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Advanced Reading Survey: Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

Jan11

I’ve decided that on Mondays I’m going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than fifty, but I am going to post to Semicolon the entries in the reading journal that I was required to keep for that class because I think that my entries on these works of literature may be of interest to readers here and because I’m afraid that the thirty year old spiral notebook in which I wrote these entries may fall apart ere long. I may offer my more mature perspective on the books, too, if I remember enough about them to do so.


Author: As Anthony Trollope’s mother, Frances, and his older brother were both writers, Trollope was following in a well-established family tradition when he bagan writing novels. Barchester Towers is the second novel in a group of six on the theme of clerical life in Victorian England.
“Of all novelists in any country, Trollope best understands the role of money. Compared with him even Balzac is a romantic.” — W. H. Auden

Characters:
Dr. Proudie: newly appointed bishop of Barchester.
Mrs. Proudie
Dr. Grantly: archdeacon.
Mr. Slope: Dr. Proudie’s chaplain.
Eleanor Bold: a young widow.
Mr. Septimus Harding: Mrs. Bold’s father.
Charlotte Stanhope
Bertie Stanhope
La Signora Madeline Vesey Neroni
Mr. Arabin

Summary:
Bishop Proudie and his unpopular and managing wife are the new occupants of the see of Barchester. As Mrs. Proudie interferes in almost all the cathedral affairs, the bishop’s chaplain, Mr. Slope, makes himself disliked by his pursuit of Eleanor Bold, a wealthy young widow and daughter of Mr. Harding, the warden of the hospital and hero of Trollope’s previous novel, The Warden. Church politics rule the day, until all misunderstandings and double dealings are unravelled, and romance wins out in the end.

Quotations:
“Till we can become divine we must be content to be human, lest in our hurry for a change we sink to something lower.”

Mr. Arabin: “It is the bane of my life that on important subjects I acquire no fixed opinion. I think, and think, and go on thinking, and yet my thoughts are running ever in different directions.”

“There is no way of writing well and also of writing easily.”

“There is no happiness in love, except at the end of an English novel.”

I do think I need to read more Trollope.

Bonnie reviews Barchester Towers.
Becky’s Book Reviews on Barchester Towers.
Between the Covers: Barchester Towers A-
Carol at Magistramater.

Bloggiesta Ole!

Jan8

It’s the first day of Bloggiesta, and our mascot is PEDRO:

Plan. Edit. Develop. Review. Organize.

For my Bloggiesta tasks, I’d like to:

Plan.
1. Write author birthday posts for January, February, and March, and set them to publish on the appropriate days.
2. Since I plan to take a Lenten break from blogging again this year, I’d like to grab some of the best of the posts in my archives and have them ready to post during Lent while I’m away.

Edit.
3. I’d really like to check my blog archives for dead links.

Develop.
4. Develop relationships by participating in Mother Reader’s Comment Challenge.
5. Finish writing a post directed to new bloggers in answer to a question mysister sent me last week. My baby sister is going to birth a brand new book blog, and she’s asking me for advice!

Review.
6. Finish my reviews and follow-up posts left over from my Cybils judging for 2009. I still have books to review and some thoughts on the general direction and quality of the middle grade fiction books I read for the Cybils.
7. Update reviews to Library Things Early Reviewers so that I can get back on their good list.

Organize.
8. Work on adding links to all the reviews posted at the Saturday Review to the index pages. I can’t imagine finding enough time to do all of these, but I’d like to at least work on it.

I may come up with some other projects over the course of the weekend, may start some of these and not finish, may only get one or two projects done. That’s O.K. The main idea is have fun working on my blog along with others who are doing the same.

Bloggiesta is sponsored by Natasha at Maw Books. Thanks, Natasha.

Sunday Salon: Twelve Projects for 2010

Jan3

The Sunday Salon.comFor the last couple of years, instead of resolutions, I’ve been thinking in terms of projects, lots of projects that I wanted to complete during the year. I wouldn’t say I was any more or less successful with my projects than most people are with resolutions, but I like the tradition anyway and plan to to continue it this year. So here are my twelve projects for 2010, with evaluations of how I did on some of the same projects in 2009.

