Book Rec’s – J. L. Odom

The Wisdom and Joy of the Re-Read

First of all: Perseverance is Rewarded Once upon a time, in high school, I was assigned to read a book: The Abolition of Man, by C.S. Lewis. For those who have read it, you’ll understand why the average Oklahoman teenager (such as myself) might not have totally grasped every last inch of that slim butContinue reading “The Wisdom and Joy of the Re-Read”

To Persevere or not to Persevere? The Classics

I am going to stereotype two typical views on how you should read. I am going to formulate them at their extremes, so bear with me: Perspective A: It doesn’t matter how you feel about the book or whether you enjoy it at all, get over it and read all the great classics, or everythingContinue reading “To Persevere or not to Persevere? The Classics”

2019 in Books

Well, this wasn’t my best year for reading. I had shimmering visions of reading two or three times as many, but things both good (writing!) and challenging (a move) managed to interfere. Here is the somewhat shorter than usual list: Whose Body? by Dorothy L. Sayers: A Lord Peter Whimsey murder mystery. I don’t reallyContinue reading “2019 in Books”

20 Reading Questions

So I am very, very tired (I have a 3 year old, an 18 month old, and I am in my first trimester, you see) but I wanted to write something today so I decided to do a bit of a more straightforward post. I saw this “20 Reading Questions” meme on twitter, and IContinue reading “20 Reading Questions”

Currently Reading

Thanks to my project-loving husband, I now have a literal ‘currently reading shelf.’ He was feeling antsy, and desperate for a project for which no materials would need to be purchased. Thankfully we had 3 little wood crates left over from the shoe-storage solution he built a year ago. From them he made a lovelyContinue reading “Currently Reading”

To-Read 2018

This is not a comprehensive list, but just a smattering of the things I am going to try to prioritize this year: Middlemarch, George Eliot: Last year’s “Big Book” was The Brothers Karamazov. This year I will endeavor to make it through this behemoth. I know precious little about it, other than that the authorContinue reading “To-Read 2018”

2017 in Books

This year ended up being one of excitingly diverse reading: almost every genre! Books written hundreds of years apart! It looks almost erratic as I examine my goodreads, but I enjoyed the vast majority of what I read, and [it seems] made my goal. It was a very moderate goal, but I have two kidsContinue reading “2017 in Books”

The Everlasting Trope: The Love Triangle

For these Everlasting Trope posts, I try not to pick only tropes I like, or only ones I dislike, but a whole range of them. Yet I think it is necessary to admit, up front, my own biases. I do not particularly care for the Love Triangle. I don’t hate it with the fire ofContinue reading “The Everlasting Trope: The Love Triangle”

Poetry Tripping up Prose

So it is a common thing to hear reviewers and book-lovers complain about ‘purple prose.’ Like most complaints, however, this is shorthand for something more complicated. At times we like highly poetic prose, even relish it. What most people mean when they say ‘purple prose’ isn’t simply “elegant or florid” but rather “overly-dramatic or painfully excessive.”Continue reading “Poetry Tripping up Prose”

Things Beloved: Mara Daughter of the Nile

I do not remember how old I was when I first read Eloise Jarvis McGraw’s Mara Daughter of the Nile. 12, perhaps. And I have probably read it nearly a dozen times since then. This book rests firmly in the category of “books-that-I-love-till-death-do-us-part-but-am-not-sure-if-they-are-as-good-as-I-think-because-I-am-blinded-by-old-affection.” I find that books read in my teenaged years often fall intoContinue reading “Things Beloved: Mara Daughter of the Nile”