King Arthur and His Knights by Roger Lancelyn Green

My entire knowledge of the Arthurian legends is based on movies from my childhood (“Camelot” and Disney’s “The Sword in the Stone”), so this book was bound to be enlightening. I must admit the first fifty pages were tough going with countless knights being named on one page and countless unnamed knights being killed on the opposite page. But I’m glad I persevered.

In the introduction to King Arthur and His Knights, Green states that although he used Sir Thomas Malory’s “Le Morte D’Arthur” as the basis for his retellings, he also includes stories from half a dozen other sources. I was disappointed that Green told the stories quite simply without any beautiful language, but discovered that the legends themselves are so compelling that they don’t need much embellishment. I thoroughly enjoyed the book once I adjusted my expectations in that regard. As I read, I was reminded of other favorite stories. The lion that meets Sir Percivale had Aslan-like characteristics and the Enchanted Ship and the Quest reminded me of Lord of the Rings. At times I felt I was immersed in a sad and beautiful fairy tale. The Christian symbolism throughout was also fascinating.

Green does his best to weave the separate stories into a single timeline, but don't expect the same cohesiveness as a novel. The first group of stories introduce Arthur and the evil Morgana le Fay. Book Two is about the noble knights of the Round Table. Book Three focuses on the quest for the Holy Grail, and Book Four is about the final days of King Arthur’s reign.

My nephew named his new daughter Columba (after a woman in the Arthurian legends) and I wanted to know more about her. Sadly, she appears in only one sentence in this book, but I am delighted that my curiosity led me to take the plunge into these fabulous tales.  It is easy to see why they have captured the imagination of fans for centuries. 

P.S. When I finished this, I immediately devoured Sir James Knowles' version which was a bit longer and in King James English (which seemed more fitting). I loved both versions.

Blessings,

These High, Green Hills by Jan Karon (Mitford #3)

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two Mitford books, but there is something very special about These High, Green Hills. Maybe it's because I feel like I know the townspeople well enough to really care about them. Or maybe it's because this book (even more than the others) shows deep suffering while still offering plenty of solid hope (not to be confused with fluffy optimism).

The other books hinted at Father Tim's childhood, but Book Three digs a little deeper into that subject and we begin to see some necessary healing take place. In fact, quite a few people in the book are dealing with past hurts.

But it's not primarily a sad book. The Mitford folks band together to support one another. Laughter is interwoven with tears. Written 25 years ago, there are jokes about adapting to life with computers when hardly anyone knew how to use them. Delightful literary references are sprinkled throughout such as C.S. Lewis quotes, snippets of poetry and an occasional quote from The Book of Common Prayer.

Karon has a gift for balancing suffering with hope, and lighthearted banter with more serious conversations. Quite a trick, but the end result is delightful.

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in April 2023

Does anyone iron anymore? Since dryers are a rarity here in Brazil, I set up my ironing board every few weeks to spruce up my husband's dress shirts, and my task is often lightened by the viewing of an old movie. This month I found a little comedy gem called The Peterville Diamond (1943), which though not Oscar-worthy, had some fun one-liners and a clever little plot. Later in the month my husband and I watched the classic Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, (1939). Jimmy Stewart and Jean Arthur are two of my favorites and they were in rare form in this film. My library has started carrying some Hallmark Hall of Fame movies (precursors to the cheesy present-day Hallmark films), and I enjoyed Remember Sunday about a man whose aneurysm causes him to wake up each morning with no short term memory. The acting was excellent, and despite the fact that it is a love story with comedic elements, it is definitely not a romantic comedy. 

I had an amazing reading month beginning with King Arthur and His Knights of the Round Table by Roger Lancelyn Green, which started me on a huge Arthurian legend rabbit trail. I followed this up with James Knowles' Legends of King Arthur and His Knights, which I enjoyed even more. I have been an avid reader of classic literature all my life. How am I so late to this party?????

