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,

Set in Silver by C.N. Williamson

I thought I knew all the vintage authors worth reading, but thanks to a friend at Goodreads, I discovered the Williamson writing team. Charles (1859-1920) was a “motoring journalist” at a time when it was still a novelty to own a car. His wife, Alice, turned his travelogues into romance novels, which explains why much of the stories are embedded in facts about quaint, historic English towns.

Set inSilver is a far-fetched comedy of errors that was perfectly delightful. It’s a love story in two senses. First, it’s the tale of a man who comes back to England after many years and rediscovers his passion for the country of his birth. Second, it is the traditional yarn of boy-meets-girl.

I’m prejudiced toward British writers and the Williamsons did not disappoint. The novel was loaded with literary references to Greek mythology, literary classics and the Bible. It was not Christian by any stretch of the imagination (Lionel’s sister is annoyingly religious), but if you know the Bible, the off-hand allusions to scriptural passages were often laugh-out-loud-funny. The frequent references to Arthurian legends were also a big plus for me. (It’s amazing to think that this “light” novel was written with the expectation that people would catch all these references, which they still did in 1909.)

Even though I could hardly put this book down, it took almost a week to read. It was 400 pages on my Kindle and I refused to skim over the descriptive passages (except for the last 40 pages when I just couldn’t wait a second longer to see how it was all going to turn out).

If you like a good vintage novel that is more lighthearted than sappy, this should do the trick. It had me smiling from start to finish. And it’s free for Kindle. 

Blessings,

A Fugue in Time by Rummer Godden

What a strange and delightful book! It tells the story of a house that has sheltered three generations of the Dane family. The book opens during WWII as Sir Roland looks back over his life and over the century that his family has lived in the house at 99 Wiltshire Place. People are randomly introduced, but are fleshed out as the novel progresses. There are Griselda and John, Roland’s parents. Of their nine children, only three play a major part in the narrative. Another member of this second generation is Lark, an adopted orphan. Finally come Grizel and Pax (the third generation).

Another major character in the book is the house itself. It seems to hold the memories and conversations of all who have lived there. These voices sometimes talk to Roland, which may be disconcerting to some readers, but I found it intriguing. Take this paragraph which describes a young woman (granddaughter to John and grandniece to Roland) who comes for a visit:  

It seemed to her all at once that the house was immensely bigger than she had first thought; it had, she glimpsed, a common life far greater than the individual little lives that were her grandfather and herself. It held them both. He was dead, she was alive, but there was no difference between them in the house. Grizel did not like that. She was insistent. ‘No. No,’ she cried. ‘He is dead, It is I, Grizel, who am alive.’ Then her cheeks warmed. It was as if someone had coldly remarked, ‘What a clamor you make, Grizel.’ 

It can be confusing because the narrative is not told in a linear fashion, but jumps back and forth between time frames; you only know when a particular episode takes place by paying attention to the names given to the servants or to Sir Roland. (He is young “Roly” in the beginning and grows into “Rollo” as a young man. At the end of his life, he is referred to as “Rolls.”)

Being musically challenged, I did not know the significance of the word fugue in the title, but other reviewers helped me see Godden’s genius in using it. Sara (at Goodreads) explains, “A fugue is a musical movement in which melodic lines run independently but also merge to create a harmony…. Godden has created a fugue in her novel, telling individual stories, with individual voices, but layering them atop one another to show both the passage of time and the continuity of time, simultaneously.”

It's complicated, but patient reading brings rich dividends. The writing is lovely. For example, the empty nursery is described not as “vacant” but as a place with a sense of an inner cheerful life of its own like the sound of the sea, once known to the shell, that always remains.

One reviewer calls it a feminist book, but I beg to differ. Yes, one of the women in the family chafed at the marital yoke and wished she had never had any children. But the two unhappiest characters are those who have shut themselves out of relationships to stay “safe.” Grizel and Pax must decide if they will choose safety and order over the potential discomforts of joining their lives together.

