I watched the movie starring Laurence Olivier. I read the play. I read some analysis on the play. I thought about it for two weeks. I read the play again. And yet, I still don’t understand why anyone believed Richard’s sincerity from the beginning. I believe Shakespeare intended Richard’s power to be in his words,
I enjoyed my reread of Mere Christianity probably more than I enjoyed my first (and second) read of it. C.S. Lewis is just a master at capturing his points with analogies. It was a difficult book for our book club, and we all wished we’d split the book into two meetings, or just read part
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl is a book and a movie (Gene Wilder) that I have found memories of when I was a child. Charlie is about a child who has nothing and wins everything. He first gets the coveted golden ticket. He gets a lifetime supply of chocolate and a tour
In her personal journal to God, young Celie tries to make sense of the incestuous rape she’s experiencing from her Pa. A few pages later, she tries to make sense of the unhappy marriage she’s thrust in to. For Celie, life entails hard work, submission, violence, and daily rapes from her (nameless) husband. Does that
Reading Round about a Pound a Week gave me a new perspective on the inequality that comes from poverty. As the title indicates, the book is a description of a 1909-1913 study of 42 families in the Lambeth neighborhood in England that live on about a £1 a week. It is no easy task getting
Cranford (published 1851) is a quiet book, focusing on traditions in a changing pre-Victorian society in a small rural community. Given it’s slow pace, when I first read Cranford (thoughts here), I really struggled. I felt stifled by the overbearing traditions of the community of Cranford, and I wondered where the plot was. Yet, by
Passing by Nella Larsen (first published 1929) captures the conflicts that young African-American women face in 1920s America. Although solidly a part of the Harlem Renaissance in the ways it tackles racial issues, Passing also magnificently captures a young woman’s repressed sexuality. The terms “passing” refers to a light-skinned African-American acting as white in order
This post may contain thematic spoilers of My Lady Ludlow. Lady Ludlow is the representation of the old aristocracy in England. She is a conservative who does not want to allow the lower classes to gain an education or to gain “rights” in the post-Revolutionary years. Beyond those that are her servants, she essentially does
I finished Jane Austen’s Persuasion almost a month ago now, and I’ve been putting off writing my thoughts simply because I didn’t like it. Before you attack me with incredulity, you should know that I read it in the midst of stressful and busy time of year, during a whirlwind trip to my grandmother’s funeral,
Snow Day Dance by Will Hubbell (published 2005) is not the most exciting story, but it captures the magic of a realistic snowy world. In the beginning, children watch the snow falling from their classroom in school, all secretly hoping that the snow will cause school to be canceled. Their teacher encourages them, saying that they
The Snowman by Raymond Briggs (published 1978) is a wordless picture book capturing the creation and life of another best-friend snowman. The unnamed boy spends hours making his snowman perfect, then in the night has hours of adventures. With some prompting, my son can tell me the story, and each time it’s a little different, which
Sneezy the Snowman by Maureen Wright (illustrated by Stephen Gilpin; published 2010) is a new winter favorite. We’ve all heard of Frosty, but how many know about Sneezy? He just can’t stop his sniffles, so the children try to help him. But every time, he gets too warm, and must call out from the puddle of
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