Yikes! It's Almost Spring!

Well, so much for my good intentions of keeping up with blogging this year. It's almost March now mid-March, and I haven't posted about my other January reading yet, not to mention February. Oh, dear!

I already mentioned my L. M. Montgomery reading, so I won't reiterate that. My other personal reading in January consisted of rereading Laddie: A True Blue Story by Gene Stratton-Porter. I first read this book in 2010, and you can read my original thoughts and some really good quotations here. It was well worth rereading, and I'm so glad a friend picked it for our book club selection. We were amazed by the work ethic and self-sufficiency of this 19th century farm family - how many chickens would they have had to have to put on a spread like that every Sunday and for special occasions like a wedding? We were also saddened by the many changes that came to the real-life Stratton family soon after happy ending for the Stanton family of the book. As I mentioned in my earlier review, Laddie is the most autobiographical novel of Gene Stratton-Porter's, and it really is a true blue story when you understand it in the context of her and her family's life. I'm really looking forward to reading this one aloud to my kids and rereading it again myself in years to come - it's that good!

As for reading aloud to the kids, we were off to a good start this year. We finished two books in January: Treasures of the Snow by Patricia St. John and The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks. Both were received with great enthusiasm! Treasures of the Snow engendered some thought-provoking, faith-building questions from my 5-year-old, and I could see my 8-year-old's mental wheels turning, too. While we enjoy a wide variety of books, I don't mind reading something overtly Christian and morally didactic every so often, because such stories can give my children concrete examples of our faith that is, more often than not, communicated abstractly, in spite of our best efforts to help them understand their sinfulness and need of Savior. I would highly recommend this one for your family read-alouds, too!

The whole family, including Daddy, enjoyed the imaginative fantasy of The Indian in the Cupboard. We discussed what we would like to make real if we had a magic cupboard. My daughter and I thought a Victorian family that could live in a dollhouse would be fun. My son has a plastic Indian, so he wanted one just like the book. And my husband tried to think of something more lucrative, such as a goose that would lay golden eggs, even if the eggs were only the size of a pinhead! My kids are looking forward to reading other books in this series, but I learned from the Chester Cricket books, and we will be spreading them out over a good long time, not reading them all at once.

L. M. Mongomery Challenge Completed!

This year, I actually read what I had planned, finishing both Christmas with Anne and The Story Girl in the month of January, and, wonder of wonders, I'm posting it before the end of February!

Christmas with Anne is a delightful collection of short stories which mostly focus on the Christmas season (obviously) though there are three New Year's stories at the end to round out the holiday spirit. I justified reading this in January because we didn't put up any Christmas decorations until a few days before Christmas, and they were still up into the first week of January. So at least it still looked like Christmas at my house when I started reading this!

In typical Mongomery fashion, every story has a heartwarming message, ranging from discovering happiness in giving to others, forgiveness of long-estranged family members (often through humorous mishaps), or just good, old-fashioned family values and traditions. This is one I wouldn't mind re-reading every few years, and I'm sure my daughter will enjoy it soon, too, as she loves stories about "real" people! For additional thoughts, including the interesting account of how the editor, Rea Wilmshurst, happened upon these and many other short stories of Montgomery's, see Carrie's posts on this title here and here.

I must confess that The Story Girl was a bit of a disappointment, but I suppose my expectations were pretty high. For some reason, it just didn't quite have the charm or appeal of the Anne or Emily books, I still have a long way to go before I've read all of Montgomery's novels, but I was struck at first by the fact that the narrator is a boy, simply because I hadn't encountered that in her writing before (aside from a few short stories). Granted, he's simply relating the adventures of eight children during one summer and fall, so there's really nothing gender specific about it. But while Mongomery's picturesque descriptions and quaint turns of phrase seem natural coming from Anne or Emily, it struck me a little odd that even a 19th or early 20th century teenage boy, or even a man retrospectively describing the best summer of his childhood, would describe the change of seasons in such terms as "though summer was not yet gone, her face was turned westering. The asters lettered her retreating footsteps in a purple script, and over the hills and valleys hung a faint blue smoke, as if Nature were worshipping at her woodland altar."

I also found this narrative a bit disjointed, as if it were more a collection of short stories involving the same characters without some overarching plot. Perhaps that is what Montgomery intended - just snippets of life on a Prince Edward Island farm from the perspective of young cousins and friends. Of course, by the end, I had developed a certain affection for those characters, and I do plan to read the sequel, The Golden Road, soon. I also enjoyed the fact that I was able to recall a few scenes the Road to Avonlea series that I watched a few years ago, which reminds me that I need to check that out from the library again!

