Reading Year in Review 2024

It's always fun to look over the year and pick out my favorite books. The most challenging books still "haunt" me many months later - probably because they demanded so much of my heart and mind when I was reading them. Here's the list:

Favorite Light Reads: The last eight books in Jan Karon's Mitford series (four of which were new to me) and three Agatha Christie mysteries: Sad Cypress, Five Little Pigs, The Secret of Chimneys

Most Challenging: Till We Have Faces (The Lit Life Podcast episodes from 2020 added helpful commentary.)

Favorite Audio: The Iliad (lectures by Elizabeth Vandiver) 

Favorite Non-fiction: When Morning Gilds the Skies (reviewed here)

Favorite Vintage: Set in Silver (reviewed here)

Most Delightful Discovery: The poetry of William Wordsworth

Classic that I Tackled (for the second time): Dante's Inferno. I have physical copies of  Ciardi's translation, but longed for something more beautifully written. Happily, I found Hollander's delightful audioversion on Chirp for 99 cents! Reading along with the 100 Days of Dante group was one of the highlights of my year.

The Book That I Loved In Spite of Myself: The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. Such a dark story, but so beautifully written. Many important religious themes.

Favorite of the Year: The Christmas Pig by J.K. Rowling. Brilliant storytelling (reviewed here)

This link  to Goodreads shows all 95 books that I read in 2024.

It was a very good year for building my literary muscles! What about you? Did you read something good that caught you by surprise?

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in December 2024

I normally have a low tolerance for Hallmark movies (except for the mysteries), but I watch a couple at Christmastime to relax and enjoy the snowy scenes. Imagine my surprise at loving A Biltmore Christmas! It a time-travel story, and, yes, it is extremely silly, but it pays homage to several delightful vintage Christmas flicks. This spoof of classic Hollywood had me chuckling all the way through. I also watched Elf, The Nativity Story (reviewed here), a Christmas western (!) called Three Godfathers, and a 1937 tear-jerker, Make Way for Tomorrow) because it came highly recommended by Anthony Esoloen). Lastly, I watched Since You Went Away, a classic movie (nominated for nine academy awards) which details the homefront sacrifices of one American family during WWII. Claudette Colbert is always fun to watch and the cinematography is phenomenal. 

It's summertime here in Brazil, so I can't actually curl up with a book
next to the fire, but I did the next best thing by reading the following Christmas titles: The Anne of Green Gables Christmas Collection, Winter Fire (advent readings based on G.K. Chesterton's writings), and The Christmas Mouse by Miss Read. Two comforting audiobooks were The Hobbit and Miss Buncle's Book by D.E. Stevenson. 

It was a very good month! Did you read any good Christmas titles?

Blessings,

How I Read Ten Books at Once

It is one of my greatest joys to sign into Goodreads and mark a book "finished." But every time I do that I see the eight or nine books that are still in progress. And they never go away! That's because I actually read that many books at one time. This is how I do it: (All of these are physical books unless marked otherwise)

1) With my morning Bible reading I always read a Bible study book (usually Kay Arthur) and a few
pages in my hymnal. (and the Bible!)

2) After breakfast my husband and I have prayers together and read a book with daily Bible passages related to the church calendar and another book of inspirational devotional thoughts.  

3) Friday is our date day and we read outloud to each other from a book of short stories. (It's been James Heriott for the last four years.) 

4) An audiobook to listen to while in the kitchen or doing exercises (varies between fiction and non)

5) One non-fiction book on my nightstand to read before bed

6) One non-fiction book on my Kindle to read when I'm bored (usually on a long trip)

7) One fiction book (Kindle or physical) for escapist reading

To tell the truth, beside the four titles I read every morning, I probably read only one or two of the others each day. So it's not as overwhelming as it seems. Still, it looks pretty crazy!

Anyone else a serial reader???

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in April

I had some heavy reading to do for two classes (Thaddeus William's Don't Follow Your Heart, which is a diatribe against radical individualism and Reflecting the Divine Image by Dunning), so it was great to escape into a few Molly Clavering novels: Because of Sam and Yoked with a Lamb. I also read two free Kindle titles: The Quest of the Simple Life (a memoir of a Londoner who moved to the country, which was just okay) and The Storme Centre (historical fiction of the American Civil War, which was surprisingly good). Both were published in 1906. I tried very hard to get through Everything Sad is Untrue because of all the rave reviews, but it's depressing tone was adding to the stress in my life so I had to put it aside. 

