I have a little brown book with leather covers embroidered with designs, rough, handmade looking paper, and a string to tie it shut. It was given to me during a romance, and the inscription reads, "For your words, when my ears aren't around to hear them." The romance ended, and it was a long time before I felt ready to use the little book. I'm not a journaler, but because of the strong memory of the intense girl who gave it to me, I wanted to stay true to the intent of the gift. She and I talked about books and about writing, and so I decided to keep it as a list of the books I had read.
I enjoy looking back over it, even the recent things, but what I hope is that one day, when I am old and gray and full of sleep, nodding by the fire, I will take out this journal and remember the things that I read and see the patterns of my life laid out in books. I imagine that I will remember Livy's childhood through children's classics that I read aloud, my education with journal articles and more technical books, and the changes in myself as I age by which things are reread and how often. I imagine that my life will be chronicled, not in things I did or people I knew or places I went, but by what I read.
October, November, and December So Far Reading
Rebecca by Daphne DuMarier
A reread for me of a book about place. The novel begins and ends with a house, and I am fascinated by how Manderlay and its ghosts and secrets drive the plot and the characters. Whenever I reread this book, I think about the South and our obsession with place, even places from the distant past, and I feel a connection to DuMarier. Egger Cemetary and Caledonia, MS shape the lives of my family, I think, but thank heavens the shaping is less sinister than in Rebecca.
A River in the Sky by Elizabeth Peters
A fun reread of my dearest archeologists, Amelia Peabody and Radcliffe Emerson. I have no idea which of the novels this is, as they are all the same. The spice lies not in the plot, but in the characters.
The Two Towers and The Return of the King by J.R.R Tolkein
Tolkein wrote in a letter that he had a "basic passion . . . for myth (not allegory!) and for fairy-story, and above all for heroic legend on the brink of fairy-tale and history, of which there is far too little in the world." I share his passion. Tolkein provides me with characters that live, really live, for me; I know what they would do even if the story veered into new ground. They are men and women whom I love, whom I am proud to love, and whom I hope would include me in their counsels and their fellowships if we met.
The Lost Hero and The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Fun new novels about Greek heroes (the first) and Egyptian magicians (the second). Very similar to his earlier series about Percy Jackson.
American English by Wolfram and Schilling-Estes
A linguistics textbook that rocked, though my class on the subject was terrible. I was fascinated by the Northern Vowel Shift, which is why so many of you dear Yankees sound so very odd. :)
Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins
An amazing new find. See my review of Hunger Games. See it immediately, then go read these dystopic young adult novels about oppression, revolution, and freedom.
Egyptian Myths by Jacqueline Morley
Livy and I did these as a read-aloud, and I loved them. Very different from Greek myths, which I am so familiar with, and very exotic. They felt like a window into a very different kind of culture with very different concerns and values. Lots of fun. Went wonderfully with The Red Pyramid.
The Paleo Soution by Robb Wolf
After my Whole30 experience, I thought I would go to Dallas and Melissa's source, Robb Wolf. The book was funny, readable, very informative, and it raised some questions for me about how high-fat our diets should be and the place that saturated fat should hold in those diets.
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
My first of the Sherlock Holmes novels. Just as wonderful as the stories. And there were Mormons, a fascination of mine.
Currently Reading
A walk-through of Wheelock's Latin to supplement my AOS Latin Club (recently renamed the Sex Vultures - see Livy's History of Rome and his version of the Romulus and Remus legend for the reference). This reread of Wheelock's will probably take the rest of my life to finish.
African-American English: What a Writing Teacher Should Know by Teresa Redd and Karen Webb
The Sign of the Four by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Story of the World: Ancient Times by Susan Wise Bauer (read-aloud with Livy)
James Herriot's Treasury for Children (read-aloud with Livy and Aaron)
The Long Winter by Laura Ingalls Wilder (read-aloud with Livy)
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths (read aloud with Livy and Aaron)
The Silmarillion by J.R.R Tolkein
Writing About Your Life by William Zinsser
The Art of the Personal Essay: An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present compiled by Phillip Lopate
