Christmas in the South

"...the lovefeast remains one of the most cherished traditions of the Moravian Church and one that other non-Moravian churches have instituted in their own congregations. Lovefeasts were special services reserved for significant occasions, like Christmas."

-Nancy Smith Thomas, Moravian Christmas in the South

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A few years ago I found this little treasure on Amazon after I began searching for more information about the Moravian lovefeast and other traditions of the early Moravians here in North Carolina. I became interested in learning more about it after our church had a lovefeast on a Sunday evening in December. I was intrigued with this beautiful yet simple service of music, Scripture reading, and refreshments. The sweet buns came directly from the Old Salem bakery in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, about a two-hour drive from my home. While I had visited Old Salem two times with school groups, I didn't really focus on the Christmas traditions of the Moravians at that time, so I turned to Amazon.com to find a book that would tell me everything I wanted to know about the beautiful celebration of Christmas in the early settlement.

The first Moravian lovefeast in North Carolina took place in 1753 when a small group of settlers met together to celebrate the birth of Jesus. They held a Bible-based service of music, fellowship, and some simple foods on that Christmas eve so long ago. This tradition remains in many churches today. It all began when the Moravians in Herrnhut, Germany held their first lovefeast in 1727.  The people hung around after the service because they were so moved by the music and readings. A man named Count Zinzendorf  noticed that the people were standing around so he sent for some drink and food so the people could share a meal together. It was how they showed "agape," or Christian love for one another on that Christmas eve.

There are beautiful pictures, photographs, and more in this hardback volume that you can enjoy during this season of celebrating the birth of Jesus, For example, there is a drawing of men bringing in the Yule log, photographs of the many buildings of Old Salem, and recipes for Moravian Sugar Cake and Lovefeast Coffee. You'll enjoy looking at the pictures throughout the book. It makes a good gift for anyone who is a history buff or someone who is interested in Christian traditions at Christmas time. The book was written by Nancy Smith Thomas, a woman who worked at Old Salem Museums & Gardens for 18 years. Through the questions of visitors at the museum, she realized what topics the people were most interested in and she began her in-depth study of the Moravian culture and their celebration of Christmas. This is a wonderful book that I think you will enjoy this time of year.

I finished a great book for my book club this month, The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan. I must admit that this story is new to me, but it shouldn't be. Somehow I never heard of it in any of my history classes, newspapers, or magazines. But as they say, it's never too late to learn, so here I am learning about an incredible group of people who changed history forever and made people begin to look at warfare in a completely different way. As you may recall, the Manhattan Project began in New York City and was the beginning of the creation of the atomic bomb in America. The project continued in other areas and eventually moved about 75,000 people to Eastern Tennessee (Oak Ridge) to work on things that were so secretive that they didn't even know themselves what they were really doing. Many of the employees at the project were young women from small towns who had never been away from home before. But they were lured by solid pay and the attraction that they were going to do something important for America, so they left their families and even their own children to move to Tennessee. The new employees of Oak Ridge lived in a "pre-fab" town built out of tiny temporary houses and large warehouses. They lived on muddy "streets" and had no indoor plumbing. They weren't allowed to cook their own food and had very little contact with the outside world  They were not allowed to discuss their work with anyone and their letters home were censored and marked up because NO ONE could know anything about the secret project going on in the Appalachian Mountains.


Some of "the Girls of Atomic City" are still alive - they are in their eighties and nineties today. They have given us important information about the events that led up to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WW II. To date, no other cities in the world have experienced a nuclear attack of this magnitude where thousands upon thousands of people were killed instantly. Yet these woman and others knew that they helped to end the war when other attempts to do so were ineffective. This book reminds me of some of the other "surprise" stories that I've read. It reminds me of books such as The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Boys in the Boat, Unbroken, and others. I enjoy books about things that really happened in the world, stories that perhaps were not very well-known in the beginning. I think you'll enjoy The Girls of Atomic City, and I look forward to discussing it with my book club.

I'm not sure what I'm going to read next, but I'm sure it will be another good one. Although I've read about 500 books in the past 30 years, I still find hidden gems and learn a lot in the process. I would love to hear your thoughts on today's post, so leave me a note. Your thoughts are always welcomed and appreciated.

