I have an admission to make. I am a sucker for old-fashioned American stories about big families with little money. I'm talking about books like the Little House series, Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, to name a few.
Very plain plotlines, the day-to-day lives of plucky villagers provides enough content. These books don't need flashy adventures or exciting new developments; they focus on simple characters who are always good, but not perfect, and how they grow up. It's the little things in life that keep us happy, and these stories reflect this; a comforting reflection that ordinary life is interesting enough. People each go through their individual dramas and have their share of trouble, but its nothing different or special.
This may sound incredibly boring, but instead I find them familiar and simply provide pure entertainment. They remind me that, if my own life were a book, it would not be a fantasy, or a thriller. I hope it would be the English equivalent of these.
These books emphasise the importance of less glamorous values and ideals; they do not dissuade ambition, but instead advocate hard work to realise your dreams, and when they are reached, to appreciate them.
In a society where people are getting further apart, choosing to communicate online rather than face to face (I'm proving my point by writing this on a blog) they focus on close relationships with family, friends, and neighbours.
It might be far from fashionable, and it won't make you think for days afterwards, but some books should simply bring you joy, and inspire you to live in a certain way, rather than dazzle you.
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