Now, I must also share that I am very excited about next year's challenge due to some propitious finds through PaperBackSwap and our library's book sale (yes, we really love our library and make very good use of it!). Although many L. M. Montgomery books are free for the Kindle, and I do enjoy the portability and ease of marking favorite passages which my Kindle affords, there's still something so satisfying about opening a book, of remembering where a certain passage lies on the page, of flipping back and forth to clarify details, etc. So I'm thrilled to have found these books, and I have a feeling you'll be seeing at least a few of them on my line-up for next year.

Out of the reading funk - December 2012

Well, I'm still catching up from last year, but I got this posted just in the nick of time (one minute to spare!) to write up my December reads in January. Bear with me. I might catch up or even stay current eventually.

November found me in the grips of a serious reading funk (which I mentioned here). I thought perhaps it was the format in which I was reading, since I read several books in a row on my Kindle. But I'm currently doing that again, and it hasn't forestalled my progress, so I'm left to conclude that Three Men in a Boat is simply funk-inducing. My sincerest apologies to Jerome K. Jerome fans, but I just don't get it.

Interestingly enough, the book that jump-started my reading energies was the very book in preparation for which I read Three Men in a Boat. Oh, the irony! I loved To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis! Mystery, time travel, history (both WWII and Victorian era), lots of literary references, and a little tasteful romance - perfect! I must say that it was completely unnecessary to have read Three Men in a Boat in order to enjoy and understand this book. In fact, if any books would be helpful to understand the plot, it would be Dorothy Sayers' Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries, particularly those with Harriet Vane, and those certainly are worth reading, as you can surmise from my glowing reviews here, here, here, and here!

After a homeschooling friend mentioned George MacDonald's At the Back of the North Wind, I decided to refresh my memory of this fantasy tale by one of my favorite authors. I love George MacDonald's novels because they are Scottish and full of the sovereignty of God. His adult fantasy novels are more difficult to understand and appreciate (you can read my thoughts on Lilith, for example), but his children's fantasy is generally sweet, good, and uplifting, if a bit heavy-handed in moralizing (see my reviews of The Princess and the Goblin and The Princess and Curdie). At the Back of the North Wind falls somewhere in between fantasy and fiction, for there are parts that are most certainly dream-like and mystical (and a bit weird, at times), but other parts that provide a glimpse of healthy home-life and honest good work. It has to be understood in the context in which it was written, as I don't think this would have seemed so odd or out of place to his Victorian readers, who would have most likely understood some classical references much better than I did. I will probably read this aloud to my kids in a few years, as I think I would be good to talk about some of the more unusual parts and clarify some of the symbolism. Eventually, I may also write an entire post about this one, as it certainly gave me much to think about. Note: the free Kindle version which I read omitted much of the poetry, so I had to borrow a copy from the library to fill in the blanks. I should really leave a review and a request for that error to be corrected.

Finally, sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas (probably before the previously mentioned titles, but it's less significant in my mind), I read another of the Irish Country Doctor series by Patrick Taylor. An Irish Country Girl is the 4th in the series, and I liked it best of all I've read so far (I believe there are 7 books now). As a flashback to the youth of Dr. O'Riley's housekeeper, Kitty, it seems more quaint and charming, and more essentially Irish, than the other books. I suppose I have a rather romanticized view of Ireland which this fostered, and I also enjoyed the more traditional, rural setting along with its more traditional values.

I also read Blackthorn Winter by Douglas Wilson in December in order to preview it for my daughter. She read it in January, and I plan the read the rest of the series aloud. I'll include my thoughts in a summary post once we've read them all.

For read-alouds, we enjoyed some Christmas classics, including The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson (along with the 1986 movie by the same title) and The Twenty-Four Days Before Christmas: An Austin Family Story by Madeleine L'Engle. We also read plenty of Christmas picture books, of which some favorites were A Certain Small Shepherd by Rebecca Caudill, The Little Fir Tree by Margaret Wise Brown, and The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski.

L. M. Mongomery Reading Challenge 2013

Every year, I have good intentions of participating in Carrie's L. M. Mongomery Reading Challenge, but my haphazard approach to blogging doesn't lend itself well to starting and finishing a monthly project such as that.

Well, this year, although I'm still late to the party, at least I didn't fail to show up at all! In fact, I've already completed Christmas with Anne, a collection of Montgomery's short stories, and intend to start The Story Girl today or tomorrow. Who knows, I may even write a wrap-up post before February!

Thank you, Carrie, for hosting this challenge every year. Returning to Anne or finding a new character to love is always like sinking into a pile of down comforters with a sigh - immensely warm, satisfying, and comforting - and just perfect for this time of year!

