These past few weeks, I've been able to indulge my insatiable appetite for reading. Nursing my five-week-old son every three hours or so, especially at night when the girls are sleeping, provides the opportunity to enjoy books I received for my birthday and Christmas. So far I've read To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, The Note by Angela Hunt, and The Shepherd's Castle by George MacDonald. I'm almost finished with Jack's Life by Douglas Gresham.
To Kill a Mockingbird surprised me. I couldn't start another book for a day after I'd finished it. I had to let it soak. Usually I've been disappointed by secular books that are considered classics of modern literature, but this one was enjoyable and timeless. The perspective it gave on the South in the 60's, and all the issues related to that, was unique and refreshing. Prejudice was portrayed as the evil it is without making those who were affected by it villains or victims. This book will be on my children's reading list when they're older.
I enjoyed The Note, as I have all the books I've read so far by Angela Hunt. I think this was the first book by her that I read when I was trying out new authors I found at the library. My favorites are the books in the Heavenly Daze series that she coauthored with Lori Copeland. There are three books in the series, The Island of Heavenly Daze, Hearts at Home, and A Perfect Love. Each book follows the stories of a different set of residents of the island. I found them quite enjoyable and peaceful.
Of course I loved The Shepherd's Castle. I have been looking for this book ever since I read it in a German translation several years ago. (This is the only book I've read in that language, or any language besides English for that matter. I'm quite impressed that I was able to accomplish that much!) The plot takes turns that I never would have expected from a 19th century preacher. I made the mistake of reading it in the middle of the night. Then I had to scoot close to Paul in order to get to sleep. Creepy! I've read many of his books, and this is one of the best.
Jack's Life is about C. S. Lewis by his stepson, Douglas Gresham. I've always wondered what the Gresham boys' perspective was of their stepfather, so I'm glad that one of them finally spoke out in the public forum. Douglas, who is apparently a devoted Christian himself, writes very admiringly of Lewis. He moralizes quite a bit in the book, but it's giving me more of an inside look at Lewis' life than other biographies I've read. The best part is toward the end, where he gives insight into Lewis' relationship with Joy, Gresham's mother. I very much enjoyed watching the 30-minute interview with Douglas that came with the book as well.
Next I will read Unafraid, the fifth book in the Lineage of Grace series by Francine Rivers. I haven't read all the books in this series yet, but I'd like to. This one belongs to GiGi, one of our wonderful housemates, who loves to read (almost) as much as I do! I'm expecting three more books to come any day: Dark Night of the Soul by St. John of the Cross, The Red Tent by Anita Diamant, and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro.
This blog is such a neat idea, Michelle. I feel like I can keep up with you guys by just looking at it when I have a minute. I'm thinking of starting my own! Love you. Kiss the munchkins for me.
ReplyDeleteLove, Maria.
WOW! DEEP!
ReplyDeleteI hope you do, Maria! I'd love to read it.
ReplyDeleteFunny, Mama. :-P
Hi Maria! Yes, let us know if you do start a blog so we can keep up with your life, too. And MUCHO congratulations about your graduation!
ReplyDeleteMichelle, I don't think I've read any of the books you mentioned except To Kill a Mockingbird, although I'm definitely interested in them. I've read a few books by Francine Rivers, and one by Angela Hunt. I definitely enjoy Ms. Rivers. And I was very impressed by Ms. Hunt's skill. Few Christian authors I've read have the ability to not give away most of climax by the end of the first or second chapter. Angela Hunt seems to be able to keep you guessing as to her own beliefs as well as her characters until the right moment in the book. I enjoyed that a lot!
I got a WHOLE bunch of books for Christmas that I'm excited about reading. I've finished Cannery Row by John Steinbeck. Although I wouldn't recommend him as an author overall, I did enjoy reading about the history, or plausible history, of Monterey, California, a place I'm somewhat familiar with, and very affectionate toward. Cannery Row was written in a style completely unlike what I'm used to. I won't give away how it's written, since part of what I enjoyed is not knowing what to expect. :)
I'm now reading The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. My only problem with this book is that I have no idea how to pronounce most of the names that are in it. Other than that, I'm intrigued by the description of the 15th century. I've only finished the 1st book (1st 5 chapters, I think), so I'm not far into it. I'll let you know what I think.
I just finished Unspoken by Angela Hunt, and I agree with you, Charlotte, about her skill as an author. I wasn't sure about "Unspoken" because it is about a gorilla who has been taught to sign, like Koko. I felt like it started slowly and took some time to develop. But I think I was expecting to know exactly where she was going in the first couple of chapters, like you said. It takes some guts and quite a bit of brains for an author to write like she does. You should borrow The Pearl from Michelle. That's a thought-provoking book!
ReplyDeleteI'm headed to the library tonight, so I'm looking forward to what I find. But I also want to borrow some of those new books from you, Michelle.
I just need to add that I ended up getting rid of The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. I do not recommend it. I thought it would be interesting to have a woman's perspective on the Old Testament stories, but it was seriously preoccupied with sex and perversion.
ReplyDelete