Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge Conclusion (2013)

Some years it seems I get to spend a lot of time in Narnia and other years not so much. This year I didn't spend quite as much time in Narnia as I would have liked, and yet the time that I did was very meaningful and enjoyable.

Another July has apparently come and gone and with it another Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge.

This past month I managed to read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe aloud to my boys (linked to my thoughts) and watch the movie with them.

My oldest took to the book adventure, asking to read more in the series and pulling out his wooden swords in order to do battle against the forces of evil. (Yeah. I like that.) Bookworm2 thrilled in watching the movie and took great interest in Aslan and the White Witch. (He is very focused on the idea of good guys and bad guys at present.) As we read the book, the kids also enjoyed playing with our Narnia figures which I have mentioned in the past.

(I added the White Witch to our collection this year. Yes, it was a necessary purchase.)

My greatest triumph this month (I think) was in renaming our local football mascot. We live in Beaver country (OSU) and whenever my kids see a picture of the mascot, Bookworm3 yells out, "BENNY BEAVER!!!" After our time in Narnia she started yelling out, "MR. BEAVER!!!!" And since I am no great fan of football, this pleases me greatly. Mr. Beaver rules!


Despite the fact that we didn't cover much ground in Narnia (or, as much as I would have liked), I had great fun with my kids and that's the most important thing.

I had also committed to reading Planet Narnia and that book is well underway. I just haven't completed it yet so I'll be back with a review on it in a week or so. I'll link that one into the comment section when I've finished reading it.

Lastly, we held a couple of Narnia-themed contests around here and it is indeed time to announce the winners, both chosen with Random.org.

THE WINNER OF THE BOX OF TURKISH DELIGHT IS #6 - Laura Book Snob

THE WINNER OF THE GIFT EDITION OF THE MAGICIAN'S NEPHEW IS #7 - Traveler. The winner of the paperback edition of the same title is #10 - Annette!

Congrats to the winners!

And now we come to the part where you share of your adventures in Narnia. Did you participate this month and did you write up a blog post documenting your reading experiences? Please link up in the comment section below! If you do not have a blog but read along, please feel free to share your thoughs as well, also in the comment section.

See ya back here next July for more Narnia (if I can wait that long)!

Guardians of Ga'Hoole: The Capture, by Kathryn Lasky

A book-lovin' friend of mine from church offered to loan me her copy of The Capture, which is the first in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole series. This friend of mine seems to be a discerning reader (heh) and so I took up her offer and read the book. It took about two days for me to make my way through this title as I found it to be completely riveting.

If you are as unfamiliar with these books as I was, Guardians of Ga'Hoole is a middle grade fantasy series consisting of 15 total books written by Kathryn Lasky. (There are apparently spin-offs and side plots but there are 15 books in the main series.) I will avoid saying much about the series as a whole because there are so many spoilers that can be offered and I do not wish to spoil it for myself as much as you. To date, I have only read the first title.

In The Capture we meet Soren, who is a young barn owl who lives with his family in the kingdom of Tyto. As the book opens he is experiencing life has a young owl who is anticipating his first meal and learning how to fly. Unfortunately, disaster befalls Soren and he is captured and taken to St. Aegolius Academy for Orphaned Owls. There, Soren meets another young owlet named Gylfie. The two of them are well aware of the fact that neither of them are true orphans and they determine between themselves to learn to fly in order to escape their current prison. They also make it their personal mission to move throughout the facility and discover what is truly going on behind the scenes so that they can tell their family about this mysterious place. As the story unfolds more clues are revealed. The book ends with a dangling question mark (of course!) and you must read further to understand what is happening in total.

I have to say that I wasn't really sure what to expect from this book when I first launched into it. However, I was quickly sucked into the story. It is very reminiscent of Nazi brainwashing tactics during World War II. In Guardians of Ga'Hoole, the owlets are all made to force march under the light of the moon causing them to be "moon blinked." In this manner, the owlets forget their homes and families and are easily trainable to fulfill the wishes and commands of some unknown behind-the-scenes power (who is not revealed in Book 1). There is a library at St. Aggie's, but it is completely off limits to the owls. Books go in but they do not come out and no one is allowed to read for themselves. The owlets are also not allowed to ask questions but must do as they are told. Finally, there is talk of building a master owl race that is superior to any which have existed before. It is all quite fascinating.