Merry Christmas, and have a blessed holy season,

Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com

 

Children's Christmas Books and Other Thoughts

 

"That day, Jonathan went to the Christmas service with the widow McDowell and Thomas. And that day in the churchyard the village children saw Jonathan throw back his head, showing his eyes as clear blue as an August sky, and laugh. No one ever called him 
Mr. Gloomy again."

From The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski and illustrated by P.J. Lynch.

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The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey is my favorite Christmas book for children of all ages. It was a gift to our son when he was just 7 years old, and it still holds a special place on my shelf. The book was first published in 1995 when our son was only 4 years old. Benjamin's great-grandfather bought him this book and several others in 1998, but my mom picked out the book and wrote inside the front cover so that we would remember who gave it to our little boy. It is a truly beautiful book. It comes with a CD reading so that you can just sit back and enjoy the story of hope, love, joy, and miracles.
One thing that sets this book apart from other children's book is the beautiful illustrations by Lynch, The pictures are so beautiful that you just want to tarry on each page.

The main character of the book is Jonathan Toomey, a sad woodcarver who has been very depressed since the death of his wife and baby. Everyone in the village knows him as a gloomy person who keeps to himself. One day his life slowly begins to change when a widow and her son, Thomas, knock on his door They ask him to carve a nativity set because they lost their set in their recent move. They ask Toomey to complete the set in time for Christmas, but he doesn't make any promises. The three people begin to get acquainted over time, and the heart of Toomey begins to change. As he carefully carves each person and animal who were at the First Christmas, he begins to feel love and joy in his heart. He actually made his Joseph figure to look serious and caring, he made Mary look humble and full of love, and he carved Baby Jesus as a smiling infant who reached up to touch his mother's face. As Mrs. McDowell and Thomas began to visit the woodcarver regularly, his heart slowly changed from a hardened, sad, lonely heart to a person who could enjoy life again. He completed the set by Christmas morning, attended the Christmas service with his new friends, and he felt pure joy for the first time in a very long time. It was truly a Christmas miracle. 

This book reminds me that there is always hope, no matter what you're going through. Miracles still happen today, so we shouldn't give up. Many of us are going through some hard times right now, and life is tough. But if there was hope for Jonathan Toomey, there is surely hope for all of us. Personally, I see this as a spiritual transformation in the life of the woodcarver, and I believe that the Baby Jesus is the place we should be looking for our joy, hope, and love.

There are some other Christmas books for children that I would like to recommend. I've enjoyed The Best Christmas Pageant Ever, 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Small One, The Legend of the Candy Cane, Christmas in the Big Woods, and The Polar Express.  For adults I recommend Skipping Christmas, The Christmas Train, and The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. Some of these books are secular-based, while others are focused more on the spiritual meaning of Christmas. I'd love to know if you've read some of these and how you felt about them. I think my adult personal favorite is Christmas Train. Have you read any of these? If so, which ones are your favorites?

In the past month I read Lilac Girls: A Novel and Thomas Jefferson Dreams of Sally Hemmings. Both were amazing books. We had some good discussion at our book club about Lilac Girls which made it more fun for me. The details in this historical novel are right on point. If you look at other websites you will find the historical background of Lilac Girls to be very accurate. Martha Hall Kelly, the author, did a TON of research in order to write this novel based on the lives of women during WW II, most of whom lived in Europe. 

I'm currently reading The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan. It's the current book for our club. This is a true story about men and women who were hired to do some sort of secret work in East Tennessee during the war, and their pay was very good. I haven't read enough of the book to make a lot of comments about it, but I'm enjoying it a lot. It was published in 2013 and has been a New York Times Bestseller. I enjoy books about events in our history that somehow were never our radars so we are just now learning about them. There are so, so many great books such as The Boys in the Boat, Unbroken, The Hiding Place, and The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge that inspire us through true events that happened around the world. I'm just now sort of discovering some of these gems that are true stories about extraordinary people who made a difference in the world. Historical novels are great as well. Getting back to The Girls of Atomic City...I've never heard of this story before, so it's a totally new event in history to me. I'm looking forward to reading the rest of it.

I hope you have a peaceful weekend,

Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com

 

Something Bigger Than the World

 

"Once in our world, a stable had something in it that was bigger than our world."

