New Favourite

Mr. Knightley and I finally finished Men of Iron!  I really enjoyed it, and I am pretty sure it ranks right up there with Scottish Chiefs!
I wish I could write about it as I did Scottish Chiefs, but it late and I must sleep.  I leave you with a few quotes that I was certainly feeling as we finished it.

“My test of a good novel is dreading to begin the last chapter.”
~Thomas Helm
“You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend.”
~Paul Sweeney
A good book should leave you…slightly exhausted at the end. You live several lives while reading it.
~William Styron

Through Christ,
Lady B

My first day in English Literature

I thought I would share a little of my literature class with you.  These are mainly some quotes and points I found interesting.  I also wanted to give you all a little peek at what I am going to be reading this semester (because of this class).  I am looking forward to learning more about English literature! 

I hopefully can fit some of my own leisure reading into the semester but if I do not it will not be too bad a loss.  Happy Classes to those of you still in school!

Through Christ,

Lady Helen 

 

“The unexamined life is not worth living” ~Socrates 

“How do I know what I think until I see what I say?” ~E. M. Forster

 

The Four Marks of an Educated Person
Grayson Kirk

1. Speaks and writes clearly and precisely.

2. Has a set of values and the courage to defend them.

3. Tries to understand those who are different and views others with compassion and respect.

4. Looks squarely at the world and all of its problems, but always with hope.

 

The Books

--The Middle Ages

--The Dream of the Rood

--Beowulf    

--Sir Gawain and the Green Knight (I have to do a presentation of this)

--Geoffrey Chaucer and The Canterbury Tales

--Introduction and Prologue

--The Wife of Bath's Tale

--William Langland and The Vision of Piers Plowman

--Julian of Norwich and A Book of Showings

--Margery Kempe and The Book of Margery Kempe

--Sir Thomas Malory and Morte Darthur

--The Sixteenth Century

--Edmund Spenser and The Faerie Queene, Book I

--Christopher Marlowe and The Passionate Shepherd

--The Tragical History of Dr. Faustus

--William Shakespeare, Hamlet

--William Shakespeare, Sonnets

--The Early Seventeenth Century

--John Donne, Ben Jonson, George Herbert, Robert Herrick, and Andrew Marvell, Short selections TBA

--John Milton and Paradise Lost, Book I, continued

--The Restoration and the Eighteenth Century

--John Dryden and Mac Flecknoe

--Aphra Behn and The Disappointment

--Jonathan Swift and A Modest Proposal

--Alexander Pope and The Rape of the Lock

--Samuel Johnson and The Vanity of Human Wishes

--James Boswell's The Life of Samuel Johnson

--Thomas Gray and Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard

Reading is the magic key to take you where you want to be.

I feel a little more accomplished in my reading now.  I have recently finished three books; Journey of the Heart by   Jeannie M. Castlebery, Why God Birthed America by Don Pinson and Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.  I really enjoyed all of them and wish they could have kept going.

Journey of the Heart is another book in the courtship series by Mr. and Mrs. Stephen B. Castleberry, written by their daughter, Jeannie.  It follows the story of Janet McLean as she struggles through many issues of the heart.  Janet has finally reached courtship age and longs to be married and start a family, but will she ever find the right one.  Can she learn to trust God?  I really enjoyed this book because I could relate so fully with Janet.  When I started reading I immediately thought, “Oh my, this is me, she is describing me!”  The one part I cried, was a prayer she said closer to the end of the book.  It was so real and I could feel her pain as she said it.  I knew that it was a prayer I was longing to say but have not had the courage to do so.  If you are anything like me you will know it when you read it.  Definitely a book I recommend to all ladies, young and old!

Why God Birthed America is a powerful history of our country.  Starting with Creation, Mr. Pinson takes us all  the way through the Crucifixion, right to the signing of the Mayflower Compact and beyond.  The book is small and could be easily read in one sitting, but so full of knowledge that it is hard to read more than a few chapters at a time without being overwhelmed.  This book is a must have for anyone wanting to know the true history of The United States of America.  There are not words enough for me to describe it!

Pride and Prejudice was quite a surprise to me.  I had read it many years ago for school and liked it, but I did not understand it nor could I enjoy it at leisure.  I wish I could find the notebook that I wrote my review in back then.  To think about it now makes me laugh!  It took me four or so chapters to get into the book then.  This time I was in it the moment I opened the book.  Most of what I remembered came from the movie (2005) so it a nice surprise to go so much more in depth!  I will have to say, all through the book Keira Knightly and Mathew Macfadyn and the rest of the 2005 cast played well through my mind, right until I hit the more detailed parts that were excluded from the movie.  Here Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth were happy to step in, and I was quite happy to oblige them, though I was somewhat confused as to their presence because I have yet seen that version of P&P (except clips here and there).  In all, I thoroughly enjoyed the whole book and happily add it to my list of favourites (right along with the two mentioned above)!

I hope everyone is having a lovely week.  I am trying to get my college classes straightened out for I start back on Monday.  I hope I will have time to read my books still.  Right now I am working my way through Mansfield Park.  This is the only Jane Austen novel I have had no form of introduction to (by movie or otherwise) so I look forward to some fun and intrigue (in not knowing the outcome).             I am still working on the Friendship Afghan and hope to have more to report on it soon!

Through Christ,

Lady Helen

Summer Break is Coming!

I am so very behind on my reading, but there is hope! I see a light on the horizon; summer is almost here!
So in honour of the end of this semester, I thought I would share with you my list of books to read. Hopefully I can knock out at least half of these while on holiday.
Crazy Love by Francis Chan
How the Irish Saved Civilization by Thomas Cahill
Meet Mr. Smith by Eric and Leslie Ludy
The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks (per request)
The Green Pharmacy by James A. Duke
Through the Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot
Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
Quest for Love by Elisabeth Elliot
Going Rouge by Sarah Palin
The Joyful Christian by C. S. Lewis
Fire on the Mountain by Norma R. Youngberg
Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Persuasion by Jane Austen
Emma by Jane Austen
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
Lady Susan by Jane Austen
To Train Up a Child by Michael and Dabi Pearl
Why God Birthed America by Don Pinson
Preparing to be a Helpmeet by Debi Pearl
When the Enemy Strikes by Charles Stanley
A Chance to Die by Elisabeth Elliot

These are in no particular order and I would love your suggestions on what book to read next!