Mirkwood Reflections

A practical view of the prevailing religious system of professed Christians in the higher and middle classes in this country : contrasted with real Christianity (1829) by William Wilberforce - 10/20/2014 Excellent - Classic - Non-fiction - 354 pages - Kindle Wilberforce’s influential book challenged readers to center their life, both public and private, on Christ’s redeeming work and teachings. Wilberforce was the subject of the film Amazing Grace. He penned this book in the early 1800's to draw attention to the lack of true (or real) Christianity among the upper class in Britain. Challenging both in style (1800's, kwim?) and in content, this is a valuable, though difficult read. I also have the modern paraphrase of this book which I hope to read at some point. The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien - 10/23/2014 Good - Fantasy - 480 pages - Audio - approx. 19 hours Frodo obtains the Ring of Power and sets out with the Fellowship of 9 to destroy it. I've read ...

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee - 9/5/2014 Excellent - Classic - Audio  12 hr 18 min Scout's father Atticus is assigned to defend a black man accused of raping a white woman in 1930's Deep South Yes, I only managed to read one book in September, but wow! what a book! I've never read To Kill a Mockingbird before, but this was our book club selection. I took a while to relax into the flow of the story, but once I did, I adored it! 

Shakespeare on Toast: Getting a Taste for the Bard by Ben Crystal - 8/5/2014 Excellent - Non-fiction -  257 pages - Print Witty and user-friendly, this brief guide to Shakespeare proves him a genius who is still relevant and enjoyable. The Screwtape Letters (also includes "Screwtape Proposes a Toast") by C.S. Lewis - 8/5/2014 Good - Inspirational - 128 pages - Print A correspondence between two demons, the elder giving the younger instructions on how to lead humanity astray. My goal is to read ALL of Lewis. I've read this before, but it was good to re-read. Top Secret Twenty-One by Janet Evanovich - 8/8/2014 Good - Suspense - 341 pages - Print An assassin is after Ranger. Out of 21 books by Evanovich, this one was satisfying! On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction (6th edition) by William Zinsser -  8/10/2014 Good - Non-fiction - 294 pages - Print Principles, methods, forms, and attitudes of Good Writing. I have been wanting to read th...

Hamlet SmartPass Plus Audio Education Study Guide to Hamlet (Dramatised, Commentary Options) (Unabridged) by  ‎ William Shakespeare, Simon Potter - 7/24/2014 Excellent - Classic - Audio  7 hr 42 min The multi award-winning SmartPass study guide with and without commentary options. This is a full-cast, unabridged performance with comprehensive commentary and analysis for any student to fully understand and appreciate the play. Universally accepted as Shakespeare's finest play, we peel back the layers of Hamlet to discover how and why it deserves such a place of honour in world literature. I adore Hamlet. These SmartPass audios are wonderful for understanding the finer points and cultural references in the plays.  How to Travel the World for FREE by Michael Wigge - 7/25/2014 Good - Non-fiction - 152 pages - Print One Man, 150 Days, Eleven Countries, No Money! Michael Wigge traveled from Germany to Antartica starting with no money at all. Very interesting account ...

The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis 6/4/2014 Good - Childrens 224 pages Audio (4.5 hours) Shasta escapes from slavery with talking horse Bree and heads for Narnia. I remember not really enjoying The Horse and His Boy as much as the other books of the Chronicles of Narnia. But I read it aloud to Suzy and James and they really enjoyed it. I did too! The Space Between: An Outlander Novella by Diana Gabaldon 6/8/2014 Good - Fiction 118 pages Kindle Michael Murray escorts Joan McKimmie (Laoghaire's daughter) to a convent in Paris, while the Comte St. Germain experiments with time travel. Wow! This is a key part of the Outlander time travel puzzle. The Abolition of Man by C.S. Lewis 6/9/2014 Good - Non-fiction 109 pages Print Essays on education, society, and nature and how the Tao relates to our morality. Lewis = genius.  An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon 6/10/2014 Excellent - Historical Fiction 820 pages  Audio (45 hours, 58 minutes) Jamie and Claire leave ...

