The Booking Through Thursday question for this week is:

Suggested by Janet:

I’ve seen this quotation in several places lately. It’s from Sven Birkerts’ ‘The Gutenberg Elegies: The Fate of Reading in an Electronic Age’:

“To read, when one does so of one’s own free will, is to make a volitional statement, to cast a vote; it is to posit an elsewhere and set off toward it. And like any traveling, reading is at once a movement and a comment of sorts about the place one has left. To open a book voluntarily is at some level to remark the insufficiency either of one’s life or one’s orientation toward it.”

To what extent does this describe you?

I’ve had to read this quote through several times. I often wish the questions were posted a day or a week beforehand to give more time to process them.

If I am understanding the quote correctly, I disagree with it, especially with traveling and reading being “a comment of sorts about the place one has left.” Travel is not always about insufficiency or dissatisfaction and does not always mean I don’t like where I am. There are multitudes of reasons to travel, but for me personally, I love most coming back to home base.

Reading is not escapism in the sense that there is something missing from life that I am trying to find in books. It does open up new horizons and allows me to visit places and people that I would not otherwise, it causes me to think and to process, but to me it is about enrichment, not insufficiency. There may occasionally be a book I read out of a felt need for the contents, like Changed Into His Image or How To Say No To a Stubborn Habit. And I “need” to read in the sense that that’s how I am stimulated mentally and intellectually and often spiritually.

On the other hand, reading us also partly about personal growth, so in that sense I can see the idea of movement. But I guess the word “insufficiency” bothers me here. You can have a plant that is fine in itself, but you can do things to it to enrich it, make it hardier, more fruitful, etc.

I don’t know — I guess I am still processing this one! It will be interesting to see what the others participants have to say.

The folks at 5 Minutes For Books host What’s On Your Nightstand? the fourth Tuesday of each month in which we can share about the books we have been reading and/or plan to read. You can learn more about it by clicking the link or the button.

I finished The Tartan Pimpernel, an autobiography of Donald Caskie, a Scottish pastor in France during WWII who helped establish safe houses and escape routes for Allied soldiers, and reviewed it here.

I also finished Words Unspoken by Elizabeth Musser about…a lot of things actually, but the main story line involves a teen-age girl who feels she caused the accident that killed her mother, and eighteen months later still has panic attacks when she tries to drive. But as I said in my review, it is about so much more. This was one of my favorite books of the year so far.

I reviewed Mrs. Dunwoody’s Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping here but did not read it completely since it is mainly a book of homemaking tips. I did read much the philosophy behind the book and dipped into several portions, and have it ready as a reference.

I also finished Interwoven about two missionaries whose spouses died and who were eventually led together and reviewed it here.

I am almost finished with Parting the Waters:Finding Beauty in Brokenness by Jeanne Damoff about her teen-age son’s near-drowning and can’t wait to tell you more about it.

I just started Dr. Sa’eed of Iran: Kurdish Physician to Princes and Peasants Nobles and Nomads by Jay M. Rasooli and Cady H. Allen (which I looked up mainly because a poem from it was read at Dr. John Dreisbach’s funeral).

I’m not sure what is next after those two, but I think I am in the mood for something lighter. I have several Christian fiction titles on my shelf, plus I am thinking about reading Emma by Jane Austen after recently seeing the newest PBS production. I read all the rest of Austen’s novels over the last few years, but had read that one over 30 years ago for a college course. I’d like to revisit it while the production I saw is still fresh in my mind. But…we’ll see!

Meanwhile, if you’d like to see what other people have been delving into or if you would like to share what you’ve been reading, head over to 5 Minutes For Books.

The Booking Through Thursday question for this week is one I submitted how to encourage non-reading older children to read.

Reading was one of our favorite activities when the kids were little. We read all through the day, every night before bedtime, took regular trips to the library, signed up for reading programs with fun prizes, end-of-summer parties, etc. They all loved to read as young children. Or maybe I should say they loved being read to. Only one grew up to read regularly, though. Beyond the star-on-a-chart types of encouragement, they didn’t seem open to suggestions about books they might like. One regularly responded to any suggestions about reading with, “I’m just not a reading kind of guy, Mom.” Which of course broke this book-loving mom’s heart.

Some years ago I read Ben Carson’s autobiography, Gifted Hands. One of the major factors in his life was that his mother required Ben and his brother to read a certain amount every day beyond classroom requirements. I’ve toyed with making reading a requirement in the hopes that it would “grab” them, but feared it would backfire, human nature being what it is, and make them resent a book that they might otherwise like.

