“She who had never failed in duty did not fail then. She who had always submitted and bowed the head, submitted and bowed the head then. She had sucke“She who had never failed in duty did not fail then. She who had always submitted and bowed the head, submitted and bowed the head then. She had sucked in with her mother’s milk the profound truth that a woman’s life is always a renunciation, greater or less.”
This has all the social critique you’d expect from a Victorian novel, especially concerning a woman’s place in society. Bennett pulls no punches with Christianity either. Perhaps what stood out most to me is how this novel is something of an anti-Silas Marner. There, the daughter is the miser’s rescue. Here, the miser is the daughter’s oppression.
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – An obscure book mentioned by Thomas Banks) ...more
“Maggie, in all her time of yearning to become Joan of Arc, or some great heroine, was unconscious that she herself showed no little heroism, in beari“Maggie, in all her time of yearning to become Joan of Arc, or some great heroine, was unconscious that she herself showed no little heroism, in bearing meekly what she did every day from her mother.”
Yes, I suppose Gaskell is too heavy-handed with the morality (hello, Victorian literature), but she still tells an enjoyable story. The final chapter was surprisingly action-packed.
Good considerations of family, duty, and sacrifice. Maggie is cut from the same cloth as Fanny Price, which means I have plenty of reasons to love her!
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – A lesser-known book by a well-known author) ...more
This is the transitional book in the series, much more about the Blythe family (in particular, the children)“What a family!” Anne repeated exultantly.
This is the transitional book in the series, much more about the Blythe family (in particular, the children) than just Anne. What hasn’t changed is Montgomery’s ability to write good characters and put them in all sorts of entertaining scenarios. Although I enjoyed this book as a whole a bit less than the previous books, I’m still giving it my highest rating because the last few chapters exploring Anne and Gilbert’s relationship are pure gold.
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – Finish a book you started but never finished) ...more
John Calvin’s Institutes has been on my reading bucket list for years. Having committed to read the entire work in 2021, I actually finished. I do notJohn Calvin’s Institutes has been on my reading bucket list for years. Having committed to read the entire work in 2021, I actually finished. I do not claim to have understood everything I read, nor do Calvin and I agree on everything. Nevertheless, it was an immense privilege to see a great theological mind at work and read a book that has been so important to Protestantism. As someone in a Protestant denomination who also reads a lot of books by Reformed writers, many of his arguments were not as earth-shattering to me as they would have been to readers in his day, but that is no discredit to Calvin. On the contrary, it shows just how influential his work has been. A challenging, slow read but worth it.
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – A 14th, 15th, or 16th century book)
A fun, informative book. So glad the focus was on upstate New York (yes, I’m one of those New Yorkers who needs the world to realize that my state is A fun, informative book. So glad the focus was on upstate New York (yes, I’m one of those New Yorkers who needs the world to realize that my state is about way more than just NYC). It was especially great to read about foods I know and love, such as salt potatoes, Grandma Brown’s baked beans, and chicken riggies!
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – A regional or local book)...more
Bear with me, for this review requires some context. Prior to 2020, classical education and Charlotte Mason inhabited the outermost fringes of my lifeBear with me, for this review requires some context. Prior to 2020, classical education and Charlotte Mason inhabited the outermost fringes of my life. I was homeschooled K-12 with a popular Christian homeschooling curriculum, got an undergraduate degree in education, started working in a public school district, and got a graduate degree in education. I knew classical education purely as a type of education other circles did, and I knew Charlotte Mason only as a name who popped up periodically in one of my Goodreads friend’s book reviews. Then at the beginning of 2020, I discovered the Literary Life Podcast and joined the Facebook group a few months later.
Suffice it to say, I have learned so much more about what it means to receive a Charlotte Mason education, though I still consider myself very much in the beginning stages of my learning. However, what I have learned spoke directly to a deep-seated dissatisfaction I have had for years about how modern education works and how my subject matter (English) is taught. I think I have always known in my soul somehow that “This is not the way things are supposed to be.” Although I’m not a mom and have no reason at this point to believe I’ll be looking into homeschooling anytime in the near or distant future, I have developed quite a curiosity and eagerness to learn more about both Charlotte Mason and classical education because what I have learned already has me convinced that this is the better way.
