Search Results for: winedale

Winedale

Jul25

We’re back from a very pleasant weekend at Winedale. I saw two of the plays, Merry Wives of Windsor and The Tempest. I enjoyed Merry WIves of Windsor very much. I expected it to be bawdy, and it was. However, it was also funny and strangely virtuous. Marital faithfulness and true love are rewarded in the end, and unfounded jealousy and attempted seduction are punished appropriately. And it’s all done in the form of a comedy, not like Othello wich covers some of the same themes–except in the tragedy everybody dies. Favorite quote: Wives may be merry and yet honest, too.–Mistress Page

The Tempest we saw on Saturday afternoon in a rather warm barn-theater. I haven’t read the play in a long, long time, and I must confess that I found myself fighting sleepiness and unable to follow the intricacies of the plot at times. Still, I enjoyed the play and came away with a new appreciation for Shakespeare’s abilities as a writer of fantasy. Creating another world, an island, where magical things can and do happen, a fantasy world–this kind of writing definitely intrigues me. Of coursee, I believe the genre is most fully realized in The Lord of the Rings. Quotes from The Tempest:

My library
Was dukedom large enough. –Prospero

How many goodly creatures are there here!
How beauteous mankind is! O brave new world,
That has such people in’t! –Miranda

July Jam

Jun30

I’ve been taking an online class called Morning Time for Moms with Cindy Rollins, and I’m inspired to create my own monthly morning time schedule or list of readings, music, art and other lovely things to study and enjoy for the month of July. If any of you would like to join me as I read these books, listen to (and sometimes sing) the music, study and appreciate the art, pray the prayers, and so on, you are welcome.

  • Psalm 121. I am already memorizing this psalm by reading it aloud daily for the Morning Time class. So this is just a continuation. I’ll choose a new psalm to pray and memorize for August.
  • Bible reading: Titus, Philemon, Hebrews , and James. These books have a total of 22 chapters, so I’ll read one chapter a day and have plenty of time to finish these letters by the end of July.
  • Artist: Johannes Vermeer. This artist is the one we’ve been looking at in the Morning Time class, and I plan to keep on enjoying his work through the month of July.
  • Music: Vivaldi’s Four Seasons (ditto, continuing)
  • Poetry: John Milton. I’ll probably post several poems by Milton during the month of July.
  • Hymn: “I Sing the Mighty Power of God” by Isaac Watts. Mr. Watts, a prolific hymn writer, was born on July 17, 1674.
  • Folk Song: “Wildwood Flower” (The Carter Family and others)
  • Fiction: Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens. My sister and I started this book at the beginning of the year, got through Book the First, and then the reading somehow fell apart. If I read two chapters a day, I can finish the book in July.
  • Nonfiction: Becoming Elisabeth Elliot by Ellen Vaughn. I’ve already started this biography of Ms. Elliot, author and missionary, and I’m reading just a chapter or so a day. I should be able to finish this book also by the end of the month.
  • Movie: In the Heights My daughter assured me that I would enjoy this movie. (Not in the mornings, but probably some Friday evening in July.)
  • Nature focus: Leaves. I hope to draw some leaves and try to identify various trees in my neighborhood by studying the leaves as I go on a brief (hot) walk each day.
  • Prayer focus: The Power of a Praying Wife by Stormie Omartian. I already prayed through the book, The Power of a Praying Parent, and I’m ready to spend a month praying specifically for my wonderful Engineer Husband.
  • Shakespeare: Twelfth Night or Romeo and Juliet or Richard III. These are the plays that are on tap this summer at Shakespeare at Winedale, and I’d like to get some friends together and read through one of these three plays as well as go to the performances of all three at Winedale. We’ll see if I can work that out.

I’ll also be reading a couple of short stories along with the podcast The Literary Life, finishing up Cindy’s class, and reading lots of 2021 middle grade fiction. I hope to post about all of my “schola” adventures here at Semicolon. Stay tuned.

