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On Our Bookshelf – November 2018

A list of books I and my family are reading. For posterity, future reference, and general interest. (Links to the books on Amazon are affiliate links!)

Currently Reading

Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell

I mentioned this last month and am about halfway through it now. Cranford is funny. The little old ladies, making mountains out of molehills, are precious. Elizabeth Gaskell really did amazing work in developing these sweet characters, who you really do want to be friends with yourself.

Of course, Mrs Gaskell doesn’t make it all humerous – there are some really poignant parts so far that have been really touching, but they show you how deeply some of these women, who are often consumed with absurdities, feel. They are fleshed out, real persons with many sides and that makes for captivating reading.

Ourselves by Charlotte Mason

I’ve started in on Charlotte Mason’s fourth volume. I’m on a tight deadline now, with a goal to finished before the end of November, which for me reading Miss Mason, is a quick pace.

Fortunately, Ourselves is fascinating. Miss Mason develops an allegory between a person and a kingdom. She likens, so far, the mind and the heart as two different houses of government, with different appetites or affections participating in governing over the kingdom (i.e. the self). I’m particularly excited about this because she has mentioned the prime minister a few times (which is our will), but she has only mentioned once, briefly that there is a king. And I very much believe that He will turn out to be a capital-K King.

Finished Reading

Elmer and the Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett

The boys brought this into my room one morning, and in an attempt to keep them occupied while Carl made pancakes for breakfast, I read the entire book aloud in one sitting!

Carl had read them the book before, so I wasn’t worried about stretching the reading out so they could savor it. I think it says something about the quality of the book that a nearly 5 year old and a 3.5 year old will pay attention through the entire thing. In this book from the My Father’s Dragon series, Elmer and the dragon leave Wild Island and Tangerina and discover Canary Island, where they help the king of the canaries solve a mystery.

Reading Next

Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman

The next book club book has been chosen! This must be really popular because I tried to reserve it from the library and there were sixteen people ahead of me waiting for a copy. The reviews look promising, both from friends who have read it and from looking online. I have a hard time picking out modern authors to read, so I do appreciate a book club for pushing me to try new things.

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