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Showing posts from September, 2013

I Conquered Chaucer!

"Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales is undeniably one of the English  language's greatest literary achievements."  ~ Robert W. Hanning ~ I did it! I actually read Chaucer's Canterbury Tales! I read them completely! In both Middle and Modern English! And wow was it interesting, challenging and rewarding.  I had started reading Chaucer back in the early summer, but got bogged down with it and so walked away from it until last week. I picked it up again and breezed through it (not sure what changed... maybe the onset of fall, perhaps?). I read each tale in the Middle English first and then went back and re-read it in Modern English. It was really interesting because I struggled quite a bit with deciphering some of the Middle English spellings. But at the same time, it was rewarding because I was better able to understand the cadence and the rhyme. The Modern English was just as interesting. Especially since sometimes it had to completely change a se

New Favorite Series

I freely admit that I can be a bit of a nerd sometimes. I love to read and I love to read some of the series that most people think are just for geeks or book-snobs. I love Tolkien and Lewis more than words can describe. Not to mention I have a deep, deep love for Harry Potter and his adventures. I have also grown to love a series by author/musician Andrew Peterson called The Wingfeather Saga . I have anxiously been waiting more than a year for book 4 of Wingfeather to come out. He is still writing it and I can't wait for it to be finished!!! And over the last two weeks I have added 2 more series to my lists of favorites and they would be Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus , both of which are by Rick Riordan. I started reading them after having seen the first Percy Jackson movie about a month ago and then having a conversation about the books with some of our students from church, who then loaned the books to me. I read the first Percy series in about 5

August Wrap Up

This month I participated in the Austen in August Event and it was great! I enjoyed reading some new books by Miss Jane Austen and getting to read and learn about other people's love for her novels. She is definitely a beloved author and I hope she remains so for years and years to come. Along with reading 3 Austen novels, I was introduced and a bit consumed by the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. Some of our students from church really love the series and loaned them to me. I read all 5 of them in less than a week. When I gave them back to the students they were in shock. They hadn't believed me when I said I could read them in a week. It was a great series and one I am glad I was introduced to. I am not entirely sure what I am going to read this month. I may return to Fairy Tales by Hans Christian Andersen or Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. But who knows. I am now feeling any particular desire for any particular book. So we shall see what the mo

My favorite Austen novel is...

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE! It was my third and final book chosen for the Austen in August event hosted by Roof Beam Reader. I finished it on the last day of August, which I was surprised by because I was sure that I wouldn't be able to finish it before the end of the month due to just too much going on in my week. But I did it! I finished it! And I am so glad that I participated in Austen in August this year. I will definitely do it again next year and read the other 3 major novels Miss Austen wrote and maybe even some of her shorter works. I can officially say that I really love Jane Austen's books and she is definitely one of my favorites now more than ever before. And my favorite novel so far is still Pride and Prejudice without a doubt. Having re-read it after reading Mansfield Park and Emma, the story of Elizabeth and Darcy is still my favorite and one that I just love dearly. I can't help it. I am a hopeless romantic at heart and Darcy is just one of those true gentleman