Semicolon: The Year 2010 as Facebook Status

Dec31

I’m finally on Facebook. What AM I thinking?
January 17 at 7:29pm

Ahhh, I’ve had my LOST fix and I’m lost-er than ever. See you in another life, brotha.
February 3 at 2:15pm

Am attempting to observe Lent. “A discipline won’t bring you closer to God. Only God can bring you closer to Himself. What the discipline is meant to do is to help you get yourself, your ego, out of the way so you are open to His grace.” (From Donna at Quiet Life )
February 20 at 8:14pm

Purim in 2010 will start on Sunday, the 28th of February and will continue for 2 days until Monday, the 1st of March. And the first weekend in March the women of my church go on retreat to study the book of Esther! Good timing.
February 23 at 2:57pm

Thin Mint GS cookies make me happy.
February 24 at 9:39pm

I opine that painting doors is a lovely way to welcome spring. And reading Renee Mathis’s favorite poems.
March 19 at 3:54pm

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; behold thy King cometh unto thee:He is just and having Salvation; Lowly and riding upon an ass. Zechariah 9:9
March 27 at 11:15pm

Kendra F. at Preschoolers and Peace recommends Picture Book Preschool.
April 9 at 7:59pm

I love this “bucket list” for Christians by Joe McKeever.
April 24 at 5:47pm

“Her own misfortunes engrossed all the pity she once had for those of another, and nothing gave her ease. In company she dreaded contempt, and in solitude she only found anxiety.” ~The Vicar of Wakefield by Oliver Goldsmith

A few thoughts on the finale of LOST, probably more to come.
May 24 at 9:22am

‎’If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men.” Romans 12:18. I realized yesterday that I’m not very good at peacemaking. Now what do I do?
June 14 at 1:18pm

In South Dakota so far we’ve encountered an exploded pizza oven, a lost ice cream truck, and DD’s plane commandeered by Canadians. What more?
July 11 at 3:39pm

“A ‘yes, grace, but’ disposition is the kind of posture that keeps moralism swirling around in the church.” T. Tchividjian
July 18 at 9:59am

“They try to fix us instead of helping us meet the Jesus who is present in our unfixedness. Sometimes they try to silence us so they can protect the rest of the church from people like us because we might poison the rest of the congregation. Mostly, they try to ignore us and hope we’ll go away– and usually we do. We may still attend, but our soul withers and dies because we have decided there is something wrong with us so we silence the very voice of God in our lives.” ~Mike Yaconelli
July 20 at 3:56pm

In Which I Am Born and I meditate on the numbers 52 and 53.
July 28 at 10:09am

Shakespeare at Winedale: I’m back from Winedale with thoughts about Twelfth Night and Macbeth.
August 1 at 5:25pm

What I Learned from Psalm 1. Stand firm, even when you don’t feel like a tree.
August 8 at 10:46pm

I’m having trouble getting my mind wrapped around (home)school this year. So much stuff to learn and experience, so little time.
August 14 at 2:28pm

“What will break me? This is the question that consumes me . . . devours my waking hours and weaves itself throughout my nightmares.”~Mockingjay, ch.11 Will Satan devour us? See my post at Semicolon.
September 17 at 5:39pm

“How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different are the saints.” ~C.S. Lewis You don’t have to be a robot to be a Christian; God makes every snowflake different.
September 21 at 8:39am

Avoiding a fight is a mark of honor; only fools insist on quarreling. Proverbs 20:3. Think I should make a wall-sized poster & hang it in the kids’ bathroom?
October 8 at 3:30pm

I want to resign —from everything. I might make a competent desert hermit monk (female). Is there a word for that?
October 10 at 11:37am

Thanksgiving: I am thankful for a country in which the transfer of power, or the partial transfer, is peaceful and even fun. Well, it’s fun for me today. Thank you, Lord.
November 3 at 2:01pm

November Thanksgiving: Thank you Lord for #cybils. I’m having so much fun reading Middle Grade Fiction. Lovely books.
November 11 at 11:28pm

Mature Christians are those who realize the depth of their brokenness and cling all the more tightly to Jesus.
November 16 at 8:52

C.Colson: “In a culture marked by radical individualism & the dictatorship of relativism, obedience to [Christ] is a revolutionary act.”
November 19 at 9:54am

“A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. . . . God is , if I may say it, very unscrupulous.” CS Lewis, Happy Birthday!
November 29 at 1:30pm

I seem to have misplaced my JOY; has anyone seen it lying around?
December 16 at 12:02am

Eschewed worry; found joy; Merry Christmas all!
December 22 at 6:56pm

Happy New Year–from Facebook to me to you.