I'm not quickly drawn to series of books which feature animals as the main characters. (Even as I type that I'm reviewing titles featuring animals in my mind which I have liked in the past such as this one and this one.) Let's just say that owls aren't very appealing as main characters in my mind and so I was doubtful of my ability to connect. Whatever my doubts were, Lasky quickly dispelled them. I had no troubles whatsoever diving into a world in which owls are being re-programmed, as it were, to accomplish some great mysterious mission. I am excessively curious to read further into the series. In fact, I am so curious in fact that I purchased the fifteen books immediate in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole books.

A conservative reader alert should include warning that there is some strong language used. I think I recall a word (such as "stupid" or "darn") within the story. Unfortunately I can't remember the specific word but I do recall running across it and thinking that I wish it had been toned down just a bit further so that I could rest in the knowledge that the book was as clean in the language department as could be. Obviously I didn't find it to be a horrendous road block because I can't even remember what the word is but merely that it existed somewhere. My second reservation about the book (if you can call it a reservation at all) is that it is bloody. There is one rather grisly death scene and then there is a ritual in which some bats come and "remove the desire" of the owls to fly which involves some biting and blood. It is a little mentally disturbing and it would caution me against turning this series over to too young of a reader.

The above stated, I did purchase the books with the intent of gifting them to my oldest son for Christmas this year. He'll be slightly over seven when he receives them. I know that these books are within his reading capabilities in terms of skill level. I also anticipate that he'll find the books very exciting and therefore I think they are a good fit.

My husband and I sat down to watch the movie which is based on these books after I had finished reading The Capture. I quickly discovered that the movie covers more than just Book 1 so we didn't finish watching it. I have since been informed that you should read the first three books in the series before attempting to watch the movie. So I'll hold off and finish watching it later.

In short, based on my reading of the first book in the series, I think Guardians of Ga'Hoole is a fascinating series! It certainly has captured my imagination and I'm looking forward to reading on further. Thanks, S, for loaning me the first book and getting me started!

Seasons of a Mother's Heart, by Sally Clarkson

When Amy suggested a book club specific for reading Seasons of a Mother's Heart over the summer months, I thought that was a fine idea. I'd read it once before (with another group of women) and figured I could stand a re-read seeing as how I am now an official home schooling mother. Amy suggested a reading plan which I thought sounded good and with every good intent and purpose I sat down to read this book alongside Amy and others. And then I remembered that I am absolutely no good at reading a book in chapter spurts. I am a sit-down-and-read-it-all-the-way-through type of gal and so as much as I tried to linger over the pages and the chapters it just wasn't happening. I eventually gave up, read the whole thing straight through and will write down my summary of thoughts.

First, I should tell you that I have never been a huge Sally Clarkson fan. I do not dislike her, I've just had a hard time connecting to her style. Still, I've never dismissed her because my friend who I greatly admire, and who is further along in the parenting journey than I, initially recommended Clarkson to me. Therefore I have always believed that there is something to be gleaned, regardless of whether or not I click with Clarkson, personally. My friend (who is no doubt reading this post) can now laugh at me because during this particular reading of Seasons of a Mother's Heart I felt like I clicked with Clarkson completely. Quite simply, I ate this book up. It fit me well  and I'm glad for Amy's book club suggestion.

I have so many pages and passages marked as being particularly meaningful or thought-provoking that it is hard to know where to start when documenting my thoughts concerning this particular reading. If you are unfamiliar with this title, Seasons of a Mother's Heart is written specifically to and for home schooling mothers. It is Clarkson's stated purpose and desire to encourage and build-up home schooling mothers, infusing them with Biblical counsel and encouragement to keep pressing on in their mission to raise and train their children.

