Christmas Break Books: Garden Spells, I Capture the Castle, Writing with Style

I'm a little behind in posting about books which is WONDERFUL. There's nothing I like more than books in my stocking. Somehow they're books untainted by the guilt that I should be doing something else instead of reading. This year Santa brought me so many books that I'll be reading them well into February; this is mostly due to the Kristin Lavransdatter triology that's a couple thousand pages long. Tyler will be pleased; they'll be no boring book posts to muck up an otherwise entertaining blog.

In order from most recently read to least recently read:



The tag lines on the front of the book say "enchanting" and "magical." It was both of those things. It's a New York Times Bestseller, and somehow all bestsellers feel kind of the same to me. I'm not sure if its the writing style or that they were all written recently, but I usually get a little bored by them. This one still felt that way, only the magical elements kept any boredom at bay. I don't know that it inspired any profound thoughts, other than if this were made into a movie, it would be delightful.



This book was an enchanting and magical coming of age story.

As I was reading it I got nervous that the reason I love period movies and books is because they're all romances. Sure, we love Jane Austen because she is quietly humorous about her surroundings and satirizes them a bit and because she creates round characters, but in the end, isn't it really about Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy? Don't you just long for a good Victorian make-out between the two of them?

And why am I embarrassed by that?

I Capture the Castle is quietly humorous. It satirizes it's time period--1930s England--when class matters less in matters of marriage than it did 50 years previous, but it still matters enough. The characters are wonderfully round, and you find yourself growing with Cassandra as she navigates her life and loves.

And it is WONDERFULLY romantic.



I assigned this reading for my advanced writing course because it is a writing manual that is more entertaining than other writing manuals. Trimble calls the book "Conversations on the Art of Writing" and does an excellent job creating a witty conversation. As an example, Trimble comments on someone who is picky about whether you should spell out numbers or use the numerals:

But why write eighteen when it's so much simpler to write 18, and when 18 is easier for readers to remember--not to mention already coverted in the numeral they'll actually use? What can possibly be objectionable about 18? I hear someone answer, "It lacks the dignity of eighteen." Such a person doubtless undresses with the lights out.

My main thoughts in response to this book are that I integrated the readings from this book really poorly into my course instruction. Next time I teach it, I will have reading guides for each assignment.