Books Read in 2011--Annotated

Abraham Lincoln's World (Genevieve Foster)
Bought this book for our homeschooling endeavors and decided to read it myself, for fun. It’s a fascinating overview of the major events and people, across the globe, of the time period in which Lincoln lived. Easy enough for kids to understand, rich enough for adults to enjoy.

True Grit (Charles Portis)
We’ve had this book on our shelves for a long time, but because of the ugly book jacket, nobody ever read it. It was sitting in a stack to donate to St. Vincent’s when the movie came out, so I pulled it out and read it. Glad I did! Not only did I enjoy this fast-paced story with the compelling narrative voice of a truly gritty young girl, but our edition--a garage sale find—turns out to be an early one that is actually worth something. (I may just have to learn something about online selling in order to reap that reward.)

Yes, I saw the movie, and thought it was very true to the book. I really liked both.

The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen (Jacques Pépin)
Jacques Pepin is an internationally-known French chef and television cooking show host. His story began in France, as a boy sent to the country during WWII, who then learned to cook in his mother’s restaurants and later became a chef in Paris. He served in the French military as the personal chef of Charles de Gaulle, then emigrated to America where he's had all sorts of culinary adventures. I really enjoyed this as an autobiography and as a tantalizing excursion through many different cuisines and ways of thinking about food and cooking. I especially enjoyed the audiobook version, read with authentic French accents and pronunciations.

Sisterchicks Say Oo La La (Robin Jones Gunn)
Another little taste of Paris. Part of a series about Christian women who vacation together in exotic locations and become closer to God and each other in the experience. Lighthearted beach reading.

Gideon's Gift (Karen Kingsbury)
Even though Karen Kingsbury’s books can feel a bit formulaic, I really do like how her stories inspire and encourage. This one is about a homeless man with a story that you don’t learn until the end. Gideon is a little girl with cancer who meets him while serving with her family at a homeless shelter, and gives him a gift that unlocks his story, brings about healing and ultimately…oh, I won't give it away.

Between Sundays (Karen Kingsbury)
This is a story about a spoiled NFL quarterback and a woman whose foster son believes that he’s the son of the star quarterback. Another football player on the team is a family man and a Christian who works with foster kids, which brings boy and quarterback together, and ultimately….ah, shouldn't give this one away either. You can tell this story has an agenda, to raise awareness about foster kids, just as Gideon’s Gift was about homelessness, but I like the way these positive, feel-good stories compel you to care. Blondechick loves this author.

Something Rising (Light and Swift) (Haven Kimmel)
I didn’t care for this novel as much as I liked her first two autobiographical books. It’s well-written and deep in the way that it digs into the human psyche, in a way that reminded me of plays like The Glass Menagerie or A Streetcar Named Desire. But in this novel, the characters merely seemed sad to me, rather than powerfully drawn.

One Thousand Gifts (Ann Voskamp)
Is there anyone out there who hasn’t read this yet? It’s a compelling, deep and joyful encouragement to give thanks for everything, at all times, in all places, with the promise—theologically true and research-based—that it will change your life to do so. Ann is the blogger in the quiet corner called A Holy Experience, which I’ve been recommending for years; I am delighted that her name and her message are becoming so well-known! I feel like I am still such a beginner at viewing life through this lens, but Ann's writing continues to shape my mind and heart.

Poke the Box (Seth Godin)
Seth Godin is a creative, entrepreneurial type who has a well-known blog and several books. This one is basically saying, “Just start something.” It would be a great read if you know there is something God wants you to do, but you need some oomph to just do it. It might also get your juices flowing if you’ve never really asked yourself the question, “Is there something I want/should/need to do?” Very quick; very thought-provoking.

The War of Art (Steven Pressfield)
This is another book Papa Rooster recommended to me, and it has a similar theme to Poke the Box. This one addresses the concept of “resistance” to “doing the work” that you are called to do. Pressfield is a writer, so his words are especially apropos for wordsmiths, but his concepts apply to all artists and entrepreneurs.

Both these books raised questions for me about calling, as it relates to writing, mothering, teaching, drama, and service in the church. I have more questions than answers, still, but it’s been helpful to explore the questions!

The Rest of God (Mark Buchanan)
I liked this book a lot. He talks about Sabbath, liturgy, rest and the ways they intersect with real life and work. I read it too fast because I was lovin’ it, and now I want to review and work it further in.

Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl (N. D. Wilson)
At A Hen’s Pace review here.

Ellis Island and Other Stories (Mark Helprin)
I love a good short story, and Mark Helprin’s are the best. Beautiful, memorable, haunting, ironic, unexpected.

Soldier of the Great War (Mark Helprin)
Like his short stories, but much longer. An epic life story in the vein of Island of the World (At A Hen’s Pace ’08 review here). See above adjectives for Helprin.

The Master Butchers Singing Club (Louise Erdrich)
I wasn’t sure about this one for a while, because early on, there is a disturbing incident of homosexuality--to explain why one character isn’t interested in women, I guess, since it turns out it's tangential to the rest of the book. But I ended up really enjoying this for its strong sense of place and character. It’s about a German immigrant, a butcher, who ends up in North Dakota, gets married and starts a family. Meanwhile, a hometown girl returns to the town to deal with her father, the town drunk, and nurses the butcher’s wife through a losing bout with cancer. She stands in as mother to the butcher’s sons until… Oh, lots of subplots are uncovered by the end of this sober story.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society (Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows)
Wow, this one is probably my favorite book of the year. It reminded me of 84 Charing Cross Road (another favorite)--all letters. The central figure is a female author in London. She corresponds with her editor, a college friend, and a gentleman from the island of Guernsey, who begins to share the experience of the islanders during the occupation by the Germans during the recent WWII. Interested in book material, she begins to interview, through letters, other members of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and eventually goes to meet them all. I listened to the audiobook, and I’d say that’s the way to go, with different voices for all the different letter authors. Absolutely delightful.

Postern of Fate (A Tommy and Tuppence Mystery) (Agatha Christie)
Typical Agatha Christie, but Tommy and Tuppence were new to me. Apparently they were spies in their heyday, but they are elderly retired folks in this story, moving into a new house in which to settle down quietly. But there is a mystery to its history!

The Last Wife of Henry VIII (Carolly Erickson)
I enjoyed the audiobook version of this story—read by a woman with a gorgeous British accent--which covered all of Henry VIII’s marriages, from the perspective of his last wife. It was written by a history professor, but in a quick survey of reviews, it seems the history buffs think she left out a lot.

The Ragamuffin Gospel (Brennan Manning)
I never read this back when it was all the rage—in the 90’s?--but I’m glad I finally got around to it this year. It hit the grace note hard, which I needed to hear. (Further thoughts here.)

Grace for the Good Girl (Emily Freeman)
I thought from the title that this would be a good follow-up to The Ragamuffin Gospel. It was, and I enjoyed it, but it wasn’t as memorable or as hard-hitting.

Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption (Laura Hillenbrand)
What an amazing story. A world-class runner and Olympian serves as a gunner on American fighter planes in WWII. He’s shot down and survives on a raft for months in the Pacific before he is picked up by the Japanese and imprisoned in terrible conditions in POW camps, where he barely survives. On his return home, he suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and begins to drink heavily to drown the nightmares and hallucinations. He nearly strangles his wife, dreaming that she is one of his captors. She drags him to a Billy Graham crusade, and there he is saved and released from the grip of his torturous memories. It is a remarkable, meticulously researched biograhy of one man and many others who were part of his story. (By the author of Seabiscuit.)