The Most Important Book I Read in 2012

Van Gogh ~ Still Life with Open Bible (1885)

It goes without saying that the Bible is the most important book any Christian can read. I have failed for many years, however, in giving God's Word the attention it deserves. I could have given you lots of typical, maybe even legitimate, excuses, but the fact remained that it was not a priority for me. I tried the Robert Murray M'Cheyne plan along with the devotions in For the Love of God, Volume 1 by D. A. Carson a few years ago. That year I even kept up (or kept catching up) with the schedule through early October, but ultimately I fell so far behind that I gave up. And that seems to be the problem with most calendar based Bible reading plans for me. Inevitably, I will miss a day here or there, and one day turns into two, and pretty soon I'm a week or more behind. I keep thinking I'll be able to catch up, but instead I just quit.

So this year, I had a non-scheduled Bible reading plan. My goal was to read 3 chapters of the Old Testament and 2 chapters of the New Testament each day, but if I missed a day or two or ten, I wasn't behind schedule since this plan wasn't tied to the calendar. I just picked up where I had left off and kept reading, reading extra if possible, but most importantly, continuing to read no matter how sporadic it was. Interestingly, though I find it very tedious to read some books on my Kindle, I really like reading my Bible on the Kindle. It's easy to mark passages, easy to bookmark my place, and it was actually helpful (as in not discouraging) to have no easy way to look ahead to see how much I "had" to read that day.

This non-plan was a great plan for me! I finished the New Testament in early summer, and ideally it would have been nice to read it again in the second half of the year. But I knew I had enough of the Old Testament still to read that I needed to focus there in order to finish in a year. So I tried to read 4 chapters of whichever historic or prophetic book I was in and 2 Psalms each day. I finished the Psalms around Thanksgiving and read a chapter or two of Proverbs during December. I had to squeeze in the Minor Prophets between Christmas and New Years, but with fewer activities that week, I finished Proverbs 31, Zechariah, and Malachi on New Year's Eve. Praise the Lord for His grace to persevere in His Word!

Now that I have once again read the Bible in a year, however, I think I agree with my college professor William Varner, who recently commented, "I applaud all those who read through the whole Bible in a year or 2-3 times a year, but I have found that it is not as important that I go through the Bible as that the Bible goes through me. So slower is better." With that in mind, my plan for the coming year is not as ambitious. I'd like to read the New Testament through at least once - twice would be better - so I will again try to read 2 chapters of the New Testament a day. I was surprised this past year at how difficult I found parts of the Old Testament, especially the prophetic books, and I found Isaiah to be one of the most mysterious. In and around all the familiar verses that speak of the Messiah, the Suffering Servant, and God's promises of His sovereign care, there were many passages that I read, but without understanding. So I'm planning to spend some quality time with Isaiah, Calvin, and Matthew Henry this year to see if I can better grasp its truths.

Books Read in 2012

Posting has been sparse (again) this year, but most of the titles below are linked to my semi-monthly posts where there is usually a brief summary of my thoughts. It seemed like it wasn't a very productive reading year, but combining my own reading with what I read aloud to my kids, averages out to one book a week. That's a good goal, and seemingly an attainable one, too!

Next year, I hope to read more classics, more mysteries, and more historical fiction.

PERSONAL READING
1. Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas
2. Chronicles of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery
3. The Help by Kathryn Stockett
4. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
5. I Am Half Sick of Shadows: A Flavia de Luce Novel by Alan Bradley
6. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
7. Joy Comes in the Morning by Betty Smith
8. The Kitchen Boy: A Novel of the Last Tsar by Robert Alexander
9. My Family for the War by Anne C. Voorhoeve
10. The Uncommon Reader: A Novella by Alan Bennett
11. Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh
12. Choosing to SEE: A Journey of Struggle and Hope by Mary Beth Chapman
13. Three Men and a Maid by P. G. Wodehouse
14. Growing up Amish by Ira Wagler
15. The Daughter of Time by Josephine Tey
16. City of Tranquil Light by Bo Caldwell
17. Enna Burning by Shannon Hale
18. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith
19. Royal Children of English History by Edith Nesbit
20. The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge
21. The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
22. The Distant Land of My Father by Bo Caldwell
23. Plain Truth by Jodi Picoult
24. The Penderwicks: A Summer Tale of Four Sisters, Two Rabbits, and a Very Interesting Boy by Jeanne Birdsall
25. Further Chronicles of Avonlea by L. M. Montgomery
26. The Extraordinary Education of Nicholas Benedict by Trenton Lee Stewart
27. The Virgin in the Ice: The Sixth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael by Ellis Peters
28. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
29. The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne
30. Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
31. The Hobbit (or There and Back Again) by J. R. R. Tolkien
32. An Irish Country Girl by Patrick Taylor
33. To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
34. At the Back of the North Wind by George MacDonald
35. Blackthorn Winter by Douglas Wilson
36. The Bible (NASB)