Karen Glass’s book Consider This was an enlightening read and has only increased my hunger to learn even more. Although I’d still consider it feeble, I do have a better understanding of what true classical education is. It was also helpful to see Charlotte Mason principles that have come up on the Literary Life Podcast explained with greater depth and to see how those principles fit within the classical tradition. In the handful of podcast episodes in which I’ve listened to Karen Glass, I found her to be an excellent communicator. No surprise, the same is true of her in writing.
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – A book on education, art, or literature) ...more
Certainly interesting as a telling of the Prometheus myth, though I find it hard to shake a sense of i“Helping humankind / I helped myself to misery.”
Certainly interesting as a telling of the Prometheus myth, though I find it hard to shake a sense of incompleteness since it’s seemingly the first play in a trilogy of which only fragments remain for the others. I’d also like to reread this play in a different translation—can’t say that I loved this particular one (Scully/Herington). Additionally, don't read this particular edition on Kindle like I did. The formatting was definitely a hindrance to an enjoyable reading experience.
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – An ancient Greek or Roman work)...more
It was a feeling; it was an urge that he had to speak. But whatever he spoke he knew would be but another name for the wildness that he sought. It wasIt was a feeling; it was an urge that he had to speak. But whatever he spoke he knew would be but another name for the wildness that he sought. It was a freedom and a goodness, a hope and a vigor that he perceived to underlie all the familiar things of his life, which were not free or good or hopeful or vigorous. What he sought was the source and preserver of his world, a world which seemed to turn ever in fear away from its source, rather than search it out, as the prairie grass around him sent down its fibered roots into the rich dark dampness, the Wildness, and thereby renewed itself, year after year.
I don’t usually read Westerns, but if there are more like this one, I really should. Harvard drop-out Will Andrews goes on a journey to the West, but does he find what he’s looking for? Needless to say, I was equally captivated by the physical and spiritual journey in this story. Spoiler alert—the dream isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. A sad, unsettling story in many ways, but still satisfying to me because it echoes so much of Ecclesiastes. He has put eternity into man’s heart.
“Young people,” McDonald said contemptuously. “You always think there’s something to find out.” “Yes, sir,” Andrews said. “Well, there’s nothing,” McDonald said. “You get born, and you nurse on lies, and you get weaned on lies, and you learn fancier lies in school. You live all your life on lies, and then maybe when you’re ready to die, it comes to you—that there’s nothing, nothing but yourself and what you could have done. Only you ain’t done it, because the lies told you there was something else. Then you know you could of had the world, because you’re the only one that knows the secret; only then it’s too late. You’re too old.”
Content notes: Some profanity, sexual content (not graphic and in fact has thematic significance in the story), and violence (some aspects of the buffalo hunt were especially difficult to read)
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – A book in a genre you don’t normally read) ...more
"He dislodged his own dim star from the sky, it fell, and its traces mingled with the night’s darkness; it would never return to the sky, because life"He dislodged his own dim star from the sky, it fell, and its traces mingled with the night’s darkness; it would never return to the sky, because life is given only once and is not repeated. If it had been possible to bring back the past days and years, he would have replaced the lies in them by truth, the idleness by work, the boredom by joy; he would have given back the purity to those from whom he had taken it, he would have found God and justice, but this was as impossible as putting a fallen star back into the sky. And the fact that it was impossible drove him to despair."
Don't let the brevity fool you. This novella is rich with meaning, as Chekhov pits competing philosophies of life against each other. Ultimately, the duel between Laevsky and von Koren, both literally and figuratively, showcases the complexity of what it means to be human. The story felt so bleak for awhile but pivoted beautifully toward grace with the ending. Now I find myself hungry to read more Chekhov and more Russian literature!
