Reading Goals Update

I (Jenny) thought it would be a good idea to do an update on the books I've been reading rather than a half way update. I don't know about y'all, but if I do not write about a book fairly soon after I read it, I will forget a lot. Even books that made strong impressions are hard to talk about if I wait too long. It starts sounding like, "It was so good! I loved... everything. The characters were awesome." Details, anyone?

If you are not familiar with my reading goal for this year, you can read about it here. I have 30 books I want to read this year. I think I am doing pretty well so far. Some I have loved, and some I am glad I do not have to pick them up ever again. I am trying to decide which ones to bring on vacation; I am always a much more inspired reader at the beach. Probably because the setting is my idea of perfection.

— Nonfiction —

1. The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert — This book is one of my new favorites. It is about an English professor's journey to knowing Christ. It is well written AND thoughtful. Her logical working out of a) what being a believer means and b) what being a believer will cost is particularly searing in its honesty. I wish everyone who has had any contact with any type of faith whatsoever would read it. Its mirror-like properties are unavoidable; it challenges as it encourages.

2. The Land of the Green Man — This book was incredibly entertaining. Even though it is nonfiction, the content most often reads like a story. Larrington does an excellent job of describing the British Isles (almost too excellent — I am ready to pack my bags right now). She basically sets down the majority of folk tales floating around the British Isles. It makes me wish I lived in a place with such a long history.

3. Two Views on Homosexuality, the Bible, and the Church — I. loved. this. book. It is a presentation of two ways of thinking theologically and practically about homosexuality. 4 scholars wrote 4 short essays defending two views of the issue. The scholars were highly intelligent and, more importantly, compassionate. This is a book I am still wrestling with (in a good way). My only complaint was that there was not a recommended reading list. I think a list would have been a really great- and helpful- addition.

4. Four Views on Hell — This book was not near as good as the one on homosexuality, in my opinion. The scholars were much more antagonistic and the writing harder to follow. I do not regret reading it and I did learn things, but I probably will not read it again.

— Classics —

1. Middlemarch — George Eliot is one of the most astute writers I have ever read when it comes to understanding human beings. The whole book is about a small town in England with, quite frankly, not the most interesting characters or plot. Her insights into human nature, however, kept me coming back for more. (Side note: Rosamond Vincy has joined Daisy Buchanan on my Can't Even list)

— Fiction —

1. The Enchantress of Florence — I was really enjoying this book until about 3/4 of the way through. I cannot tell you my feelings on it with spoiling things, so just know I was extremely disappointed by the way everything happened and I feel that all of Rushdie's lovely, insightful thoughts got washed away in the yuck of the ending.

2. Silence Fallen — This is number 10 in the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. It is one of my favorite series and this entry did not disappoint. It was somewhat hard to follow because of how the story is told, but I did enjoy it. I really liked how Briggs expanded the world with a glimpse into Europe. 

3. Shylock Is My Name — This is a retelling of Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice. This is one of the most thought-provoking fiction books I have read in a long time. Jacobson wrestles with Shylock's Jewishness and its implications for Shakespeare's audience as well as the modern audience.  This is one of those books that I do not know whether or not to recommend it; it should be read, but not everyone would enjoy reading it. Conundrum. 

4. The Burning Page — I reviewed this book in a different post; check it out here.

5. A Court of Wings and Ruin — I was so disappointed by this book. It is the third in the A Court of Thorns and Roses trilogy and it was... dare I say it... kind of boring. The second book (A Court of Mist and Fury) was really good, YA at its finest good. The third one was definitely a let down. The main characters were kind of flat, there were some plot holes, and one deus ex machina moment was too much for me. If the second book hadn't been SO good, then the third would not have been as much of a let down.

Wow, looks like I need to do some work on the Classics category. I have picked up the Iliad and am about a quarter of the way in. It is more different from The Odyssey than I thought it would be. So far I am really enjoying this challenge I have set for myself. Hopefully I make much more progress this summer. How are y'all's reading challenges going? 

LOTR Read-Along: The Return of the King {Book VI, Ch. I-V}

 

Sorry I was behind this week. I actually had everything read but my Sunday ended up being busier than expected. I was done with this section of reading on Wednesday because I could not put it down. We have finally reached the climax — 900 pages in — and it was everything I hoped it would be. I feel a bit like Sam with his double vision as I was reading the scene with Frodo, Sam, and Gollum in Mount Doom - the movie was superimposed over the writing and I was visualizing both simultaneously. My favorite part, though, was the Faramir/Eowyn storyline. It is so tiny but it really stood out to me. Eowyn's feelings for Aragorn are wrapped up in hero worship, idealization, and stubbornness. He is able to heal wounds of the body but it is Faramir who heals the wounds on her soul. I think that there is a lot to be said here about modern perceptions of love but I will refrain. I merely wanted to point them out to you so you could mull it over for yourself :)

1. Sam's time of testing has finally come. What does the Ring show him? How is it different from what others were shown?

2. What do you make of Sam's double vision? What is he seeing superimposed over mortal vision?

3. After the Company is reunited in Minas Tirith there is a feast at which a minstrel tells the tale of the Ring and Frodo. Tolkien writes, "And he sang to them, now in the Elven-tongue, now in the speech of the West, until their hearts, wounded with sweet words, overflowed, and their joy was like swords, and they passed in thought out to regions where pain and delight flow together and tears are the very wine of blessedness". What does he mean by this? What connection between pain and delight, sorrow and joy is he making?