I listened to the wonderful audiobook Poirot Investigates. These short stories by Agatha Christie were read by Richard Armitage, the crème de la crème of narrators.

My husband was kind enough to watch the 1995 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice with me. The script was excellent and kept us chuckling throughout the four nights that we spent viewing it. On my own I watched Two Aurora Teagarden mysteries (The Julius House and Till Death do Us Part) because they were being shown on Brazilian TV. 

A very satisfying month! Any opinons on these books or movies?

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in September

I read a nice variety of books this month. I'm enjoying the 100 days of Dante challenge more than I thought I would. It is not easy reading, but the short teaching videos put out by Baylor have been outstanding. Two audiobooks that I enjoyed were Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Pied Piper by Nevil Shute (reviewed here)

The rest of my fiction was pretty light. Least favorite was One Tuesday Morning by Karen Kingsbury (reviewed here). I also read a WWII mystery called Proceed at Will (reviewed here), A Man Called Trent by Louis L'amour (reviewed here), Sarah's Cottage by D. E. Stevenson, and The Proper Place by O. Douglas. (I bought it for $1.99 for Kindle, but can only find the link to the overpriced hard copy.) 

Two non-fiction titles were Matthew Henry's commentary on Song of Solomon (review here) and an abridged Journal of John Wesley (reviewed here) 

My favorite book of the month was All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot, reviewed here.

I found several Hallmark mysteries on YouTube. Sweet Revenge is the latest in the Hannah Swenson "Murder, She Baked" mysteries and is definitely the funniest of them all. Mystery 101: Deadly History and two Aurora Teagarden mysteries rounded up the list. 

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in August

As I look back at the month, I can hardly believe how much I read. Nina Balatka by Anthony Trollope was my "Obscure Book Mentioned by Thomas Banks" for the Lit Life 2021 Reading Challenge. I didn't love it. I read "The Rocking Horse Winner" (short story by D. H. Lawrence) along with the podcast group. Just for fun I also read three novels by D. E. Stevenson: First was Smouldering Fire (which may be my least favorite of her titles so far); then I read The Blue Sapphire, which I enjoyed very much - even though it was a little high on the fluff meter. Sarah Morris Remembers was delightful in its portrayal of a British family trying to make the best of their world-turned-upside-down during WWII. Unfortunately, one event in the book soured the book for me. Lastly, I re-read a favorite poetry anthology for children called Silver Pennies.

I'm taking daily sips from three other books: Dom Casmurro is a Brazilian classic that I'm reading slowly because of the archaic Portuguese. I'm reading 4 to 5 letters a day from Letters of C.S. Lewis (Vol. 2). The abridged Journal of John Wesley is my bed-time book.

I listened to three delightful audiobooks: Anthony Esolen's lectures on The Roots of Western Civilization, (via Hoopla) WWII middle grade novel A Place to Hang the Moon by Albus, (via Hoopla) and J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan (re-read)

I enjoyed a movie on YouTube, Adventures in Manhattan, starring my favorite old-time actress, Jean Arthur. My husband and I watched Marvel's The Black Panther (2018), which we had heard was quite good, but I thought the storyline wasn't that strong and the violence was stressful (I don't watch enough TV to get used to watching women beating up men.) I received the Signed, Sealed, Delivered series for my birthday and chuckled through the first two episodes.

It was a good month for reading. Do you have an opinion on any of these books or movies? Did you read or watch anything you'd recommend?

Blessings,

"Reading as Fortress Building" - Quotes from Philip Yancey

In a recent Washington Post article, Philip Yancey laments the death of his reading life. Here are a few excerpts:

Here’s the simple truth behind reading a lot of books. It’s not that hard. We have all the time we need. The scary part—the part we all ignore—is that we are too addicted, too weak, and too distracted to do what we all know is important.

We’re engaged in a war, and technology wields the heavy weapons. Willpower alone is not enough, he says. We need to construct what he calls “a fortress of habits."

I’ve concluded that a commitment to reading is an ongoing battle, somewhat like the battle against the seduction of Internet pornography. We have to build a fortress with walls strong enough to withstand the temptations of that powerful dopamine rush while also providing shelter for an environment that allows deep reading to flourish. Christians especially need that sheltering space, for quiet meditation is one of the most important spiritual disciplines.

Amen!

(pic is a photo sketch of my brother reading to his first grandson. We start fortress building VERY early in our family!)

