Public reader discussion about The Enchanted April in the WeRead Catalog by Elizabeth Von Arnim.
By Saddle-Heather57
My friends and I do this book club thing where we read the book, watch the movie version, then get together and talk about both—like what lines up and what doesn’t. We don’t need the book and movie to match perfectly, we just want books that have a movie out there. Any good suggestions?
By tidebeacon1973
This book feels like it’s basically selling this “recipe for happiness” kind of idea—four women, a medieval Italian castle, lots of wisteria, and just enough being alone to get themselves straight. I liked that part, but I’m not sure how much I bought it at first. They end up meeting through a newspaper ad in London, and I expected it to be a pretty relaxing getaway. Instead, the time they spend in Portofino kind of drags their real personalities back up and reminds them what they actually want, which was honestly refreshing to read. I did laugh a little at the whole “if only the same could happen to the husbands and lovers” thing, because… maybe? Anyway, it’s been popular forever—best-seller in the UK and US, even picked for the Book-of-the-Month Club—and now it’s had a big film and a Broadway play too.
By AmberPanther
I’m up to 65 books for the year, which was my goal, and I went back to see what really stuck with me. Honestly, this year felt like a lot of misses—though there were a few that were genuinely great. The ones I loved most were: - *On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous* by Ocean Vuong - *Gilead* by Marilynne Robinson (and basically the whole series) - *Rusty Brown* by Chris Ware *On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous* is just… really lyrical and poetic, but it also has moments that are super sharp and honest. It follows an immigrant trying to figure out where he fits, like, living between two cultures, and it digs into his sexuality too—how it shapes him into who he becomes. *Gilead* really got me thinking. It keeps poking at what life even means, especially from the perspective of later years, like weighing it all and wondering if it mattered. The writing feels warm and familiar in a way, and it’s about an older preacher in the line of preachers from rural Iowa. He’s looking back and trying to explain his life in a letter to his son, who he won’t be around to see grow up. The rest of the series then shifts to other people who matter to that first book. *Rusty Brown* was probably the most memorable thing I read. It’s a graphic novel that took forever to make, and it feels like true craft. People usually talk about how it focuses on the disappointment and unfair stuff characters deal with in pretty normal, uneventful lives, but it’s shown with so much clarity and care. I think what makes it hit is the amount of detail and those quiet little moments you can actually relate to. And the artwork is just excellent. As for the ones that let me down, mine were: - *My Year of Rest and Relaxation* by Ottessa Moshfegh - *Apeirogon* by Colum McCann - *Weather* by Jenny Offill I did like *The Dept. of Speculation* from Jenny Offill, but *Weather* didn’t feel like it had the same depth or really gelled for me. By the end, it also felt like whatever it was trying to do just didn’t land the way it should have.
By looks_crow8
Okay, I need some help from the classics experts. I’m kind of a newb here—I've read maybe fifteen classics, mostly the usual big ones you see everywhere (Austen, Dostoevsky, Camus, the Brontë sisters, all that). They’ve been great, but now I’m realizing I don’t really know what else is out there. I just stumbled on this NYRB collection and I don’t recognize any of the authors, but the titles and even the cover art/descriptions caught my attention. So what should I read from that whole collection? Which ones would you actually recommend?
By wanderinghoney1997
This is totally my kind of read! Here are a few similar cozy recommendations I’ve mentioned before: - **The Summer Book by Tove Jansson** — a really calm story about a kid spending the summer with her grandmother at a cottage by the Gulf of Finland (and yes, the Moomins author). - **Cider with Rosie by Laurie Lee** — super evocative, like being back in an ideal childhood, out in nature near a small Cotswolds village. - **Swallows and Amazon’s by Arthur Ransome** — it always brings back that sense of summer magic, adventure, and freedom from when I was a kid. - **The Shell Seekers by Rosamunde Pilcher** — one of my go-to comfort books, full of people pottering around in country houses, gardens, and lovely holidays. - **All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot** — how could I not recommend this cozy countryside classic? - **Recipe for a Kinder Life by Annie Smithers** — part memoir, part recipe book, part how-to for caring for the land; it sounds like exactly the kind of warm, grounded comfort people look for. - **Darling by India Knight** — a charming, witty cottagecore-ish modern retelling vibe of *The Pursuit of Love*; there is some trauma in it, but I still found it pretty cozy overall. - **Growing Goats and Girls: Living the Good Life on a Cornish Farm by Rosanne Hodin** — a sweet memoir about moving from London to Cornwall. - **Farmhouse by Sophie Blackall** — gorgeous children’s book from 2022 with lovely illustrations of a family’s life in a cozy farmhouse. And if you want more cozy childhood classics, you could try **The Wind in the Willows** and **Beatrix Potter**, too?
