Dostoevsky and Trollope Ask: What Would Jesus Do?
If we do as Jesus would do, will we be more or less socially acceptable? Two books by classic authors show the lives of two very different Christ-like men.
By Marilyn Green Faulkner
Harry
Potter and the Uses of Enchantment
Harry Potter's world is, after all,
a world of witchcraft. Many people of faith are understandably wary
of the occult. Should we be reading to our children about werewolves
and wizards? Have years of obsession with Harry Potter
corrupted them in some way?
By Marilyn Green Faulkner
Just
Doo-it: Children’s Books to Change the World
During the Christmas season we feel a greater
desire to reach out to those in need, and Alan Green, children’s
book author and member of the Church, is providing a creative new
way to do it.
By
Marilyn Green Faulkner
The King
James Version of the Bible: How We Got It and Why We Love It
That you can easily lay a hand on a Bible in
your own language is a miracle!
By Marilyn Green Faulkner
The Bible as Literature,
Part 1
The literary nature of the Bible begins
with its origin as oral tradition. A great story must be told well,
with language that stimulates the imagination.
By Marilyn Green Faulkner
The
Consummate Victorian: Charles Dickens
Take the Dickens Challenge!
The long winter nights are a perfect time to revisit the greatest
of the English novelists.
by Marilyn Green Faulkner
Truths
of the Heart: William Faulkner’s The
Reivers
We know
Faulkner is great, but we don’t know him. It’s time
to change that, and an easy place to start is with the last book
he wrote.
By
Marilyn Green Faulkner
The
Worth of a Soul: The Power of One, by Bryce Courtenay
What makes us cling so tenaciously
to life? What is the importance of each individual? These are the
questions at the heart of a stirring novel by Bryce Courtenay, The
Power of One.
By
Marilyn Green Faulkner
A
World Apart: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of
China by Jung Chang
There are troubled,
and troubling regions in the world, regions that may yet be the focus
of the nightly news. One of these is China, that vast land with over
a billion people, about which most of us know very little.
By
Marilyn Green Faulkner
A
Brilliant First Novel and Six More to Savor
Faulkner, our guide to great
reading recommends My Brilliant Career, by Miles Franklin, written
when she was only 16.
Opposites
Attract: Atlas Shrugged vs. Cold Sassy Tree
Ayn Rand is one of America’s
favorite authors, but does Atlas Shrugged make the grade?
Their
Eyes Were Watching God, by Zora Neale Hurston
I
want you to step inside this little book with me before you pass
it by. You might have heard of Zora Neale Hurston’s novel,
or it might be unfamiliar to you. It might not be a book you’ll
enjoy, but then again, it might be one you will never forget. You’ll
have to step inside to see.
Can
a Work of Art Change Your Life?
Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo
Les Miserables, the great national
novel of France and Victor Hugo’s masterpiece, is a rare example
of art in the service of the Savior that has touched millions of
hearts.
The
Best Books Club Reading List – 2004
Yes, it’s time once again to
choose some great books to read together in the Best Books Club.
The
Best Books Make the Best Gifts
How about taking an inexpensive copy
of the Book of Mormon and marking all of your favorite passages
in it, and then giving it as a Christmas gift?
A
Life Worth Celebrating: Kristin Lavransdatter, by Sigrid
Undset
Kristin Lavransdatter, was hailed
by some critics as the first real woman in literature. This epic
novel traces the life of one Norwegian woman in the fourteenth century.
The
Search for Shangri-La: Lost Horizon, by James Hilton
James
Hilton’s vision of an earthly paradise causes us to examine our
own notion of a Utopian society.
A
Beautiful Vein of Genius: Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray
Subtitled
"A Novel Without a Hero", Thackeray’s comic masterpiece
shows us
our imperfections while quietly encouraging us to strive for something
higher.
More
than a Rabbit Tale: Watership Down, by Richard Adams
Watership
Down is a classic retelling of the archetypal myth of the hero.
