries!!
For April nevertheless, I’d planned to continue our journey through the land of George Eliot. But given recent events, we’ll postpone Eliot (…until May perhaps) so that I may catch-up with you all. Thereby for this month, I’ll ask that you select a different English author to read (maybe one of the others mentioned above), and this month-end, I’ll arrive back with you!!
Hence many thanks for your patience, enjoy an EXCEPTIONAL April, and happy reading, folks!!
Phil
P.S. On Wednesday, March 22nd, four and a half hours south in London, the 2017 Westminster terrorist attacks occurred where five people lost their lives and fifty others were wounded. Sending healing prayers and comforting hugs to all families, friends, and U.K. citizens affected by this shameful act. My apologies, family, and God bless…