Most suggestions for creating readers include:

Parents actively reading. √
Read to them as children. √
Take them to the library. √
Keep interesting reading material on their level. √
Read aloud to them. I did this for years but fell away as they got older and busier. I wish I’d kept it up.

What does it matter whether they read or not? Well, I just hate for them to miss out on all that can be gained by reading — enrichment, learning, broadening horizons, useful ways of passing time, even spiritual growth. My friend Janet came up with 25 great reasons to read, one of my favorites being that God relates to us through words; Jesus Himself is called the Word.

I have one teen-ager left at home. How would you encourage an older child, teen, or young adult to read?

The title of The Tartan Pimpernel hearkens back to the The Scarlet Pimpernel, the imaginary but legendary rescuer of those unfairly appointed to death during the French Revolution. In this case, however, the rescuer was a very real Scottish pastor in France during World War II.

On the brink of the German invasion of Paris, Donald Caskie, pastor of the Scots Kirk there, led his people in considering Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble,” and Matthew 24: 6-8: “And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” He commended them to God and told them good-bye: though he thought perhaps a minister might have met with some respect of enemy soldiers, he had publicly denounced Hitler more than once and knew his record might put him in danger. He decided to go back to Scotland to render service there and “take stock of [his] future.”

He joined the multitude of other refugees fleeing the city on foot, rejoicing whenever he could find a pile of straw to sleep on, a cow to sleep next to for warmth, or a grapevine from which to eat along the way. Days later, nearing exhaustion, receiving timely aid from a couple of good Samaritans, he finally reached the British Consulate only to decide he must stay in France. There was a ship available, but he felt the wounded men needed the space more than he, while his help was needed in his besieged adopted country.

Praying for guidance, he was led in a marvelous way to the abandoned British Seamen’s Mission in Marseilles and told he could aid seamen and civilians, but not soldiers, and to expect surveillance and raids to make sure he was keeping within those parameters. Caskie had a clear conscience about “going underground.” Though being closely watched, somehow he was able to hide and aid soldiers, becoming a major link in their escape route back to England. Food, clothing, false identification, guides, everything needed was marvelously provided time and again. The elaborate details needed to secretly get these men out of the country are amazing, especially in that time without the ease of communication we have these days with cell phones, GPS devices, etc. It is estimated some 2,000 sailors, soldiers, and airmen were aided by him in their escape back to England.

Donald was arrested and eventually sentenced to death, but a German pastor intervened for him. Though nearly starving and in solitary confinement for much of his imprisonment, he felt the interruption in his work, the worry his situation caused his mother, and the inability to minister help to those in prison were his crosses to bear. He remained a prisoner until liberation, when he again began to minister, reopening Scots Kirk, becoming a visiting minister to those in camps, prisons, and elsewhere, and aiding the British with his experience and knowledge of the area and the happenings during the war.

He was urged to write of his war-time experiences and finally did in the mid 1950s, using the book as a fund-raiser to rebuild the church, which had been damaged and decayed. (An interesting side note is that Eric Liddell preached in this church instead of running on Sunday during the Olympics, though a different church than this is actually shown in the film Chariots of Fire.)

Though words like “brave” and “inspiring” describe Caskie in the blurbs on the outside of this republished edition, he wrote the book in an unassuming, matter-of-fact way laced with quiet humor. Some sections are quiet suspenseful, as when a traitor is suspected in the ranks.

This book spoke to me on many levels, a couple of which I elaborated on in an earlier post, especially the quiet heroism and bravery of men and women who weren’t trying to be heroes, but had to stand up and do the right thing, as well as those behind the scenes who aided them.

Though the Lord’s hand is evident throughout, I would recommend the book more from a historical vantage point than a spiritual one, as I would disagree with Caskie on a few points, especially calling a works-based denomination “Christian.” A little odd is his claiming of a Celtic gift of “second sight,” an “uncanny ability to anticipate events.” I don’t know what to make of that, but as the introduction concludes, “The Tartan Pimpernel illustrates the tremendous height to which the human spirit can soar in the horrors of war and is a fitting legacy of a man of outstanding courage and integrity.”

The folks at 5 Minutes For Books host What’s On Your Nightstand? the fourth Tuesday of each month in which we can share about the books we have been reading and/or plan to read. You can learn more about it by clicking the link or the button.

Wow, it’s the fourth Tuesday already?

I didn’t do a nightstand post in December because I had just had a lengthy Fall Into Reading wrap-up post the day before and because we were on an anniversary trip that day. So, if it is ok, I’ll list the books I’ve completed in the last two months:

Come, Thou Long Expected Jesus, a compilation of 22 Christmas related essays from authors varying from Augustine and Luther to Piper, not reviewed, but highly recommended.

