A Thoughtful Early Birthday Gift

I'm a lover of old books, poetry books, short story books, and illustrated books. My dear mother found these gems quite a while ago. They combine all of the above. And during my visit to my parents' house on Wednesday to give them their birthday presents (late) I got some of my birthday presents (early).

I haven't started reading them just yet. I think I shall make that a January activity as a break from writing (I'm over 70,000 words now) to give my mind a little distance from my story before I go back to the beginning and start the first round of revisions. I'll take time in the infancy of the year 2012 to read words printed on a page nearly 130 years ago. I'll make a pot of tea and sip from the kind of tea cup the original reader (a nun named Sister Mary according to inscriptions in two of the books) may have used as she sat in her room and indulged in a little Wordsworth. Or perhaps nuns, even in the Victorian age, did not use fancy cups. But I will.