What I Read and Watched in October 2025

One of the items on my schedule recently was to fly to Sri Lanka and speak at a few events planned by my sister who is a missionary there.

The 20-hour trip allowed me to watch more than my usual quota of movies so I was able to watch three that have been on my radar for a couple of years. "Sullivan's Travels" (1941) had come highly recommended by Anthony Esolen (in his monthly newsletter "Word and Song"). It managed to be quite funny while still addressing some serious issues. "The Miracle Club" (2023) is a story about four women who leave Dublin to go to Lourdes seeking healing for various maladies. Mostly, they just need healing for their brokenness. Will God grant a miracle? Or is it all false propaganda? The movie shows that there is more than one way to be cured. It was especially poignant for being Maggie Smith's last performance.

The final in-flight movie was "The Great Escaper" with Michael Caine, the true story of an 80-year-old WWII veteran who flees from his nursing home in England to attend D-Day celebrations in Normandy. Caine is brilliant in the role and I loved the conclusions made about the value of a life well-lived. (Please note that airplane movies are often edited to be more family friendly so I do not know if the original movies had bedroom scenes or heavy profanity.)

I was able to do quite a bit of reading during my travels and enjoyed two Ngaio Marsh titles: Surfeit of Lampreys (#10 in the Roderick Alleyn series) and Death and the Dancing Footmen (#11) both of which were excellent mysteries.

When I got back to Brazil, I read two books about WWII in the movies, and watched a film (on YouTube) from 1943 called "First Comes Courage" about a female spy in Norway. It had its cheesy moments, but it was VERY suspenseful.

I also enjoyed an abridged version of Emma, wonderfully narrated by Emma Thompson.

Finally, I had a glorious serendipitous moment this month. I've been reading three fables a week from Ovid's Metamorphoses. On a Monday I read the story of Pomona, a woman gardener who I had never heard of before (Book 14). On Tuesday, I was reading a Richard Crashaw poem about rotten apricots and he blames Pomona (!) 

Don't you just love the literary life?

Blessings,

Reminiscing about Books #4

2010 was a good year for accumulating new favorites. It was the first year I read D.E. Stevenson. Winter and Rough Weather is the third in a trilogy, but stood up on its own. I've read almost 40 of her novels since then and very few have disappointed. I even own 20 of her audiobooks! She is light without being fluffy, which gives me a good break from heavier reading.

I'd read some C.S. Lewis by this time, but when a friend loaned me Experiment in Criticism. I was so enamored that I shamelessly underlined fifty percent of it. (Of course, I bought her a replacement copy.) I wrote a review here.

Also that year, I read Peter Pan, and was absolutely charmed. (Reviewed here)

Two Catholic novels stretched me in good ways: Canticle for Liebowitz by Walter M. Miller and Silence by Shusako Endo. In my review of Silence, I explain how I've learned to appreciate the gravitas that Catholic authors bring to their fiction. Canticle for Liebowitz (reviewed here) turned me into a die-hard dystopian novel fan.

Another delighful discovery was Wednesday Wars, YA fiction by Gary Schmidt (a living author, for a change), which I reviewed here. 

Any thoughts on these authors or titles?

Blessings, 

Reminiscing about Books #3

Continuing my walk down memory lane, these are the classics I tackled for the first time in 2009. Almost every one was a delightful surprise to me.

I certainly didn't expect to love Frankenstein, but the book dealt with issues that the movies never tackle - principally about the potential misuse of science. I am so glad I read it! (Reviewed here.) The Count of Monte Cristo was over a thousand pages and took me a month to complete, but it was definitely worth it. (Reviewed here).  

A modern classic that I read was Gilead by Marilynne Robinson, which stunned me with its quiet beauty. (Reviewed here.) 

These next two titles were not new, but became favorites the second time around. I read Persuasion again and completely changed my mind about it. (Reviewed here.) Watching the 1995 BBC version helped because Amanda Root managed to portray Anne's meekness as strength rather than wishy-washiness. Another Austen re-read was Northanger Abbey, which was redeemed by the audiobook version. I have to admit, when I read it the first time I did not know it poked fun at Gothic novels. In the audiobook, all the spoofiness came through loud and clear, and caused many a chuckle. 

I've read all of Austen now, but Persuasion is the one I re-read most often. Next to Jane Eyre it's my favorite literary "comfort food." 

Blessings,