Trinity College Library

During our visit to Ireland, we had the good fortune to visit Trinity College in Dublin and see the Book of Kells. An absolutely amazing illustrated manuscript of the four gospels dating from the 9th century. And this is not the only amazing old book they have there at Trinity College. They've been building their collection for hundreds of years! Wow. They're definitely bibliophilists!

From Trinity's web site at: About the Library

Trinity College Library is the largest library in Ireland. Its collections of manuscripts and printed books have been built up since the end of the sixteenth century. In addition to the purchases and donations of almost four centuries, since 1801 the Library has had the right to claim all British and Irish publications under the terms of successive Copyright Acts. The bookstock is now over four million volumes and there are extensive collections of manuscripts, maps and music.

The Library has a triple rôle. As a university library it serves the needs of the College's undergraduate and postgraduate students and of the academic staff; it is also a research library of international repute, making available much rare material to scholars from all parts of the world. In addition, it provides an information service to government departments, to research organisations and to technical, industrial and commercial bodies within Ireland.

Knowing God by J. I. Packer

Unabridged Audiobook from Audible.com. Published in book form 1973, and as an audiobook in 1990 by Christians Listening.

It's taken me a long time to get through the ten hours and 15 minutes of this audiobook. Unfortunately the quality of the recording left something to be desired, often repeating sentences at what must have been the breaking point for the narrator. (Bad editing, I'd assume.) I had borrowed the book from the Windsor library in paperback form first (one of the few Christian religious books they have there), and was having a hard time getting through it, so I tried for the audiobook. Now, I think I need to go back to the paperback edition so that I can attempt to explore some of the things he says more fully. Some of it made very good sense to me; especially his chapter refuting the idea that becoming a Christian will make life all sunshine and roses, as well as the one that discussed why icons are not such a good thing. Some of it however, just went way over my head.

Publisher's summary:
Packer contends that the ignorance of God lies at the root of much of the Church's weakness today. And, from this ignorance, two ugly trends have spawned this state of affairs: (1) "Christian minds have been conformed to the modern spirit; the spirit, that is, that spawns great thoughts of man and leaves room for only small thoughts of God," and (2) "Christian minds have been confused by the modern skepticism." This timeless work provides a scholarly yet warm exposition on the nature of God, reinforcing the fundamental facts of faith that have so frequently been called in question.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Knowing God: With Study Guide
from amazon.com, click here: Knowing God. The audio version can be purchase from audible.com through amazon.com by clicking the audio download link on the description page.

Digital Fortress by Dan Brown

Fiction. Paperback from Corgi Books. Originally published in 1998, republished 2004. Purchased at Books, Etc. at London Luton Airport, UK.

As we were heading out on our trip to Ireland, I stopped in the bookshop for something to read, and this is what caught my eye. I figured since I'd read all the other Dan Brown books published so far, I'd go ahead and read this one as well. Since his popularity has soared since The Da Vinci Code, the publisher has been reissuing his older books. This is the oldest one they've recently put out. I'm under the impression that it is his first book, though I wouldn't bet the farm on it.

The book doesn't seem to have the smoother writing style of his later books, but is still an enjoyable enough read. I would not want to place all my faith in his knowledge of how computers work, but I don't have to believe that something would really work in order to enjoy a book. I do get a little tired of all the main characters in books being drop-dead gorgeous and long-legged or stunningly handsome - as if she or he wouldn't be an enjoyable character otherwise.

Publisher's summary:
When the NSA's invincible code-breaking machine - encounters a mysterious code it cannot break, the agency calls in its head cryptographer, Susan Fletcher, a brilliant and beautiful mathematician. What she uncovers sends shock waves through the corridors of power. The NSA is being held hostage...not by guns or bombs, but by a code so ingeniously complex that if released it will cripple U.S. intelligence.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Digital Fortress
from amazon.com, click here: Digital Fortress

Rakkety Tam by Brian Jacques

Fiction. Hardback from the Penguin Group. Published 2004. Purchased at Methven's, Windsor, UK. (And at the just published price, no less. But, what else can you do but buy when your kids come running up to you on the High Street, eyes all aglow because of a book they've found? They know my soft spot.)

