Recent Reads

1. Drawing from Life
There is so much inspiration packed in this book. I dip in every year or so to let new ideas soak in.

2. Painted Paper
Just the color of the the pages is enough to feed my creative cat. So many good ideas.

3. Northanger Abbey
My first foray into Austen and I loved it. Such keen insight into human nature in this little gem. I polled various Janeites as to what order I should read the books and wanted to share this little gem with you: "I'd suggest to start with "Northanger Abbey" because the novel really shows Jane Austen's personality and sense of humor. Then I would move on to "Pride and Prejudice" because "Northanger Abbey" would have really warmed you up to catch all the humor in the book. Then read "Mansfield Park" to give you an idea of the diversity of Jane Austen's characters. After that go for "Sense and Sensibility" for a good contrast to "Mansfield Park's" calm and quiet heroine. After that I think you should read "Persuasion" to see the the effects of love lost and love come back. Then you should read "Emma" because her story is something of a culmination of all Jane Austen's books put together in a very entertaining way, and then, last but most definitely not least, you should read "Lady Susan" because the book is just icing on the cake of all Austen's works . Enjoy!:-)"