-C.S. Lewis, "The Last Battle," 1956

As quoted on www.deseretnews.com

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A manger is a small wooden object that is used to feed animals. Often there is hay placed in the middle of it so that the animal can eat. But there was one night when a manger was much more than a simple device for feeding cattle and oxen. The night our Lord and Savior was born in a stable and placed in a manger was the most important night in history, for it gave us a reason to live, a reason to keep on trusting His Word, and a reason to love others. While we don't know the exact date of this occurrence, we celebrate on December 25, and this day means different things to different people. To some, it's a time to shop, decorate, attend holiday parties, make donations, and eat, but to others it is so much more. For these things are the world's secularism raising its head, and yet many of us just go along with it. We can get discouraged during this time of year because we can't possibly live up to the commercialism that we are told is a part of Christmas. What if we don't get invited to a single holiday party? What if we have no one to buy a gift for, and we don't receive any gifts? What if we don't decorate at all? What if we don't have any family to share the day with? These things can make us depressed, but that's not what was intended for us when Jesus was born that dark, cold night in Bethlehem. So please, please, please...ignore what society "says" you must do this holiday season, and do what you choose to do, in faith. The joy comes in knowing that the birth of this little Jewish baby changed the world forever. His birth gives us hope, joy, and a timeless quest to love others unconditionally. This little baby was so much bigger than political elections, crime, hatred, commercialism, violence, poverty, and injustice. Jesus was the Prince of Peace, the One we worship on December 25. Thank you, C.S. Lewis, for always reminding us of how big Jesus is and how small the world is.

 I listened to a good historical novel recently, Lilac Girls: A Novel by Martha Hall Kelly. I have been studying the Holocaust and World War II for many years now, but I learned a lot from this book that I read for my book club this month. I checked on the historical accuracy of the book, and I saw that the essential details are indeed accurate. I can't name all of the books that I've read on this topic, but they include Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl, Night by Ele Wiesel, The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank, The Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, War Brides by Helen Bryan, and All the Light We Cannot See. I've also seen several movies on this topic, movies such as "Schindler's List," "Playing for Time," "The Hiding Place," "The Diary of Anne Frank", "Sophie's Choice," and others.

Lilac Girls: A Novel is about women who lived during the Holocaust. The main characters are Caroline Ferriday (American), Kasia (Polish), and Herta (a Nazi doctor). Caroline was a former actress and socialite who helped the Polish women who suffered unspeakable abuse at the hands of the Nazis in the Ravensbruck Concentration Camp. Kasia was one of the young Polish women who was imprisoned. She endured horrific leg surgeries by Nazis such as Herta. Herta was sort of "pulled in" to working for the Nazis, but once she was hired she didn't feel she could leave. She became just as evil as all of the other Nazis. She served prison time after the war was over but later was found practicing medicine, a fact that disgusted Kasia who was one of Herta's many victims. Kasia, her sister, and other Polish women who were operated on at Ravensbruck were known as "The Rabbits" because they were merely guinea pigs to the Nazis who believed that they were helping Germany by conducting these "experiments." Eventually some of The Rabbits were saved by the Swiss Red Cross, and a few wound up in the U.S. and were able to get medical help due to the efforts of Caroline. You see, The Rabbits were left with disfigurements and could not walk properly, so Carolina was able to get them help to try to reverse some of the problems they had. Sadly, many of The Rabbits did not live to receive this help because they died after the surgeries due to infections, disease, or starvation. This story reminds me that there is still much love in the world, even though the media would have us believe that hatred, injustice, and racism always win. On the contrary.

Another book that I've been enjoying is A Kentucky Christmas, edited by George Ella Lyon. It was published in 2003. The book is a collection of short stories and poems, so it's fun to read during this time of year. As many of you know, I consider Kentucky to be my home, so these stories come alive for me. The contributors to this book are people such as Loretta Lynn, Wendell Berry, Jesse Stuart, Janice Holt Giles, and Thomas Merton. As I read some of the stories, it reminded me of the time when we used to visit my grandparents on both sides of the family. The Cruse side lived on a farm outside of Sonora, Kentucky, the town where the first African American Navy Seal, Carl Brashear, grew up. Dad's family lived in a small house with an outhouse down the hill, and I'm sure they didn't get a lot for Christmas. But there sure was a lot of laughter and joy. I still remember sucking on the honeysuckle that grew down on the front fence area. On my maternal side I remember the country store in Pembroke, Kentucky where my grandparents often took us. As I read this book I could easily envision what a country store looks like because of my past. Grandad would let us get any sandwich we wanted, and the lady would slice off the balogna or whatever we wanted. We probably got a bottle of coke, and nothing tasted better. We also got a Hostess cupcake of some kind, and deciding on just one was always a problem. In those days we didn't get sweets as often as kids today get them, so it was a real treat. These vivid memories are very special to me even to this day, and they help me to appreciate what I have. 

