Three Men in A Boat: To Say Nothing of The Dog! by Jerome K. Jerome

Classic Fiction. Paperback from Penguin Books. First published in 1889. Purchased at Methven's in Windsor.

A side benefit of living in the UK for several years has been the ability to bring first hand knowledge of the area to the British books I read. These "Three Men in A Boat" are going down the Thames river, which is right by where we lived. The book even mentions a stop in Datchet. The two hotels mentioned in Datchet, the Stag and the Manor hotel are both still there, though the Stag is just a pub now. It is amazing to me that places mentioned in a book 116 years ago are still there. I've noticed that Datchet shows up in books with more frequency than I would have expected. In Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell Jonathan Strange crosses the Thames at Datchet when he is going to Windsor Castle. And that is just two books I've read recently. Anyway, I've digressed, but mainly wanted to say that I've enjoyed having Datchet (and other UK places I'm familiar with) show up in the books I read. I haven't really had that experience much before.

My sister-in-law Cindy recommended this book to me, and I read it part of the way through while we were in England, only to loose in in a pile of books somewhere and end up not finishing it. My friend Mark, on seeing a comment I made about Three Men in A Boat in my now defunct Datchet blog, recommended a book by Connie Willis, To Say Nothing of the Dog. It sounded good to me and I made a note to keep my eyes open for a copy. On our recent trip to Texas we picked up my brother's 1000 book library to bring home. (He died last September.) As I was packing the books up, there was the Connie Willis book! I kept it out and plan to read it next. I figured however, that I should actually complete the reading of Three Men in A Boat before I read To Say Nothing of the Dog.

As to Three Men in A Boat, it certainly confirms that human nature has changed little in the past 100 years. The book really doesn't have much of a plot, it just these fellows and a dog boating down the Thames. As they encounter different things the narrator of the story remembers incidences from the past and does a bit of moralizing about things as well. He makes some very astute observations, ranging from the affects of having too many things to the foolishness of making plans using the weather report as a guide. I was especially tickled by his comments about tow lines; how they tangle themselves up when no one is looking. I know this to be very true of almost any long string like item. (iPod headphones and extension cords come to mind.)

Publisher's summary:
"Change of scene, and absence of the necessity for thought, will restore the mental equilibrium"

It would be unfair to say that any of the three men were hypochondriacs: it was simply that they suffered from a constant malaise, consisting of every symptom but housemaid's knee. The only cure for it was a revitalizing river trip in an open boat.

Bearing frying pans, elusive toothbrushes, pies, lemonade and whisky, for medicinal purposes only, the three men and Montmorency the dog (whose ambition in life is to get in the way) embark on their hilarious adventures on the Thames. After considerable enjoyment and irritation -- getting lost in the maze, arguing with some quarrelsome swans, falling in the river -- the three men decide that being out of a boat seems a more inviting alternative.

Despite being over a century old, its sparkling insights into human -- and canine -- nature ensure that Three Men in a Boat is as fresh and invigorating today as when it was first published.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog
from amazon.com, click here: Three Men in a Boat: To Say Nothing of the Dog

Audible RSS Feeds

Audible has recently added the following RSS feeds.

• This Week's Best Sellers (Top 50)


• This Week's New Audiobooks and Programs


• New Free Audio Programs


• Under $10 Audio Programs


• New York Times Best Sellers


• BusinessWeek Best Sellers


• Publishers Weekly Best Sellers


• Best Sellers in Arts & Entertainment


• Best Sellers in AudibleOriginals


• Best Sellers in Biographies and Memoirs


• Best Sellers in Business


• Best Sellers in Classics


• Best Sellers in Comedy


• Best Sellers in Drama and Poetry


• Best Sellers in Fiction


• Best Sellers in Foreign Language


• Best Sellers in Great Talkers


• Best Sellers in History


• Best Sellers in Information Age


• Best Sellers in Kids


• Best Sellers in Mystery


• Best Sellers in Non-fiction


• Best Sellers in Science


• Best Sellers in Science Fiction and Fantasy


• Best Sellers in Self Development


• Best Sellers in Speeches and Lectures


• Best Sellers in Spirituality


• Best Sellers in Sports


• Best Sellers in Travel and Adventure

If you are interested in signing up for any of Audible's RSS feeds, click on Audible.com and scroll down to Gifts and Tips in the right hand sidebar. Then click on RSS Feeds.

Lost in A Good Book by Jasper Fforde

Fiction. Audiobook from HighBridge Audio. Published in 2003. Purchased at Audible.com

The second in the series.

Publisher's summary:
The inventive, exuberant, and totally original literary fun that began with The Eyre Affair continues with Jasper Fforde’s magnificent second adventure starring the resourceful, fearless literary sleuth Thursday Next. When Landen, the love of her life, is eradicated by the corrupt multinational Goliath Corporation, Thursday must moonlight as a Prose Resource Operative of Jurisfiction—the police force inside books. She is apprenticed to the man-hating Miss Havisham from Dickens’s Great Expectations, who grudgingly shows Thursday the ropes. And she gains just enough skill to get herself in a real mess entering the pages of Poe’s "The Raven." What she really wants is to get Landen back. But this latest mission is not without further complications. Along with jumping into the works of Kafka and Austen, and even Beatrix Potter’s The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, Thursday finds herself the target of a series of potentially lethal coincidences, the authenticator of a newly discovered play by the Bard himself, and the only one who can prevent an unidentifiable pink sludge from engulfing all life on Earth.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Lost in a Good Book
from amazon.com, click here: Lost in a Good Book

Audible has launched an online store for the UK. Click on the logo to visit their newest store.

Leaving Ruin by Jeff Berryman

Christian-Fiction. Paperback from New Leaf Books. Published in 2002. Purchased from Amazon.com

I know! An actual book rather than an audiobook. Audiobooks have fit a little bit better with all the things I need to get done as of late. But, this one I read a little bit at a time before bed. It took me a while to get through it.

The book seems at times to be a bit preachy/syrupy in places, but towards the end I stopped noticing it. So it either got past that or I got used to it. There are some good insights to be found buried in this novel, and some very astute observations about the nature of the church.

Publisher's summary:
Loreen is her name -- the gnarly old woman in the angel costume who accosts Cyrus Manning near the dance floor of the Down Under. A gift is coming, she tells him. "The gift is to die for".

For 11 years, cyrus has pastored First Church of Ruin, a town deep in the barrens of West Texas. His life, much like the surrounding plains, looks bleak -- strained relationships at home, ineffective ministry, and a congregation that no longer wants him. Hoping t hear a word from God, he gets little more than the occasional headache and the silence of a near-dead wind.

The arrival of a former lover, the death of a dear friend, and a blatantly rejected prayer increases Cyrus' inner pressure, and the call of missed lives become palpable. Loping toward the unknown, Cyrus faces roads filled with fevered dreams, wandering messiahs, and the occasional rare gift -- remember Loreen, the prophesy -- and he is horrified and amazed to discover that his life may not turn out at all like he'd planned.

In this richly-textured novel, the world of the small-town church is revealed -- its natural wonders, its natural cruelities and, here and there, breathtaking moments of unnatural grace.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Leaving Ruin
from amazon.com, click here: Leaving Ruin

The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde

Fiction. Audiobook from HighBridge Audio. Published in 2002. Purchased at Audible.com

Once when I was visiting in Austin, my Mom and I went to a Terry Pratchett book signing. While standing around afterwards waiting to get a copy of Monstrous Regiment signed for my brother, we started chatting with a fellow who was there for the signing, too. He recommended Jasper Fforde to me, and I wrote down a couple of the titles that he mentioned. Eventually I ran across the books and read them from the library in Windsor. Recently while perusing Audible looking for something to listen to on our trip to the Alabama Gulf Coast, I found Jasper Fforde and decided that I would enjoy rereading them by listening to them this time.

