More books, first day of fall edition
Dear friends, it's unreasonably hot here for September! I got a sunburn yesterday wandering around town with my double stroller. Meanwhile, on my meal plan for last night's dinner, I was require dto make Cream of Cauliflower soup, because it's cheap/fast/the kids actually like it but it gives them oodles of veggies.
But...
Who wants soup when it's 31 degrees celsius?!
(My kids, it turns out. They gulped down it like it was their last meal.)
Of course, I am utterly grateful to not being lighting the wood stove yet. And I will gleefully don my swimsuit for one more dip in the lake this weekend.
To be clear, I am more gleeful about the swimming aspect than actually donning of the swimsuit. Perhaps you already knew that.
Soon enough, though, the colder weather will draw me back inside... by the fire... with more books! And I had better plow through them because Lawdy, I still have a substantial amount to complete to go to meet my goal of 52 books by December 31st.
Perhaps the kids will learn to cook for themselves?
You might be in need of some recommendations for the time being? Or, like me, you expect to do not much more but read once it's actually chilly outside?
A friend sent me an article about this author that made my jaw hit the floor due to the sheer awe I felt for this woman. In effect, if I could be Alice Thomas Ellis when I grow up, I would consider myself utterly fulfilled.
Having never heard of her before reading this wonderful article (do read it, by the way, really), I went out and ordered something by her from Amazon (our local library, and our inter-library loan system, was not forthcoming with her titles, even though she wrote prolifically.).
{In truth, I ordered two things. And now you see why we have to eat Cream of Cauliflower soup for dinner...}
Onto this novel.
In it, five unhappy people book a stay at a remote inn on an island in Scotland at Christmastime to escape the festivities that would otherwise bring them down. Meanwhile. the innkeeper himself is not without his own sorrow, as his marriage is floundering pitifully.
The resulting interplay between characters is quite well crafted.
Ellis is an incredible wit, and her ability to wryly but not unsympathetically capture the personalities of this lonely assortment of characters is quite enjoyable. Meanwhile, the island itself adds another layer of intrigue, as the turbulent weather patterns and odd local inhabitants further the disillusionment of the five guests at the inn.
The story itself, however, dawdled. When it finally did begin to pick up, it was nearing the very end of the book, and I was disappointed that an otherwise talented writer managed to create a novel without much plot.
As a word to the sensitive, Ellis reminded me a bit of Flannery O'Connor in her liberal use of the vulgar and violent to portray the fallenness of mankind. Thankfully, like O'Connor, she also juxtaposes these salacious images with that of grace and as on reviewer put it, "a touch of the supernatural." However, there is salty language and decidedly adult themes thrown in. I didn't find it too unsettling, although I would have preferred not to have had the famous word appear; to me it tended ever so slightly to the excessive.
This is a fantastic book; I inhaled it at a breakneck pace.
In the first half, Sax chronicles how the loss of parents' embracing their authority towards their children leads to disastrous consequences, both to individual children and to society as a whole. Sax references popular music and advertising, as well as anecdotes from patients and listeners at his conference presentation to show how lost a generation, or rather, several generations have become, by parents not exercising their authority.
In the second half, he gives prescriptive advice for parents on how to parent with authority, and gives inspiring examples of families he has met.
I found myself nodding profusely, reading aloud sentences to whomever was nearby, and more than a few times, cringing as I was forced to see the mistakes I have been making in my unintentionally wishy-washy parenting approach.
Since having completed the book, I made a few simple changes to how I was speaking to my children and have seen their behaviour improve immensely.
I think this is a tremendously valuable book for anyone who has children or works with them. Truthfully, anyone concerned about some of the alarming trends among young people would find this book worthwhile.
This is historical novel depicts the heroic martyrdom of the Carmelites at Compeigne who were killed during the French Revolution. The Sisters are aware of the bloody persecution of Catholics taking place throughout France, and so they begin to prepare themselves for the inevitable sacrifice of their lives as well, and do so with joy. The title refers to the touching image of the Sisters being led to the guillotine in a cart while singing in clear voices the Veni Creator Spiritus.
I knew of the Martyrs of Compeigne from a talk I had once heard at a conference, and was so touched by the details of their final days so I decided to finally read this book, expecting to find it edifying.