Two Novels of Twelfth Night

Sep7

As I have said in another post, Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night is not my favorite of his comedies, although it has its moments. The sword fight between Sir Andre Aguecheek and an inexperienced Viola disguised as a boy is quite hilarious. However, I always feel sorry for Malvolio, a character who is not really malevolent as much as he is misguided and inadequate. SInce I often feel misguided and inadequate myself, and since I don’t like practical jokes that take advantage of my or others’ weaknesses, Twelfth Night generally leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I’m laughing at Malvolio, and even poor Sir Andrew, in spite of my better instincts.

Nevertheless, this month and last seem to be the appointed time for me to gain a better appreciation of Shakespeare’s play. First I saw a production of Twelfth Night at Winedale in August. Then, I came home to find a copy of The Fool’s Girl by Celia Rees waiting on my TBR shelf. Of course, I had to read it as a follow-up to the play. And in fact, Ms. Rees’s novel is a sort of sequel to Twelfth Night. The main character, Violetta, is the daughter of Count Orsino and the Lady Viola, and as our story opens, Violetta is a refugee from her native country, Illyria. Her city has been conquered and sacked by the Venetians, and Feste, the jester, is Violetta’s only friend and protector as she wanders the streets of Elizabethan London. Violetta and Feste happen to meet Master Shakespeare and ask for his help in reclaiming Violetta’s rightful inheritance and righting old wrongs, and the story continues from there.

In an afterword, Celia Rees says that Twelfth Night is her favorite Shakespearean comedy. “While I was watching, I began to wonder: What happens next? What happens after the end of the play? The play walks a knife’s edge between tragedy and comedy. It is perfectly balanced, but one false move and it could all go horribly wrong.” In Rees’s sequel, it does all go horribly wrong. People go insane and betray one another. Sir Toby and Maria become flawed but sympathetic characters, while the wronged Malvolio becomes perfectly evil and completely unsympathetic. The world of Illyria is turned upside down, and it’s up to Violetta, Feste, and Master Shakespeare to set things right.

I enjoyed Ms. Rees’s sequel even though it did partake of the darkness and the equivocal nature of Shakepeare’s play. Ms. Rees writes, “The Fool’s Girl wasn’t always called that. For a long time it was called Illyria.” The idea of a mystical (and rather dark) place named Illyria captured the imagination of more than one Young Adult novelist this year. In Elizabeth Hand’s brief novel, Illyria, cousins Rogan and Madeline inhabit a mystical world of the mind with a physical location in the attic of Rogan’s home. They also participate in a high school production of Twelfth Night, Madeline starring as Viola and Rogan as the wise fool Feste. Rogan and Madeline are fascinating characters, but the book as a whole was not as successful in making me feel things or think thoughts as either Shakespeare’s play or Celia Rees’s historical fiction. Mostly, Illyria made me uncomfortable, not because Rogan and Madeline are “incestuous” first cousins, but rather because they have a strange and unfathomable relationship that seems based on physical attraction but also attempts to transcend the physical without ever quite being able to do so. It was weird and creepy, and the fact that the two cousins are engaging in an illicit sexual relationship only makes the story more awkward and fraught with tension. Rogan is talented but self-destructive, and Madeline ends up a thwarted and unloved second tier actress. The characters and their actions are realistic, but I failed to understand what their lives meant or what I felt about their choices, except that as I said before, I felt uncomfortable. That feeling may have been the author’s main intent.

Bottom line: I would recommend Rees’s The Fool’s Girl to anyone interested in Twelfth Night and Shakespearean fiction and ideas. The book is somewhat dark and dances along the edges of dismal and black magic, but the ending is bittersweet with an emphasis on the sweet and comedic. Illyria by Elizabeth Hand is a bit more problematic, and I didn’t enjoy it very much although I did try. Maybe Colleen’s thoughts on Illyria at Chasing Ray would be more helpful if you are trying to decide whether to read this one or not. She loved it; I’d give it a pass if I were choosing again.