Brian Jacques has been a favourite of the kids for many years now. And, I'll have to admit he's been a favourite of mine as well. In reality the story lines never really vary much, but they are still enjoyable books. The world of Redwall is a charming one, filled with critters with delightful distinguishing personalities. I'm always glad to read one as soon as I can call my place in the "new book queue" (I usually end up last, but don't mind.)

Here's a song from Chapter 32 sung by a young haremaid (long, but worth it):

'Well pish an' tush an' 'pon my word, I am the Primrose Warrior.
The day I joined the Long Patrol, no maid was ever sorrier.

They woke me up at break o' dawn, and sent me off to war,
before I'd had a chance to bathe, or dust each dainty paw.

I went away to fight the foe, with comrades rude an' rough.
They'd never seen a perfume spray, much less a powder puff.

With not a drop of daisy balm, or any rosehip lotion,
I marched along, a dreadful sight, my ears shook with emotion.

Then soon we faced the enemy, an' it was my firm belief,
between that awful scruffy lot, was not one handkerchief!

What were their mothers thinking of? No one had washed his face.
I mentioned to my Officer, they looked a real disgrace!

All filled with indignation then, I charged them single-pawed,
with a boudoir mirror for a shield, a parasol for a sword.

I curled their ears and brushed their teeth, and wiped their runny noses,
then sprayed on toilet water, until they smelled like roses.

They ran away in swift retreat, that rabble so unseemly.
My General then promoted me, for beating them so cleanly.

So when you see me on parade, you chaps must all salute.
I'm called the Primrose major now, and isn't that a hoot?"

Publisher's summary:
Rakkety Tam MacBurl is a brave border warrior who has travelled south in search of adventure. But when his army is attacked by an evil flesh-eating band, adventure finds him.

Gulo the Savage, wolverine, flesh-eater and brutal killer, has come to Mossflower in search of his brother - who stole the mystical stone that will make one of them king of the lands of ice and snow. Anybeast who gets in Gulo's way is dead meat. And he's heading for the peaceful Redwall Abbey - unless Rakkety Tam can stop him.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Rakkety Tam
from amazon.com, click here: Rakkety Tam

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Fiction. Hardback from Collector's Library. First published 1813. This edition published 2003. Purchased from Methven's in Windsor, UK.

This copy of Pride and Prejudice is a small collector's edition. It fits neatly in pocket or bag. I've read Pride and Prejudice several times. I've also watched the BBC mini-series many times. I am not to the point where I know the book as well as the movie - often the things that are different in the book surprise me. I do enjoy the book in part because it adds many details left out of the film version. It's interesting to compare the two and speculate why some things were left out or changed in the movie.

For gloomy days that are best passed curled up with a familiar book, this is one of my favorites.

Publisher's summary:
Pride and Prejudice is a delightful social comedy and a timelessly affecting love story. Elizabeth Bennet is the headstrong young woman whom no man seems capable of taming; Fitzwilliam Darcy is the arrogant landowner who distains to think it would be worth his trying to do so. Jane Austen's poised narrative shows how these two apparently incompatible characters learn to overcome their initial feelings of mutual dislike. A tour de force of wit and sparkling dialogue, Pride and Prejudice is also a sumptuously detailed picture of contemporary society, which, in its exploration of manners and motives, has a great deal to say about the society of today. Austen's best-loved novel is a memorable story about hte inaccuracy of first impressions, about the power of reason, and above all about the strange dynamics of human relationships and emotions.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here:Pride and Prejudice.
From amazon.com, here: Pride and Prejudice

What type of reader?

I found this quote by Samuel Taylor Coleridge whilst browsing the internet:

Readers may be divided into four classes: 
1.) Sponges, who absorb all that they read and return it in nearly the same state, only a little dirtied. 
2.) Sand-glasses, who retain nothing and are content to get through a book for the sake of getting through the time. 
3.) Strain-bags, who retain merely the dregs of what they read. 
4.) Mogul diamonds, equally rare and valuable, who profit by what they read, and enable others to profit by it also. 