4. Why was Eowyn so insistent on being a shield maiden?

WE ARE ON THE LAST WEEK. Only 5 more chapters and we are done. Time has flown. The world has changed. Savor these last moments with these unforgettable characters who live in the world we all wished we lived in. Have a great (rest) of the week :)

LOTR Read-Along - The Return of the King {Book V, Ch. VI-X}

The most recent issue of Time magazine has a wonderful article about the new Star Wars movie and what drives the magic of that universe. Care to take a guess as to what it is? Hope. To quote the article, "Hope: it's the keystone concept in the Star Wars legendarium. One of the eternal mysteries of Star Wars is that it looks like science fiction, with robots and lasers and such, but at the same time it's set far in the past and has the dustiness and feel of ancient history. It catches you up in a double-reverse, a temporal anomaly subtler than anything in Star Trek, that leaves you with a strange nostalgic longing for the future. And what is hope but a longing for the future?" Y'all. If this does not sum up the magic of The Lord of the Rings as well then I do not know what does. Especially at this point, where now there is but the faintest of hopes. What do you have but to go on, to cling to that hope with all you have?

I have been thinking of hope a lot this past week, with it being the start of Advent. I do not think I have been more aware of how much I need the hope of Christ. Indeed, I almost believe that the Church in America has forgotten in Whom our hope resides. Refugees, terrorism, Syria, France, the political races — all of it serves to cloud our vision, to draw our attention away from the hope we have in Christ, the hope that our world is in such desperate need of. In LOTR the hope is that the Ring will be destroyed, that Sauron will not be able to conquer Middle Earth and usher in unending pain, death, and destruction. Even now, with the armies of Men making a last stand at the Black Gate, there is little hope to be had. It is better, though, to give their lives in a last desperate attempt than to live in the world that will come if they fail. There is no room for apathy or despair or cynicism. The hope of victory is too small to allow room for any of these attitudes because they will overpower hope. One must push aside these and cling to hope, to do the hard things even with only the slightest promise of victory because life under Sauron would be too intolerable to sustain. How different would our own world be if we grabbed onto hope and did not let cynicism or apathy rule our actions, thoughts, and words?

1. Why can Eowyn defeat the King of the Ringwraiths? Is she a likable character?

2. Gandalf tells Denethor that "Authority is not given to you, Steward of Gondor, to order the hour of your death... and only heathen kings, under the domination of the Dark Power, did thus, slaying themselves in pride and despair, murdering their kin to ease their own death". Compare Denethor's actions with Aragorn's. Why are Denethor's actions anathema to some one like Aragorn?

3. Why does Aragorn not come into Minas Tirith as king? Why does he want to wait to claim that title?

4. What is Sauron waiting for? Why does Gandalf want to keep his focus on Minas Tirith and the armies gathered there?

We are starting the last book this week :( Book VI, Ch. I-V. HOPE y'all have a wonderful week!!

LOTR Read-Along - The Return of the King {Book V, Ch. I-V}

I do not know how the pagination works in the editions y'all are reading, but mine picks up where the previous book left off rather than starting back at 1. So, in starting The Return of the King, I am on page 731. I really like the sense of continuity this builds — for those who don't know, these books were originally one long book. It also gives me a great sense of accomplishment lol. Anyways, we are on the last one! I cannot believe it has already been 8 weeks since we started this. I know it is going to be hard to finish during the busy holiday season but I hope y'all persevere. It will be worth it!

Does anyone else feel sorry for Pippin? The poor guy has no clue. Tolkien does a wonderful job with Pippin's age; he does not let us forget that Pippin is the youngest hobbit. He has barely reached the age of majority and does not have the perspective that the other three have. He is an impressionable kid who is caught up in events much larger than himself and is drowning, more or less. He is so real. Two of my excellent friends and I were talking about how the LOTR is such a real story; not everything turns out perfect, nor is every character perfect. I think Pippin is a prime example of this. Many of the popular fantasy stories out there (especially with YA protagonists, as Pippin would be) revolve around a young kid having to bear burdens beyond their years and how they overcome them against all odds. This is a wonderful thing and I am not knocking it. I am merely pointing out that Pippin represents what would really happen if most of us were placed in a similar situation. He is completely dependent on Gandalf (I would be, too!) and does not do critical thinking well. Which is all completely understandable because he is facing, literally, the end of the world and has no idea how to cope.

At first I was very frustrated with him... I might have even thought, "Pull your head out of your butt!!!" a couple of times. The more I read, though, the more I realized that he is representative of the vast majority of us. He is so young, so innocent. Rather than look on him with contempt, I should look on him with patience. Rather than ignore him because he has nothing to offer, I should take 5 minutes to explain so that he might begin to understand.

1. Denethor is the Steward of Minas Tirith, not its king. Gandalf says that he, too, is a steward. What is he the steward of?

2. Can you relate to Merry's feelings of helplessness? How is his helplessness different from that of Pippin?

3. Why is Denethor going mad?

4. In "The Ride of the Rohirrim" we are given some of the myriad of emotions that surround battle. Trace them from the start of the chapter to the end. Is this something that is easily understood for those who have never been in battle, who have never pitted their lives against another?


This week we have Ch. VI- X. Have a wonderful week!

LOTR Read-Along: Two Towers {Book III, Ch. VII-XI} + {Book IV, Ch. I-V}

It is two for one week on the blog! Or, more truthfully, I have been so busy that I missed last week's discussion post so they are combined this week. Not quite as catchy. I started a new temporary job and it is taking a bit to get settled in. So, my sincerest apologies. I hope it will not happen again.

A lot has happen in these chapters! Just because I have not been blogging does not mean I have not been reading. In fact, events from The Two Towers have made their way into my teaching lately as examples. It is heartening how many high school students at the school I am at enjoy LOTR. This balances out how disheartening it is that they could not tell me that David was king of Israel (I'm at a Christian school). Anyways, these sections of the larger story are particularly interesting to me because of the pacing. I literally could not put down the book when reading about the Helm's Deep and Isengard and the reunion of the majority of the Fellowship. Then comes the long and grueling road of Frodo and Sam. It was hard, I admit, to make myself read every word and to not skim. It is just so, well, boring after the excitement of the previous chapters. The more I pondered it, however, the more I appreciate Tolkien's genius in giving Frodo and Sam the second half of the book. One cannot appreciate the contrast between the two paths of the Fellowship as well if the boring and come before the exciting. We would not have realized how boring the boring is if we did not know how exciting it could be. Are you tracking with me?

