In the Spring of 2018, almost 2 dozen hobbits from a variety of parishes and walks of life came together to begin a monthly book club adventure into Middle Earth. We continue to meet and each month we discuss the literature as well as the Catholic themes we see. At our gatherings, we pray, laugh, … Continue reading Building A Hobbit Club
Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West By Marguerite Henry
By the time the Marguerite Henry craze visited my grade school classmates in the early 70s, Henry had already published around 50 books about dogs and horses. Given my love of animal stories at the time, I’ve pondered my reasons for never joining my friends on the “Henry-Reading Train.” In fact, I didn’t read Misty … Continue reading Mustang, Wild Spirit of the West By Marguerite Henry
Till We Have Faces By C.S. Lewis
This is part of Diane’s Literature For the Ages Series My girls and I did manage to fit Till We Have Faces into our school year. Well, I insisted. I think they came away from it with a better understanding than I did the first time I read it, when I was about 19. I remember getting … Continue reading Till We Have Faces By C.S. Lewis
Sense and Sensibility Young Ladies Tea
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
Brother Hugo and the Bear
I found inspiration for the figure of Brother Hugo himself in an Oxford manuscript. At the end of an eleventh-century copy of St. Jerome’s Commentary of Isaiah, now kept in the Bodleian Library, I came across the endearing self-portrait of a Benedictine monk who had labeled his picture Hugo pictor: “the painter Hugo.” Beebe built … Continue reading Brother Hugo and the Bear
Across a Dark and Wild Sea
In my review of The Ink Garden of Brother Theophane, I linked two books the author lists as further resources. One of them I hadn’t read was Across a Dark and Wild Sea by Don Brown. I have read it now. This is the story of Columcille (koll-m-kill), an Irish monk who lived in the … Continue reading Across a Dark and Wild Sea
Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
This is part of Diane’s Literature For the Ages Series Each of the girls in my class has read Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn, and last year we read Life on the Mississippi together. So they have had a good taste of Mark Twain’s usual style. This month we read Twain’s Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc. … Continue reading Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc
Rascal Study Guide
Near the end of Sterling North’s Rascal, Sterling and his aunt Lillie discuss what Sterling might want to be when he grows up. Aunt Lillie thinks Sterling’s deceased mother would have wanted him to be a writer. When he asks why, she says; “And then you could put it all down, the way it is … Continue reading Rascal Study Guide
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