Sunday Salon: Shakespeare and Company

Aug1

The Sunday Salon.comWe’re back from our annual pilgrimage to Winedale where we saw the University of Texas summer program students perform two plays: Macbeth and Twelfth Night. Twelfth Night was Friday night, and all of the family who were able to go this year enjoyed the comedy together. Twelfth Night is not my favorite play. Malvolio evokes my sympathy as the victim of a cruel practical joke, and I feel uncomfortable laughing at him. I know he’s vain, but other than that his worst fault is that he wants Sir Toby and his drinking buddies to “amend your drunkenness” and settle down. Anyway, everybody makes a fool of himself or herself in Twelfth Night, and the only one who doesn’t get a happy ending is poor, vain Malvolio, who whimpers an empty threat of revenge as the play limps to a close. The student who played Malvolio, by the way, did an excellent job, and therefore made the character even more the central enigma of the play as he engaged my contradictory emotions of ridicule and sympathy.

What other people have said about Twelfth Night:

“The soliloquy of Malvolio is truly comic; he is betrayed to ridicule merely by his pride. The marriage of Olivia, and the succeeding perplexity, though well enough contrived to divert on the stage, wants credibility, and fails to produce the proper instruction required in the drama, as it exhibits no just picture of life.” ~Samuel Johnson.

“Refined minds today are apt to find the trick put upon him as distasteful, his persecution too cruel. Elizabethans enjoyed that sort of thing; we are no better–though our sympathies may well be with him, endeavouring to do his duty and keep some order in the house among the hangers-on, drunks, and wasters.” ~AL. Rowse, Introduction to Twelfth Night.

“Everyone, except the reluctant jester, Feste, is essentially mad without knowing it. When the wretched Malvolio is confined in the dark room for the insane, he ought to be joined there by Orsino, Olivia, Sir Toby Belch, Sir Andrew Aguecheek, Maria, Sebastian, Antonio, and even Viola, for the whole ninefold are at least borderline in their behavior.” ~Harold Bloom, Shakespeare, The Invention of the Human.

“It is a wildly improbable, hugely entertaining fantasy. And just beneath the surface are life’s darkest, most terrible truths.” ~Ed Friedlander, Enjoying Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare.

“If this were play’d upon a stage now, I could condemn it as an improbable fiction.” ~Fabian in Twelfth Night.

Macbeth I found the more congenial of the two plays, even though “congenial” is an odd word to use about a play filled with murder, betrayal, and evil witchery. Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are thorough-going villains and deserve the end they get. Malvolio’s pride only leads him to be foolish and absurd and pathetically vengeful. Macbeth and his lady screw their (malevolent) courage to the sticking place, literally, and commit bloody, violent murder and then they both go really, truly insane, not just pretend-mad like Malvolio and his tormentors.

I guess I can imagine myself in Malvolio’s place, being made ridiculous by a bunch of practical jokers and by my own stupidity, but the evil deeds of the Macbeth duo are beyond me. So Twelfth Night makes me more uncomfortable than Macbeth, and I can watch Macbeth with a more detached feeling.

The students who played Macbeth and Lady Macbeth gave a chilling and superb performance. I did feel sorry for poor, tormented Macbeth, somewhat against my will, and I was glad to think that I know no Lady Macbeth who would goad her husband to such vile murderous deeds. At least, I don’t think I know anyone quite that far gone.

All in all, our weekend in the country was an enjoyable success. In addition to the plays, I finished two books, Out of my Mind by Sharon M. Draper and Pastwatch by Orson Scott Card, and started a third, Shanghai Girls by Lisa See. I’ll write more about the three books soon, I hope.

If you get a chance to see some Shakespeare this month, or anytime, I highly recommend it.

Semicolon Book Club: Off to a Slow but Steady Start

Jan17

I’ve been trying to get a book club going, both online and in person, for a couple of years now. Last year I got people committed and chose books for each month, and then stuff happened. January and February went fairly well, and then March got crazy, and in April my dad died. Then sometime in May or June I lost all of the information on my computer, and when I got it back, it didn’t include the email addresses and the list of book club participants. And things went downhill from there.

However, although I may not be consistent, I am persistent. So I’m ready to start over again. If you would like to participate in the Semicolon Book Club, here are the possibilities for 2010. We’ll be discussing the books here at the blog Semicolon on the dates indicated. We also may meet at my house for tea and discussion, if I get any takers who live here in Houston. If you want to read with us, email me (sherryDOTearlyATgmailDOTcom) with your choices for books in the months that have more than one book listed. I’ll tabulate the votes, and get back to you with the final list based on what people choose.

