Aug. 16, 2008
The unfaithful blogger
I obviously haven't been a very good blogger lately, and in all truth, I don't know that I'll be on here very much after this. I'm going to be quite busy, because I'm going to college this year.
It was actually quite the unexpected decision for me. I didn't decide until late this spring that I was going to graduate early and go to college. It took a little while to even get used to the idea.
I will be attending a Bible college about 45 minutes away from my home. My sister attends there currently, so we'll be there together this first year. I'm going to be living on campus, so that will be a big adventure.
I'm both excited and afraid to do this. I know it's going to be a ton of fun, but there's a lot of things that are going to change, and that's scary. Some things aren't ever going to be the same anymore. But I really feel up for this new challenge, and I think it's going to be a good thing.
I can try to post from college, but no promises. I'm sure I'll have a lot of stories though. I hope I'll have enough time to tell a few of them on here.
May. 23, 2008
Strange questions
A lot of people tend to view the library as an information venue that can answer any question. Thus, working at a library, I’ve answered some pretty interesting, tough, and strange questions.
The other day when I was at work, I answered the phone, and the lady at the other end said, “Hi, we’re having a small argument at our house…”
I thought, okaaaaay.
She then proceeded to say, “I say the guy’s name is Johann Sebastian Bach, but my granddaughter keeps saying that his first name is Wolfgang.”
Aha.
May. 7, 2008
Read in the month of April
Posted in Read this month
It’s a tad bit late for this, but I will post it nonetheless.
Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander
Art Auction Mystery by Anna Nilsen
Cloud of Witness by Dorothy L. Sayers
Murder Must Advertise by Dorothy L. Sayers
Moon-Spinners by Mary Stewart
The Inimitable Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
Do Hard Things by Alex and Brett Harris
The Unusual Suspects by Michael Buckley
High Courage by Rosemary Weir
The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry
Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfield
Favorite book from this month: Er, probably Do Hard Things. That was a good book. I would definitely recommend it.
Best new discovery: P.G. Wodehouse. How can you resist a main character that says stuff like “Pip-pip” and “Toodle-oo”? (Leastwise I think that’s what he said…I don’t have the book with me now.)
Apr. 24, 2008
Recommended Reading Review ~ Dispensationalism Today
Posted in Book Reviews
Dispensationalism Today by Charles C. Ryrie
This was my Dad’s choice for me to read. I came into it knowing pretty much nothing about dispensationalism, so perhaps I’m not in a good position to evaluate the soundness of Ryrie’s arguments. However, I do have the advantage of the perspective of the average know-nothing.
If you’re looking for a book to read that doesn’t take any brainwork, you’ll have to keep looking. This isn’t exactly Dispensationalism for Dummies. It did take some engaging of the brain on my part. I’ll admit that when I read the first chapter, I felt slightly stunned. And confused, to put it mildly. Nonetheless, with each successive chapter, things slowly began to straighten out in my mind.
I appreciated the fact that the last chapter of the book talked about how this particular theological issue shouldn’t be divisive for Christians. I think that was an important point, and I was quite glad the author included it.
In the end, I think this gave me a working knowledge of dispensationalism. I wouldn’t want to try to have a debate with someone over the issue just from the knowledge gleaned from this book. That would take more study. But if I was listening to two other people talking about dispensationalism, I think I would be able to intelligently follow their conversation. This book was a good starter.
Apr. 17, 2008
Spiders and songs in 6/8 time
I have a very cool piano teacher. Not only does she know about playing music, she also knows about the history of music, why composers wrote the way they did, and a ton of other stuff.
Technically, a Tarantella is a fast song written in 6/8 time. However, there is a more interesting story behind this particular type of song, and the other day my teacher told it to me.
If you literally translate the word Tarantella from its original Italian, it means tarantula. In Italy, many years ago, if a person was bitten by a tarantula, he knew just what to do. He would call up his friendly local witch doctor, or whatnot, and this doctor would wildly dance over the bitten person to a song in 6/8 time. Supposedly, this would cure the bitten person, and save them from imminent death.