I've really enjoyed how the author brings classic fiction characters to life and mixes them with a slightly twisted version of our world.

Publisher's summary:
Great Britain, circa 1985: time travel is routine, cloning is a reality, and literature is taken very, very seriously. Baconians are trying to convince the world that Francis Bacon really wrote Shakespeare, there are riots between the Surrealists and Impressionists, and thousands of men are named John Milton, an homage to the real Milton and a very confusing situation for the police. Amidst all this, Acheron Hades, Third Most Wanted Man In the World, steals the original manuscript of Martin Chuzzlewit and kills a minor character, who then disappears from every volume of the novel ever printed! But that's just a prelude. Hades' real target is the beloved Jane Eyre, and it's not long before he plucks her from the pages of Bronte's novel. Enter Thursday Next. She's the Special Operative's renowned literary detective, and she drives a Porsche. With the help of her uncle Mycroft's Prose Portal, Thursday enters the novel to rescue Jane Eyre from this heinous act of literary homicide. It's tricky business, all these interlopers running about Thornfield, and deceptions run rampant as their paths cross with Jane, Rochester, and Miss Fairfax. Can Thursday save Jane Eyre and Bronte's masterpiece? And what of the Crimean War? Will it ever end? And what about those annoying black holes that pop up now and again, sucking things into time-space voids

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: The Eyre Affair (Thursday Next)
from amazon.com, click here: The Eyre Affair

Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Suzanna Clarke

Fiction. Audiobook from Audio Renaissance. Published in 2004. Purchased on Audible.com.

This was a long book. But, I picked it in part because it was a long book, so that is not a complaint. Some of the reviews on Audible thought the book was a bit rambling, and I think that might be a valid complaint, but I think listening to the rambling might be easier than reading it. The only complaint I had about the recording was that there were so many footnotes and the narrator did not indicate when the footnote was over and he was going back to the text. It was a bit confusing at times.

I enjoyed the story, and liked the fictional world of this book. If you don't mind sticking with a book for a while, I'd recommend it.

Publisher's summary:
English magicians were once the wonder of the known world, with fairy servants at their beck and call; they could command winds, mountains, and woods. But by the early 1800s they have long since lost the ability to perform magic. They can only write long, dull papers about it, while fairy servants are nothing but a fading memory.

But at Hurtfew Abbey in Yorkshire, the rich, reclusive Mr. Norrell has assembled a wonderful library of lost and forgotten books from England's magical past and regained some of the powers of England's magicians. He goes to London and raises a beautiful young woman from the dead. Soon he is lending his help to the government in the war against Napoleon Bonaparte, creating ghostly fleets of rain-ships to confuse and alarm the French.

All goes well until a rival magician appears. Jonathan Strange is handsome, charming, and talkative, the very opposite of Mr. Norrell. Strange thinks nothing of enduring the rigors of campaigning with Wellington's army and doing magic on battlefields. Astonished to find another practicing magician, Mr. Norrell accepts Strange as a pupil. But it soon becomes clear that their ideas of what English magic ought to be are very different. For Mr. Norrell, their power is something to be cautiously controlled, while Jonathan Strange will always be attracted to the wildest, most perilous forms of magic. He becomes fascinated by the ancient, shadowy figure of the Raven King, a child taken by fairies who became king of both England and Faerie, and the most legendary magician of all. Eventually Strange's heedless pursuit of long-forgotten magic threatens to destroy not only his partnership with Norrell, but everything that he holds dear.

Sophisticated, witty, and ingeniously convincing, Susanna Clarke's magisterial novel weaves magic into a flawlessly detailed vision of historical England. She has created a world so thoroughly enchanting that 32 hours leave readers longing for more.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell
from amazon.com, click here: Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell

From the Bookshelf: The Timetables of History by Bernard Grun

Non-Fiction. Paperback from Simon & Schuster. Published in 1991. Purchased from Amazon.com

I really like this book. It isn't the type of book you sit down and read, but it is a wonderful reference. For each year there are seven categories listed: History and Politics; Literature and Theatre; Religion, Philiosophy and Learning; Visual Arts; Music; Science and Technology; and Daily Life. It is very interesting to me to be able to take a sweeping look across a year and see what types of things were happening in the various categories.

Publisher's summary:
Vast and absorbing, spanning millennia of human history, The Timetables of History, achieves a goal in the study of the past that is unmatched by any other reference volume -- it gives us a sweeping overview of the making of the contemporary world. This remarkable book maps out at a glance what was happening simultaneously, from the dawn of history to the present day. Never before has progress been presented with such clarity or with a view that fully captures the essence and the excitement of civilization.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: The Timetables of History: A Horizontal Linkage of People and Events
from amazon.com, click here: The Timetables of History: A Horizontal Linkage of People and Events

From the Bookshelf: Mother Tongue: The English Language by Bill Bryson

Non-Fiction. Paperback from Penguin Books. Published in 1991. Purchased at Blackwell's in Oxford.

Bill Bryson is very witty and his humor helped to make this book into a very enjoyable read. I'd highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys linguistics.

Publisher's summary:
'More than 300 million people in the world speak English and the rest, it sometimes seems, try to ...'

In this hymn to the mother tongue Bill Bryson examines how a language 'treated for centuries as the inadequate and second-rate tongue of peasants' has now become the undisputed global language (more people learn English in China than live in the USA). He explains how the words shampoo, sofa, slogan, OK and rowdy (and others drawn from over fifty languages) got into our dictionaries and how the major dictionaries were created. He explores the countless varieties of English - from American to Australian, from Creole to Cockney rhyming slang - and the perils of marketing brands with names like Pschitt and Super Piss. With entertaining sections on the oddities of swearing and spelling, spoonerisms and Scrabble, and a consideration of what we mean by 'good English', Mother Tongue is one of the most stimulating books yet written on this endlessly engrossing subject.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Mother Tongue: The English Language
from amazon.com, click here: The Mother Tongue

Boudica - Dreaming the Bull by Manda Scott

Historical Fiction. Paperback from Bantam. Published in 2005. Purchased at Methven's in Windsor.

While working on this post I discovered that there is to be a fourth book in this series. I don't know whether it will be the final book or if the series will drag out in Wheel of Time fashion. I suppose it would have been good to know that there was to be atleast one more book. Since I know that Boudica gets killed by the Romans, I've been expecting it to happen in the third book, which I am reading now. The fourth book isn't due out until 2006, so I guess I'll have to wait a bit to see that happen.

Publisher's summary:
THE SECOND NOVEL IN THE ACCLAIMED BOUDICA SERIES

Hailed by her people as Boudica, the Bringer of Victory, Breaca now leads the resistance against the occupying legions of Rome. Opposing her is Julius Valerius, an auxiliary cavalry officer whose increasing brutality in the service of his god and emperor cannot shield him from the ghosts of his past. Caught in the middle are two children, pawns in a game of unthinkable savagery.

