30 Great Audio Books

Dear Prasanta,

You asked for audio book recommendations, so here you go!

Autobiographies:
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls, read by the author
The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie, read by Antony Ferguson (In a lovely Scottish brogue.)
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelo, read by the author
Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Ann Jacobs, read by Audio Elan
The Road from Coorain by Jill Ker Conway, read by Barbara Caruso
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt, read by the author

Modern Novels:
Bel Canto Ann Patchett
The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Babery
The One-in-a-Million Boy by Monica Wood

Life-Changing Non-Fiction:
David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell
Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg

Faith:
The Four Loves by C.S. Lewis, read by C.S. Lewis!
Streams of Living Water by Richard Foster

Comfort Novels:
(If I ever fall into a coma, I've instructed my family to play these repeatedly.)

The Complete Little House Series by Laura Ingalls Wilder, read by Cherry Jones
A Long Way from Chicago by Richard Peck
A Year Down Yonder by Richard Peck
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

I Don't Think We're in Kansas Anymore:
(Some weird and disturbing scenes in these books, but they're well-crafted memoirs that left me thinking.)

Cut Me Loose: Sin And Salvation After My Ultra-Orthodox Girlhood by Leah Vincent
Greetings From Utopia Park by Claire Hoffman
Walk Through Walls by Marina Abramovic

Junior Fiction:
The Giver by Lois Lowry
Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis

Classics:
(These narrators were carefully selected.)

Moby-Dick by Hermann Melville, read by Frank Muller
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, read by Ian Lynch
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy, read by David Horovitch,
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, read by Elijah Wood
Emma by Jane Austen, read by Juliet Stevenson
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, read by Sissy Spacek

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

Hope this helps. Happy listening!

Love,
A

My Year in Books: 2017

Hi Friends,

This year I moved twice, returned to paid employment after 15 years as a homemaker, and got a divorce. Now I'm living in my parents' home with my five children.

Over the past 12 months, my reading choices formed the backdrop to everything that was rapidly changing in my life. Like always, it was through books that I was able to process these changes and make sense of things.

Here's the list of books in the order I read them:


1. Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Mary Rowlandson by Mary Rowlandson

A first-hand account of the abduction of a colonial woman by Native Americans in 1676. The first American best-seller.

2. Liturgy of the Ordinary by Tish Harrison Warren

How to experience the presence of God through routine tasks. This idea isn't new.

Pair with The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence.

3. Possession by A. S. Byatt

The last novel on The Well Educated Mind fiction list! Break out the champagne!

4. Born Again by Charles Colson

A title on the Well Educated Mind autobiography list.

Charles Colson served seven months in prison for his involvement in the Watergate scandal during the Nixon administration. This memoir recounts how his experience nudged him toward conversion to Christianity.

Pair with Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis.

5. The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

A memoir of hope and dreams by a marginalized protagonist. Great introduction to writing by Hispanic women.

6. Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs

I cannot overstate how much this memoir moved me. It was while listening to the audio version narrated by Lisa Renee Pitts that I finally decided to separate from my husband of fifteen years.

7. Novel Interiors: Living in Enchanted Rooms Inspired by Literature by Lisa Borgnes Giramonti

I loved the idea of this book because it reminded me of issues of Victoria Magazine from the late 1980s--early 1990s. There would be a spread depicting scenes from a classic novel with quotes that sucked me in entirely. That magazine introduced me to a lot of great culture in general. Novel Interiors didn't quite live up to that level of inspiration, but it was fun to reminisce.

8. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin by Benjamin Franklin

I've seen Ben Franklin's clothes at the Smithsonian; now I've heard his voice.

Listen to the audio version narrated by Robin Field.

9. Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth Von Arnim

I barely recall reading this book. Maybe I was in a fog because of what was going down in my life at the time. Anyhow, it left no impression.

10. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou

Graphic, poignant, heartbreaking, and lovely. Now I know why Maya Angelou is a National Treasure.

Listen to the audio version which is read by the author.

11. Fiddler in the Subway: The Story of the World Class Violinist Who Played for Handouts. . . and Other Virtuoso Performances by America's Foremost Feature Writer by Gene Weingarten

The world class violinist was Joshua Bell. You can search it on the Internet. He really did play for handouts in a subway. I think he earned like twenty bucks.

12. Swan: Poems and Prose Poems by Mary Oliver

"If you have ever gone to the woods with me,

I must love you very much."

13. The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

A funny novel about a friendship between a middle-aged female French concierge and a 12 year old genius. Would make a good movie.