1. Bible Reading Project. Last year’s Bible reading project was a qualified success. I didn’t read every day, and I didn’t study the books and passages I chose as intensely as I wanted, but I did read and study some. This year’s Bible reading plan is the same as last year’s: choose a book or part of a book of the BIble for each month of the year, read it daily, and study it using some good study tools. Take notes in my Bible and maybe this year in a journal, too. The selections for this year:

January: Esther. The women of my church are going on retreat in early March, and we’ll be studying the book of Esther. So I thought I’d get a head start.
February: Revelation 1-11. My pastor is preaching through Revelation this spring, so I thought I should be reading it. Revelation is my least favorite book in the Bible, so I’ll need some major self-discipline and encouragement from the Holy Spirit to finish this project.
March: Exodus 1-12 in preparation for Resurrection Sunday (April 4, 2010) and remembering Jesus, our Passover lamb.
April: Revelation 12-22.
May: Exodus 13-20.
June: I Timothy
July: Exodus 21-30.
August: II Timothy
September: Exodus 31-40.
October: Titus
November: Psalms 11-15.
December: Psalms 16-20.

2. Pulitzer Project. This year for the Pulitzer Project I read Andersonville by MacKinlay Kantor and found it very absorbing and thought-provoking, one of the best books I read this past year. This next year I plan to read March by Geraldine Brooks and Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout.

3. My Newbery Project for last year was also something of a bust. I think I got stuck because the winners for 1925 and 1926 were both story collections, and I don’t like story collections. I may skip the storybooks and get back on track this year.

4. Homeschooling Project: I need to focus on homeschooling the three remaining students in our homeschool.
Karate Kid (age 12)
Betsy-Bee (age 10)
Z-Baby (age 8)
You’ll see posts about how that project is going, plans for school and reading and science and history and field trips and all manner of educational schemes and visions. Perhaps you’ll also see a few desperate pleas for HELP! Just because I’ve graduated four students doesn’t mean I know how to homeschool the rest of the bunch.

5. Operation Clean House. I thought last year that if I took a room or area of the house and concentrated on that section each month, I might get somewhere with the de-cluttering and cleaning. Maybe. I didn’t. So this project is a repeat.
January: My closet and dressing area.
February: The rest of my bedroom.
March: Front hallway and entryway.
April: Living Room.
May: Kitchen.
June: Laundry room.
July: Half of the gameroom.
August: The other half of the gameroom.
September: Front bathroom.
October: Z-baby’s bedrooom.
November: Karate Kid’s bedroom.
December: Sit back and enjoy my reorganized home?
I might even, if I’m brave enough, post before and after pictures to keep myself motivated.

6. LOST Reading Project. I really want to get back to this project this year. I read Lathe of Heaven by Ursula LeGuin, enjoyed it, and tried a couple of others on the list that I didn’t care for at all (A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess and The Third Policeman by Flann O’Brien).
This year I think I’d like to read Laughter in the Dark by Vladimir Nabakov and perhaps, Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O’Connor. I’m not sure I’m sophisticated enough to “get” Flannery O’Connor, but I’ll give it a try.

7. The U.S. Presidents Reading Project has a list of all of the U.S. presidents and suggested reading selections (non-fiction) for each one. The challenge is to read one biography of each one. Last year I read biographies of George Washington, John Adams, James and Dollie Madison, and Alexander Hamilton (I know, not a president, but closely related). This year I plane to continue with biographies of James Monroe, John Quincy Adams, and Andrew Jackson, not necessarily in that order. I skipped Jefferson because I don’t like him very much.
atournamentofreading
8. Tournament of Reading Project. Probably the only reading challenge I sign up for this year, The Tournament of Reading is a challenge to read nine medieval books in three categories: history, medieval literature, and historical fiction. Most of these books that I plan to read come from my TBR list anyway:
History:
Byzantium by John Julius Norwich.
Justinian’s Flea: The First Great Plague and The End of the Roman Empire by WIlliam Rosen.

Historical Fiction:
The King’s Daughter by Sandra Worth.
The Last Queen by C.W. Gortner.
The Master of Verona by David Blixt.

As for actual medieval literature, I’ll have to ask Eldest Daughter to suggest something.

9. Poetry Project: I would like to continue having my urchins memorizing and reading poetry. I would like to read and memorize poetry. I would like to have more Poetry Parties. Poetry Friday is the place and time to get an update on the Poetry Project. Plus, I’ll be celebrating Poetry Month again in April.

