First off: Happy New Year! It sure has been a year to remember, full of ups and downs and everything in between. But despite the negatives, I hope we can remember the positives as we move forward into the new year.
Second: I'm ready to continue monthly book reviews! I wasn't so sure about it last month, but as I went over my schedule, I think I'll have time. I hope you do too!
This month's book is The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne. A little known fact about it: despite not being very successful, this was Hawthorne's one of his favorite novels to write. He told one friend that it was "a more natural and healthy product of my mind." This doesn't give a lot of insight into the book, but seeing that Hawthorne also wrote The Scarlet Letter, it's good to know he can write something a little lighter.
This Gothic Fiction novel tells the story of a New England family in their ancestral home. I don't know a lot about the book, other than what the book description says, so I'll be going in somewhat blind. I did hear, however, that it has some elements connected to witchcraft, specifically the Salem Witch Trials. This is a recurring theme in Hawthorne's work, as it was a big part of his ancestry and life. But from my understanding, this is more of a backdrop in the book than a supernatural or horror element.
The book is free on Project Gutenberg as well, so follow this link if you're interested in reading it. If you are reading along, here's the schedule I'll be sticking to:
1/4 - 1/10: Chapters 1-6
1/11 - 1/17: Chapters 7-12
1/18 - 1/24: Chapters 13-18
1/25 -1/31: Chapters 19-21
I'm looking forward to reading it and hope you are too!
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