What to read?

   In my last blog, I asked the question, "What is good to read when you are not feeling well?"
  I think I have found the answer for me.  The great authors of the past have a great deal to offer and are a change from present-day literature.
  I enjoy several things:
- a linear plot
- a single storyline
- a limited number of characters
- great vocabulary
- wonderful description
    Many modern novels have so many characters to keep track of and plotlines moving back and forth.  But mostly, I often feel that I never get to really understand any of the characters.
  Nineteenth century authors are my favourite- Austen, Alcott, Dickens, Hawthorne, etc.
  Several years ago, when I had great sadness in my life, I re-read the novels of Thomas Hardy.  I found them comforting because they had great pastoral descriptions- someone was always walking across the moors. 
   Many books written in that time period were serialized weekly in magazines.  For that reason, there had to be few characters and a

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simple plot in order for readers to remember from one week to the next.
   Because they were focussed on few characters, there was much description and dialogue with these characters.  You were able to enter their world.
  That was what I needed when I was not feeling well.  And my next blog will describe the book that really entertained me.