Elizabeth Palmer, "Plucking the Apple"

I wasn't really in the mood for this; it was all a bit cynical and pessimistic. I'd probably have enjoyed it more if it were summer, and I wasn't feeling so grotty and depressed. As it was, all the infidelity and misanthropy got to me. (I was going to say, misogyny, but actually most of the male characters are as unbearable as the female ones, and presented as such. And there is a fantastic scene with a gynaecologist.) It was a good book, and I did keep reading, though characterisation was rather thin in parts.

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/9720020

L. M. Montgomery, "Pat of Silver Bush"/"Mistress Pat"

A Montgomery series I'd not previously come across. It's very much along the same lines as Anne and Emily (more the latter, thinking about it, though that may simply be due to its being a short series). I recognised a lot of my younger self in Pat, particularly in the attachment to house and family and things not changing. While I'm old enough now both to recognise that attitude as unhealthy, and to second-guess Montgomery's plot to the extent that I was skimming a lot of the second book, there were bits in both of them that still brought a tear to my eye. A good comfort read.

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/8617774/

http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/8617781