"Mansfield Park" by Jane Austen

What can I say about the heroine of Mansfield Park, Fanny Price, to truly do her justice? It's rumored that Fanny was Jane Austen's personal favorite and I have to agree. However, I will admit that I was disappointed in this novel.

How can I love the heroine and not love the novel? Here's the confession: Like Emma, I will not deny that the movie version of Mansfield is much more enjoyable than the book version. I really, really, really love the movie. And especially love Fanny Price, played by the amazing Francis O'Connor, in the movie. I listened to the book on CD and was pretty bored the entire time, mostly because I expected more action and adventure. The movie takes all the core elements of the novel and magnifies them into something much more dramatic and, at times, even scandalous! Fanny is witty, outspoken, and extremely moralistic. (Is moralistic a word or did I just make that up?) In the novel she is much more timid, but I love her regardless.

The thing I love most about this novel is the way it portrays the "grass is always greener on the other side" mentality that has been present in human nature from the beginning of time. I love that Fanny gets a taste of many different aspects of human life, human relationships, and human existence in general. Most of all, I love that she consistently chooses the better part. She is a true heroine and even if the book is dreadfully slow, she is worth the effort.

If you haven't seen the movie yet, I recommend that you read the book first. And then I'd be curious to hear if you're upset by the changes in the movie. It's a personal favorite and I will not be swayed, but I enjoy hearing differing opinions. Are you willing to take the challenge? I'll wait patiently for a thorough discussion afterwards!

"Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis

This is a book that everyone should read. Everyone. I have always appreciated C.S. Lewis, but this book made me realize why he is quoted again and again in religious talks. He took Christianity and said, "Here. Let's look at this in the most basic way possible. This is what Christianity is and always will be."

There are countless passages in this book that made me realize the simple, yet profound power of Christianity. Having been a Christian my entire life and having loved my Savior Jesus Christ for as long as I can remember, this book still surprised me. Not because what C.S. Lewis says is new, but because he presents it in a way I have never thought about it before.

One of my favorite lines in the entire book in the chapter on Pride. In a discussion about why God tries to make us humble, Lewis says, "He is trying to make you humble in order to make this moment possible: trying to take off a lot of silly, ugly, fancy-dress in which we have all got ourselves up and are strutting about like the little idiots we are" (pg 127-8). He's so right, isn't he? We do strut about like little idiots, thinking that we are better than so-and-so for such-and-such a reason. But that is not what Christ wants for us. He wants us to love others and love ourselves so that we can, truly and fully, come to love Him.

I love this book. I love Christianity. And I want to share it!

"Anna Karenina" by Leo Tolstoy

Can you believe it? I finally, FINALLY finished Anna Karenina! It only took two years (or maybe three), but I finally finished. What an accomplishment! Besides having to put this one on hold for books and assigned readings, I struggled to stay awake through a lot of it. Tolstoy's writing is truly beautiful and I love the short chapters, but like most novels written during this time period, there is just so much talking and feeling and thinking and looking at the sky. Although my only real complaint about Anna is . . . well . . . Anna.  I have to wonder why Tolstoy wrote a heroine who he must have known his readers would have a hard time respecting. She is beautiful and outwardly attractive in every way, but that is about it. By about page 600, I finally thought, "Ugh! I don't like her!" I do appreciate, however, the way Tolstoy painted a picture of two different lives. One of poor choices and sadness, another of restraint and deep satisfaction. Anna may not be a wonderful heroine, but there are other characters who do enough to redeem the novel as a whole. Kitty and Levin and Nickolay. They all have something unique and beautiful to offer. Even though it was hard to get through, I think Anna was worth reading. I'm proud to have read a Tolstoy novel at last, but don't think I'll be picking up War and Peace any time soon.  I've already started making a list for next year, so I think I better get through the 15 I have left for this year pretty quick!

