Anne of Avonlea
L.M. Montgomery
Various Editions
Like the first Anne book, Anne of Green Gables, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. And though many think these books sentimental mush, I seemed to garner a lot from reading them.
They teach me to see God in new and exciting ways - to see God more in Nature and the world around me that He has created - to look for the best in all people I meet, especially those who are hard to like, ie Mrs. Rachael Lynd and Mr. Harrison. We have to learn to see past the exterior to see the person inside.
(First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)
Grumpy Bird
Jeremy Tankard
Scholastic
ISBN 9780439851473
This book was written to help children see that they can change a grumpy mood. We follow Bird as he begins his day grumpy and tries to stay grumpy. Jeremy Tankard has written and illustrated a great book, with fun, bright and vibrant colors. It is a great story book for the younger members of your families, or as a cure for your own bad mood.
Anne of Green Gables
L.M. Montgomery
Various Editions
I read this book for a university course, and I was surprised by the book. I did not expect to enjoy it but ended up enjoying it quite a bit. I actually found that I could not put it down. There are so many themes and issues covered in the book. Like Matthew in the book, I found I fell in love with Anne and as Anne grew I was challenged to growth.
The themes in the book that grabbed me most were:
Importance of Trees
Importance of Naming
Death of hope
Prayers
Tears of healing
Belonging
Dreams
Alice in Wonderland References (Moral Duchess)
Looking Glass Friend
Sacred Memories
Self Naming "Anne of GG"
Desire to Fit In
Friendship
Time
Kindred Spirits
Anne being "All Spirit, Fire and Dew."
Etiquette
This book was so good that even though I only needed to read it for the course I ended up reading a few of the other books in the series.
(First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)
Anam Cara:
A Book of Celtic Wisdom
John O'Donohue
Harper Collins - Browse Inside
ISBN 9780060929435
This was a wonderful book. I am very thankful to both Fr. Jim Link and Fr. Paul Quinon for recommending it to me. I must admit that I did not get it all, but much of the Celtic Spirituality presented touched my spirit, my mind, my intellect and my soul.
It is a book about the Celtic worldview and way of life. It has made me even more homesick for the land of the Celts; it aroused a desire to return to Ireland or Scotland. Yet I realized that I would need to learn to live the Celtic way/mode here before I could even consider going back across the pond.
The book made me realize how much I needed to simplify my life, and prompted me to take a semester off school to help establish a new pattern of living and of being. It prompted me to reestablish a stronger pattern of work, bible study, prayer, reading and pursuing God and his will above all else, to try to live each day to the full, to live to be a good and true friend, and to learn to be better at being.
As an aside there are two more books by O'Donohue that follow the same spirit: Eternal Echoes and To Bless the Space Between Us both of which I attempted to read on a number of occasions but was unable to make it through. One of his books of poetry conamara blues - I ended up reading a number of times.
(First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)
I normally do not do a lot of political commentary. To be honest it is not really my thing. But The proposed Canadian Coalition Government has raised so many issues and so much debate I wanted to say a little.
First a number of people on both sides of the fence on this have made some great points. Michael Davenport at Valacosa's Thoughts has one of the most reasoned and researched pieces on the events. Blazing Cat Fur has a number of posts on the topic. Also most media outlets sites have articles with 1000's and 1000's of responses.
All I can say is it is legal, it has happened before federally and provincially and I for one am glad to see Harper not as prime minister.
Petition To Support
Petition to Oppose
Globe and Mail Reader Poll
CTV's comments on growing web reaction.
Great National Post Article.
(Hat tip to Davenport for the links.)
A Tarnished Phoenix
James Melville
ISBN 071263651X
Doubleday
I actually picked this book up for the cover art. I had a friend looking to get a tattoo of a phoenix and I was keeping my eye out for images for him. This one caught my eye. But not being one to spend money on a book and not read it or at least try to read it, I gave it a go.
This book is way outside my normal reading genres. First it is a spy novel, suspense thriller. Second it has a strong romantic element, yet with that being said, once into it I could not put it down.
It is a fascinating story set in post WWII Japan under MacArthur's administration. It has great characters, a very complex plot and is extremely well written. It was both intriguing and heartwarming at the same time. There were numerous interesting plot twists and developments and the pace was excellent.
(First written as Journal Reading Notes in 1999.)
Well I got myself tagged twice, the second was my own fault I was planning on Tagging Ebeth at A Catholic Mom Climbing the Pilliars, but had not yet responded to Jean at Catholic Fire tagged me first.
The Rules:
Pass this on to 5 blogging friends. Open the closest book to you, not your favorite or most intellectual book, but the book closest to you at the moment, to page 56. Write the 5th sentence, as well as two to five sentences following that.
"I am in a hurry and must write quickly. I have only tonight to leave for you what I can and to hide it well. I don't know if this will ever be found, but it is a good precaution, and so I'll take the time to write it. Using the basket to hide this book of secret things up high will be another challenge, but I believe I can do it without anyone catching me. We shall see." - The House of Power: Atherton Book 1 Patrick Carman.
This passage was excerpted from Fulton J. Sheen's The World's First Love, Doubleday Image Book, 1952.
I am passing this award/meme on to:
1. Two Guys Named Jeff at Thursday Night Gumbo
2. Holly Black
3. Fionnchu at Blogtrotter
4. James at Real Life Rosary
5. Ellen at Divine Serendipity
Anne of Avonlea 