10. Prayer Project. I need to spend some daily concentrated time in prayer and meditation. My plan is to pray and read my Bible before I get on the computer each day so that I can bathe all these projects and all my children and my husband in prayer.

11. Book Club Project. I’m re-starting my book club this year. If any of you are interested in participating (virtually), email me at sherryDOTearlyATgmailDOTcom, and I’ll send you the details. I’ll also be posting the book club selections for each month of 2010 here at Semicolon soon. I’m also leading a middle school girls book club at our homeschool co-op, and I’ll be posting the book list for that club before long.

12. Advanced Reading Survey Project. I decided last year that on Mondays I was going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than fifty, but I am going to post to Semicolon the entries in the reading journal that I was required to keep for that class because I think that my entries on these works of literature may be of interest to readers here and because I’m afraid that the thirty year old spiral notebook in which I wrote these entries may fall apart ere long. I may offer my more mature perspective on the books, too, if I remember enough about them to do so.
Texas Tuesday Project. I also plan to keep posting about books set in or published in or related to Texas on Tuesdays. Or at least on most Tuesdays.

Bonus Project: I’ll keep blogging, the Good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise, and I’ll keep you all updated on all my projects for 201-.

Read Aloud Thursday: The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall

Dec10

Z-Baby’s been listening to The Penderwicks this week. Actually the full title is The Penderwicks: a summer tale of four sisters, two rabbits and a very interesting boy by Jeanne Birdsall.

Me: What did you like about the story?

Z-baby: It was funny when Batty, the little one (she’s only four), is there, and her dog, Hound, eats the map. Then Hound throws up. And Batty points to the throw-up and says, “There’s the map.”
It was just really, really interesting. One reason I listened to it a lot was because I didn’t always finish it.

Me: Which character can you relate to the most? Which Penderwick sister is most like you? Do any of them remind you of your sisters?

Z-baby: I’m probably most like Skye. She’s kind of mischievous, and she’s always peeking (spying) on people and losing her temper. She just does a lot of things I do. Rosalind is a tiny bit like Betsy-Bee. Sometimes she’s a little bossy, and so is Betsy-Bee. Betsy-Bee is also a tiny bit like Batty because Batty is really shy, and so is Betsy-Bee. Betsy-Bee also writes stories like Jane.

Me: What in the story reminds you of your own experiences?

Z-Baby: I’ve burned cookies before! And I’ve probably wished that I didn’t so something, but after a whlie once I get used to it, I’m glad that I did. Skye meets Jeffrey and bumps into him , and at first she wishes that she didn’t. But then later she’s glad that she did.

Me: The title calls Jeffrey a “very interesting boy?” Do you think he’s interesting? What’s interesting about him?

Z-baby: Yes, he’s interesting. His mother wants him to go to military school. And he kind of tells her that he doesn’t want to, but he can’t get that into her head. He wants to be a musician, not a military person.

Me; Anything else you want to tell me?

Z-baby: It’s a really good book, and you should read it or listen to it.

Me: Would you like to listen to the sequel, The Penderwicks on Gardam Street?

Z-Baby: Yes. Get it the next time you go to the library.

Here’s an account of our family’s original introduction to The Penderwicks almost four years ago.

Advanced Reading Survey: Green Mansions by W.H. Hudson

Nov29

I’ve decided that on Mondays I’m going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than fifty, but I am going to post to Semicolon the entries in the reading journal that I was required to keep for that class because I think that my entries on these works of literature may be of interest to readers here and because I’m afraid that the thirty year old spiral notebook in which I wrote these entries may fall apart ere long. I may offer my more mature perspective on the books, too, if I remember enough about them to do so.

Author:
William Henry Hudson was born to American parents who emigrated to Argentina and spent most of his adult life in England. He was an ornithologist who published studies of Argentine and British birds. His fiction and nonfiction books are greatly concerned with nature and the beauty of the natural world. Appropriately, a bird sanctuary is established in Hyde Park in London as a memorial to Mr. Hudson.

Characters:
Abel: a young Venezuelan man.
Rima: a bird-girl, survivor of a lost race.
Nuflo: the old man with whom Rima lives.
Runi: an Indian chief.