"When I have tried to do in this book is acknowledge the burdens and difficulties of being a homeschooling mother, but even more to point you to what the Bible says about how to do God's will with confidence and joy. That, to me, is the real challenge of the homeschooling lifestyle - to maintain a living and vibrant faith in the power of the Holy Spirit." (Introduction, page 15)

What I'll do is share two particular points which I took away from my time in this book:

1. God gave each of my children their personalities with a purpose in mind!

"Believe it or not, God did not give your child that personality just to help you grow! He gave it because He has a purpose for that child to fulfill, and He needs your child's personality strengths. God did not make a mistake in giving your child his or her personality, so don't make the mistake of being critical of it. Learn to appreciate God's handiwork in each of your children." (Chapter 7, A Touch of Sympathy, page 139)

I struggle sometimes with the way that my children are different than me. Reading these few sentences made me laugh at myself for my unreasonable expectations that my children think exactly the way I do and say the things I do in the way that I want them to. They are their own people, created with specific personalities for specific purposes and God is working just as well in them as He is in me. Trusting His plan seems the thing to do and encouraging my children to continue to know the Lord is all that I need to do.

Yes, it is true that being around someone 24/7 will present a trial or two as you learn to adapt to their individual communication styles and personality "quirks" but that is not a bad thing. I don't know how else to explain it except to say that when I read those few sentences I exhaled. My children's innate personalities serve a purpose. Accepting and loving that fact has been doing me a great deal of good of late.

2. The job of homeschooling our kids falls to Jonathan (my husband) and myself. The responsibility belongs to no one else.

"Just by making the decision to homeschool we already face a bevy of critics - other parents who vocally defend public schools for their children, church members who think we're overprotective, family members who think we've gone off the deep end, and neighbors who suspect us of something weird but they're just not sure what. And, as if that weren't enough, we add our own voices to the critics' chorus, berating ourselves that we aren't doing enough and feeling like failures because we don't live up to the unreasonable demands we've placed on ourselves.
. . . [M]y desire is that you would find freedom in the Spirit to follow Christ - freedom to do God's will your way in your home. I have in the past wrongly wanted others to do God's will my way, or I have judged others harshly by my own idealistic standards. Thankfully, God has humbled me and renewed my thinking. The more I discover the grace and freedom of Christ as a homeschooling mother, the more I want to offer it to others. The more I find freedom to love Him and serve Him in my home, the more I want to encourage others to do the same." (Chapter 8, Freedom from Guilt, page 160)

Boy do I identify with that! It doesn't seem to matter what direction I turn in this homeschooling journey, I'm met with critics. I'm doing too much with my kids. I'm doing too little. I'm overexposing them to information they aren't ready for. I'm not exposing them enough. I do too much outside of the house with them. I do too little. I expect too much from them behavior-wise. I don't expect enough. I'm too strict. I'm entirely too lenient. I read the right books to them. I read the wrong books too often. They watch too many movies. They haven't seen as many as other children. I push them too hard. I don't push them hard enough. The way we feed them is weird.

And on. And on. And on.

No doubt you've experienced this as well. As I move along through life I hit moments where I feel less than capable of parenting. Then there are times when I am extremely confident (some might say overconfident). It's the ebb and flow of life. I love Clarkson's permission to do things our way as our own family. I appreciate (would appreciate?) the ability to just let things be in a manner that works for us and blesses our family. Let the critics say what they will, we need to know what works for us and what God requires of us and do that. Period. The end.

That is not to say I am not always learning. That is not to say that we will not change our mind about what we do and the way we go about doing things as seasons change and our children's needs develop, grow and change. Change happens and it's our responsibility and duty to keep our eyes on Christ and follow hard after Him as individuals and as our own family. We will do our best and can promise that and no more. It's the best we can promise to anyone.

Anyway, it was so helpful to receive that encouragement from reading this book. Taking time out to read this book was also helpful as it just fed my soul and allowed me to sit and ponder my role as a mother. I love being a wife and a mother and I want to do these jobs well. As Clarkson said, in order to do so, we mothers need a lot of encouragement and she succeeded in giving some to me and for that reason alone I appreciate this book.