Blessings,

What I Read in July

It was a good month for reading books bit by bit. The first book I read was the Greek play, Antigone, which I reviewed here. I made it through a third of Shannon Hale's The Goose Girl (a fairy tale re-telling) before giving up because of the annoying voices. (Can someone tell me if this an author who merits another try?) I read Rod Dreher's Live Not by Lies for Cindy Rollin's summer class and enjoyed it very much. It has the same emphasis as The Benedict Option (that authentic Christian community is the only viable response to a crumbling society), but LNBL seems less hopeless in tone since it tells survival stories how many believers fought back against communism and totalitarianism by participating in strong religious communities. (A more complete review is forthcoming.)

I finished Dorothy Sayer's book of short stories called Lord Peter Views the Body, which was a treat that I gave myself every afternoon between lunch and my to-do list. I also listened to the ten-hour audiobook of How Dante Can Save Your Life by Rod Dreher each evening while working through some new puzzle books. It's much more about Dreher than about Dante, but was a good intro into The Divine Comedy, which I plan to tackle in September (#100daysofdante). During my morning exercises, I worked my way through Agatha Christie's Why Didn't They Ask Evans? (audiobook), which isn't one of her best, but was a fun mystery to try and solve.

I also enjoyed a couple of short stories that I read along with the Literary Life podcast: The Machine Stops by E. M. Forster, and Reunion by Fred Uhlman. Since I'm out from under my heavy academic load, I'm not watching movies for stress-relief. I'm thankful to be back to reading, writing and blogging. 

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in June

I finished up a busy teaching schedule this month, reading only in snatches (early in the day and late in the evening). In general, though, if I had a free half hour, I watched a bit of a Hallmark mystery on YouTube. The acting is better in some films than others, but the mystery is usually interesting, and the romance takes a back seat, which I appreciate. The two movies that took me by surprise were from the Signed, Sealed, Delivered series. (From Paris with Love, Higher Ground) The premise of the show is that a team of four "postal detectives" try to match up letters from the dead letter office with their intended recipients.

I had tried to watch the series before, but thought the characters were too dorky. I discovered, however, that they grow on you. The acting is good and the characters' personal histories are interesting. (They each have experienced brokenness, which adds a richness to their stories) The music is great and the literary quotes dropped by the straight-laced Oliver O' Toole are a delight. The creator of the series, Martha Williamson, was head writer for the Touched by an Angel series and is not afraid to include elements of faith in the conversations. All in all, this has become a new favorite.

Books that I was able to complete this month were (1) Death at the President's Lodging by Michael Innes, a great mystery that I'll be reviewing next week. (2) Ideas Freely Sown by Anne White, a book about Charlotte Mason's teaching methods, which I read for Cindy Rollins' summer class. (3) So Much Generosity by Michael Greaney (overview of many Catholic novels), (4) Prodigal God by Timothy Keller, which was good but didn't dazzle me like his Meaning of Marriage and Counterfeit Gods. Finally, I read Rod Dreher's fascinating Live Not by Lies (also for Cindy Rollins' class), which I'll be reviewing soon. 

Did you read or watch anything in June that you'd recommend?

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in May

Another exceptionally busy (but fulfilling) month meant I could barely fit in time for reading: Fahrenheit 451 was a great re-read along with the Literary Life podcast group. All the rest were new-to-me titles. Spring Magic by D.E. Stevenson was a nice, light novel. Miss Plum and Miss Penny by D.E. Smith was another pleasant vintage novel. It had a few brilliant moments, but I rarely engaged with any of the characters. Unfortunately, I've become quite attached to the folks who live in Thrush Green (12 novels by Miss Read), and no other villagers seem to match up.

I finished up with two non-fiction books: Dorothy Sayers' Mind of the Maker and a book in Portuguese for my theology class (Introdução à Teologia Armínio-Wesleyana by Vinicius Couto), which was excellent. 

I squeezed in a movie each week: Three Hallmark mysteries (Dating is Murder and Murder, With Love, which are Hailey Dean Mysteries, and The Peach Cobbler Mystery - from the Murder, She Baked series). My husband I also watched the newest episodes of The Chosen, season two. 

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in April

I started teaching an online class on April 19, so I worked hard to finish three hefty books before that deadline, knowing I wouldn't have much time after that. 

I finished Anna Karenina and was greatly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. (review forthcoming) I finished up two books for my theology class: The Transforming Power of Grace by Methodist theologian Thomas Oden and John Wesley in Theological Debate by Allan Coppedge (who was my advisor when I did my masters 30 years ago). I loved both books but they are definitely for theology nerds.  