Continuing her acclaimed retelling of this great tale, Manda Scott has written a novel of uncompromising mastery that captivates the heart and challenges the mind as Boudica and this man who calls himself Julius Valerius confront each other – and their own inescapable destinies…

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Boudica: Dreaming the Bull
from amazon.com, click here: Dreaming the Bull

Boudica - Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott

Historical Fiction. Paperback from Bantam. Published in 2004. Purchased at Methven's in Windsor.

Boudica, the woman in Britain's history who led many successful battles against the invading Romans, has always fascinated me. When I saw this book I just "had" to read it. I've enjoyed (for the most part) the author's attempts at fleshing in the details of this amazing woman's life. There are three books in the series and I am about half way through the second one.

Publisher's summary:
Dreaming the Eagle is the first part of the gloriously imagined epic trilogy of the life of Boudica.

Boudica means Bringer of Victory (from the early Celtic word “boudeg”). She is the last defender of the Celtic culture in Britain; the only woman openly to lead her warriors into battle and to stand successfully against the might of Imperial Rome -- and triumph.

It is 33 AD and eleven-year-old Breaca (later named Boudica), the red-haired daughter of one of the leaders of the Eceni tribe, is on the cusp between girl and womanhood. She longs to be a Dreamer, a mystical leader who can foretell the future, but having killed the man who has attacked and killed her mother, she has proven herself a warrior. Dreaming the Eagle is also the story of the two men Boudica loves most: Caradoc, outstanding warrior and inspirational leader; and Bàn, her half-brother, who longs to be a warrior, though he is manifestly a Dreamer, possibly the finest in his tribe’s history. Bàn becomes the Druid whose eventual return to the Celts is Boudica’s salvation.

Dreaming the Eagle is full of brilliantly realised, luminous scenes as the narrative sweeps effortlessly from the epic -- where battle scenes are huge, bloody, and action-packed -- to the intimate. Manda Scott plunges us into the unforgettable world of tribal Britain in the years before the Roman invasion: a world of druids and dreamers and the magic of the gods where the natural world is as much a character as any of the people who live within it, a world of warriors who fight for honour as much as victory, a world of passion, courage and spectacular heroism pitched against overwhelming odds.

Dreaming the Eagle stunningly recreates the roots of a story so powerful its impact has lasted through the ages.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle
from amazon.com, click here: Boudica: Dreaming the Eagle

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

Fiction. Unabridged Audiobook from Audio Renaissance. Recorded in 2002. Purchased at Audible.com.

I'd read Ender's Game before, but my son wanted to try listening to it, so I gave it a listen as well. Classic Science Fiction. Definitely an enjoyable read, whether reading it in book form or audiobook form.

Publisher's summary:
In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut—young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training.

Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister.

Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Ender's Game
from amazon.com, click here: Ender's Game

With No One as Witness by Elizabeth George

Fiction. Audiobook from Harper Audio. Recorded in 2005. Purchased at Audible.com.

A friend in Grand Rapids got me started on these Inspector Lynley books. I've enjoyed all of the books in the series that I have read. They are set in England, London for the most part, so I always enjoy recognizing the different locations. A couple of the books in the series have been made into BBC "made for TV" movies.

This book has a twist at the end that I did not expect and I am still struggling to reconcile myself to the way the story closes. A good read, but not one to start with. These books are best read in the order they were published, so look for A Great Deliverance to get a start on this series.

Publisher's summary:
Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley takes on the case of his career.

When it comes to spellbinding suspense and page-turning excitement, New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth George always delivers. As the Wall Street Journal raves, "Ms. George can do it all, with style to spare."

In With No One as Witness, Elizabeth George has crafted an intricate, meticulously researched, and absorbing story sure to enthrall her readers. Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley is back, along with his longtime partner, the fiery Barbara Havers, and newly promoted Detective Sergeant Winston Nkata. They are on the hunt for a sinister killer.

When an adolescent boy's nude body is found mutilated and artfully arranged on the top of a tomb, it takes no large leap for the police to recognize this as the work of a serial killer. This is the fourth victim in three months but the first to be white.

Hoping to avoid charges of institutionalized racism in its failure to pursue the earlier crimes to their conclusion, New Scotland Yard hands the case over to Lynley and his colleagues. The killer is a psychopath who does not intend to be stopped. Worse, a devastating tragedy within the police ranks causes them to fumble in their pursuit of him.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: With No One as Witness
from amazon.com, click here: With No One As Witness

Crossroads of Twilight by Robert Jordan

Fiction. Unabridged Audiobook from Audio Renaissance. Recorded in 2003. Purchased at Audible.com

This is the 10th book in Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series. At 25 plus hours of listening the story really doesn't go very far - not that it is really any different than the first nine books. I read the first one in this series before we moved from California, maybe eight years ago. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into - I don't think this story is ever going to come to a conclusion. I will have to say that listening to it was much better than reading it. I barely slogged through book nine, and the audiobook while slow paced was no where near as painful a "read".

Publisher's summary:
The Wheel of Time™ turns and Ages come and pass.

In the tenth book of The Wheel of Time™ from the New York Times #1 bestselling author Robert Jordan, the world and the characters stand at a crossroads, as the power of the Shadow grows stronger.

Fleeing from Ebou Dar with the kidnapped Daughter of the Nine Moons, Mat Cauthon learns that he can neither keep her nor let her go, not in safety for either of them, for both the Shadow and the might of the Seanchan Empire are in deadly pursuit.

Perrin Aybara seeks to free his wife, Faile, a captive of the Shaido, but his only hope may be an alliance with the enemy. Can he remain true to his friend Rand and to himself? For his love of Faile, Perrin is willing to sell his soul.

At Tar Valon, Egwene al’Vere, the young Amyrlin of the rebel Aes Sedai, lays siege to the heart of Aes Sedai power, but she must win quickly, for unless the Aes Sedai are reunited, only the male Asha’man will remain to defend the world against the Dark One, and nothing can hold the Asha’man themselves back from total power except the Aes Sedai and a unified White Tower.

In Andor, Elayne Trakand fights for the Lion Throne but enemies and Darkfriends surround her, plotting her destruction. If she fails, Andor may fall to the Shadow, and the Dragon Reborn with it.

Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn himself, has cleansed the Dark One’s taint from the male half of the True Source, and everything has changed. Yet nothing has, for only men who can channel believe that saidin is clean again, and a man who can channel is still hated and feared—even one prophesied to save the world. Now, Rand must gamble again, with himself at stake, and he cannot be sure which of his allies are really enemies.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Crossroads of Twilight (Wheel of Time Series)
from amazon.com, click here: Crossroads of Twilight (Wheel of Time, Book 10)

On Holiday

We are on holiday, so I haven't had much chance to get on blogger to add my completed books. We're travelling via train, so there is a lot of time available for reading, so it's a good thing! For now I'll just list the completed books and will follow with the usual details once we are back to the UK.

Crossroads of Twighlight by Robert Jordan

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

With No One As Witness by Elizabeth George

We are in Nice, France today and hope to get down to the Mediterranean for a bit, so more time for reading! I hope your day is allowing you plenty of chances to enjoy a good book as well. Ciao!

Quote for Today

The more that you read,
the more things you will know.

The more that you learn,
the more places you'll go.

- Dr. Suess

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picouit

Fiction. Hardback from Hodder & Stoughton. Published in 2004. On loan from the Windsor Library.

The other day I was clicking between our five channels and came upon Richard & Judy, a daily talk show that plays here in the UK. As it was a Wednesday, they were talking about the latest book they'd read for their Book Club. I don't usually watch the show, but since they were talking about a book, I stopped long enough to hear what they had to say. The book was My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picouit. I had never heard of it, but as they discussed it, I thought I'd keep my eyes open for it the next time I was at the library.