14. Optimism by Helen Keller

The name "Helen Keller" is pretty much synonymous with optimism, so the fact that she wrote a book with this title just makes sense.

"Although the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it."

15. Dressmaker of Khair Khana: Five Sisters, One Remarkable Family, and the Woman Who Risked Everything to Keep Them Safe by Gayle Lemmon

I love anything that stretches my comprehension of other cultures, especially with regard to the daily lives of women. This true story of determination, creativity, cooperation, and perseverance was inspiring.

16. The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie by Andrew Carnegie

I gleaned much more from this book than I expected. It was the right book at the right time. I listened to the audio version during the summer as I walked mile after mile at a local park. I needed to start shaping a vision of a future for myself and my kids that was going to be much different than I had prepared for heretofore. Andrew Carnegie helped me make some practical decisions.

17. Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

During my brief time in college, when I was in about 20 years old, my English professor wrote a note at the bottom of one of my essays:

"You are a gentle, yet persuasive feminist."

I was mortified because I had been raised in a culture that taught "Feminism" was a bad word.

Reading this book was like a reunion with a part of myself that I had lost sight of, a part of me that I want my children to know.


18. The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm

This was the second time I've read this book.

I still have a lot to learn about love.


19. Autobiography of Teresa of Avila 

One of the books on the Well Educated Mind autobiography list. I always enjoy a front row seat to history. There is nothing like a famous person's own words.

20. Sticking Points: How to Get 4 Generations Working Together in the 12 Places They Come Apart by Steven M. R. Covey

Thought-provoking insights for those interested in establishing a unified team in the modern workplace.

21. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

A novel about the attempt to establish an independent republic in Nigeria in the 1960s. A solid, hefty piece of modern fiction which stretched me. I'd like to read more of this author's work.

22. Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

A novel as vivid and dramatic as an opera. There's even a opera singer in it. Plus there's lush scenery, a terrible problem, forbidden love, and an evil villain with a rash on his face.

23. Who Thought This Was a Good Idea? And Other Questions You Should Have Answers to When You Work in the Whitehouse by Alyssa Mastromonaco

A light, entertaining read with some helpful advice for anyone starting a new career.

24. Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

Listened to this while playing Lara Croft: Relic Run on my phone. Now they go together in my mind.

25. Wonder by R. J. Palacio

Finally got around to reading this. Now it's a movie with Julia Roberts.

26. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass by Frederick Douglass

Another title from The Well Educated Mind autobiography list. This slave narrative is essential reading material. On Valentine's Day 2018, we'll celebrate the 200th birthday of Frederick Douglass, so this is a title you'll want to put on your TBR list now.

Side note: It was quoted heavily in Half a Yellow Sun.

27. The Boy Who Was Raised as a Dog: And Other Stories From a Child Psychiatrist's Notebook -- What Traumatized Children Can Teach Us About Loss, Love, and Healing by Bruce D. Perry

Extremely Insightful. This book helped me further clarify my career goals.

28. When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

A young neurosurgeon is diagnosed with stage IV brain cancer. This book is his final gift to humanity. Poignant and life-affirming.

"Human knowledge is never contained in one person. It grows from the relationships we create between each other and the world, and still it is never complete."


Happy New Year and Happy Reading!

Love,

A

On My Own, but Not Alone

Dear Friends,

My pastor recommended that I start blogging again, so here I am.
Since my last post, life has taken a dramatic turn. I'm going through a dissolution of marriage after fifteen years. Fortunately, my children's father and I are currently on good terms and co-parenting is going really well. I won't be scrubbing references to him from my social media accounts.

I'm now living at my parents' farm with the children. I'll spare you the details of the last few exhausting months and just say that I think I've reached the final stage of grief: acceptance.

Mom and Dad have 18 bee colonies and no microwave. They have a rotary telephone and no wifi. Life has come full circle for me. I'm back in my old dormer bedroom in a twin sized bed I'm sharing with my five year old daughter. At night I like to open the window and and we listen to spring peepers and rain or whatever's going on in the country in the dark. We cuddle like two birds in a nest. I'm blessed to have all my children near me in a situation that is safe and familiar to us.

I've set up a portable library in my room with wooden crates. Reading is more than a pleasurable pastime right now: it's a life raft for my mind and spirit. Recently I've been tweeting some of my favorite lines from the book I'm reading: The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie. It's a great book for anyone attempting a fresh start. I've been deeply challenged by Carnegie's optimism and determination.