In between the heavy reading, I watched lighter fare: nine episodes of "Julia," a TV series I enjoyed as a child, which is available on YouTube. I also watched two Hallmark mysteries (Murder 101: Killer Timing, and Crossword Mysteries: Riddle Me Dead) which were just okay. Dan and I also watched the first two episodes of the second season of The Chosen. 

Once my class started, I had much less time for reading or movie watching. Our son let us log into his Netflix account to watch the new Tom Hank's western, News of the World last weekend. I loved the book and love Hanks, but felt this movie didn't come up to the quality of storytelling that True Grit had.

Did you watch or read anything wonderful in April?

Blessings,

Audiobooks are Amazing! (Except When They're Not)

I am a huge fan of audiobooks. They helped me get through intimidating books like Moby Dick, Anna Karenina and Nicholas Nickleby. And literary classics are twice the fun when heard in a British accent. Occasionally I abandon an audiobook if the narrator isn't that great. Sometimes I'm frustrated at having to "rewind" the book in order to capture a choice quote. But these are small quibbles. Audiobooks are what got me out of my slump last year so I shouldn't criticize them, right? 

This year I've discovered a few additional reasons why they are not always ideal. 

(1) Sometimes listening to a book makes the story come to life in a bad way. That happened when I tackled Kristin Lavransdatter earlier this year; I became so emotionally immersed in the story that I had to revert to the written page to manage the stress. 

(2) Sometimes they come dangerously close to sounding like bad preaching. Recently my small group began reading the book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Scazzero. It has some good ideas mixed in with pop psychology. Listening to it often made me angry. But when I read the actual page, I was able to overlook the flimsy reasoning and sift out the good stuff.

(3) Sometimes you miss important details. I listened to several Dorothy Sayers' mysteries in February. When I went back through the written text to find favorite quotes, I discovered some essential clues that I'd missed while listening. This is not the fault of the audiobook as much as it is the fact that I usually listen while doing something else (cooking or exercising) so my mind is less engaged.

Still, I'm a huge fan because there's something scrumptious about being read to. Yet I'm aware that it has its limits. What about you? Did you ever find that listening to a certain book was a bad way to "read" it?

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in March

I continue to be amazed at the deep pleasure I am experiencing through books this year. After last year's slump, this is such a relief. I read/finished nine books this month and am listing them in the order of how much I enjoyed them.

1) Most fun was Dorothy Sayer's Unnatural Death (Book #3 in Lord Peter Wimsey novels) because of the the great writing and intricate plot.

2) Tech-Wise Family by Andy Crouch was surprisingly theological. Instead of giving points on how to limit technology, he writes winsomely of what it means to be a family and how technology can help or hinder that. (review next week)

3) Silas Marner by George Eliot is a beautiful story of redemption, which I read with the Literary Life podcast group.

4) Down to Bedrock by Eric Cordingly - P.O.W. memoir (review here)

5) Clouds of Witness by Sayers (Book #2 Lord Peter)

6) The Changi Cross - a short book following the history of a hand-made cross during WWII

7) Your God is too Small by J.B. Phillips. Somehow this classic did not resonate with me. I loved the concluding thoughts. 

8) The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Covey was good but not as amazing as expected.

9) Greensleeves by Eloise Jarvis McGraw was a well-written coming of age story, but with too much teenage angst for me. (To be fair, teens are the intended audience so I should not have been surprised.)

We haven't had much time for TV lately, but have been able to squeeze in an episode of the new PBS version of All Creatures Great and Small once a week. The recordings were sometimes too garbled to watch so we missed a few episodes, but the final episode was so delightful that I watched it twice.

What about you? Did you read or watch anything great in March?

Blessings,

Favorite Books in February

February was a surprisingly great reading month for me. I finished Kristin Lavransdatter, which was a grueling, but powerful book.

To offset the heaviness of KL, I listened to three delightful audiobooks: Whose Body? (the first Lord Peter Wimsy novel by Dorothy Sayers), 84 Charing Cross Road by Helen Hanff (which was a read-along with the Literary Life Podcast group), and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, which I reviewed here. This last book caught me completely by surprise and may just be one of my favorite books of the year.

I don't usually read so many favorites in one month, but one more title hit it out of the park for me: L.M. Montgomery's A Tangled Web. I did not love it unequivocally and will highlight some of my reservations in next week's review. Still, it was funny and poignant, and the way that Montgomery brought closure to the story lines was heartwarming and satisfying.

