Monday Meme: Pumpkins in the Sea

Happy Halloween!

photo by

this weeks theme "anything"

Sunday Scripture: The Grave Hath No Victory

It's unbelievable!

dealing with this sudden

unexpected loss

so soon after the loss of my mother

has left me reeling

I'm grateful for my faith

in my Savior, Jesus Christ

and in the power of his Atoning Sacrifice

that is what gets me through this

this post dedicated to

My Father-in-law

that I loved as if he were my own father

passed on Oct. 21, 2011

photo by

Thursday's with Tolstoy: Week 43

Book 14

Chapters 8-14

In last week’s reading Petya Rostov had attached himself to Denisov’s infantry unit. They began following an evacuating French Unit. This week Petya volunteered to join Dolkohov on a scouting mission to see just how strong that unit was. They dressed as peasants and road their horses’ right into the camp, visited with the French and had a look around. The next day they attacked. Sadly Petya was shot in the head and killed. War is ugly. I liked Petya.

Book Review: The Tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

The Tale of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

by

Unknown

Kindle Edition
Published August 2nd 2008 by LeClue22 [Kindle] (first published 1390)
ASIN: B001DPP49S.



About the poem:

Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a late 14th century Middle English alliterative chivalric romance outlining an adventure of Sir Gawain, a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. In this Arthurian tale, Sir Gawain accepts a challenge from a mysterious warrior who is completely green, from his clothes and hair to his beard and skin. The "Green Knight" offers to allow anyone to strike him with his axe if the challenger will take a return blow in a year and a day. Gawain accepts, and beheads him in one blow, only to have the Green Knight stand up, pick up his head, and remind Gawain to meet him at the appointed time. The story of Gawain's struggle to meet the appointment and his adventures along the way demonstrate chivalry and loyalty.
 
My thoughts: 
I love most things written about King Arthur.  I will confess that I've even read T. H. Whites "The Once and Future King" and more novels about King Arthur and his Knights than I can even remember.  My favorite is the Merlin Trilogy by Mary Stewart.  My daughter is currently taking a world literature class and this (lengthy) poem is one of her assigned pieces.  She invited me to read it with her, so naturally I jumped at the invite.  I enjoyed the adventure of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight as Sir Gawain's honor is tested.  I also enjoyed reading the spark notes to see what "those" people thought--who writes that stuff?  My daughter has not yet discussed it with her class but I'm sure we'll have a good discussion about all the symbolism when she does.
 
This was a fun read--I loved the lyrical flow of the old language.
 
 

Thursday's with Tolstoy: Weeks 39-42

Week 39 

Book 13

Chapters 1-5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tarutino

I read these chapters before my mom passed away (Oct. 5) and I’m having difficulty recalling the details and since I don’t want to go back and reread I’ll just mention that these chapters detailed the beginning movements of the Flank March and not the battle. The Flank March of Tarutino was significant in determining the outcome of the war. It seems to me that this is when Napoleon’s already decimated army (from the forced march) was cut off from their supplies and this caused a large amount of Napoleon’s men to die. There was a battle as well. If you want to know more you can go to Wikipedia and read more about it.

Chapter One was another of Tolstoy’s essay’s on the war in which he analyzes Napoleon’s decisions to move his army out of Moscow instead of settling in for the winter. From Chapter Two:

"The famous flank movement merely consisted in this: after the advance of the French had ceased, the Russian army, which had been continually retreating straight back from the invaders, deviated from that direct course and, not finding itself pursued, was naturally drawn toward the district where supplies were abundant."

Week 40 

Book 13

Chapters 6-10

Kutuzov issues the order for the battle of Tarutino. Chapter Six begins with a beautifully descriptive verse (I like it when Tolstoy writes like this)

"It was an autumn night with dark purple clouds, but no rain. The ground was damp but not muddy, and the troops advanced noiselessly, only occasionally a jingling of the artillery could be faintly heard. The secrecy of the undertaking heightened its charm and they marched gaily."

Chaos reigns as usual for the Russians but they are well-rested and stronger than Napoleon’s army. The battle goes well for Kutuzov and he is decorated for his efforts.

Week 41 

Book 13

Chapters 11-19

These chapters are all about Pierre who has been taken captive by the French. I was confused earlier when I thought he had been released. Conditions in the Prison are deplorable but Pierre discovers for the first time in his life he is really happy. I think he finally takes time to think about what is important in his life and puts things into perspective. He finds himself appreciating simple pleasures like food and sleep, and the companionship of people and even a little dog that he becomes attached to. When the French leave Moscow they force the prisoners to march with them treating them cruelly. Pierre is not disturbed by this behavior. Pierre has found a peace with God and feels protected from the malicious acts of the French because he realizes that even though they can harm and even kill his body they can do nothing to his soul. This inner strength allows Pierre to suffer indignities patiently. I think I see a shift in Pierre that I like.