So, did this little trick work? You bet your britches it did.
See, tarantula bites are not fatal. The bite might hurt like crazy for a while, but eventually, it will heal.
Not knowing this, the people back then kept dancing their little dance, and thinking it worked marvelously.
Or so the story goes. Searching the internet, I’ve seen a couple of different explanations as to the origins of the dance. However, I think this one is an awfully good one.
Now that you know the story behind, perhaps you’ll be interested in listening to a few actual Tarantella songs. I found a couple of good YouTube videos. I don’t know how to actually inset them in to my post, so you’ll have to click the links.
Apr. 14, 2008
Mystery Mondays ~ Dorothy Sayers
Posted in Book Reviews
I just recently discovered the books of Dorothy Sayers, and have only read three of her books thus far. However, I do believe I will be reading more of her works.
Sayers created a detective by the name of Lord Peter Wimsey. He tends to exist in a perpetual state of cheerfulness, which can become grating at times. In situations call for seriousness, he can seem a little unfeeling, a fact which he doesn’t seem to realize. In one of her books, Cloud of Witnesses, Lord Peter asks his manservant, “Bunter, is my manner really offensive, when I don’t mean it to be?”
On the other hand, Sayers does balance out his character in the other direction as well. Somehow, the fact that he isn’t easily shaken makes the times when he is upset more significant. Just when I want to throttle him, he’ll experience a moment of sympathy, or anger, or sadness, and then all is right in my reading world once again.
While Sayers tends to make her endings less surprising than some other writers (or at least one specific one that I plan to write about), her plots are suspenseful enough to keep me eagerly reading to find out “whodunit”. I’ve enjoyed discovering her books.
Caution: you may encounter bad language and/or mature situations when reading a Dorothy Sayers book. Use discretion.
Apr. 9, 2008
New Beginnings
I’ve had a very nice blogging break. I’m hoping that now I’ll be able to be more consistent for a while.
Actually, I don’t feel too guilty about my long silence. I’ve noticed that a lot of people seem to be taking a rest from blogging. Perhaps it’s the winter doldrums. After a few months cooped up in the house, a lot of things seem to become stale. Air and motivation being two of them.
I love fresh starts. There’s nothing I relish more than staring at the first page of a blank notebook. When I’ve unwisely spent my day doing nothing (which is most of the time, in the interest of honesty), it’s infinitely satisfying to think that the next day is a whole new opportunity to do things differently.
The fact that I love starting over is a testament to the fact that I mess up a lot. But that is what I love about spring. It’s like a fresh, new beginning.
Mar. 10, 2008
Mystery Mondays ~ G.K. Chesterton
Posted in Book Reviews
Gaaah! It's Mystery Monday, and I almost forgot to post! The first author I wanted to highlight is G.K. Chesterton.
Perhaps you know G.K. Chesterton better for all the thinker stuff he writes. He did, however, create a detective by the name of Father Brown.
Father Brown isn’t your typical detective. He’s a priest for one thing. He’s also quite dumpy, carries an umbrella, and exudes an air of profound confusion. Don’t be fooled though. In reality, Father Brown sees much more clearly than most, if not all, of the people around him.
G.K. Chesterton made Father Brown the star of 52 short stories. You can probably find these compiled into a volume title The Complete Father Brown, or something of the sort, at your local library.
It’s been a little while since I read any Father Brown mystery stories. If I remember correctly, I was sometimes left in a state of confusion after reading one, because G.K. Chesterton mixed in a healthy dose “thinker” stuff into his mysteries. My poor little brain, which was wild to know who the murderer was, would rebelliously refuse to absorb all this, leaving me bemused.
Despite my brain’s failings, these stories were usually enjoyable reads for me. I should probably try them again now that I’m a little older. If you like your philosophy and mystery at the same time, try Father Brown.