I read all of these for free through my library app, Hoopla, (except for Kristin L. which I bought when it was on sale.)

What was your favorite February book?

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in January

I started the year with a trilogy that I've been dreading putting off for years, Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigred Undset. These novels of historical fiction take place in 14th C. Norway and earned Undset the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1928. Many members of the Literary Life Podcast Facebook group put it at the top of their list of all-time favorites so I decided to make it my first book of the year to get it over with be able to mark it off my TBR list. It has been an incredible slog, not because the story isn't compelling, but because it causes me so much pain that I have to set it aside every few days for a break. (I wish I could read about other people's bad choices without grieving.) Also, it's more PG than I expected. 

To counteract the heaviness of Kristin's story, I've been reading some lighter books:  The Unselected Letters of Emma M. Lion and a vintage murder mystery called When Last I Died by Gladys Mitchell. I also enjoyed Pink Sugar by O. Douglas, cozy domestic fiction by a favorite author.

All of my sons are adults now and I occasionally worry over their choices. The audiobook, Setting Boundaries with Your Adult Children by Allison Bottke was VERY encouraging. (I listened through my library's Hoopla app.)

Another antidote to the stressful reading, was watching the first 10 episodes of season one of The Ghost and Mrs. Muir on YouTube. We also watched the first two episodes of All Creatures Great and Small. I've practically given up on PBS since several of the "safe" shows we tried to watch last year (Poirot, Father Brown, Miss Marple) were full of PC garbage, but All Creatures seems to be staying true to the spirit of the books so far.

Anybody else start the year by attacking your TBR list? Read anything that you recommend? Any thoughts on Kristin Lavransdatter?

Blessings,

Reading Year in Review 2020

I usually look back over my list of completed books and find my heart singing over certain titles that I read during the year. But, as I've stated many times, the multi-layered stresses of 2020 made it a very difficult year for engaging fully with the books I read. Almost every one of them was a slog. 

Stumbling upon the fourth Tommy and Tuppence novel at the end of September, was a turning point because suddenly I had a book to look forward to. Instead of barely getting through one book, I was back to reading three or four at a time. My reading slump was over!

So here are my favorites from the year. 

Most effortless fun: Two new-to-me D.E. Stevenson titles: Five Windows and The Empty World

Most enjoyable classics (both re-reads): Persuasion by Austen and (an annotated) Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

Hardest-to-put-down: all the audiobooks in the Tommy and Tuppence series (I listened for free on YouTube).

Most inspiring: The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Best children's lit: Emily of New Moon by L.M. Montgomery (first in a trilogy)

The most work, but worth it: John Wesley's 52 Sermons which I read for a few minutes a day all year.

To be honest, the book that really got me through the year was the Bible. My husband and I have always had our own personal devotions, but this year we started reading a scripture passage out loud together after breakfast. Hearing the words was life-giving in the midst of so much uncertainty.

Goodreads says I read 92 books, but five were DNFs. 

What were your five star reads for the year?

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in November

I am reading nine books, which is too many, even for me. Four are buddy reads. Two are for ministry-related projects. One is my morning exercise audiobook. The other is on my nightstand since I don't read on my devices before bed.The last book is my Bible, which might technically not be eligible for this list, but I read it every day. 

Because I'm reading and never finishing anything, I had several quick, escapist reads this month: The Moonspinners by Mary Stewart, The Lieutenant's Lady by Bess Streeter Aldrich, Mail-Order Bride: Tess by Rose Jenster, and The Flowering Thorn by Margery Sharp. (None were good enough for a complete review, but they are linked to my thoughts on Goodreads.) But I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook, N or M? by Agatha Christie (review forthcoming).

In the movie department, I watched the delightful Murder, She Baked series. I also watched The Virginian with Bill Pullman. I was enamored with it a few years ago, but this time the acting and script seemed stilted. I'm wondering if the new True Grit movie has ruined me for all other westerns. My husband and I also watched Henry V with Kenneth Branagh for the umpteenth time.

I'm hoping to finish up most of the books mentioned above by the end of the year as well as complete two trilogies. We'll see how that goes! Are there any books you are hoping to read before the end of the year?