By dragondusty31803
I don’t know, this one feels kind of nice but I’m not totally sure I get why people love it so much.
By noticesClever7
Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury—really love it. Such a perfect summer read.
By NinaInTucson95
This is honestly one of my favorite movies. I feel like every time I watch it I notice something new that really shows how deep the writing is. The last time it was Lottie and her saying she’s been kind of stingy with love. Anyway, I’m really glad you shared this. <3
By martenepilogue
I’m weird about covers, so I end up editing the actual book cover onto my Kindle just so the colors look right—had to do it for this one. MY TAKE: North Woods is basically this huge, long-running story centered on a patch of woods in New England, and it jumps through a bunch of time periods. It starts with two young lovers running from their Puritan colony and trying to make a life together in the woods. From there, the cabin and the surrounding area end up being tied to all kinds of people and events over the centuries—an English soldier who sticks around to build an orchard, twin spinster sisters, a catamount, a painter caught up in a sketchy love situation, and a family dealing with schizophrenia, plus a lot more. WHY I LIKED IT: It’s a strange, sweeping book that works kind of like short stories that all connect to the same place in Massachusetts. I thought it was really unique, even though not every single story grabbed me. Still, I loved watching the area change as people moved in, and how old residents and their lives seemed to link up with whoever came after. There’s also supernatural stuff in it (like a beetle story that somehow ties back to the woods) and even multiple murders, which is… a lot, but in a good way. Also, the writing really is gorgeous. Fair warning though: I had to look up a ton of words, and it wasn’t the easiest thing to just get comfortable with—I kept needing breaks and couldn’t read for long stretches without stopping. It felt kind of dense, but also really interesting. Overall I’d say it’s totally worth it, and it makes sense why it won awards. And that ending? Seriously, it was handled so well.
By Schnapps-Black
This was really, really moving—I don’t even know how else to put it. Please. Thanks.
By StrangeTowerLynx
I usually pick books that fit the season, and this one feels spot-on for summer. It’s really uplifting without being too heavy, and it reads nice and light.
By Lake_Frog
Hey folks! This is the place to vote for the Gutenberg pick. Since it’s from public domain, it should be open for everyone. Voting’s open for about four days, through April 13 at 11:59 pm PST, and they’ll announce the winner sometime by April 14. Here’s what the book needs to fit: - under 500 pages - nothing we’ve picked already - any genre is fine - it has to be public domain right now An anthology is okay too, as long as it matches the rules. Just double-check the previous selections so you don’t repeat something. Goodreads is probably the easiest way to estimate page count. You can drop as many nominations as you want (one title per comment), and vote for anything you’d actually join. There’s a suggested format for posting, but you don’t have to link Goodreads/Wikipedia—just don’t use shopping links (they’ll get removed).
By field_simple
I’ve really enjoyed The Neapolitan Novels and Call Me By Your Name. What else should I read? I’m in the mood for literary fiction, and I don’t mind if there’s some romance in the mix.
By copperThread1972
This one has that whole “what if a getaway fixed everything?” vibe. Four women, a medieval Italian castle, lots of wisteria, and enough alone time to actually feel like themselves again. They basically hook up through an ad in a London paper, expecting some kind of relaxing holiday… but instead Portofino kind of flips a switch back in them. I couldn’t stop thinking about whether it would work on their husbands and lovers too, like the book almost suggests, but I’m not sure. Also, it was a huge hit in the UK and the US, got picked for a Book-of-the-Month Club thing, and later turned into that big movie and even a Broadway play, so yeah—it clearly struck a chord.