When I lay these questions before God I get no answer. But a rather special sort of ‘No answer.’ It is not the locked door. It is more like a silent, certainly not uncompassionate, gaze. As though He shook His head not in refusal but waving the question. Like, ‘Peace, child: you don’t understand.’ In […]
Usually when I finish reading a novel I know what I think of it. From the first sentences to the last chapter, I can tell how my opinion is changing throughout the work. I think we get the same feeling with movies. We go into movies and books with an open mind–willing to suspend our […]
Do you ever go through a phase where you’re mildly obsessed with one writer? A few years ago it was Thomas Hardy, but I’m in a big Flannery O’Connor phase right now. It started last year when I read a biography and most of her short stories as part of my 50 book goal. The […]
“Ah, God! what trances of torments does that man endure who is consumed with one unachieved revengeful desire. He sleeps with clenched hands; and wakes with his own bloody nails in his palms.” Each time I’ve completed my 50 book goal I try to include a book that is a challenge for me in some […]
Do you hear that? It’s the sound children dread–the approach of the new school year. Soon school buses will be rolling along their routes and students will be opening fresh notebooks and sharpening new pencils. Maybe it’s the teacher in me coming out, but I just love the school supplies and the excitement of meeting […]
This will be the fourth year I’ve attempted my 50 book goal. It’s funny how different years take on different themes or trends. One year I read a lot of Thomas Hardy. Last year I read a lot of Rick Riordan. This year’s common theme? Nonfiction. I have never been much of a nonfiction reader, […]
For those of you keeping track, we have reached Week 31 of the year. I usually try to keep my reading on track with the week number, so I know I won’t run out of time. At this point I’ve only read 27 books, which puts me about 4 off the pace of one per […]
There’s nothing like starting a blog about your yearly goals midway through the year. I realized today that I needed to record my thoughts about the books I was reading in some format. More than just writing them down in a list, I want to own what I read and share it with others. Ultimately […]
Book Fifty 