tea & sympathy

Day Twenty-Five of 30 Day Book Challenge: A character who you can relate to the most

Catherine Morland (Northanger Abbey)

Though I empathise easily with all sorts of different characters, there aren’t many that I feel are very similar to me, either in temperament or personality. Catherine Morland is an exception to this. She is foolish, sweet, well-meaning, an incurable bookworm—all qualities that I share with her, for better or worse. I might shake my head at her choices now, but I know that if I were in her situation, without the advantage of having read to the end of her story, I would make many of the same choices that she did. We also have in common a very large family and a life that badly needs the spicing-up of novels. Now I only have to find myself a second Mr. Tilney, and the resemblance will be complete. ;)

“Oh! I am delighted with the book! I should like to spend my whole life in reading it. I assure you, if it had not been to meet you, I would not have come away from it for the whole world.”

Day Twenty-Four of 30 Day Book Challenge: A book that you wish more people would read

Four Faultless Felons by G.K. Chesterton

Quite simply, I wish more people would just read Chesterton! He has a bit of an undeserved reputation for being difficult, and among many evangelical circles he’s viewed warily for being too Catholic. I find these charges unfair. His writing is paradoxical, but very clearly stated and easy to read; and though he was a Catholic, in nearly all of his work there is nothing to offend any but the most strict Calvinist. In my opinion, many Christians could gladly benefit from his original views on traditional tenets and his clean, refreshing wit.

Out of everything he has written, Four Faultless Felons is perhaps his least-known and my personal favourite. The premise is intriguing, supported by sparkling writing and a strong structure up until the cathartic conclusion. It is the sort of book one reads first for pleasure, a second time for puzzling over, and all the times afterwards for a contemplative combination of the two. It may be light-hearted, but it isn’t light. 

“Lots of people with a high moral code don’t know what religion means. They would run screaming with terror, if they got so much as a glimpse of Religion. It’s an awful thing.”

Day Twenty-Two of 30 Day Book Challenge: The book that made you fall in love with reading

The Sword in the Tree by Clyde Robert Bulla

It’s a bit difficult to remember exactly which book propelled me into a lifetime of addiction to reading. Somehow I don’t think there was only one book; my descent seems to have been more of a gradual process, rather like falling in love. In either case, it’s almost impossible to know what glimpse, what sentence, what action bears the blame. But one of the first books I remember ever reading — one of the first books to rivet my attention and command my emotions — was this sweet and stirring tale of a young boy with a mother to protect and a cause to defend. It is a delightful story for both children and grown-ups, the sort of book that will always welcome you back no matter how long you’ve left it.

“Don’t be afraid, Mother,” said Shan. “Our good King Arthur has beaten all our enemies. And even if there were enemies, we would be safe here. There is no stronger castle in England than ours.”

Day Twenty-One of 30 Day Book Challenge: Favourite book from your childhood

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

From earliest childhood I have been an insatiable reader. Numerous books have made lasting impressions on me, forming my future life. But for years the one book I treasured most deeply was C.S. Lewis’s fantasy classic in which children did battle and a Lion spoke truth. I adored it, embraced it, drank it in. Narnia became my homeland and the Pevensies my second family.

Over time, my obsession with Narnia has grown a little paler. I don’t call myself “Susan” any more, and I’ve given up looking for fir trees in the closet. But I still love to revisit my favourite passages (from each of the books, because they’re all equally wonderful) and I will always be grateful for the ways Narnia has shaped my character, my writing, and my life.

“Eh? What’s that? Yes, of course you’ll get back to Narnia again someday. Once a King in Narnia, always a King. But don’t go trying to use the same route twice. Indeed, don’t try to get there at all. It’ll happen when you’re not looking for it.”

Day Twenty of 30 Day Book Challenge: Book turned into a movie and completely desecrated

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

As you can see, I didn’t care for either of these adaptions (though I might not go so far as to say they were a desecration). The first was a charming film but simply not Mansfield Park. If anything, it was an alternate retelling in which the names of the cast remain the same but the characters themselves are completely changed. The second stayed much more true to the book but still managed to fall flat. In spite of the excellent cast, it felt vapid and vacant. 

I think that both of these films missed the mark not because of poor acting or low production quality, but because Mansfield Park is not a work that lends itself easily to film adaptions at all. It is the least popular of Austen’s books and also perhaps the hardest to understand; rewarding when it is read, but confusing when it is interpreted and altered. 

Day Nineteen of 30 Day Book Challenge: Favourite book turned into a movie

I Am David by Anne Holm

Brace yourselves. For once (or twice or maybe thrice) I actually prefer the film of the book over the book itself. That’s not to say the book isn’t a wonderful experience, because it is. However, the film reveals new layers, harder questions, deeper themes that were there to begin with but were never fully explored. Also, the church scene: intensely beautiful, painfully moving, and a perfect capturing of the story’s original heart. 

The voice came from somewhere far away. “I’m going with you to Salonika.” David was not even sure it was Johannes’ voice, so far away did it sound; but he knew it must have been because he suddenly felt exactly as he had when he was small and Johannes was with him. “Thank you,” he whispered.