Why is this important? Because the more I read the more I am in awe of Frodo's determination. His is the path less desirable, for multiple reasons, but most especially because it is the most difficult, the least rewarding, and the loneliest. He has only Sam for company, which is nothing to sneeze at, but Sam is not an equal the way others were. He cannot share the fears and doubts of Frodo just yet. Frodo is the wise council, he has no where else to turn at this moment. And his decisions affect not only him but sweet Sam as well. While Frodo is not facing the dangers of battle, his is the greater fight of simply putting one foot in front of the other. How often do I overlook this in my own life? Those who are faithful in the every day little things, not just the big, showy ones? In Sunday School this morning the teacher spoke of how Barnabas was the unsung hero of the early Church. I believe the movies make Frodo something of an unsung hero, while the book is the praising of Frodo, of giving his story the attention it deserves in a way that highlights the strength of his character.

Book III, Ch. VII-XI
1. Why does Aragorn try and parley with the Orcs? What is the essence of his message?

2. What is the Ents role in these victories? Do you prefer the movie version or book version of this?

3. Saruman relies on the power of machines instead of that of nature. What is the result of this? Why do you think Tolkien continually draws attention to the strength of nature?

4. Why does Gandalf not intercede when Saruman is addressing Theoden?

5. Why does Pippin want to see the Stone again? What is driving him?

Book IV, Ch. I-V
1. How has Frodo changed since the beginning? How are these changes marked?

2. Think on Sam's reaction to Gollum vs. Frodo's. Which one do you feel your own reactions align with most closely?

3. Why does Frodo make a distinction between swearing on the Ring and swearing by the Ring?

4. What kind of feelings does Gollum illicit? Is he truly a sympathetic character? Why or why not?

5. What makes Faramir so different from his brother Boromir? How would the Fellowship have been different had Faramir been a part of it instead?

We are finishing up The Two Towers this week. I cannot believe we are already almost to the last book. I hope y'all are enjoying this amidst the business of life. Have a wonderful week :)

LOTR Read-Along: Two Towers {Book III, Chapters I - VI}

It is so hard for me not to race through this book. The Two Towers starts off exactly where the Fellowship left off (since all three were originally written as one book) and it does not slow down much. New characters are introduced, old friends are reacquainted, and small hopes keep the Company pushing forward. The ties that bind the Company are strained by distance, treachery, and the unknown but still remain strong. I love how loyal the are to one another, no matter how tough the situation. Sometimes that loyalty means one must stick to the path that leads away from the others, no matter how hard that is or unwise it seems. I fall in love with this world a little bit more with every word I read. I so hope y'all are doing the same!

1. Aragorn spends a good bit of the first and second chapters second guessing his decisions. How does this differ from what we have seen of him thus far? Would you have done anything differently?

2. "Well, we have no time to ponder riddles," said Gimli. "Let us bear Boromir away!" "But after that we must guess the riddles, if we are to choose our course rightly," answered Aragorn. "Maybe there is no right choice," answered Gimli.
Do you think Gimli has the right of it? Is there always a right answer?

3. What does nature tell Legolas and Aragorn, and even Gimli when he pays attention? How does "reading" the signs it provides help or hinder them? Why is nature affected?

4. Tolkien constantly refers to Treebeard's eyes. What do they look like? What do they seem to contain? Are they truly "windows of the soul"?

5. Is hope important? How important is it to the Fellowship? What different ways has hope been manifested thus far?

(Bonus!) Which Norse deity does Gandalf resemble with his gray cloak, hat, and staff?

I wish I could tell y'all all of the Old English/Old Norse materials used in crafting the Rohirrim. I could not read that chapter without trying to interpose our world on to it. It was close enough that I could pretend that Middle Earth was our own history. Anyways, hope y'all have a great week and enjoy Chapters 7-11 :)                        

LOTR Read-Along: Fellowship {Book II, Chapters VI- X}

This book ends on a bit of a downer. We have a Fellowship broken by loss, lust for the Ring, and diverging paths. The respite in Lorien was all too brief and difficult choices are upon them once again. It is hard to believe that we have already finished The Fellowship of the Ring. I don't know about you but I am racing through The Two Towers already. It is hard not to look ahead while typing this post! In order for the story to be fully felt, however, I believe the pause between books one and two is necessary, even if it is impossible to pause for long.

1. Put yourself in Aragorn's shoes. The book does a wonderful job (almost too wonderful) of fleshing out the burden of leadership. How would you rate his leadership? Would you choose someone else to be Gandalf's successor?

2. Everyone is a bit apprehensive about entering the Golden Wood. Boromir tells the Company that Men tell tells of the Wood and how none come out unscathed. Aragorn counters this by saying that the better word would be unchanged, not unscathed. What distinction is he making? Why is this distinction important? Can the two words be synonymous, to a point?

3. What is the significance of Galadriel's ring? Why will Lorien diminish whether they fail or succeed?

4. Galadriel embodies a number of different things, almost a different thing for each member. What are they? Why do you think that is?

5. Aragorn has a lot of names. What are the significance of them? Why does he have so many?

6. Think on Boromir's arguments on why Frodo should loan him the Ring. They make sense if one is willing to dismiss the wise counsel of Gandalf and Elrond. Do you think we, as a modern society, honor wisdom? Or are we too intent on the here and now, what we know and experience?

Sorry (not sorry) there are so many questions this week. These last five chapters had a lot to unpack. I so wish I could sit down and discuss these with y'all, more so than any of the other discussion posts so far. Congrats on finishing The Fellowship of the Ring! That wasn't so bad, was it?