I highly recommend it to you if you've not read it. Also, if you'd like, please follow along with the continuing discussion of this book over at Hope is the Word. I have linked to Amy's individual chapter discussions below:

Chapter 1: Celebrating Life
Chapter 2: Changing My Will
Chapter 3: Beside Still Waters
Chapter 4: Building Your House
Chapter 5: Planning to Live
Chapter 6: Surprised by Joy

My apologies for not reading it more slowly. But at least I read it! That has to count for something, right?!

The Magician's Nephew (Giveaway)

Time for another Narnia giveaway around here!

I picked up a copy of this gift edition of The Magician's Nephew which contains full colored illustrations by none other than Pauline Baynes. This is really a lovely hardback edition of the book that is super fun to share with kids because of all of the pictures scattered throughout. My kids love looking through this book (and I do too!).

I also have a paperback edition of The Magician's Nephew to pass long to the runner up in this contest.

If you do not have a copy of this title, here's your chance to win either a lovely gift edition or a regular paperback. Either which way it's about the story and I'm excited to be able to pass these books along to two of you.

Care to win? Simply leave a comment below, including a valid e-mail address. This contest is open to US and Canadian residents and will be open through Tuesday, July 31st (which is, coincidentally, the last day of the Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge). YIKES!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNER OF THE GIFT EDITION, as selected by Random.org, IS TRAVELER. The winner of the paperback edition is Annette! Congrats to you both!

The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame

I really don't feel as if I have too much to say regarding my reading of The Wind in the Willows which I read as part of the Reading to Know Book Club. Stephanie will be here towards the end of the week sharing her thoughts and kicking off a discussion. I'm here to mumble about something in the meantime.

This is my third or fourth reading of The Wind in the Willows. I read it for the first time in high school. (Hey! Look! I did get to a classic in high school!) Or maybe it was college. At any rate, whenever it was that I first read it I fell in love with the characters of Moley, Ratty, Mr. Badger and Mr. Toad of Toad Hall. For many years I have planned to read this aloud to my kids. Alas, this was not the year.

I sat down with the intent to read this book with the bookworms (age 6 and 4) a few weeks back and it quickly became apparently that the vocabulary put this story beyond their reach. Now, I'm a proponent of expanding children's vocabulary and I'm afraid we dumb down a great many books that they could totally handle if we'd let them try reading them for themselves. (Adapted and abridged Anne of Green Gables!?! What a waste of paper!!!) I suppose I could have applied my "children can handle bigger words than we give them credit for" logic to The Wind in the Willows but with passages such as the following, I wasn't convinced that it wasn't pushing it a bit much:

"Such a rich chapter it had been, when one came to look back on it all! With illustrations so numerous and so very highly coloured! The pageant of the river bank had marched steadily along, unfolding itself in scene-pictures that succeeded each other in stately procession. Purple loose-strife arrived early, shaking luxuriant tangled locks along the edge of the mirror whence its own face laughed back at it. Willow-herb tender and wistful, like a pink sunset cloud, was not slow to follow. Comfrey, the purple hand-in-hand with the white, crept forth to take its place in the line; and at last one morning the diffident and delaying dog-rose stepping delicately no the stage, and one knew, as if string-music had announced it in stately chords that strayed into a gavotte, that June was at least here."

Any one of those words by itself wouldn't have been such a roadblock to us but all jumbled together it is a bit much for youngsters, in my opinion. Yes, I could have made them plough on but their eyes were glazing over in Chapter 1 and I don't want to ruin the story for them in the future. I'd rather set it aside and let them at it when they are ready to handle it, instead of make them think it's boring when it isn't. And so I opted just to read it to myself and I enjoyed it very much.

As it is a familiar classic (I should think to almost everyone) I'll refrain from describing it. Instead I'll close with some silly quizzes which I periodically like to take for no very good reason whatsoever.








Which Wind in the Willows character are you?


this quiz was made by Auntie Krizu

I'm not sure what I think of that since I liked Moley least of everyone this read aloud. I liked Badger best!