The children and I are adjusting well to our new community. They love school and I love volunteering there from time to time. Church has become a genuine sanctuary for my weary heart. A few weeks ago I began serving as a liturgist. The congregants were so loving and supportive of my effort, that I found the courage to do it again. I love how connected and generous they are to those in need. I'm learning from their example how to live out my faith in a more authentic way.

Until next time, then.

Adriana

The Parable of the Good Samaritan: A Guest Post for a Friend

The Good Samaritan, Paula Modersohn-Becker

On Sunday mornings I assist my husband in teaching Sunday school to a group of 4th, 5th, and 6th grade boys. We usually have about ten boys in class, but yesterday we got a surprise when the girls from the classroom next door joined us! Their teachers weren't able to make it, so we ended up with 23 kids altogether. I love helping with this age group and I was especially happy to get to know the girls a bit.

Our lesson was on the Good Samaritan from Luke 10. My husband Joe asked for a volunteer to read the passage. A petite girl with red hair and freckles was the first to raise her hand. Joe called on her to read. I'll call her "Red."

Red's voice was soft. Right from the start she struggled to sound out the words. After a few minutes I thought she might give up and let someone else take over, but she plodded on through the entire passage. The boys squirmed. Some of the kids exchanged awkward smiles with each other. There were long pauses between Red's words and it was hard to hear most of what she read.

But it was okay.

Actually, it was more than okay -- it was wonderful! I'm not sure if any of the kids picked up on what I saw, but Jesus underscored His message to me because there was a "Good Samaritan" right by Red's side. I'll call her "Sam."

(Read the rest at my friend Tim's blog, Just One Train Wreck After Another.)

Saying Goodbye

This afternoon my girls and I went back to our old house to finish wrapping things up. There wasn't much left to do. I swept the floors, wiped down the counters, then vacuumed the playroom. The girls frolicked through the echoing rooms and wrote "Goodbye!" and "I love you!" on the concrete porch with a stray piece of chalk. Olivia took a video as we pulled away.

I used to think I wanted to stay at that house for the rest of my life. I thought it would be devastating for me to leave, but actually, it wasn't at all. More than anything, I'll miss our kids being little. They have been the highlight of every square inch of my living spaces for the last fourteen years! This house was the setting for a sweet and innocent chapter of life for them. I believe they'll recall many fond memories of our time there. What else could I ask for?

A Genealogy of Ideas

You don’t get to pick your family, but you can pick your teachers and you can pick your friends and you can pick the music you listen to and you can pick the books you read and you can pick the movies you see. You are, in fact, a mashup of what you choose to let into your life. You are the sum of your influences. The German writer Goethe said, "We are shaped and fashioned by what we love. 

Austin Kleon

As I said a couple days ago, I was inspired by Austin Kleon's short book Steal Like an Artist to assemble a "Genealogy of Ideas." I had some fun with this. I chose four writers whose works I have have nearly exhausted though the years. They each resonate with me for a broad spectrum of reasons. Taken collectively, perhaps they'll give me a glimpse into the type of writing that fits me best.

1. Diane Ackerman  ". . . is an American poet, essayist, and naturalist known for her wide-ranging curiosity and poetic explorations of the natural world."

I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well. ~D.A.

2. Lauren Winner ". . . is a historian, author and lecturer. She is Assistant Professor of Christian Spirituality at Duke Divinity School. Winner writes and lectures on Christian practice, the history of Christianity in America, and Jewish–Christian relations."

Some days I am not sure if my faith is riddled with doubt, or whether, graciously, my doubt is riddled with faith. And yet I keep living in the world the way a religious person lives in the world; I keep living in a world that I know to be enchanted, and not left alone. I doubt; I am uncertain; I am restless, prone to wander. And yet, glimmers of holy keep interrupting my gaze.~L.W.

3. Malcolm Gladwell    ". . . is an English-born Canadian journalist, author, and speaker."

Hard work is a prison sentence only if it does not have meaning. Once it does, it becomes the kind of thing that makes you grab your wife around the waist and dance a jig. 

4. Leo Tolstoy ". . . was a Russian writer who is regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time."

Joy can only be real if people look upon their life as a service and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness. 

Happiness

Happiness is when you and a friend combine your tea tin collections and discover they make a rainbow.

Mazurka for Dashed Hope

Yesterday I crushed on a house. 

Today news came: it's going to someone else.

Thankfully there's a mazurka for that.

Penned by Chopin in his youth;

I pound into my old black Baldwin

Until my soul feels young and light again.

