Hello hello! I have been very sporadic with the blogging but I am reading!

I’ve finished Mansfield Park and enjoyed it just as much as the previous times. A few thoughts:

• I understand why people want Fanny & Henry together and Edmund & Mary together – because it seems like they are opposites in a good way. But I really can’t see Fanny happy together with Henry for the long term; he’s too much of a natural flirt and she would definitely be pained if she fell in love with him – just look at all the anguish her affection for Edmund caused!
• I wonder if the opinion of Fanny as “priggish” comes from the fact that most readers will not have the same strict moral values that Fanny (and Edmund, and probably Sir Bertram) has. Edmund is shocked that Mary calls the affair of Maria and Henry “folly” – to him “folly” is too light a word! Fanny, on the other hand, pretty much knows that Mary & Henry wouldn’t have the same moral standard and isn’t shocked. I don’t really think of Fanny as priggish because she doesn’t try to impose her morals on others, she just refuses to compromise hers which I think is perfectly reasonable.
• The last chapter felt somewhat moralising, I’m quite sure I didn’t see this in Sense & Sensibility! I can’t remember if it’s in Austen’s other works.
• Speaking of Sense & Sensibility, Fanny reminded me of Elinor – I think because both have great self-control, though Fanny is definitely meeker.

After I finished Mansfield Park, I immediately started on Rewilding by Isabella Tree. I remember really enjoying the book when I first read it and so far, it’s the same! I’m intrigued by how theories on forest growth can impact conservation methods and remain impressed that they pivoted Knepp from a farm to a rewilding sanctuary.

I’m looking forward to finishing this book and it’s reminded me that I do have a SustainabiliTEA profile to write – I just need to find time! Nowadays, I pretty much only have enough time to read or blog on the fly like right now. Finding the time to write a longer, more involved piece is difficult but I remain hopeful I’ll do it soon.