Did you read it/have your children read it/read it aloud to your children? Here's a quiz consisting of 15 questions to see how well everyone was paying attention!

And lastly, here is a picture of some people performing a musical version of The Wind in the Willows which I think looks rather creepy.

I'll leave it at that for today.

What's On My Nightstand :: August

Yup! Nightstand Time! Time to review my past list and reorganize a bit for the following month.

I feel like things are becoming a little more orderly around here now that we aren't rabidly working in the yard and on the house preparing for my sister-in-laws upcoming marriage. Now I have a new brother! Our yard looks pretty good for the moment and so I can fall back into reading (which is really delightful).

Here's the link to last month's nightstand. And here is what I managed to accomplish off of it:

1. We read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe aloud as a family. Then the kids and I watched this movie which was very much enjoyed. Bookworm2 has really gotten into Narnia this year. While we read we ate Turkish Delight and I have a box to giveaway to one of you if you'd like to follow the last link there and leave a comment on that post.


2. I read The Wind in the Willows (to myself) as part of this book club. My review should be popping up tomorrow. We have until the end of the week to get that read so I'm sneaking in under the wire!

3. I'm still halfway through War of Words: Getting to the Heart of Your Communication Struggles. It got sidelined when I agreed to participate in this bookclub which currently has my full attention.

4. Experiencing God at Home - linked to my review at 5 Minutes for Books. I found it encouraging.

5. I read and reviewed Chitty Chitty Bang Bang here on Reading to Know. I mentioned then that I would be reading the newly released sequel, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Rides Again. I did read it and shared my thoughts on 5 Minutes for Books. Click HERE to see what I thought of that.

6. I finally got around to reading The Outcast which is a retelling of The Scarlet Letter. I have one copy to give away and the contest is open through tomorrow so if you are interested, leave a comment on that post.

So now, what's on the list for this coming month!?

1. Checking in with the Reading to Know Book Club, I'll be planning to read Daniel Deronda. Heather will be leading the discussion for that book. As a total aside (sorta) you should read Heather's recent review of American Wife which, if you know Heather at all, is really funny and - as always - spot on.

2. Death by Living: Life Is Meant to Be Spent, by N.D. Wilson was delivered to my doorstep as I was typing up this post. I cannot wait to dive into that one!

3. I'd really (really!) like to finish War of Words: Getting to the Heart of Your Communication Struggles (Resources for Changing Lives).

4. Another title of the same theme shows up for review purposes: Stopping Words That Hurt: Positive Words in a World Gone Negative. I'm thinking I'd rather like to read those two books side by side and compare them.

5. Lastly, I still intend to read American Gun: A History of the U.S. in Ten Firearms. I'm way behind in getting to it but I'm going to chalk this one up to "better late than never."

And that, my friends, is where I think I'll leave things this month. Now I'm off to see what's on YOUR nightstand...

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis

I enjoy reading Narnia aloud to my kids above all other books. I love the story, the imagery and the wonder which is this magical world created by C.S. Lewis.

There is, of course, a debate raging over whether or not Lewis wrote these books for the pleasure of telling a good story or for the purpose of sharing the message of Gospel of Jesus Christ with a young reading public. I think a little can be said for both sides of the argument, seeing that Lewis didn't make himself entirely clear on this point. Depending on which quote of his you read on the topic, he sometimes seems to have set out to write a children's book that he would enjoy reading full of mythological creatures and fantasy 

On the other hand, he also was a Christian and an intellectual thinker and those facts, by their very nature, means that his Christianity would have been present in all that he said and wrote. It's stilly to argue that these books are not Christian because his worldview would naturally be present in his writings. He said once that if these books have a Christian element to them, they might make the Christian faith more familiar to children when they are older. If a child were to read these books when they were young, and then they grew to be an adult and were to hear the Gospel message preached straight, there is more of a likelihood of them saying, "This is familiar to me already" instead of it being a foreign concept. Whichever direction you lean, the majority of people do seem to hold that the Chronicles of Narnia is an excellent series of children's books. Furthermore  they have stood some test of time, never having suffered the indignity of going out of print.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was the first of the Narnia books published and it appeared on the scene in 1950, over the objections of J.R.R. Tolkien who found the story to be "carelessly and superficially written." If you are wanting to read the books in chronological order, you'll want to begin with The Magician's Nephew which explains the beginning history of Narnia. Personally, I prefer starting with (and returning to as frequently as possible) the second book (chronologically speaking) but first published - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. It is my favorite of the entire series.