Then, on the dates indicated, I’ll have a post (with Linky) where you can leave comments and links to your thoughts, and where you can read what I have to say about the book of the month. I’m looking forward to it.

January: Nonfictional inspirational
Discussion date: Saturday, January 30, 2010
Esther by Chuck Swindoll. Everyone loves a transforming story. Rags to riches. Plain to beautiful. Weak to strong. Esther’s story is that, and much more. It is a thought-provoking study of God’s invisible hand, writing silently across the pages of human history. Perhaps most of all, it is an account of a godly woman with the courage, wisdom, and strength to block an evil plot, overthrow an arrogant killer, and replace tragedy with joy in thousands of Jewish homes. Through Esther’s courageous struggle to help her people, Swindoll explains the power of divine providence in volume 2 of the best-selling “Great Lives” series. (Publisher’s blurb)

February: Christian classic novels
Discussion date: February 27, 2010
The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene. Graham Greene explores corruption and atonement through a priest and the people he encounters. In the 1930s one Mexican state has outlawed the Church, naming it a source of greed and debauchery. The priests have been rounded up and shot by firing squad–save one, the whisky priest. On the run, and in a blur of alcohol and fear, this outlaw meets a dentist, a banana farmer, and a village woman he knew six years earlier. Always, an adamant lieutenant is only a few hours behind, determined to liberate his country from the evils of the church.
OR
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. This tale of two princesses – one beautiful and one unattractive – and of the struggle between sacred and profane love is Lewis’s reworking of the myth of Cupid and Psyche and one of his most enduring works.

March: Biography/History
Discussion date: March 27, 2010
Mornings on Horseback by David McCullough. A biography of Teddy Roosevelt.
OR
The Raven by Marquis James. A biography of Sam Houston.
OR
Louisa May Alcott: The Woman Behind Little Women by Harriet Reisen.

April: Poetry Month
All poems are about God, love or depression. ~Susan Wise Bauer in The Well-Educated Mind.
Discussion date: May 1, 2010
Paradise Lost by John Milton. “Recommended edition: The Signet Classic paperback, Paradise Lost and Paradise Regained, edited by Christopher Ricks. (New York: Signet Books, 1968, $7.95) This edition has explanatory footnotes at the bottom of each page. These are extremely helpful since Milton uses archaic expressions and hundreds of obscure classical references.” (SWB, The Well-Trained Mind) Paradise Lost is Milton’s retelling of the story in Genesis 1-3 of the Creation and the Fall.
(We were supposed to read this poem in 2009, but I didn’t do it. This year I am determined.)

May: YA or Children’s award winner
Discussion date: May 29, 2010
Wait and see what books win the Newbery and Printz awards and honor books this year. Announcement is January 18th.

June: Chunky Classics
Discussion date: June 26, 2010
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe. “The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, where-in all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver’d by Pyrates. Written by Himself.”
OR
The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo. Though he was gentle and kind, it was Quasimodo’s crime to have been born hideously deformed. But one day his heart would prove to be a thing of rare beauty. His inspiration was Esmerelda. The victim of a coward’s jealous rage, she is unjustly convicted of a crime she didn’t commit. Her sentence is death by hanging. Only one man can save her–Quasimodo.

July: Just for Fun and Adventure
Discussion date: July 31, 2010
Goodbye Mr. Chips by James Hilton. The novel tells the story of a schoolteacher and his long tenure at Brookfield, a fictional boys’ public boarding school. Mr. Chipping eventually conquers his inability to connect with his students, as well as his initial shyness and becomes an inspirational and much-beloved teacher.
OR
Miss Buncle’s Book by D. E. Stevenson. Barbara Buncle, a spinster in her mid 30s lives in the small and close-knit English village of Silverstream. Finding herself in need of a new source of income, Miss Buncle, passes over the idea of raising chickens or taking in borders and instead writes a novel.

