Growing Up Born Again

I have no idea where this book came from.  It just kind of appeared in my library and when I saw it, I knew at once that I had to read it.  The cute 50s family on the front was enough to convince me.

I picked up the book, wondering what I was in for.  It turns out, this book is a charming, funny, whimsical look at what growing up in in evangelical Christian, 1950s American family was like and all that that entailed.  I think what most impressed me was the way that the five authors could laugh at that background, but not turn it into ridiculing their childhoods.  I did not grow up in this kind of church, but the story still resonated with me in so many ways.  I think it was in large part because I love reading about this era in America and also because little subsets of people fascinate me.

This book is a very light, quick read and it was perfect for this weekend.  The chapters have titles like, "Holy Bible, Book Divine" (a look at the Born Again family's view of the Bible), "If You're Saved and You Know It", and "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus".  The book is chock full of 1950s and 60s illustrations of church-related subjects.  There are funny pop-quizzes (I'll have you know I scored very high on them) and advice for what to bring to a church supper (jello salad or tuna noodle casserole with potato chips on top).  There is a sample bulletin with notes showing when it is acceptable to shuffle your feet or run to the bathroom and musings on going to church camp.

This book comes highly recommended.  Even if you aren't (or weren't) a BA Christian or even a Christian, this book is extremely funny.  Of course, a few of the references make a little more sense if you have had some experiences like these, but for the most part the book can be enjoyed by anybody.  When I looked online, this book appears to be fairly easy to find, although it looks like it isn't printed anymore.  I found several used copies on amazon and you might be able to find one at your library.  If you know me and want to read this book, I'll be more than happy to loan it to you.  You're sure to enjoy this wonderful book.

Billy Collins

To finish up my poetry reading month, I read The Apple That Astonished Paris by Billy Collins.  Collins's poetry has always stirred and impressed me.  Collins uses words like no other poet has ever used them.  There's something timeless about his style; it's definitely modern (no rhyming, modern themes), but yet it makes so many references to timeless things that it isn't really modern poetry at all.

I thought that I would quote one of Collins's poems about books because it is so fitting for my blog and it also is a review of the book unto itself.

Billy Collins

Books   by Billy Collins

From the heart of this dark, evacuated campus
I can hear the library humming in the night,
a choir of authors murmuring inside their books
along the unlit, alphabetical shelves,
Giovani Pontano next to Pope, Dumas next to his son,
each one stitched into his own private coat,
together forming a low, gigantic chord of language.

I picture a figure in the act of reading,
shoes on a desk, head tilted into the wind of a book,
a man in two worlds, holding the rope of his tie
as the suicide of lovers saturates a page,
or lighting a cigarette in the middle of the theorem.
He moves from paragraph to paragraph
as if touring a house of endless, panelled rooms.

I hear the voice of my mother reading to me
from a chair facing the bed, books about horses and dogs,
and inside her voice lie other distant sounds,
the horrors of a stable ablaze at night,
a bark that is moving toward the brink of speech.

I watch myself building bookshelves in college,
walls within walls, as rain soaks New England,
or standing in a bookstore in a trench coat.

I see all of us reading ourselves away from ourselves,
straining in circles of light to find more light
until the line of words becomes a trail of crumbs
that we follow across a page of fresh snow;

when evening is shadowing the forest
and small birds flutter down to consume the crumbs,
we have to listen hard to hear the voices
of the boy and his sister receding into the woods.

And there is all the review that is needed for this wonderful poet.  I highly recommend anything that Collins has written.

How the Poetry Went

In a previous post, I told you all about the poetry I was going to read.  Well, it was slightly overambitious, but I did get two of the poetry books read.

1.  Longfellow- I'm glad I actually read this whole book.  The poetry, particularly the nature poetry, was just beautiful.  I loved that, even though those poems were so old, they were still meaningful today.
I gave an overview of what I thought of Longfellow in this post, so I won't say any more.

2.  Billy Collins-  Once I realized that I just wasn't going to get around to reading all of the poetry that I had on the list, I picked up a slim volume of Billy Collins poetry.  I have heard and read Billy Collins's poetry many times, so I knew what a treat I was in for.  If you are a poetry foot-dragger like me, one of his books is the place to start.  I'm going to do a real post about this book because it was so enjoyable.

So I may not have quite reached my goal, but I did a little dabbling in poetry for April, so I was pleased with the results.  I may continue to read a book of poetry throughout the year, and if so I'll keep you updated on my poetry reading adventures.

Mary Stewart Series: Thornyhold

So do you remember this post where I wrote about those beautiful editions of the Mary Stewart books? Well I got a bunch of them!  I am so pleased and excited to have all this lovely reading material.  So unfortunately, my library books have be pushed most definitely to the back burner.  I started with Thornyhold because I remembered loving it.

It's one of Stewart's most fantasy-filled romance.  It is set in the 40s and is the story of young Gilly, who inherits an old house named Thornyhold from her cousin.  This cousin was labeled a witch by the surrounding village and Gilly is fast discovering that she may have some of the same talents.  She also has to deal with the jealous neighbor and her dimwitted son who are out to get her.  However, not everybody dislikes her.  She befriends a little boy who is amazed at her abilities to cure animals and falls in love with the boy's writer father.  Along with a very good plot, there are wonderful cozy descriptions of setting up housekeeping in a little country house.

I will probably not be reading many of my library books until I finish these Mary Stewart books, so this will be a blogging series.  I'd love to have any of you read these along with me!  And the pretty editions are by no means requisite.  Most libraries, I think, have a good selection of Mary Stewart's writing.  I highly recommend all of them.

