Librate

Harry Potter series from Hermione’s point of view:

• Hermione Granger and the Time I Got Two Idiots Out Of A Crisis
• Hermione Granger and the Time I Got Two Idiots Out Of A Crisis
• Hermione Granger and the Time I Got Two Idiots Out Of A Crisis
• Hermione Granger and the Time I Got Two Idiots Out Of A Crisis
• Hermione Granger and the Time I Got Two Idiots Out Of A Crisis
• Hermione Granger and the Time I Got Two Idiots Out Of A Crisis
• Hermione Granger and the Time I Got Two Idiots Out Of A Crisis

(Source: nuclearmedicine, via capturethecastle)

El Dorado by Baroness Orczy

So it turns out that the Jane Seymour/Anthony Andrews version of The Scarlet Pimpernel is actually an amalgam of the first novel, this sequel, and another (as yet unread by me) sequel that falls between the two. That whole business about rescuing the Dauphin comes from this book, along with that scene where Marguerite goes to visit Percy in prison and he gives her instructions for his grand plan of escape and all. But in the original, he’s kept in prison for weeks, and Chauvelin tortures him by keeping him from sleeping—interrogating him about the Dauphin every 15 minutes. Poor Percy! He gets pale and wan and skinny. (But don’t worry, he’s still in possession of every mental faculty and most of his physical ones—a few weeks of constant torture doesn’t do THAT much damage. He is Sir Percy Blakeney, perfect specimen of British manhood, after all.)

The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy

If you’ve only ever seen the movie version of this story, do yourself a favor and read the original novel. It’s sappy, romantic, funny, action-packed—everything a good historical romance should be. What struck me going through it for, oh, the fourth or fifth time this week, is how snobby Orczy really is about the British aristocracy. It’s pretty clear she thinks they’re the bee’s knees, far superior to the rest of that European riffraff. Oh well, chalk it up to the 19th century, I guess.

What is pretty fantastic, though, is the Regency-era slang. “Odd’s my life, old chap, what ho, eh?” You have no idea what they’re saying, but whatever it is, you want them to keep saying it.

Chopsticks by Jessica Anthony and Rodrigo Corral

You may have flipped through this book at the Barnes and Noble or heard it talked about as a fascinating twist on the graphic novel idea. There is very little text in this book; rather, it is a collection of artifacts, a sort of scrapbook, filled with pictures, notes, tickets, letters, and other memorabilia that tell the story of a mystery, a romance, a coming of age. The story and characters aren’t particularly ground-breaking, but the genre certainly is. I enjoyed it a lot—you should check it out.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

I was never particularly interested in that mini-surge of angel/demon romances that followed the vampire craze in young adult fiction. I enjoyed Cassandra Clare’s books, but that’s about as far as it went. Daughter had some good recommendations, though, so when it showed up at the library, I decided to give it a try, and, I have to say, it is worth it. If you liked the Mortal Instruments, if you found yourself seduced by Twilight against your will, if you’re a fan of punky, artsy girl heroes who know their way around a weapons chest, and especially if you can’t resist a star-crossed couple, do yourself a favor and spend a Saturday afternoon in the sun with this book.

The Children and the Wolves by Adam Rapp

This novella was shelved in the young adult fiction section. I don’t know if this is because its characters were young teenagers, but the themes of the book were terribly disturbing and adult. A group of three troubled kids, led by the privileged and sociopathic teenage girl, Bounce, kidnap a young child and keep her locked in the basement, chained to the wall and entertained day after day by nothing but a gruesome video game.

All these children are invisible to the adults around them, yet each bears the consequences of their parents’ choices and neglect. When they lash out in violence, it’s terrible but not surprising.

This is a book to read not for entertainment, but to be hurtled out of apathy and inertia. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

She Who Is by Elizabeth A. Johnson

This is a fantastic (but very dense) work of theology that explores the question, “How can we understand the feminine aspects of God in ways that promote the full humanity of women as bearers of God’s image and position women in true relation to the divine?” Starting with the history of how early Christian thinkers have traditionally gendered God, Johnson moves through the theology of the trinity, examining Scripture texts that are often overlooked or ignored, as well as those that are mistranslated or misinterpreted, in order to reclaim feminine imagery and language about God throughout the Bible. Finally, she ends with discussion of how a deeper understanding of the trinity can work to counteract some of the destructive consequences of classical deism, and the implications of belief in a God who suffers.

Talk of God’s feminine identity has often been dismissed (or, in my experience, forcefully rejected) among many Christians as the next thing to goddess worship. Johnson makes a strong case that it is nothing of the sort, but rather, a process of more fully exploring the incomprehensible mystery of God’s identity and more truly understanding our place in Her presence.

Women Respond to the Men’s Movement

I wouldn’t normally have picked this up since it’s rather outdated, but it was on clearance at Hastings, so what the heck. It was a helpful stepping stone for understanding a certain part of feminist history, but I found it disheartening that much of the rhetoric of this particular 80’s movement has found its place in certain parts of evangelical culture and never left.