books

Strange & Norrell, Wine to Water, The Egyptian Revolution, and The Dream of the Celt

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

This week’s book reviews (with the exception of #1, which is just an irresistible indulgence) are dedicated to people who want to save the world.

Jonathan Strange & Mr NorrellJonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book is an absolute delight: witty, intelligent, exciting, and original.

I am addicted to footnotes (I even like reading annotated critical editions of novels), so I adored the abundant tongue-in-cheek scholarly footnotes in Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I also appreciated the length. No matter how quickly you read, you won’t be finishing it in an afternoon. At over 1000 pages, there is just so much of this book to love.… Read more

Pregnancy, Adoption, Learning to Breathe, and Jane Austen with Magic

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

The Pregnancy ProjectThe Pregnancy Project by Gaby Rodriguez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is a unique memoir of a high-schooler who faked teen pregnancy for her senior project. Gaby Rodriguez is a remarkable woman. Born into a low-income Hispanic family with three generations of unwed pregnancy, she was a high achiever determined to be the first in her family to go to college. So it was a shock to everyone in her school to find out that she was “pregnant.” During the course of her project, she experienced societal stereotypes and how they influence the feelings and behavior of unwed mothers.… Read more

Tintin, Bees, and Dance of the Dissident Daughter

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Tintin: The Complete CompanionTintin: The Complete Companion by Michael Farr

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This delightful and informative volume is obviously a labor of love from a fellow Tintin fan. In his acknowledgments, Farr fondly remembers his mother teaching him to read at the dining room table with Tintin. Little wonder that he grew up to be a Tintinologist and produce this wonderful treatise.

The book is beautifully laid out, and spends several pages reliving and analysing each of the Tintin books, focusing on narrative development, contemporaneous history, and other pertinent influences. I especially loved the many photos reproduced from Herge’s files.… Read more

The King of Cats

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

One of the best things about homeschooling is that you get to teach your kids the things you feel are really important. For me, that definitely includes Shakespeare, and not just in high school English class, either. I start exposing them to Shakespeare from the time they’re little. To start off with, we have this prettily illustrated book:

It’s a retelling of six plays, which Axa used to often request as a bedtime story when she was three and four. I was initially put off by the fact that it’s written entirely in present tense, but I suppose the author may have done it on purpose, to convey something of the immediacy of seeing a play.… Read more

Israel, Birds, Math Mysteries, and The British Museum

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

As usual, I’ve been reading books. Unfortunately, Tintin: The Complete Companion got taken back to the library before I could finish it (horror of horrors!), so that will have to wait for another day. But in the meantime, here’s some history, math, poetry, and political science to brighten up your day.

The Unmaking of IsraelThe Unmaking of Israel by Gershom Gorenberg

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a valuable book for anyone seeking deeper insight into what makes Israel tick. The author, an Israeli by choice who immigrated there from the U.S. at the age of thirty, gives us a well-researched and cogent explanation of how Israeli policy vis-a-vis the Palestinians and Occupied Territories has developed.… Read more

Narnia, Iraq, and the Moors of Al-Andalus

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

The Narnia Code: C. S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven HeavensThe Narnia Code: C. S. Lewis and the Secret of the Seven Heavens by Michael Ward

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I went into this book pretty sceptically, because really, in the post-The Da Vinci Code era, who could possibly take seriously a book with a title like this? However, forty pages or so into the book, I found myself wishing that the author had written a real, scholarly book, since his theory was sounding fairly plausible. And then a few pages later he admitted that The Narnia Code is actually the popularized version of his published phD thesis, Planet Narnia The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C.S.… Read more

Chanticleer, A Line in the Sand, and The Mormon People

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Today I have only awesome books to review for you.

Chanticleer and the FoxChanticleer and the Fox by Barbara Cooney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What a treasure of a book! This made it to our house because it is on the Ambleside Online Year 2 free reading list. I can’t think of a better way to introduce my seven-year-old to a bit of Chaucer. Maybe it’s just that I remember my own foray into chicken-keeping so fondly, but I was enchanted by this story of a proud, beautiful rooster who learns a lesson about trusting to flattery. The lovely illustrations really make the book.… Read more

Timelines, India, More Dune, and Can You Forgive Him?

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I was in the middle of several library books when we precipitously moved, and my new library doesn’t have them. Blah. I don’t know if I should take them off my currently-reading list, or just leave them on, and eventually get them on Kindle or something. We’ll see. In the meantime, here are some finds from the new library.

Timelines of HistoryTimelines of History by The Smithsonian Institution

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Oooh, I LOVE this book. It is amazing. DK has really out-done itself this time. I am working on finally getting up a homeschool timeline (now that I have a long, empty hallway), and this book is my inspiration.… Read more

A Clean Kitchen is a Happy Kitchen

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

The title of this post was the sign my college roommate posted in the kitchen of our six-person apartment my freshman year. It was made even funnier by the fact that her last name was Kitchen. I adored my roommate, but I’m afraid I was one of the offenders. Between my untidy housekeeping and the fact that I was always coming home at odd hours having forgotten my key, and knocking on our bedroom window to be let in, I was lucky we were such good friends. I guess maybe she figured I would grow up someday.

And maybe I have.… Read more

Italian Grandmothers, Plants of the Bible, Rock the Casbah, and Prisoner of the Vatican

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I’ve been reading a lot of books about Italy and the Middle East lately, and this week I have some really wonderful ones for you.

Figs, Dates, Laurel, and Myrrh: Plants of the Bible and the QuranFigs, Dates, Laurel, and Myrrh: Plants of the Bible and the Quran by Lytton John Musselman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What did Eve really eat in the Garden of Eden? Which plant produced Christ’s crown of thorns? Are the “lilies of the field” actually poppies? Not your ordinary Biblical commentary, Musselman’s book concentrates exclusively on the flora of the Bible and the Qur’an. The author is a respected botanist who has lived in and conducted research throughout the Middle East for many years.… Read more