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SallyT
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| Posted: Oct 14 2014 at 8:42am | IP Logged
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My book club did Hannah Coulter a few years back. Mostly made me not want to let my kids leave home!
I just keep reading and rereading Barbara Pym, the midcentury English novelist (1913-1980). Her novels are fun -- in the way that postwar Britain can sound fun when you're not living there and then -- but full of interesting currents. She was an Anglican, and there's often an interesting tension, especially for her clergymen, between Anglicanism and Roman Catholicism.
Rumer Godden fans should also read The Greengage Summer, one of my enduring favorites. It's sad and hard and beautiful, as her novels tend to be, but is another penetrating look at the lives of children as they gain hard wisdom about the world.
As the fall gets away, I really want to start a reread of Elizabeth Goudge's Pilgrim's Inn, which has maybe THE most beautiful Christmas scene in all literature . . . It's just a gorgeous book overall, about marriage and family and redemption.
Otherwise I've just been immersed in poetry for my Homeschool Connections class!
Sally
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Castle in the Sea
Abandon Hopefully
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kbfsc
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| Posted: Oct 14 2014 at 11:19am | IP Logged
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Sally, I love recommendations! I searched for Elizabeth Goudge at my local library and they don't have Pilgrim's Inn. There are lots of others, though. Anything else you would recommend by her?
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Kiera
happy mama of ds '02, dd '03, ds '06, dd '09 and little ones in heaven
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Dec 27 2014 at 7:07am | IP Logged
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When Books Went to War
Just finished this... I could not put it down!
It is newly published this month. I saw it advertised in the newspaper and got it from the library. It is the true story of how the US government made providing the military with free books during the war a priority.
Books were deemed essential for winning the war and keeping up the moral of the troops. This is an amazing look into how millions- literally- of books were produced and distributed free throughout the world in paperback form. The books were specifically produced in sizes that would fit into a uniform pocket and that were light weight so they could be carried into battle.
What a wonderful story!  I am a WWII buff- I enjoy reading about all the many fascinating aspects of the war and of the time period. However, I had never heard of American Service Edition (ASE) book program or the VIctory Book Campaign (VBC).
As a book lover myself, I can only say: yes! yes! yes! Books can change the world. But I was truly touched (trying not to sound too mushy) at how these books affected the people who read them- the HUGE impact they had.
The ASE's made a generation of readers. Books such as "The Great Gatsby", deemed a failure when printed, were reprinted and became classics. Authors like Betty Smith, who wrote "A TRee Grows in Brooklyn"
became national heroes.
The goal of the ASE program was to provide quality literature on a variety of subjects on a mass scale. I was fascinated to read about how and why certain books were selected. And the impact these books made- wow.
The men returning from the war who went to college on the GI Bill blew the universities away with their dedication to learning. They were serious and meticulous learners. They had higher graduation rates and better grades than the nonGI students. And most of these were men who would have never been able to afford college without the GI Bill and who, prior to the war, read only newspapers, magazines and comics.
My favorite story from the book was of a soldier who was caught in crossfire on the battle field with no shelter. He dove into a clump of bushes and landed in a deep hole, injuring himself in the process. Unable to move, let alone climb out of the hole, he was trapped in the middle of the battle scene with mortars exploding all around him. So what did he do? He pulled out an ASE book from his pocket- "Queen Victoria" (a biography), and read it in between mortar blasts by the light of his GI flash light.
Can't you just see it???
The ASE books were read and treasured and passed along the lines. Sometimes 30 or more men would be waiting for their chance to read a copy of a certain book.
This has really got me thinking about book hoarding... books are meant to be shared. Keeping a book on my shelf just because really is denying someone else a chance to discover it and potentially change their lives, YK?