The book is told from the point of view of all the characters, moving back and forth between them. The author does a good job of describing what it is like to have a child with a terminal disease, and the ending definitely surprised me.

Publisher's summary:
Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions, and shots so that her sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since she was a child. Anna was born for this purpose, her parents tell her, which is why they love her even more. But now that she has reached an age of physical awareness, she can't help but long for control over her own body and respite from the constant flow of her own blood seeping into her sister's veins. 

And so she makes a decision that for most would be too difficult to bear, at any time and at any age. She decides to sue her parents for the rights to her own body.

Using her sensitive, wise touch, Jodi Picoult probes into the love and heartache of a young girl and a modern family.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: My Sister's Keeper
from amazon.com, click here: My Sister's Keeper : A Novel

The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis

Fiction. Paperback from Harper Collins Publishing. Originally published in 1946. Republished in 2002. Purchased at Canaan Christian Book Centre, Staines, UK.

It took me a long time to decide that I might like to read this book. I looked at the title and basically wrote it off as something I would not be interested in. Recently, however, I saw a description of the topic and decided that I might like to give it a look after all. The title puzzled me, though. I couldn't figure out what The Great Divorce had to do with heaven and hell. If I had done a little bit more research I would have easily discovered why Lewis chose that title. But, I didn't, and had to wait until I was reading the author's introduction before I found out that the title was chosen as a response to William Blakes work The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.

Lewis presents less of a definite description of what heaven and hell will be like and more of a narrative of some of the consequences of human behaviour. I was pleasantly surprised to see George MacDonald show up as Lewis' tour guide as he makes his way around heaven. It was not a difficult book to read or understand on the first reading - it only took a couple of sittings to finish - but there are plenty of insights to contemplate.

Publisher's summary:
C.S. Lewis’s dazzling allegory about heaven and hell and the chasm fixed between them, is one of his most brilliantly imaginative tales which will appeal to readers of all ages. Lewis communicates deep spiritual truths through the sheer power of the fantastic.

In The Great Divorce the writer in a dream boards a bus on a drizzly afternoon and embarks on an incredible voyage through Heaven and Hell. He meets a host of supernatural beings far removed from his expectations and comes to significant realisations about the ultimate consequences of everyday behaviour. This is the starting point for a profound meditation upon good and evil. “If we insist on keeping Hell (or even Earth) we shall not see Heaven: if we accept Heaven we shall not be able to retain even the smallest and most intimate souvenirs of Hell.”

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: The Great Divorce
from amazon.com, click here: The Great Divorce

Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House by Stephanie Barron

Unabridged Fiction. Audiobook from Books on Tape. Published in 2002. Purchased at Audible.com

My mom got me started on these "Jane Austen as a detective" books and I have read several of them in the past year or so. This is the first that I have listened to as an audiobook though.

The stories are quite enjoyable for a Jane Austen fan. The author does a good job of sneaking phrases in from Jane Austen's many books. I do doubt fairly seriously that the Jane Austen of these novels bears much resemblance to the actual Jane Austen, but that does not lessen the enjoyment of the books. The author has been very careful to include details that fit with certain aspects of Jane's life, and at the beginning of the book we are told that the books actually come from diaries belonging to Jane Austen that were found in someone's attic in the US. Of course, that is not true, but was a clever thing for Stephanie Barron to think up and use as the supposed basis for her stories.

Publisher's summary:
Jane Austen, novelist and private investigator, is back on another case, this one involving the Royal Navy. Her brother Frank's friend, Tom Seagrave, is in the brig, accused by his first mate of stabbing a French captain after the captain surrendered. Tom denies the charges, but his dagger was found in the French captain's chest. To clear up this mystery, Jane agrees to go to the Wool House, a building where French prisoners are jailed. Risking infection, she nurses the French ship's crew, and gets an account from the ship's surgeon that exonerates Tom. But at that moment, the first mate is killed, and Tom is now doubly under suspicion. Who could want to send him to the gallows?

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House
from amazon.com, click here: Jane and the Prisoner of Wool House

Bookcrossing.com Release

Today I did my first "release into the wild". I released A Gathering Light at the Starbucks in Maidenhead. Now just to wait and see if anything comes of it or not. I'll let you know if it does.

In the Company of Cheerful Ladies by Alexander McCall Smith

Fiction. Paperback from Abacus. Published in 2004. Purchased at Methven's in Windsor, UK.

This is the sixth in the The Number 1 Ladies' Detective Agency Series. I've read all of the previous books. I got a bit disgruntled with the publisher after this one came out because despite having released the first five directly to paperback, they decided this sixth one should be released first in hardback. (What's up with that besides the greed of being able to charge more? No one who is collecting the series would want to have five paperbacks and one hardback lined up neatly on the bookshelf.) So, I've waited to buy it until it came out in paperback.

Publisher's summary:
Precious Ramotswe, that cheerful Botswanan private investigator of 'traditional build', is now married to Mr J.L.B. Matekoni of Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors. The Agency is busy, but Mma Ramotswe cannot ignore the plea which is made by a woman who comes to her with a tale of particular misfortune. Unfortunately, her attempts to help are interrupted by a close encounter between her tiny white van and a bicycle, and by a spectacular disagreement between her assistant, Mma Makutsi, and one of the apprentices at the garage. This apprentice has found a fancy girlfriend who drives a Mercedes-Benz. How can he be rescued from his folly? And as for Mma Makutsi, she has found a dancing class, and a man who may not be able to dance very well, but who admires her greatly. And all of this happens against a background of quiet sessions of bush tea, and of a land that stretches out forever under mile upon mile of empty sky...

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
from amazon.com, click here: In the Company of Cheerful Ladies

The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald

Unabridged Fiction. Audiobook from Tantor Media. Originally published in 1871, recorded in 1996. Purchased on Audible.com.

CS Lewis spoke very highly of George Mac Donald. I have recently been reading Mac Donald's book Diary of an Old Soul which is a collection of sonnets, arranged to be read one a day for a year. I am enjoying them. Mac Donald has quite a lot of fiction out there as well, and I thought I would like to give some of them a try as well. This one is a children's book that I plan to pass on to Cara. I think it would make a good read aloud story.

Publisher's summary:
Young Princess Irene is sent to the country to be raised in a half-farmhouse, half-castle located in the side of a mountain. While exploring the top of the castle, Irene becomes lost and inexplicably finds her way to a mystifying and beautiful woman spinning a thread. Princess Irene is drawn to the woman whom she discovers is her great-great-grandmother. But after she returns, her nurse, Lootie, refuses to believe in the old woman's existence, and the young Princess cannot find the way back to her great-great-grandmother.

Days later, while on an outing with Lootie, Princess Irene believes that she detects a Goblin. They meet a young miner, Curdie, who confirms her sighting. Soon Curdie discovers Goblins lurking under the castle that have constructed an evil plot against the king and his palace. Princess Irene's belief in her great-great-grandmother's powers becomes essential as she and Curdie work to foil the sinister Goblin plan. As the Princess tells Curdie, "sometimes you must believe without seeing".

As an aside, I don't think the person who wrote the "publisher's review" on audible has actually read the book. The second paragraph is really not quite in sync with the story.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: The Princess and the Goblin
from amazon.com, click here: The Princess and the Goblin (Puffin Classics - the Essential Collection)

World Book Day 2005 in the UK

Today is World Book Day here in the UK!