Blessings,

Reading as an Addiction - quote by W. Somerset Maugham

Some people read for instruction, which is praiseworthy, and some for pleasure, which is innocent, but not a few read from habit, and I suppose that is neither innocent nor praiseworthy. Of that lamentable company am I. Conversation after a time bores me, games tire me, and my own thoughts, which we are told are the unfailing source of a sensible man, have a tendency to run dry. Then I fly to my book as an opium-seeker to his pipe. I would sooner read the catalogue of the Army and Navy stores or Bradshaw's Guide than nothing at all, and indeed I have spend many delightful hours over both these works.... Of course to read in this way is reprehensible as doping, and I never cease to wonder at the impertinence of great readers who, because they are such, look down on the illiterate. From the standpoint of eternity, is it better to have read a thousand books than to have ploughed a million furrows? Let us admit that reading with us is just a drug that we cannot live without. Who of this band does not know the restlessness that attacks him when he has been severed from reading too long, the apprehension and irritability, and the sigh of relief which the sight of a printed page extracts from him? And the sigh of relief which the sight of a printed page extracts from him? And so let us be no more vainglorious than the poor slaves of the hypodermic needle or the pint-pot. 

(W. Somerset Maugham, from his Collected Short Stories, Volume 4; quoted on the Literary Life facebook page by Wendi Lord Capehart)

[photo courtesy of Annie Spratt at Unsplash]

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in October

Thanks to Agatha Christie, I'm finally out of my 2020 reading slump! It makes me so happy to have several books going at once when for so long it's been hard for me to get through just one.

I finished listening to book one of the Tommy and Tuppence series, The Secret Adversary, which I enjoyed immensely. I also listened to Jane Eyre while reading along in an annotated version that  was very helpful with the French phrases and obscure literary references. My other pick for Victober was Mary Barton by Elizabeth Gaskell. I am overly sensitive to relentless suffering, so this was not an easy read (even though there was an eventual happy ending). 

I finished Knowing God after many months of careful reading. I am not a Calvinist so I saw more areas of disagreement than when I read it three decades ago. Still, it's a Christian classic for good reason. I've also been working my way through an old hymnal this year - one or two hymns per day - and finished it up early in the month. I read and enjoyed P.D. James Talking About Detective Fiction. Serendipitously, I read it at the same time I was reading book two of the T&T series, Partners in Crime, which was also a nod to the golden age of detective fiction. 

As far as movies go my husband and I watched the original True Grit with John Wayne. We liked it, but it lacked some of the haunting beauty of the recent remake. We also watched the Netflix program called The Social Dilemma about how internet platforms are designed to make us tech addicts.

I watched a few Hallmark mysteries: Aurora Teagarden: A Bone to Pick, Death on Duty: A Hailey Dean mystery, 15 min of Dead Over Diamonds (terrible acting) Mystery 101: Dead Talk, Emma Fielding: More Bitter than Death (both male leads were awful actors). I'm used to bad acting in the romance movies because the actors and sets are more eye candy than anything, but in general the mysteries have been far superior in that department. 

Anybody else read any Victorian lit this month? Watched any good, clean movies?

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in September

I watched an insane amount of movies this month. My only excuse is that I had an intense teaching schedule that took up all my days and three of my evenings. When it came time for R&R, I did not want to read. But when I realized that I'd watched 10 movies in the first TWO weeks of September, I put an abrupt halt to my film watching and made myself tackle a few books on my TBR stack.

Two of the movies were Dan in Real Life and Courtship of Eddie's Father. (Normally my husband won't watch romantic comedies with me, but consented to these two favorites for my birthday weekend.) Six were Hallmark mysteries, the best of which were the Hailey Dean Mysteries: Killer Sentence and Murder with Love. They were a little edgier than normal (hence the PG rating), but the writing and acting were good. The interracial friendships were satisfying because according to the American media, blacks and whites are doomed to never EVER being able to get along. I don't buy that.

We watched True Grit (the Cohen brother version) twice since my husband loved it so much. Then I had to read the book, of course, which was almost word-for-word as same as the movie.

In addition to True Grit, I read Little Britches by Ralph Moody which was pretty good, but not quite as winsome as the Little House books. Seaboard Parish by George MacDonald had a lot of good quotes, but the characters were not as interesting (nor the story as compelling) as Book One, The Quiet Neighborhood, had been. True Grit by Charles Portis was engaging, but the book I could not put down was Agatha Christie's By the Pricking of Her Thumbs. (Reviews for both of these will be posted soon.) 

I'm picking out a few books to read for Victober with Kate Howe. Her youtube video explains more about it.

Blessings,