It's a Classical Life

Life has certainly taken a turn for travellers these last twenty months or so. Borders were slammed shut, flights were cancelled and hotels were closed. Many people lost a lot of money or are patiently holding onto "credit" ready to be used when the world starts travelling again. I have noticed that many European countries opened up over the summer, but here down under, we are still on our own island. There is talk though, of a travel bubble to New Zealand in the coming weeks. If you like the thought of travel but (like me) are a bit hesitant to set off on a world-wide trip, then perhaps finding books that can take you away from your home town or city is a better alternative. One of the many reasons that we love books is their ability to transport us to other times, places and even worlds. In today's Inspired by the Classics post, I thought I would focus solely on Agatha Christie's novels. Christie, as evidenced by the above quote, was a lover of travel and this love...

  We recently passed the winter solstice and it has been quite wintery around here lately. Cold winds, foggy mornings and weak (but welcome) sun have characterised our days. Winter is the perfect time to read more, and I thought it would be fun to share some of my favourite Agatha Christie stories, set in a wintery setting, just to get us in the mood. For those of you in the northern hemisphere, you may want to bookmark this page to read in December! Otherwise, grab a hot drink (or a cold one!) and let's snuggle in for some wonderful winter mysteries from the great dame herself. The 4:50 to Paddington   " 'It's very simple, really," said Miss Marple. 'Unusual but simple. I want you to find a body.' " I love the cosy, Christmas setting of this book. It is one of my favourite Agatha Christie novels featuring Miss Marple. As the experienced and calm friend of Miss Gillicuddy, the woman who witnessed the murder, we get lots of little insights into Miss Ma...

  Hi there, thanks so much for stopping by and having a visit with me today. I'm sharing one of my favourite authors in today's word search....Agatha Christie. Recently the gum tree at the end of our street was in bloom with gorgeous pink blossoms. I was able to pick a couple that had fallen on the road and bring them home to paint. The result is the little water paint images you see on the word search.  Downloading the word search is simple. Either click on the jpeg image above and print it, or you can click on the pdf link below. Agatha Christie Word Search. If you're interested, you can find the other word searches that I have created here . I hope you enjoy doing these as much as I'm enjoying creating them. Have a lovely and relaxing weekend.

  I imagine that if you have found your way here to be reading this now that you are in some way a fan of the classics - whether that be literature, poetry, music, art or any other creative outlet that has been known to stand the test of time. What I wonder though, is how many of you have consciously - and willingly - turned to the classics as a form of inspiration for your own life?  This revelation came to me in September of 2020 when I was sick in bed with a high fever. Between bouts of sleep interspersed with much tossing and turning, somehow my mind found its way to the people of the past who had been through illness and come through it unscathed. My sickness was just a bad cold, nothing life threatening, but still it made me think. I wasn't going through anything new. People had been sick before and would be sick again. We were, however, going through a global pandemic at that time and things were very uncertain. That's when I consciously chose to turn to ...

Crime fiction, and in particular Detective Fiction, is one of the most popular genres in modern literature. People are drawn to the clues, the methodical, logical steps taken by detectives and enjoy pitting their wits against the protagonist to guess "who dunnit" first. Even if people aren't fans of reading this popular and diverse genre, most will have heard of the most famous detectives: Sherlock Holmes, created by Arthur Conan Doyle, and Hercule Poirot (the little man with the funny moustaches) and Miss Marple, both created by Agatha Christie. These three detectives are amongst the most famous, most adapted and most parodied characters in all literature. Yet how did two English writers create such famous characters, when 'detectives' as a form of police investigator weren't even introduced into the English consciousness until 1842? Read on for a little history lesson on the rise of detective fiction.  In his book,  "Murder in Print: A Guide to Two Cent...

  It's been more than a year that I did a round up of some of the best free classic downloads available from Amazon. Sometimes it is hard to find the classics that we want to read, and my library in particular is not very good at stocking copies of true classic literature. I'm not sure if they made a "relevant, contemporary" cull of all their classic books or if they just don't have a need to have multiple (or any) copies of certain older books. Ideally, I always look in the library first because I love paper books. I've been to the library a couple of times this week because I'm doing some research on Australian during the world wars and during the Great Depression, and although there's plenty of books on Australian history, the classic novels I was looking for weren't there. This week I was looking for Villette by Charlotte Bront ë and found the complete collection of  Bront ë's novels (including the unfinished Emma) on Amazon for free. Sadly...

 I recently posted on Instagram that after reading George Orwell's rather chilling yet devastating classic Nineteen Eighty-Four I retreated back to Agatha Christie for some comfort reading. There were a few comments from fellow readers about the authors or series that they classify as 'comfort reading.' What is it about certain books that whisk us away to a place of comfort and familiarity? Why do we return to these books time and again; whether it be during times of hardship, adversity, loneliness or general need to escape? For me, I particularly like books where the characters maintain a positive and courageous outlook whilst facing adversity. This, in turn, brings me comfort and as all classics tend to do, remind me that many have suffered before and it all depends on how we face this suffering. My comfort reads are not usually heavy, intense reads, but rather ones that relax my mind and uplift my mood. Here is a list of some of my favourite comfort reads: Little Women -...

  Does this week's Bitesize Inspiration resonate with you? When Agatha Christie, one of my favourite authors, made this quote in her autobiography, it was during a time when life was considered slower than it is today (she began the autobiography in 1950 and finished it in 1965). The technology boom that we are now living through was still in the future, and yet people still felt strapped for time. It amazes me how much time we lose to technology and the endless opportunities to be distracted and waste time online. This quote resonated with me, especially when I got my weekly screen time update on my phone. I was amazed to see how many hours had been wasted doing nothing and I'm making a conscious effort this week to get off the screens and to get productive, enjoy the day, spend time with my family and get outdoors. It is obvious that I have the time, I just haven't been making wise choices with how I choose to spend it. If this is something you are struggling with at th...

  Welcome to another week here at It's a Classical Life! I am so glad that you could stop by. I have been reading the news and see that our northern hemisphere friends are suffering through heatwaves, and those of us here in Australia are also experiencing wetter than usual temperatures and also very cold weather. It's funny how much of an impact weather can have on our mindsets. I find it very easy to let my self-discipline slip when the weather is in an extreme state. Discipline in regards to writing, housework, getting ahead, exercise - all areas, really! I'm very good at making excuses not to get things done, and the weather is one I use a lot! If you have visited here before then you will know that I am a big Agatha Christie fan. As I read so many of her novels, it's easy to gain inspiration from her, her characters and her own beliefs. I chose this quote for this week's Bitesize Inspiration because I am ready to 'submit to the discipline of form.' We ...

  Hello Friends and thanks so much for stopping by here today. Amongst the the lists that I like to make and the goals I like to plan, there is one that I haven't shared here before. That is, a reading goals list for the coming year. There are a few books that I would like to read in 2024. Some of these have been on my shelf (or on my Kindle) waiting patiently for my attention. Others I will need to order from the library but am inspired to read. Others still are rereads that I want to revisit and fall in love with all over again. So, without further ado, here is my list of Reading Goals for 2024.  Evil Under the Sun - Agatha Christie Gone With the Wind - Margaret Mitchell Othello - William Shakespeare Hamlet (reread) - William Shakespeare The Picture of Dorian Grey - Oscar Wilde Nineteen Eighty-Four (reread) - George Orwell The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain Villette - Charlotte  Bront ë   The Age of Innocence - Edith Wharton (Kindle Download) Agnes Gre...