Mar. 6, 2008
Introduction to Mystery Mondays
Posted in Book Reviews
If I have a weakness for any genre of book, it’s mysteries. I won’t deliberately read a cheesy book of any other type, but I will read a cheesy mystery. That’s not to say that I like the fact that the mystery is cheesy—it’s just that I’ll put up with it.
I’ve discovered some very good mystery writers over time. Most of them are adult. It’s rare for me to find a kid’s mystery that I’m satisfied with. Over the next couple of weeks, I’d like to highlight some of my favorite mystery authors, both for adults and children. And I think I’ll do it on Mondays, just so I can call it Mystery Monday. I like alliteration.
It’s rather obvious that it’s not Monday right now, so I won’t post anything today. However, I hope to have something up at the beginning of next week. Tune in then.
Mar. 3, 2008
Book Review ~ The Giver
Posted in Book Reviews
I have to tell you, if you haven't read this book, you're really missing out. I've read it several times, and it's just as good with each read. In fact, we just read it over at the SAYR, and it made for some great discussion questions.
I'm sorry if the review seems a little Newbery heavy. The reason for that is because I cross-posted it over at my other blog, Everything Newbery.
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Jonas lives in a world as near to perfect as it can be made. Every citizen of his community respects every other citizen. Each person has his or her place. The community runs like a well-oiled machine. Jonas is perfectly happy with this—until. Until he meets the Giver. Suddenly Jonas’s wonderful perception of his community begins to rust away, flake by flake.
When I started out reading the Newbery Award and Honor books, I was basically rereading. I didn’t want to spend a whole lot of time going “Well, I read this about five years ago. Should I count that as having read it for this project?” So I just decided to reread everything. We had quite a few Newbery books laying around the house, so I gathered them into a pile, and using the highly scientific method of eeny-meeny-miny-moe, began reading. None of the books were really new or exciting to me.
The Giver was one of the first Newbery books that I borrowed from the library, one that I hadn’t read yet. I think I’d kind of heard of it. But really, I wandered into it unawares, and came out grinning like some kind of overly happy clown. Looking back in my Newbery notebook, I see that I babbled somewhat incoherently about how great it was after I was finished.
What can I say about this book that hasn’t already been said by dozens of other reviewers? I can tell you why I think it clicked for me. It was the mixture of depth and accessibility. When I think of a “serious” book, words like “slow-moving” and “dull” come to mind. That’s probably a wrong assumption—but that’s a topic for another post. What I liked about The Giver was that it actually moved. Yet it also made me use my brain, and challenged ideas I had taken for granted.
If you haven’t read the book, you may not want to read this paragraph of the review. I wanted to give my opinion on the ending. A lot of people seem to dislike it because of its ambiguity. Me? I didn’t mind not knowing what happened to Jonas. It was obvious to me that he was going to be fine. I wanted to know what happened to the people he left behind. What about Asher and Fiona? And Jonas’s family? Do they change for the better? Those were the questions I wanted badly to be answered.
If I had a top-ten list of Newbery books, this would make the cut. Is that recommendation enough?
~~
Speaking of the SAYR, we're reading our next book, Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis, in a couple of weeks. I would really encourage you to sign up if you think you can make time for it. It's open to anyone, and the discussions are a lot of fun.
Mar. 1, 2008
Read in the month of February
Posted in Read this month
Wow! I read a lot this month. *Is impressed with self* Now you know what I was doing the whole time I wasn't posting.
The Book of the Sleuth by Alan K. Russell
The Big Four by Agatha Christie
The Hollow by Agatha Christie
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
The Patriotic Murders by Agatha Christie
Seven Complete Nero Wolfe Novels by Rex Stout
Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
Whittington by Alan Armstrong
The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson
Freddy and the Popinjay by Walter R. Brooks
Dispensationalism Today by Charles C. Ryrie
The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
The Complete Adventures of Homer Price by Robert McCloskey
Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst
Miss Spitfire: Reaching Helen Keller by Sarah Miller
Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Anti-Inflammation Diet by Christopher P. Cannon
Authentic Beauty by Leslie Ludy
Figgs & Phantoms by Ellen Raskin
Favorite book from this month: The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson
Least favorite read: Whittington by Alan Armstrong
Weird, weird, weird: Figgs & Phantoms by Ellen Raskin
Funniest: The last short story in The Complete Adventures of Homer Price by Robert McCloskey. Man, it was funny.