A Commonplace Book Entry

Our obligation is to give meaning to life and so to overcome the passive indifferent life.

 Elie Wiesel

Last night Tuyet made a spicy Vietnamese fish soup with tilapia fillets and a giant snow crab that was a gift from her mother. Our neighbor Kristina came over and taught my son Jack a bizarre song called "Fish Heads, Fish Heads, Roly Poly Fish Heads!" Jack was both amused and disconcerted. They watched a weird music video of the song on YouTube together.

I pretended to fish a fish head out of my bowl with chopsticks. Kristina stopped singing and suddenly looked very grave.

My husband Joe fished the snow crab out of the stock pot. Jack's eyes widened again. The crabs long claws hung limply over the sink. Joe began to extract the meat with delight.

 I was ready for an early bedtime since I had spent three hours with all the kids at the pool.  Little Mary was sleepy too. It's not easy to eat fish soup with a yawning four year old on your lap.

Tuyet invited Kristina and me into her room for cranberry juice and vodka after dinner, Kristina joined her, but I declined and said goodnight to all. I then carried Mary upstairs to our room where she promptly fell asleep. My eyelids were heavy too but I had not written anything new today, so I started editing a post I had written months ago about Elie Wiesel and Holocaust literature. Those topics proved far too weighty for my tired brain and soon I was sleeping next to Mary.

At 3AM I awoke, tiptoed downstairs, and perked coffee. I rummaged through my pantry shelf in the garage until I found some chocolate biscotti.

Settled in my room again, I read chapter 44 of A Child's History of the World, "A Christian Kingdom in Africa. I knew that St. Augustine was the bishop of the North African city of Hippo, but I didn't know much else about North African history. For example, did you know that the last king of Ethiopia claimed to be a descendant of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba?

Yesterday I read a short book called Steal Like a Writer by Austin Kleon. I decided to think about my place in a "Genealogy of Ideas." Kleon encouraged me to build a lineage from artists who came before me that I admire, then place myself under their apprenticeship. That's what I'll be thinking about today.

Who would you include in a "Genealogy of Ideas"?

Radical Decluttering and a Move!

Dear Friends,

Last month we moved from our home in the country to a place in town. We're living with our good friends, Kevin and Tuyet, and their two small children until we find a house.

Once we decided to move, we did most of the work in ten days. Though we had rented our house for several years, we had always treated it as though it belonged to us. Our family of seven had put down some serious roots. The basement had become stacked with so much stuff that I felt paralyzed by the thousands of micro-decisions I had to make to get us out of there! But my husband is a wonder; he pulled a horse trailer, a dumpster, and a semi-trailer right up to the back patio and worked tirelessly to help me load things while also running his business and helping our oldest two kids prepare to show their horses at the county fair.

Friends and family came in to assist us as well. My father-in-law asked me why I had to play the piano. Couldn't I have chosen a lighter instrument? Since I joined the family fifteen years ago, he's helped to move it four times!

Now that the dust has settled, I'm staying in a guest bedroom with our four year old daughter. Our tween daughter is in her own room across the hall. My husband and our three sons are in a basement apartment.

Tuyet and I have merged pantries and created a lovely flow of cooperation for all our daily tasks. We cherish our time together! Meals are so much easier to assemble when you can plan and prepare them with a friend. Time folding laundry flies by when you're talking and laughing. If Tuyet needs to sleep in, I can handle breakfast for all the children (and vice versa).

In my room I've created the kind of French style closet I've always wanted with a limited number of carefully chosen high-use pieces. I also have a small pine dresser for essentials. I have two crates of books, one on each side of my bed -- I only packed what I expect to read in the next few months.
I feel much more productive and focused without all the clutter I had before!

The view from my window is park-like. I see two lotus blooms in Tuyet's koi pond. I see a swing that is covered in mature wisteria. A wall of manicured evergreens are paired with purple Rose of Sharon to provide privacy on one side since the neighbor's yard is quite close.

My room is painted clean ivory. There are new aquamarine sheets on the bed. On my dresser I've placed a framed photograph of two pink lilies that my old piano teacher, Sister Cecilia, gave me years ago.  My little girl has two crates to keep her things sorted. Her white porcelain bunny peeps between some potted plants by the window.

I look forward to having a house of my own again; but for now, I'm very happy.

What I'm reading: 

A Child's History of the World by Virgil M. Hillyer. I found it in a box of used books back when we were homeschooling and I'm just now getting around to it. An easy, delightful read. I'll likely read it aloud to my kids in the future.

