Monthly Archives: August 2013

Godless Morality

Posted on August 30, 2013 by readingmater

Richard Holloway’s book, Leaving Alexandria, was one I read at a friend’s house last year and thoroughly enjoyed , as did some of my friends here. This book, Godless Morality, by the same author was another that had caused much … Continue reading →

Posted in non-fiction, theology | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

More Mrs. Oliphant: women’s lives

Posted on August 26, 2013 by readingmater

I am somewhat glad that Mrs Oliphant had to write to support her family – as one of the few ways open to a woman of her class and period. Luckily, she had already written and published before she was … Continue reading →

Posted in Novels | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Adventure story, Allegory or Myth?

Posted on August 24, 2013 by readingmater

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, by C.S. Lewis, is a book many children love, and which has been made into a film more than once. Adventure story, allegory or myth?Lewis himself referred to it as a fairy tale. … Continue reading →

Posted in Children's stories, Novels, theology | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

7 million years and change.

Posted on August 20, 2013 by readingmater

In my twenties, I discovered the books of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, and I felt that my world was suddenly expanded beyond what I had ever imagined. I had studied the ancient history of Greece and Rome-all the way back … Continue reading →

Posted in non-fiction, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Mythic novels.

Posted on August 16, 2013 by readingmater

Jeanette Winterson’s book Weight is on the list of modern myths, along with Margaret Atwood’s Penelopiad. I haven’t found a copy yet so I read The Stone Gods, by Winterson and found strong elements of myth in it. Robbie Crusoe … Continue reading →

Posted in Novels, Science Fiction | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Losing yourself in a character

Posted on August 15, 2013 by readingmater

This was so relevant to the way I read and to much of what I am reading, that I had to post a link. Losing yourself finds other people. http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/exptaking.htm

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Myth- and a favourite author.

Posted on August 14, 2013 by readingmater

Karen Armstrong has written  A Short History of Myth for the introduction to a series of modern novels on mythic themes, as I discovered when I read The Penelopiad last week. So I read what started as typical Karen Armstrong- … Continue reading →

Posted in non-fiction | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Iliad, The Odyssey- and The Penelopiad?

Posted on August 11, 2013 by readingmater

I like stories that reverse our perception of a well-known story. Wicked was more enjoyable to me than the Wizard of Oz. I did wonder how Margaret Atwood could match Odysseus’ ten years of war and ten years of wandering … Continue reading →

Posted in historical novels | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Fifth Elephant

Posted on August 10, 2013 by readingmater

Do we need gas badly enough to frack? When I fill the tank I sometimes say, “Here goes another dead dinosaur,” though you don’t need to tell me the deposits were laid down by forests as that doesn’t sound nearly … Continue reading →

Posted in Science Fiction | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Bad Food Britain!

Posted on August 8, 2013 by readingmater

Joanna Blythman has launched a diatribe against us Brits here.  As if the rest of the world didn’t already make fun of English cooking! I read a book about British food a while ago that gave recipes for the foods … Continue reading →

Posted in Cookery | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments