What I Read and Watched in September 2023

I enjoyed everything that I read this month. Overture to Death by Ngaio Marsh (#8 in the series) was delightful, and I enjoyed A Child's Anthology of Poetry (edited by Elizabeth H. Sword, a thrift store find for 99 cents) as my bedtime book. C.S. Lewis' Surprised by Joy (another 99 cent purchase) was my hands down favorite. Because of it, I downloaded (and paid way too much for) Volume 1 of his letters. The book I almost didn't finish was Stories of King Arthur and His Knights by U. Waldo Cutler, but it took a turn for the better in the last half. I finished a Bible study called God's Blueprint for Bible Prophecy, which was a deep dive into the book of Daniel. Not an easy study, but worth the effort. I appreciated Madeleine L'Engle's views on faith and art in her book, Walking on Water.

We didn't have much time for movie viewing this month. After I finished Cutler's version of the Arthurian legends, I watched Camelot (1982 HBO available through my Hoopla app). I remember hating the 1967 movie when I saw it 40 years ago, but now that I am familiar with the stories, I could appreciate the nuances in the HBO version. The lyrics by Lerner and Loewe were absolutely brilliant. Dan and I enjoyed A Puzzle to Die For (Hallmark Mystery, also via Hoopla). Dare I admit that when we had a short span of time for visual amusement we watched a few episodes of Petticoat Junction? Not having a TV in our present living situation has certainly enhanced my reading life!  

Blessings,

The Supper of the Lamb by Robert Farrar Capon

I have never understood the allure of food memoirs, but The Supper of the Lamb may have converted me. Capon, an Anglican priest, author and home chef, opens the book with self-deprecating honesty: I am an amateur. If that strikes you as disappointing, consider how much in error you are. Amateur and nonprofessional are not synonyms. The world may or may not need another cookbook, but it needs all the lovers – amateurs – it can get. It is a gorgeous old place, full of clownish graces and beautiful drolleries, and it has enough textures, tastes and smells to keep us intrigued for a lifetime. Unfortunately, however, our response to its loveliness is not always delight: it is, far more often than not, boredom. And that is not only odd, it is tragic; for boredom is not neutral – it is the fertilizing principle of unloveliness. In such a situation, the amateur – the lover, the man who thinks heedlessness a sin and boredom a heresy – is just the man you need.

He continues: The world looks as if it has been left in the custody of a pack of trolls. Indeed, the whole distinction between art and trash, between food and garbage, depends on the presence or absence of the loving eye. 

Hence his emphasis on the importance of slowing down and paying attention to life’s myriad details, including the delights of cooking from scratch. At times he uses a wise grandfatherly tone; at other times he is more like a back-slapping older brother who loves a good joke and a good cigar. Some passages were hilariously funny. He waxes eloquent on the beauty of onions, the necessity of sharp knives and (most memorable of all) the glory that is baking soda.

Capon uses cooking as a metaphor for life. Don’t go for the processed pre-cooked garbage that passes as food because it’s more convenient. The best things in life take time and care, and may even give you heartburn. “Real life” will cost you.

We were given appetites not to consume the world and forget it, but to taste its goodness and hunger to make it great. That is the inconsolable heartburn, the lifelong disquietude of having been made in the image of God. All man’s love is vast and inconvenient. It is tempting, of course, to blunt its edge by caution. It is so much easier not to get involved – to thirst for nothing and no one, to deny that matter matters and, if you have the stomach for it, to make your bed with meanings which cannot break your heart. But that, it seems to me, is neither human nor Divine. If we are to put up with all other inconveniences out of love, then no doubt we must put up with the bother of love itself and not just cut and run for cover when it comes.  

The last 25% of book is recipes, which are a pleasant, but non-essential addition. The main "recipe" is in the first 250 pages and it is on how to live life to the fullest.

 May your eyes be open “to see the bounty of small things.” 

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched this Summer 2023

We were on the road most of July and didn't watch anything. But in August we settled into our apartment and had a few evenings free to use my Hoopla account. I like Hallmark mysteries but the Darrow and Darrow pilot was a huge disappointment. Not only was it cheesy, the acting and script were embarrassingly bad. The way the case was solved went against one the chief rules of detective fiction: a true mystery must include clues that the reader (or viewer) can see for themselves. The resolution of the mystery cannot come out of nowhere. Secondly was Dog Jack (a true Civil War story), which was also poorly acted and scripted.  On the bright side, we really enjoyed C.S. Lewis: The Most Reluctant Convert, which we watched at a friend's house.

My reading choices paid much bigger dividends. Except for Le Morte d'Arthur, which I ditched after 15 hours (of the 30 hour audiobook), everything else I read in July was good: Thornyhold by Mary Stewart, The Musgraves by D.E. Stevenson, The Truth and Beauty by Klavan, and the vintage novel, The Clue of the Twisted Candle, by Edgar Wallace. In August I enjoyed Deborah Crombie's A Share in Death. Because it was an audiobook, I could not skip over the swearing, but I thought Crombie's prose was exceptionally beautiful. I liked her detective and his sidekick too. Finally, I read Robert Farrar Capon's The Supper of the Lamb, which I loved. (review forthcoming)

All of these titles are reviewed on Goodreads, but I cannot figure out how to link to my reviews with their new configurations.

Blessings,

The Duchess of Bloomsbury by Helene Hanff

Consider this a belated review of 84 Charing Cross Road which I enjoyed in 2021 and again in January of this year. I am a fan of epistolary novels so the 20 years of correspondence (1949-1968) between Helene Hanff (book lover from New York) with Frank Doel (a book seller from London) was pure delight.  The audio version is spot on in highlighting their differences of manner. And the 1987 movie, with stellar performances by Anne Bancroft and Anthony Hopkins, is one of my favorites. (You can watch the trailer here.)