A Crooked Kind of Perfect (Linda Urban)
I loved this kids' book. A 10-year-old girl longs to be a concert pianist, but is given an organ instead, complete with lessons and the chance to compete at the organ company’s Perform-O-Rama. It’s not what she had in mind, but she makes the best of it. Her dad seems to be agoraphobic and can’t leave his house without anxiety. She discovers at a girls’ birthday party that she must be a nerd. Her new best friend is a boy, who comes over to her house all the time to bake and do homework with her dad, since he is basically parentless. It’s not a perfect family or a perfect life, but like her friend’s smile, it’s cute in a crooked way. I like the way this story deals with social trials and imperfect circumstances in a light way.

Understood Betsy (Dorothy Canfield Fisher)
Read this aloud to the two youngest and we loved it. I promptly passed it on to a psychologist friend who deals with a lot of over-protective, "helicoptor" parents. Betsy is an orphan being raised by two hovering and overly-sympathetic aunts; circumstances force her to go and live with relatives on a New England farm who expect independence and responsibility from the young girl, who rises to their expectations.

For more year-end book lists and reviews, see Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books.


And just for fun, you might also like my annotated list of Movies Watched in 2011.

Joseph, the Problem of Evil, and a Book Review

"Come closer to me," Joseph said to his brothers. They came closer. "I am Joseph your brother whom you sold into Egypt. But don't feel badly, don't blame yourselves for selling me. God was behind it. God sent me here ahead of you to save lives. There has been a famine in the land now for two years; the famine will continue for five more years—neither plowing nor harvesting. God sent me on ahead to pave the way and make sure there was a remnant in the land, to save your lives in an amazing act of deliverance. So you see, it wasn't you who sent me here but God.

~Genesis 45:4-8, The Message

This past summer, while I was in the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, I read Joseph's story in Genesis from my new copy of The Message.  It's one of my very favorite Bible stories.

I admit to some unsettling thoughts, though, as I read the passage above.  I was expecting the famous "What you meant for evil, God intended for good" line; it actually comes later, after Jacob dies and the brothers worry that with their father gone, Joseph will now take his revenge.  Instead, Joseph is all excited about how God is saving a remnant from the terrible famine that has only just begun...and all I could think was, if I were Joseph, wouldn't I be wondering why God didn't just send rain?

Of course, from my vantage point, I can see the bigger picture of how God used the famine to get the whole nation of Israel relocated to Egypt, so that they could eventually become enslaved and then rescued from bondage.  It's the most significant incident in Jewish history and identity, and the informing metaphor of salvation.

I can see that, but Joseph?

From the typical American perspective, it's hard not to imagine Joseph's suffering during those lost years, imprisoned, enslaved, ripped away from his family and home before he was even old enough to join his brothers in the fields.  All that time gone, all those potential childhood memories, opportunities, education erased from his youth.  Sure, he ended up in a position of power and what he had lost was restored, but at what personal cost?  He could never have those years back.

Couldn't God just have sent some rain?

These are the kinds of questions my kids ask me all the time.  Couldn't God just (fill in the blank)?  Our perspective is so small.

Around the same time, I read Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl, by N.D. Wilson.  It's a kaleidoscopic look at the world, at God, at good and evil and faith and suffering--and it's extremely well-written and exceedingly funny. I haven't enjoyed a non-fiction book so much in ages, although half the time I was only guessing at what he was saying.  It's helpful if you've had at least an introduction to philosophy, and like all philosophy, it's helpful if you read it fast, and then go back for the finer points.

As he says in the preface:  "This book does not go straight.  It is not a road in Wyoming.  ...It attempts to find unity in cacophony.  The barrage of elements (philosophy, poetry, theology, narrative, ad nauseum) may at times feel random.  ...It is intended to be symphonic:  dissimilar voices and instruments moving from dissonance to harmony.  ...Like the earth and the Tilt-A-Whirl, you will end at a beginning."

And it refreshed my faith that in the midst of suffering, we don't have to understand why or obsess about the personal cost to ourselves.  In fact, we take ourselves way too seriously.  Like hobbits, he says, we are in the midst of an epic story, and we can trust the Author of the story.  Just like Joseph.

N.D Wilson wraps up a section exploring different views of God and death:

Three postcards await our perusal, yea, three visions of the world.


One:  I see a theme park where there are lots of rides, but there is nobody who can control them and nobody who knows how the rides end.  Grief counseling, however, is included in the price of admission.


Two:  I see an accident.  An explosion of some kind inhabited by happenstantial life forms.  A milk spill gone bacterial, only with more flame.  It has no meaning or purpose or master.  It simply is.


Three:  I see a stage, a world where every scene is crafted.  Where men act out their lives within a tapestry, where meaning and beauty exist, where right and wrong are more than imagined constructs.  There is evil.  There is darkness.  There is the Winter of tragedy, every life ending, churned back in the soil.  But the tragedy leads to Spring.  The story does not end in frozen death.  The fields are sown in grief.  The harvest will be reaped in joy.  I see a Master's painting.  I listen to a Master's prose.  

On our role in the story:

Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?


...Who sinned, this little bit of black oil paint or its parent elements, that it would be used by Rembrandt to do the dark scary bits beneath the windmill?


If you are a glop of blue paint, blessed to be sitting in the sky overlooking Van Gogh's sunflowers, are you there by any effort or righteousness of your own?  Why are you not more grateful?


...The problem of evil is a genuine problem, an enemy with sharp pointy teeth.  But it is not a logical problem.  It is an emotional one, an argument from Hamlet's heartache and from ours.  It appeals to our pride and our nerve endings.  We do not want to hear an answer that puts us so low.  But the answer is this:  we are very small.

And a lot of the rest of the book is about how small we really are, and how grateful we can be for that, and how much we can trust the Creator of  it all, the Author of the story.  The book is also full of wonder and appreciation for the amazing and miraculous world we live in, the story that is played out all around us in creation and in our everyday lives.  It echoed Ann Voskamp's One Thousand Gifts in its emphasis on seeing, sensing and appreciating the world around us.  Notes from the Tilt-A-Whirl is zanier and funnier, but heart-stopping in a similar way in its breathtaking descriptions of beauty in the world.

So, back to Joseph. I think Joseph trusted God completely with the big picture. Sure, God could have sent rain. He could have thought of some other way to get the nation of Israel down to Egypt. But the Author of the story wrote this role for Joseph...and Joe didn't balk at playing his part, even if he was a victim.

Do we really want to skip straight to the last chapter?   Or do we want the whole novel, tension, struggle, conflict and all?

God didn't leave him there.

Reading

I've been waiting eagerly for the last of my Christmas gifts from Papa Rooster to arrive...

a pre-ordered copy of this long-awaited book.

Ann is the friend and blogger at Holy Experience that I've been recommending for years!  And I'm lovin' the book even more, if that's possible, than her blog. 

It's longer.  It tells more about her life and her story, tying together events and ideas she's posted on her blog.

And the content...it is touching the deepest longings of my heart!   Here's a taste.

More Buchanan on Liturgy

Our most significant relationships and events have a liturgical shape to them.  They have rites of passage.  Birthdays and homecoming, graduations and goodbyes, Thanksgiving and Christmas and Easter, birth and death and marriage:  all are marked by words and actions, songs and symbols, customs and traditions that enact them and complete them.  And all those things also provide us with a means of entering them.  What is a birthday without a cake, at least one candle on it, and a huddle of well-wishers, wearing clownish hats, singing in their ragged, hoary voices?

What is a birthday without liturgy?

What liturgy accomplishes is nothing short of astonishing:  It breaks open the transcendent within the ordinary and the everyday.  It lets us glimpse a deeper reality--the timeless things, the universal ones, the things above--within the particular instance of it. (emphasis mine)

~Mark Buchanan

(from the Introduction to The Rest of God:  Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath)

Mark Buchanan on Liturgy

(From the Introduction to The Rest of God:  Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath)

Liturgy.  I chose that word with care.

