"So when life gets dark and dreary..."

I remember to pray, and then I turn to my Austen blog. Because it is almost always uplifting for me. To write about things I love? I can't help focusing on the positive and finding some glimmers of happiness in times of suffocating sorrow.

So, yesterday I was talking to a fellow librarian and friend. I learned she hadn't read either the Anne or Little House series in their entirety. And I was shocked, because I was sure she would love them. The Anne one was not quite her fault, as years ago she split the set with her sister and just never got around to get the copies so she could read it all. Well, she's reading them all now. Just finished the 2nd one, which she wasn't too impressed with. I had to convince her the 3rd was definitely worth reading! And that she had to keep going with the series so she could love Rilla completely. I did, however, warn her of the more "boring" ones of the series. At least, the ones that took me longer to get through.

And then we got onto the subject of Little House adaptations and I learned she's only read #2 and #8. None of the other 7! And she said the only reason she'd done 8 was because it was the love story. (Yes, that is one reason it is my all-time favorite non-LDS book.) But that got me all into talking about that series and how the love story actually begins in Little Town, and if she wanted to start to get to know how awesome Almanzo is, then she needed to go back to Long Winter. But of course, By the Shores is how they get to that area, and Mary is now blind, and...and.... I love that series. So much that after our conversation I pulled one and began to re-read parts. And having done family scripture reading, personal scripture study, Sunday lessons prep, family history, and audio clips of past church leaders' talks on this Sabbath Day, I think I'm justified in re-reading parts of the next (and my favorite) of the series to help me capture more glimmers of the silver linings.