LOTR Read-Along Discussion: Fellowship {Prologue - Chapter V}

Y'all. I cannot tell you how excited I am to discuss these books. I am a firm believer that some books are made better, or more meaningful, by discussions, arguments, and musings. There is SO MUCH going on in this world that Tolkien has created that we could discuss these books every year and find different things to talk about each year. I am going to throw a couple of questions out there for y'all to mull over. I will -probably- give my answers mid-week, in case anyone is interested. As Lesley Anne said in the Intro post, feel free to join in the discussion in whatever way is easiest for you—in the comments, in a post on your own blog, on Goodreads, Facebook, etc. Just be sure to let us know where you respond so we can all come read your thoughts! If you use Twitter or Instagram, be sure to use the hashtag #LOTRreadalong.

Sometimes, when a book starts out slow, we want to rush through the initial chapters to get to the action. If you have never read these books but have seen the movies then you might have struggled a bit getting through this portion. Part of the beauty of read-alongs is you read a specific portion (usually), no more and no less, so you are forced to concentrate on absorbing just the one part. Part of the genius of Tolkien is that no description, no seemingly-innae conversation is ever wasted; one can really see the influence of the medieval understanding of reading on Tolkien in his own fiction. The medieval writer was obligated to the reader to make them a better person and the reader was obligated to the writer to read to the text to the best of their ability. Reading and writing were highly prized skills that not everyone was fortunate enough to possess. Being a good Christian meant cultivating the skills God had given you to the best of your ability; this included reading and writing as well as weaving, preaching, being a husband/wife, etc. To bring this full circle, Tolkien is both writing to the best of his ability, telling a story that entertains and edifies, as well as requiring the reader to pay attention, to think and reason. Okay, lecture over.

Discussion time!

Please, Lesley Anne and I would love, love, love to hear y'all's thoughts. I hope you have time to discuss with us. If not, I hope you enjoy the conversation and that it deepens your enjoyment of the story.

1. Why did Tolkien spend the Prologue giving an overview of hobbits? It seems a bit random, considering the story, but we know that Tolkien did not include anything that did not have purpose. What things do we learn of hobbits? Why is this important to the story?

2. What is the nature of the Ring? Compare and contrast its effects on Gollum and Bilbo. Think about Gandalf's reasons for refusing it and Frodo's reluctance to take it. How exactly does the Ring work its will?

3.  Sam's primary motivation is to see the Elves. After they spend the night in their company Frodo asks him if he still likes them now that he has spent time in their company. Sam replies, "They seem a bit above my likes and dislikes, so to speak, " answered Sam slowly. "It don't seem to matter what I think about them. They are quite different from what I expected — so old and young, and so gay and sad, as it were." What is he trying to say? What quality of the Elves is he trying to capture using words? Have you ever encountered anything that was above your likes and dislikes?

4. For those who have seen the movie, what are the 4 main hobbits — Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin — like in the book versus the movie? How do these differences influence your perceptions of them? Which do you prefer?


This week we are reading Chapters 6-10. I hope y'all are enjoying this as much as we are. Can't wait to hear y'all' thoughts!!

Home is beyond, the world ahead,

And there are many paths to tread,

Through shadows to the edge of night,

Until the stars are all alight.

Then world behind and home ahead,

We'll wander back to home and bed,

Mist and twilight, cloud and shade,

Away shall fade! Away shall fade!

Fire and lamp, and meat and bread,

And then to bed! And then to bed!

Throwback Thursday: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Lesley Anne and I are life-long readers; that is, we have loved reading our whole lives. Sure, we played football at recess with the boys, but we also had at least 4 books checked out from our school library at all times. We thought a fun way to showcase the books that solidified our love of literature at a young age is to put a bookish twist on the ever-popular Throwback Thursday meme. If you, too, started your love affair with books as soon as you learned to read, you will probably recognize a lot of these titles. If your love of reading was something acquired later in life, you might have missed these gems. These books are near and dear to our hearts in a special way; it is through them we first learned the hidden power of words and imagination. The beauty of these books is that they remain just as wonderful to re-read as an adult. Ahh, the power of nostalgia. :)

The Vitals

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
Release Date: 1960
Page Count: 324
Genre: Fiction (Classic)
Target Audience: Young Adult/Adult
Series: No
Source and Format: Purchased; Paperback
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary (From Goodreads)

The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.

Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior—to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.

Notes on To Kill a Mockingbird

I read this novel for the first time in 9th grade in Mrs. Smith's English class. Having just re-read it in preparation for Go Set a Watchman, I am now of the firm opinion that every person who loved this as a child/teenager needs to re-read it as an adult. Seriously. If you have not read this book since high school English, do yourself a favor and become acquainted with it as an adult.

I had a hard time reading this book in high school. It was the first time I was made aware, or rather made to deal with, the fact that life is supremely unfair at times. It was the first time I really grasped the subtlety of hate and ignorance. It was my first understanding of racism. It is a book that has stuck with me for a long time. 

Reading it as an adult was just as hard as reading it as a fourteen year old. There was so much in there that I did not have the ability to understand before. The core of the story was the same, but the characters took on different dimensions. I found myself not really liking Scout at all. Jem was a much more multifaceted character with depth I did not see before (he would have made a much more compelling narrator). Atticus is much more wise than I knew; not simply good or uncompromising (in the best sense of the word) but wise to the multitude of currents that are swirling around him, his children, and his town. And I seemed to have completely forgotten Miss Maudie altogether. I think she is my favorite now. 

I cannot sum up the unique beauty of this novel sufficiently, so I am not going to try. Go read it for yourself. It is just as thought-provoking the second time around as the first. I am positive that the third time will be the same. It is even more timely now as the South is struggling with how to deal with its past. It captures perfectly how no one or no history is two-dimensional. The same neighbor that would condemn Tom Robinson also would have commended Boo Radley for his actions. This complexity is why the South is so wonderful and so frustrating at the same time... as am I. As are you. 

Atticus's Words of Wisdom

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what."

“The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience.”

