Finding a Gem

Tonight, while I was browsing in a bookstore, I saw a book, and my heart stopped.

I had combed my memory, files, and bookshelves this afternoon trying to find something I wanted to read. I went to a bookstore hoping I would stumble upon something interesting.

My heart stopped, because I had given up looking for novels by George MacDonald. After several years of searching in new and used bookstores, I learned that most of MacDonald's books are out of print and only appear in modern abridgments.

The book I found tonight is called, At the Back of the North Wind. I checked the copyright page twice to make sure that it was real.

I first learned MacDonald's name while reading C.S. Lewis in college. He (and I believe J.R.R. Tolkien as well) named MacDonald as a favorite writer. I intended to not like Lewis much. He was too trendy. But his clear thinking and simple writing captured me during college. Lewis named MacDonald as a favorite writer, and that began my search for MacDonald's novels.

My quest to read a favorite author of a favorite author is complete, sort of. I still need to read North Wind.