The Heirloom by Colleen L. Reece and Julie Reece-DeMarco, reviewed here.

American Haven by Elisabeth Yates, Plain Perfect by Beth Wiseman, and A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher, all reviewed briefly here.

Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury and Fit to Be Tied is by Robin Lee Hatcher, both reviewed here.

Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery, reviewed here.

I’m currently reading The Tartan Pimpernel, which is an autobiography of Donald Caskie, a Scottish pastor in France during WWII who helped establish safe houses and escape routes for Allied soldiers, and Words Unspoken by Elizabeth Musser about…a lot of things actually, but the main story line involves a teen-age girl who feels she caused the accident that killed her mother, and eighteen months later still has panic attacks when she drives. Her father hires a kindly, wise, older man as a driving instructor who tries to help her in various ways but who has other issues in his life as well.

I have so many good books waiting to be read, I’m not sure which to choose next, but among my choices are: The Hidden Flame by Janette Oke and Davis Bunn, A Touch of Grace by Lauraine Snelling,  Detour, a non-fiction sequel to Dr. Frau: A Woman Doctor Among the Amish by Grace H. Kaiser, Parting the Waters:Finding Beauty in Brokenness by Jeanne Damoff, Where My Heart Belongs by Tracie Peterson, Dr. Sa’eed of Iran: Kurdish Physician to Princes and Peasants Nobles and Nomads by Jay M. Rasooli and Cady H. Allen (which I looked up mainly because a poem from it was read at Dr. John Dreisbach‘s funeral), Interwoven by Russ and Nancy Ebersole, about two missionaries whose mates died and who then found each other, Port of Two Brothers by Paul Schlener, the name of a village along the Amazon in Brazil named for two brother missionaries and their families who worked there, Beyond Prison Walls by Marian Bomm, about her interment in a Japanese prison camp in WWII…and many more. Decisions, decisions!!!

I first became acquainted with Anne of Green Gables through the well-known production that aired on PBS in the mid-80s, and I was enthralled. I had never heard of the books before, though they were hailed as classic children’s literature. My education had been enormously deficient! So I bought and read an eight-book set by Lucy Maud Montgomery containing the six Anne books as well as Rainbow Valley and Rilla of Ingleside.

I decided to revisit Anne for the 5 Minutes For Books Classics Bookclub and the L. M. Montgomery Reading Challenge hosted by Carrie at Reading to Know.  

If you’re not familiar with Anne, she is an orphan girl who has been passed around to different homes primarily as a “mother’s helper” until she ends up in an orphanage at the age of 12. She’s bright and witty but spends a great majority of her time daydreaming, imagining, and reading, perhaps as a way to escape and survive her circumstances. Unmarried brother and sister Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert of Prince Edward Island in Canada decide to send for a boy from an orphanage to help around the place as they are getting on in years, but through a miscommunication they receive…Anne. Soft-spoken and tender-hearted Matthew thinks perhaps they can do her some good and should keep her. Practical Marilla disagrees, but when she finds out Anne will be sent as a helper to a cheerless, “fractious” woman with a houseful of children rather than back to the orphanage, she can’t in good conscience hand her over, so she sets about to “raise” Anne properly.

But this description fails to capture the charm of the books and the characters:

Anne, who emphasizes that it is “Anne with an e” because the “e” adds so much character and interest, who is so sensitive about her red hair that she breaks a slate over a boy’s head for teasing her about it and tries to dye it “raven black” only to end up with it green, who longs for “a bosom friend,” who has never tasted ice cream and thrills at the possibility, who aches over beauty, renaming a tree-lined avenue the “White Way of Delight” and renames Barry’s Pond “The Lake of Shining Waters,” who gets into a series of amusing “scrapes, who, though she has “tragical” days in “the depths of despair,” usually finds the bright side of any situation.

No-nonsense Marilla, who has a kind heart and a latent sense of humor despite her strictness and sparseness, who at first is driven to distraction by Anne’s chattering but later grows to like it, who has trouble expressing her feelings.

Matthew, who never went courting because it would have involved having to talk to a woman, who decides to buy Anne a pretty dress for a ball and gets so flustered he buys a garden rake (in the dead of winter) and 20 lbs. of brown sugar before he can work up the nerve to ask for what he wants. The segments where he buys the dress, fashionable with “puffed sleeves” which Marilla thinks are so silly but which Anne has been longing for, and Anne’s running out to the barn to thank him with love and devotion shining from her eyes are some of the sweetest.

Then there is Anne’s “bosom friend” Diana; the mischievous Gilbert Blythe, whom Anne steels herself against because he teased her, but of whom she is ever aware despite her sworn animosity; busybody Rachel Lynde who does have some redeeming features nonetheless; beloved teacher Miss Stacey, who helps her give form and definition and restraint to her imagination in her writing and who nurtures her love of learning.