This is a unique book that must be read slowly. Its beauty brought tears to my eyes more than once. 

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in August

I've been too busy recently to do these recaps, but this month I watched two movies that were too good not to mention. A Hidden Life  tells the true story of Franz Jagerstatter (an Austrian who refused to pledge allegience to Hitler), and shows the terrible consequences he suffered. It is beautifully filmed (though the constant shots of windows and doorways seemed a bit quirky at times) and very harrowing. We had to spread it out - an hour a night for three nights. Not exactly a "feel-good" movie, but our hearts were strengthened after viewing it. 

No Highway in the Sky is an underrated gem that we found on YouTube with Jimmy Stewart as the proverbial "absent-minded professor." But this is no comedy. Theodore Honey is a widower. He is an aeronautical engineer who believes that a newly manufactured plane has not been tested sufficiently, and he goes to great lengths to prove that it is not safe for flying. There are many poignant moments and wonderful acting by Stewart - and also by Janette Scott (who plays his young daughter) and Glynis Johns and Marlene Dietrich (who both fall for him). The movie was extremely engaging and had a good balance of light and tense moments.

I also finished three books that I've been reading for months: The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis (Vol. 1), Poems and Letters of Emily Dickinson, and Listening to God in Difficult Times by Kay Arthur (a three month deep dive into the book of Jeremiah.)

I continue to plow through the Mitford series and read books 8 to 10: Shepherds Abiding, Light from Heaven, and Home to Holly Springs. I thoroughly enjoyed the audiobook of Agatha Christie's The Secret of Chimneys and C.N. Williamson's vinatage novel, Set in Silver. (review coming soon)

Honorable mention goes to an excellent book I finished in July that will be reviewed here soon: A Fugue in Time by Rumer Godden. 

It was a great month! Has anyone else enjoyed these movies or books?

Blessings,

Abide in Christ by Andrew Murray

Oswald Chambers (through his classic devotional My Utmost for His Highest) has often been the "kick in the pants" I've needed to keep me from being a lazy Christian. But when I feel fragile and need encouragement from a more sympathetic counselor, Andrew Murray is the one to whom I turn. His call to the holy life is just as strong as Chamber's, but his approach is decidedly more gentle and winsome. 

Teacher and theologian Dr. John Oswalt, in his book When Morning Gilds the Skies, writes, Many Christians are trying to live God's life in their own ability and wondering why they so often fail. It is when we allow the Spirit of God to take us over, to fill us, that He enables you and me to live His life. Yes, we have to cooperate with Him. Yes, we have to do our part, but in the end, it's a life of rest, of settling down in Him and allowing Him to do what we cannot do.

That is the continuous message that you hear in Murray's 31-day devotional Abide In Christ. My heart was encouraged and strengthened and I marked many passages to re-read.

Day 28 seems to have been written just for me: The Christian often tries to forget his weakness; God wants us to remember it and feel it deeply. The Christian wants to conquer his weakness and to be freed from it; God wants us to rest and even rejoice in it. The Christian mourns over his weakness; Christ teaches us to say, 'I take pleasure in infirmities; most gladly will I rejoice in them.' The Christian thinks his weakness his greatest hindrance in service to God; God tells us that is the secret of strength and success. It is our weakness heartily accepted, and continually realized, that gives us our claim and access to His strength. (II Cor 12:9)

A lovely bedside book!

Blessings,

C.S. Lewis on the Perfect Walking Trip

I am reading The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis (Vol. 1). It is rough going since the first half is obligatory letters to his father, which, in order to avoid all potentially controversial subjects, keep Lewis confined to discussing health and weather. But the second half has some nice nuggets. In a letter to his brother, Warnie, in April of 1927, he writes of a recent walking expedition. Apparently, he didn’t mind all the discomforts of an all-day hike as long as there were good places to stop for meals along the way. This particular trip did not start out well.

