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Category: books & reading

  • Obsession: The Rory Gilmore Book Club

    roryreadsIt’s official, I’m obsessed with the Rory Gilmore Book Club on Goodreads.

    I know this because this morning I spent a good hour researching the books on the list in order to make my nominations for what the group will read next year, despite giving myself a hearty pep talk last night and this morning to make today the day I would get everything done on my to-do list.

    First of all, if you aren’t on Goodreads yet, consider this my enthusiastic plug. I keep track of everything I read on it, but that’s just one of its many benefits. You can see what your friends have read, join book clubs (ahem), find out about events, take the never-ending book quiz, learn about authors, and lots more. So unless you’re like my brother-in-law, who went and created his OWN book database in order to customize it to his particular specifications, or unless you hate reading (and if you do, for shame!), JOIN GOODREADS ALREADY!

    Anyway, if you have no idea who Rory Gilmore is, or the significance of the picture at the beginning of this post, allow me to educate you. Rory is half of the Gilmore Girls, who are the leading characters in the TV show of the same name, otherwise known as the Best Show Of All Time. Yes, I went there. I don’t care that it was on the WB/CW and that it seems completely girly, it is quite simply the best. I personally know several males who thoroughly enjoy it.

    The deal is that Rory is a reader, and this book club was started in order to read all of the books that Rory has read. Amazing, right? I lament the fact that I am only discovering it now, two years later. I have already read many of the classics on the list, but most of the modern books I had never heard of.

    So I joined the club and intend to be an active member, although I am a little bit worried about finishing all the books. I still have my own book club to keep up with, as well as trying to read all the books I own, 5 Pulitzer Prize winners, and 5 books David recommends. But what better way to reach my goal of 50 books in 2010?

  • Book Club: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

    PotatoWhen this book was first suggested as our book club read, I had never heard of it before and my first thought was, “What kind of name is that?” Little did I know that this book is actually extremely popular and highly rated. I’m glad I knew nothing of it, because I had no expectations going in.

    The story is set in immediate post-WWII Britain. It revolves around Juliet, a woman in her early 30’s who has recently published a successful novel. She receives a letter from a man named Dawsey who lives on the British island of Guernsey, which is the only part of England that was occupied by the Nazis during the war. Dawsey bought a used book that had Juliet’s name and address inside, and he writes her to ask questions about the author. Juliet begins a correspondence with him, and subsequently with Dawsey’s neighbors and friends as well. Through this we learn all about the lives of the inhabitants of Guernsey during the occupation, and how literature helped them through it.

    The book is made up entirely of letters between the characters, all who are extremely witty. I’m kind of in love with some of them. Though it may be a tad unrealistic, it is charming and adorable to read. And, thank goodness, there is a happy ending–my favorite kind. The whole thing made me want to sit down and write long, handwritten letters to strangers. (I won’t do that, though. My husband wouldn’t approve.)

    I give it 4 out of 5 stars, and definitely recommend it as a quick and enjoyable read. (For the record, some of my real-life book club members loved this book even more than I did.)

     

  • Best Book of 2009

    bookshelves1
    Not my bookshelf, but isn’t it pretty?

    You might have heard that Gwen Bell is hosting a “Best of 2009 blog challenge” in which anyone can share their bests of the year on a different topic every day of December. Since I’m just coming off a month straight of posting, I’m definitely not participating in the entire challenge, although I think it’s a great idea. But today’s prompt is best book, and since books are something I’m passionate about I figured I’d jump in.

    Reading is my favorite hobby, even more so than blogging. So far this year I’ve read 27 books, and I should finish up at least a couple more by the end of the year. That’s actually a lot more than I thought I had read this year. I have a busy schedule and rarely get to sit down and just read for hours. But I am always, always reading, and I am not ashamed to pull out my book in the line at the grocery store or at a stoplight. That adds up. Next year I’d like to make it to 40, maybe even 50 books. I want to make it more of a priority.

    Anyway, I was looking over these 27 books and was pleasantly surprised at how many good ones there were. The Pillars of the Earth. The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. The Complete Sherlock Holmes Volume 2. America America. Searching For God Knows What. All wonderful books that I would recommend in a heartbeat. In the end I chose two favorites, a fiction and a nonfiction.

    As for fiction, the winner goes to Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. Since I just reviewed it recently, I don’t need to say much more. This book moved my soul. I laughed and I cried. It made me desire and appreciate life, from the smallest detail to the largest event. It made the love I have for others grow even more.