“When a child asks you something, answer him, for goodness sake. But don't make a production of it. Children are children, but they can spot an evasion faster than adults, and evasion simply muddles 'em.”

“It’s never an insult to be called what somebody thinks is a bad name. It just shows you how poor that person is, it doesn’t hurt you.”

The Lord of the Rings Read-Along: Intro + Sign-Ups!

Background (from Lesley Anne)

There’s no question about it: The Lord of the Rings is my favorite story of all time. I binge read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings for the first time when I was in eighth grade, and I couldn’t get enough of it! I was captivated by the epic storyline, the characters, the setting of Middle Earth, and the brilliant imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien.

For some reason since then, though, I haven’t made much room in my life for this book (except to have a movie marathon every Christmas, but that doesn’t count). I’m sure it has a lot to do with the fact that life is more complicated now than it was when I was 13, and time to set aside and read a tome as intimidating as The Lord of the Rings is hard to come by. But I know most of you can identify with this as well—lately I’ve felt a need to read this book again. Like it’s an old friend and it’s been way too long since I’ve pulled up a chair, grabbed a cup of coffee, and visited for a while.

I posted about this on Twitter a few weeks ago, and after a short conversation with Jenny, Lauren, and Britney, the wheels began turing in my head on some things we could do on the blog. Later that day, Jenny texted and said she wanted to read the LOTR with me—and the idea for this read-along was born!

We know several people with this classic on their TBR, or have been meaning to re-read it, so now’s your chance! Jenny and I are really excited to host our first read-along with this book, and we can’t wait for more people to discover this epic tale for themselves. Keep reading if you're interested in joining us!

Synopsis (from Goodreads)

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is a genuine masterpiece. The most widely read and influential fantasy epic of all time, it is also quite simply one of the most memorable and beloved tales ever told. Originally published in 1954, The Lord of the Rings set the framework upon which all epic/quest fantasy since has been built. Through the urgings of the enigmatic wizard Gandalf, young hobbit Frodo Baggins embarks on an urgent, incredibly treacherous journey to destroy the One Ring. This ring—created and then lost by the Dark Lord, Sauron, centuries earlier—is a weapon of evil, one that Sauron desperately wants returned to him. With the power of the ring once again his own, the Dark Lord will unleash his wrath upon all of Middle-earth. The only way to prevent this horrible fate from becoming reality is to return the Ring to Mordor, the only place it can be destroyed. Unfortunately for our heroes, Mordor is also Sauron's lair. The Lord of the Rings is essential reading not only for fans of fantasy but for lovers of classic literature as well.

Who

If you’re interesting in joining, you don’t have to be a blogger to participate. Everyone is welcome! Having a Goodreads or Google account will make it easier to participate in the discussions every week, but that is definitely not required.

What

The Lord of the Rings is divided into three volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. Often these are separated as three distinct books part of a “trilogy,” when actually they are just one book. To make it a little less overwhelming, we have a reading schedule (shown below) that will have us finishing each volume in a month, averaging to about 100 pages a week. We hope that’s a reasonable pace for everyone! If you read faster than that, feel free to read ahead (we aren’t too worried about spoilers coming out since this book is more than 60 years old). After finishing the reading for each week, come to the blog to see our thoughts on that week’s reading, along with some fabulous discussion questions from Jenny!

When

We’ve created a reading schedule that has us reading The Fellowship of the Ring in October, The Two Towers in November, and The Return of the King in December. Here’s the schedule broken down by week:

Reading Schedule (October, November, and December 2015)

The Fellowship of The Ring
Week One (Sept 27- Oct 3): Prologue, Chapters 1-5
Week Two (Oct 4-10): Chapters 6-12
Week Three (Oct 11-17): Book Two Chapters 1-5
Week Four (Oct 18-24): Chapters 6-10

The Two Towers
Week Five (Oct 25-31): Chapters 1-6
Week Six (Nov 1-7): Chapters 7-11
Week Seven (Nov 8-14): Book Four Chapters 1-5
Week Eight (Nov 15-21): Chapters 6-10

The Return of the King
Week Nine (Nov 22-28): Chapters 1-5
Week Ten (Nov 29-Dec 5): Chapters 6-10
Week Eleven (Dec 6-12): Book Six Chapters 1-5
Week Twelve (Dec 13-19): Chapters 6-9

Where

Every Sunday, Jenny will post thoughts on that week’s reading on the blog along with a few discussion questions. Feel free to join in the discussion in whatever way is easiest for you—in the comments, in a post on your own blog, on Goodreads, Facebook, etc. Just be sure to let us know where you respond so we can all come read your thoughts! If you use Twitter or Instagram, be sure to use the hashtag #LOTRreadalong.

How

To sign-up for the read-along, you don’t have to do anything fancy! Just let us know in the comments below. We want to keep this as simple as possible for you guys. Just read the book (along with some other awesome bookish people), and come to the blog every week to talk about it. That’s it! We can’t wait to get started next Monday, and don’t forget to use the hashtag #LOTRreadalong on Twitter or Instagram as we go along!

Five Thoughts on The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

Since this (!!!) is coming soon...

... I am talking about The Hobbit today! Who doesn't love The Hobbit? (If you, for some unfathomable reason, do not love it, please do not tell me. It will create feelings of animosity.)

Five Thoughts on The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

1. Hobbits are English. 
Hobbits are unfailingly polite and expect the same of others. When they are in a social situation that becomes awkward or uncomfortable, they resort to politeness. When they do not know what to do with themselves, they resort to politeness. When someone says something uncouth or in anger, they resort to politeness. It is their default mode. Martin Freeman does an excellent job of capturing this fundamental character trait of hobbits. Bilbo is much more refined than his dwarvish companions and has a hard time relating to them in the beginning. I like to believe that Tolkien is poking fun at the English and their manners, showing that they do have a place but are not as important as they (and hobbits) seem to think they are.