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: Dec 27 2014 at 8:43am | IP Logged
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That sounds so good, Melinda! Do you think it would be appropriate for a 10-11 year old to read if they chose to? I think my oldest would be interested. I imagine we'd all like it, actually, but if I buy it, I'd like to think he could pick it up and read it without waiting for me to pre-read. He's read the Time Life histories of the war, so he isn't exactly sheltered to its realities, I would just be wary if there were a chapter about distributing condoms along with the books or some other similar reference to the other recreational activities soldiers engaged in 
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
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[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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SeaStar
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| Posted: Dec 27 2014 at 11:25am | IP Logged
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Hmm... no condoms, but two of the ASEs were deemed very racy: "Forever Amber" and "Strange Fruit". They were probably quite tame by today's standards, but they did have some controversial issues and bodice-ripping scenes.
The author discusses at length how these two titles were two of the most requested, and how the ASE committee defied public moral standards of the time by printing thousands of copies of them, since the goal was to provide a wide range of titles to give everyone something he could enjoy reading.
The author handles the topic well, and there is nothing lewd in her writing, but still I think you might need to edit it for a 10-11 year old just because it is a sensitive adult issue.
The book also starts out with some pretty heavy discussion of the book burnings in Germany and authors who were banned. Hard reading  .
At the back of the book there is a list of all the titles that were chosen to be ASEs. There were several I have read, but so many! I have not. I was surprised. Of course, I have been immersed in quality juvenile lit for the past 12 years, and the ASEs were aimed specifically at grown men.
But I did find it interesting that along with the two bodice-ripper books, the other two most highly requested were "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" and "Chicken Every Sunday", both of which are wholesome family tales.
I think the book is worth buying just for the book lists in the back!
And I would love to have a book discussion here if anyone is interested in reading it...
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Melinda, mom to ds ('02) and dd ('04)
SQUILT Music Appreciation
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Booksnbabes
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I recently listened to Unbroken--very good! I was constantly amazed at what the POWs were able to endure. It is both heartbreaking and inspiring.
I also read Something Other Than God. I really enjoyed it and I gave it to family members for Christmas (I hope they actually read it). It is about an atheist's journey to the Catholic Church. In the words of Larry the Cucumber, "I laughed, I cried; it moved me, Bob."
I also listened to The Twelve Clues of Christmas which is complete fluff, but fun.
I am working on Hollow City. I'm actually not sure why I'm reading it except that I had read the first one, it intrigued me, and it was cheap at a book sale. 
For Well Read Moms Club I read two short stories by Mary Lavin, Lilacs and The Long Ago. They were thought-provoking, but I can't say that I enjoyed them. To be fair, that is how I feel about most short stories. 
I look forward to beginning Booklist 2015 next week!
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CrunchyMom
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Thanks, Melinda! That's exactly the kind of thing I meant. It sounds like a great book!
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Maggie
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I just started a new, Catholic, fiction trilogy called,
I Am Margaret by Corinna Turner. She is a new, young adult, Catholic author. The book had me on the edge of my seat! **Warning--it is akin to a modern "Reformation". The treatment of Catholics and those deemed "unworthy" by society is appalling to say the least--and I had to skip a couple pages because I am a very little soul...BUT it's not irreverent. Older teens to adult.
I dove right into the second book, "The Three Most Wanted", and I loved that more than the first.
Two critiques: the writing is not as eloquent as say, Michael O'Brien...but it is very good.
The snuggling and co-ed sleeping is a bit disturbing. I understand their rationale and even necessity for it in the second book (ie: body heat necessary for survival in freezing cold)...and the character does acknowledge the temptation involved here (which is good...and there are even consequences for such actions, even though seemingly"benign")...but it may be confusing for a younger teen or someone not properly formed. I'm still not sure all of it was necessary...
But please don't get the wrong idea. Chastity is very important in this book! I just wanted to give full disclosure--but you really need to read it first to understand the big picture.
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Wife to dh (12 years) Mama to dd (10) ds (8), dd (1), ds (nb) and to Philip Mary (5/26/09), Lucy Joy (12/6/09), and Margaret Mary (3/6/10) who entered Heaven before we had a chance to hold them.
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4Real Forums : Book Club
Topic: Booklist 2014!!