In my opinion, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe really tells us who Aslan is, explains why we should care about Narnia in the first place, and sets the groundwork for all of the subsequent books. In this book we are introduced to the four Pevensie children: Peter, Edmund, Susan and Lucy. They are sent to live with an old professor in his English country manor during the height of World War II. In this quiet English manor the children discover a magical wardrobe which ends up leading them into the land of Narnia. They quickly discover that Narnia is under the spell of the White Witch who makes it always winter, but never Christmas. At the same time that the Pevensie children arrive in Narnia, Aslan also appears on the scene and the story of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe tells of the four children's adventures with Aslan in defeating the White Witch.

As I said, one thing I love about this story is the symbolism of the characters and who and what they represent. When I read Narnia by myself or to my kids my heart literally swells so that I find it might burst. I am frequently choking back a tear as Lewis describes truth and beauty in a way that I've not experienced from any other author. (Excepting perhaps Lucy Maud Montgomery but for different reasons and in a rather different manner.) These books move me and I just adore the opportunity I have to share them with my kids.

As always, different things stand out to me each time I read it. This time the following passages caught my attention:

"I-I wonder if there's any point in going on," said Susan. "I mean, it doesn't seem particularly safe here and it looks as if it won't be much fun either. And it's getting colder every minute, and we've brought nothing to eat. What about just going home?"

This time I read the book I saw myself in Susan more than I ever have before. I'm a strange mixture of courage and caution and depending on the activity you'll get different things out of me. I very decidedly believe in Jesus Christ but this does not mean that I don't have hesitations when it comes to following hard after Him. Lately it seems that He would ask me to do hard things - harder than I planned on. And the weather is cold and it doesn't look like much fun to obey. In fact, I think I'd rather not obey, truth be told. I'd rather "go home." But if in these moments I chose to go home and feel temporarily warm, I'll miss the destruction of the White Witch and wouldn't that be a sorry thing for me and everyone?

Moving on, we got to the part where it is discovered that Mr. Tumnus has been taken by the White Witch after helping Lucy to escape.

"Couldn't we have some stratagem?" said Peter. "I mean couldn't we dress up as something, or pretend to be - oh, peddlers or anything - or watch till she was gone out - or - oh, hang it all, there must be some way. This Faun saved my sister at his own risk, Mr. Beaver. We can't just leave him to be - to be - to have that done to him."
"It's no good, Son of Adam," said Mr. Beaver, "no good your trying, of all people. But now that Aslan is on the move -"

I'll be the first to confess to anyone that I like to try to control situations. I think that in all my glorious wisdom I am well able to solve problems for myself (and others). But everything I do is so futile and I've realized that inconvenient truth more and more these past few years in particular. Gratefully I am learning to say, "Aslan is on the move." And there is really no point in my getting worked up or trying to find my way around and through difficulties as much as it would be important for me to follow the Lord's leading and submit to His will. He has a funny way of straightening all my crooked paths when I bother to humbly confess that I am not able to get through life on my own but need Him. Because I do need Him, whether I acknowledge it or not. (I'm grateful for the "Mr. Beavers" in my own life who chuckle at me when I need it and redirect my attention to God.)

Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight,
At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bears his teeth, winter meets its death
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.
I was so encouraged by this read, as I am every time I read it, albeit for different reasons. I am entertained by it, yes. I always get a chuckle out of Mrs. Beaver and I thrill when Edmund shows his smarts and breaks the witch's wand. It's a thrilling good tale full of good guys and bad and my kids love to hear it as I love to read it.