So, naturally, I started trying to decide what type of reader *I* am. I'd love to say unequivocally that I am of the "mogul diamond" persuasion. But, truthfully, I think I see a bit of myself in all of those classes. There are times when what I read gets internalized, but only impacts me a little bit. There are certainly times when I read to pass the time (say on a ten hour flight across the Atlantic). And who hasn't read a paragraph (or more) only to realize that none of it has actually stuck - not even the dregs? (Although I'm not sure that's exactly what he meant there.) On my best of reading days I do indeed profit from what I read, and at the least others profit because I've got a better understanding of myself. I wonder if anyone would really fit neatly into the "mogul diamond" class all the time? I could see that a reader could be one of the other three categories all the time, but the fourth one seems like it might be a bit harder to attain at all times. Some of the stuff I read isn't really something that I really want to profit from, other than to be entertained. I suppose I could profit from the fact that I was entertained, though. Any thoughts?

From the Bookshelf: The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology

(The "From the Bookshelf" entries will be favorite books that are part of our library, but have not necessarily been read recently.)

Although I have not read this book in it's entirety, it is one of my favorites. I don't know enough about etymology to say that this the perfect book on words or to comment on the level of scholarship. However, we have really enjoyed it and have found it to be very useful when we are curious about the etymology of a word. We use it enough to have actually dragged it across the Atlantic so we'd have it available during our time in the UK. (And this was no small feat considering the book is three inches thick and heavy.)

Publisher's summary:
As all lovers of language know, words are the source of our very understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

Often, however, our use of language is so automatic that we neglect to consider where those words came from and what they assume. What are the implications, beyond the simple dictionary definitions, of using words such as privilege, hysteria, seminal, and gyp?

Browsing through the pages of The Barhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology is like exploring the historical, political, and rhetorical wonderland of our linguistic heritage. We see the evolution of ideas, as rootword connections that now seem arbitrary are traced to schools of thought from the past. We also find an opportunity to examine how the sometimes backwards, sometimes hilarious, and sometimes illuminating ideologies built into our language affect our modern thinking.

Written in a fresh, accessible style, this book provides the derivations of over 21,000 English-language words without resorting to the use of abbreviations, symbols, or technical terminology. Drawing on the most current American scholarship, and focusing on the core words in contemporary English, The Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology is both a diverting browse and a thinking person's Bible.

To buy from amazon, click here: Barnhart Concise Dictionary of Etymology

Asterix in Britain by Rene Goscinny and Albert Uderzo

Fiction. Hardcover from Orion Books Ltd. Originally published in 1966, reprinted 2004. Purchased from Methven's, Windsor, UK.

There was much rejoicing in our household the day we came across this book in the course of bookstore browsing. We had checked it out of the library here several times. Over time we had decided that it was definitely worth adding to our collection. Unfortunately, we came to discover that it was out of print and used copies were selling for as much as £40 on eBay. We went so far as to scan the book so that we could have it to take back to the states with us. In the way of such things, within a few days of our scanning the book, it was back in the bookshops, having just been reprinted. I bought it without even looking to see how much it was going to cost me. (Fortunately it was only £10 - a bargain compared to £40.)

We've enjoyed the Asterix series for a long time. The author cracks us up with names like "Cacofonix" for a bard with dubious singing talent, and "Getafix" for a druid. There are many references to history slipped in here and there amidst humorous word play. Such fun. Then when you add in the fact that this book pokes fun at the way of life of a Brit, it has me rolling in the aisles every time I read it.

Publisher's summary:
One little ancient British village still holds out against the Roman invaders. Asterix and Obelix and invited to help. They must face fog, rain, warm beer and boiled boar with mint sauce, but they soon have Governor Encylopaedicus Britannicus's Romans declining and falling. Until a wild race for a barrel of magic potion lands them in the drink. It's not quite cricket - how about a nice cup of hot water, though? Over even the first ever tea-party?

For more from the world of Asterix and Obelix visit: www.asterix.tm.fr and choose your language. To buy from amazon, click here: Asterix in Britain

Coraline by Neil Gaiman

Fiction. Audiobook from Harper Children's Audio. Published 2002. Purchased from audible.com. (Although they don't seem to have it anymore. It is available from amazon.co.uk though.)