What I Do When I Don't Read

Okay, so actually, I do a lot of different things when I'm not reading.  I spend a much of my day not reading.  But one of the things that I love to do is sew.  I only briefly mentioned that in this post, but I do love sewing, particularly sewing vintage clothes.  My first sewing project was a baggy corduroy jumper from a 60s pattern when I was about 8.  I lost interest quickly and my patient mother finished it for me.  Since then, I've learned a lot about sewing and have come to love it.  So I thought I would post about the patterns that I'm currently planning on using for this year's summer clothing.

1.  A 40s house dress.  I'll do it in the shorter style, probably in linen, for those sticky-hot days in August.

2.  This pretty dress from the 50s will probably be a nice church dress for me.

3. I'll make the dress, but probably not the coat.  The note on my copy of the pattern says, "Mrs. Bob Barnard 3/24/55- Dress top not attractive!"  Well, Mrs. Bob, I'm going to directly defy you and make this dress.

4. I don't know if this skirt will every actually appear in my closet, but I do so love those fan appliqués! The part that makes me laugh is the tiny pocket for her own fan.  At first, I thought it was a knife and I couldn't figure out why she'd be toting that around on her fancy skirt.

5.  A want to make the belted version of this dress, but that blouse might be a part of my wardrobe in the near future.

6.  Such a practical skirt pattern!  I'm leaning towards the length and style of the blue skirt, but I also love the green skirt.

7.  A great late-60s/early 70s dress.  I think I would do a dress like the red one on the far right, probably with a few inches added.

8.  And finally, this fabulous suit.  I'm going to make the pleated skirt and jacket version.  I love the idea of the trim around the edges being the color of the skirt.

And what do you like to do when you're not reading?

Unsatisfactory Books

I promise you, I am reading, but I've come across several duds recently, which is why I'm writing this post today and not a book review post.  Nearly every time I go to the library, I find a book that I don't like for some reason.  I've come up with a list of the various kinds of unsatisfactory books.   Accompanying this post are pictures of the latest unsatisfactory books I've read.

1.  The writing was dumb/the author/book annoyed me-  Oh dear, there's quite a lot of this.  There are just some writing tones that annoy me and sometimes the writing is pathetic.  Sometimes I can't even pay attention to the story because the author is just such a terrible (or annoying) writer.

2.  I just can't get into the book-  This doesn't happen very frequently, but I just had it happen recently.  In my book loot post two weeks ago, I listed South of Superior.   The story had everything:  a good plot, was well written, and had charming characters.   But for some reason, I just couldn't get into it.  I read up to about page 70, but the book just wasn't sticking with me and I kept looking longingly at the last Flavia de Luce.   So that book got packed back to the library.  Maybe my mood will change and I'll enjoy that book, but for now, I'm not going to read it.

I'm usually not a cookbook snob, but honestly, celebrity
cookbooks get on my nerves.  Whenever I read one,
I want to say, "Oh come on, the last time you cooked
was 3 years ago."

3.  I strongly dislike the character-  The book can be one of the most well-written books I've ever come across, but if I hate the character, there is no way I'm going to read the book.

4.  The book isn't quite right for the mood I'm in-  This fits a little into the 2nd category.  Maybe the book was just too dark and depressing when I was in the mood for something funny or light.  Or maybe I wanted a serious autobiography and instead am reading a romantic comedy.

So I think I've covered all of the problems that books can have.  Do you have anything to add to this list?

My Favorite Movies

When I don't read in the evenings, I like to watch British drama.  That's really the only kind of movie that I consistently love.  Yes, I do watch other things (remember the Hunger Games?), but British dramas will always hold a special place in my heart.  So, I'm going to take a break from my usual book blogging today and give you my list of favorite movies, almost all of them British.

1.  Pride and Prejudice- The 1995 version with Colin Firth...swoon. This is my all-time favorite movie.  I would cheerfully watch this once a month for the rest of my life.  However, be warned- this movie is 4 1/2 hours long.

2.  Two of my favorite actors- Colin Firth and Judy Dench.  This movie is laugh out loud funny at parts and also just a good romantic story.

3.  Sense and Sensibility- Another favorite.  More wonderful actors and actresses and a good plot.  I am always pleased with movies that stick closely with the book.

4.  Oh, Sherlock.  This is a close second with Pride and Prejudice.  The actors are fantastic, the plot extremely gripping, and I love John Watson and Sherlock's friendship.  I think it's one of the most affectionate male friendships I've ever seen on screen.

5.  Another Jane Austen.  This one is a little more serious in nature than some of Austen's books, but still very good.

6.  Enchanted April- Oh, this movie was wonderful.  I read the book first and then somebody told me, "Oh, did you know that there is a movie from this book?"  I immediately watched it.  The ending is so feel-good and happy and the characters are all likable in different ways.

7. One of my favorite Dickens-based movies.  This is a mini-series and I kind of liked that because they could include more of the story than if it had just been a 2 hour movie.  Slightly dark, like all of Dickens, but a happy ending and redemption for the likable characters.

8.  Yes, I finally saw this.  And oh, what a wonderful movie it was.  I thought it was interesting to see a young Maggie Smith and Helena Bonham Carter.  This is the first time I had seen Julian Sands, who played George Emerson.  I am curious-is he still acting?  What kinds of movies?  I thought he did a fantastic job as the hero in this movie, but that was 30 years ago.

So those are my favorite movies.  What are yours?