Announcing a new blog

It's called Sewing Sisters. Not that my sister and I will write exclusively about sewing. It just seemed the right title at the time. :) I expect it won't be of "general interest" (as Father says in Cheaper by the Dozen), but if you like to work with your hands, appreciate beauty in the everyday things of life....or just want to see what two sisters could possibly come up with to write about, check us out! It's been fun so far.

And just so you know: I have absolutely no intention of letting this blog fall by the wayside. Anymore than it has already, anyway! Comforting, aren't I? But really, I do intend to write some more serious reviews. In a cheerful fashion. Soon.

Getting Serious About Getting Married: Audio Book

I just learned that Canon Press has produced an audio book version of Debbie Maken's Getting Serious About Getting Married. I read this just a little over a year ago, and highly recommend it. It helped to cement my thinking on several topics (including what the "gift of singleness" is), and provided much conversation fodder for my friends and I! Definitely a bit of a shocking book, and one, now that there's an audio version, there's no excuse not to check it out. :) You can even listen to the first chapter for free.

Go to my book review here.

Note: It looks like you might have to wait for your copy of the audio book if you order...it's listed as a pre-order item.

Love Among the Chickens by P. G. Wodehouse

This is my first experience of Wodehouse via an audio book. (Courtesy Librivox) It's the story of Jeremy Garnett, aspiring author, and his adventures running a chicken farm with his enterprising but unscrupulous friend Stanley Featherstonehaugh Ukridge.
The bottom line: this was Wodehouse's first attempt at a novel for adults. So if you're new to him, start with one of his better works, such as any of the Jeeves stories. Because Love Among the Chickens has none of the zip, verve or punch I've come to expect from him.
Interestingly, P.G. Wodehouse later rewrote and republished this 1906 novel nearly 20 years later. I'm not sure which text was used on the Librivox recording, as at first glance I saw no dates on the Project Gutenberg entry .

Source for free audio books!

I'm so excited! This weekend I found an online source for free audio books: LibriVox (HT to Crystal) It's a great concept: volunteers record books that are in the public domain, the files are posted to the site, and voila! Books anyone with an internet connection can listen to.

Although I love to read books from the printed page, I'm also a big fan of audio books. There are many times when I want to read, but my eyes are tired, I'm driving, or I'm doing some sort of hand work like knitting. But I'm a bit of a penny pincher. I'd much rather check a recording out from the library than buy one. Problem is, not many of the titles there interest me. (I'm not into the latest best sellers :) After browsing LibriVox's catalog, I think I'm set for life! Old books galore. My first download: Love Among the Chickens. Wodehouse, of course.

Since anyone can record for this site, the quality of readings will vary. But all the samples I've listened to so far have been, if not top-notch "Hollywood style", at least very clear and well-paced. This would be a fun project for homeschoolers to do, actually!

Check it out. From Shakespeare to Jane Austen, science fiction to poetry, you're sure to find something that interests you.

When Life Doesn't Slow Down....

How do you find time to read? I feel like I'm starving for lack of books! In the past 4 weeks, I've only been able to finish (horrors!) three titles. This is a bit depressing. But I have to remind myself that this is only a season. And it will soon be only a dim memory.

Looking on the bright side, I've been able to squeeze in time reading aloud to my little brother. A bit of a new experience, and one I've enjoyed immensely. He has discovered the world of Little House on the Prairie for the first time. I love it when we get to the end of a chapter and he asks for "one more, please?"!

Reading aloud at the park

I've tried my hand at bargain shopping. Best deal last week: 26 individual cups of organic yogurt and 2 boxes of herbal tea for $2.50. I could get hooked on this!

My first big Walgreens experiment. It came to about $4 after sales, coupons, Register Rewards and rebates.

Watched four baby robins grow up. First they were naked and helpless. Then they were open-mouthed and ugly. Just when they started looking like birds, they were gone.

The baby robins in one of the ugly stages

Took care of one horse, two dogs and fifteen-plus cats. Weeded the garden. Had a piano recital at my house. Accompanied at an opera rehearsal. Played for a wedding. Saw the flowers of my peony plants after waiting for two years.

Biscuit and I

Life is good. But bring on the books!

One of the many cats

A Portrait of Jane Austen by Lord David Cecil

A Portrait of Jane Austen
Lord David Cecil
1978

This fascinating book is one of the most sensible biographies I've read. Sensible, because the author sets his subject in context and refuses to apply modern philosophy to his understanding of her life and art. Too many biographers are eager to impose their own pet ideals on those they write about.

My picture of Jane Austen was rather sketchy prior to reading "A Portrait". From her books, I knew her to be a humorist well grounded in Christian morality. From my study of fashion history, I knew what she was likely to have worn. But of her personal life and motivations I knew little.

Drawing primarily from personal letters, Lord Cecil paints a picture of a woman surrounded by a large family, educated at home, and eager to write from an early age. Jane's father was particularly influential in encouraging Jane's literary bent, providing her with good books to read. It seems all the family shared a common sense of humor, amusing each other through the writing of plays, stories and parodies of popular literature.

Despite an early start in writing, her books were not published until much later in life, under a pseudonym. Even after they became best sellers, Jane Austen was loathe to be known as an author. It was a proud brother who shared her secret, and soon she received letters of congratulation from her surprised relations. I found the poem written by one of her nephews on learning Jane was a famous authoress quite amusing.

Since reading this book, I feel I have a much better grasp of the life of Miss Austen, one of my favorite authors. I highly recommend this biography as an introduction to her life. It is well written, and (at least in hardback), beautifully illustrated with period paintings.

Related: Miniatures and Morals by Peter Leithart ( a study guide focusing on Christian themes in the novels; remarkable for a persuasive essay, "Real Men Read Austen". Highly recommended!)

Soon to be released: Writer of Fancy: The Playful Piety of Jane Austen by Peter Leithart
I'm looking forward to reading this new volume from the Leaders in Action series this summer.

Quote of the day

In this vain and fallen world, a man who cannot laugh has no business undertaking to cure the world's ills, because he is chief among them.

--Doug Jones and Doug Wilson in Angels in the Architecture, as quoted in For Kirk and Covenant: The Stalwart Courage of John Knox