I was converted within a Low Church tradition, where the building's walls are stark, the music simple, the prayers clumsy and direct, made up as you pray them.  I have only ever belonged to that tradition.  And so early on I picked up the tradition's historic suspicion of High Church, where God is approached through a sometimes elaborate system of symbol and ritual--robes and candles and prayer books and lectionaries--and almost everything is scripted.

That scripting is liturgy.

Yet over time I began to realize that the Low Church is just as bound by liturgy as any church, and maybe more so because we think we're not.  The Low Church enshrines--makes a liturgy of--austerity, spontaneity, informality.  And we have our unwritten but nonetheless rigorously observed codes and protocols.  We love our traditions, even our rigmarole, every bit as much as the next guy, only ours is earthy, rustic, folksy.

So I changed my mind about liturgy.  It certainly can become dull and rote, but so can anything--water polo, rose gardening, kite flying, even lovemaking.  Even fly-fishing.  Just as often, though, maybe more so, liturgy can enrich these things.  At its best, liturgy comprises the gestures by which we honor transcendent reality.  It helps us give concrete expression to deepest convictions.  It gives us choreography for things unseen and allows us to brush heaven among the shades of earth.

The Year in Review--Books

Mother, Father, Uncle, Aunt (Garrison Keillor)
One of the better (less political) collections of Keillor's famous monologues.  My favorite was "Ronnie and the Winnebago," in which Ronnie takes his dad's Winnebago onto the ice to go ice fishing, with disastrous results--and what he learns as he works it off. 

The Mighty Queens of Freeville (Amy Dickinson)
This could have been a painful memoir of one woman's divorce. Instead, it was about her healthy rise above her circumstances, along with her daughter, due to the extraordinary support of an extended family of strong women who had survived and thrived through desertion and divorce themselves, in a close-knit, small-town community.  Honest, yet positive and encouraging. 

Ben Hur (Focus on the Family Radio Theater)
This excellent radio drama counts as an abridged audiobook, right?

The Pacific and Other Stories (Mark Helprin)
Wow, these are beautiful stories.  Rich, thoughtful, well-constructed.  My favorite is probably one about a woman widowed on 9/11 who asks a construction firm to make a few improvements to her condo and they re-do the whole thing, gratis, with the highest quality materials, while she's gone. 

A Postcard from the Volcano (Lucy Beckett)
This is the one book review I wrote this year. 

Rebecca's Tale (Sally Beauman)
If you liked Daphne du Maurier's haunting novel, Rebecca, you may enjoy this sequel written by a different author.  She imagines a totally different side to Rebecca and constructs a plausible defense of her actions and words, weaving new information into the events of the original novel. Intriguing and enjoyable. 

Barchester Towers (Anthony Trollope)
I just love the wordy Trollope, with his descriptive character names.  Mr. and Mrs. Proudie are ambitious, Mr. and Mrs. Quiverful have 14 children, Plumstead is a prize to be awarded to a deserving clergyman, Obadiah Slope is a clergyman of slippery principles, and I can't even remember the names of minor characters whose character you only learn from their names!  One of my favorite parts is at the beginning of one of the last chapters, where Trollope expounds upon the difficulties of writing the ending of a book, without rushing through it or drawing it out too long.  He states that if an editor would send him a sample of a perfectly written conclusion, he would gladly follow it, but since no editor had ever produced one, he'd just have to do his best. 

Midwives (Chris Bohjalian)
It was tough to find a book on tape that I thought Blondechick would be willing to listen to with me on a road trip to a prospective college, but this is the one she selected from my stack of possibilities borrowed from the library.  It's a fictional account of a midwifery malpractice case, told from the perspective of the accused midwife's young daughter. Not just another courtroom drama, this one stirs up emotional, ethical and poetic sensibilities. We both found it gripping. 

This Year It Will Be Different:  And Other Stories (Maeve Binchy)
This is a collection of Christmas stories that I found rather ordinary.  I've never read anything else by this author.  Should I give her another try? 

But This I Know (Patricia Bailey)
This is an autobiography, self-published by a dear friend of ours, who shares a lifetime's worth of personal experience with God.  She married very young, raised five children, was abandoned by her husband, attended seminary, became a pastor, and got a GED (yes, in that order).  She tells her extraordinary story in devotional-length short essays, full of gentle wisdom, that conclude with a healing, encouraging word.  (Ordering info here.) 

Heaven's Calling: A Memoir of One Soul's Steep Ascent (Leanne Payne)
Another autobiography by a friend of ours and author of many wonderful books on emotional and spiritual healing. While I found her story fascinating, I don't think it would have broad appeal to those who didn't know her other books or her conference ministry. 

The Moon is Down (John Steinbeck)
This was the book Bantam11 picked to read for a school project, so I read it too, since it's very short.  What a little gem of literature!  Steinbeck wrote this as a propaganda piece during WW2 to encourage resistance against the Nazis, and it was rapidly (and illegally) translated into many European languages. It's about a fictional Norwegian town taken over by Germans, and how the townspeople resist and sabotage the mining operations for which the town was captured.  The two protagonists are the Mayor, representing the town, and Colonel Lanser, the German leader, and the story is a fine character study as well as a conflict of ideals. 

Little House on the Prairie (Laura Ingalls Wilder)
I just love this series.  I'm reading them aloud to the three younger children, and we're almost done with On The Banks of Plum Creek as well. 

Pippi Longstocking, Pippi in the South Seas, Pippi on the Run (Astrid Lindgren)
I love the first two.  I read and re-read them so many times as a kid, trying to figure out the unfamiliar words and expressions (since they are set in Sweden and translated from the Swedish).  The third one doesn't have the same charm; it reads like someone trying to copy Lindgren's style.  Great read-alouds, if you've never read them! 

Sisterchicks Do the Hula (Robin Jones Gunn)
I only picked this out because it was at the library and on audiocassette, which is all I can listen to in my car, and it was better than I expected.  This series is Christian chick-lit, and I figured it would be pretty fluffy, but there was actually some good substance to this story about two friends who go to Hawaii together to celebrate their 40th birthdays and have a number of God-filled experiences on the trip. I enjoyed it! 

Steps to Financial Freedom (Suze Orman)
Another book that I picked up simply because it was available on audiocassette.  Plus I wondered if she'd have any helpful advice on paying for college!  There was good wisdom in this book, but it was read by the author and her way of saying "dint" for "didn't" and "shount" for "shouldn't" (etc.) was really distracting. 

The Jesus Storybook Bible:  Every Story Whispers His Name (Sally Lloyd-Jones)
Thank you to my friend Jennifer, for giving our family this book!  I had to wait till the timing was right, but finally we read and loved this wonderful book that weaves the salvation plan into every story.  The kids never wanted me to put it down. 

Jewel (Brett Lott)
This was a moving story about Jewel, the matriarch of a backwoods lumbering family, whose sixth and last child is born with Down's Syndrome, in 1943 in Mississippi, where there is no support for the little girl besides her mother's determination. Strain on the family, on the marriage, and on Jewel's friendships are all consequences, and throughout, she questions God on who is and what He really wants from her.  Engrossing. 

Summer of Light (W. Dale Cramer)
I really enjoyed this story about a steel worker (Mick) who is forced by circumstances to become a stay-at-home dad for awhile.  I especially enjoyed the scenes with his neighbors, who were well-drawn, interesting characters. One of them gets Mick into photography, and he discovers he has a gift for it. I also liked the way Christianity is portrayed, with honest, genuine characters like the homeless, handless man called "The Preacher" and the willing volunteers at the homeless shelter. 