I'm not sure what I'm going to read next, but I'll probably keep reading the stories in A Kentucky Christmas. I hope you have a blessed week. I know you're making the most of every day.

-Melissa Cruse Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com

Don't tell Nilla, our 10-year old beagle-mix, that this is what Santa is bringing her!

 

Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings: A New Historical Novel

"I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend." 

Jefferson (writer's relief.com)

-Thomas Jefferson (brainyquote.com)

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America has changed. History was made last week as we held an election in which a woman represented a major political party in the run for the presidency for the first time. History was made in other ways as well, but I don't want to spend time here debating all of the important issues facing our country. I will say though, that I agree with the sentiment behind what Jefferson is saying - we can disagree with each other and still be friends. I would say that most Americans have an opinion about the election and the results, but we can still get along. In the end, we all want what is best for our country. I hope you haven't lost any friends over this election. 

This week I'd like to discuss a new historical novel that I read recently. The book is called Thomas Jefferson Dreams of Sally Hemings: A Novel by Stephen O'Connor. The book was published just this year, so you probably have not read it, but it's a good book and I think it will hold your attention. The book's retail price is $28, so be thrifty as I am and just get it at the library. I enjoyed the book very much, even though it is over 600 pages in length. Many of the pages are not full, so you aren't actually going to be reading 600 full pages. The book focuses on the relationship between Jefferson and his servant, Sally Hemings.

According to the novel, Hemings was a mulatto slave girl who was born to Elizabeth Hemings, one of Jefferson's slaves. (Sally's biological father was white). Although only a small percentage of Sally's bloodline was actually African, she was treated as a slave as were all mulatto people of that era. The first time that Jefferson had sex with Hemings when she was only 16 years old. They were both in Paris as well as two of Jefferson's daughters. After Jefferson took advantage of Hemings, she remembered the warning that her mother had given her about white men and she knew she did not have a say in what was happening to her. Through the years she gave birth to several of Jefferson's children, although only four of them survived to adulthood. In this book you find some of the thoughts that Hemings must have had each time he approached Sally for "favors," and you may even wonder if she enjoyed her relationship with Jefferson. Did he actually ask her opinion about various topics when they were together? Did she actually open up to him at times and speak about her feelings? We will never know for sure, but the book gives us some suggestions as to what might have been going on in the minds of these two people. 

In the book, Jefferson and Hemings often meet in the old hunting lodge on the grounds of Monticello. They tried to keep their affair a secret, but apparently they didn't do a very good job because people seemed to be aware of what was happening. We don't have any written evidence that they knew, but this novel hints at the fact that they did know. The story obviously was passed down through the years because most of us are aware of it. This brings me to a story that my great uncle used to tell us. He said that some of Jefferson's descendants are buried on his land in Western Kentucky near the Tennessee line because he had to get them out of Virginia as his fame spread and he became the third president of the U.S. I will find out the last name of the descendants that are buried there and insert them here for those of you who might belong to ancestry.com or something else like that. We may never know how many children Thomas Jefferson actually fathered.

The other book that I'm reading is Lilac Girls: A Novel by Martha Hall Kelly. I'm reading this one for my reading group and I'm enjoying it. I'm listening to it in the car because all of the library copies were checked out. It's a historical novel about three women during World War II and how their lives were changed during this turbulent time in history. I'm looking forward to the conclusion of this book and I'm hoping that it ends on a high note for all of the characters.

I hope you're enjoying this Fall season and all of the colors along with the cooler temperatures.Have a great week, and...

Read on,

Melissa Hill

Book Blogger

www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com

Sally Hemings (alchetron.com)

The Stars of "Fixer Upper"

"We both hope, with all of our hearts, that the people who read this book and watch our show and come to see what we're working on in Waco will take a chance to go after their dreams too. Because the key to everything Chip and  I have learned in our life together so far seems to be pretty simple: Go and find what it is that 
inspires you, go and find what it is that you love, and 
go do that until it hurts."