August: Shakespeare play
Discussion date: August 28, 2010
Twelfth Night. (comedy) To be performed at Shakespeare at Winedale in August 2010.
OR
Hamlet (tragedy that we were supposed to read in 2009, but didn’t)

September: Prize winning adult novels
Discussion date: October 2, 2010
Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. Lyman Ward, a retired history professor and writer, returns to his grandparent’s home in Grass Valley, California – wheelchair bound and facing a progressive, crippling bone disease. His intent is to research his grandmother’s life through the news clippings and letters of her past. To write her story, Ward must fill in gaps, imagine conversations, and uncover the truths which lie hidden in Susan Burling Ward’s history. During this one hot, dry summer in a quest to know his grandmother, he will discover the meaning beneath the shadows of his own life.
OR
As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner. The book is told in stream of consciousness writing style by 15 different narrators in 59 chapters. It is the story of the death of Addie Bundren and her family’s quest—noble or selfish—to honor her wish to be buried in the town of Jefferson.

October: Love to Laugh
Discussion date: October 30, 2010
Scoop by Evelyn Waugh. Scoop is a comedy of England’s newspaper business of the 1930s and the story of William Boot, a innocent hick from the country who writes careful essays about the habits of the badger. Through a series of accidents and mistaken identity, Boot is hired as a war correspondent for a Fleet Street newspaper. The uncomprehending Boot is sent to the fictional African country of Ishmaelia to cover an expected revolution. Although he has no idea what he is doing and he can’t understand the incomprehensible telegrams from his London editors, Boot eventually gets the big story.
(Supposed to have been read in October 2009)

November: Love to Think
Discussion date: November 27, 2010
Home Economics by Wendell Berry – A warning against the biases of free market capitalism and an exhortation to home economy.
OR
The Great Emergence: How Christianity Is Changing and Why by Phyllis Tickle. “’The Great Emergence’ refers to a monumental phenomenon in our world, and this book asks three questions about it. Or looked at the other way around, this book is about a monumental phenomenon considered from the perspective of three very basic questions: What is this thing? How did it come to be? Where is it going?”
OR
Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner. Winner, who wrote about her conversion to Christianity in 2002’s acclaimed memoir Girl Meets God, draws on the Orthodox Jewish rituals that shaped her young adult life to rediscover the richness of those customs in her life as a Christian today. Through her personal reflections on 11 spiritual practices, including keeping the Sabbath, prayer, fasting and candle-lighting, Winner illuminates the profound cultural and religious significance of each practice within the Jewish community and modifies those practices to enrich the lives of Christians

Books Read in August, 2008

Sep1

Scarlett by Stephen Lawhead. I want to write about this sequel to Lawhead’s Hood, which I never got around to reviewing either. Maybe I’ll write about both books soon. Suffice it to say for now that if you’re interested in medieval historical fiction or in the Robin Hood legend, Lawhead’s take on the story is well worth reading. There’s supposed to be a third book in the King Raven series, but according to his website Mr. Lawhead has been ill and is a bit behind schedule with the third book called Tuck. He says it’s finished now and will be released sometime in 2009.

How Right You Are Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse. Semicolon review here.

The Queen’s Man by Sharon Kay Penman. Semicolon review here. This one was on the July list, but I didn’t really finish and review it until August.

What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George. I read this one while on vacation in Winedale, and it was fascinating. If you don’t want to read about the grit and violence and degradation of the city streets, be warned and don’t read it. But it is a compelling picture of how children slip through the social services net and become criminals.

44 Scotland Street by Alexander McCall Smith.

The Postcard by Tony Abbott. Noir for kids with a Florida setting.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. Semicolon review here.

Here, There Be Dragons by James Owen. Semicolon review here. And I picked up the next book in the series at the library yesterday. I’m looking forward to it.

Abigail Iris: The One and Only by Lisa Glatt and Suzanne Greenberg. Semicolon review here.

Perfect Chemistry by Simon Elkeles. Semicolon review here.

Alicia Afterimage by Lulu Delacre.

The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards. I didn’t get around to reviewing this book although I did enjoy it. Never fear. It’s been reviewed by everyone else before I even got to it:
3M’s review.
Bonnie’s review.
Deb D.’s review.
Jane’s review at Much Ado About Books.

Looking for Alaska by John Green. This book, too, has been reviewed and discussed by everyone and his dog. It left me feeling ambivalent.

Everlost by Neal Shusterman.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lennox by Maggie O’Farrell. This last one I finished on Sunday afternoon, the 31st, and it reminded me of The Memory Keeper’s Daughter. Same theme of family secrets exploding into the lives of the characters.