I am surprised and disappointed that I found the writing so dry that I had to slog through this book, and it's only just over 100 pages long. I can't quite put my finger on what I disliked about it, because truly, without question, the literal account of these Sisters' death is so inspiring. The novel itself, though, felt forced and awkward. Perhaps it was just poorly translated into English.
I would give this book a resounding "meh." I read another book by the Bennetts on the four temperaments (titled "The Temperament God Gave You"; I sense a brand) and was quite fascinated by this little-known but entirely helpful framework of understanding various personalities.
This book added little to the conversation.
Likewise, they tried too hard, I'd say, to make it a chatty, light read, and thus much of it sounded like drivel. I did, however, think the chapter called "Growing in Virtue" was illuminating for my children. It helped to remind me that very different tactics are needed amongst them to inspire them to live well. I also found it touching how the Bennetts in this chapter showed how the different temperaments in children already possess certain virtues fairly easily. It seemed quite accurate based on my observations of our own children.
This may be worthwhile for you, if you aren't familiar with the four temperaments. You'll have to grin and bear the excessively 'light' banter thrown in.
Oh, dear Stuart McLean, rest in peace. Anyone who knows this man's CBC radio will already understand how truly funny this collection of short stories is. Dear Dave and Morely continue with their usual unbelievably awkward antics, much to the amusement and delight of the reader. My personal favourites were "Hello, Monster" where Dave accidentally gets trapped in a sewer and befriends a preschool-aged child who hears him calling from underground -- it's explosively funny -- and "Tour de Dave" where he has a hilarious run-in with his neighbours coveted racing bike.
I read both of these stories aloud to my boys, as they love to listen to episodes of Vinyl Cafe with me, too (pre-approved ones; not all would be suitable for children) and they both laughed 'til they cried. I fancy I did my best impersonation of McLean himself, to give the full effect of Dave's bizarre mishaps, and that was why they loved it. These stories do just beg to be read aloud to another person.
Highly recommended fun.
And here's a snapshot to give you an idea of what read-aloud time looks like in my family: hot drinks abound, and I do my best to keep the baby a) off the table, b) out of my coffee cup and c) not prying the book from my hands and tossing it across the room.
This photo with the above explanation could explain why most of our read-aloud time happens when he's in bed. He's not even walking yet, but is already into evvvverything.
But...
Who wants soup when it's 31 degrees celsius?!
(My kids, it turns out. They gulped down it like it was their last meal.)
Of course, I am utterly grateful to not being lighting the wood stove yet. And I will gleefully don my swimsuit for one more dip in the lake this weekend.
To be clear, I am more gleeful about the swimming aspect than actually donning of the swimsuit. Perhaps you already knew that.
Soon enough, though, the colder weather will draw me back inside... by the fire... with more books! And I had better plow through them because Lawdy, I still have a substantial amount to complete to go to meet my goal of 52 books by December 31st.
Perhaps the kids will learn to cook for themselves?
You might be in need of some recommendations for the time being? Or, like me, you expect to do not much more but read once it's actually chilly outside?
The Inn at the Edge of the World
by Alice Thomas Ellis
A friend sent me an article about this author that made my jaw hit the floor due to the sheer awe I felt for this woman. In effect, if I could be Alice Thomas Ellis when I grow up, I would consider myself utterly fulfilled.
Having never heard of her before reading this wonderful article (do read it, by the way, really), I went out and ordered something by her from Amazon (our local library, and our inter-library loan system, was not forthcoming with her titles, even though she wrote prolifically.).
{In truth, I ordered two things. And now you see why we have to eat Cream of Cauliflower soup for dinner...}
Onto this novel.
In it, five unhappy people book a stay at a remote inn on an island in Scotland at Christmastime to escape the festivities that would otherwise bring them down. Meanwhile. the innkeeper himself is not without his own sorrow, as his marriage is floundering pitifully.
The resulting interplay between characters is quite well crafted.
Ellis is an incredible wit, and her ability to wryly but not unsympathetically capture the personalities of this lonely assortment of characters is quite enjoyable. Meanwhile, the island itself adds another layer of intrigue, as the turbulent weather patterns and odd local inhabitants further the disillusionment of the five guests at the inn.
The story itself, however, dawdled. When it finally did begin to pick up, it was nearing the very end of the book, and I was disappointed that an otherwise talented writer managed to create a novel without much plot.