When we finished up the book, Bookworm1 asked me, "Can we read another?!" I replied that I would be happy to read Prince Caspian, starting the next day. "No, TODAY!" he replied. I won't deny it thrills me to the core to hear him so eager to get back into Narnia the moment he is out of it. I hope and I pray that will always be the case.

"And now," said Aslan presently, "to business. I feel I am going to roar. You had better put your fingers in your ears."

The Outcast, by Jolina Petersheim (Giveaway)

I sometimes receive books in the mail for potential review which I did not request and was not expecting. The Outcast was one such book. As my regular readers know, when it comes to Christian fiction, I am infinitely suspicious of bad writing and implausible story lines. That said, I took an immediate interest in The Outcast, primarily because it is marketed as a modern retelling of The Scarlet Letter. As our Reading to Know Book Club read this classic earlier in the year, my curiosity knew no bounds. (The Scarlet Letter, so far, as been my favorite book club read of the year for the discussion it prompted!)

This past week I had some moments (granted to me by a kindly stomach bug) to lay on the couch all day and read a book. I picked The Outcast because I have been so curious about it. Reading it in one setting was a treat and I was glad to be able to do so because it was so riveting a story that I wouldn't have wanted to walk away.

The story is set in an Old Order Mennonite community and it tells of two twin sisters, Rachel and Leah. Leah has married a man named Tobias who has recently been picked as the Bishop of the small community. Upon becoming pregnant and experiencing some difficulties, Leah asks her twin sister to come and live with her and her new husband to help her through the birth of her baby. Rachel agrees to come and before too long it is discovered that she herself is with child. Rachel will not say who the father is. Depending on how much you like to predict story endings as you read through a book, you can more or less guess who the father happens to be just as you can predict who the father of Hester's baby is in The Scarlet Letter.

Although this book is in part predictable, I still very much enjoyed it with one exception. Petersheim tells her story through a variety of individuals. Sometimes we are hearing of the chain of events from the perspective of Rachel and sometimes Leah. Every few chapters we are told parts of the story through the character of Tobias's dead father, Amos, the former Bishop of the community. I think it particularly odd to be told the story from the perspective of a dead man, as if he is looking down from Heaven. We don't really know, exactly, how much our dead relations are made privy to our lives and I am not so sure I particularly care for the speculation. Theologically I question Petersheim's choice. Then, too, I just find it weird. The story is easily told from the perspective of the living and my personal preference is that it had been left as such. Towards the end of the story I can see why it is that Petrsheim chose to insert a dead character into her story telling but, well, I just don't agree with her on that one. That aside, the story is very interesting.

You should note, if you are interested in learning more about Plain communities, that The Outcast isn't bent on informing you about their way of life.  You can catch clues as the story moves along, but sharing about Plain living is not the focal point of the book. Mostly it is a story about redemption and grace. Pretend Hester confessed her sins as some of us which she had done and that other characters responded in Hawthorne's tale had behaved in a more Biblically correct manner as called upon by their faith and you have a satisfying ending to The Scarlet Letter in Petersheim's debut novel. The Outcast is pretty much a continuation of our book club discussion in which several of us declared how we thought Hester ought to have behaved, and what we thought Dimmesdale truly deserved. The same themes present in The Scarlet Letter are also present for discussion in The Outcast. Those being?: legalism, sin, and guilt.

The differences between Hawthorne and Petersheim are notable, as you might expect. In my opinion Petersheim is much more palatable because she isn't writing to slam a particular group of people, like Hawthorne did with the Puritans. In other words, I do not have the impression that Petersheim hates the Old Order Mennonites but rather just uses their community as the setting for her story. (Her story, by the way, is based on a true one which was told to her once upon a time.) However, at the same time, Hawthorne had great skill as a writer and you should absolutely not avoid Hawthorne's tale to read Petersheim's instead. That would be a great reading crime indeed! Absolutely read Hawthorne! And after you've done so, then enjoy Petersheim if you wish.

