Reading, Reviews

November Reading

Happy-week-after-Thanksgiving! Yes, I am still here and still reading.  Things have been very busy on the home front so the blogging has suffered, but here’s an overview of what I’ve read in the last month.

Brideshead Revisited (Penguin Twentieth-Century Classics)I finally conquered my start-again, stop-again attempts at reading Brideshead Revisited and finished the darn thing. It was an interesting look at a time period that is long gone and is never coming back –when upper class men lived in completely separate worlds than women in England. They went to their own private schools and colleges, and they tended to love other men as friends before they fell in love with women. It doesn’t really appear to have worked out well for anyone in the book.  Another major theme was Catholicism during the roaring 20s. It was interesting insight into that issue, because I think it’s very similar to religious tensions today. I wouldn’t say it was an enjoyable read, but one that will at least look nice on my “oh yeah, I’ve read that” list. Which doesn’t actually exist. If you love the time period of Downton Abbey or other early 1900s literature, and would like a look at what life was like for upper class young men (since Downton Abbey only features daughters), this may be an interesting read for you. I was wouldn’t recommend it as a great read, though.

Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian SpiritualityThen I read Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller. This book has been on my to-read list for too long, and knowing so many people enjoy his work, I made myself read it. I’m not great at reading non-fiction, but I enjoyed Miller’s ability to insert humor into serious discussions on being a Christian without going in for just being religious. His descriptive writing style is aggressively precise. I enjoyed the book, but I got the uneasy feeling that I would be on pins and needles talking to Mr. Miller in real life. He is not a heretic, but he is irreligious, which is kind of his point.  I have no problem with bucking unreasonable conformity that has nothing to do with following who Jesus is. Still, I’m pretty sure in real life Miller would make me uncomfortable. I’m too boring and too traditional to jump into his kind of thinking.

On the very light reading side, I read Princess of the Silver Woods, the 3rd book in Jessica Day George’s Princess series (yes, it pains me to write that). This was definitely the worst of the series. The first two had some interesting plot twists on old fairy tales. This one had something to do with Little Red Riding Hood, but not much. I would give it a thumbs up for your young teenage girls because, like the rest of George’s books, it’s good clean fantasy fun. The plot and the characters were not up to George’s usual standards, though.

All in all, November was a dry month for discovering really good, sink your teeth in, ponder and enjoy reads. Please, tell me you have some suggestions for what I should read in December. A definite on my list is Ann Voskamp’s The Greatest Gift. Otherwise, I am in need of some ideas.

 

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