From where we are now, let us look down the flights below us and listen to the story of what has happened in the long years gone by.  

Virgil M Hillyer


What I'm listening to:

Greetings's From Utopia Park: Surviving a Transcendent Childhood by Claire Hoffman

This book is endlessly amusing to me. I had an aunt who practiced transcendental meditation when I was a child. Because of this, my strick fundamentalist/baptist parents wouldn't let me spend the night at her house when I was young. It turns out that Utopia Park was not a whole lot different than the homeschool cult I grew up in!

It feels good to be blogging again. Hope I can keep things rolling this time.

Blessings,

Adriana

A Feast of Encouragement

Dear Friends, 

I had planned to write an original post today and then my three year old started vomiting last night; so instead, I'll be disinfecting the house and offering my little one sips of Pedialite. 

But in the spirit of resourcefulness and the desire to stay more connected with my blog community, I've decided to share a comment I left at my friend Tim's blog the other day. 

After you read my comment, head over to Tim's place and read his post, "How to Comfort Those Who Are Hurting."

Tim asked this question:

How have you been comforted and encouraged by a person God put in your life?

Recovering in bed at my aunt's house after surgery.

Tim, The most recent time that comes to mind was after my surgery when I went to stay at my Aunt Bonita’s house. She wasn’t able to take off work for more than a day and she was concerned about leaving me alone in the house while she and my uncle were away for several hours. I heard some commotion in the kitchen as I drifted off to sleep that night in her guest bedroom -- the rattling of pots and pans — that sort of thing.

The next morning I woke up alone in soft, clean, white bedding. There was a fortress of coolers around the sides of the bed. I crawled across the comforter and peered inside them. There was yogurt, fruit, muffins, a salad, a turkey sandwich and bottles of cold water. Next to the bed was a small vase of flowers from my Aunt’s garden and a thermos of hot coffee! Every need had been considered and tended to in advance. I felt so loved!

I called to thank her and told her I felt like Sara Crewe in a Little Princess when she and her friend Becky awaken to a feast which had been secretly prepared for them by a compassionate neighbor.

Now it's your turn: how have you been comforted or encouraged lately?

I'd love to know.

Love,

A

I'm walking again!

Dear Friends,

Where to begin?

It's been so long since I've posted anything that I'm not sure if anyone will even read this!

After months of recovery, I'm now back on my feet and moving forward. Last week I walked a mile for the first time since my surgery -- and let me tell you -- It felt like an enormous accomplishment. I could not believe how sore and tired I felt after I finished. I soaked in a chamomile epsom salt bath until the water was cold! But the experience of walking down a country road fills my senses in a way nothing else can. I've missed it very much.

Since then I've walked the same route every day. Each time I feel a little less sore and a little bit stronger! Still, I bought three bags of epsom salts at the grocery store to be prepared for the worst aches and pains.

You can expect my quest to focus on healthy living in the coming months because that is what I'm into presently. A year of therapy has helped me emerge from a debilitating depression. My feet have been reshaped by my surgeon and restored by time. Now I'm eager to more forward to a stronger, brighter future.

You can also expect me to write more about educating children. I'm now homeschooling my daughters, ages twelve and three years, and of course I still help my three sons with homework in the evenings -- a task that can take up to two hours!

Hope all is well in your corner of the world.

Your busy, yet happy friend,

Adriana

P.S. I just started the last book on my WEM fiction list: Possession by A.S. Byatt. Looking forward to starting autobiographies soon!

Postcard From My Quest

Hi Friends!

I hope you are having a summer full of wonder!

All is well here. Enjoying daily adventures with my family; relishing joy and peace. I'm scheduled to have my second foot surgery soon. Looking forward to getting that out of the way and moving forward to a stronger, healthier future.

More to come from Classical Quest!

Longer letter later! :-)

Love,
A

Update on my time spent resting in green pastures

Dear Friend,

There are seasons of life when we have to batten down the hatches, tuck ourselves away, hibernate and heal.

Last September I had surgery on my foot. And now, five months later, it feels as though life is finally starting to return to a normal rhythm.

Except that I'm not yet able to take the long country walks I love so much . . .

I'll need to have my other foot repaired in the future -- for now, it's a slow steady pace with a slight limp.

And it's enough.

"All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well."
 -- Julian of Norwich

This time of physical healing has also been a season of spiritual healing. There have been moments of reconciliation. As gentle hands served, old misunderstandings were cleared away and love grew in places where it had once failed to thrive.