Uncle Tom's Cabin was my audiobook of the month. Not a perfect book, but much better than I was expecting.(review forthcoming) The other books I read were Out to Canaan, A New Song and A Common Life by Jan Karon (books 4-6 in the Mitford series). I also finished the excellent Prayers in the Night by Tish Warren, Preparing for Easter (readings based on C.S. Lewis' writings), and Lord, Teach Me to Pray in 28 Days by Kay Arthur. 

It seems like I read a lot, but I had been reading three of the books for some time and happened to finally finish them up in April. 

Any King Arthur fans out there? Any other thoughts on this film/book list? 

Blessings,

12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You by Tony Reinke

"Owning a smart phone is similar to dating a high

 maintenance attention starved partner."

Every few years I read a book on how technology affects the brain so I can remember why to limit screen time. This year it was Tony Reinke's 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You. Frankly, I was surprised at how pro-technology the book is. 

Reinke contends that technology is morally neutral and that it began in the garden of Eden. Technology is the reordering of raw materials for human purposes.... Musicians re-order notes and sounds into music. Novelists re-order the raw material of human experience into stories. Technology pushes back the results of the Fall (less pain in childbirth, easier ways to plant and harvest, etc.) He admits that technology unhitched from fear and obedience to God quickly becomes a pawn in human power plays and uses the tower of Babel as an example, but, says Reinke, it is the human heart and not technology that is at fault. (If you've read anything by Paul Kingsnorth or Jacques Ellul, you will not agree that our constant upgrading in mechanization is "neutral" or, even, indeed, a sign of human progress. But I digress.)

In each chapter Reinke highlights one way in which our phones are changing our habits. In Chapter 1, he shows how we have become addicted to distraction; in Chapter 2, he writes about how our super-connectedness has robbed us of real relationships. Chapter 8 deals with easy access to porn. You get the idea. 

Although I didn't agree with everything he wrote, I always appreciate someone who makes me think through my habits with more clarity (and less self-delusion!)  

In the chapter on how our phones are making us illiterate, Reinke writes, If you want to internalize a piece of knowledge, you've got to linger over it. But we have been trained not to linger over digital texts. Our lack of self control with digital "marshmallows" malnourishes our sustained linear concentration. Deep reading is harder than ever. What we have today is not illiteracy, but aliteracy: a digital skimming that is simply an attempt to keep up with the deluge of information coming through our phones rather than slowing down and soaking in what is most important. He contends that this way of imbibing the written word leaks over into our Bible reading. The more time I spend reading 10-second tweets, the more it affects my attention span, weakening the muscles I need to read Scripture for long distances.

My favorite emphasis of the book was on how online distractions rob us of our ability to experience deeper pleasures: [As] we feed on digital junk food, our palates are re-programmed and our affections atrophy.... The more we take refuge in distraction, the more habituated we become to mere stimulation and the more desensitized to delight. We lose our capacity to stop and ponder something deeply, to admire something beautiful for its own sake. By seeking trivial pleasures in our phones, we train ourselves to want more of those trivial pleasures. These become the only pleasures we know. Our capacity for deep enjoyment is thus destroyed.

One of the biggest ways my phone has changed me (even though I limit my time on it quite a bit) is that I now have the attention span of a gerbil. The irony is not lost on me that I listened to this book on my phone at 1.25 speed so that I could get through it quickly and move on to other things.

I'd be interested to hear any thoughts you have on this book or on your own digital habits.

Blessings, 

Poetry 101 - From A Railway Carriage by Robert Louis Stevenson

I have been a huge poetry fan ever since my fourth grade teacher introduced us to haikus, cinquains and limericks. Later it was an integral part of our family's bedtime routine to read one or two poems before the stories. I've read many a poetry anthology over the last five and a half decades, but I always return to the lovely, lyrical simplicity of Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses.