The Poisonwood Bible (Barbara Kingsolver)
This was an interesting read, so well-written, with engaging characters and a story rooted in true events in the Belgian Congo in 1960. As a believer, it was hard to watch the disintegration of the missionary family who were the main characters, and to see them all lose their faith by the end of the novel. As an American, it was tough to read the story of the crisis in the Congo and of America's role in displacing the elected prime minister. The tone got a little too political and agenda-ish by the end of the book, I thought, but I enjoyed the way this novel developed the story from the points of view of multiple characters over time. 

National Velvet (Enid Bagnold)
I think this is the fourth time I've re-read this short novel, this time because it appeared in a volume of short stories I had picked up, and I just couldn't help myself!  I don't know what it is about the language and the terse dialogue that always tantalizes me, but I think this is just a gem of a novel. I used to read it with a mind only attuned to the horse story element, but as I've gotten older, I've appreciated it more and more on many different levels.  This time it was for the remarkable and memorable characterizations of Velvet's family members. Do read this if you never have! 

The Bridge of San Luis Rey (Thornton Wilder)
This one has been recommended to me before, and there it was in the same collection of short stories (Stories to Remember, Vol. 2, edited by Costain and Beecroft). It was interesting.  I think I'd need to read it again to fully appreciate it. It's about the lives of four people who die when the bridge collapses, and it looks to faith to make sense of the tragedy. 

The Sea of Grass (Conrad Richter)
Another novel included in Stories to Remember.  I kept trying to remember what I'd heard about this book, but I must have been thinking of Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass.  Later I realized that the author is more well-known to me for his novel (and later a movie) The Light in the Forest.  This novel is set in the West, at the time that the vast prairie of the cattlemen was being parceled up by the government and given to "nesters." It tells the story of a beautiful woman who comes West to marry a powerful rancher, has three children with him and then leaves him for a government attorney. Her husband and nephew (from whose point of view the story is told) never stop loving her, through the years and complications that ensue.  A literary, lyrical Western romance. 

The Cure (Athol Dickson)
This is a well-written and engaging story about a homeless man with a history, who stumbles upon the cure for alcoholism.  This was not a predictable story; I could never guess what was coming next.  Thought-provoking, too. 

Swallows and Amazons (Arthur Ransome)
This is a British children's classic about children "messing about with boats" (to borrow a line from The Wind in the Willows), and camping, and pretending to be pirates, and a robbery and an ensuing treasure hunt.  Just delightful.   The only bummer about this book is that one of the characters is a little girl named Titty. Maybe some kids would think nothing of it, but my 11-year-old son--and a third son at that--would be bothered by the name, he admits.  I wish they would re-issue a version calling her Kitty! 

Having a Mary Heart in a Martha World:  Finding Intimacy With God in the Busyness of Life (Joanna Weaver)
I found this book really encouraging, and I appreciated that it was directed to all women, not just mothers.  I'm going to pass it on to Blondechick18, as soon as I get a chance to go back over it and make a few notes. Practical, wise, reassuring and encouraging. 

My Utmost for His Highest (Oswald Chambers)
A Diary of Private Prayer (John Baillie)
I haven't ever read either of these cover to cover, but they are wonderful, short, devotional reading that I highly recommend.

A Postcard from the Volcano

I have not had much time to spend reading, this year, but this is one book I stayed with and finished in a number of weeks--fast for me, in this season of my life! (It helped that I brought it along to San Antonio.)

But I really enjoyed it because it addressed the question that most of us have privately asked since we first heard of Adolf Hitler: How could the Germans have let a guy like him rise to power?

This novel begins at the start of World War 1 and traces one young Prussian aristocrat from schoolboy to post-college days. He and his friends--representing Poland, Germany, Prussia, Protestant, Jewish, Catholic, Conservative and Communist perspectives--debate and discuss politics and philosophy when they meet together in the evenings to play as a string quartet. Other musicians, students, professors and parents join them occasionally, forming a rich tapestry of characters and viewpoints. From these discussions, the prevailing winds of the times are aired and explored, and as history unfolds, each election or political circumstance is analyzed from several points of view.

As things look worse and worse for the Jews and the German Conservatives, characters make choices that may save them or doom them. Precious belongings are distributed--some are saved, some lost forever. The metaphor of the volcano is well-chosen; it perfectly describes the sense of a devastating, destructive eruption so potentially imminent.

The volcano doesn't erupt in this novel; it ends before the second World War actually breaks out. You learn what happens to characters from a postcard reprinted at the end of the book. It was mentioned in the first chapter, which is really an epilogue, so then you want to re-read that. It's a sad ending.

Yet I left this book with a sense of hope. For one thing, the Church is a symbol of hope throughout the book. Imperfect as it was then (and is in our time), it is "more than German, wider, older and more resilient than Germany; and qualitatively different because she's a divine as well as a human institution," as one Catholic professor describes her to the main character, Max. Max, a Jew as well as a Prussian aristocrat, dies a Catholic, we learn in the epilogue.  As the story unfolds, he is the seeker throughout, looking for God in the turmoil. His friend Adam is a firm atheist who is compelled to reach for God, and one of the most hopeful aspects of the book is how he eventually finds Him--and peace.

Adam writes this to Max:

Like you, I'm sometimes afraid...sometimes angry that all that education and effort and work should only have brought me--us--to this sense of precariousness, as if we were condemned by some malign destiny to live until we die on the edge of a volcano that is sure to erupt sooner rather than later and will kill us when it does. But then I think, Fine. Isn't it only human life tuned up to a higher pitch than usual? Isn't everyone always closer to death than he thinks? 'Keep awake because the master is coming at an hour you do not expect.' Easter Day yesterday--but every day too. Keep awake, Max.

I find hope in his question, "Isn't it only human life tuned to a higher pitch than usual?" In terrible circumstances, "life" can't be repressed. I think of The Diary of Anne Frank, and how much hope and joy she experienced even in confinement. If the worse happens--and in our own day, many worry that we are on a course that will destroy our own nation--even if the worse happens, life goes on. We'll lean harder on God than we ever have. We'll teach our children, by our example, to trust in God and not in themselves, or in a government, or in an economic system. We should always live life as if death were imminent. All God expects is that we stay awake, not letting ourselves be lulled into a complacent sleep. We stay awake, in Him, and do what He shows us to do, one day at a time. And so we will have hope, and not fall into despair.

Loved this story. I got a little bogged down in some of the philosophy, especially at the beginning. But I have always found that philosophy makes more sense if you skim through it quickly, so I suggest that approach, if needed! It's worth pushing through to enjoy the rare scope of this thoughtful book.

(Thanks, Kay!)

Books Read in 2009

It’s become my annual tradition to post an annotated list of books read over the previous year. It motivates me to keep track, for one thing, and I am always amazed how many books I actually get through, even on a light year.

And this was a lighter year for me, primarily because I only listened to one audio book the whole year. Instead of listening to audiobooks in the car, I’ve been vocalizing, to keep my voice limber enough to sing occasionally with our worship team at church. Plus, my kitchen boombox died.

What saved me were the read-alouds from last school year:

Little House in the Big Woods (Laura Ingalls Wilder)—it took us a long time, stopping and starting, but I finally read this classic to Chicklet, who enjoyed it.

The Secret Garden (Troll abridgement)—she liked this one more. A little shorter, and more pictures.

The Silver Chair, The Last Battle (C.S. Lewis)—The Chronicles of Narnia seem to contain a little more truth each time you read them! Further thoughts here.

White Stallion of Lipizza (Marguerite Henry)—At A Hen’s Pace review here.

The Child's Story Bible (Catherine Vos)--At A Hen's Pace review here.

Tales from Shakespeare (Charles & Mary Lamb) Okay, I'm cheating--we only read Much Ado About Nothing, Romeo and Juliet, Merchant of Venice, and Hamlet. But it was significant enough to count, in my book! Further comment here.

The Wheel on the School (Meindert DeJong)—At A Hen’s Pace review here.