Semicolon’s September: Celebrations, Links and Birthdays

Brown Bear Daughter’s Summer Reading List: 2008

May7

I am asking my children to read at least ten of the books on their individualized list before August 18, 2008. I also want each of them to memorize two poems this summer and present them for the family. I will take each child who does so out to eat to the restaurant of his choice, and I will also buy a book for each child who finishes the challenge. This list is for Brown Bear Daughter, age 13, who just finished seventh grade.


The Bible. Romans.

The Bible. I Samuel.

Costain, Thomas. The Conquering Family. Nonfiction about the Norman invasion of Britain and about the Plantagenet family and the history of England.

Hale, Shannon. Book of a Thousand Days. A princess and her maid are locked in a tower for a thousand days because the princess refuses to marry the man her father has chosen for her. Semicolon review here.

Little, Paul. Know What You Believe. What does the Bible teach about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit? What do angels, Satan, and demons have to do with reality? What place should the Bible or a church have in my life?

McKay, Hilary. Forever Rose. The last in the series of books about the wacky Casson family.


McCaughrean, Geraldine. The White Darkness. May’s selection for Biblically Literate Book Club.

Malley, Gemma. The Declaration. Semicolon review here.

Marshall, Catherine. Christy. Romance and Christian service clash with culture shock in the mountains of North Carolina. Christy is an eighteen year old innocent idealist when she goes to the mountains of Appalachia to teach school in a one-room schoolhouse. By the end of the story she’s a grown-up woman who’s experienced friendship, grief, and love.


Richardson, Don. Peace Child. Don and Carol Richardson were missionaries who risked their lives living among the Sawi headhunters and cannibals who valued treachery through “fattening” victims with friendship before the slaughter.

Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice. One of the plays to be performed at Winedale this summer.

Shelley, Mary. Frankenstein. Pre-reading for next year’s English curriculum, Starting Points.

Sire, James. How to Read Slowly. Pre-reading for next year’s English curriculum, Starting Points.

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Pre-reading for next year’s English curriculum, Starting Points.

Two poems to memorize:

The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe.

Macavity by T. S. Eliot.

Projected

Jun24

This morning in church a brother spoke about memorizing Scripture and what a blessing it has been in his life to memorize God’s Word. I thought, ” Yes, that’s a really good thing. I should be memorizing the Bible. I would like to memorize Scripture. I could start a project and memorize one verse a day, then review what I’ve already learned . . . it would be fun and spiritually beneficial.”

Then I thought of all the other “projects” I have in my life. I even listed a few on a piece of paper, in no particular order as they came to mind. All of these are projects I would either like to do, have committed to do, or must do. I can’t or don’t want to give any of them up. I am limited in terms of time and energy. I hate being limited.

My Projects:

The Blogging Project: This blog is a project I don’t want to give up. I love blogging. I think it helps me to remain halfway sane.

Reading Blogs Project: I also want to keep reading other people’s blogs. This project can take a lot of time.

Mexico Project: I’m leaving in a couple of weeks to go on a mission trip to Mexico. Two of my daughters are also going. I thought about giving up this project, but I am the only one on the team who speaks Spanish. I think I need to go, and I’m finally starting to get excited about it.

Ancient History Project: I’m supposed to teach ancient history and literature at homeschool co-op next year and at home to four of my own urchins. I need to do a lot of preparation for fall, and I’ve barely started.

Historical Fiction Project: Related to the Ancient History Project, theis one has taken on a life of its own. I’m making a list of historical fiction ofr children and young adults set in various time periods from Genesis to the 1600’s. I’m also trying to read these books so that I know which ones to recommend and which ones I want to use with my urchins next year. I’ll probably be reviewing a lot of historical fiction set in ancient times here at Semicolon in the next few months. If you have any book suggestions (hf set in ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, China, Europe, Africa Greece or Rome in particular), please leave a comment.

Housework Project: This is an ongoing project that I tend to neglect until it becomes overwhelming. Then, I have a dirty house and it becomes necessary to mobilize the troops to get the house into some kind of decent order.

Bible Reading Project: I’m supposed to be reading my Bible every day. I’m not.

Pay the Bills Project: Self-explanatory, but we’re broke, and I have to “find” enough money somewhere to pay the bills in July. I don’t know how I’m going to do that yet.