Last fall at the silent retreat, dear women -- some of them strangers -- made me comfortable by propping up my fragile foot and bringing me food and drink.

My friend Ana broke the silence to whisper,"Just receive." 

Such compassionate words! Words of communion: Just receive.

"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake."

Psalm 23:2-3 

"I knowed you wasn't well. Why you try to hide it?"

"I didn't want to be trouble to anyone," I said.

"Everybody has to be trouble to somebody. And you just come from the hospital too." 

I looked up. She sat in the rocking chair bent forward, her arms folded at ease across her aproned lap. Had she searched my pockets?

"How did you know that?" I said.

"There you go getting suspicious," she said sternly. "That's whats wrong with the world today, don't nobody trust nobody. I can smell that hospital smell on you, son. You got enough ether on those clothes to put to sleep a dog!"

~Ralph Ellison, Invisible Man  

I've been missing my blog. I've tried to fire things back up a few times, but the return to normal after a few months off my foot has been a bit of a challenge. I've had a lot of catching up to do! Thank you for reading. And thank you so much to those of you who have noticed my absence and checked in from time to time. I'm as excited as ever about moving forward with my quest. It's wonderful to have faithful readers to come back to.

I'm currently halfway through Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison. Then I'll have just five more titles to go and I'll be finished with the WEM novel list. After that I hope to carve out more time to write about what I've read so far. I'm also looking forward to receiving my copy of Pioneer Girl by Laura Ingalls Wilder. In June I'll revisit To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee in anticipation for the release of Go Set a Watchman in July. These titles are pretty much set in stone for me in the coming months. 

Are you making time for deep reading? Don't forget to prop up your feet from time to time. Sip and nibble on delicious, nourishing things.

And if it is your season to receive, don't fight it. 

Just receive.

With love,

Adriana

Blogiversary!

Dear Friend,

Today is my blogiversary!

And it's also Chocolate Cake Day . . .

And Mozart's birthday.

Such a special day.

To celebrate these wonderful events I'm firing up the ole blog, making my mother's chocolate cake buying a chocolate cake, and taking some time to practice Mozart's Sonata in C Major.

I've made a bit of progress on my quest in the last couple months.

Here's what my WEM novel list looks like now:

1. Don Quixote – Miguel de Cervantes
2. The Pilgrim's Progress - John Bunyan
3. Gulliver's Travels - Jonathan Swift
4. Pride and Predjudice - Jane Austen
5. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
6. Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
7. The Scarlet Letter – Nathaniel Hawthorne
8. Moby-Dick - Herman Melville
9. Uncle Tom’s Cabin – Harriet Beecher Stowe
10. Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
11. Crime and Punishment – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
12. Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy  Leo Tolstoy
13. The Return of the Native – Thomas Hardy
14. The Portrait of a Lady -- Henry James
15. Huckleberry Finn - Mark Twain
16. Red Badge of Courage – Stephen Crane
17. Heart of Darkness – Joseph Conrad
18. The House of Mirth – Edith Wharton
19. The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
20. Mrs. Dalloway – Virginia Woolf
21. The Trial – Franz Kafka
22. Native Son – Richard Wright
23. The Stranger – Albert Camus
24. 1984 – George Orwell
25. Invisible Man – Ralph Ellison
26. Seize the Day – Saul Bellow
27. One Hundred Years of Solitude – Gabriel García Márquez
28. If on a winter’s night a traveler – Italo Calvino
29. Song of Solomon – Toni Morrison
30. White Noise – Don Delillo
31. Possession – A.S. Byatt

Just seven more titles to go!

Hope you're having a lovely winter.

Love,
Adriana

P.S.

Don't forget to listen to Mozart and eat a piece of chocolate cake today. :-)

Classics and the Bible Sunday

Dear Friend,

I have a new post up at my Classics & the Bible blog.  Still working my way through the many biblical references in Anna Karenina.Today I'm exploring some illustrations by French artist Gustave Dore.

Gustave Dore

Hope you are having a great weekend!

Love,

Adriana

P.S. My cast is off but I still can't put weight on my foot for several more days. Physical therapy is going well.

Classics and the Bible Sunday

Dear Friend,

It feels like a good time to revive my "Classics & the Bible" blog with a new post. I've written about a biblical reference which is tossed out with sarcasm by Stephan Arkadyevich to Konstantin Levin as they ride in a carriage through Moscow on their way to visit Anna Karenina. Unpacking three short words was quite an interesting experience! You can read the post here.

