A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas - link to my post (library copy)
The White Stag by Kate Seredy - I checked this book out of the library after reading The Good Master and wondering if I should purchase more by Seredy for our home library. This is a beautifully written mythologized story of Attila the Hun as told to the people he led to the promised land. I enjoyed it and would be happy for the kids to read it from the library, but I didn't feel the need to procure our own copy. (library copy)
To Light a Fire on the Earth by Robert Barron with John L. Allen Jr. - link to my post (Blogging for Books review copy)
The Complete Ramona books by Beverly Cleary - link to my post (purchased on Audible)
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte - I thought I had read this when I was in high school, but if so I'd forgotten most of it. I was quite horrified by Heathcliff's actions in the book, particularly against his niece. It certainly was an audiobook that kept me interested, almost looking forward to my chores when I could listen, but I'm not sure I want to read or listen to it again. (purchased on Audible)
The Story of Inventions by Michael J. McHugh and Frank P. Bachman - link to my post (purchased used, maybe at a book sale?)
Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski - This is another fantasy novel by a Polish author. Lots of violence, mature relations, magic, and quandaries about what is right and moral in an different world. Not for everyone, but I enjoyed it for a bit of light reading. (library copy)
Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell - link to my post (purchased used copy, though Kansas Dad first listened to the audiobook from the library)
Anne of Windy Poplars by L.M. Montgomery - I was a little sad when I started this book because I thought to myself, "Anne should be in medical school with Gilbert instead of teaching at some tiny little school in a tiny little town." That situation, of course, is consistent with the time when Anne lived and, today, a young woman who does go to medical school can be just as lovely as Anne and also be an excellent doctor. And there was the incident of twins who viciously attack a neighbor girl while Anne is babysitting them.Those kinds of considerations aside, I enjoyed this book in the Anne series tremendously. (the copy my dad bought me when I was oh-so-young)
A Town Like Alice by Nevile Shute - I read this book decades ago and thoroughly enjoyed listening to the audio version. I've never heard a Queensland accent, but the narrator's was far better than what I might have heard in my head. Jean Paget is an interesting heroine, who leads a group of hapless English women through the jungles of Malaya after the Japanese invasion (and whose horrible treatment at their hands seems quite gentle compared to what some women suffered after such an invasion). After the war, she learns of a vast inheritance and spends the rest of the book putting it to good use. It's odd that a woman with such obvious leadership skills and business acumen should refuse to try to learn anything, but other than that, she's quite a wonderful woman. Listening to the book made dinner prep downright enjoyable. (purchased on Audible)
Tremendous Trifles by G.K. Chesterton - link to my post (inadvertently purchased used abridged copy, read unabridged library copy)
Books in Progress (and date started)
- Norton Anthology of English Literature Vol. 2 (sixth edition) (August 2014)
- A Century of Sonnets edited by Feldman and Robinson (May 2017)
- The Power of Silence by Robert Cardinal Sarah (December 2017)
- On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness by Andrew Peterson (February 2018)
- In the Steps of the Master by H.V. Morton (February 2018)
- James Herriot's Favorite Dog Stories by James Herriot (February 2018, listening with the younger three)
- Heroes and Legends from The Great Courses (February 2018)
- History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons they Teach from The Great Courses (February 2018, listening with the older two or three)
These reports are my honest opinions.
