This Month's Books - August 2005

It has been a fun month of reading. I was introduced to Father Brown, Lord Peter Wimsey, and Catherine Morland, and explored deeper the wonderful realms of C.S. Lewis's imagination and Jane Austen's 18th century England.


The Life of Thomas More by William Roper (More's son-in-law)
Actually a re-read, but I had forgotten a lot. It has some strict biography mixed with anecdotes from his family and personal life, as well as the tale of More's friendship and disagreement with (and eventual execution by) Henry VIII.

Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers
My first Sayers novel. A well-wrought, exciting and rather unusual mystery.

The Innocence of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton
A collection of short mysteries solved by the equally short Father Brown: a very likeable man with a turn for theological philosophy and criminal cases. Chesterton's "uncommon sense" shows through tantalizingly. I must read some of his apologetic works...

The Wisdom of Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton
The same as the above, only more so (if possible).

Cosmicomics by Italo Calvino
A series of short stories, each based upon a theory or principle of modern science. The principles themselves are sometimes questionable, but the stories are very entertaining--if very strange, in a way that reminds me of Madeline L'Engle or Lewis Carroll. Some mild sensuality appears in the love of the quantum particles, mollusks, dinosaurs et cetera that make up the characters of these stories.

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
A well-written story (no surprise there), witty and entertaining. Miss Morland is a different heroine than I am used to in Austen--more naive, perhaps. I confess I prefer Lizzy...but a good book all the same.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
There's so much I don't know where to begin. Several levels of enjoyment: wit and humour, "knowable" characters, and a surprising plot (even if you know it already). Much food for thought, too: the prudence and imprudence of Elinor and Marianne, the intricate characters with understandable motives and morals, and even Marianne's romantic opinions on poetry, life and cliches.

Of Other Worlds by C. S. Lewis
A collection of essays and short stories. Lewis's opinions on film, fairy-tales, criticism (et al.) are enlightening, and his short stories are interesting. Did you know he started a novel about Menelaus and Helen after Troy?