Recently I memorized "From a Railway Carriage" (included below) and was stunned to discover, as I repeated it daily, how masterfully Stevenson had composed each rhythm and sound. When you say the opening lines, you can hear the "ch, ch, ch" sound of the train. And the whole rhythm of the poem replicates its steady chugging. 

What I love most is how Stevenson juxtaposes the speed with which the train is going (which makes the countryside appear to be moving swiftly by) and the actual speed of the items the train is passing. He does this beautifully in the penultimate line: Here is a cart runaway in the road, lumping along with man and load. Just brilliant! 

If you aren't yet a poetry fan, I strongly suggest reading (or better yet, listening) to A Child's Garden of Verses. You might just change your mind about how "boring" it is. 

Faster than fairies, faster than witches,

Bridges and houses, hedges and ditches;

And charging along like troops in a battle

All through the meadows the horses and cattle;

All of the sights of the hill and plain

Fly as thick as driving rain;

And ever again, in the wink of an eye,

Painted stations whistle by.

Here is a child who clambers and scrambles,

All by himself and gathering brambles.

Here is a tramp who stands and gazes;

And here is the green for stringing the daisies!

Here is a cart run away in the road

Lumping along with man and load;

And here is a mill, and there is a river:

Each a glimpse and gone forever!

Blessings,

What I Read and Watched in March 2023

I am surprised that I read anything at all this month, but in between classes I was able to finish Introduction to a Devout Life by Francis de Sales and 12 Ways Your Phone is Changing You. These High, Green Hills (third in the Mitford series) by Jan Karon was the highlight, but Wired Love was also a fun read. Strange title, I know, but it makes more sense when you know it's a vintage novel about two telegraph operators who meet "on the line." My review is here. (All other reviews are forthcoming.)

A heavy teaching schedule meant that I watched a lot more fluff than usual. I enjoyed my favorite movie, Dear Heart, but don't bother looking it up. No one who I have showed it to has liked it. My thoughts on it are here.

The other movies were black-and-white films on YouTube: People Will Talk, (Cary Grant as compassionate doctor), Practically Yours (WWII feel-good movie with Claudette Colbert), and Suddenly It's Spring, which starts out as a fluffy movie about marriage and divorce, and ends up being more substantial. The last two starred Fred MacMurray, who is certainly not handsome, so it intrigues me that he played so many romantic leads. I guess I could say the same for Humphrey Bogart! 

Blessings,

The Priorsford Trilogy by O. Douglas

If you are looking for light-hearted (yet literary) domestic fiction, look no further than the writings of Anna Masterson Buchan (1877-1948). She was the sister of John Buchan (famous for his mystery novels), which may be why she used the pen name of O. Douglas.

Penny Plain - Of the eight novels I've read, this is still my favorite. Jean Jardine lives in a small town in Scotland and is bravely raising her three brothers on very little money and lots of love. Delightful references to books, mouthwatering descriptions of tea parties, and a fairy tale ending make this a delightful read. My extended review is here.

Pink Sugar - Kirsty Gilmour is another plucky heroine who is making the best of a tough situation. After the death of her only remaining parent, she moves to a small town in Scotland to begin life anew. A more detailed review is here. (At the time I am writing this post, Pink Sugar is $2.99 for kindle, but can be bought in a bundle of five Buchan novels for just 99 cents.)

Priorsford - Written ten years after Penny Plain, Priorsford doesn't have quite the same "joie de vivre" as the first book. I gave it only two stars, but now I'm wondering if that had something to do with how low-spirited my reading life was during the pandemic.

The House that is Our Own is not an official part of the Priorsford trilogy, but its protagonist travels to Priorsford and meets all the main characters of the previous books so it's a treat for fans of the Priorsford novels to get a glimpse of Jean Jardine twenty years into her marriage. My review is here. 

I am working my way through AMB's canon and look forward to reading the last four novels as well as her two biographical books, "Unforgettable, Unforgotten" and "Farewell to Priorsford." 

Blessings,