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – Something Russian)...more
A comprehensive collection of Jane Austen’s letters. Less fervent Austenites can get away with reading a selection of letters, but if you love her as A comprehensive collection of Jane Austen’s letters. Less fervent Austenites can get away with reading a selection of letters, but if you love her as much as I do and want to drink up anything and everything you can about her life and writing, this is the book you want. It not only has all of Jane’s surviving letters and letter fragments but also some additional letters written to or about Jane (including the one Cassandra wrote right after Jane died—excuse me while I go cry). This edition also includes thorough indexes that provide more context on people, places, events, etc., mentioned in the letters. You can avail yourself of them as much or as little as you like.
Admittedly, the content of most of the letters is fairly mundane. Far more ordinary than earth-shattering. Jane simply lived her life as all of us do and provided a snapshot of it in these letters. But ordinary is still interesting to me because it’s Jane! I learned plenty of wonderful tidbits that I did not know before and have a much better sense of what she was really like both as a person and as a writer. Fair warning, however—if you’re anything like me, this book still won’t be enough. You’ll desperately wish there was more. I doubt I’ll ever get over the fact that a large portion of Jane’s letters were destroyed and are lost to us forever.
Finally, rest assured that the same wit and humor that permeates her novels appear often in her letters. Here’s a small sampling:
"I do not want People to be very agreable as it saves me the trouble of liking them a great deal."
"I am tolerably glad to hear that Edward's income is so good a one—as glad as I can at anybody's being rich besides You & me."
"I shall be able to send this to the post to day, which exalts me to the utmost pinnacle of human felicity, & makes me bask in the sunshine of Prosperity, or gives me any other sensation of pleasure in studied Language which You may prefer."
"I can recollect nothing more to say at present;—perhaps Breakfast may assist my ideas. I was deceived—my breakfast supplied only two ideas, that the rolls were good, & the butter bad."
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – A book or selection of letters)...more
Grabbed this book at a thrift store a few years ago and finally found the motivation necessary to read it. It’s organized alphabetically by poet and hGrabbed this book at a thrift store a few years ago and finally found the motivation necessary to read it. It’s organized alphabetically by poet and has a great variety of poetry in terms of form, length, and style. Many were familiar friends, such as Poe’s “The Raven,” Shakespeare’s sonnets, and Tennyson’s “The Lady of Shalott.” Others were entirely new to me. Glad to read both.
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – A poetry anthology) ...more
“[M]y mind kept returning to the image of the One-Hundred-and-Ninety-Second Western Hall in the Moonlight, to its Beauty, to its deep sense of Calm, t“[M]y mind kept returning to the image of the One-Hundred-and-Ninety-Second Western Hall in the Moonlight, to its Beauty, to its deep sense of Calm, to the reverent looks on the Faces of the Statues as they turned (or seemed to turn) towards the Moon. I realised that the search for the Knowledge has encouraged us to think of the House as if it were a sort of riddle to be unravelled, a text to be interpreted, and that if ever we discover the Knowledge, then it will be as if the Value has been wrested from the House and all that remains will be mere scenery. The sight of the One-Hundred-and-Ninety-Second Western Hall in the Moonlight made me see how ridiculous that is. The House is valuable because it is the House. It is enough in and of Itself. It is not the means to an end.”
My immediate desire after finishing Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell was to turn around and reread it. The same is true for this, Clarke’s second novel. She is an impressive author to tell two stories so different in style, structure, length, plot, and magic, yet equally engaging and thought-provoking. There are others far more qualified than I to write about the ideas at work in Piranesi, but suffice it to say, the novel leaves me wondering in the best kind of ways. It has echoes of C.S. Lewis and George MacDonald and undoubtedly many more echoes I am not yet able to notice. But that just means that each time I return to this book, I will get to be like Piranesi, exploring more halls of the House and delighting to do so.
(Content note: Some profanity)
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – A book from your to-be-read stack)...more
“Broken and damaged as he is, Emilio Sandoz is still trying to find meaning in what happened to him. He is still trying to find God in it all.”
This wa“Broken and damaged as he is, Emilio Sandoz is still trying to find meaning in what happened to him. He is still trying to find God in it all.”
This was such a hard but potent book, one of the saddest stories I have ever read. Tears running down my face through that final chapter. Russell uses the dual narrative/split timeline structure to great effect. I simultaneously needed but dreaded to know how both journeys—the journey to another world and the journey of a man’s faith—reached such catastrophe.