Feb. 21, 2008
A Lovely Tag
I feel like I should apologize for my lack of posting and commenting. As seen by my previous post, I’m suffering slightly from the winter blahs. Blah.
I do believe that both writer4him and alizona tagged me with this one.
8 Things I'm Passionate About:
1. Books
2. Newbery books
3. Making other people read books I like
4. Lists
5. Getting out of work
6. Bugging my family and friends
7. Hope chests
8. Using scratch paper
8 Things I Want to do Before I Die:
1. Read all the Newbery Award and Honor books
2. Serve on the Newbery committee (hey, you didn’t say I had to be realistic)
3. Learn to improvise on the piano
4. Adopt
5. Bake bread
6. Have a home library that any book-lover would kill for
7. Know God
8. Become productive
8 Things I Say Often:
1. What’s for dinner?
2. Who was that?
3. Can we go to the library?
4. You’re funny.
5. Can I stay in the car?
6. You should read ____!
7. Rats!
8. Eeeew!
8 Books I've Read Recently
1. Freddy the Pied Piper by Walter R. Brooks
2. The Patriotic Murders by Agatha Christie
3. Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
4. The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
5. Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter
6. Please Pass the Guilt by Rex Stout
7. The Phantom Tollbooth by Norman Juster
8. Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
8 Songs I Could Listen to Over and Over:
1. What Is This Feeling? ~ from the Wicked soundtrack ("Wicked" sounds rather ominous, but don't worry, it's not.)
2. Dive ~ Steven Curtis Chapman
3. Freedom Battle ~ Michael W. Smith
4. A Place Called Grace ~ Phillips, Craig & Dean
5. More ~ Matthew West
6. Wonderful ~ from the Wicked soundtrack
7. Popular ~ from the Wicked soundtrack
8. There Is Power In The Blood ~ Selah
8 Things That Attract Me to My Best Friend(s):
1. They listen
2. They relate
3. They say things without worrying that I’ll be offended
4. They share common interests with me
5. They push me out of my comfort zone
6. They laugh at me
7. They disagree spiritedly with me
8. They also agree with me spiritedly
8 Things I've Learned This (past) Year:
1. I learned that Chemistry is survivable
2. That Fflewddur Fflam is possibly the bestest character to appear in a book ever
3. I’m not as great as I thought I was (I learn this lesson quite often)
4. That reading God’s words really does make a huge difference in my relationship with Him
5. I’m not as great as I thought I was (told you I learned this often)
6. Deciding what you want to do in a life is harder than I thought
7. Driving in snow isn’t any fun. At all.
8. College cafeteria food isn’t that great
8 People I'm Tagging:
I think this one has pretty much made the rounds, so I guess I won’t tag anyone specific. (If you haven’t done it yet, though, I hereby tag you.)
Feb. 18, 2008
What I Really Want
What I really, really want right now is to be able to go outside and take a de-eeep breath...without the inside of my nostrils freezing.
Yup. I've totally got cabin fever.
Feb. 4, 2008
Recommended Reading Review ~ Mr. Popper's Penguins
Posted in Book Reviews
Mr. Popper’s Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
When Mr. Popper, a dedicated Polar expedition fanatic, tunes in to the broadcast of the Drake Antarctic Expedition, he gets the surprise of his life.
“’That’s nothing,’ said Mrs. Popper. ‘Just a lot of men at the bottom of the world saying “Hello, Mamma. Hello, Papa.”’
‘Sh!’ commanded Mr. Popper, laying his ear close to the radio.