List 10 books that have stayed with you in some way. Don't take more than a few minutes and don't think too hard. They do not have to be the "right" books or great works of literature, just ones that have stayed with you in some way.  1 - The Bible 2 - The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis 3 - Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis 4 - The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind by William Kamkwamba 5 - Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell 6 - My Side of the Mountain by Jean Craighead George 7 - Motel of the Mysteries by David Macauley 8 - Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright 9 - Outlander by Diana Gabaldon 10 - I Am A Bunny by Ole Risom & illustrated by Richard Scarry If you do it, leave me a comment with a link!

4 more books in May - one a week seems like a good average, yes? The Eternal Argument: A framework for understanding Western Literature and Culture by R. Robin Finley - 5/16/2014  Good Non-fiction 286 Print Long time middle school English teacher Robin Finley traces the history of Western literature against the larger conflict between theism and humanism. I purchased this at the homeschool convention in 2013 and it sat on the shelf. But in April 2014, I heard the author speak at the homeschool convention in Cincinnati and remembered I had the book at home. Useful information to help understand Western literature. The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis - 5/17/2014  Excellent Non-fiction 141 Print If God is omnipotent and good, how can we explain human pain and suffering? Lewis proposes reasonable answers. Finally decided to stop SAYING that I am going to read all of Lewis and get started on it. I decided to read just a short bit every day when I do my devotional reading. ...

Finished 4 books in April. Troilus and Cressida by William Shakespeare - 4/2/2014  Good - Classic 135 pages - Audio  3 hr 14 min The callow Troilus pines over the unfaithful Cressida against the backdrop of the Trojan War. Book club selection. We went to see the play. This is not considered one of Shakespeare's best plays, but the performance was entertaining.  Austenland by Shannon Hale - 4/9/2014  Good - Chick Lit  194 pages - Print 30-something Jane is given a trip to Austenland to roleplay with Darcy look-alikes, but will the experience match her fantasy? Another book club selection. LOVED the film. The book was amusing! There is a sequel now - Midnight in Austenland. My favorite Hale book is The Actor and the Housewife, though. Tempting Fate  by Jane Green - 4/15/2014  Good - Fiction 343 pages - Print Gabby has been happily married for 20 years but when she meets a younger man, she suddenly feels alive and desirable again. What wil...

"You're writing a book? How cool!" That's what people often say when they find out (usually during National Novel Writing Month) that I am working on a novel. Then they often ask something about how it's done. "When do you find the time?" "How long does it take?" "Where do you get your ideas?" "Isn't it hard?" When I was invited to participate in the  #mywritingprocess  blog tour by my friend Kaye Sims at Wondering as I Wander , I thought it was a valuable opportunity for me to sit down and think through some of those questions. During NaNoWriMo, I'm usually too busy frantically typing to make my word count to give the process much thought. By the way, I met Kaye via mutual friends on facebook when I noticed she also was writing for NaNoWriMo. She inspires me with her commitment to writing and simplicity as well as her willingness to go deeper spiritually. Thank you, Kaye, for this opportunity for ...

I've been asked to participate in a blog tour detailing the writing process from the perspectives of many different authors. So, be on the lookout this week for a post from me with all my writing secrets! OK, maybe not "secrets". Ha! I also will be announcing several writers who will be also be posting on their blogs to give you even more insight into how authors work. What fun! #mywritingprocess

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien - 3/6/2014 Excellent - Fantasy 480 pages - Audio 19 hrs and 11 mins Frodo Baggins, a hobbit of the Shire, inherits a dangerous magic Ring which must be destroyed, so he sets out on a quest accompanied by 8 companions. James requested to read Lord of the Rings for literature, so I decided to read along with him. He read it much faster than I did. I actually found it difficult to get through FOTR this time around, which is at least my 4th reading of this book. Maybe next time I'll be in the mood. Fates: I Bring the Fire Part IV by C. Gockel - 3/21/2014 Good - Fantasy 407 pages - Kindle Amy Lewis and Bohdi Patel team up with Thor to find Loki who hasn't been seen for two years. I adore C. Gockel's modern mythology of the Nine Realms. Yes, I started reading because of Loki. But I kept reading because of her interesting take on the mythology as well as her capable and compelling storytelling.  Water for Elephants by Sara ...