"The Great Gatsby" by F. Scott Fitzgerald

This book was on my list for the year even before I heard the new movie was coming out. I think it was an assigned novel in one of my classes in middle school or high school, but I could not remember a single detail, so I don’t think I actually read it. Regardless, I’ve heard good things about Gatsby from many people and I’m happy to report that they weren’t all wrong. The book wasn’t at all what I expected, but I found that I truly enjoyed it. If for no other reason, Nick Carraway made it worth reading. His honest-to-a-fault attitude toward life and relationships reminds me a bit of myself. He doesn’t understand society’s apparent need to be false, but instead chooses to be honest with himself and with others. I love that. The story has its own unique tragic turns, but I can appreciate why so many people love it. The story is meant to entertain, but I’d like to think that Fitzgerald also wanted to make his readers think—to make them think of what they would do if they were in Gatsby’s shoes, or Daisy’s, or Carraway’s. And to think of how our own lives are so often filled with similar choices and tragedies, but we get to choose our own response. I've heard both good and bad things about the new movie, so I haven't decided if I'll see it or not. Anyone have an opinion one way or the other? I'm happy to hear it if you do!

Re-Reads Worth Re-Reading

I already have posts about Melissa Moore’s Shattered Silence and Kelly Corrigan’s The Middle Place, both memoirs, but I read both of them again this week and couldn't resist posting about them again, as well. See my previous posts.

I love these two women. Melissa's story makes me appreciate the good, safe life I've lived, and Kelly makes me appreciate everything. Seriously. I'm grateful that I decided to read them both again, now that I'm a little bit older, married, done with school, thinking about starting a family, etc. I was amazed by how different my perspective was on both stories, but especially Kelly's. There's one story in particular that really touched me. It's about the struggle Kelly had as a young girl with friends, popularity (or the lack thereof), peer rejection, and all of those things most of us had to deal with at a young age. The conversation she had with her mother later in life about that experience - I won't repeat it, you'll have to read it yourself! - brought me to tears. The sweet love shared between mother and daughter is beautiful beyond words. 

Both of these books are fantastic and I will probably read them both again at some point. I gave my copy of The Middle Place away to a dear friend when she was facing her own battle with breast cancer a few years ago, so I'm currently without a copy. It may be one of my next book purchases. Please read it. You will love it.

Melissa will forever be one of my heroes. Did you know that the last time I posted about her book, her husband commented on it?! That was pretty amazing for me. To know that not only had I been touched by this book and by Melissa's strength and faith, but that she was able to read what I had to say about it and about her. She's amazing and I will stand by my previous comment: I will hug her when I meet her someday, even if it's in the next life. I hope to someday have as much faith as she does.

I love books about strong women. They inspire me to be a better daughter, sister, wife, and someday, I hope to be as good a mother as these two women. Thank you, Kelly and Melissa, for being the kind of women that I want to emulate. You are inspiring!

On Well-Written Trash

Two of the books I've read recently have opened my eyes to the difference between “trash” and what I will, undoubtedly, refer to as “well-written trash” for the rest of forever. The books in question are JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye and JK Rowling’s The Casual Vacancy. It’s only a little ironic that both authors use two initials for the first name – and even more ironic that Salinger’s trash will probably always be more well-known than Rowling’s well-written trash.

What’s the difference, do you ask? The difference is that I read all 512 pages of The Casual Vacancy and couldn't force myself to read more than 5 or 10 pages of The Catcher in the Rye. A friend at work lent me her copy of Rowling’s “adult novel” that came out a while back, but that I had never heard much about since. She told me she had a hard time getting into it, so she never finished, but I figured there had to be something redeeming about it. It was written by the creator of Harry Potter, after all! How could she write anything not worth reading?

I was wrong. The Casual Vacancy is, more than anything, obscene. The language is filthy (this is an understatement) and the characters are dishonest and cruel and devoid of morality. Another reader who I love and respect nailed it when she said, “By the end of the book, I still didn't care about a single character.” It’s true. They’re all a bunch of trashy, shallow, selfish jerks who couldn't keep up with Harry Potter if their lives depended on it. But – here’s the catch – Rowling writes them well! Despite the language and the fact that I found myself skipping over entire passages and even chapters where I knew certain characters would use the “f word” more than any other, I was intrigued. Rowling’s words flow like a stream of poetry and life, and even though the content was horrible, I wanted to keep reading just because she is so incredibly good at telling a story.