Day Eighteen of 30 Day Book Challenge: A book that disappointed you

Mr. Midshipman Hornblower by C.S. Forester

I suppose it’s not quite fair to Mr. Forester that I watched the films of his books before I read the books themselves. It isn’t his fault that I met a different Horatio, and that I fell in love with Archie Kennedy, and that I was never prepared for so much darkness surrounding the vaguely familiar stories. But all of these things are true, and so though I enjoyed Mr. Midshipman Hornblower well enough, it never quite lived up to my expectations. (As evidenced by the quote below, however, the writing style was excellent enough to hold me through the entire book!)

“You seem to be in an evil humour,” said Neuville. “Please do not be so distressed at the fortunes of war. You will be accomodated in this ship, until we return to port, with every comfort possible at sea. I beg of you to consider yourself quite at home. For instance, those pistols in your belt must discommode you more than a little. Permit me to relieve you of their weight.” 

Day Fifteen of 30 Day Book Challenge: Book that should be on highschool/college required reading list

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery

You know how some books are just so marvellous and moving that you get all tongue-tied whenever you try to describe them? This is one such book. It is written in sweet and simple language, illustrated with childlike candour, but it is not a story for children. It is a story for those who are not afraid to sink their souls into the depths of life and death, pain and pleasure, friendship and the loss of love. It is a story for growing up; it is a story for humanity.

“In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night… You—only you—will have stars that can laugh!”

Day Fourteen of 30 Day Book Challenge: Favourite book by your favourite author

Phantastes by George MacDonald

Deciding on a favourite author was difficult enough, but having to choose a favourite book of his? Cruelty. I was actually vacillating between this one and At the Back of the North Wind for a while, but eventually Phantastes won. I think that is because though North Wind is as pure and deep-reaching as any book I have ever read, for me Phantastes strikes somewhat closer to the heart of things. During my first reading of it I kept recognising themes and imagery from my own dreams, and with each successive reading fresh lessons and layers have constantly presented themselves. As an excursion into Fairyland it isn’t safe, but it is good. 

Below lay a sea, still as death and hoary as the moon, sweeping into bays and around capes and islands, away, away, I knew not whither. Alas! it was no sea, but a low fog burnished by the moon. “Surely there is such a sea somewhere!” said I to myself. A low sweet voice beside me replied: “In Fairy Land, Anodos.”

Day Thirteen of 30 Day Book Challenge: Your favourite author

George MacDonald

Asking me to choose my favourite author is almost the same as asking me to choose my favourite book. It’s an unfair question and very nearly an impossible one—but as you can see, I did manage to decide on an author. I chose him because, though his books may not be the very best I have ever read, they are the closest to me in spirit. Whenever I read MacDonald’s words, something in them calls to me: something indefinable, ethereal. On every other page I meet a passage that feels like coming home.

“I’ve been thinking about it a great deal, and it seems to me that though one sixpence is as good as another sixpence, not twenty lambs would do instead of one sheep whose face you knew. Somehow, when once you’ve looked into anybody’s eyes, right deep down into them, I mean, nobody will do for that one any more. Nobody, ever so beautiful or so good, will make up for that one going out of sight.”

—Diamond, At the Back of the North Wind

Day Twelve of 30 Day Book Challenge: The first book you remember reading

Frog and Toad Are Friends by Arnold Nobel

I’ve been reading literally ever since I can remember, so it was a bit difficult to choose from that childhood haze one book that shines the brightest. There are several other books this dubious honour might have gone to, but out of all of them I think Frog and Toad have managed to make the deepest impression. Perhaps they are the ones responsible for making friendship the most endearing of all human connections to me. However it is, they will always mark some of the sweetest days of my childhood; and they’ll continue to delight me even now my childhood is gone. 

“I am happy. I am very happy. This morning when I woke up I felt good because the sun was shining. I felt good because I was a frog. And I felt good because I have you as a friend.”

Day Ten of 30 Day Book Challenge: Favourite classic book

Cyrano de Bergerac by Edmond Rostand

Today’s category covers an Extremely Broad Span. For better or for worse, most of my favourite books are classics, so this is a little bit like asking me what is my favourite book of all time. Which is a wicked question and entirely impossible to answer. 

But one book that fits securely in the Classics shelf (I had to study it in high school) and which I happen to blindingly adore, is this tale of the charming, witty, courageous, and pitifully ugly swashbuckler of France: as well as his foolish but beautiful beloved, his beautiful but foolish rival for her affections, and the resulting dilemma that will put his love and courage to the test.

“Yes, that is Love—that wind of terrible and jealous beauty, blowing over me—that dark fire, that music… Yet Love seeketh not his own! Dear, you may take my happiness to make you happier, even though you never know I gave it you—only let me hear sometimes, all alone, the distant laughter of your joy!”

Day Nine of 30 Day Book Challenge: A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

I put off reading this book for a long time: partially because it was never available at my library, but mostly because of all the hype surrounding it. Everybody had read The Hunger Games. Everybody loved it. And I don’t mean to sound like a special snowflake, but the books that everyone else loves are generally not my favourites. So I was not predisposed to adore this book… but from the first page, all on its own merit, it captivated me.

There’s no need for me to praise it here; you could stumble across ten sparkling reviews, dripping with adulation, in the first minute of a search. But I’ll say that it is an excellent book — dark yet delightful, fast-paced yet profound — and I enjoyed every minute I spent reading it.