Summary:
A young man meets a mysterious and beautiful bird-girl in the depths of the Venezuelan jungle. The two fall in love, but the perfect love between them is spoiled by the appearance of both primitive envy and the encroachment of civilization.

Quotations:
“Caring not in that solitude to disguise my feelings from myself, and from the wide heaven that looked down and saw me—for this is the sweetest thing that solitude has for us, that we are free in it, and no convention holds us—I dropped on my knees and kissed the stony ground, than casting up my eyes, thanked the Author of my being for the gift of that wild forest, those green mansions where I found so great a happiness.”

“It was as if Nature herself, in supreme anguish and abandonment, had cast herself prone on the earth, and her great heart had throbbed audibly, shaking the world with its beats.”

“Our souls were near together, like two raindrops side by side, drawing irresistibly nearer, ever nearer; for now they had touched and were not two, but one inseparable drop, crystallised beyond change, not to be disintegrated by time, nor shattered by death’s blow, nor resolved by any alchemy.”

I’ve written about this book before in a post entitled Under the Radar: An Adult Fiction Trio.

Sunday Salon: Books Read in November, 2009

Nov29

After by Amy Efaw. (YA Cybils nominee) Semicolon review here.

Absolutely Maybe by Lisa Yee. (YA Cybils nominee) Very sad teenager from a dysfunctional family ends up in LA looking for her dad along with two friends who have issues of their own. They’re lucky they don’t all end up working the streets or in juvenile detention.

North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. Semicolon review here.

Make Way for Sam Houston by Jean Fritz. Semicolon review here.

Cybils Nominees Read:
The Last Invisible Boy by Evan Kuhlman. Semicolon review here.

Gone From These Woods by Donna Bailey Seagraves. Semicolon review here.

Extra Credit by Andrew Clements. Clements’ latest school story is about a tomboyish girl who becomes pen pals with an Afghan boy and his sister.

The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. Semicolon review here.

Standing for Socks by Elissa Brent Weissman. Silly and implausible story about a girl who becomes famous for wearing mismatched socks. My girls do this all the time, and nobody notices.

Angel Cake by Cathy Cassidy. Boy crazy Polish immigrant, Anya, falls for bad boy Daniel . . . in Liverpool, England. This one was unbelievable, too, especially the ending.

Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez. Semicolon review here.

A Recipe 4 Robbery by Marybeth Kelsey. Semicolon review here.

Take the Mummy and Run: The Riot Brothers Are on a Roll by Mary Amato.

Lucky Breaks by Susan Patron.

Scat by Carl Hiaassen.

The Beast of Backslope by Tracy Barrett.

Operation Yes by Sara Lewis Holmes.

Black Angels by Linda Beatrice Brown. Semicolon review here.

Al Capone Shines My Shoes by Gennifer Choldenko. Semicolon review here.

Rescuing Seneca Crane by Susan Runholt. Semicolon review here.

Dani Noir by Nova Ben Suma. Semicolon review here.

Born to Fly by Michael Ferrari. Semicolon review here.

Newsgirl by Liza Ketchum. Semicolon review here.

William S. and the Great Escape by Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Semicolon review here.

Bull Rider by Suzanne Morgan Williams. Semicolon review here.

I’m mostly reading middle grade fiction this month and in December, trying to get all the nominees read before Christmas so that we the judging panel can decide on five finalists. Wish me luck because I still have a big stack of books to read, and I’d like to review them all, too.

LOST Anyone?

Nov23

“ABC finally announced that the sixth and final season of Lost will debut on Feb. 2, 2010, starting with a one-hour recap special at 8 p.m. ET/PT, followed by the two-hour season premiere at 9.

Lost will then air in its regular time period, Tuesdays at 9, beginning the following week, on Feb. 9.”

So does anyone still remember those poor lost souls on Nameless Island? Did they all blow up in a nuclear holocaust? Did Juliet save the island or destroy it? Will Jack and Kate get together? Stay together for more than ten minutes? Will Sawyer reform? Who comes back to life and who stays dead for good?

How many of you will be watching in February to find out?