-Chip & Joanna Gaines, p. 82 in The Magnolia Story

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 Have you watched HGTV lately? What's your favorite show on that channel? Chances are, you're saying "Fixer Upper," the relatively new show that stars Chip and Joanna Gaines of Waco. The basis of this show is that they take a family who wants to fix up a house, and they help them find the house and help them through the process of renovations. Chip's expertise is the building aspect of the house, and Joanna's strength is in her design ideas. They couple works together in a fun, creative way that makes the show enjoyable and unique. At the end of each episode there is a big reveal and the audience gets to see the finished product. But what makes this show any different than the others? Well, I think it's several things. For one, Joanna has a knack for finding old things and finding a new purpose for them. She's not afraid to use a lot of shiplap and subway tile, and she's not afraid to put three-dimensional objects on the walls. I have watched this show many, many times, and I've come to appreciate Joanna's design techniques, especially the way she custom-designs each house for a new family, keeping in mind their lifestyle and family size. She wants her homes to look warm, inviting, and usable, not showy or uncomfortable. And I appreciate the way she uses the work of local craftsmen, people such as artists and her furniture-maker. She loves things that are handmade, and she enjoys giving work to local people who are very talented in their own ways. I love what they say at the end of each episode. It's something like "Welcome home. We hope you live happily ever after here." 

The book, The Magnolia Story, is written by Chip & Joanna, and it's co-written by Mark Dagostino, an experienced co-author who has worked for The New York Times and People magazine. In the book we learn a little bit about the background of Chip and Joanna. We learn that they both came from very loving and supportive families, but their personalities are very different. Both Chip and Joanna graduated from Baylor University, but Chip's major was Marketing, and Joanna's major was Communications. Chip is outgoing, funny, and a hard worker, and Joanna is more of a quiet introvert. It seems that in this case, opposites do attract, and they fell in love. Chip was involved in small business pursuits from a young age, but Joanna really had no background in it. She did work for her dad's tire company for several years when she was in college, but she didn't have experience in business, or home decorating for that matter. Chip was already a business owner when he met Joanna, and they soon began to talk about their dreams and aspirations. Joanna began to define her design interests by experimenting in her own homes, and then things just sort of evolved. Things weren't always perfect for the couple, but they worked hard and were committed to always treating others the right way, especially their employees. They live a life of faith in God, and at the end of the book, they give the reader more advice: "Don't quit, and don't give up. The reward is jut around the corner. And in times of doubt or times of joy, listen for that still, small voice. Know that God has been there from the beginning - and he will be there until...The End." I love how they give God the glory for helping them reach their dreams, and they aren't ashamed to say it. I'm sure they are raising their four children to reach for their dreams as well. There's so much more in this little book, so I encourage you to read it. I couldn't put it down.

This week my book club discussed the book, American Pastoral, by Philip Roth. Our group is small, and very few people enjoyed the book. I forced myself to keep reading it early on, and after a while I was sort of drawn into it and enjoyed it. There's a lot going on in this book, so if you're tired and worn out, you may not want to start a book like this. Speaking of my book club, we need some suggestions for our book club! PLEASE send me some ideas. The deal is that we're trying NOT to spend money on books, so we've been reading book club books from the library so far. Our next book is Lilac Girls: A Novel by Martha Hall Kelly. It sounds like a pretty good book but I haven't been able to get a copy of it yet. I'm waiting for the library to call me to tell me that the sound recording of the book is ready for me to pick up, so that's how I'll read it. The hard copies were all checked out by our group, but I don't mind a sound recording anyway. I almost always have a book to listen to in the car. 

So what else is new...let's see...our son if working on a Master's Degree in Creative Writing at Brunel University in West London. The program takes a year. He's having a good experience and is even taking Japanese on the side. He recently went to Central London to visit the Hillsong Church and had a great worship time. He's looking for a part-time job in sound, film, or music, so if you know of anything there in London, let me know. He recently went to Central London to a networking event and has a few leads. We're looking forward to visiting him in England next summer. Also...a few weeks ago we had our annual Hispanic Heritage Night at the elementary school where I teach ESL. We had a HUGE turnout for the program and potluck meal. Our students sang, danced, and more, and it was a great night. We got responses stating that about 500 people were coming, but I don't know what the final count was. This is my eleventh year at this school, and the tenth Hispanic Heritage Night that I have helped with. Coming up soon is our Technology Night for Hispanic parents where we plan to give them some educational websites that they can use at home with their children.