And the books I read myself:

Beyond Smells and Bells: The Wonder and Power of Christian Liturgy (Mark Galli)—At A Hen’s Pace review here.

Acedia and Me (Kathleen Norris)—though I love this author’s other works, this was not my favorite book by her. Acedia (a cousin of depression and sloth) is a complex issue, and though I was struck by many of Norris’ insights and anecdotes, I didn’t connect with the topic overall. But friends who did thought it was amazing.

The Private Patient (P.D. James)—an author I always enjoy. Her mysteries are well-written, psychologically complex and satisfying.

The Warden (Anthony Trollope)--an Anglican churchman who loves peace and quiet, and playing his violin for the old men in his care, gets embroiled in a controversy over whether he deserves the living he's being paid. The lawyer bringing the suit simultaneously courts his daughter. What's a warden to do? This one got a little bogged down at points, but Trollope is such a delightful writer, I didn't mind much.

The Dark Horse (Rumer Godden)—nuns and racetrack folks rub shoulders in this gentle story set in Calcutta, India, in the 1930's. Based on a true incident in which an escaped racehorse sought sanctuary at a Catholic orphanage, setting off a chain of events that met the orphanage's most desperate needs. God moves in mysterious ways, his wonders to perform!

(Shaping the Man Inside) Teenage Boys!: Surviving and Enjoying These Extraordinary Years (Bill Beausay)—I have started so many parenting books and rarely finish one. This one was encouraging, insightful and practical. I read it cover to cover.

Dragon Harper (Anne McCaffrey and Todd J. McCaffrey)—Have I ever posted how much I used to love the Dragonriders of Pern series? The characters are so vivid and memorable, the plots are spellbinding, and the author’s vocabulary stretched mine in many new directions when I first read them back in junior high (I have re-read them several times). The utopian societal structure tested my thinking on ethics, morality and community (marriage is non-existent, and children are raised communally). The new ones that are co-written with her son aren't as good, and this isn’t one I’d re-read, but it was fun to visit Pern again. (My favs? Dragonflight (further comment here), Dragon Quest, The White Dragon, Dragonsong, Dragonsinger.)

So Young, Brave and Handsome (Leif Enger)—a second novel by the author of Peace Like a River. Great characters and an unlikely, yet satisfying, plot. A modern-day Western quest.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Stieg Larsson)—can’t recommend this one. It was a gift from someone who had not read it. Too sexually, disturbingly graphic.

Home (Marilynne Robinson)—not as good as Gilead, but achingly beautiful in its own way. It expands on characters and a secondary plot from Gilead (At A Hen's Pace review here.)

Freddy and Fredericka (Mark Helprin)—At A Hen’s Pace review here.

Books Read in 2008.

Books Read in 2007.

For more book reviews and lists, visit Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books: Book List Edition.

Freddy and Fredericka

Freddy & Fredericka is possibly the best book I read all year. Mark Helprin is an incredible writer, who can craft metaphors, turn phrases and paint word pictures in the most natural way, whose themes vary from the sublime and profound to the comic and ridiculous. I can’t wait to read more by him!

This is the story of the Prince and Princess of Wales (and yes, they seem loosely based on Prince Charles and Lady Diana). Freddy is the laughingstock of Britain, who continually makes a fool of himself but never notices when he’s doing it. For example, when Frederica’s dog gets loose, he chases after it, calling the dog’s unfortunate name, “Fa Khew! Fa Khew!” while the paparazzi’s cameras roll. Fredericka is the darling of the press, beloved for her extravagant wardrobe, plunging necklines and charity causes. In one scene, she delivers a speech which Freddy has written purposely to make her look like a fool, and it has the opposite effect. She delivers the nonsense speech so naturally and passionately that no one cares that it’s about a nonexistent cause: Acute Reticular Self Esteem Syndrome--ARSES, for short—“with not even one documented case!”

Freddy can’t become king until a certain mystical, mythical rite is fulfilled, and so a Merlinish figure appears and sends them off by parachute drop, clothed only in undergarments called hracneets, to conquer the rebellious colony, America. (You can see that we have now entered the world of magical realism, a typical Helprin device.) As the couple tours this vast county, working all sorts of odd jobs (including a hilarious stint at what Chicago-area readers will recognize as Medieval Times Dinner Theater and Tournament), they encounter the real Freddy and the real Fredericka—and fall in love, forming a real marriage. They also develop a love for the real America, a bold country, as unlike the refined England as Freddy and Fredericka are unlike each other, and which holds a similar attraction for them.

Throughout the novel, Helprin makes no apology for puns and cheap jokes. Freddy’s mistress is Lady Boylinghotte; the indecisive presidential candidate that he befriends is Dewey Knott. (The sitting president? President August Self.) There is a Viscount Snatt-Ball and an Archbishop Spatoola. One of Freddy’s advisors is surnamed Psnake, and the Prince and Princess are saddled with the unlikely last name of Moofoomooach for their travels across America. They have arguments over such topics as how many bosoms Fredericka has:

“A bosom?”

“Yes, a bosom.”

“But Freddy, why do you say that? You know I’ve got two.”

This shut Freddy up like a stun grenade. “Two what?” he finally said.

“Two bosoms.”

“No, you don’t. You’ve got one bosom. One, only one.”

“No, I don’t. I’ve got two,” she said proudly…”One here, and one here.”

…”Sorry, Fredericka, but the fact is, and I know it for sure, and would stake my life on it, that you have only one.”

“The h*ll I do!”

“Yes, you’ve got one bosom, two teats (spelled t-e-a-t-s and pronounced tits), and two breasts. And that’s a fact.”

“Oh! So now I’ve got five!”

“Five what?”

“Five bosoms.”

“No, you’ve got only one.”

As I say, he doesn’t shy away from the low-hanging fruits of humor, and it is dialogue like this--the literary equivalent of slapstick—that makes this novel outrageously funny. Yet, with a turn of the page, you can revel in such beautiful images as these:

“All my life I have taken care of falcons, and I will tell you this. The closer to heaven they rise, the happier they get. They understand that when they go very high something changes in the world and in them….”

Having a great deal of jewellery, perhaps more than anyone in the world, Philippa [the Queen Mother] was aware that lucidity and transcendence must be set in a foil that is opaque.

Were there a choir of everyone who has ever lived, its voice would hardly be as complex as that of the surf, which in its trillion-trillion-fold mass encompasses all frequencies, variations and choreographies of water and foam. …When the first wave broke upon the first startled strand, it began the never-ending song of the world.

Although I just finished this book, and many others await me, I have every intention of reading it again, soon. It’s so rich in gems of humor and brilliance—I feel I only began to mine it on a first reading!

The Wheel on the School

The Wheel on the School, by Meindert DeJong is one of those children's books that I had always heard about, but never read. I expected it to be good--it was the 1955 Newbery award winner after all--but beyond that, I didn't know what to expect.

I sure didn't expect these lines in the first paragraph:

In five of those houses lived the six school children of Shora, so that is important. There were a few more houses, but in those houses lived no children--just old people. There were, well, just old people, so they weren't too important.

My boys, 7th and 4th grade, cracked up at this. They didn't agree, but they thought it was hilarious that an author would say such a thing!

Little did we know, but the rest of the book is about how those unimportant old people became special, indeed, to the school children in the Dutch village of Shora.

I also didn't expect a story about school children and storks to be so full of action and adventure--but it is! Gently so, but enough to keep my boys' attention and enjoyment.

I didn't expect the illustrations either...by Maurice Sendak! Just delightful.

For not expecting much...this story was a winner.

Natural Learning: This Year

In yesterday's post on natural learning, I mentioned that we lost steam in some areas this year and picked up in others. So what have we been doing this year?

