If I open a book with low expectations, and the author precisely hits that mark, I probably won’t be angry. I will conjure a shrug or a “meh” and give it two or three lethargic stars on goodreads and say something like “it just didn’t make much of an impact.” This was the Divergent seriesContinue reading “It’s only because they KNEW better”
Category Archives: Influential Books
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”
The Everlasting Trope: The Failed Hero
Closely related to the “Villain Arc” but not precisely the same. The villain arc simply tells you how a given character–regardless of their beginning state–becomes the villain. Often these are side characters or friends of the hero or a counterpoint to the hero. But when it’s the actual hero who falls, or fails, or succumbs,Continue reading “The Everlasting Trope: The Failed Hero”
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”
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”
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”
The Third Way
I just finished reading a collection of essays by C.S. Lewis, On Stories, and it was fascinating for addressing some of the same literary arguments we are still engaged in to this day. It’s important to say at the outset that no argument for or against a certain type of literature is new. We’ve beenContinue reading “The Third Way”
Lewis and a Llama
There is a narrative device that I dearly love, but of which I have only found two clear instances. (No doubt there are many others, but these are the only ones I know of.) I’m going to talk about C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces, which I have written about several times before, and The Emperor’sContinue reading “Lewis and a Llama”
Tried by Time
You know that kid’s song “Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold”? I remember it from Wee Sing in Sillyville, but never mind that. I was thinking about this song recently based on a combination of my personal reading experiences and a few posts I saw about challengingContinue reading “Tried by Time”
The Tombs of Atuan and Till We Have Faces
*SPOILERS* for The Tombs of Atuan and Till We Have Faces I just read The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. LeGuin for the first time. It had been recommended to me before, and I have had my sisters’ copies of it (and Wizard of Earthsea and The Farthest Shore) on my shelves for years. MyContinue reading “The Tombs of Atuan and Till We Have Faces”
J. L. Odom 