Thursday opened with discussions. A survey of the maps showed a lamentable discrepancy between the route we wanted to follow and the possible places for lunch. Then emerged the dark and hideous prospect of ‘taking’ our lunch. Perfectly simple you know. Buy some bread and cheese before we start and have lunch where we like. Makes you independent you know. Drinks? Oh, get a few oranges if you don’t feel inclined to carry a bottle of beer in your pack for the first ten miles. I need hardly say that our novice member was entirely in favor of the scheme. I, of course, who have seen days spoiled this way before, was the head of the opposition. The wrong party won. We stuffed our packs with bread, butter, cheese and oranges. The only thing I look back on with satisfaction was that the butter, at any rate, was not in my pack. 

Because of rising winds all day, the group was cold and miserable by lunchtime. The packed lunch was entirely unsatisfactory. He continues: The midday siesta, that great essential of a day’s walking, was out of the question in that abominable camp, and we set off gloomily.... [at dusk] no one can describe the delight of coming to a sudden drop and looking down into a rich wooded valley where you see the roofs of a place where you’re going to have supper and a bed: especially if the sunset lies on the ridge beyond the valley. There is so much mixed in it: the mere physical anticipations as of a horse nearing its stable, the sense of accomplishment and the old romance of travelling. It always seems to sum up the whole day that is behind you – give it a sort of climax and then stow it away with the faintly melancholy, but not unpleasant, feeling of things gone past.

In an earlier letter to Arthur Greeves he describes the delight of finding a perfect spot for sitting and "soaking" in the beauty and peace of nature. He writes, I have one great addition to my comfort here, in the discovery of a ‘soaking-machine,’ which conveniences are very scarce in England, owing to the strict customs which prevent the mildest trespassing. My new palace, is at the foot of a great oak, a few yards off a lane, and hidden therefrom by a little row of shrubs and small trees. Completely private, safe from sun, wind or rain, and on a ridge. 

Soaking up the beautiful countryside, conversing with like-minded friends, and arriving at the end of the day to a good meal, warm fire and comfortable bed. Sounds perfect!

Blessings, Hope

(Photo by Tomasz Filipek on Unsplash)

Stories of Faith and Courage from World War II by Larkin Spivey

I must confess that most of my reading about WWII (over 100 books) is about the home front or POW stories. I know very little about specific strategic battles. When I picked up Stories of Faith and Courage from WWII, I was expecting the personal narratives that I’m accustomed to (i.e., uplifting stories of people whose faith helped them to get through the trials of the war), but it was something quite different.

Each month covers a different battle or aspect of the war. January covers the European front with a brief historical overview and includes a map which shows where the major battles were fought. The daily readings, though not heavy on military details, mention the battles, and it is very helpful to have the map at hand. Though the readings are mostly personal reflections from diaries, letters and speeches, I appreciated being able to read them in the context of the much bigger picture.

Also, though many of the entries were uplifting and encouraging, many others gave details of the thousands and thousands of lives lost. Intermixed with letters displaying unusual courage were letters admitting discouragement and despair. Accounts of heroism were inspiring yet heartbreaking. It was a very sobering read.

Here is just one example from March 13:

Life aboard a merchant ship in convoy across the Atlantic was a mixture of boredom and fear. Long days and nights passed without incident. However, when something happened, it usually happened suddenly. Life jackets and precious valuables were kept close at hand. There was also the issue of where to sleep.

The civilian Merchant Marines who manned the ships grimly calculated where they slept aboard ship by the cargo they carried. If you were hauling a load of iron ore, you slept on deck for you had only a few seconds to clear the ship once a torpedo hit. If you carried general cargo, you could sleep below decks but kept your clothes on because your survival time was calculated in minutes. If, however, your ship carried a load of aviation fuel, you were free to sleep naked below decks, with the door closed since you would never have the time to escape the certain and sudden oblivion of a torpedo attack.

This is supposed to be read as a daily devotional book, but I had trouble putting it down. It would be an excellent primer for someone who wants a good overview of the history of the war. I am so glad I read it.

Blessings