Consistently, we have been reading aloud in the mornings, as I described in this post: the Bible story book and a chapter book every day, and most days I also read poetry or the Shakespeare stories. Occasionally we'll add in a picture book, or a few pages a day from Eight Ate: A Feast of Homonym Riddles. Bantam10 has consistently practiced piano right after breakfast each school day, as well.

(The preschooler and kindergartener color and listen in on our read-aloud time, or not; I read aloud to them separately too. I wrote about their activities here.)

For math, last fall we focused on flashcards and math facts, and then both boys started in a Saxon math book. B13 is doing Saxon 87 (for 8th graders or advanced 7th graders) and planning to finish it sometime next year, as an 8th grader. B10, a fourth grader, is in Saxon 54. They both do a lesson a day, skipping the easy problems that they know how to do and checking their own answers. They like being responsible for gauging what they most need to work on, and I only help them when they ask.

They read for an hour every day. This year, to build their enjoyment in reading, I have let them choose the book, as long as it is a chapter book (vs. picture books or comic books). So they both read Harry Potter books and A Series of Unfortunate Events. Once he finished those, B13 was open to suggestions; he read Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator (Dahl), Hatchet (Paulsen) and Loser (Spinelli). Right now he's reading The Cross and the Switchblade and is really enjoying it!

Last fall we were busy with enrichment classes (described here; they learned so many cool things!). When they ended, we picked a couple of other subjects to add. Both boys began doing one page a day in their Easy Grammar workbooks, and B13 agreed to try a 10-volume American history series, Joy Hakim's A History of US. Now he looks forward to reading two chapters daily and sometimes interrupts his reading to say, "Hey, Mom, did you know this?" (In fact, one reason he didn't want to do the virtual school next year was because he wants to continue with the Hakim texts!)

Most recently, we've added some map skills and geography to our morning reading time. I have flashcards, that I picked up at a used curriculum sale, that have outlines of each continent and all the major countries, within their continental settings. They're really great and the boys have learned them quickly--except they're old enough to include a flashcard of the U.S.S.R. (which the Bantams think is cool because, hey, that's a Beatles song!). We started learning some of the capital cities of various countries too, after B10 wouldn't stop guessing "Paris!" for any country he didn't know.

Those have been our "bare bones" requirements for the year, but learning opportunities continue:

Bantam13's robotics class from the fall ended up extending through the whole school year, as building the 'bot has turned out to be quite a complicated undertaking! He hasn't minded, though; it has provided a lot of bonding time with the other homeschooled boys in the class. The competition, in which their 'bot has to navigate an obstacle course, pick up a ping-pong ball and a styrofoam cup, and "sumo wrestle" another 'bot out of the ring, is in two weeks!

They've taken theater classes as well, for the fall, winter and spring sessions. B10, who likes to move, chose a dance class every time, and this session he insisted that he have his own tap shoes, not borrowed ones--so we are signing up for tap lessons this summer! B13 took Magic, Advanced Drama (the class that performed Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker), and this session he's taking Film-Making, which has exposed him to some documentary and film excerpts that have really made him think and ask me questions in the car on the way home. The film his group is making is pretty lame, he says--but we'll see.

B10, meanwhile, had many rehearsals this spring in his role as the Mayor of Munchkinland in The Wizard of Oz! (In fact, dress rehearsals have been every night this week, with Opening Night on Friday!)

The only thing that I've been disappointed with this year has been our writing project. Both boys have blogs (links in my sidebar), and my intention was that they write, re-write or polish and post something daily, but it has turned out to be more of an occasional thing. B10 enjoys it, if I get him started, but for B13, I may need to teach a writing class for his age group next year, to provide more accountability.

Into the Woulda Been Nice category fall handwriting and keyboarding, which we just haven't got to formally this year, although both Bantams get by passably well. B13 needs to put guitar back on his daily list, too.

All stuff to think about for next year!

Preschool/Kindergarten Recommendations

After many years of homeschooling, I have figured out a few things that I really, really like for this age group. Here they are!

My Very First Bible: Old Testament and My Very First Bible: New Testament by L. J. Sattgast, il. by Russell Flint

I didn't initally like the illustrations in these books, but it ends up that that's what we love most about them! They are exaggerated and dramatic, but realistic, not cartoon-like (which I hate for Bible story books). If someone is pointing, their whole body points. If someone is surprised, their facial expression is hugely surprised and their hands are clapped to their cheeks! The stories are brief and well-summarized, and my kids always begged me to keep going to the next one. I also used it with our 3-5 year old class at church, and the full-page illustrations really grabbed them.


Teach Your Child to Read in One Hundred Easy Lessons

I have to admit, teaching a child to read is NOT one of my favorite parts of homeschooling. Listening to w-o-r-d-s being slowly s-ou-n-d-ed ou-t sets my teeth on edge and requires more patience than I usually am able to muster!

This book has worked for me for 5 kids now. It's so simple and easy to use that my husband or an older child can help me out by giving a reading lesson! The lessons begin very simply and build slowly to longer words and stories. Each lesson reviews sounds, sound combinations, word reading and ends with a quirky little illustrated story. (My older kids have all enjoyed teaching a younger sibling to read, and it's partly because they like revisiting the silly stories in their old book!)

I recommend a couple of modifications. You can go through the first 10 lessons or so very quickly. I had two kids that really hated the beginning exercises of rhyming and "stretching out" words, so we skipped a lot and I just taught those skills as they came up in the lessons we picked up with. I also ignored the "script" a lot, after the first child.

Secondly, I always start a lesson by reviewing the story from the previous lesson. We get more mileage out of each little story that way, and it's a good way to start out, since they remember it from the last time, which gives confidence and reinforces what they already learned.

Third, I never ended with the last exercise that teaches them to write letters. Instead, even though it doesn't teach the letters in the same order, I used...

Get Ready for the Code, Get Set for the Code, Go for the Code

These are the primers to a series of phonics workbooks called Explode the Code, which are good too, though we've barely needed to use them with 100 Easy Lessons doing such a good job. These, on the other hand, I have used with every child!

These primers teach all the consonant sounds with very fun little workpages, filled with cartoon-y drawings, and include letter formation as well as recognition. All my kids have enjoyed these, and here's my big frugal secret--we have used the same workbooks with five kids, because instead of writing in them, we cover each page with a plastic report cover and use a dry erase marker. (I think using colored markers on a shiny page is half the appeal, honestly, and when they eventually get their own workbook that they can write in with a pencil, they feel like such a big kid!)

My only complaint about this series is: I wish there was a fourth book that taught all the vowel sounds! The first Explode the Code book does that, but in combination with consonant sounds instead of in the single letter format we love so much in the primers. Oh well.

Learn to Read at Starfall.com

I don't think this website was around when my three oldest were little, but I have allowed my last three children to poke around on it as much as they want! It's really well-designed. Go look.


Picture Books

We read lots! Some favorites:

anything by Eric Carle
Flower Garden by Eve Bunting
Owl Moon
Yonder by Tony Johnston
Make Way for Ducklings
Blueberries for Sal
The Old Man Who Loved Cheese by Garrison Keillor
Tomie dePaolo books, especially The Clown of God
Henry and Mudge books
Frog and Toad books
Mike Mulligan and His Steam Engine
anything by Dr. Seuss
fairy tales and fables
anything by Jan Brett (fabulous illustrations)
Go Dog Go
Beatrix Potter books
The House at Pooh Corner and Now We Are Six
Little House in the Big Woods
[forcing myself to quit!]

Activities:

Duplos--be sure you have some people and a big foundation mat
puzzles
watercolors
coloring books
sewing cards
bath toys
"indoor swimming pool"--fill a tub or sink with water and let their little dolls or people go for a swim. I can't believe how long this game always lasts!
Playmobil


What's missing? Math! We don't sweat it at the younger ages. Counting just happens with life--setting the table, for example--and they naturally learn to count higher and higher. We work on writing their numbers sometimes, but not often before first grade. They catch on very quickly once we start.