The hero, however, just happens to be a bunny rabbit by the name
of Hazel. Read the review of this book that has created its own
cult following.
Through
the Eyes of a Child: Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens
The story of the little orphan who is reunited, then
separated from, then reunited with his benevolent grandfather caught
the imagination of Victorian society and has remained a favorite
ever since.
Conscience
and Compassion: Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
“Happy
families are all alike, every unhappy family is unhappy in its own
way.” With this famous line Tolstoy begins Anna Karenina,
a novel that encompasses all of the triumphs, struggles and crises
that occur in families.
A
Tree Grows in Brooklyn, by
Betty Smith
Some
authors, it seems, were born to write one great book, and such was
the case with Betty Smith. In 1943, at the age of forty-seven, she
wrote a semi-autobiographical account of her Brooklyn upbringing.
Back
to the Best Books – 2003
Well,
it’s a new year. What are you reading?
Give
a Great Book for Christmas
Here
are a few great books that most people would love to own, and that
you might want to put on your personal wish list.
Life
as Art: Delta Wedding, by Eudora Welty
Eudora
Welty died just last year at the age of 92. She lived in Jackson,
Mississippi; a shy, single woman who spent her life watching, listening,
and writing about her own people. Her stories and novels were often
criticized because they lacked the social themes of great contemporary.
literature.
A
Fairy Tale for Adults: The Old Curiosity Shop, by Charles
Dickens
Published
in serial form in 1840 – 1841, The Old Curiosity Shop
enthralled readers with its combination of the grotesque and the
sublime.
Each
Life that Touches Ours for Good: Memoirs to Savor
Each
human life is a miracle of great complexity, containing love, death,
drama and humor, wrenching moments of decision and periods of pleasure
and suffering.
Hewn
in a Wild Workshop: Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte
Charlotte
Bronte said of Wuthering Heights, “It is rustic all the way through.
It is moorish, and wild, and knotty as a root of heath. Nor was
it natural that it should be otherwise; the author being herself
a native and nursling of the moors.”
Return
to Camelot: The Once and Future King, by T.H. White
The
legends of King Arthur and his Roundtable lie deep in the consciousness
of the Western mind.
Just
a Scary Guy in a Mask: The Phantom of the Opera
Since it is an old book it landed on the
classics shelf, but you won't find greatness here. Just a scary
guy in a mask.
Shadows
of War: All Quiet on the Western Front
I
have three books here on my desk about war: All Quiet on the Western
Front, The Longest Day, and We Were Soldiers Once, and Young. The
conflicts they describe were fought by three different generations,
with different technology on different battlegrounds. Yet one feels,
in the end, that it is all one war they describe, one that will
continue to rage on different fronts until the angel's words to
the shepherds finally come to pass, and a new day brings us peace
on earth and good will to men. Until then, we will live in the shadow
of war.
No
Laughing Matter: The House of Mirth, by Edith Wharton
The Best Books Club reads Edith Wharton's personal best, The House
of Mirth. Meridian invites you to read this article, then share
your thoughts about this month's best book.
Finding
our Present in the Past: Possession
by A.S. Byatt
If
you tend to lose yourself in second-hand bookstores, are ravenously
curious about the lives of the authors whose works you read, or
simply love a great romantic mystery, you will love this book.
The
Heart of History: O, Pioneers! by Willa Cather
ìThe
history of every country begins in the heart of a man or a woman.î
This famous line tells us everything we need to know about O, Pioneers!
Willa Catherís poignant, powerful masterpiece is a perfect example
of her subtle artistry.
The
Gift of Your Voice: Stories to Read Aloud at Christmas
The
practice of reading aloud, both to oneself and to others, has been
part of our culture from ancient times.
Best
Books Club: What Are You Reading?
I
asked the members of the Best Books Club to tell me what they have
been reading of late, and got some great tips on books you and your
loved ones will enjoy.
Collateral
Damage: The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
November's Best Books Club selection explores
revenge, forgiveness, justice and mercy through the timeless character
of Edmund Dantes. |