Book Thirteen was a time of spiritual growth for the characters. Natasha grows spiritually as she is reunited with Andrew and realizes that she loves him a great deal and serves him as he dies. Watching a person die brings one naturally closer to God. Watching a person die causes one to question and commit to their own beliefs. I agree with Tolstoy, serving a loved one as death approaches brings spiritual strength and a greater strength to the soul. Nicholas also grows up as he courts Mary; she is a refined spiritual woman. Her inner strength causes him to look inward and evaluate his own strength. I am still hoping he marries Sonya.

One last character I’d like to mention is Platon Karataev. He is in prison with Pierre. Platon is a character at peace with himself quietly going about serving the other prisoners. His example and friendship is what helps Pierre to focus on what is important in life. Pierre has had other guides along the way as he has waffled between pleasing others and being his own man. Platon seems to be the push that Pierre needed to finally figure out that he alone can determine his own course in life.

Week 42 

Book 14

Chapters 1-7

Tolstoy begins this book with another essay on war reiterating the fact that he believes war is not planned but kind of happens of its own accord. Once the ball gets rolling downhill it is difficult to plan its course. Tolstoy describes the complete breakdown of Napoleon’s army as they leave Moscow. I thought it was interesting that as Napoleon’s army retreated the Russian’s gained courage. Russian units independently without orders began attacking the French army thus harassing them and decimating them further. This type of guerilla warfare was something that Napoleon had never dealt with. Tolstoy states that the Russian army broke all the rules of civil warfare.

The rest of the chapters in this week’s reading follow Denisov who is the commander of an infantry unit (I think). Petya Rostov is a member of his unit. They are following a French unit and capture the drummer boy. Petya befriends the drummer boy.

Wednesday Wanderings: Aspen Gold

“Above me, wind does its best

to blow leaves off

the aspen tree a month too soon.

No use wind. All you succeed

in doing is making music, the noise

of failure growing beautiful.”

― Bill Holm

photo by

this weeks theme "anything"

Book Review: Prayers for Sale

Prayers for Sale

by

Sandra Dallas

Kindle Edition, 320 pages
Published April 14th 2009 by St. Martin's Press
ASIN: B0027CSN6C.

About the book:
Hennie Comfort is eighty-six and has lived in the mountains of Middle Swan, Colorado since before it was Colorado. Nit Spindle is just seventeen and newly married. She and her husband have just moved to the high country in search of work. It's 1936 and the depression has ravaged the country and Nit and her husband have suffered greatly. Hennie notices the young woman loitering near the old sign outside of her house that promises "Prayers For Sale". Hennie doesn't sell prayers, never has, but there's something about the young woman that she's drawn to. The harsh conditions of life that each have endured create an instant bond and an unlikely friendship is formed, one in which the deepest of hardships are shared and the darkest of secrets are confessed. Sandra Dallas has created an unforgettable tale of a friendship between two women, one with surprising twists and turns, and one that is ultimately a revelation of the finest parts of the human spirit.

About the author:
Award-winning author SANDRA DALLAS was dubbed “a quintessential American voice” by Jane Smiley, in Vogue Magazine. Sandra’s novels with their themes of loyalty, friendship, and human dignity have been translated into a dozen foreign languages and have been optioned for films. Turning to fiction in 1990, Sandra has published eight novels, including Prayers For Sale. Sandra is the recipient of the Women Writing the West Willa Award for New Mercies, and two-time winner of the Western Writers of America Spur Award, for The Chili Queen and Tallgrass. In addition, she was a finalist for the Colorado Book Award, the Mountain and Plains Booksellers Assn. Award, and a four-time finalist for the Women Writing the West Willa Award. The mother of two daughters—Dana is an attorney in New Orleans and Povy is a photographer in Golden, Colorado—Sandra lives in Denver with her husband, Bob.

information and image courtesy goodreads

My thoughts:
I've wanted to read "Prayers for Sale" for a couple of years now.  I was having trouble sleeping after the passing of my mother and decided to read.  I browsed my kindle for titles and came upon this book.  I'm glad I read it at this time in my life.

Prayers for Sale is a comforting story told from the point of view of 87 year old Hennie Comfort.  Hennie is preparing to leave her long time home in the mining town of Middle Swan, Colorado situated high in the Rocky Mountains.  At the beginning of the story Hennie stands at her window reading a letter from her daughter Mae who is insisting that she leave her home and come live with her where the climate is more temperate.