With older kids to worry about, I haven't had as much time to work with my younger ones. I felt guilty until I began reading more about natural learning, unschooling, interest-led learning or whatever you call it. Now I feel that I am doing myself and them a favor by delaying formal academics with them. The only thing I try to do every day is read aloud to them. It's a blessedly relaxed lifestyle!

Recommended Read-Alouds

I thought I'd share some homeschooling resources that we are loving. But wait--you don't have to be a homeschooler to enjoy these books with your children!!


We've been starting out the mornings with The Child's Story Bible, by Catherine Vos. I bought this story Bible years ago, having heard glowing recommendations, but I found that my young non-auditory learners were not ready for it yet. (It only has about six illustrations.) I waited too long to bring it out again, for my two oldest, anyway, but it is perfect for middle school/junior high boys, and Bantam10 is keeping up fine with it too.

This child's Bible doesn't skip from tale to tale, but tells the chronological story of the Bible, including historical background when helpful. We just finished the Old Testament, and I don't know when I've had a clearer grasp of when and where what prophet spoke to whom. The boys loved it because of all the battles and murders and wicked kings, and especially the wonderful godly kings that would come along and steer the whole nation back on the right path (they actually cheered hissed a yesssssss a few times!). The author has a wonderful sense of the overall picture and story of the whole Bible. We are LOVING this book every day!

Next, I read aloud from some fiction book. We just read Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle, consecutively. Lots of food for thought and growth there. I interrupted freely to share deeper meanings as I saw them--it had been so many years since I read these, it all seemed so fresh!--and the boys enjoyed some of those tangents as much as they did these stories. So much truth and goodness in the Narnia books. Lewis is my hero.

Currently, our fiction book is one that the boys thumbed their noses at initially: White Stallion of Lipizza, by Marguerite Henry. Growing up, I read and re-read every book this author wrote, because I was a horse-crazy girl, but also because they were so well-written. This one quickly grabbed their attention and held it, and taught some real character lessons as well. There is one scene where the apprentice rider is asked whether he blames the horse for his fall, or the boy in the stands who waved his hat at the riding pair, and he says he blames only himself--which is the answer that allows him to continue at the Viennese riding school. There is a Lipizzan horse farm not far from here, and now I think I won't be the only one interested in visiting it this summer!

Another winner, which we started reading concurrently with our other fiction book, has been Tales from Shakespeare, by Charles and Mary Lamb. These retellings are much more understandable than trying to read the original plays, but the language is stretching the boys, and challenging to me as a reader, too, to read well, and to know when to stop and summarize or explain vocabulary.

Here is an example:

It was by desire of the king that the queen sent for Hamlet, that she might signify to her son how much his late behaviour had displeased them both; and the king, wishing to know all that passed at that conference, and thinking that the too partial report of a mother might let slip some part of Hamlet's words, which it might import the king to know, Polonius, the old counsellor of state, was ordered to plant himself behind the hangings in the queen's closet, where he might unseen hear all that passed.

See what I mean? Not difficult to understand--if read correctly! (And kind of a fun challenge, if you enjoy reading aloud.) But well worth the effort, to expose them to Shakespeare's excellent tales. We read "Much Ado About Nothing" first, since they were familiar with the movie, and then I chose "Romeo and Juliet," since it had come up as an issue of cultural literacy a few weeks ago. They loved it: duels, poisonings, stabbings, suicide...and people always think it is a gushy romance! I told them that Shakespeare had several other tragedies that ended with everyone dead on the stage, so we read "Hamlet" next. Madness and ghosts--even better. We've been reading each one in about three sittings.

And upon Googling, I just found that the complete Tales are online, here! But I love my beautiful hardback Children's Classics version (pictured above).

Time to wrap up. I just re-read for typos and found a good one:

Happy read alouding!

Beyond Smells and Bells

Beyond Smells and Bells: The Wonder and Power of Christian Liturgy is for anyone who has ever wanted to understand what's so great about a liturgical service!

After reading it, Father Rooster and I agreed that this is a perfect primer on liturgy, the book to recommend when asked to explain the appeal of a liturgical service. Mark Galli writes in a way that is easy to understand, yet is rich in theology and thorough in its examination of the many beautiful facets of liturgy.

The chapter titles give such a helpful idea of what's in this little book. There's Cosmic Daytimer: How the Liturgical Calendar Can Bring Order to Our Lives; Bizarre, Holy Moments: How the Liturgy Reshapes Our Sense of Time; We Worship a Material Savior: Why the Liturgy Engages the Whole Body; and If You Don't Get It, You've Got It: The Liturgy as a Mystery Full of Meaning--plus ten other chapters! Each is short but filled with quotations, history, theology, and the author's own experiences and insights.

The Appendices are most helpful as well. Appendix A explains terms from a liturgical service, such as collect, creed, lesson and acclamation. Appendix B contrasts Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Methodist and Presbyterian liturgies. The Christian year is described in Appendix C.

A highly recommended resource.

THE VOICE New Testament

I was sent a copy of this new translation for review, and it's quite interesting. I don't think I'd enjoy using it personally, but I think it could be a great introduction to the Bible for someone who has never read it before, or for kids or others who haven't studied the Scriptures.

It has many helpful features, such as information boxes that give context to the story that is being told. Here is an example, from John 5, written from John's point of view:

Jesus took our little group of disciples into one of the most miserable places I have ever seen. It was a series of pools where the crippled and diseased would gather hoping to be healed. The stench was unbearable, and no sane person would willingly march into an area littered with such wretched and diseased bodies. We knew what could happen, what they had could have easily rubbed off on us. That kind of impurity was frightening, but we followed Him as He approached a crippled man on his mat.

There is no assumption that the reader understands any religious terminology, and so words like "baptize" and "Christ" are replaced by "ritually cleansed" and "Liberating King."

To make it perfectly clear who is speaking, all dialogue is in screenplay format:

Jesus: Remove the stone.
Martha: Lord, he has been dead four days: the stench will be unbearable.
Jesus: Remember, I told you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God.

And there are helpful additions to some verses, italicized so that one can tell they are not part of the original:

Judas Iscariot: How could she pour out this vast amount of fine oil? Why didn't she sell it? It is worth nearly a year's wages; the money could have been given to the poor.

All of these helps would make these retelling a fine choice for a new or a young believer, but for me personally, the "helps" were distracting and chopped up the sense of the text. The phrases "ritually cleansed" and "Liberating King" used repeatedly, came to feel quite wordy, I found myself wishing they would just say "baptized" and "Christ" already!

The informational boxes were sometimes interesting, but often added no crucial information and sometimes used trendy, even PC, language in an effort to make the passage more accessible. For example, "Jesus cared for the poor, the sick, the marginalized...." And this was a little too helpful: "You can't even begin to imagine this man's excitement. His entire life had been defined by his illness. Now he was free from it. Free from the pain and weakness. Free from the depression that gripped his soul. Free, too, from the shame he had always known...." I guess I have a bias for leaving a little more to the reader's imagination.

I really didn't care for the screenplay format--it only added to the choppy feeling. And I'm sorry, but it kept reminding me of a joke book! I am sure this is a result of having read too many joke books in my youth. But really, at the wedding of Cana--

Mary:

Jesus:

Headwaiter:

As I say, just a little too distracting for devotional reading, in my opinion--but a potentially great choice for someone less familiar with the Scriptures.

Thank you, Thomas Nelson, for the review copy!! (The Voice is now widely available; check your local Christian bookstore or click the link at top for more info.)

For more book reviews, see Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books.