Mama and Daddy Project: My mom and dad just moved here from West Texas. Praise the Lord! However, getting them settled and comfortable and getting everything set up (phone, internet, meals, transportation, medical help) is and will continue to be a major project. I’m so thankful that now I can do something about this one instead of worrying about them long distance.

Newbery Project: I’m still reading as many of the Newbery Award and Honor books as I can. Some of them will fit into my Historical Fiction Project.

LOST Project: I’m also reading several of the books mentioned or shown on the TV series LOST. I’m interested in this particular project and unwilling to give it up.

L’Engle Project: Yet another reading project. I started back in January trying to read through the works of Madeleine L’Engle, one of my favorite authors.

Reading List Project: I keep adding books even though I know I’ll never be able to read them all.

Dancer Daughter Project: DD is having trouble with her knees, and we’ve been trying to find the right doctor/physical therapy/help for her. Also, we’re trying to prepare her for college in fall 2008, find the finances to send her, and get her registered at the junior college for some classes this fall.

Homeschool Project: I do homeschool five children still, and I need to do a little planning for that project.

Co-op Project: In addition to teaching an ancient history class at co-op, I’m supposed to be the resident “counselor” and help parents figure out testing, college entrance requirements, scholarships, transcripts, and all the myriad of paperwork that goes along with homeschooling high school.

Summer Reading with the Kids Project: I’ve posted some of the reading lists here, here, and here that I made for my urchins for this summer. Now I’m trying to get them signed up for various summer reading projects so that they can reap some rewards for all their reading in addition to the obvious reward of having read such wonderful books.

Bible Study Project: I’m involved in a summer Bible study in which we are studying this book. I’m sure it will be good for me to attend and study with others who will keep me accountable.

Prayer Project: I would like to spend some time in concentrated, disciplined prayer this summer.

Meals Project: My hope is to keep mealtimes simple this summer, but someone still must plan and implement meals if we all plan to eat.

Shakespeare Project: I want to not only read, but also study, the three plays that Eldest Daughter is studying at Shakespeare at Winedale in preparation for their late July/early August performances. I also need to find a place for us to stay near Windale when we go to see the plays and find the money to pay for it all. If any of you own a house in south central Texas near Giddings/La Grange that you would like to loan to us for a weekend, please let me know. Then, I’ll need to plan meals and logistics for that vacation time.

Poetry Project: I would like to get my urchins memorizing and reading poetry. I would like to read and memorize poetry. I would like to have more Poetry Parties.

Transportation Project: Another one of those ongoing projects. Currently, this one involves me in driving the taxi to take my kids to karate, church, and swim team —and to visit their grandparents.

Yard Project: My yard is a mess. I need to work on it. I didn’t plant a garden this year —again.

Teaching Z-Baby to Read Project: It’s time I got serious about teaching Z-baby, almost six years old, how to read. She wants to learn, but our efforts have been somewhat sporadic.

By my count, that’s over twenty projects, and I didn’t even include the Bible Memorization Project that I’d like to start, the sequels to Picture Book Preschool that I’d like to write, and the ongoing Engineer Husband Project which involves attempting to pay some attention to my very loving and supportive husband.

If you have some tricks that enable you to fit it all in, please help. Don’t tell me to jettison projects. That decision may have to be made, but right now I want to do it all. I will do it all. I may do it poorly, but I will do it.

I am SUPER-SEMICOLON.

Reading Projects for Me For This Summer

Jun7

My Madeleine L’Engle Project. Oh, boy, I get a three-fer when I re-read A Wrinkle in Time—since Sawyer was reading it on the beach in one of the LOST episodes first season and it’s a Newbery Award book, too.

My Newbery Project. I’ve let this one slip, but I’m determined to get back to work reading the Newbery Award and Honor books.

Once Upon a Time Faery Challenge. I’m supposed to finish the books for this challenge by midsummer night eve, June 21st. I’ve got some reading to do.

MotherReader’s 48 Hour Book Challenge. I don’t really know how this is going to work since I have to take Eldest Daughter to Winedale on Saturday, but I’m going to start Friday morning and do as much as I can.

LOST Reading Project.

The TBR List.

As I look at it, that list of projects is totally unrealistic and bordering on insanity. If I completed all of those projects, I would be arrested for child neglect or divorced for husband neglect. But it’s fun to dream.