"The old woman peered past the red geraniums in her deep front window at the figure lingering in the moon-white snow at the gate.  In the gloom of the late winter afternoon,  Hennie Comfort did not recognize the woman, who stood like a curious bird, her head cocked to one side as she looked at the fence, then the front door, and back at the fence again.  Hennie watched, thinking it odd that anyone would wait there, mute as the snow itself . . . the old woman opened the door and walked into the snow in her stout shoes, her hands tucked into her sleeves. 'Hello to you,' she called. 

The stranger looked up, startled, a little frightened.  She was a new-made woman, not much more than a girl.  'Oh!' the stranger said, 'I don't mean to be nosy, but I was wondering how much?'

'How much for what?'

'A prayer.'

Hennie was confused for a moment, and then realizing what had confounded the girl, she laughed.  'That sign's been there so long, I forget about it.'

'It says, Prayers for Sale.  I'm asking how much do you charge, and is it more if you're in need than if you're wanting just a little favor?  Do sinners pay more than the righteous? And what if the Lord doesn't answer?  Do you get your money back?'

'That sign's older than God's old dog. That sign's a story.  I'll tell it to you if you'll come inside.'"

And the story begins as Hennie recounts the times in her life people asked her to pray for them and how those prayers were answered.  As each story unfolds Hennie's life is pieced together, much as the quilts that she loves to make are pieced together.  She and Nit, the new-made woman asking for a prayer become fast friends as Hennie passes the story of her life on to the younger girl.

I found this story of faith, love, charity, friendship and forgiveness to be very comforting.  It was especially touching to me as I have recently listened to my own mother recount much of her life as she prepared to leave this life.

The following quote (highlight if you want to read it, it will spoil the ending of the book) was a favorite of mine on the importance of forgiveness.

"One day when I was asking the Lord why He'd let Sarah die, the Lord said back to me that I was asking the wrong question. He told me to wonder why Sarah  had lived, and I knew it wasn't so that I could carry around enough hate to fill an ore cart.  So I let the hate go, but until now, I never forgave, and that hard-heartedness ate away at me all these years, just like an assayer's aced.  I saw the good you did, but I still held that long-ago time against you.  In all these years, I never knew that forgiveness would heal my soul as well as yours."

Gold mining dredge boat

The industry of the mining town Middle Swan, Colorado was Gold Mining.

It was mined with a dredge boat.

read more about it here

Click icon for more book review blogs @Barrie Summy

Quotography: Organic

photo by

this weeks theme "organic"

Angel Mother

Mom, you are always in my heart!

Everything I am or ever hope to be,

I owe to my angel mother

~Abraham Lincoln

this post dedicated to "mom"

who passed away on Oct. 5th

"One way to have Heaven in your home,
is to have someone you love in Heaven."

Book Review: The Uncommon Reader

The Uncommon Reader

by

Alan Bennett

Kindle Edition, 128 pages
Published October 30th 2007 by FSG
ASIN: B000VMBXNA.
Literary awards: Sakura Medal Nominee for High School Book (2010) .

About the book:
From the author of The History Boys and The Clothes They Stood Up In comes a deliciously funny novella that celebrates the pleasure of reading.

About the author:
Alan Bennett is an English author and Tony Award-winning playwright. Bennett's first stage play, Forty Years On, was produced in 1968. Many television, stage and radio plays followed, along with screenplays, short stories, novellas, a large body of non-fictional prose and broadcasting, and many appearances as an actor. Bennett's lugubrious yet expressive voice (which still bears a slight Leeds accent) and the sharp humour and evident humanity of his writing have made his readings of his own work (especially his autobiographical writing) very popular. His readings of the Winnie the Pooh stories are also widely enjoyed.

(information and image courtesy of goodreads)

My thoughts:

The Uncommon Reader is one of the best books I've read in a long time.  This book, brief as it is, takes the reader on an uncommon journey with the Queen of England as she discovers the world of reading.  There were so many passages about reading that I underlined as I read this book because I could identify with the feelings the queen was expressing as she discovered a whole new world.  The book had a field of depth as the queen grew introspective, internalized and then expressed herself in the most uncommon manner for Royalty.  The open-end left me with questions, growing introspective myself and internalizing the message of this book.  I highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever professed a love for reading.