    I relish a good nonfiction book from time to time, and this year my favorite was the classic The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom. Do you want to be inspired? Do you want to be horrified? Do you need some perspective? Do you want to see the amazing things God can do through the people who love and obey Him? Read this book. It’s the story of a Christian family during the Holocaust who help hide Jews, and what happens to them when they are discovered. It’s definitely one I’ll be rereading through the years.

    What was the best book you read this year?

  • Fantasy, Science Fiction, Edward Cullen, and Why I Love Them

    Last night David was browsing the Internet, and he (don’t ask me how) ended up on a YouTube video about the best Sith Lords. Don’t bother watching it though, because it’s just a few pictures of Dark Nihilus and Dark Revan set to four minutes of music, asking you to comment with your favorite Siths. (And we’re talking Star Wars here, just to be clear.)

    David was fascinated. He started reading the comments and quoting them to me. Example:

    Nihilus hands down. Revan had powerful control of the Force but he also had a massive military at his side for his conquests. Vader is a pawn of the Emperor and has no real control but is still strong. The rest have real strengths and positive features but Nihilus has absolute power of the force so much that he doesn’t need a large army for defense. Also he can kill all life on a planet without any real effort, something I’ve never seen another Sith Lord do. Death Star doesn’t count.

    He couldn’t believe how people devote themselves to a world that isn’t real, in his opinion “throwing their lives away.” He went on and on about how ridiculous it is. My response?

    It makes me want to watch Star Wars again.

    David stared at me open-mouthed. Finally he ran his hands through his hair and said, “I don’t know how we ended up married.”

    Of course he was kidding about that last comment, but the point is that we are very different in many ways, and this is one of them. David has no tolerance for fantasy and science fiction, and I consider them two of my favorite genres. He doesn’t understand that just because I enjoy losing myself in another world it doesn’t mean that I’m dissatisfied with my own real life. I love my life.

    But fantasy gets me dreaming. It gets me longing for something more. I believe in God, in heaven, and in everything that comes with that, and I think C.S. Lewis described it best in my favorite sermon of all time when he said “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.” Additionally, so many themes in fantasy and sci-fi echo the ultimate struggle between good and evil, and look forward to the day when everything will be made right.

    My pastor and I recently got into a discussion about the Twilight series, which I am proud to say I let him borrow my copies of, and he gave me his take on why the books are so popular. He said that usually when he reads anything having to do with romance, he naturally relates to the man, being himself a man. But in this case, he found himself relating to Bella, the awkward and flawed girl. (Hopefully he’s okay with me writing this, and if not…eh.) Edward is supernatural, he is powerful, beautiful, almost too good to be true, he is fiercely protective and loves unconditionally. He is not meant to be a symbol of God, and some would vehemently argue against this, but I think the reason the books are so popular (because come on, they’re not that well-written) is because we humans were created first and foremost to be loved by God, and Edward displays many of the characteristics that we long for.

    You won’t find me at any Star Wars conventions in the near future (because I, too, believe there is a line that probably shouldn’t be crossed), but you will certainly see me at a showing of New Moon. And now you know why.

  • Book Club: Olive Kitteridge By Elizabeth Strout

    olive-kitteridge-194x300Gush, gush, gush, gush, gush! I LOVED this book. Go read it, now!

    Okay, now that I’ve gotten that out of my system, I’ll tell you a little about it: Olive Kitteridge is a retired schoolteacher in her early seventies living in the small coastal town of Crosby, Maine. She is sometimes harsh and sarcastic, sometimes witty, sometimes feisty and possessive, sometimes strangely compassionate and intuitive. She is deeply flawed, and yet I loved her.

    Each chapter in this novel is a story unto itself. In many of them, Olive is the main character, but in some she just passes through, or is briefly mentioned. We learn about her husband Henry and her grown son Christopher, as well as a host of other townspeople. There wasn’t a single story that I didn’t like. I must have marked a dozen passages that I want to go back and read over and over again because they are so perfectly described, so poignant, so true, so inspiring.

    This book is supremely well-written. It’s easy to see how it won the Pulitzer Prize. I didn’t breeze through it, but took the entire month to read it. After each story I wanted to decompress, to take it all in. The main thing I liked about it was that it made me appreciate life. It made me not want to take anything for granted, which seems to be a theme with me lately. I kind of feel like I’m an elderly person stuck in a 27-year-old body, for all the premature nostalgia I experience on a daily basis.

    Five out of five stars, no question. I’d like to read it again someday.

     

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    Next month’s book will be The Guernsey Literary Potato Peel and Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer. As always, you’re welcome to read along!