World Book Day was designated by UNESCO as a worldwide celebration of books and reading, and was marked in over 30 countries around the globe last year. The origins of the day we now celebrate in the UK and Ireland come from Catalonia, where roses and books were given as gifts to loved ones on St. George’s Day - a tradition started some 80 years ago.

Strangely enough, it appears that the rest of the world celebrates World Book Day on April 23. Apparently the UK wants to continue to celebrate the day on the traditional day for them because it is during term time and can be integrated into the curriculum.

In any case, I'll celebrate it on both days. Good excuse to go out and buy a new book!

A Gathering Light by Jennifer Donnelly

Fiction. Paperback from Bloomsbury Paperbacks. Published in 2003. Purchased at the Datchet Help Point (for 20p)

This was a quick read as it is aimed at the young adult market. I did not realize that it was based loosely on an actual murder until I got to the end of the book and read the author's note. I enjoyed all the word games that the characters played. It did seem to have a bit of that "hope the girl doesn't give up her dreams to get married" type of story line. But, it handles it well enough, I think. Interestingly, the book was published under a different title in the US - A Northern Light.

Publisher's summary:
Mattie Gokey has a word for everything. She collects words, stores them up as a way of fending off the hard truths of her life, the truths that she can't write down in stories.

The fresh pain of her mother's death. The burden of raising her sisters while her father struggles over his brokeback farm. The mad welter of feelings Mattie has for handsome but dull Royal Loomis, who says he wants to marry her. And the secret dreams that keep her going--visions of finishing high school, going to college in New York City, becoming a writer.

Yet when the drowned body of a young woman turns up at the hotel where Mattie works, all her words are useless. But in the dead woman's letters, Mattie again finds her voice, and a determination to live her own life.

Set in 1906 against the backdrop of the murder that inspired Theodore Dreiser's An American Tragedy, this coming-of-age novel effortlessly weaves romance, history, and a murder mystery into something moving, and real, and wholly original.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: A Gathering Light
from amazon.com, click here: A Northern Light

Memorable Quote

"Where is the human nature so weak as in a bookstore?"
-- Henry Ward Beecher

Free Christian Classics to Download

The Christian Classics Ethreal Library comes out of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. They've got many christian classics in .pdf, .htm, .pdb, .xml, .txt (as well as others) available for free download.

Several weeks ago the sermon mentioned Julian of Norwich's Revelations of Divine Love and I have just downloaded it from CCEL as a PDF file. They've got quite a selection ranging from Billy Graham's Peace with God to GK Chesterton's Orthodoxy to Dante's Inferno to poetry from John Donne. I see lots of other names I recognize like Martin Luther, Watchman Nee, George MacDonald, Matthew Henry, Brother Lawrence, Edward M. Bounds, John Bunyan ... actually, I'd better stop and just link. Great list of authors. Go and give it a look.

Book Aid International

Putting books into the hands of the world's most disadvantaged readers.

Book Aid International works in 30 of the world's poorest countries, providing over half a million books and journals each year to libraries, hospitals, refugee camps and schools.

Books are the basic tools of literacy and education yet millions of children and adults across the developing world do not have access to them.

Books can make a real difference to people's lives. Farmers, nurses, mechanics, development workers and teachers all need books and information to support their work. Children and students must be encouraged to use books to develop their education and lifelong learning.

The majority of our support goes to rural and urban libraries which are free and accessible to everyone. Book Aid International works with library partners to develop their pivotal role in the community.

For the longer term Book Aid International is supporting the growth of local publishing and bookselling so that affordable books can be produced which reflect the local languages and culture. SOURCE: BookAid.org

Ran across a link to this charity on the Make Poverty History web site. Can't help but take a minute to plug a charity that works towards getting books to kids.

New to the Bookshelf: How To Be A Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking by Nigella Lawson

Non-Fiction. Paperback from Random House. Published in 2003. Purchased at Books, Etc! in Staines, UK

While we were in Staines yesterday to go to the movies, we had a little time to kill, so we went to the bookshop. I found this baking cookbook by Nigella Lawson, who is a popular UK cookbook author. The title put me off a bit, but here is what she says in the introduction:

"The trouble with much modern cooking is not that the food it produces isn't good, but that the mood it induces in the cook is one of skin-of-the-teeth efficiency, all briskness and little pleasure. Sometimes that's the best we can manage, but at other times we don't want to feel like a post-modern, post-feminist, overstretched woman but, rather, a domestic goddess, trailing nutmeggy fumes of baking pie in our languorous wake. ... So, what I'm talking about isn't not being a domestic goddess exactly, but feeling like one. ... The good thing is, we don't have to get ourselves up in Little Lady drag and we don't have to renounce the world and enter into a life of domestic drudgery. But, we can bake a little - and a cake is just a cake, far easier than getting the timing right for even the most artlessly casual of midweek dinner parties. This isn't a dream; what's more, it isn't even a nightmare."

Publisher's summary:
This volume is not about being a goddess, but about feeling like one. Nigella shows that there can be more feelgood mileage from running up a tray of muffins or baking a sponge cake than in almost any other cooking - and that it's not actually hard. "How to be a Domestic Goddess" understands our anxieties, feeds our fantasies and puts cakes, pies, pastries, preserves, puddings, bread and biscuits back into today's kitchens and our lives. Everything from dairy cakes to chocolate cakes, from brownies to bagels, from gooseberry-cream crumble to double apple pie, from pizza to pistachio macaroons, scones and muffins to cheesecakes and steamed syrup sponge, from baklava to a Barbie cake, as well as children's cooking, Christmas baking and other family festive treats.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking
from amazon.com, click here: How to Be a Domestic Goddess (not released in the US in paperback yet)

BookCrossing.com

bookcrossing:
n. the practice of leaving a book in a public place to be picked up and read by others, who then do likewise.

I stumbled across the BookCrossing web site today and am very intrigued by the idea of leaving books to be found and read by others. Here's what they say are the

"3 Rs" of BookCrossing...

1. Read a good book (you already know how to do that)
2. Register it on BookCrossing.com (along with your journal comments), get a unique BCID (BookCrossing ID number), and label the book
3. Release it for someone else to read (give it to a friend, leave it on a park bench, donate it to charity, "forget" it in a coffee shop, etc.), and get notified by email each time someone comes to BookCrossing.com and records journal entries for that book. And if you make Release Notes on the book, others can Go Hunting for it and try to find it!

I think I may just give it a try and see what happens. The biggest obstacle will be making myself give up a book though. If I manage to find one to leave out to be found, I'll post about it here.

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

Fiction. Paperback from Penguin. Published in 1996. On loan from the Datchet Library.

John checked this one out of the library but was gracious enough to let me read it first! (Thanks, John!) I have read Stephenson's Snow Crash a couple of times, once in print and once by listening via Audible, so I was interested to read another of his books. As with Snow Crash some of the technology went right over my head, but I enjoyed the book all the same. It's definitely Science Fiction!