There was a buzz, and then suddenly, from the South Pole, a faint voice floated out into the Popper living room.
‘This is Admiral Drake speaking. Hello, Mamma. Hello, Papa. Hello, Mr. Popper.’
‘Gracious goodness,’ exclaimed Mrs. Popper. ‘Did he say “Papa” or “Popper”?’
‘Hello, Mr. Popper, up there in Stillwater. Thanks for your nice letter about the pictures of our last expedition. Watch for an answer. But not by letter, Mr. Popper. Watch for a surprise. Signing off. Signing off.’”
After this mysterious message, Mr. Popper can hardly wait to see what the surprise could be. And one day a package arrives. It is covered with warnings, like “Unpack at Once” and “Keep Cool”, and it has holes punched in it. And lo and behold, when Mr. Popper unpacks it, he discovers a penguin inside! Thus is the beginning of a wonderful adventure for the Popper family.
This book is a wacky, fun ride. The authors don’t in any way attempt to make the book believable, and in a way, that’s the best part of it. The reader is asked to sit back for a few hours, suspend practicality, and travel along with Mr. Popper and his penguins (notice the plurality of the word) on a wild adventure.
There are plenty of laughs along the way. Mr. Popper’s mischievous penguins interrupt a diva in the middle of her operatic concert, cause havoc on a train by giving in to the temptation to climb the porters’ ladders, and come close to getting into a fight with half-a-dozen seals.
An engaging and amusing book for anyone who’s willing to give it a try.
Feb. 1, 2008
Read in the month of January
Posted in Read this month
God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew
And Four to Go by Rex Stout
Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson
The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall
The Moorchild by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
Holy Ambition by Chip Ingram
Writing from the Heart: Young People Share Their Wisdom by Arthur J. Schwartz
Diamonds in the Shadow by Caroline B. Cooney
Ghost Soldiers: The Forgotten Epic Story of World War II's Most Dramatic Mission by Hampton Sides
Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliett
The Clockwork Twin by Walter R. Brooks
Favorite book read this month: God's Smuggler by Brother Andrew
Least favorite book read this month: Chasing Vermeer by Blue Balliet
Jan. 23, 2008
Winter Reading Challenge
I found out thorugh Eyebright that Trish from A Joyful Heart is hosting a Winter Reading Challenge. Sound like a lovely way to plow through some of those more, er, difficult books on my to-read list--although I'll include some lighter ones too. Here's my list.
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Knowing God by J.I. Packer
Authentic Beauty: The Shaping of a Set-Apart Young Woman by Leslie Ludy
Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
Ben Hur by Lew Wallace
Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard
Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare
Whittington by Alan Armstrong
Somewhere in the Darkness by Walter Dean Myers
The King's Fifth by Scott O'Dell
Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter
Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson
Jan. 17, 2008
Homemaker-in-Training Thursday--Recipes
Posted in Homemaker-in-Training Thursday
Eyebright is coordinating something new called Homemaker-in-Training Thursday. Each Thursday, participants post about something they are doing to prepare to be a homemaker someday. If you're interested in participating, check out Eyebright's posts here and here.
I'm not always very homemaker-ish. But a while back, I did get motivated to start collecting a few things for a hope chest. For Christmas, I asked for a recipe book. I thought it would be great to collect some of my favorite recipes that Mom makes around our house in a book to take with me someday. And lo and behold, I got this.
A recipe book and a lovely set of recipe cards. And...a look at the inside.
I then scoured all of Mom's recipes and demanded that various and sundry members of my family help me copy down recipes. I found quite a few, so we're still working on copying. For fun, I'm trying to have family members copy out their own "specialties".
So...what about all those killer recipes of your Mom's that you're going to want when you have your own house? Seems to me that now would be a grand time to start collecting them. They don't have to be in a fancy recipe book--you could start you collection on index cards and store them in a box.
Speaking of killer recipes, here's one of my favorite main dishes at our house.