Books Read--2008

Despite our crazy year, I still managed to get in a good bit of reading. You will notice, though, how many are audiobooks!

Girls Gone Mild, by Wendy Shalit
While her first book, A Return to Modesty, presented a case for modesty and how it benefits women, this book documents current trends away from and in reaction to an oversexualized view of women. Well-researched and engagingly presented.

The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger (audio)
An intriguing story that I'd love to recommend, if it weren't for all the sex scenes. I can overlook a good bit, but it was too much.

Blessed Are the Cheesemakers, by Sarah-Kate Lynch (audio)
At A Hen's Pace review here.

Holiness for Housewives, by Hubert van Zeller
Some good thoughts, but not really outstanding.

A Long Way from Chicago, by Richard Peck (audio)
A Year Down Yonder, by Richard Peck (audio)
These two children's books were among the best books I read all year! Clever and funny, sometimes poignant--a wonderful combination. Any adult would love them, and either would be be great to read during a unit study on the Depression.

Hannah Coulter, by Wendell Berry
At A Hen's Pace review here.

The Good Husband of Zebra Drive, by Alexander McCall Smith (audio)
More in the wonderful The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.

A Candle for St. Jude, by Rumer Godden
I really liked the characterization in this novel about an aging ballerina, her dance school, its students and her secretary.

Life of Pi, by Yann Martel (audio)
This is a fantasy adventure about a boy's experience growing up in India and emigrating to Canada. Enroute, his ship sinks and he survives on a lifeboat--with a Bengal tiger for company. (Or is that really what happened?) One of the most intriguing scenes is early in the book, when he investigates and compares Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Overall, I'm not sure what to think of this book, but I liked it!

Right Ho, Jeeves! by P.G. Wodehouse (audio)
A re-listen of the book which includes my all-time favorite Wodehouse scene, when an enebriated Gussy Finknottle addresses the Market Snodsbury Grammar School at its annual prize-giving. This is perhaps the tightest of Wodehouse's longer Jeeves stories and my favorite! (You must listen to a good British reader perform it, and please don't settle for the video version, which leaves out so many good bits.)

Little Women (audio, Focus on the Family Radio Theater)
An excellent dramatized production.

Like Water for Chocolate, by Laura Equivel (audio)
I re-listened to this because I enjoyed it years ago. It is an unusual novel, with a strong Latin American flavor, heightened by a device called magical realism. The subtitle describes its unusual structure: A novel in monthly installments with recipes, romances and home remedies. It's full of passion and some eroticism, but not terribly explicit--like a good tango.

Strong as Desire, by Laura Esquivel (audio)
It had its moments, but wasn't nearly as good as Like Water for Chocolate.

Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens (audio)
This was great! Would make a great read-aloud.

Usborne History of the Twentieth Century (read aloud to kids)
We really enjoyed this illustrated summary of the major events and trends of this era.

The Endless Steppe, by Esther Hautzig (read aloud to kids)
This was an engagingly well-written autobiographical narrative of a girl whose family is deported to Siberia by the Russians during World War 2. A great story of how rich "capitalists" managed to survive in the face of absolutely dire poverty.

Murder on a Bad Hair Day, by Anne George (audio)
I couldn't pass up the title, or the premise--two Southern sisters are the would-be detectives. They're twins but couldn't be more different. I liked the characterization and the Southern charm, but I won't be reading another in this series because it had too much swearing, especially for an audiobook. (Little ears about, plus you can't skim over it!)

My Man Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse (BBC Audio)
My new library had this new-to-me collection of Jeeves stories, and since I regularly wore out my last library's Wodehouse tapes, I snapped up this book-on-disc. Great fun!

Scream-Free Parenting, by Hal Runkel (audio)
At A Hen's Pace review here.

When Anger Hurts Your Kids: A Parent's Guide by McKay, Fanning, Paleg & Landis
At A Hen's Pace review here.

Prince of Foxes, by Samuel Shellabarger
This is a wonderful novel of historical fiction, set in Italy in the time of Cesare Borgia. It has intrigue, romance, art, sword-fighting, a virgin saint, a religious conversion, and a hidden true identity: What more could one want? I shall be looking for more Shellabarger.

No: Why Kids--Of All Ages--Need to Hear It and Ways Parents Can Say It, by David Walsh
At A Hen's Pace review here.

Do You Know What I Like About You?: Jump-Starting Virtues and Values in Your Children, by Cynthia Tobias
At A Hen's Pace review here.

Kentucky Sunrise, by Fern Michaels (audio)
Having read my share of horse stories as a girl, I thought I'd enjoy an adult one. Too bad the author hadn't done much research on horse racing! Still, I enjoyed the characters and figuring out the back story, as this is the finale to a series. A relatively engaging time-passer, but nothing special.

Dead Heat, by Dick Francis and Felix Francis (audio)
I like a good thriller, especially when they tie in to horse racing, which is what all Dick Francis mysteries do. This recent father-son effort is as good as any of the originals.

The Life God Blesses, by Jim Cymbala
A short, but sweet read. Thought-provoking.

She Got Up Off the Couch, by Haven Kimmel (audio)
At A Hen's Pace review here.

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH, by Robert C. O'Brien (read aloud to kids)
This book holds a special place in my heart which I can't quite explain. As a child I was so intrigued by the civilization of these intelligent rats and mice who have escaped from a lab (at the National Institute of Mental Health--I never caught that as a 4th grader!). You'd be surprised at the level of suspense that builds throughout the book, and at the larger questions about technology that the story raises. The Bantams 13 & 9 loved it, too. One of my all-time favorite children's books.

The Prize Winner of Defiance, OH, by Terry Ryan (audio)
At A Hen's Pace review here.

Twice Shy, by Dick Francis (audio)
Possibly the weakest Francis mystery I've read, but hilarious to hear the 1981 computer jargon that was so cutting edge at the time, and now sounds so prehistoric!

Prince Caspian, by C.S. Lewis (read aloud to kids)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, by C.S. Lewis (read aloud to kids)
I'm so glad I am re-reading these. I can't remember how old I was the last time I read the Chronicles--probably high school?--but this time around, as an adult (and possibly as an Anglican, like Lewis), I saw so many wonderful metaphors and allegories of the Christian life. In fact, I would so often choke up as they dawned on me, and then I had to explain to the boys...and I think they benefited, not just from the spiritual images, but in understanding how literature can function on multiple levels.

Juneteenth, by Ralph Ellison (audio)
This author's famous book is Invisible Man, a 1952 novel about a black man traveling through white America. This one was edited and published posthumously as a story about a white, racist Senator who is mortally wounded by an assassin and calls for a black minister to attend him in hospital. The story unfolds as a series of shared memories as we learn that Rev. Hickman raised the Senator from boyhood. Though how he went from junior preacher to racist Senator is not explained, the main appeal of this book is not plot so much as poetry, the eloquence of thought, and the beauty of the black religious attitude and dialect.

I don't think I'd have enjoyed this book nearly as much if I'd read it to myself, but the performance--for it was not just a reading--was marvelous. The black reader, Blair Underwood, brought the poetry and the dialect to life.

Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana, by Anne Rice (audio)
I read Out of Egypt, the first book in this series on the life of Christ, last year and liked it fine, but this one, I thought, was much better. It portrayed Jesus as such a real human being, rooted in his time and place (the author's research added so much here), and experiencing the emotions and temptations common to man. The scene with the Devil and his temptations was wonderfully done, with a restraint you might not expect from the author of The Vampire Chronicles. Her autobiographical account of her conversion is on my shelf for 2009!

And my pick for "book of the year," because it was so powerful:

The Island of the World, by Michael O'Brien
At A Hen's Pace review here.


Tomorrow..."Movies Watched--2008"!

For more year-end book lists...see Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books!