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caitlin_89's reviews
501 reviews
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
5.0
Loved it. The ending made me happy. I loved it. I already said that. Oh well. So good. It was a very sweet story. A feeling narrative with intriguing characters, and lots of different story lines running at once, in and out and through each other. And Dickens' characteristic fog and gloom over the whole thing, lit with brilliant sarcastic wit.
Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
3.0
Definitely not my favorite among Dickens' work. This one seemed more depressing than the others. And strange. Very strange.
But still Dickens, so still good.
But still Dickens, so still good.
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
3.0
Til We Have Faces was written beautifully. The characters were real, the story believable, passionate, and gripping.
I set about reading this not knowing what to expect, having pulled it off the library shelf without knowing a thing about it. I didn't know it was a retelling of Cupid and Psyche until halfway through, when I read it somewhere. I'm unfamiliar with it, but I like myths.
Strangely enough, though, I felt very unsatisfied when I reached the end of the book. I felt as though it had no definite meaning or resolve. Of course it had a moral. It was full of philosophy and theology, all about the conflicts of emotion and knowledge, the spiritual and physical.
Somehow it just felt to me that after all the conflict, it simply ended with few enlightened, and everyone dead.
I set about reading this not knowing what to expect, having pulled it off the library shelf without knowing a thing about it. I didn't know it was a retelling of Cupid and Psyche until halfway through, when I read it somewhere. I'm unfamiliar with it, but I like myths.
Strangely enough, though, I felt very unsatisfied when I reached the end of the book. I felt as though it had no definite meaning or resolve. Of course it had a moral. It was full of philosophy and theology, all about the conflicts of emotion and knowledge, the spiritual and physical.
Somehow it just felt to me that after all the conflict, it simply ended with few enlightened, and everyone dead.
Not a Tame Lion: The Spiritual Legacy of C.S. Lewis by Terry W. Glaspey
5.0
I knew very little about C.S. Lewis excepting his authorship of the classic Narnia stories, and other great writings, until my friend left her copy at my house one day. I decided to skim through it, having nothing better to do, and no sooner had I started reading than I found myself chapters deep.
I'm not a huge-mongous Lewis fanatic, but I do enjoy his work, and I think he was definitely someone to be admired. This books was a great introduction to the man himself, and his... well, spiritual legacy. Certainly more interesting a read than I usually expect to find under the category of "biography." Something in my mind has caused that word to become near synonymous with "boring." Boring it was not. It was full of quotes that made me eager to read the next on my library-list : Mere Christianity. One of such quotes was this,
" Friendship is born at the moment when one man says to another, "What! You too? I thought no one but myself..." "
I don't know that there was anything super-extraordinary about Lewis' life, but this book certainly made it intriguing.
I'm not a huge-mongous Lewis fanatic, but I do enjoy his work, and I think he was definitely someone to be admired. This books was a great introduction to the man himself, and his... well, spiritual legacy. Certainly more interesting a read than I usually expect to find under the category of "biography." Something in my mind has caused that word to become near synonymous with "boring." Boring it was not. It was full of quotes that made me eager to read the next on my library-list : Mere Christianity. One of such quotes was this,
" Friendship is born at the moment when one man says to another, "What! You too? I thought no one but myself..." "
I don't know that there was anything super-extraordinary about Lewis' life, but this book certainly made it intriguing.
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
4.0
From what I've gathered from others, I think I'm not going to be a huge fan of Hemingway's collective works.
I did, however, enjoy The Old Man and the Sea. Accustomed as I am to flowery adjectives, and run-on sentences, I found myself unexpectedly appreciating the frank, straightforward style found in this book. It has a very masculine feel, with it's simple but vivid imagery capturing the old man's struggles and relationships with the sea, the fish, and the boy.
I listened to it on CD rather than reading it, and the narrator was pretty great, too. I'm sure that helped. :)
So, I read in other people's reviews that this story has some sort of significance- you know, a deeper meaning. Most books do (or at least people expect them to. You can find a "deeper meaning" in anything if you try hard enough). If it has a deeper meaning, I don't really care to know what it is. I admit that I just enjoyed this story for the good imagery.
I did, however, enjoy The Old Man and the Sea. Accustomed as I am to flowery adjectives, and run-on sentences, I found myself unexpectedly appreciating the frank, straightforward style found in this book. It has a very masculine feel, with it's simple but vivid imagery capturing the old man's struggles and relationships with the sea, the fish, and the boy.
I listened to it on CD rather than reading it, and the narrator was pretty great, too. I'm sure that helped. :)
So, I read in other people's reviews that this story has some sort of significance- you know, a deeper meaning. Most books do (or at least people expect them to. You can find a "deeper meaning" in anything if you try hard enough). If it has a deeper meaning, I don't really care to know what it is. I admit that I just enjoyed this story for the good imagery.
Get Married: What Women Can Do to Help it Happen by Candice Watters
4.0
I actually need to read this one again. I read it so fast today,I don't really remember what all it said.
But basically, this book is against all the "sit, wait, and hope God will drop a husband in your lap" mindset most of us sheltered, non-dating type girls have come to accept. Candice Watters argues that there is, indeed, something we can, and should, be doing to help. And from a Biblical standpoint, too! hooray!
Mrs. Watters encourages young women to not be ashamed of the desire to get married. The Bible teaches it is a holy, honorable, and worthwhile pursuit, created for God's glory, as a picture of Christ and his bride, and intended to bring individuals together for the furtherance of God's kindgdom.
And then there's the point about how it really is God's plan for most people to get married, so girls need to quit wasting the best part of their lives sitting there saying "if, if, if." If you want to get married, you obviously WEREN'T called to be single, so have a little faith, and "Live Like You're Planning to Marry." (the name of one of the chapters
There's also a nice chapter called "Men Aren't Jerks, They're Fallen (Like You)", which I appreciated as an avid hater of the "let's bash all men" trend that seems to be going on.
Okay, I must have paid more attention that I thought. I'd better just stop writing, or this thing will be an essay -and I don't have time to write one of those right now.
But basically, this book is against all the "sit, wait, and hope God will drop a husband in your lap" mindset most of us sheltered, non-dating type girls have come to accept. Candice Watters argues that there is, indeed, something we can, and should, be doing to help. And from a Biblical standpoint, too! hooray!
Mrs. Watters encourages young women to not be ashamed of the desire to get married. The Bible teaches it is a holy, honorable, and worthwhile pursuit, created for God's glory, as a picture of Christ and his bride, and intended to bring individuals together for the furtherance of God's kindgdom.
And then there's the point about how it really is God's plan for most people to get married, so girls need to quit wasting the best part of their lives sitting there saying "if, if, if." If you want to get married, you obviously WEREN'T called to be single, so have a little faith, and "Live Like You're Planning to Marry." (the name of one of the chapters
There's also a nice chapter called "Men Aren't Jerks, They're Fallen (Like You)", which I appreciated as an avid hater of the "let's bash all men" trend that seems to be going on.
Okay, I must have paid more attention that I thought. I'd better just stop writing, or this thing will be an essay -and I don't have time to write one of those right now.