"Sorry! I don't want any adventures, thank you. Not today. Good morning! But please come to tea – any time you like! Why not tomorrow? Come tomorrow! Good bye!"

2. Beorn is a berserk(er).
The first time I read The Hobbit I devoured it, racing to finish it. This time I read at a more leisurely pace so I could notice details I had previously overlooked. Beorn in his warrior aspect was one such detail. The descriptions of him (and his wrath) during the Battle of the Five Armies was so quintessentially Anglo-Saxon/Norse that I cannot believe I missed it the first time. Beorn is my favorite character even though he plays such a small role. He can shapeshift into a bear, lives in a beautiful woodland home with beautiful horses, and has such fighting prowess that he can single-handedly turn the tide of a battle. Awesome.

"He came alone, and in bear's shape; and he seemed to have grown almost to giant-sized in his wrath."

3. Bilbo as thief of the hoard.
Hello, Beowulf allusion! In the Anglo-Saxon poem it is the theft of a cup by an unknown retainer that incites the dragon's wrath against Beowulf and the Geats. Guess what happens when Bilbo takes a cup from Smaug's hoard? One rage-filled dragon awakens to wreak fiery destruction upon the mountain. Bilbo could have taken any number of items from the hoard to prove he had been down there, yet he chooses a cup. Coincidence? Most definitely not.

"He grasped a great two-handled cup, as heavy as he could carry, and cast one fearful eye upwards... His heart was beating and a more fevered shaking was in his legs than when he was going down, but still he clutched the cup, and his chief thought was: 'I've done it! This will show them.'" – The Hobbit

"Therein went some nameless man, creeping in nigh to the pagan treasure; his hand seized a goblet deep, bright with gems... By no means of intent had that man broken the dragon's hoard of his own will, he who thus wronged him grievously but in dire need, being the thrall of some one among the sons of mighty men..." – Beowulf (Tolkien's translation)

4. Companions make or break a quest (or journey, or vacation).
This is the greatest strength of The Hobbit (and LOTR, I suspect). The dwarves need Bilbo and Bilbo needs the dwarves – and everyone needs Gandalf – to survive and complete their quest. Theirs is a relationship forged in the fires of suffering, loss, hardship, and long odds. The dwarves change Bilbo and Bilbo changes the dwarves. Their bond is cemented in a way that few bonds in reality are. Wouldn't it be wonderful if our society were more like the characters in these stories, who stick to the hard path and do not give up when the going gets tough because they know they can count on their friends to help them through (and vice versa).

"This is a bitter adventure, if it must end so; and not a mountain of gold can amend it. Yet I am glad that I have shared in your perils – that has been more than any Baggins deserves."

5. THE MOVIE(S) WERE TERRIBLE.
Y'all. I could go on a 5-page rant on how much I loathed what Peter Jackson did to The Hobbit. The first movie was great, which made the second and third that much more gross. No lie – you can ask my friend, Lauren – I almost got up and walked out of the theater when freakin' Kate from Lost showed up as a girl elf who is in the middle of a LOVE TRIANGLE. I am getting angry just thinking about it. I need to go drink some chamomile tea.

Rereading The Hobbit cemented its place on my top ten favorite books list. It was even better the second time around, which in my opinion is a mark of a great book. If you haven't read it, please do so. As a favor to me. And even if you do not like fantasy, please give it a try. It never hurts to stretch your horizons, as evidenced by Bilbo Baggins :)

Other Posts on The Hobbit: 
Top Ten Favorite Quotes From The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
A Bookish Place: Bookstory | Cluj, Romania
What To Do With All Those Gift Cards?!
Top Ten Tuesday: Under Our Tree
Top Ten Things On Our Bookish Bucket List

Top Ten Books From Jenny's Childhood That She Would Love To Revisit

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is a chance to revisit the books that made me a reader. I love looking back over my books and revisiting old friends.These are books that I have not re-read yet but are on my list. It is really great to re-read these books as an adult.  My child-self was a pretty good judge of books... or maybe I just have not matured all that much in my reading :)

1. Maniac Magee | Jerry Spinelli. If you have not read this book, please go buy, borrow, or steal it. I am not going to tell you anything about it - just read it.

2. James and the Giant Peach | Roald Dahl. I remember not knowing what to do with this book when I read it. It was not as straight forward as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Then I watched the movie and did not like it. Maybe I can make more sense of it now. Maybe.

3. Where the Sidewalk Ends | Shel Silverstein. This is the first book I remember loving the illustrations and not thinking they were too childish (clearly I was an insufferable child). I need to go back as an adult and see if I still love them.

4. Tuck Everlasting | Natalie Babbitt. I do not want to give too much away, but this is the first book I read that dealt with the issue of immortality in a realistic, hard way. This book will probably appear on a TBT post in the near future...

5. Island of the Blue Dolphins | Scott O'Dell. I think my adoration of the beach, especially islands, stemmed from this book. I wanted so badly to go live on an island by myself (with lots of books, of course).

6. Holes | Louis Sachar. This group of quirky characters are wonderful. I loved the movie when it came out but the book is much, much better.

7. The Indian in the Cupboard | Lynne Reid Banks. Before there was Toy Story, there was this book. And it was magical.

8. The Merlin Effect | T.A. Barron. This was the first fantasy book I remember reading. My mom is not a fan of fantasy (just because she doesn't like the genre, not for any ethical/religious reasons lol), so I never really encountered it until I was old enough to check books out of the library at my elementary school. Strong female protagonist, Arthurian legend, and the ocean/beach.... perhaps this book was more life-defining than I realized!

9. Riding Freedom | Pam Muñoz Ryan. This is another book with a strong female lead AND she loves horses. Books like this were for me what catnip is for cats. She wants to work with horses, girls aren't allowed to, so she dresses like a boy and no one EVER finds out. This is based on a true story. Y'all should definitely check this one out ASAP.

