Usually I read The Long Winter, which is perfect for this time of year since the nights are getting colder and longer. It just makes me want to snuggle up under the blankets with nothing but a hot brick and dwindling fire to keep me warm! This year, I started with Little Town on the Prairie, which is the 7th book in the original Little House series (of which there are 9 books total). According to wikipedia, Little Town on the Prairie takes place between 1881 and 1882, but was not published until 1941. At this point in the series, Laura is 15-16 years old and living in the town of De Smet, South Dakota. She has a job as a seamstress and is saving money to send her sister, Mary, to a school for the blind. Laura also desperately wants to be a schoolteacher, so she studies very hard as well. It is in this book that Laura begins her courtship with Almonzo Wilder, the man who would become her husband in 1885.
Something about these books makes me long for simpler times, but honestly, I don't think I'd last a week of winter in South Dakota without electricity! While much of these books are autobiographical for the Ingalls family, Laura did sweeten things a bit for her readers. But overall, they are pretty accurate portrayals of the lives of early American pioneers.