Have a wonderful weekend! It's going to be warm and sunny here all weekend. You can't beat the weather here in North Carolina in the Fall.

Blessings,

Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com

 

I love my new globe collection! Thanks, Mom!

You're Never too Old

Michealangelo's Statue of Moses in the San Pietro in Vincolin Church, Italy

 

             

"Many believe - and I believe - that I have been designated for this work by God. In spite of my old age, I do not want to give it up; I work out of love for God and I put all my hope in Him."

-Michelangelo

(www.brainyquotes.com)   

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I read an article in yesterday's Sunday newspaper insert about David McCullough, one of my favorite historians. I've read three books by McCullough and I enjoyed them all, but completing one of his books is no small feat! I've read his books The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris, John Adams, and The Wright Brothers. I cannot imagine the amount of research and patience that it took to complete these books, but this man clearly enjoys his work or he would not still be writing books at the age of 83. And get this - I read that he has a new book coming out in 2018, The Pioneers, about the settling of the west. Now that's an optimistic man, a man who is still vibrant, curious, and productive in his 80s. I can't wait to read his book in 2018 when he is about 85 years old. Michelangelo was also productive and vowed not to give up due to his age, and I applaud him for this positive attitude.

In the past few weeks I've been on the road a lot, so I had plenty of time to listen to two books on CD. I listened to The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway, and The Worst Thing I've Done by Ursula Hegi (my latest favorite author). I enjoyed listening to Hemingway's book although I read it many years ago. It was good to be able to hear an excellent reader do the hard work for me, but I admit that I don't get all of the symbolism. Still, it's a classic that everyone should read at some point, and it's very short. Hegi's book, The Worst Thing I've Done, is about three childhood friends who grow up and face difficulties in their relationship. Annie, Jake, and Mason have been friends for all of their lives, and Annie and Mason eventually get married. Tragedy strikes and Annie's parents die in a car crash on the night of her wedding, so Annie and Mason decide to raise Annie's infant sister who was in utero at the time of the accident. Honestly, I didn't enjoy this book. It was a disappointment after reading Hegi's two excellent books, Stones From the River and The Vision of Emma Blau. I loved these two books by the German American author, and I appreciated the way she intertwined the two books by having some overlapping characters such as Trudy. But The Worst Thing I've Done was a total flop for me.

I finished reading American Pastoral by Philip Roth yesterday. I enjoyed this book but I was unfamiliar with Roth. This book won a Pulitzer Prize, and it doesn't surprise me. It's been around for a while, and someone told me that it's considered to be a classic. It was published in 1997, so it's not new, but it's a former bestseller and prize winner, so I encourage you to read it. The book is divided into sections: Part I is "Paradise Remembered," Part II is "The Fall," and Part III is "Paradise Lost." It's a fairly long book of of over 400 pages, but it's addictive and so well-written that you will enjoy the ride. The titles of the three sections brought to mind the course that I took in college, "John Milton," which was taught by Dr. Stephen May to upper-level English majors at Georgetown College. It reminds me of Milton's "Paradise Lost," of course, although most of the details have become a blur in my mind. Anyway, American Pastoral is about a man known as "The Swede," a hometown hero in Newark, New Jersey. He was the star athlete in his high school and the most popular person in town. He great up, married a former Miss New Jersey, inherited his father's prosperous glove factory, and moved in to a beautiful home. But one day all of his great fortune came to a screeching halt when his only child, Merry, got into some serious trouble and the Swede's life changed forever. I found myself sympathizing with most of the characters in this story even though none of them were perfect by any means. Read this book to find out what happened to Merry and think about the difficult decision that her father must make. His "perfect" life fell apart and having not dealt with this type of thing before, he faced a dilemma.

I recounted the books that I've read since 1984 today. I have read 473 books in about 32 years. That comes to an average of about 15 books per year, although there were years when I didn't have much time to read (i.e. raising kids, etc.). As I looked through my card catalogs I thought about a couple of topics that I could cover in future posts, so stay tuned. Next time I'll share some of the funniest books that I've read in the past 32 years, so if you need something funny to read, that will be the post for you

Have a great week and enjoy this beautiful fall weather.