Publisher's summary:
Poor little Nell – orphan girl alone and adrift in a future world of Confucian law and neo-Victorian values, nano-machines and walk-in body alteration. Well, not quite alone. Because Nell has a friend, of sorts. A guide, a teacher, an armed and unarmed combat instructor, a book and a computer and a matter compiler: the Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer is all these and much much more. Illicit, magical and dangerous, for a start. And highly desirable to a number of powerful people …

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer
from amazon.com, click here: The Diamond Age : Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer

Podcasts

The subject of podcasts doesn't really fit in the category of this blog, but in a way it does. I do use my iPod to listen to many audiobooks, and though most podcasts will not be "books" per say, they are still a great way of listening to information and thinking about things while on the move. I'm hoping to find some decent sermons to listen to as well as other devotional type materials. (Maybe even get a podcast of our preacher's weekly sermons up and running sometime in the future.) Even if sermons or devotional materials aren't your thing, you're still likely to find someone podcasting on a subject of interest to you.

If podcasting is unfamiliar to you, here is an article explaining what it is all about: Wikipedia on Podcasting

And, here's a link to Podcast Alley that has a great listing of up and running podcasts:



Then finally, if you'd like to set up your own podcast, check out the Podcast about the Podcast.

The Book of the Dun Cow by Walter Wangerin, Jr

Fiction. Used paperback from Hodder & Stoughton. Published in 1978. Purchased through Amazon Third Party Seller kathyhamlet.

I saw this book recommended as a "if you like C. S. Lewis or J. R. R. Tolkien you'll like" book. Not knowing exactly what to expect, it surprised me. I read that the author says that it is not intended to be an allegory, but it sure reads like one. It was not a difficult read, and would make a good book to read aloud to the kids. (If you can figure out how to say Chauntecleer that is.)

On an interesting side note, when looking for info about The Book of the Dun Cow online, I found this site: Jones' Celtic Encyclopedia with some information about another Book of the Dun Cow.

Publisher's summary:
Winner of the American Book Award, Walter Wangerin's allegorial fantasy concerns a time when the sun turned around the earth and animals could speak, when Chauntecleer the Rooster ruled over a more or less peaceful kingdom. What the animals did not know was that they were the Keeper of Wyrm, monster of Evil long imprisoned beneath the earth. And Wyrm, sub terra, was breaking free.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: The Book of the Dun Cow
from amazon.com, click here: The Book of the Dun Cow

The Love of Words

Last October in a From the Bookshelf entry, I wrote about our Dictionary of Etymology.

Here are a couple of links having to do with etymologies and words:

Online dictionaries of etymology:

Online Etymology Dictionary
Behind the Name

A word game:

Etymologic: the toughest word game on the web

Crossword puzzle help:

One Across
Amo's online crossword puzzle dictionary

Word a Day E-mails:

A.Word.A.Day
Ask Oxford Word A Day

Anagrams:

Internet Anagram Service
Anagram Genius

Kidnapped! by Robert Louis Stevenson

Fiction. Unabridged audiobook from Commuter's Library. Published in 2001. (It first appeared in 1886 as a children's tale published in installments in a boy's adventure magazine called Young Folks.) Purchased through Audible.com. 6 hours and 27 minutes of listening. Narrated by Ralph Cosham.

I got this for Cara to listen to after she was studying Robert Louis Stevenson in literature. I listened to it this week as I was doing my housework and while I was out walking. I really enjoyed listening. The story is enjoyable and there is plenty of history woven into the story, and the narrator did a wonderful job with the British and Scottish accents.

Publisher's summary:
Young David Balfour is the rightful heir but his uncle has other plans. This story recounts Master Balfour's escape on the high seas and his adventures making his way back across Scottish Highlands (The publisher didn't put much into that one did they?)

To buy from audible.com, click here: Kidnapped.

From the Bookshelf - Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church by Philip Yancey

Non-Fiction. Hardcover and Paperback from Random House Doubleday. Published in 2001. Purchased the hardcover in Grand Rapids and the paperback in the UK.

I enjoy books like this one; where authors tell about books they've read and what they learned from them. This one seemed especially pertinent to me because of the type of church Philip Yancey grew up in. The church I grew up in was not as bad as his by a long shot, but did (and still does) have some of the legalistic tendencies he describes. Truth be told most churches do. So, I would highly recommend this book; and the idea behind it. Remember to look for things to build your faith beyond the walls of the church.

Publisher's summary:
Philip Yancey, whose explorations of faith have made him a guide for millions of readers, feels no need to defend the church. "When someone tells me yet another horror story about the church, I respond, 'Oh, it's even worse than that. Let me tell you my story.'I have spent most of my life in recovery from the church."

Yancey acknowledges that many spiritual seekers find few answers and little solace in the institutional church. "I have met many people, and heard from many more, who have gone through a similar process of mining truth from their religious past: Roman Catholics who flinch whenever they see a nun or priest, former Seventh Day Adventists who cannot drink a cup of coffee without a stab of guilt, Mennonites who worry whether wedding rings give evidence of worldliness."

How did Yancey manage to survive spiritually despite early encounters with a racist, legalistic church that he now views as almost cultic? In this, his most soul-searching book yet, he probes that very question. He tells the story of his own struggle to reclaim belief, interwoven with inspiring portraits of notable people from all walks of life, whom he calls his spiritual directors. Soul Survivor is his tribute to thirteen remarkable individuals, mentors who transformed his life and work.

Besides recalling their effect on him, Yancey also provides fresh glimpses of the lives and faith journeys of each one. From the scatterbrained journalist G. K. Chesterton to the tortured novelists Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, to contemporaries such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Annie Dillard, and Robert Coles, Yancey gives inspiring portraits of those who modeled for him a life-enhancing rather than a life-constricting faith.

"I became a writer, I now believe, to sort out and reclaim words used and misused by the Christians of my youth," Yancey says. "These are the people who ushered me into the Kingdom. In many ways they are why I remain a Christian today, and I want to introduce them to other spiritual seekers."

Soul Survivor offers illuminating insights that will enrich the lives of veteran believers and cautious seekers alike. Yancey's own story, unveiled here as never before, is a beacon for those who seek to rejuvenate their faith, and for those who are still longing for something to have faith in.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church
from amazon.com, click here: Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church

Summary

I'm going to have to just do a quick summary of the books I read/listened to over the holidays, or else I'm going to continue to be stalled.

Listened to:

The Last Juror - John Grisham
The Broker - John Grisham
The Inner Circle - T. Coraghessan Boyle
A Hat Full of Sky - Terry Pratchett
The Wee Free Men - Terry Pratchett

Read:

The Domain Book of Intuitive Home Design : How to Decorate Using Your Personality Type - Judy George
Rats: Complete Care Guide - Debbie Ducommum
The Rat : An Owner's Guide to a Happy Healthy Pet - Ginger Cardinal
How to Read a Church - Richard Taylor

Bought:

The Naked Chef (Cookbook) - Jamie Oliver

Couldn't make it through:

The Good Body - Eve Ensler

That's it off of the top of my head.

Crivens!

Well, you can certainly tell that we've been on holiday, can't you? Plenty of reading going on, but not much blogging. I'll try to reconcile this soon.

In the mean time, I hope you've all had a wonderful holiday and I wish you a blessed new year.

The Blessing by John Trent and Gary Smalley

Non-Fiction. Paperback from Thomas Nelson Publishers. Published in 1993. Purchased at The Mustard Seed in Banbury, Oxfordshire, UK.

We don't often just stumble across Christian book shops, so when I saw The Mustard Seed I dragged Steve in. It was a small shop and though they had a decent selection, I have most of the books they had that I might be interested in. But, in an effort to support them I looked around to find something to buy. I settled on this book. It was not a difficult read, at least not in the sense of being hard to understand. It was difficult to think about how a lack of affirmation can unintentionally hurt our loved ones. Included in the book are stories of how different people were affected by the "blessing" (or lack of it); steps to follow in blessing your loved ones; as well as the address of a web site with more support and information about blessing. (The web site has some additional articles you can download, but really seems to be mostly stalled. Even the description of the book on the start up page is wonky. The book summary seems to be of a different book - unless I just completely missed several chapters or something.)

