My Favorite Genre?

For today's Wordfull Wednesday from Chocolate On My Cranium, we are supposed to write about our favorite genre and adult book. I don't know that I can choose just one. (I'll try not to make this into too much of a list.) I have so many favorites that I love and go back to. Most are fiction and light-hearted. Like the Mitford series by Jan Karon, which I read when I'm in the midst of a particularly difficult life experience. The world of Mitford and the love expressed there is very lifting and always gives me something good to think about. Another series I've read quite a few times is the All Creatures Great and Small series by James Herriot. I'm really not an animal person, but the stories of rural England and the many antics of farmers and animals and vets are so wonderful to read that I can't help but laugh and enjoy them. Others are Mama's Bank Account by Katherine Forbes, The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale, and the Work and the Glory Series by Gerald Lund. I'm discovering that I really enjoy good mysteries too. The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King and the Mrs. Pollifax books by Dorothy Gillman got me started there. I do love other types as well; C.S. Lewis and Robert Frost come to mind. And Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Albom is another favorite as well as Glimpses Into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley.

I will say that my very favorite book is My Antonia by Willa Cather. I'm not sure that I could really tell you why. Maybe I can. Her stories are not filled with excitement or suspense. And usually there are some sad events involved. I first read My Antonia for my American Literature class at Ricks College, so my copy is very marked up. On almost every page I have marked a line or two or even paragraphs that taught me something or that I just really enjoyed. Cather's writing is so beautiful. Very simple yet so descriptive. I love her description of spring. "When spring came, after that hard winter, one could not get enough of the nimble air. Every morning I awakened with a fresh consciousness that winter was over." Just one more of the many passages I love is when Jim is describing his Grandfather's prayers. He says, "Grandfather's prayers were often very interesting. He had the gift of simple and moving expression. Because he talked so little, his words had a peculiar force; they were not worn dull from constant use. His prayers reflected what he was thinking about at the time, and it was chiefly through them that we got to know his feelings and his views about things." I could go on and on. The characters, the relationships, the language, the setting, all of it so wonderful. Oh, I do love My Antonia!