Three old favorites that I’ve recently read with Lucy. 1. Dahlia by Barbara McClintock This story about a girl who gets a new doll remains one of my all-time favorite picture books. I wrote about it in 2009, and still stand by every word of that review. But the more I think about it, the […]
Archive | books
What I’ve Been Reading Book Notes July 2020
What I’ve been reading. Well, my book notes posts pretty much dried up this year. Like so many things. I’m gonna blame the pandemic, because: why not? Anyway, a quick overview of what I’ve been reading and enjoying, as far as I can remember, in the second quarter of the year. Books I’ve Finished 1. […]
Charis in the World of Wonders
“. . . ever since that day in Falmouth, I could only find that God gave us the natural liberty to err or do well but did not play with us like dolls and carved toys. Why some faithful prayers are answered and others not was a mystery. Nor could I yield to the thought […]
Book Recommendations: Nonfiction about Nature
Hardly a day goes by when I don’t find myself suggesting books on social media. Evidently I’m getting a name for it. Today when a woman in a group asked for a suggestion and I leaped in she said she was hoping I might have some suggestions. It has been suggested to me that I […]
Agnus Dei and English Catholic History in Sun Slower Sun Faster
Cecil picked out a little flat box and opened it. Inside was a circle of wax. There was an impression on it but the wax, held together by a frame, was broken across. It looked like an animal with a stick between its hoofs. “What’s this? she asked. Ambrose Morne screwed in his eye-glass. “I […]
Favorite Children’s Books about the Middle Ages
A friend asked for suggestions for beautiful books about the Middle Ages that don’t make it sound like a sad, terrible time for humanity with no ideas or beauty, only darkness. And I realized when I was trying to find suggestions on my blog that it’s time to update my book list. We’ve discovered some […]
Dawn Wind by Rosemary Sutcliff
Dawn Wind by Rosemary Sutcliff is a historical novel that takes place in the years after the British have lost a decisive battle to the Saxon at Aquae Sulis. The novel ends as Aethelbert consolidates his power as king of the Saxons in the south and the monk Augustine arrives as a missionary from Pope […]
The Warstowe Saga by Meriol Trevor
A note to the reader: these novels are sadly out of print, but are available for cheap on Kindle. I have acquired some of them from used book sellers, but they are hard to find. Previously I compared the Warstowe Saga to Georgette Heyer’s Regency romances. Now, Meriol Trevor doesn’t come across as the meticulous […]
A Fine Romance: Meriol Trevor and Georgette Heyer
When I was in college my best friend Stephanie introduced me to Georgette Heyer. I wasn’t at all interested in romance novels, but I was on holiday and like many intelligent readers I’ve since met, I let myself get swept away. I found Heyer’s historical romances sparkling and witty, sometimes a bit formulaic, but never […]
Enemy Brothers and the Broken Icon
My friend Erin at Bearing Blog has a good post up, pondering a quote that my sister had posted on Facebook: Bearing Blog:Correction, and the damaged icon Unless we look at a person and see the beauty there is in this person, we can contribute nothing to him. One does not help a person by […]