I feel like this blog has gotten a bit too serious as of late. The problem is that the more serious I get, the more intimidated I get about writing. To rectify that, I figured I would just share with you some of the joys I have found lately. Literary joys.
Books!
Till We Have Faces I’ve been on a big CS Lewis kick lately. A few months back I read Faces. It’s a retelling of the story of Psyche and Aphrodite. I would try to tell you how amazing this book was, but my words could never do it justice. It’s Lewis at his finest. And you don’t have to like mythology or know anything about it to enjoy the book. I simply could not recommend it enough. It made me reconsider life, and it made me reconsider how we share our lives and our time with each other.
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The last time I read this book was when a grade school teacher read it aloud to our class. I didn’t even remember what it was about, but I must have liked it then because it’s one of only two books that I specifically remember being read in school. Magoo and I read this one together. We just finished a few days ago. We like book series, but we have never read two books in a series in a row. We always take a break with another book or two in between. Not with this one. Prince Caspian is next. My favorite part about this book is when during the last two chapters, Magoo kept stopping me to tell me how she could just feel the tension in the story and how she feels like she’s really there. I think she might become as big of a Lewis fan as I am.
Furiously Happy. This one is by Jenny Lawson, author of The Bloggess blog. She’s hysterical. She reminds me a bit of a grown up Junie B Jones. If you like memoirs about people who have a mental health diagnosis or two, she is your girl. She’ll make you proud to be one of the diagnosed.
The Hundred Dresses. I remember hearing about this children’s book a few years ago, but I never got around to reading it with any of my girls. Goosie and I decided to approach it. It’s a wonderful story about a little girl who doesn’t have a lot of money. She only owns one dress, but she tells her classmates of her closet that is filled with 100 dresses. They use this as fodder to tease her with. I won’t spoil the book for you, but it shares so much about compassion and judgment and avoiding being a bystander. We had some amazing discussions while reading it.
On my soon to read (or finish) list are Hannah Coulter, Catholicism and Fundamentalism, and the second Harry Potter book. I’m also finishing up The Poisonwood Bible which I’m sure I’ll be back to gush about soon.
What about you all? Does anyone have any recommendations? I would love to hear them!