Swiss Chicken
Boneless chicken breasts (skinned)
Swiss cheese (sliced or grated)
1 can condensed cream of chicken soup
1/3 cup milk
1 c. Pepperidge Farm stuffing
1/4 c. melted butter or margarine
Place chicken breasts in bottom of greased 9x13 pan (any amount that fits). Layer swiss cheese over chicken. Mix cream of chicken soup with milk and pour over chicken. Top with 1 cup or more stuffing. Drizzle butter or margarine over stuffing. Bake at 350 for 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
Jan. 11, 2008
Off to the Dentist We Go
Going to the dentist is one of those things that practically everyone hates. When we hear that one of our friends is going to the dentist, we sympathetically pat them on the back, wishing them good luck, as if they were having a court date instead.
Why does everyone dislike going to the dentist? After long and prolonged thought, here are my highly scientific conclusions.
First there’s the Waiting Room. The Waiting Room smells funny and has uncomfortable chairs. If you’re not careful, a complete and utter stranger might sit down next to you in the Waiting Room. The Waiting Room plays that horrible country music that you hate so much and that promptly gets stuck in your head. And lastly, the Waiting Room is always the wrong temperature, so that you either need your jacket in the summer, or a t-shirt in the winter.
After the Waiting Room, there is the Moral Temptation. You go back and sit in one of reclining chairs, and the hygienist (who is, by the way, very nice) starts asking you those awful questions. “Do you floss every day?” Here’s where the Moral Temptation begins. Your eyes dart about frantically. Do you stretch the truth a little and say, “Most of the time”? It would be so nice to say that just once to the hygienist. Do you valiantly resist the Moral Temptation and say, “Well, I did once, about 6 months ago…”? Or do you say something optimistic like, “No, but I just made a belated New Years Resolution to do so,” even though it’s the middle of April? Such hard choices to make!
The hygienist then begins to Inspect your teeth. In order to better see them, she pulls back your lips, pushing them this way and that until you mentally hope that your pastor doesn’t walk by and see you sitting with such an expression on your face.
The hygienist picks on your teeth a little, polishes them, and does fluoride (yummy! Ask for strawberry), and then begins the Flossing. Since, in reality, you haven’t touched a piece of floss in 6 months, it is not a pleasant experience. Sometimes it feels as if the hygienist thinks your wayward gums have risen too high and she’s trying to floss them back down to your chin.
You get your little toothbrush (which has a handle too fat to fit in your toothbrush holder), joyfully trot back to the Waiting Room, and mentally vow that next time you visit the dentist, you will have brushed twice a day and flossed for the last six months. Then you promptly forget all about the dentist for the next six months. Until your mother announces one morning, “Don’t forget we have dental appointments tomorrow!”
Of course, perhaps the way I feel about going to the dentist is nothing compared to the way my dentist feels when he sees me coming…
Does anyone make New Years Resolutions? Last year, I made 12 resolutions and kept a grand total of one. Er, make that half of one. The actual resolution was “Read a lot without letting it interfere with my studies.” And, well, I read a lot.
With that in mind, I decided to take a shot at making some resolutions for my blog. What can it hurt, right? (Right?)
1. Finish reading the books on my Recommended Reading List. You might notice that I changed the title of my list from “Summer Reading” to “Recommended Reading”, for rather obvious reasons. To save what dignity I have left, my sister says. I didn’t expect it to take me this long to work through the list, but I AM still working on it.
2. Post a few more personal posts. I like doing book reviews, but I want to intersperse them with more personal posts.
3. And last but not least, I want to try to post twice a week. This will be the hardest resolution to keep, I think. But I really do need to up the frequency of my posts.
That’s it. Now all I can do is hope that everyone will have forgotten my resolutions by the time the end of the year rolls around.
Jan. 1, 2008
Read in the month of December
Posted in Read this month
I took a break from reading, so this is a very, very short list.
The Grey King by Susan Cooper
Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes
Silver on the Tree by Susan Cooper