I read this book as part of the Take A Chance Challenge 3 hosted by Jenners at Life with Books.  Challenge #8: What To Do: Go to Which Book and use the software to generate a list of books. Read a book from that list.  I typed these words into the Which Book selection software:  funny, happy, no sex, short.

e-book challenge book #45

52 books in 52 weeks challenge:  Week 40/Book 45

Tuesday Top Ten and a Teaser: Cliffhangers

hosted by the broke and the bookish
and Miz B at should be reading

Today's Topic is . . . cliff hangers

I have read hundreds of books.  I enjoy a good series and it is usually when reading a series that the author leaves you with a cliff-hanger so you'll buy the next book in the series.  So today I decided to list five books whose endings jolted me so much I've never forgotten the shock of it.

5. The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins--boy am I glad I read the series after all three books were released.  I would have died waiting for the next book--it was just that tense.

4.  Villette by Charlotte Bronte--this cliff hanger wasn't a build up for the next book.  When she wrote the book the ending she wanted  was considered inappropriate.  So she wrote a cliff hanger--leaving clues for the reader to come to the conclusion she intended for themselves.  I was totally taken aback.

3.  Green Darkness by Anya Seton.  This book deals with reincarnation--so it really didn't come to an end. The story has haunted me for years.

2.  Being the Lord of the Rings fan I am I suppose this should be my top cliff hanger but I put it 2nd--the cliff hanger I'm referring to comes at the end of the Two Towers.  Even when I watch the movie I mark the ending of the Two Towers mentally in my mind.

and my number one book with the most shocking cliff hanger

1.  Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince.  I've never forgiven JK Rowling for that bit of penmanship but she did put a great twist in the plot.

This weeks teaser . . . comes from a book that also ended with a cliff hanger.  It left me asking so many questions to the air around me--and finding no answers.  The book is charming and delightful and should be read by anyone who has ever professed a love for reading.  The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett.

"There was something of that, she felt, to reading.  It was anonymous; it was shared; it was common.  And she who had led a life apart now found that she craved it.  Here in these pages and between these covers she could go unrecognised."

location 1350 on my kindle.

Book Review: The Graveyard Book

The Graveyard Book

by

Neil Gaiman

Kindle Edition, 320 pages
Published September 30th 2008 by HarperCollins e-books
ASIN:B0011UJM48.

literary awards: Hugo Award for Best Novel (2009), Newbery Medal (2009), Locus Award for Best Young Adult Novel (2009), British Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel (2009), World Fantasy Award Nominee for Best Novel (2009), Cybils Award for Middle Grade Fantasy & Science Fiction (2008), Audie Award for Audiobook of the Year (2009), An ALA Notable Children's Book for Middle Readers (2009), ALA Teens' Top Ten (2009), Michigan Library Association Thumbs Up! Award Nominee (2009), Indies Choice Book Award for Best Indie Young Adult Buzz Book (Fiction): (2009), Carnegie Medal in Literature (2010)

About the book:
In The Graveyard Book, Neil Gaiman has created a charming allegory of childhood. Although the book opens with a scary scene--a family is stabbed to death by "a man named Jack” --the story quickly moves into more child-friendly storytelling. The sole survivor of the attack--an 18-month-old baby--escapes his crib and his house, and toddles to a nearby graveyard. Quickly recognizing that the baby is orphaned, the graveyard's ghostly residents adopt him, name him Nobody ("Bod"), and allow him to live in their tomb. Taking inspiration from Kipling’s The Jungle Book, Gaiman describes how the toddler navigates among the headstones, asking a lot of questions and picking up the tricks of the living and the dead. In serial-like episodes, the story follows Bod's progress as he grows from baby to teen, learning life’s lessons amid a cadre of the long-dead, ghouls, witches, intermittent human interlopers. A pallid, nocturnal guardian named Silas ensures that Bod receives food, books, and anything else he might need from the human world. Whenever the boy strays from his usual play among the headstones, he finds new dangers, learns his limitations and strengths, and acquires the skills he needs to survive within the confines of the graveyard and in wider world beyond. (ages 10 and up) -–Heidi Broadhead

(image and review courtesy goodreads)

About the author:
read more about the author at his website

My thoughts:
It's official, I love reading Neil Gaimon.  True his subjects lean to the macabre but his use of the English language gives me shivers (of delight).  Mr. Gaimon takes an incident that could never happen in reality and weaves a real world with his words.  His story is completely believable, and despite being about a murder, living with the dead and fighting magical creatures--the story has a completely feel good element.  I love this original twist to Mr. Gaimon's writing.  The book description from goodreads pretty much describes the story so the only other thing I'd like to mention is that I absolutely loved the ending to the story.  It was perfect.

This book completes challenge #9 from Jenners Take a Chance Challenge 3:  Go to LibraryThing’s Zeitgeist page. Look at the lists for 25 Most Reviewed Books or Top Books and pick a book you’ve never read. Read the book.

52 books in 52 weeks: Week #40/book #45
e-books: book #45