Also, I recently wrote another guest piece for my friend Tim Fall's blog -- "Racial Reconcilation: One Ordination Day at a Time."

Out of all the preachers I greeted that day, there was one face which stood out above the rest. I remember him as taller than everyone else, but maybe he only appeared to be. He was gray and distinguished, certainly the oldest man in attendance. I placed my young white hand in his ancient brown one, a small dove in a large nest. His eyes were tender like the eyes of Christ. I felt as if he saw into me. Under the weight of his gaze my eyes moistened.

Hope your Sunday is worshipful and restful.

Blessings!

Adriana

Vlog Post: Feeling Thirteen & Reading Huck Finn

Dear Friend,

In 2001 I entered a decade of childbearing with flat feet. Ever since baby number five was born nearly three years ago, my feet have given me trouble. Fallen arches led to plantar fasciitis and the protrusion of bunions. I began to experience pain and inflammation a great deal of the time.

Also, since my last little one was born, I've been physically weak overall. I've tried and tried to snap back but progress has been slow.

Out of necessity, I began to forgo my long nature walks to conserve my feet for my domestic duties.

Yet still, every night I'd drop into bed sore and exhausted.

Last spring at the silent retreat I attended, my feet were too sore to walk down the stone staircase to the river.

So I finally went to the doctor!

After the podiatrist took a look at my x-rays she entered the room to greet me and said, "Oh my! I expected a much older woman to go with these feet!"

About two weeks ago I had a bunion removal and arch lift on my left foot. I'm hoping to have the other foot done after Christmas. We'll see how things go. In the mean time I can't put any weight on my left foot for five more weeks.

Between the feet problems and the fact that my hair is graying at an alarming rate, it has occurred to me that middle age is swiftly approaching.

Where did my twenties go?

Where did my thirties go? 

Yet, as Madeline L' Engle once wrote, "I am still every age I have been."

As a matter of fact, the way I've felt lately, as I'm recovering from surgery, is about age thirteen! There have been mood swings -- from tears to laughter. I'm capable one minute, then as needy as a child the next; pining for independence, yet unable to drive a car.

So one afternoon last week -- while recovering at my aunt's beautiful home -- I propped up my foot on one of her dining room chairs and did a reading as the voice of one of my favorite thirteen year old adventurers: Huckleberry Finn.

If you've never read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, I hope this reading will inspire you to pick it up. It's one of my favorite classics!

The Widow Douglas she took me for her son, and allowed she would sivilize me; but it was rough living in the house all the time, considering how dismal regular and decent the widow was in all her ways; and so when I couldn't stand it no longer I lit out.  I got into my old rags and my sugar-hogshead again, and was free and satisfied.  But Tom Sawyer he hunted me up and said he was going to start a band of robbers, and I might join if I would go back to the widow and be respectable.  So I went back.

The widow she cried over me, and called me a poor lost lamb, and she called me a lot of other names, too, but she never meant no harm by it. She put me in them new clothes again, and I couldn't do nothing but sweat and sweat, and feel all cramped up.  Well, then, the old thing commenced again.  The widow rung a bell for supper, and you had to come to time. When you got to the table you couldn't go right to eating, but you had to wait for the widow to tuck down her head and grumble a little over the victuals, though there warn't really anything the matter with them,—that is, nothing only everything was cooked by itself.  In a barrel of odds and ends it is different; things get mixed up, and the juice kind of swaps around, and the things go better.

After supper she got out her book and learned me about Moses and the Bulrushers, and I was in a sweat to find out all about him; but by and by she let it out that Moses had been dead a considerable long time; so then I didn't care no more about him, because I don't take no stock in dead people.

Pretty soon I wanted to smoke, and asked the widow to let me.  But she wouldn't.  She said it was a mean practice and wasn't clean, and I must try to not do it any more.  That is just the way with some people.  They get down on a thing when they don't know nothing about it.  Here she was a-bothering about Moses, which was no kin to her, and no use to anybody, being gone, you see, yet finding a power of fault with me for doing a thing that had some good in it.  And she took snuff, too; of course that was all right, because she done it herself.

Her sister, Miss Watson, a tolerable slim old maid, with goggles on, had just come to live with her, and took a set at me now with a spelling-book. She worked me middling hard for about an hour, and then the widow made her ease up.  I couldn't stood it much longer.  Then for an hour it was deadly dull, and I was fidgety.  Miss Watson would say, "Don't put your feet up there, Huckleberry;" and "Don't scrunch up like that, Huckleberry—set up straight;" and pretty soon she would say, "Don't gap and stretch like that, Huckleberry—why don't you try to behave?"  Then she told me all about the bad place, and I said I wished I was there. She got mad then, but I didn't mean no harm. 