10. The Devil's Arithmetic | Jane Yolen. I know for a fact I was not old enough to understand all the nuances of this book. It has haunted me (in a good way) my whole life. This is the first book I read that opened my eyes to the fact that injustice and death do, in fact, exist. It is also shows the preciousness of life, what makes life worth living. It is painfully beautiful. 

Top Ten Books on Jenny's Spring TBR

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is books on our Spring To-Be-Read list. Pretty straight forward and an easy topic as my TBR list is always overflowing. These books are not in any particular order other than the fact that they are highest on my list.

1. Shadow Scale | Rachel Hartman
2. The Praise of Folly | Erasmus
3. All the Light We Cannot See | Anthony Doerr
4. The Cloud of Unknowing | Anonymous
5. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald | Therese Anne Fowler
6. Prudence | Gail Carriger
7. The Gracekeepers | Kirsty Logan
8. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch | Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett
9. Antigone | Sophocles
10. The Canterbury Tales | Chaucer

Lesley Anne's Top Ten Favorite Quotes from The Hobbit By J.R.R. Tolkien

So, this is a pretty exciting week around here for The Pathological Readers! Jenny and I both love us some Tolkien, and you might have heard the third part of Peter Jackson's movie adaptation of The Hobbit will be coming out in theaters tomorrow. While we are super excited about seeing one of our favorite stories come to life on the big screen, our first love has always been and will always be the book itself. Pretty much nothing beats the experience of getting lost in the world of Middle Earth between the pages of a Tolkien novel. And today I am here to show you that the way Tolkien puts words together is what makes me love him so much as an author.

But first things first, a little background: I read The Hobbit for the first time in eighth grade, and it honestly didn't make much of an impression on me then. After I re-read it this past summer, I can see how 13-year-old me would have been bored with it. But now, as an adult with a little more life under my belt, I had a completely different response to it. More often than not, I found myself underlining quote after quote of things that stood out to me while I was reading. Tolkien has such a gift for communicating wisdom in unique and subtle ways. So today, instead of listing our top ten favorite books we read this year (which Jenny has already covered here), I'm going to attempt to whittle down my days-long list of favorite quotes from The Hobbit into my top ten. And maybe, if you haven't picked up a copy of one of his novels yet, these small glimpses at Tolkien's wit and wisdom will convince you to do so!

(1) In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort.

(2) Then something Tookish woke up inside him, and he wished to go and see the great mountains, and hear the pine-trees and the waterfalls, and explore the caves, and wear a sword instead of a walking stick.

(3) "Where did you go to, if I may ask?" said Thorin to Gandalf as they rode along. 

"To look ahead," said he. 

"And what brought you back in the nick of time?" 

"Looking behind," said he.

(4) [Elrond's] house was perfect, whether you liked food, or sleep, or work, or story-telling, or singing, or just sitting and thinking best, or a pleasant mixture of them all. Evil things did not come into that valley.

(5) There is nothing like looking, if you want to find something. You certainly usually find something, if you look, but it is not always quite the something you were after. 

(6) He guessed as well as he could, and crawled along for a good way, till suddenly his hand met what felt like a tiny ring of cold metal lying on the floor of the tunnel. It was a turning point in his career, but he did not know it.

(7) Gandalf thought of most things; and though he could not do everything, he could do a great deal for friends in a tight corner.

(8) It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous things that happened afterwards were as nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait. 

(9) If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.

(10) "Surely you don't disbelieve the prophecies, because you had a hand in bringing them about yourself? You don't really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!"

Bonus:

The presence (even if only on the borders) of the terrible is, I believe, what gives this world its imagined verisimilitude. A safe fairyland is untrue to all worlds. 

-Preface of the 75th Anniversary Edition

Just writing this post makes me want to re-read The Hobbit all over again! Anyone going to see one of the special screenings of the movie tonight? We've already bought our tickets and I am SO excited. Jenny and I are hoping to share our thoughts on the film sometime next week if we can take some time away from the craziness of this Christmas season!    

Baby You're So Classic

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's topic is your Top Ten Favorite Classics or Top Ten Classics You Want to Read. Basically I (Lesley Anne) had to jump up and down and do a little happy dance when I saw this topic. I don't know what it is, but classics get me so fired up about reading! I'll be the first to say I didn't always feel this way about classics, though, and I know they aren't all fun and games. I definitely get that. I mentioned this exact struggle yesterday when I talked about my Jane Austen goal and Mansfield Park. But classics are really the building blocks for the books we enjoy today, and they deserve to be read! So here are the top ten classics Jenny and I hope to tackle next.  

1. Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell | 2. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy | 3. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo | 4. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett | 5. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas | 6. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë | 7. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier | 8. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens | 9. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray | 10. A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett

1. The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer | 2. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky | 3. Ulysses by James Joyce | 4. The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway | 5. 1984 by George Orwell | 6. The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton | 7. Paradise Lost by John Milton | 8. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck | 9. The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan | 10. The Mabinogion by Unknown

If you've read any of the above, let us know where you think we should start! And tell us: Which classics are your favorites, or which classics do you hope to read soon?  

The Austen Project

I have a confession to make: I've been keeping a little secret from you guys! For a few weeks now, I've been working on this side project, and since today is Valentine's Day, I couldn't think of a better time to finally share it! You may remember one of my goals for 2014 is to get my butt in gear and read all of Jane Austen's novels. Even though I hate to admit it, I have only read one (Persuasion) out of her six more popular works. Austen is arguably one of the most iconic authors in all of English literature, and y'all, this situation is just begging to be remedied! If I'm going to call myself a reader, I need to have some more Jane Austen under my belt. I've declared this year to be the year I finally accomplish this, and I am affectionately calling it...wait for it...The Austen Project!

