While entering books from my fiction shelf in to librarything last weekend, I discovered these old friends. It was all I could do to keep entering and resist the temptation to stop and read a bit.

Immortal Queen by Elizabeth Byrd. I’ve read this fictionalized biography of Mary, Queen of Scots more than once, but not in a long while. Mary was such a fascinating character, and her fate stands in such contrast to that of her cousin Elizabeth. Both of them were vain women surrounded by power-hungry men. Elizabeth survived and thrived; Mary succumbed to her own weaknesses and to the disrespect and insurrection of the Scottish nobles.

Abel Sanchez by Miguel de Unamuno. I read this book in college, in Spanish, and I haven’t re-read it since. I remember it being about two friends, almost brothers, one of whom is jealous of the other. An exploration of the meaning of the Biblical story of Cain and Abel.

I also came across C.S. Lewis’s space trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength. Engineer Husband and I read these out loud to each other a long time ago. I’d enjoy reading them again.

Lost Horizon by James Hilton. Ever heard of Shangr-la? The term for a utopia, heaven on earth, comes from Lost Horizon. In the book paradise is somewhere in the mountains of Tibet. Shangri-la sounds pretty good right now, a Shangri-la full of books.