Though the story is not a “Christian” one per se, it is a God-fearing moral one, and though it is called children’s literature, many adults love it just as well. My reading this time was somewhat overshadowed at first by Carrie’s discovery that Lucy Maud Montgomery’s life was not characterized by the brightness, warmth, and charm of her writing, and that she in fact ended her own life. But after a while the joy of the story took over, and I could take joy in the joy she evidently found in writing. I wondered if her imagination, like Anne’s, was an outlet, an escape for whatever darkness she experienced, and I only wish she had anchored her hope in the One who could deliver her.

Just after reading the book I watched the first DVD again. Though there are a few differences from the book, overall it is remarkably true to it, and it is visually stunning as well. The scenery, the clothing, the hats, the wallpaper, the decorations — all are a feast for the eyes. And Hagood Hardy’s soundtrack is gorgeous: I kept hearing Anne’s theme even as I was reading the book. (The second film was wonderful as well, though it strayed a little farther from the books, but the third one about Anne’s first years of marriage was a complete rewrite for which Anne fans have yet to forgive Kevin Sullivan. I don’t think he quite realized just what it was about the Anne stories that captivated and charmed viewers. But we’ll save that discussion for another time.)

My first time through the books was a joyful journey of discovery: this reading of Anne was a visit with old friends. I predicted that this would make me want to reread the whole series again, and it has, but I am going to have to hold off for now and get back to that stack of new books that I need to clear off my shelves. But later in the year, perhaps this summer, I hope to visit with Anne again and continue on through the series.

(This post will also be linked to Semicolon’s Saturday Review of Books.)

The Booking Through Thursday question for this week is one I submitted (thanks for using it!):

What books did you get for Christmas (or whichever holiday you may have celebrated last month)?

Do you usually ask for books on gift-giving occasions or do you prefer to buy them yourself?

To answer the last question first, I almost always have books on my “wish list.” I keep a running list of books I might want to read (which has grown exponentially since blogging), and our family likes to work with a list of ideas when a gift-giving occasion comes up, so I peruse that list to see what I might want to add. But when a favorite author has a new book coming out, I don’t usually wait to put it on a wish list — I usually go ahead and get it. I don’t feel too badly about spending the money — it is an investment in entertainment (and we don’t spend much money on entertainment in general), in education and brain stimulation, sometimes in spiritual growth, and I am supporting working artists. 🙂

And though I usually prefer books from my “wish list,” I am not opposed to receiving a book that someone else thinks I might like.

This Christmas I received:

A Novel Idea: Everything You Need to Know About Writing Inspirational Fiction with chapters contributed by Karen Kingsbury, Robin Lee Hatcher, Jerry Jenkins, and others who have been published in this genre. I think about the possibility of writing sometimes, and this looks like a great resource for both inspiration and instruction.

The Tartan Pimpernel, and autobiography of Donald Caskie, “minister of the Scots Kirk in Paris at the time of the German invasion of France in 1940. Although he had several opportunities to flee, Caskie remained there to help establish a network of safe houses and escape routes for Allied soldiers and airmen trapped in occupied territory.” If I remember correctly, I think I saw this recommended by Chris Anderson.

Detour, a non-fiction sequel to Dr. Frau: A Woman Doctor Among the Amish by Grace H. Kaiser (my short review of that book is here).  The doctor suffered a spinal cord injury which left her a quadriplegic, resulting in a reversal of roles with the Amish ministering to her.

Parting the Waters:Finding Beauty in Brokenness by Jeanne Damoff. I first read Jeanne when someone (Janet? Sherrie? I’m sorry, I forgot to note who) linked to her articles “How fiction can powerfully inform the practical application of truth,” part one and part two. Both her insights and her writing style resonated with me, and I wanted to read her book about the drowning accident that put her fifteen-year old son, Jacob, in a long coma.

Where My Heart Belongs by Tracie Peterson, Christian fiction about the struggle the “good daughter” has when her prodigal sister comes home.

Jane Austen’s Little Instruction Book, a “mini-book” compilation of quotes from her books.

Sew Sunny Homestyle by Tone Finnegar. I’ve mentioned others of her books before: I’m delighted to get this one as well.

Sewing In No Time by Emma Hardy. I think I must have seen this recommended while looking at the above book: I don’t remember. But if I am going to do a sewing project, I want a quick one!

I have looked at the last two page by page and seen several projects I want to do, but otherwise I have not read these yet. I am looking forward to them!

How about you? Did you get any books for Christmas?