Petersheim's writing style is quite palatable. I was very happy to note that she didn't try to insert God into every page as so many Christian authors do. She allows her story to communicate the truths in her message that she wants communicated (for the most part). To me, I think that allowing your story to speak truth without blatancy is a great skill that ought to be honed by more Christian authors. A solid Christian story doesn't have to insert the name of Jesus every other page just to make it religious enough to suit us. Christians who think that you can only read something that is expressly "Christian" verge on being legalistic. Also, too, they verge on having very poor taste in literature because Christian publishing houses today pretty much agree to publish anything, so long as it mentions God, regardless of writing skill. Spending a lot of time with "cheap" writing will do nothing for the development of your mind and spiritual walk. We shouldn't accept sloppy writing but should be seeking out well-told and well-crafted tales that cause us to ponder truth in new ways.

It does me good to read Petersheim's book and be swept up into story for her story telling abilities. She is not clumsy in sharing her faith as so many are (until the very end, but I get the point of that and can forgive it to a certain degree). Her message was not bothersome to me at that point because of the manner in which she concluded her story, which is different from Hawthorne's story, and called for different dialogue. Yes, it was more blatant but it was also minimal so I was not put off by it in the end.

All in all, I have to say that I rather liked it and wouldn't have any issues recommending it to anyone else, with the exception of Amos-the-dead-guy who I think is strange. But it's not so strange as to be entirely distracting to me and I ended up enjoying it on the whole. It proved a good diversion and some additional food for thought!

I am just delighted to say that Jolina Petersheim has offered to giveaway a copy of this book to one of you!

Would you care to win? Simply leave a comment below (including a valid e-mail address). This contest is open to US Residents only and will be open through Wednesday, July 24th.

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNER (as selected by Random.org) is #5 - Wholesome Womanhood. Congratulations!!

Many thanks to Tyndale House Publishers who sent a copy of this book my direction in exchange for my honest thoughts. Thanks also to Jolina Petersheim who has offered to give away a copy to one of my readers here at Reading to Know.

Turkish Delight (giveaway)

In the past, Bookworm1 and I attempted to make our own turkish delight using this recipe. Several people mentioned that the recipe lacked the key ingredient of rose water. It was definitely lacking something because our batch was a huge flop. No one could stand it.

This year I wanted to try Turkish Delight made by someone other than myself. This treat is supposed to be a favorite treat of English children and surely they couldn't like the stuff that I concocted in my kitchen. I figured we were definitely missing something and it was time to figure out exactly what.

I opted to purchase this box of Turkish Delight on Amazon. The kids and I each get to eat one piece of it every day when we sit down for our read aloud time. (We're reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe at present.) With a little bit of fear and trepidation, we opened the box, made our individual selections and took a bite.

The general consensus? Turkish Delight is DELICIOUS!!!

The kids are wildly enthusiastic about our reading time at the moment because it involves CANDY! They grin whenever it is mentioned in the book. I think that's just plain fun. And sometimes you just need to have fun.

When I placed the order on Amazon for our box of these goodies, I didn't order just one, but two! I figured if they were half decent I'd share a box with one of you. I think you and yours are likely going to love them and then you, too, can understand why it is that they were always on Edmund's mind.

Would you like to win a box of Turkish Delight to share with your family? (Or possibly to hoard for yourself? They really are quite yummy.)

Simply leave a comment below!

This contest will be open to US Residents only and will remain open through Tuesday, July 30th. I'll announce the winner at the conclusion of the Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge.

Flavors: Rose, Lemon, Mint
My personal favorite is the rose flavored one but I'm letting Bookworm3 eat most of those. She insists those are hers because they are PINK! How can you argue with that?

*****
Also, here's a really weird song on the topic which you can risk getting stuck in your head if you like.

Turkish Delight It's my favorite thing Turkish Delight (All I want to do) What I wouldn't do, what I wouldn't do Turkish Delight (It's my favorite thing) It gets me every time Turkish Delight (All I want to do) What I wouldn't give, what I wouldn't give  (What I wouldn't do for her?) The more I have the more I want...

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNER (as selected by Random.org) IS Laura Book Snob. Congrats!