One Catholic Life Blog

Cowboy Hat and Rope

Books and Reading

Wild Wild West Reviews for January, February, and March

It’s time for a link-up of reviews of western books for the Wild Wild West Challenge. It’s March already and I didn’t think to make link posts for January and February reviews. If you did read a western for the Wild Wild West 2018 Challenge in January or February, then you can link to your reviews below, along with any books you review in March. Going forward I’ll try to do better at providing linkups at the beginning of each month so you can link to your reviews...

Victor Hugo

Books and Reading / Chapter-a-Day Read-Along

Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along: Happy 216th Birthday, Victor Hugo!

Today is February 26, the birthday of Victor Hugo. On this day 216 years ago, Victor Hugo was born to Joseph Léopold Sigisbert Hugo and Sophie Trébuchet. More importantly to me, this also happens to be the birthday of both my mother, Mrs. Senger, and my wife, Dr. Senger, two people who mean much more to me than Victor Hugo ever could. Happily, both are participating in the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along. So if you are feeling deprived of the ability to wish Victor Hugo a happy birthday, please feel free...

Sr. Simplice

Books and Reading / Chapter-a-Day Read-Along / Twitter

#LesMisReadalong on Twitter: Week 8 Highlights

We’re two months into the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along, eight full weeks. We’re still in Volume One: Fantine, and this week we finished Book Five: The Descent, we read Book Six: Javert, and we began Book Seven: The Champmathieu Affair. Here are a few examples what people had to say about these chapters on Twitter: https://twitter.com/burns_nancy/status/965496932872458240 https://twitter.com/joyacousin/status/965572164337520641 https://twitter.com/buttontapper/status/965603099120250880 https://twitter.com/bronasbooks/status/965871081637650432 https://twitter.com/buttontapper/status/966062507671474176 https://twitter.com/bronasbooks/status/966095318570827783 https://twitter.com/MissCarrieLA/status/966162970232307713 Great grief is a divine and terrible radiance which transfigures the wretched. At that moment Fantine had again become beautiful.V1 B5 C13 #LesMisReadalong pic.twitter.com/z5OVIHsdod — Rick...

The Red House Mystery

Book Review / Books and Reading

The Red House Mystery by A.A. Milne

The Red House Mystery is a locked-room cozy mystery written by A.A. Milne, most famous for creating the lovable character Winnie-the-Pooh. It is the only mystery Milne ever wrote, and he explains why he wrote it in the dedication to his father, John Vine Milne: Like all really nice people, you have a weakness for detective stories, and feel that there are not enough of them. So, after all that you have done for me, the least that I can do for you is write you one. Here...

The October Country by Ray Bradbury

General

Deal Me In Story #8: The Small Assassin by Ray Bradbury

Just when the idea occurred to her that she was being murdered she could not tell. Card: 9♦ Anthology: The October Country Story: “The Small Assassin,” 1946 “The Small Assassin” is one of Ray Bradbury’s  darkest and most disturbing stories, at least to my mind. When Alice Leiber almost dies giving birth to her baby boy, she is convinced that the baby is trying to kill her. Her husband and doctor don’t believe her–at least at first. I’m not sure exactly why this story disturbed me so much, but it...

Lord Peter Views the Body 9 of Clubs

Books and Reading

Deal Me In Story #7: The Learned Adventure of the Dragon’s Head by Dorothy Sayers

I don’t think he’s a very nice man. I hate people who ask you to decline nouns for them. Card Drawn: 9♣ Anthology: Lord Peter Views the Body Story: “The Learned Adventure of the Dragon’s Head,” 1928 It’s taken seven weeks, but I finally drew a club, the suit I’ve assigned to Lord Peter Views the Body by Dorothy Sayers. I don’t know if I’ve ever read anything by Dorothy Sayers that I haven’t liked, and I’ve been looking forward to this anthology since the year began. Her stories featuring Lord...

Captain Alatriste

Book Review / Books and Reading

Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

He was not the most honest or pious of men, but he was courageous. I first read Captain Alatriste by Arturo Pérez-Reverte twelve years ago, and it didn’t make much of an impact on me then. It was the third book in a row I had read by Pérez-Reverte, following The Club Dumas and The Fencing Master, and I think I was anxious to move on to something else and didn’t give it a fair chance. So I was very happy to receive a paperback copy for Christmas as part of...

Florelle as Fantine

Books and Reading / Chapter-a-Day Read-Along

Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along: Fantine

As we enter the eighth week of the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along, we arrive at the 50th chapter of the book. From The Bishop of Digne to Jean Valjean, from Fantine to the Thénardiers, we have seen light and darkness, gardens and stars, shipwrecks and collapsed carts. And there is still so much more to come. The last few chapters have focused on the figure of Fantine and her sad fate, and in this 50th chapter Hugo summarizes her life: At the point we have now reached in this...

The Thenardiers

Books and Reading / Chapter-a-Day Read-Along / Twitter

#LesMisReadalong on Twitter: Week 7 Highlights and a Les Mis Podcast

It’s been seven weeks since we started the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along, and the discussion on Twitter is more interesting than ever. Several people are exploring the background of the book and its author Victor Hugo, and they’re sharing their discoveries with the rest of us. Others are tweeting about the reading experience and how it’s affecting them. You can check out the conversation at #LesMisReadalong. You don’t even need a Twitter account to follow along. For those of you who may have missed it on Twitter, Briana Lewis has...

Book Review / Books and Reading

Rumpole and the Golden Thread by John Mortimer

I first heard of the TV series Rumpole of the Bailey about twenty years ago when my friend Mike and I were talking about one of my favorite 1980s movies, Ladyhawke. Mike told me that the cantankerous monk in Ladyhawke was played by one of his favorite actors, Leo McKern, who also played the cantankerous barrister Horace Rumpole. To this day, Mike is still a big fan of Rumpole of the Bailey, having watched all the episodes on VHS multiple times, and having read all the stories in print. I, on the...

Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson

Book Review / Books and Reading

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done. I first heard of Bryan Stevenson’s Just Mercy during Nonfiction November 2016, and then again during Nonfiction November 2017. Both JoAnn at Lakeside Musing and Lory at The Emerald City Book Review were so enthusiastic in their recommendations that the book quickly rose to the top of my “want-to-read” list. Now, after reading Just Mercy myself, I have to say it most definitely was as good as they said it would be. Not only is it a compelling story well...

Art / Books and Reading / Chapter-a-Day Read-Along

Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along: Illustrations by Émile Bayard

When Les Misérables was first published in 1862, it was illustrated by Émile Bayard, whose rendering of little Cosette perfectly captures the essence of what Hugo means by les misérables. To me it’s mostly in the eyes and the tiny mouth, but the massive broom in her hands as she sweeps adds to the sadness. Bayard’s image of Cosette’s face is known the world over, thanks to the Cameron Mackintosh musical, as it was adapted and used in countless promotional posters, advertisements, album covers–almost anything connected with the musical. But...