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Tag Archives: society
Capturing childhood: Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace
I recently discovered Maud Hart Lovelace’s Betsy-Tacy series doing a literature-map search of Laura Ingalls Wilder. Similarly, Lovelace’s series draws on her own American childhood and the target audience ages with the protagonists. In the first book, Betsy-Tacy, the girls … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Children's, 5 years and up, American, Children's Classics, Coming of Age/Rites of Passage
Tagged 20th Century, 5 and up, American, Betsy-Tacy books, childhood, children's classic, early 20th century, fiction, friendship, good out loud, growing up in America, historical, humour, illustrated, imagination, Maud Hart Lovelace, mid-western United States, play, semi-autobiographical, siblings, society, starting school, under 7s, whimsical
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Spending time with a delightful dead guy: The Essays of Elia by Charles Lamb
I was curious about Charles Lamb after references to him in Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and I was surprised at how enjoyable The Essays of Elia and The Last Essays of Elia actually were. Published in magazines … Continue reading
Posted in 18th Century, Arts Criticism, Biography/Autobiography, Essays, General adult audience, Miscellaneous Non-Fiction, Social Commentary/Analysis, Travel and Geography Non-Fiction
Tagged 19th Century, authors with day jobs, British, character sketches, classic, criticism, essays, exam period friendly, humour, semi-autobiographical, society
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A Victorian novel about decision paralysis: Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope
Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope has a name that is a bit off-putting. It suggests an obnoxious main character who will be hard to sympathise with. I didn’t find this to be the case. The main character, Alice … Continue reading
Posted in Classic, General adult audience, Novel, Novel of Manners, Romance, Social Novel, Victorian
Tagged 100/500/100, 19th Century, Anthony Trollope, authors with day jobs, British, character-driven, classic, decision making, decision paralysis, drama, exam period friendly, fiction, historical, humour, marriage, Palliser Novel, politics, relationships, society, Victorian Era
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Hooray! A Christian book on singleness that I can recommend without caveats: Single-Minded by Kate Wharton
Single-Minded by Kate Wharton is a biblical, readable and well-rounded book on singleness. As a general book on singleness, it is definitely my top recommendation, replacing Al Hsu’s The Single Issue, which is excellent but has become quite dated. It … Continue reading
The best book I’ve read on the church and singleness: The Plausibility Problem by Ed Shaw
The Plausibility Problem: The Church and Same-Sex Attraction by Ed Shaw answers the uncertainty and embarrassment Christians can feel about the Bible’s teaching on homosexuality. In our sex- and relationship-obsessed world it can seem unreasonable to expect Christians with same-sex … Continue reading
A book on marriage that’s helpful for singles too: Married for God by Christopher Ash
Married for God by Christopher Ash is a book on marriage from a Christian perspective that is essential to read whether you are married or single. Rather than focussing on how to improve marriage or what marriage actually is, this … Continue reading
Letters from England by Karel Čapek
Letters from England by Karel Čapek is a book I picked up for $5 in New Zealand, one of those high points of secondhand-bookshopping. As suggested by the title, it’s a collection of letters from the Czech author’s travels in … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century, Biography/Autobiography, General adult audience, Letters, Social Commentary/Analysis, Travel and Geography Non-Fiction
Tagged 20th Century, culture, Czech, England, epistolary, exam period friendly, external viewpoint, humour, illustrated, observations, out of print, society, translated, travel
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Light a Single Candle by Beverley Butler
Light A Single Candle by Beverley Butler is a great book written in the early 60s that I discovered in high school. Cathy Wheeler becomes completely blind in her early teens when surgery to treat glaucoma goes seriously wrong. As … Continue reading
Posted in 11 years and up, 20th Century YA, American, Coming of Age/Rites of Passage, Light Fiction, Novel, YA Realism, Young Adult
Tagged 1960s, 20th Century, American, animals, blindness, coming-of-age, disability, dogs, fiction, guide dogs, high school, instituationalisation, society, young adult
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A Country Gentleman and His Family by Margaret Oliphant
A Country Gentleman and His Family by Margaret Oliphant is surprisingly well written. Mrs Oliphant was a Victorian authoress who wrote novels to support herself and several dependents so was prolific but variable in quality. This book had skillful characterisation … Continue reading
Posted in British, Classic, Family Drama, General adult audience, Novel of Manners, Pastoral novel, Romance, Social Novel, Victorian
Tagged 100/500/100, 19th Century, British, character-driven, classic, domestic realism, drama, exam period friendly, fiction, marriage, relationships, remarriage, siblings, society, talent, widowhood, women
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Is it possible to have a high powered job and a functioning family? It’s a lot easier if you have a ‘Wife’, according to discussion-provoking book, The Wife Drought by Annabel Crabb
The Wife Drought by Annabel Crabb is an intriguing look at work, home, family balance and gender in modern Australia. Why do men, on average, work an extra four hours a week after the birth of their first child? Why … Continue reading →