I blew it. I didn't get a post up yesterday. So today I will just pick up where I left off and tell some more about my 2017 reading.
Murder on the Orient Express, Murder at the Vicarage, and A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie--I wanted to read Orient Express ahead of the movie release. I had never read it! But I never did get to the movie, though there is always Netflix or Amazon. The book was so enjoyable that I decided to enjoy a couple more Christie mysteries, this time with Miss Marple. Poirot gets on my nerves after awhile, but Miss Marple never grows tiresome. I enjoy classic mysteries and Christie's Judeo-Christian morality and inventive plots never fail to please.
Housekeeping by Marilynne Robinson--This had been recommended so many times that I finally took the plunge and read it. It left me scratching my head, though. It is beautifully and poetically written with the prose flowing as smoothly hot fudge over vanilla ice cream, but I just didn't get it. Enlighten me if you can!
Republican Like Me: How I Left the Liberal Bubble and Learned to Love the Right by Ken Stern--The author really missed the boat. I had high hopes for this book, but it was a disappointment. Stern interacted with Republicans as if he were observing exotic animals in the zoo and never truly entered their lives or mindsets. I think he thinks he did, but he didn't. Now Stern can pat himself on the back for coming out of his ivory tower and mingling with the lower orders, but I doubt it did him much real good. I will give him credit for trying, which is more than a lot of progressives have done.
Little House in the Big Woods and Little House on the Prairie by Laura Ingalls Wilder--Ever since I was a little girl reading these stories I loved have them. In fact, because of these books I love pioneer stories in general. Then my husband and I read the series several times to both our girls, and now we have embarked on the series again with our granddaughters. When they spend the night with us we read several chapters before bed and they love it. These are classic children's stories about westward expansion and settling the American West. I am sure they have fallen out of favor due to their portrayal of settler/Indian relations, traditional family structures, and Christian values, but that's a shame. There a few things that make me uncomfortable too, but they give an opportunity to have good conversations. The benefits of the books far outweigh the few problems.
Paradise Lost by John Milton--I had never read this and knew I needed to, and I'm glad I did. I confess, though, that I struggle with poetry, especially long poems. I am too impatient for it and I see this as a flaw in my character. I did gain some theological insight, however, and found parts of it profound.
The Story of the Treasure Seekers by E. Nesbit--A family in crisis is saved through the intelligence and creativity of the children, just like in Nesbit's best known work, The Railway Children. I love that about these two books. Nesbit must have had a sincere respect for children and their abilities. I appreciate the way the children work together and help each other out, yet they are real children with all the typical follies and foibles of childhood. Enjoyable story, enjoyable read!
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