As a word to the sensitive, Ellis reminded me a bit of Flannery O'Connor in her liberal use of the vulgar and violent to portray the fallenness of mankind. Thankfully, like O'Connor, she also juxtaposes these salacious images with that of grace and as on reviewer put it, "a touch of the supernatural." However, there is salty language and decidedly adult themes thrown in. I didn't find it too unsettling, although I would have preferred not to have had the famous word appear; to me it tended ever so slightly to the excessive.
The Collapse of Parenting
by Dr. Leonard Sax
This is a fantastic book; I inhaled it at a breakneck pace.
In the first half, Sax chronicles how the loss of parents' embracing their authority towards their children leads to disastrous consequences, both to individual children and to society as a whole. Sax references popular music and advertising, as well as anecdotes from patients and listeners at his conference presentation to show how lost a generation, or rather, several generations have become, by parents not exercising their authority.
In the second half, he gives prescriptive advice for parents on how to parent with authority, and gives inspiring examples of families he has met.
I found myself nodding profusely, reading aloud sentences to whomever was nearby, and more than a few times, cringing as I was forced to see the mistakes I have been making in my unintentionally wishy-washy parenting approach.
Since having completed the book, I made a few simple changes to how I was speaking to my children and have seen their behaviour improve immensely.
I think this is a tremendously valuable book for anyone who has children or works with them. Truthfully, anyone concerned about some of the alarming trends among young people would find this book worthwhile.
The Song at the Scaffold
by Gertrud von le fort
This is historical novel depicts the heroic martyrdom of the Carmelites at Compeigne who were killed during the French Revolution. The Sisters are aware of the bloody persecution of Catholics taking place throughout France, and so they begin to prepare themselves for the inevitable sacrifice of their lives as well, and do so with joy. The title refers to the touching image of the Sisters being led to the guillotine in a cart while singing in clear voices the Veni Creator Spiritus.
I knew of the Martyrs of Compeigne from a talk I had once heard at a conference, and was so touched by the details of their final days so I decided to finally read this book, expecting to find it edifying.
I am surprised and disappointed that I found the writing so dry that I had to slog through this book, and it's only just over 100 pages long. I can't quite put my finger on what I disliked about it, because truly, without question, the literal account of these Sisters' death is so inspiring. The novel itself, though, felt forced and awkward. Perhaps it was just poorly translated into English.
The Temperament God Gave Your Kids
by Art and Larraine Bennett
I would give this book a resounding "meh." I read another book by the Bennetts on the four temperaments (titled "The Temperament God Gave You"; I sense a brand) and was quite fascinated by this little-known but entirely helpful framework of understanding various personalities.
This book added little to the conversation.
Likewise, they tried too hard, I'd say, to make it a chatty, light read, and thus much of it sounded like drivel. I did, however, think the chapter called "Growing in Virtue" was illuminating for my children. It helped to remind me that very different tactics are needed amongst them to inspire them to live well. I also found it touching how the Bennetts in this chapter showed how the different temperaments in children already possess certain virtues fairly easily. It seemed quite accurate based on my observations of our own children.
This may be worthwhile for you, if you aren't familiar with the four temperaments. You'll have to grin and bear the excessively 'light' banter thrown in.
The Revenge of Vinyl Cafe
by Stuart McLean
Oh, dear Stuart McLean, rest in peace. Anyone who knows this man's CBC radio will already understand how truly funny this collection of short stories is. Dear Dave and Morely continue with their usual unbelievably awkward antics, much to the amusement and delight of the reader. My personal favourites were "Hello, Monster" where Dave accidentally gets trapped in a sewer and befriends a preschool-aged child who hears him calling from underground -- it's explosively funny -- and "Tour de Dave" where he has a hilarious run-in with his neighbours coveted racing bike.
I read both of these stories aloud to my boys, as they love to listen to episodes of Vinyl Cafe with me, too (pre-approved ones; not all would be suitable for children) and they both laughed 'til they cried. I fancy I did my best impersonation of McLean himself, to give the full effect of Dave's bizarre mishaps, and that was why they loved it. These stories do just beg to be read aloud to another person.
Highly recommended fun.
And here's a snapshot to give you an idea of what read-aloud time looks like in my family: hot drinks abound, and I do my best to keep the baby a) off the table, b) out of my coffee cup and c) not prying the book from my hands and tossing it across the room.
This photo with the above explanation could explain why most of our read-aloud time happens when he's in bed. He's not even walking yet, but is already into evvvverything.
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