Melissa Hill

Book Blogger

www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com 

  

The Evans Farm near Georgetown, Kentucky. Beautiful!

Thoughts to Consider

 

"There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed."

-Ernest Hemingway, Ernest Hemingway Quotes
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Hemingway did say something significant when he said that writing is like bleeding. Of course, most of us use computers today, not typewriters, but the sentiment remains the same. Writing makes one feel vulnerable and exposed as if we are preparing for someone to disagree with our words in the very next moment. Even this carefree blog can make me feel like that, but at my age, I already have offended so many people,  I assume, that it doesn't bother me at all to think that someone might have a different opinion than mine. So, feel free to leave your comments on my blogs, knowing that I will not think differently about you than I do at this current time.

So, what have I been reading? Well, I think I read four books in the past month, and I wrote about most of them last week As you know, I've been on an Ursula Hegi kick lately, and I've enjoyed her books immensely. As a matter of fact, I can't think of an author that I've enjoyed more in the last few years. I tried to send her an email but I couldn't find an email address for her. Often I'll try to contact an author that I enjoyed, always in the hopes of receiving an answer. I've been pleasantly surprised most of the time as I've gotten responses from Mildred Kalish, Jennifer Coburn, and Connie Gantz. I also received a form letter from Barbara Kingsolver a few years ago, as I mentioned before, but her signature was done with her own hand. I was just happy to get a response from her as she is one of my most admired authors.  Some other well-known authors who I've met for their autographs are Jimmy Carter, Frank McCourt, Dr. Paul Austin, and Rabbi Harold Kushner. I treasure the opportunities that I had to see these writers and to learn more about their lives.

I'm currently reading A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway (1929).  I have been known to reach for the classics time and again, and I'm enjoying this one so far. Other classics that I've read are Moby Dick, Huckleberry Finn, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Anna Karenina, The Old Man and the Sea, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Great Expectations, The Grapes of Wrath, Pride and Prejudice, The Catcher and the Rye, and others. I've enjoyed most of the classics, and reading them has helped me play "Jeopardy" at home. Now back to Hemingway...he wrote nearly two dozen books, and many of them won prizes and are read by many high school and college students today. The author died in 1961, but I don't believe his writings will be replaced on the list of "Greats" for a long time. If you're interested in the early writing career of Hemingway, you might like to read McLain's book from 2011, The Paris Wife. The book sheds light on the early writing struggles that the author faced as well as his relationship with his first wife, Hadley Richardson. They knew each other for less than a year when they moved to Paris to begin a new life. They later had a son, Jack, as Hemingway battled his inner demons and struggles to make a living as an author.

As for A Farewell to Arms, I haven't read enough of it to give an accurate review of the book, so I'll save that for next time. If you have never seen the movie, "Midnight in Paris," I highly recommend it. It's a fun story of a man in Paris who sees famous writers and artists from the past every night. He meets Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Picasso, and others. I know I've mentioned this movie before, but it seemed appropriate to repeat myself here. Tomorrow night I meet with my new book club, so I'll have plenty of material to discuss in my next post.

This weekend I found a good movie at Red Box. The movie is "Genius," the story of Thomas Wolfe and his editor at Scribner, Maxwell Perkins.  The movie is a new release so look for it. Wolfe is played by Jude Law, and Perkins is played by Colin Firth. The movie gives us insight into the struggles that many authors face in order to produce a truly great novel. Wolfe's most famous book was Look Homeward, Angel and when he first presented the manuscript to Perkins, it was WAY too long. The book was successful from the beginning, and Wolfe was elated. We've been to the Wolfe Home in downtown Asheville right here in North Carolina, so I was familiar with him. We also visited his grave there a few years ago. Incidentally, Asheville is about 3 1/2 hours from us here in Durham, so it makes for a great weekend trip. You might also be interested to know that the former farm of Carl Sandburg is near Asheville and can be toured. Sandburg was once the poet laureate for our state. His wife was known for raising her prize-winning goats.

And that's about all for today, friends and family. Thanks so much for reading. I appreciate your time and look forward to sharing some additional thoughts about great books, movies, and just about anything else that I think is interesting.

Happy Fall,

Melissa Hill
Book Blogger
Teacher of English as a Second Language
www.onegoodbookblog.blogspot.com