So, I've got my goal. Good for me! Yet, knowing myself, this will STILL not get accomplished unless I add more structure (and cute graphics don't hurt either!). So I've set up a reading schedule for myself at one Austen novel every two months. At first I started to obsess over setting up some sort of fancy reading order, but in the end I thought it best to go by publication date. So here is what my reading schedule will look like for the next eleven months as I work to accomplish my goal:

Even though reading through all these books in one year may sound like a lofty goal, with the combination of listening to the audiobooks and reading the print versions at this slower two-month pace, I think I can reasonably accomplish this in one year. But I am seriously going to need some encouragement from y'all!!! I have never read this many classics in one year before, and I'm a little afraid of burnout.

Whenever I do feel a burnout coming on, though, I know I can always turn back to these words from my friend Hannah. I've asked Hannah (who you probably know as the fabulous blogger over at So Obsessed With!), aka the biggest Jane Austen fan I know, to share why she thinks everyone should read Austen at least once, and here's what she had to say:

Now does that get you excited to read some Jane Austen or what?! I can't even tell y'all how excited I am to finally get to know these books. And while this is a personal reading challenge, anyone is welcome to join me if you find you need some more Austen in your life. The more the merrier!

One last thing and then I promise I'm done. My reviews for these books will look a little different since they obviously don't need a traditional review. I've thought about several different formats and haven't decided on one yet, so stay tuned! Overall, my thoughts won't be particularly scholarly or groundbreaking, they will just be the thoughts of a twenty-something girl discovering Jane Austen for herself for the very first time. And I hope you are excited to come along for the ride! 

Throwback Thursday: Anne of Green Gables

Jenny and I are life-long readers; that is, we have loved reading our whole lives. Sure, we played football at recess with the boys, but we also had at least 4 books checked out from our school library at all times. We thought a fun way to showcase the books that solidified our love of literature at a young age is to put a bookish twist on the ever-popular Throwback Thursday meme. If you, too, started your love affair with books as soon as you learned to read, you will probably recognize a lot of these titles. If your love of reading was something acquired later in life, you might have missed these gems. These books are near and dear to our hearts in a special way; it is through them we first learned the hidden power of words and imagination. The beauty of these books is that they remain just as wonderful to re-read as an adult. Ahh, the power of nostalgia :)

Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Release Date: June 1908
Page Count: 314
Genre: Classic Literature
Target Audience: Children's
Series: Anne of Green Gables #1
Source and Format: Librivox; Audiobook

Summary (From Amazon)
When Anne Shirley arrives at Green Gables, she surprises everyone: first of all, she’s a girl, even though Marilla Cuthbert and her brother Matthew specifically asked for an orphan boy to help around the farm. And second of all, she’s not just any girl: she has bright red hair, a wild imagination, and can talk a mile a minute.

But she also has a sweet disposition and quick wit, and Anne (with an “e” of course—it’s so much more distinguished!) soon finds her place in Avonlea, making a friend in her neighbor Diana Barry and attending the local school, where she spurns the advances of the popular and handsome Gilbert Blythe when he commits the ultimate sin of making fun of her hair. Anne has a temper as fiery as her hair and a knack for finding trouble, and she also has a big heart and a positive attitude that affects everyone she meets.

Notes on Anne of Green Gables

Oh Anne with an 'e'. Where do I even start with my love for her? I seriously cannot imagine my childhood without Anne of Green Gables in it, and unfortunately it's not because of the novel by L.M. Montgomery, but because of the mini series starring Megan Follows. I know, I know. This is terrible. I completely agree. But hear me out. Something you will quickly learn about me is that as a little girl, if there ever was a movie I really loved, I would watch it over and over (and over) again. Like seriously rewind it as soon as I was done watching it and watch it again right away. I guess my tendency for obsession manifested itself in this funny way, and is one of the reasons I also love to reread. Experiencing my favorite stories again and again, whether told through books or movies, is something I have always enjoyed. And Anne of Green Gables is one of those stories I watched countless times as a little girl. I was even a proud owner of the Anne and Diana Madame Alexander dolls, y'all! I was a pretty big fan. But apparently not fan enough to actually read the books that inspired the mini-series I so dearly loved. Now that I've finally experienced the first Anne novel as an adult, I can't help but feel like I've been missing out on something special all these years.

You see, the more I think about it, the more obvious it is to me that this book is a precious treasure. I fell in love with Montgomery's writing style while reading it, and even more in love with the characters in the story, even nosy Rachel Lynde and uptight Aunt Josephine. The character development is truly superb, and I'm not just talking about our fiesty red-headed heroine. Marilla's journey from being so disappointed in finding a girl on her doorstep to not being able to imagine her life without Anne, Matthew gradually working up the courage to speak his mind and venture out of his comfort zone to show kindness, to even young Gilbert learning to patiently wait for Anne to come around and accept him as a friend (and we all know where that eventually leads!). I remember liking Diana a lot as a little girl, mainly for silly reasons like she had a pretty name, her hair was dark, and she liked frivolous girly things.

But now. Oh how I see so much of myself in Anne! Aside from sharing a name and knowing the struggle of being an Anne with an 'e', I can identify with so many facets of her character. Imaginative, competitive, independent, lover of beautiful things, and loyal to a fault -- I feel like there really is a little bit of Anne in everyone. And that's probably why Montgomery's novel resonates with so many of us. Even though it was written more than a hundred years ago, we can still identify today with the many struggles and joys Anne experiences as she grows into a confidant young woman.

Basically I could go on and on about this beloved classic, but I will spare you a super long post today since yesterday's was just a few words shy of a novella. Hands down, this book is a new favorite, and I can't wait to spend more time with these characters in the next seven novels to follow.

Overall Diagnosis 

Memorable Quotes
“But if you call me Anne, please call me Anne with an 'e'.”

“It is ever so much easier to be good if your clothes are fashionable.”

“When I left Queen's, my future seemed to stretch out before me like a straight road. I thought I could see along it for many a milestone. Now there is a bend in it. I don't know what lies around the bend, but I'm going to believe that the best does.”