Publisher's summary (not from The Blessing web site):
Our emotional and psychological makeup is such that we all need what the Bible calls "the blessing"--the knowledge that someone in this world loves and accepts us unconditionally. The Blessing teaches the remarkably simple, logical process, touching both inner spirit and physical body, of being a blessing, and how to pass that life-changing blessing on to your parents, spouse, children, and friends.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: The Blessing
from amazon.com, click here: The Blessing

From the bookshelf: Home Comforts: The Art and Science of Keeping House by Cheryl Mendelson

Non-fiction. Hardcover from Scribner. Published in 1999. Purchased from Amazon.com.

I suppose it might not be very cool to think this book is neat. But, I really do. The first time I became aware of it was at the Cascade Library (in Grand Rapids). After checking it out and renewing it, I decided it was worth buying. I was fascinated by the chapter on wine glasses - who knew there were different types of glasses for different types of wine? Not me. (Maybe this is common knowledge to some, but I was raised in a household that did not drink alcohol.) I also like the idea of having two different types of kitchen towels. One kind being designated for just dishes, the other for just hands. There is even a chapter on how to repair books! Ideas and information about running a household abound on every page. This is helpful to me because I spend most of my time attempting to keep our household functioning at a reasonable level.

Publisher's summary:
Home Comforts is something new. For the first time in nearly a century, a sole author has written a comprehensive book about housekeeping. This is not a dry how-to manual, nor a collection of odd tips and hints, a cleaning book, a history book, or an arid encyclopedia compiled by a committee or an institute. Home Comforts is a readable explanation for both beginners and experts of all the domestic arts -- choosing fabrics, keeping the piano in tune, caring for books, making a good fire in the fireplace and avoiding chimney fires, ironing and folding, setting up a good reading light, keeping surfaces free of food pathogens, and everything else that modern people might want to do for themselves in their homes. But this reliable and thorough book on the practicalities of housekeeping is also an argument for the importance of private life and the comforts offered by housekeeping.

Cheryl Mendelson is a philosopher, lawyer, sometime professor, and a homemaker, wife, and mother. Home Comforts is based on her domestic education, which she acquired while growing up on a farm in the hills of Greene County, in southwestern Pennsylvania, from her grandmothers, aunts, and mother. Learning from the distinct domestic styles of her native Appalachian relatives and her Italian immigrant relatives, she appreciated early on how important domestic customs are to a sense of comfort and identity in life. She writes out of love and respect for her subject, and hopes to inspire others to develop the affection and respect for home life and housework she was fortunate to have learned.

Mendelson addresses the meanings as well as the methods of housekeeping with a keen sense of the history and values involved. The result is a warm, good-humored, engagingly written book with a message and a point of view, one that is overflowing with useful reflections and information. The clarity, breadth, and depth of the information collected here are unparalleled. You can read Home Comforts for thoughtful entertainment or use its ample index to help you find the answers to practical domestic questions. There is nothing quite like it.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Home Comforts: the Art and Science of Keeping House
from amazon.com, click here: Home Comforts : The Art and Science of Keeping House

Rumours of Another World by Philip Yancey

Non-Fiction. Hardback from Zondervan. Published in 2003. On loan from the Windsor Public Library. (And overdue.)

Philip Yancey has long been one of my favourite authors. The Windsor library does not have a large selection of Christian books, so I was pleased to run across one of Yancey's books that I had not read. I was not really sure what it was about when I started reading it and was interested to see that he wrote the book for those who live in the "borderlands of belief", skeptical about church and religion. Throughout the book he offers indications of the other world and encourages the readers to remember the spiritual world and to let it be foremost in our minds.

Thomas Merton is quoted as saying: "Everything in modern city life is calculated to keep man from entering into himself and thinking about spiritual things." Certainly worth thinking on - if I can get around all the distractions my modern city life presents me with.

Publisher's summary:
In Rumours of Another World, Philip Yancey asks, "Is the visible world around us all there is?" and "What rumours of another world might it convey?" He then examines the apparent contridictions. If this is God's world, why doesn't it look more like it? Why is this planet so messed up? Finally, the book considers how two worlds – the visible and the invisible, natural and supernatural - might interact and affect our daily lives. Throughout, Yancey invites readers to explore the difference the answers make in coming to grips with our lives.

Rumours reads like a conversation, inviting those skeptical of religion and turned off by the church to consider the possibility of an unseen, supernatural world of beauty and purpose coexisting with our visible world. Rumours of another world are just that, rumours and not proofs, Yancey reminds us. "A thin membrane of belief separates the natural from the supernatural. We experience the highest realities through the lowest, and we must learn to pay attention to notice the difference".

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Rumours of Another World: What on Earth are We Missing?
from amazon.com, click here: Rumors of Another World: What on Earth Are We Missing?

A Mind at a Time by Mel Levine

Non-fiction. Hardcover from Simon & Schuster. Published 2002. Purchased at Amazon.com.

With a kid at home right now who learns differently from what is considered the norm, I'm always on the lookout for advice on how to improve his chances of actually learning something. This book has really been a help to me. It's all marked up and underlined. I'd highly recommend it to anyone with a kid who is struggling with learning.

Publisher's summary:
"Different minds learn differently," writes Dr. Mel Levine, one of the best-known learning experts and pediatricians in America today. Some students are strong in certain areas and some are strong in others, but no one is equally capable in all. Yet most schools still cling to a one-size-fits-all education philosophy. As a result, many children struggle because their learning patterns don't fit the way they are being taught.

In his #1 New York Times bestseller A Mind at a Time, Dr. Levine shows parents and those who care for children how to identify these individual learning patterns, explaining how they can strengthen a child's abilities and either bypass or help overcome the child's weaknesses, producing positive results instead of repeated frustration and failure.

Consistent progress can result when we understand that not every child can do equally well in every type of learning and begin to pay more attention to individual learning patterns -- and individual minds -- so that we can maximize children's success and gratification in life. In A Mind at a Time Dr. Levine shows us how.

To buy from amazon.com, click here: A Mind at a Time
from amazon.co.uk, click here:A Mind at a Time

Giving up on James Herriot: The Life of a Country Vet by Graham Lord

I'm having an awful time trying to get through the James Herriot biography I borrowed from the library, hence no new books reported here of late.

The biographer has spent a lot of time in the first couple of chapters saying things like this: "we don't know where his father worked. He might have worked at an iron works. Here's what someone else who worked in an iron works during that time says about it." and "Here's someone who went to his school. This person didn't really know him, but here's what they say about the school." and so on. It feels like hopping back and forth rather than staying with one subject. I think it would be easier for me to read if the information was presented with less personal details about the person who gave him information. I have not read a ton of biographies, so I am not sure if this method is a normal thing for a biography or not.

I may give it another try by skipping forward to the sections where there would be first hand information from Herriot. But, with other books waiting to be read, this one may just go back to the library unfinished.

From the bookshelf: Celtic Daily Prayer

Non-fiction. Hard cover from Northumbria Community. Published in 2000. Purchased at Blackwell's Bookshop in Oxford, UK.