As for JD Salinger. I have no idea why The Catcher in the Rye has received any praise whatsoever. I put it on my 2013 list because more than one person recommended it. I love my friends and am grateful that not all readers enjoy reading the same books, but this is one that I really can’t figure out. I picked it up shortly after reading The Casual Obscenity and was, honest-to-goodness, shocked that I preferred the “f word” to Salinger’s drawling conversation/novel. Rowling’s characters are filthy and shallow, but Salinger’s hero is nothing but stupid. I put the book down and asked my Dad about it. If he has a bad opinion of a book, I can guarantee that mine won’t be much different. When I told him I’d started Catcher, he winced and groaned as though he had eaten something nasty. And this is when I decided that there is a difference between trash and well-written trash. Both books might belong in the garbage, but at least Rowling wrote a book that has some semblance of merit.

Don’t waste your time if you’re looking for a good read. These two are not it. But if you don’t mind the swearing and explicit content, you better believe Rowling will TRASH Salinger from word one. Get it?

"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee

To Kill a Mockingbird is one of those books that I always remembered reading in school as a kid, but could never exactly remember what it was about or if it was good or not. Reading it as a middle school student was a long time ago and if I remember correctly, I did not enjoy it the first time. Over the years, I've heard references to Atticus Finch and Boo Radley numerous times - always with a hint of pride in knowing that these are characters from To Kill a Mockingbird. I finally read it - or, to be more precise, devoured it - as an adult. And found out why Atticus and Boo are notable characters that deserve to be referenced by the adult world over and over.

Isn't it funny how we hate reading these books when we're kids, but find so much joy in them later, when we've finally achieved something resembling maturity? I know I'm becoming a broken record, but I have to say it again. I loved this book. I loved the characters and the story and more than anything, the moral of the story. I love that Atticus Finch talks about racism and prejudice with the greatest scorn and sadness. I love that the Finch's black housekeeper, Culpurnia, is not just a cook/maid/babysitter, but a member of the family. I love that the characters love books. I love that Scout and Jem are Scout and Jem, not Jean Louise and Jeremy. I love that Harper Lee prefaced this edition of the book with the order that To Kill a Mockingbird should never be given an Introduction. I could hug her for that alone!

I'm glad I read this one again. I'm glad that a story told from a child's perspective was able to teach me, a mature, boring, bookish grown-up, a valuable lesson about what it means to be truly charitable. Being childlike is, after all, the surest way to see the good in everyone and to love others for who they truly are.

"Dracula" by Bram Stoker

After years and years of thinking I would have absolutely no interest in reading the original story of Count Dracula, I proved myself wrong. I loved this book! I sometimes expect older books to be dull, dragging, and hard to get through. Dracula was definitely NOT one of those. I can't decide what I loved more - the story or Bram Stoker's writing style. The two go hand in hand, of course, but I really was blown away by Stoker's writing. It's funny and suspenseful and heartwarming all at the same time.

My one disadvantage with this novel was that I've seen more than one Dracula movie. "Dracula, Dead and Loving It" will always be my favorite and I've been itching to watch it ever since I started reading the book, but I think it would have been even more enjoyable to read if I didn't already know so much about the story. Yes, each movie takes its own liberties here and there, but they definitely stick closer to the original story than Frankenstein ever did!

My point is this: if you haven't ever seen a Dracula movie and you've never read the book, please read the book first! And then have some fun watching the movies and seeing how Bela Lugosi and Mel Brooks adapt The Infamous Count Dracula. I have a new favorite. My list is ever-growing, isn't it?

"The Prince and the Pauper" by Mark Twain

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Mark Twain?

I ABSOLUTELY LOVE MARK TWAIN!

Clear enough? I don't know why I still haven't read everything he's ever written because I have never been disappointed with a Twain novel, story, or essay. The man is a genius!

I love Huck Finn and always will, but I think the Prince and the Pauper might be my new favorite Twain characters. How can you not love two little boys who come from completely different backgrounds and get caught up in each other's lives simply because they decide to switch clothes for a few minutes?

I loved this book so much. If you haven't read it . . . what in the world are you waiting for?!

"Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story" by Ben Carson, M.D.

I loved this book. So much that I'm not even sure there's much for me to say except this: Learn as much as you can about Dr. Ben Carson!

Seriously. I don't know what else to say. This man is amazing and his story is truly inspirational. If you aren't a book reader (strange for you to be reading this blog if so), then at least watch the movie.

I really want to be more like Dr. Carson. I want to overcome my trials, dedicate my life to the things I'm passionate about, and never deviate in my devotion to God.