All I wanted was to go somewheres; all I wanted was a change, I warn't particular.  She said it was wicked to say what I said; said she wouldn't say it for the whole world; she was going to live so as to go to the good place.  Well, I couldn't see no advantage in going where she was going, so I made up my mind I wouldn't try for it.  But I never said so, because it would only make trouble, and wouldn't do no good.

Now she had got a start, and she went on and told me all about the good place.  She said all a body would have to do there was to go around all day long with a harp and sing, forever and ever.  So I didn't think much of it. But I never said so.  I asked her if she reckoned Tom Sawyer would go there, and she said not by a considerable sight.  I was glad about that, because I wanted him and me to be together.

Youthfully yours,

Adriana

Vlog: Reading from The Pilgrim's Progress

Dear Friend,

I have another reading for you today. This time it's from The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan.

This is not a flawless performance. Some of  Bunyan's sentences feel like tongue twisters! Such a mouthful! But when I got home from the grocery a couple days ago, I had about 15 minutes of silence before my kids were due in from school. I thought I'd give you the best I had to offer in that time.

Since reading The Pilgrim's Progress, Bunyan's allegories for Grace have frequently come to my mind. The first passage is about housekeeping, a subject I know well. The second passage is about a fire on a wall; I think about it when lighting my candle inside my lantern. 

Maybe my great-great grandchildren will stumble upon Classical Quest someday and listen raptly to my vlog readings . . .

Or maybe this will just help a few of you briefly ponder the marvelous mystery of the Grace of God. 

Click play then scroll down to read along.

"The Parlour"

Then [Interpreter] took [Christian] by the hand, and led him into a very large Parlour that was full of dust, because never swept; the which after he had reviewed a little while, the Interpreter called for a man to sweep: Now when he began to sweep, the dust began so abundantly to fly about, that Christian had almost therewith been choaked: Then said the Interpreter to a Damsel that stood by, Bring hither Water, and sprinkle the Room; which when she had done, was swept and cleansed with pleasure.

Then said Christian, What means this?

The Interpreter answered; This Parlour, is the heart of a Man that was never sanctified by the sweet Grace of the Gospel: The dust, is his Original Sin, and inward Corruptions that have defiled the whole Man. He that began to sweep at first, is the Law; but She that brought water, and did sprinkle it, is the Gospel: Now, whereas thous sawest that so soon as the first began to sweep, the dust did so fly about, the the Room by him could not be cleansed, but that thou wast almost choaked therewith, this is to shew thee, that the Law, instead of cleansing the heart (by its working) from sin, doth revive, put strength into, and increase it in the soul, even as it doth discover and forbid it, for it doth not give power to subdue.

Again, as thou sawest the Damsel sprinkle the Room with Water, upon which it was cleansed with pleasure: This is to shew thee, that when the Gospel comes in the sweet and precious influences thereof to the heart, then I say, even as thou sawest the Damsel lay the dust by sprinkling the Floor with Water, so is sin vanquished and subdued, and the soul made clean, through the Faith of it; and consequently fit for the King of Glory to inhabit.

"The Fire Against the Wall" 

Then I saw in my Dream, that the Interpreter took Christian by the hand, and led him into a place, where was a Fire burning against a Wall, and one standing by it always, casting much Water upon it to quench it: Yet did the Fire burn higher and hotter.

Then said Christian, What means this?

The Interpreter answered, ‘This fire is the work of Grace that is wrought in the heart; he that casts Water upon it, to extinguish and put it out, is the Devil: but in that thou seest the fire, notwithstanding, burn higher and hotter, thou shalt also see the reason of that: So he had him about to the back side of the Wall, where he saw a Man with a Vessel of Oyl in his hand, of the which he did also continually cast, but secretly, into the fire. Then said Christian, What means this? The Interpreter answered, This is Christ, who continually with the Oyl of his Grace, maintains the work already begun in the heart; by the means of which, notwithstanding what the Devil can do, the souls of his people prove gracious still. And in that thou sawest, that the Man stood behind the Wall to maintain the fire; this is to teach thee, that it is hard for the tempted to see how this work of Grace is maintained in the soul.

I'd love to know your thoughts on these rich passages. I sincerely hope the Grace of God is something you know about from first hand experience.

I depend upon it every moment.

With Love,

Adriana