I come from a church tradition that does not use pre-written prayers (or at least has not in the past). So using prayers that were not "composed as I went along" was a new experience for me. It has been good to be able to choose from these prayers at different times of need. They've been especially helpful at times when I am not sure what to pray. I really like this one:

Circle (name), Lord.
Keep comfort near
and discouragement afar.
Keep peace within
and turmoil out.
Amen

The book also contains daily readings, which I have not looked at as much as the prayers. They seem like they would be ideal for a daily devotional reading though.

Publisher's summary:
This book combines the "Celtic Daily Prayer" and "Celtic Night Prayer" books, and adds to them fresh material born out of the further development of the Northumbria Community's ways of worship in the intervening years since these books were published. The main part of the book consists of thoughts, prayers and readings for the morning and the evening of every day of the year, as well as liturgies for both normal and special occasions. There is also clear guidance on how and when to use the material in imaginative ways, and on the benefits of utilising the imagery and themes of Celtic Christianity.

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: Celtic Daily Prayer
from amazon.com, click here: Celtic Daily Prayer

The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom

Non-fiction. Paperback from Bantam Books. Published 1971. Reissued 1984. Purchased in Grand Rapids, MI, USA

I remember reading this many years ago and so bought it for the kids to read. It was brought over in a pile of WW2 books. I saw it on the shelf the other day and thought I would reread it. It didn't take long to read, but what an amazing book. In it you get people at their worst and people at their very best.

As an aside: In my rereading, I noticed for the first time that a Siemens plant near Ravensbruck used people from the concentration camps as forced labourers. A quick web search for companies associated with the Nazi regime turned up the names of several that I recognize. So, I'm sitting here wondering what one does with that type of information.

Publisher's summary:
Corrie Ten Boom stood naked with her older sister Betsie, watching a concentration camp matron  beating a prisoner."Oh, the poor woman," Corrie cried."Yes. May God forgive her," Betsie replied. And, once again, Corrie realized that  it was for the souls of the brutal Nazi guards that her sister prayed.

Both women had been sent to the camp for helping the Jews. Christ's spirit and words were their guide; it was His persecuted people they tried to save – at the risk of their own lives; it was His strength that sustained them through times of profound horror.

Here is a book aglow  with the glory of God and the courage of a quiet  Christian spinster whose life was transformed by  it. A story of Christ's message and the courageous  woman who listened and lived to pass it along --  with joy and triumph!

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: The Hiding Place
from amazon.com, click here: The Hiding Place

From the bookshelf: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Originally this was a BBC radio series that evolved into a book, and then eventually into a whole "trilogy" in five parts. Published in 1981, it is a book that I have read and enjoyed several times over the years. (In both book and audio form.)

Certain to give you a laugh, there are some profound tidbits to be found here as well, including the answer to "Life, the universe and everything"!

Publisher's summary:
Seconds before the Earth is demolished to make way for a galactic freeway, Arthur Dent is plucked off the planet by his friend Ford Prefect, a researcher for the revised edition of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy who, for the last fifteen years, has been posing as an out-of-work actor.

Together this dynamic pair begin a journey through space aided by quotes from The Hitchhiker's Guide ("A towel is about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can have") and a galaxy-full of fellow travelers: Zaphod Beeblebrox--the two-headed, three-armed ex-hippie and totally out-to-lunch president of the galaxy; Trillian, Zaphod's girlfriend (formally Tricia McMillan), whom Arthur tried to pick up at a cocktail party once upon a time zone; Marvin, a paranoid, brilliant, and chronically depressed robot; Veet Voojagig, a former graduate student who is obsessed with the disappearance of all the ballpoint pens he bought over the years.

Where are these pens? Why are we born? Why do we die? Why do we spend so much time between wearing digital watches? For all the answers stick your thumb to the stars. And don't forget to bring a towel!

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here: The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy
from amazon.com, click here: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Delicious Library

A couple of years ago I started cataloging my books with a program called Library. Though I started at it before our move to the UK, I have only recently come near to completing the process thanks to a barcode scanner. (The main reason it isn't done is a rather large ocean between me and that last shelf that I haven't tackled yet.) If you've ever toyed with the idea of cataloging your books I'd highly recommend a barcode scanner of some sort. It really sped up the whole process. We had a lot of fun with it and now have an almost complete list of our library.

Now there is a new version of Library, called Delicious Library, just released by a newly launched company called Delicious Monster. Here's what Mac Central has to say about the new software:

The software includes barcode scanning support through Apple's iSight Webcam, high-res 3D renderings of your media's covers, Address Book and iCal-coordinated checkout, automatic syncing with iPods, two-click purchases through Amazon.com, and native XML file format.

It looks like it is going to be a good program, though I'll admit I haven't had much time to play with it beyond importing my books and DVD's. My next goal will be to try syncing with my iPod. What fun!

Prostitute Writer?

"A writer discovers a workable plot and writes the same book over and over all his life to the immense satisfaction of his readers. The readers can feel literary without thinking or dealing with truth. Prostitute writer." Eugene Peterson in More than Words

This quote was written in the context of a discussion of the negativity of programs replacing the real work of the church – which is in my mind a valid point. Then I started to think about the implications of the quote as it relates to reading. (Thus it's inclusion here.)

So, my question is this: does all reading need to make you think and deal with truth? I certainly don't always read looking for deep thought or nuggets of truth. Sometimes I read just for enjoyment, to pass the time with a book that doesn't require much of me. It's fairly obvious that the Dan Brown books fit into the category of "writing the same book over and over again", as do the books by Brian Jacques that the kids enjoy. I don't think I feel particularly literary when reading that type of book. They're just for entertainment.

As I struggle with this quote, I'm having a hard time bringing myself to say that I think it's wrong to read books are not chock full of life changing insights. But, I am pretty sure that a reading diet of nothing but this type of book would be very off-balance. (Which may be more what he is trying to say. Not sure.)

Leave a comment and tell me what you think.

From the bookshelf:7 Kinds of Smart: Identifying and Developing Your Multiple Intelligences by Thomas Armstrong

Non-Fiction. Paperback from Plume Books. Published 1999. Purchased from amazon.com.

This book is a great reminder that there is more to being "smart" than just being good at book learning. Taking to heart that there are many types of intelligence is a great way to encourage the kids (and myself)! Being aware of something besides our mental intelligence is a good reminder to work on developing other areas as well. Remembering that there are many ways that intelligence expresses itself can also be a boost when those inevitable feelings of failure come along .

Publisher's summary:
Based on psychologist Howard Gardner's pioneering theory of "multiple intelligences," the original edition of 7 Kinds of Smart identified seven distinct ways of being smart, including "word smart," "music smart," "logic smart," and "people smart." Now, with the addition of two new kinds of smart--"naturalist" and "existential"--7 Kinds of Smart offers even more interesting information about how the human psyche functions. Complete with checklists for determining one's strongest and weakest intelligences, exercises, practical tips for developing each type of smart, a revised bibliography for further reading, and a guide to related Internet sites, this book continues to be an essential resource, offering cutting-edge research for general consumption.

"At last, thanks to Thomas Armstrong, we have a book that introduces the theory of multiple intelligences to the general public. As an extra dividend, it helps people to discover and unleash their own intellectual strengths."--Howard Gardner, Ph.D., author of Frames of Mind

To buy from amazon.co.uk, click here:Seven Kinds of Smart
from amazon.com, here: 7 Kinds of Smart: Identifying and Developing Your Multiple Intelligences