Because of her success with the book 84 Charing Cross Road, Helene is finally able to afford a trip to London. The Duchess of Bloomsbury recounts her dream-come-true:

All my life I've wanted to see London. I used to go to English movies just to look at streets with houses like those. Staring at the screen in a dark theatre, I wanted to walk down those streets so badly it gnawed at me like hunger. Sometimes, at home in the evening, reading a casual description of London by Hazlitt or Leigh Hunt, I'd put the book down suddenly, engulfed by a wave of longing that was like homesickness. I wanted to see London the way old people want to see home before they die. 

Marks and Co., the bookshop that had been her main supplier, has closed and so she meets a host of new people who offer to show her the town. She's a bit overwhelmed with the modest fame that her book has brought her and jokingly calls herself "The Duchess of Bloomsbury" since that is where her hotel is located. Many of the characters she meets are as quirky and endearing as she is. 

This is a must for every bibliophile if only to identify with how easy it is to go off on to rabbit trails while reading a good book. Helene remarks that one set of books by Arthur Quiller Couch took her eleven years to read because of all the books she read in between to better understand his comments. She so identifies with Couch that she nicknames him "Q" (which explains the title of her next book, Q's Legacy.) 

I was fascinated by the fact that though she had not read as widely as she would have liked, she had read deeply; My problem is that that while other people are reading fifty books I'm reading one book fifty times. I only stop when at the bottom of page 20, say, I realize I can recite pages 21 and 22 from memory. Then I put the book away for a few years.

I'd love to be able to do that. 

I was able to get these first two books via digital download from my library, but it looks like Q's Legacy may cost me $6!

Blessings,

15th Anniversary of Worthwhile Books

How did 15 years of blogging go by so swiftly? When my sister-in-law, Diane, suggested that I start a blog to point people to the classics, I never dreamed it would become my new favorite hobby. Many of my blogging friends have stopped posting because their lives have taken different tracks. And I have slowed down to twice-a-month. So why do I even keep going?  

I don't do it for the stats, although I am always pleasantly surprised during my 5-year checkups to see which posts have garnered the most attention. And I don't do it for the accolades, although I love it when readers comment. I do it because I love stories that nurture the heart and mind. I read a book more carefully and thoughtfully when I know I have to write about it. Writing then helps me to sift out the main ideas and cement them into my brain. A much needed help as I grow older!

By the way, the top five posts are still Code Name Nimrod, The Horse and His Boy, Recommended Librivox Recordings, The Two Towers and Aesop's Fables although a dozen other posts have reached a thousand views. Small potatoes in the blogsphere, but still gratifying.

Thank you to those who have been reading my posts through the years. I hope we can keep encouraging one another to read the best books.

Blessings,

Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe

(Be aware that some mild spoilers are inevitable in this review.)

I avoided Uncle Tom's Cabin for years anticipating caricatures, bad writing, and preachiness. Frankly, it was much better than I expected. Yes, there are some stereotypes, but there are also many nuanced, well-drawn characters. I had to read all 300 pages before I could decide in which group to fit Uncle Tom. It would have been easy to write off him for his unusually placid outlook on life, which is why I think Stowe was wise to create a needed contrast in the character of George. 

Sometimes Stowe was preachy, but she also worked hard to show different points of view on slavery.  It was fascinating to see every possible Scripture verse (both to defend and denounce it) coming out of the mouths of the main characters. Some, like Maria, hold to their views of slavery no matter what they see with their own eyes. Others, like Ophelia, grow in their understanding of the problem. Though Ophelia is convinced that slaves have eternal souls and should be educated and treated well, she is initially horrified when Eva kisses one of the black servants. She slowly evolves, becoming a tender and true woman of faith. 

Three drawbacks: Stowe, in her effort to be gracious toward blacks, unknowingly writes condescendingly, often making blanket statements about them as "a sensitive and impressionable race," or describing a person as acting "after the manner of their race." It doesn't wear well today, but I'm sure that at the time of her writing, it was seen as sympathetic. Also, the "N" word is used frequently by both whites and blacks. Last of all, the saintliest person in the book was, to me, the least believable. 

I was intrigued by the fact that even though slavery was the primary issue in the novel, a strong secondary theme was theodicy. Is it possible to trust God in the midst of extreme suffering? Very thought-provoking!

Blessings,

Lord Peter Wimsey Books 11-15 and One More

It took me three years, but I have finally made it through all of the Lord Peter Wimsey novels. And what a wonderful ride it was! I had my favorites along the way, but I can see myself revisiting ALL of them again.

9. (#11 was accidently reviewed in my previous Wimsey post.) Hangman's Holiday - All of the stories in this book had me on the edge of my seat. I enjoyed the protagonist, Montague Egg. My full review is here.

12. Gaudy Night - The 3rd novel with Harriet Vane. Lovely to watch their relationship deepen. Review here.

13. Busman's Honeymoon - the last official Lord Peter novel. My very favorite. Reviewed here (w/ spoilers).

14. In the Teeth of Evidence - Good stories, but not enough Lord Peter.

15. Striding Folly - A quick fun read. Only three stories, but two of them are about Lord Peter as a father. Very endearing.

The Wimsey Papers - A collection of letters and documents supposedly written by the Wimsey clan during the first year of WWII. I enjoyed eavesdropping on many of the characters from the previous novels. Though it was all too short, I thought it was a great way to conclude the 15 books in the series.  

The novels are quite pricey at Amazon, but I was able to get all of these through my library via digital download. I bought a compilation of the short stories (books 4,9,14, & 15) when it was on sale for $2.99. Also, I saw that you can buy the first three novels and a dozen short stories for 99 cents. (the price at the time I wrote this post.)

Blessings,