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
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
The Book of Three Book Club
Last month I had the pleasure of reading The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander with almost twenty young readers. It was a tremendously good book club because, after a year and a half of reading together, we have developed a common vernacular and culture. It isn’t enough to discuss the story arc or character … Continue reading The Book of Three Book Club
Pride and Prejudice Young Ladies Literary Tea
For our fourth Young Ladies Literary Tea, we read Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Really, could we have chosen a more perfect book for a literary tea? An advantage of doing these teas monthly is that we can settle into a rhythm. As usual, we went to the home of my friend Giovanna, some of … Continue reading Pride and Prejudice Young Ladies Literary Tea
Hobbit Club: September Meeting
In our September Hobbit Club meeting, we drank Dragon Eye Red Ale beer that Greg and I brewed, we had birthday cupcakes for Frodo and Bilbo, and we laughed until our sides hurt. It was a party for Hobbits! The reading for this month was the Joseph Pearce commentary, Frodo’s Journey. At this point in … Continue reading Hobbit Club: September Meeting