The May Roundup

Hello all of you livers of life!!

I have some exciting non-book related news that several of you probably relate to now that school is out for the year... I'm a high school senior! Like a real, breathing, done-with-the-junior-year, hasn't-died-from-school-yet senior!
Other exciting news that probably is more awesome for me than for you: I'm getting a new computer! After my old one went AWOL on me, it severely dampened my creative juices, because though I could still write, all of my research, plotting, everything I had written of both The Peasant and Lorelei was on that computer. Fortunately, it came alive long enough for me to transfer all of that onto another computer, so all is not lost.

Enough unscheduledness. Let's get to the order of the day: monthly reading!!

This month is rather odd in that you will see no Shakespeare on the list. Shocking, right, for a nerd like me? But with end-of-the-school-year cramming, I found that a lot of my normal reading got left behind...



First on the list is roughly half of the Scarlet Pimpernel series by Baroness Emmuska Orczy. I'd name them all but they were pretty much all the same and it wouldn't really be worth either of our time. Funny enough, I felt like it wasn't a waste of time to read them, probably because they were basically all free on the Kindle Store. And I have yet to resist a free book. One that I really did like that was probably my favourite was The Elusive Pimpernel. It deviated, I felt, from the rest a little in that the emotions were a little more real and relatable, and the plot a little less predictable in places.

The Great Divorce, by C. S. Lewis.
Ahh there, you see? I couldn't leave behind all of my regular reading. As always with Lewis's allegories, I found this one to be particularly thought-provoking. It's about a man who takes a bus ride to Heaven from Hell. It differs from other stories that might compare in that Lewis isn't focusing on the wonder of Heaven and the horror of Hades, but rather the reality of the spiritual world and the vagueness of the physical. It's a nice short book, but it is full of things you've never thought of before.

Filling Up the Afflictions of Christ, by John Piper.
Whenever I feel the need of spiritual refreshment, I go to Piper. Confused? Go to Piper. 'Weary of Well-doing?' Go to Piper. Basically I just read a lot of Piper. This book is the fifth and last in a series called The Swans are Not Silent, and in it he highlights the lives of three men: Adoniram Judson, William Tyndale, and John Paton, all men who lived lives extreme in their difficulty and danger. A truly inspiring reminder of what it is exactly Christians should be fighting for, and an encouragement to go fight for it.

And Then There Were None, by Agatha Christie.
My piano teacher and I share one thing in common: A love of classic books. Many a time I have found myself immersed in a discussion about L. M. Montgomery or Charlotte Bronte, while sitting at the piano preparing to play. Once, when Agatha Christie came up, I remarked that I had read several of her novels and liked them all very much, but had never read her most famous, the title above. Of course she lent it to me, and of course I read it all that evening, and of course I went to bed in the wee hours of the morning, and of course I was scared out of my wits, but deliciously so. Anyone who has never read Christie simply cannot understand. In most modern mysteries, the ending can be guessed with a little thinking. But I fail every time to guess Christie's culprit, simply because she is so unprecedented. She keeps it real in surprising ways.

Medallion, by Dawn L. Watkins.
Funny story: My friend Elizabeth and I have been talking about this for years, ever since she first read it. A couple weeks ago she said, "You never borrowed that, did you?" She still had it and I still wanted to read it, so I did! And it was every bit the satisfying ending, well-written, not to hard for kids to understand, novel. I can't wait to read this one to my little brothers some day.

Yours, Jack, by C. S. Lewis.
A collection of letters spanning from when Lewis was an atheistic 17-year-old, to his death in 1963. It's an intimate look at Lewis's personal life, the way he lived outside the public figure he had become. In this collection are letters to people who were his mentors and whom he sought guidance from, and in turn those he himself mentored.

And Both Were Young, by Madeleine L'Engle.
I'm sure I've already mentioned how much I love L'Engle's work. Having read so little of it, (this was my third book by her) it's surprising that I was able to make a connection so quickly. And to be honest, it's not something I think I can explain. She is deeply real, and she writes in a way that I can only describe as understanding. When you read her stories, you don't feel alone. And there's a huge bond that forms whenever you can find an author who can do that to your heart. She's not always perfect, but she's deeply, deeply genuine.

Mister Max: The Book of Lost Things, by Cynthia Voigt.
I love odd books. There is rising in the world of children's and YA fiction, a whole new genre of these books. They include titles like A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Mysterious Benedict Society, and the like. Books that take place in the real world, yet a real world that is somehow apart from ours. They have a different impact on the reader than a traditional novel, but their influence is spreading rapidly. This book is no exception. It's about a young boy whose parents disappear, who is left on his own. It's a story of responsibility and wit, and most of all, "solutioneering," as the newly-dubbed "Mister Max" words it. As Lewis said, "A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children's story in the slightest." And that, I think, sums up this Book of Lost Things.

Merits of Mischief: The Bad Apple, by T. R. Burns.
This book bears similarities to Stuart Gibbs Spy School, or Michael Buckley's N.E.R.D.S. It's about a boy who starts out by accidentally killing his teacher with an apple, and some would say it's only downhill from there. Funny all the way through, though tragically at times, this book was worth the morning I spent on it.

How to Be A Pirate, by Cressida Cowell.
Cowell has become a household name through her How to Train Your Dragon series, and this book (which I was pre-reading for my little brother) certainly deserves a place. It is witty, predictably surprising, and most of all: just plain fun. Now if only I could get myself to like her protagonist...

One Came Home, by Amy Timberlake.
I didn't understand this book while I was reading it. I still don't understand it, a week later. It was a good read, with a good plot and good writing, but a slightly unreliable narrator. Not that those are bad, some of my favourite books use that viewpoint. But there's a fine line between using it correctly and missing the point entirely. Somehow Timberlake straddles that line, with the majority of the story being completely coherent, but with rare moments leaving you absolutely clueless.

And that's about it!! What was your favourite book that you read this month? Tell me in the comments!
Oh and in other news, this is also my 50th post!! Thank you guys, all of you, for sticking with me over the last eight months, regular reader or not. I can't tell you how much the encouragement I receive on here means to me. And I hope that in some small way, I am able to give back through this blog. Thank you thank you!


~Margaret