It's about a month (and a half? Time is weird.) into the new reading goal, and I don't have too much to report. Who knew those words would ever come out of my mouth?
So far, I have three books finished. Only three, I mean, unless you count Genesis. Then I have four. It has been slow going, but not terrible. I mean, like I said, my goals are going in a different direction this year. While the reading speed necessarily needs to pick up, my progress bar is moving a lot slower.
I already mentioned finished LWW last month. I haven't made too much progress with Prince Caspian, though. I imagine that is in part due to picking up library books, TV shows and not loving lugging my giant copy of the series with me everywhere. I picked up a copy of The Pilgrim's Regress (which I have had borrowed from my church library for FAR too long. I should probably just buy a copy at this point. It is embarrassing.) and fell in love with Lewis all over again? How? I'm not sure exactly, but when a man gives seven (7!) different definitions for the word "romanticism," complete with examples and variations, how can you not fall in love? Have I made it out of the 16-page introduction and into the actual text of the book yet? Not exactly, but oh man. That introduction!
I have a copy of A Year with C. S. Lewis, select readings from his various works, that I've added to my daily routine. There are times I skim, times I underline, and times I write furiously in the margins in a feeble attempt to understand what he's trying to say. It hit me the other day why Lewis resonates so much with the Christian community. It isn't that he explains the mysteries of the faith; rather, he brings them to a simple form of understanding. He puts things into language that makes you say, "Oh! That's it! I've had that thought too, but that makes so much more sense." Must be why Bantam Books called him "The Most Important Christian Writer Of Our Century" on the cover of The Pilgrim's Regress. I'm sure he would have hated that...
Onto fiction!
I read The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks and loved it...until the very end when I hated it. It's all secret boarding school societies, awkward social interactions, old boys clubs, girls vs boys, etc. A lot of it made me think of Rory at Yale, trying to prove herself (to Yale, to her family, to Paris--even though she is great and wonderful just as she is!), well, I guess almost everyone. I loved the sneakiness of secret society, especially ones that are meant to have been part of the inception of the school. Secret passageways, an old journal full of adventures, and mysterious clues littered around campus? Yes, please! Everything was going great for me until the very last chapter. It...well, it seemed to fall flat? I remember being disappointed by where our main characters ended up. Almost like all the character development achieved through the book had been forgotten, like parts of the Gilmore Girls Revival! (Oops--too soon?)
The other book I managed to finish last month was my second Fannie Flagg novel, Friend Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. Gracious. It was just as delightful as the first Flagg book I read last year, if not more so. Maybe it is my penchant for nontraditional/non-chronological story-telling, but I absolutely loved that we hear most of the story second hand and through newspaper clippings. It was like going through an old scrapbook. I will be getting my hands on this movie soon. I know I saw it years ago with my mom, but don't remember too much about it. I might have to put a few more of Fanny Flagg's books on my list. She wrote a series? Great. I'm doomed.
Even with the pace (and goal) considerably reduced, I still managed to be on target for my reading goal. Seriously, no one is more surprised than me! How are you guys doing with your reading lists? Anything let you down hard or completely take you by surprise?
PS Guys, I'm kind of addicted to the La La Land soundtrack. It is glorious and just the right mix of instrumental music and sing-a-long songs. I have it turned way up today to give me lots of energy to clean.