Read Aloud Thursday: Because of Winn-Dixie by Kate DiCamillo

Nov19


Z-Baby has been listening to the audiobook CD version of Kate DiCamillo’s award-winning book about India Opal Buloni, her smiling dog, and her preacher daddy all week long. The narration by Cherry Jones is great, with a thick Southern accent and different voices for all the characters.

Me: What made you laugh in this book? Why?

Z-baby: Well, what was kind of funny was that her dad called her by her middle name, Opal, which was her dad’s mom’s name. And it’s the same with me. I have my dad’s mom’s name for a middle name. And she called the Dewberry boys “bald-headed babies,” and that was kind of funny.

Me: Why do you think Opal wanted to know ten things about her mother? Can you tell what her mother is like from the ten things her father describes to her? Do you think that ten things can really describe a whole person?

Z-baby: Not really. If Daddy told me things about you and I had never seen you, I probably wouldn’t really know what you were like. But she probably wanted to know because most people want to know about their own mom.

Me: What else might Opal want to know about her mother? What else would you like to know?

Z-baby: She would want to know where her mom is and why did she go away. I would, too. Also, what color were her eyes? And was she a girly-girl or a tomboy? I would want to know a lot of things.

Me: Do you think you’d like to eat a Littmus Lozenge? Why or why not?

Z-baby: I don’t know. Probably, because I’d like to see what they mean by it makes them feel sad.

Me: Opal believes that life is like a Littmus Lozenge – that it’s sweet and sad all mixed up together and hard to separate out. Do you agree? Why or why not?

Z-baby: No, I don’t believe that. Life isn’t always sweet, and life isn’t always sad. And I’ve never experienced sweet and sad mixed together.

Me: At the end of the story, Opal seems to accept that her mother is not coming back. Why is this an important part of the story? What is something difficult in your life that you’ve had to accept?

Z-baby: A lot of times when somebody doesn’t have somebody and then they want that person, in the story they do get the person back. But it’s important that you listen and know that Opal’s mom isn’t coming back. Sometimes I ask my brothers or sisters to please do something for me, but they don’t. And I just have to accept that they’re not going to do it.

Me; Who was your favorite of Opal’s friends?

Z-baby: Probably Sweetie Pie Thomas. She’s five years old, and she invites Opal to her sixth birthday party. When Opal comes out of the pet store, she sees Sweetie Pie, and they talk about things.

Me: What kind of people do you think would enjoy this story?

Z-baby: The reason I listen to my audiotapes over and over again is that sometimes there’s something in it that I don’t understand the first time. But then when I listen again, I do understand. And people who like to listen to stories over and over would like this story because there’s always more interesting stuff there to hear.

Scholastic Discussion Questions for Because of Winn-Dixie.
More educational resources for Because of Winn-Dixie.
Because of Winn-Dixie Teacher’s Guide.

Texas Tuesday: Make Way for Sam Houston by Jean Fritz

Nov17

General Sam Houston: “We view ourselves on the eve of battle. We are nerved for the contest, and must conquer or perish. It is vain to look for present aid: none is at hand. We must now act or abandon all hope! Rally to the standard, and be no longer the scoff of mercenary tongues! Be men, be free men, that your children may bless their father’s name.”

Sam the Ambitious Politician: “Were I the nation’s ruler, I could rule it well.”

After Sam’s baptism, November 19, 1855: When a friend remarked he guessed Sam had all his sins washed away now, Sam replied that he hoped so. “But if they are all washed away,” he said, “the Lord help those fish down below.”

“The people want excitement, and I had as well give it as anyone.”

Newspaper headline announcing Sam’s arrival in town for a political appearance: “The Hero of San Jacinto is Communing with the People!”

Sam’s advice to his son: “It is a matter of great satisfaction to me to hope that my children will be in circumstances to receive a good education. Mine was defective and I feel the inconvenience, if not the misfortune of not receiving a classical education. Knowledge is the food of genius, and my son, let no opportunity escape you to treasure up knowledge.”

Old Sam the Prophet (as the Civil War began): “Let me tell you what is coming. Your fathers and your husbands, your sons and brothers, will be herded at the end of a bayonet. You may, after the sacrifice of countless millions, win Southern Independence . . . but I doubt it.”

Houston’s last words, July 26, 1863: “Texas . . . Texas. Margaret . . .”