This audiobook was purchased for Cara's listening pleasure. (I like to try and read some of the same things the kids read, in part to have a topic for conversation and in part to have an idea what is going into their heads.) At just over three hours it's not a very long book at all. But, it was an enjoyable story. It is intended to be scary and was just about as much scary as I am willing to subject myself to! Might be more so for a younger child though. Cara says it scared her a little the first time she listened to it.

Publisher's summary:
The day after they moved in, Coraline went exploring....

In Coraline’s family’s new flat there are twenty-one windows and fourteen doors. Thirteen of the doors open and close. The fourteenth is locked and on the other side is a brick wall, until one day when Coraline unlocks the door and finds a passage to another flat in another house exactly like her own.

Only it’s different.

At first, things seem fantastic in the new flat. The food is better. The toy box is full of exciting toys, books whose pictures writhe and crawl and shimmer and little dinosaur skulls that chatter their teeth. But there’s another mother and another father, and they want Coraline to stay with them and be their daughter. They want to change her and never let her go.

Coraline discovers there are other children trapped there already and she is their only hope of rescue. She will have to fight with all her wits if she is to save the lost children, her real parents and herself.

In this alternately whimsical, creepy, charming and dreamlike story, written in simple but elegant prose, Neil Gaiman has created a modern fairytale that is at times funny, at times frightening and at times beautifully surreal.

To buy on amazon, click here: Coraline

The Brethren by John Grisham

Fiction. Audiobook from Random House Audio. Published 2000. On loan from the Windsor Public Library.

Finishing up in 11 hours, this audiobook certainly helped to pass the time while I did housework over the last week. An interesting book as there really was not a "good guy". Every major person in the plot was busy doing something that they should not have been. I never was really sure how I wanted the story to go because I felt as if each character really did not deserve the "happy ending" that I like to see at the end of a book.

Publisher's summary:
Trumble, a minimum security federal prison, is home to the usual assortment of criminals --drug dealers, bank robbers, swindlers, embezzlers, tax evaders, two Wall Street crooks, one doctor, and at least four lawyers.

Trumble is also home to three former judges who call themselves The Brethren: one from Texas, one from California, and one from Mississippi. They meet each day in the law library, their turf at Trumble, where they write briefs, handle cases for other inmates, practice law without a license, occasionally dispense jailhouse justice, and spend hours hatching schemes to make money.

Then one of their scams goes awry. It ensnares the wrong victim, an innocent on the outside, a man with dangerous friends, and The Brethren's days of quietly marking time are over.

To buy on amazon, click here: The Brethren

Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald

Non-fiction. Hardcover from Thomas Nelson Publishers. First published 1984. Updated and republished 2003. Purchased from amazon.com.

This book is ultimately about the practice of spiritual disciplines. MacDonald shares his experiences as a pastor and how in time he came to realize that he could not do the job on his own power but needed the power of God to keep him going. Then he takes the reader through what he considers the essentials and gives some guidance as to how to go about each "discipline". He also adds a couple of ideas I've not seen in other books I've read about the spiritual disciplines, including an admonition to read, keep your brain active, learn to listen to others, and cultivate a christian world view.

It took me a couple of months to get this book read, but it was mostly because I had too many other books going at the same time. This recently published edition has a study guide included and I am planning to work my way through the questions. There is a lot of sound advise in this book that I hope to be able to integrate into my life.

Publisher's summary:
We have schedule planners, computerized calendars, and self-stick notes to help us organize our business and social lives every day. But what about organizing the other side of our lives – the spiritual side?

One of the great battlegrounds of the new century is within the private world of the individual. The values of our Western culture incline us to believe that the busy, publicly-active person in ministry is also the most spiritual.

Tempted to give imbalanced attention to the public world at the expense of the private, we become involved in more programs, more meetings. Our massive responsibilities at home, work and church have resulted in a lot of good people on the verge of collapse.

In this timely update to his classic Ordering Your Private World, Gordon MacDonald equips a new generation to live life from the inside out, cultivating the inner victory necessary for public effectiveness.

To buy from amazon, click here: Ordering Your Private World