It seemed appropriate to schedule a Jane Austen romance during February for my Young Ladies Literary Tea. Since we did Pride and Prejudice last fall, we were eager to compare the Bennet sisters to the Dashwood sisters, so we chased away the mid-winter blues with Sense and Sensibility. It was a marvelous club. As usual, … Continue reading Sense and Sensibility Young Ladies Tea
Raising Chaste Catholic Men – A Mom Book Club
My husband is the Associate Principal of a large Catholic high school. There is much about his job which is heartbreaking. Our secular culture today seeks to ravage the innocence and chastity of our young people - no matter where they attend school - Christian school, private school, home school, or any combination thereof. While … Continue reading Raising Chaste Catholic Men – A Mom Book Club
Hobbit Club: January 2019
This is part of the Hobbit Club series This month we opened our book club with what we understand was J.R.R. Tolkien’s favorite prayer: The Litany of Mother Mary. We Catholics love our litanies. They are so soothing while also inviting contemplation. Our Lord despises vain repetitions, but He did not object to repetition. In … Continue reading Hobbit Club: January 2019
Hobbit Club: December 2018
This is part of our Hobbit Club Series At our December meeting, I was sick. I got sick in October and have been in and out of doctors’ offices since then. At the time of writing this (February) I am preparing for a surgery which should cap off a nearly five-month ordeal. In fact, I … Continue reading Hobbit Club: December 2018
The Westing Game
In the last two years the teens in my local book club have improved their recommendations for me. As we have gotten to know each other better, they have been able to make more interesting and appropriate requests for future book clubs. Over the last few months, at every meeting, someone renews the call for … Continue reading The Westing Game
Understood Betsy Young Ladies Literary Tea
In January, we drank cocoa instead of tea at our Young Ladies Literary Tea. If you have ever read Dorothy Canfield Fisher’s Understood Betsy you will know how important hot cocoa and cookies are. Those awful Putney cousins may make Betsy do farm chores, but they also show their love in cookies and cocoa. On … Continue reading Understood Betsy Young Ladies Literary Tea
Betsy and Tacy Young Ladies Literary Tea
In December my girls and I read Maud Hart Lovelace’s last six Betsy Tacy books for our Young Ladies Tea series. This is one of my favorite YLT book clubs to date. I was very ill in November and was confined to a chair for a number of days. During that time, Betsy and her … Continue reading Betsy and Tacy Young Ladies Literary Tea
The Secret Garden Young Book Club
Just before Thanksgiving, I had the pleasure of hosting a The Secret Garden book club with almost 25 young readers whose ages ranged from 7 to 14. It was one of our “mixed” book clubs that celebrates the kind of book that is especially good for family read aloud - a book that everyone will … Continue reading The Secret Garden Young Book Club
Here, There Be Dragons
Many years ago I got lost in James A. Owen’s Here, There Be Dragons and its sequels. At the time I was reading solely for my own enjoyment and found the series to be exciting, wholesome, and a fantastic literary puzzle for me to solve. When my well-read teen book club readers begged for more … Continue reading Here, There Be Dragons
The Strange Intruder
As a boy mom, a small part of my regular reading diet includes previewing books that come from trustworthy sources as possible reads for the often difficult-to-please 8-14-year-old boy niche. In this book list article, Diane and I mention that, in our experience as teachers, boy moms, and encouragers of readers, we have learned that … Continue reading The Strange Intruder