Jean Fritz is a fine biographer, and Sam Houston is a fascinating subject. What more need be said? Still, I’ll add a few details for those of you who need a little more encouragement to pick up this Texas Tuesday pick.

Houston was the George Washington of Texas, but he was a much more flamboyant character than George was. Houston served as governor of two different states (Tennessee and Texas), was a congressman from Tennessee, was elected president of the Texas Republic twice, was a senator from Texas, and was indeed the Heroic General who led the Texians to independence in his victory over the army of Mexican general and dictator Santa Anna.

Houston and his third wife, Margaret, had eight children (just like me and Engineer Husband). Margaret was a good influence on Sam Houston; she got him to give up alcohol which Sam admitted had become an addiction and a hindrance to his ambitions. She also took him to church regularly, and he eventually received salvation and was baptized.

An adult biography I’ve seen recommended is The Raven by Marquis James, but if you just want an introduction to a colorful Texan hero, you can’t go wrong with Jean Fritz’s one hundred page account of the life of Sam Houston.

Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a book cover here to go to Amazon and buy something, I receive a very small percentage of the purchase price.

Advanced Reading Survey: The Christ of the Indian Road by E. Stanley Jones

Nov16

I’ve decided that on Mondays I’m going to revisit the books I read for a course in college called Advanced Reading Survey, taught by the eminent scholar and lovable professor, Dr. Huff. I’m not going to re-read all the books and poems I read for that course, probably more than fifty, but I am going to post to Semicolon the entries in the reading journal that I was required to keep for that class because I think that my entries on these works of literature may be of interest to readers here and because I’m afraid that the thirty year old spiral notebook in which I wrote these entries may fall apart ere long. I may offer my more mature perspective on the books, too, if I remember enough about them to do so.

Author Note:
Methodist preacher and theologian E. Stanley Jones went to India as a missionary in 1907. He began by preaching to the lower caste Indians, the Dalits, but found his mission as he began to give talks and seminars for the more educated classes. He subsequently became friends with poet Rabindranath Tagore and with Hindu leader Mohandas Gandhi.

Jones sympathized with the burgeoning Indian independence movement. He saw Christianity growing among the Indian people, but it was a Christianity that leaned toward syncretism, a philosophy Jones was sometimes accused of holding himself. However, Jones maintained that he held firmly to the fundamentals of the Christian faith, especially to the person and work of Christ. “I don’t hold my faith,” he said; “my faith holds me. It’s Christ or nothing, and you can’t live on nothing. I’ve been a very ordinary man doing extraordinary things because I was linked up with grace.” (TIME magazine, January 1964)
Mr. Jones wrote many books and articles, but his most popular book, The Christ of the Indian Road, was published in 1925. The book gives an account of of Jones’s work among the Indian people and his presentation of the gospel to them.

Quotations:
Life is bigger than processes and overflows them.

A very severe criticism is beating upon this whole question of missions from many angles and sources. Personally, I welcome it. If what we are doing is real it will shine all the more. If it isn’t real, the sooner we find it out the better.

If those who have not the spirit of Jesus are none of his, no matter what outward symbols they possess, then conversely those who have the spirit of Jesus are his, no matter what outward symbols they possess.

Greece said, ‘Be moderate—know thyself.’
Rome said, ‘Be strong—order thyself.’
Confucianism says, ‘Be superior—correct thyself.’
Shintoism says, ‘Be loyal—suppress thyself.’
Buddhism says, ‘Be disillusioned—annihilate thyself.’
Hinduism says, ‘Be separated—merge thyself.’
Mohammedanism says, ‘Be submissive—assert thyself.’
Judaism says, ‘Be holy—conform thyself.’
Materialism says, ‘Be industrious—enjoy thyself.’
Modern Dilettantism says, ‘Be broad—cultivate thyself.’
Christianity says, ‘Be Christlike—give thyself.’”

The Christ of the Indian Road by E. Stanley Jones is one of the books listed in the book 100 Christian Books That Changed the Century by William J. Peterson and Randy Peterson. SInce I’m planing a detailed study of the twentieth century sometime in the next couple of years, I think this book would be an excellent resource. In the meantime, here’s the list of 100 books. Of the 100, I’ve read 35 or so, dabbled in a few more. It looks like a good list of what influenced evangelical Christianity, in particular, for better or for worse.