READ-ALOUD TO KIDS
1. The Story of Rolf and the Viking Bow by Allen French
2. Son of Charlemagne by Barbara Willard
3. The Door in the Wall by Marguerite De Angeli
4. The King's Shadow by Elizabeth Alder
5. Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray
6. Dangerous Journey by John Bunyan and Oliver Hunkin
7. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien
8. The Beggars' Bible by Louise A. Vernon
9. Ink on His Fingers by Louise A. Vernon
10. The Fantastic Flying Journey by Gerald Durrell
11. Thunderstorm in Church by Louise A. Vernon
12. Huguenot Garden by Douglas M. Jones III
13. Tucker's Countryside by George Selden
14. Harry Cat's Pet Puppy by George Selden
15. Chester Cricket's Pigeon Ride by George Selden
16. Harry Kitten and Tucker Mouse by George Selden
17. Chester Cricket's New Home by George Selden
18. Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
19. Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey
20. The Best Christmas Pageant Ever by Barbara Robinson
21. The Twenty-four Days Before Christmas: An Austin Family Story by Madeleine L'Engle
22. Various and assorted picture books!

Fall Reading - the catch-up edition

With the start of home schooling (K & 3rd grade) and various weekly church activities, I haven't had much time for reading these past few months. Additionally, I fell into a serious reading funk, which I think was due more to the mode (Kindle) than the material, although at least one title was funk-inducing in and of itself (more on that later). So, briefly (I hope), here is what has been read during the fall months (September - November).

(If you're visiting from a Read-Aloud-Thursday link, the read-alouds are at the bottom.)

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
This was an enjoyable classic, and I'm glad I gave Gaskell another chance after reading Cranford a few years ago. I wouldn't say she's one of my favorite British authors, but it was a well-paced, period piece in which the characters brought the distinctions of industrialized England into sharp focus. Aside from a few melodramatic scenes, which seemed out of place for the very reserved characters, it had none of the silly pettiness of Cranford.

The Red House Mystery by A. A. Milne
Did you know A. A. Milne wrote more than Winnie-the-Pooh? Murder mysteries, to be exact? Well, this was a fun diversion, if not a very complex plot, and I'd recommend it.

Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome
(Who names their child Jerome Jerome?) This is described as a comic travelogue, but for some reason I just wasn't in the mood for such humor. I think (I hope) it was intended as a parody on idle young gentleman who think too highly of themselves, but I had my fill of that with Brideshead Revisited. Now Three Men in a Boat was not so disheartening as Brideshead, but for some reason it put me in a real reading funk, perhaps because I didn't have a real grasp for it's size on the Kindle and it seemed rather interminable. I found it soooo tedious, yet I kept reading thinking it would surely get better. There were, in fact, a few interesting historical divergences in a vast sea of stream of consciousness rabbit trails, but it still took me more than a month - a month! - for me to read this relatively short book. I persevered, mostly because I thought it would be helpful to have the background before reading To Say Nothing of the Dog. This more recent time-travel story sounds fascinating, but the original was so disappointing that I'm almost afraid to start it.

The Hobbit (or There and Back Again) by J. R. R. Tolkien
If I had nothing better to do, I'd spend a year or so reading Tolkien's entire corpus. I find that his idea of "true myth" gives me much to ponder, though it's all too easy to get caught up in the adventure and miss the broader truths. I appreciated the read-along posts on Redeemed Reader this November, particularly this one which explores his true myth concept in more detail.

Yes, we've seen the movie. I loved parts of it and was really irritated by other parts. That almost always happens with books adapted to screen, especially when I've just read the book before seeing the movie. With more distance I might be able to appreciate the movie for its own merits, but not this time.

Harry Cat's Pet Puppy
Chester Cricket's Pigeon Ride
Harry Kitten and Tucker Mouse
Chester Cricket's New Home
by George Selden
Yes, we've read them all, and if there are more I don't want to know! While it was a pleasant journey, the sequels aren't as good as the original Cricket in Times Square. I think E. B. White knew what he was doing when he brought Charlotte's Web and The Trumpet of the Swan to a satisfying close and didn't try to capitalize on whatever success they gained. If your children are voracious readers, I'm sure they would enjoy these continuing tales of unlikely animal friends. However, I'm a little sorry that we spent so much time on these read-alouds when there are so many other wonderful children's classics to read.

Such as Homer Price and Centerburg Tales by Robert McCloskey!
These books are just downright fun bits of Americana. Since I grew up in a small Ohio town not far from Robert McCloskey's own hometown, these stories just ring true to me. I'm afraid I might even pick up the dialect a little too well! My kids love them, too! They are funny enough to appeal to kids, but there's some subtle humor for the grown-ups, too.

Our home school co-op of 6 families read Homer Price for a book club week, and each family acted out one chapter, which was loads of fun! While the older kids did some art and map projects, the younger children then did activities related to Make Way for Ducklings - another favorite of mine!