What makes fiction so powerful and so poignant? Thornton Wilder sums it up in one of the most moving quotes I have ever read: If Queen Elizabeth or Frederick the Great or Ernest Hemingway were to read their biographies, they would exclaim, “Ah, my secret is still safe.” But if Natasha Rostov were to read War and Peace she would cry out as she covered her face with her hands: “How did he know, how did he know?” Is this what the pain of Purgatory might be like:...
Not only are these great movies, but the novels on which they are based are classics, too. If you’re in a reading group, why not read the book, then watch the movie? I only chose novels, no non-fiction (i.e., A Beautiful Mind) or drama (i.e., Much Ado About Nothing). Movies are listed alphabetically. Ben-Hur – Novel by Lew Wallace The Bridge on the River Kwai – Novel by Pierre Boulle Field of Dreams – Based on Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella The Godfather – Novel by Mario Puzo...
I saw this comment on a post in someone else’s blog the other day: My theory is, at least they’re reading. Who cares what they read? Just read, damn it. If the discussion were about kids who were just learning to read, I’d be inclined to agree–there is a point in everyone’s life when the best way to improve as a reader is to read as much as you can, regardless of the content (mostly–I hate Captain Underpants!). But the blog post was about reading in general, and...
John at SF Signal reviewed my free ebook ROMAN Reading in post called When in Rome…Do as Elitists Do? I really appreciate the time he took to read the book and write about it. His comments actually illustrate a couple of the elements of ROMAN Reading: Asking questions about what you read, and Naming your experiences. One of the questions he asks is if the neighborhood analogy is elitist. Here are his thoughts: Encouraging reading is a good thing, but I detect a smack of reading elitism here,...
This is a follow-up to Maureen’s question about recommendations for 12 and 13 year-old boys. Without getting into a big discussion about gender stereotyping, let me just say that in general boys at this age tend to read books that are more action and adventure oriented, while girls enjoy reading more about relationships. Case in point: I teach The Hobbit and Les Miserables to my eighth graders each year. Both boys and girls love these books. But when I look at the few students who didn’t like them,...
Maureen asks: I have 12 and 13 yo boys and would love some book recommendations. Is Don Quixote appropriate for their age group? They are voracious readers, and I find we’re on the brink of children’s and adult books. Thanks for any advice. What a great question! One of my favorite things to do is recommend books. First, concerning Don Quixote: In sixteen years of teaching junior high students, I only recall three students who read Don Quixote all the way through, but each of them really enjoyed...
Yesterday I wrote about the music I like to listen to while reading Patrick O’Brian’s Master and Commander series. I know that the reading group Tilting at Windmills is about to begin Don Quixote, so today I want to share the kind of music that helps set the atmosphere when I read this most excellent novel. (Sidenote: If you’ve never read Don Quixote you should join Tilting at Windmills and read it–it’s my favorite book, hands down, and in my opinion the greatest novel ever written.) To achieve...
Picture yourself curled up on the couch with a good book and your favorite drink. No interruptions. What music is playing in the background? Some people like to read in silence, but I’m not one of them. The right music helps me become more involved in my book by creating a kind of environmental blanket that envelops me and keeps the world out. I thought I’d share some of my favorite music to read by with you in the hopes that you might share yours with me. If...
I just finished reading Shusaku Endo’s The Samurai, and it was eye-opening in so many ways. It is the story of two men: Father Velasco, the flawed but well-meaning missionary to Japan, and Hasekura Rokuemon, the quiet Samurai who only wants to do his duty. Both men have a mission, both of them are forced to compromise their integrity for the sake of that mission, and neither of them get what they want. In the end, however, The Samurai is a gentle reminder that God “writes straight with...
“People with bows string them when they need to use them and unstring them when they’ve finished with them. If they kept them strung all the time, the bows would break, and then they wouldn’t be able to use them when they needed them. It is no different with people’s temperments. Anyone who is serious all the time and never allows himself a fair measure of relaxation will imperceptibly slide into madness or have a stroke.” –Amasis, king of Egypt, in Herodotus’ The Histories
I’ve been listening to George Guidall reading Don Quixote, and the other day I was struck by this description of death by Sancho Panza: “By my faith, Señor,” responded Sancho, “you mustn’t trust in the fleshless woman, I mean Death, who devours lamb as well as mutton; I’ve heard our priest say that she tramples the high towers of kings as well as the humble huts of the poor. This lady is more powerful than finicky; nothing disgusts her, she eats everything, and she does everything, and she...
Today in 1760 the first two volumes of The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy were published. I read it three years ago and remember smiling through much of it. Here are the notes I wrote to myself at the time I finished it: What a pleasant book. Tristram Shandy takes its own sweet time to be told, really goes nowhere, but manages to be engaging in spite of itself. I love the narrator’s personality and the wonderful depictions of Uncle Toby and Trim. Sterne reminds me somewhat...
Aubrey/Maturin Read-along 2021-2024
Classics Club #32: Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevesky
January 20, 2020
Classics Club #21: Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
December 28, 2018
Classics Club #20: She by H. Rider Haggard
May 17, 2018
Notes from the Upside Down by Guy Adams
April 4, 2018
Cries from the Earth by Terry C. Johnston
March 20, 2018
