Life is Like a Book!

We checked the book, "Laura Charlotte", written by Kathryn O. Galbraith, out of the library this week. It is a very sweet story, and is very similar to our true life story out here on the hill!

The book is about a grey, stuffed elephant that is made for a little girl's 5th birthday by her Grandmother. The girl names it Charlotte, and after many years of playing with it, she puts the elephant into storage. Eventually, Charlotte is given to her own daughter, Laura Charlotte, and becomes HER favorite play thing.

This reminded J (who is 5) of one of her favorite stuffed toys, a grey, stuffed elephant, made for me by my Grandma!



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A Good Read

I just finished reading the excellent historical novel, "Girl With a Pearl Earring" by Tracy Chevalier. It is the story of the creation of Vermeer's painting by the same name . I felt transported to Delft in the Mid-sixteen Hundreds, since the authors' attention to detail was so intricate. Vermeer has been called "the painter of light", and there was a vivid sense of color and light in this book.

Last week I read "The Third Sister" by Julia Barrett. This novel continues on where "Sense and Sensibility" left off. It follows the youngest Dashwood sister, Margaret, as she becomes a lady and finds a suitor of her own. This story was not as inspired as Austen's original, in fact, I found it a bit insipid. There aren't many books that I leave unread, but this one came very close.

On a final note, the girls rented "Ice Age" (2002) this weekend. They have watched it 3 times now and laugh themselves silly each time! It is indeed an amusing, if historically incorrect film. Of note, the Cave Men characters could not speak, but the woolly mammoth, giant sloth, and saber tooth tiger could! The "Tae-Kwon Dodos" were my favorites, as they drove themselves to extinction by their own silliness. Our recent trip to the museum to see fossils of all these animals helped put things in perspective, at least for Jenna. Lauren just enjoyed it with the unadulterated glee of the very young.

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So Many Books, So Little Time

It is a very sad thing when one's books no longer fit in the constraints of one's bookshelves. It is difficult for me to part with a book once I own it, and even harder for my husband. Factor that in along with 4 years of Medical School and 2 years of PA school and the books those endeavors entail, and you're talking a lot of books. When we moved here, the movers estimated that we had over 1,000 lbs in books. I'm sure we've acquired another 500, and culled a measly couple since then.

We are dreaming of floor to ceiling bookshelves in our new study. However, when the house plans arrived 2 weeks ago, along with a breakdown of the estimated costs, we realized we would have to cut half of our dreams out. We've gone over the plans with a big eraser, taking out windows and doors. Gone is our lovely Russian furnace that we would have used to burn waste paper and wood once a day to keep our home snuggly warm. But I'm keeping the bookshelves, even if I have to build them myself!

I just finished reading "The Subtle Knife", the second in the trilogy "His Dark Materials" by Phillip Pullman. Because of the recent controversy regarding the first in the trilogy, "The Golden Compass", which was recently made into a movie, I wanted to read for myself. Apparently Phillip Pullman is a confirmed atheist, and many Christians are concerned that he has buried his beliefs in the books. (For more information regarding this controversy, see http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp .)

I must admit that I enjoyed the first book greatly. It is very imaginative and interesting. I did not find any overt references to religion, although it is apparent that the Church in this story is involved at high levels of Government. The second book, however, is preparing for a great war between good and evil. One of the main characters feels that all evil has trickled down from The Authority (or God), and is determined to kill him. I had a hard time categorizing between the good and evil characters in this book. There are a lot of twists and turns that left me feeling that a character I assumed was on one side, is actually on the other. It was a much darker, more disturbing story line. I did enjoy reading it though, and I do want to read the final book of the trilogy before I make up my mind one way or the other about this.

So, anyone else read anything good lately? I'd love to hear!

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