Someone Else's Love Story by Joshilyn Jackson - 2/5/2014 Excellent - Fiction - 300 pages (Print) Single mom Shandi and her young son are taken hostage in a gas station robbery along with William Ashe who steps in to protect the child, an act that has long-reaching consequences. I wanted to read something that wasn't required and found this at the library. I enjoyed it! Shakespeare: The World as Stage by Bill Bryson - 2/11/2014 Excellent - Non-fiction - 208 pages (Audio) Concise biography describing the facts we actually know about William Shakespeare and how his plays were written. Bill Bryson has a conversational and amusing tone. Bill Bryson's book on houses intrigued me so when I saw this one on Shakespeare, I snatched it up. OK, ordered it from interlibrary loan. Short and really interesting! The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton (completed by Marion Mainwaring) - 2/15/2014 Good - Classic - 406 pages (Print) Several rich American girls travel to England to find...

W is for Wasted by Sue Grafton - 1/11/2014 Good - Mystery - 497 pages (Kindle) Kinsey finds she is distantly related to a recently deceased homeless man I've always enjoyed reading about Kinsey Millhone's private investigations. This latest in the alphabet-named series was quite enjoyable. Takedown Twenty by Janet Evanovich -1/26/2014 Good - Mystery - 337 pages (Print) Dead old ladies are being found in dumpsters and Stephanie and Lula keep seeing a giraffe running the city streets. Another long-running series about an investigator - Stephanie Plum, inept bounty hunter. This one did not disappoint! Lots of Ranger. Yes ! The Annotated Sense and Sensibility edited by David M. Shapard, original text by Jane Austen - 1/31/2014 Excellent - Classic - 709 pages (Print and audio) I listened to the book but read the annotations in the print version. Sense and Sensibility is not my favorite Austen. I have no patience at all for the idealist heroine, Marianne. This is my 3...

Somehow I have found myself reading TOO MANY books at one time. I've been slowly reading The Deathly Hallows Lectures by John Granger. Slow enough that it has been renewed at the library and is still overdue. I'm about halfway but it was making me want to get back to Hogwarts so..... ...I started listening to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire a few days before Christmas, but pushed PAUSE on that in favor of beginning.... ... Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin when my library loan of the audiobook came in. Little did I realize it was SO LONG (33 hours). I ADORE IT. I can't wait to keep listening. However.... ...James is reading The Fellowship of the Ring  (Tolkien, of course!) for his lessons. Talking to him about it made me want to read along with him, y'know, for better discussion. So I decided to read a chapter or two a day along with him. Listening, of course. All of this has pushed my book club reading aside. I am SUPPOSED to be reading Jane Austen...

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald - 12/4/2013 Very Good - Classic - 189 pages (Audio 4 hr 38 min) My book club chose this as our December book. I remember reading it in high school and feeling rather indifferent about it. This is the first time I've read it since then and the intervening years have definitely changed me since the book has remained the same. I appreciated the language and the bleak beauty of the story. Everything Burns (The Mighty Thor & A Journey into Mystery) by Matt Fraction & Kieron Gillen - 12/14/2013 Good - Graphic Novel - 198 pages (Print) Surtur, Lord of Muspelheim, has attacked the Nine Realms with fire and war. Will Loki betray Asgard or be its salvation? I have a hard time visualizing when I read. I don't do it. A few years ago, comic books were recommended to me as a possibility for helping me learn to "see" pictures when I read. Well, with my current Loki/Asgard obsession, I figured this was as good a time as any. I f...