Ultimately, this is a book far more interested in posing questions than providing answers. So much to think about. And I should read the sequel at some point because both journeys are far from over, but for now I need a break from the heaviness.
Note: Some profanity, violence, and mature content.
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – An “other world” book)...more
I’ve been avoiding this book for years because I didn’t want to read it until I’d read all the books Prior discusses. No spoilers, naturally. Glad I gI’ve been avoiding this book for years because I didn’t want to read it until I’d read all the books Prior discusses. No spoilers, naturally. Glad I got over that. I suspect I’ll enjoy first reads and rereads even more from having read this book. Prior’s discussion of the cardinal, theological, and heavenly virtues and her exploration of these virtues on display in classic literature are illuminating. But I think the real crowning glory of this book is the longing it created in me to go read the books themselves.
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – A book you have avoided) ...more
“It was a lover and his lass, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, That o’er the green corn-field did pass, In spring time, the only pretty ring time,“It was a lover and his lass, With a hey, and a ho, and a hey nonino, That o’er the green corn-field did pass, In spring time, the only pretty ring time, When birds do sing, hey ding a ding, ding, Sweet lovers love the spring.”
A wonderful comedy. Love Shakespeare’s command of language and structure. Love how many lines have become part of everyday English. Love Rosalind and Orlando. Love how the story is fantastical without being ridiculous. Love all the singing (Arkangel audiobook is excellent for this!). Love all the fairy tale elements. Love, love, love all the gospel images in Act IV, scene iii.
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – A Shakespeare play)
This is my second Jane Austen biography after reading Lucy Worsley’s Jane Austen at Home a few years ago. I prefer Worsley’s but still enjoyed this onThis is my second Jane Austen biography after reading Lucy Worsley’s Jane Austen at Home a few years ago. I prefer Worsley’s but still enjoyed this one overall. Having recently finished Jane’s collected letters, I can confirm that many of them make much more sense now that I’ve read this biography. It also has quite a bit to say about Jane’s immediate and extended family. Some readers may find such information too tangential, but I gladly eat up anything that adds more context to her life. Just be aware that Tomalin engages in some speculation and armchair psychology here and there. I’m also quite skeptical of most of her literary criticism of Jane’s novels. Thankfully, neither issue constitutes the bulk of the biography.
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – A literary biography) ...more
“How do you know it’s your only means of making a living? Why don’t you try something new?” “Such as—” “How should I know? Anything that comes along. “How do you know it’s your only means of making a living? Why don’t you try something new?” “Such as—” “How should I know? Anything that comes along. Good gracious, Mr. Marson; here you are in the biggest city in the world, with chances for adventure simply shrieking to you on every side—” “I must be deaf. The only thing I have heard shrieking to me on every side has been Mrs. Bell—for the rent.”
This was such a fun book to read. So many hilarious shenanigans, a most excellent use of dramatic irony, and that wonderful Wodehouse wit the whole way. Everything involving the Efficient Baxter was especially delightful. I’ve said before that I’m a tough sell on humor in books. Considering this one had me laughing out loud several times and completely enjoying myself, I gladly give it all 5 stars.
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – A light comedic novel)...more
“[E]h, there's trouble i' this world, and there's things as we can niver make out the rights on. And all as we've got to do is to trusten, Master Marn“[E]h, there's trouble i' this world, and there's things as we can niver make out the rights on. And all as we've got to do is to trusten, Master Marner—to do the right thing as fur as we know, and to trusten. For if us as knows so little can see a bit o' good and rights, we may be sure as there's a good and a rights bigger nor what we can know.”
I certainly enjoyed and gained far more from this novel than I did the first time I read it as a sophomore in high school. Thank goodness for reader growth. And I’d forgotten how short it is compared to other Victorian novels I’ve read (looking at you, my dearest Dickens). Compact it may be, but still so full of good insights about human nature, society, love, and providence.
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 19 in 2021 Reading Challenge – A Victorian novel)...more
![The Moorland Cottage [with Biographical Introduction]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1496395182l/9733108._SY75_.jpg)
Loading...
