First Review of the Year

- Note: I have changed how I format my reviews. I have included a rating scale with each book: Excellent, Fare, Obsolete, or Poor. I have also added a recommendation rating: High,  Low, Ambivalent,  or Absolutely Not. Along with the summary I will make sure to include a favorite quote (unless the book is too abysmal to have one). By changing the format in these ways I hope to help those reading to better gauge whether or not this book is for them. If you have any suggestions for changes, or any other information you would like included that I have neglected, please let me know. I am trying new things this year, and I am always open to changing things up to make it easier and more engaging for my readers. - 

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Are Women Human? by Dorothy Sayers

Rating: Excellent

Recommendation: High

Summary:
It is fitting that the first book I review for 2018 was written by Dorothy Sayers. Sayers is a phenomenal philosopher, writer, storyteller, and Christian. She also happens to be one of my favorite authors. Her wisdom and insight within the literary world is a gift none of us should neglect. Are Women Human? is a short collection of two essays that Sayers wrote to address the feminist movement of her time. Sayers lived and wrote during the early 20th century, when women were first entering into the academic, scientific, and industrial spheres in society. The women of Sayers' day were facing some very serious sexism, the extent of which most women (thankfully) do not have to navigate today. Even so, much of the wisdom Sayers shares is very pertinent to our time.
I would highly recommend this book for anyone who can read, male or female. It did not even take me an hour to read and is perfect for a lazy Saturday morning. The length (or absence of length, rather) sacrifices none of Sayers' signature wit or literary poise. You won't merely be informed, but you will be entertained and engaged with each page.

Favorite Quote:
"... a woman is just as much an ordinary human being as a man with the same individual preferences, and with just as much right to the tastes and preferences of an individual."

Reading List: 2018

Russian:
The Possessed (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
The Gambler (Fyodor Dostoevsky)
Five Great Short Stories (Anton Chekhov)
Ivan Ilyich and Confessions (Leo Tolstoy)


French:
Les Miserables (Victor Hugo)
The Works of Hugo (including The Hunchback of Notre Dam, assorted poems, essays, and short stories)


British:
Nicholas Nickelby (Charles Dickens)
The Ballad of the White Horse (GK Chesterton)
Middlemarch (George Eliot)
Agnes Gray (Anne Brontë)
Mansfield Park (Jane Austen)
The Old Curiosity Shop (Charles Dickens)
Silas Marner (George Eliot)
The Scent of Water (Elizabeth Goudge)



American:
Lucy Gayheart (Willa Cather)
Death Comes for the Archbishop (Willa Cather)
Gone with the Wind (Margaret Mitchell)
The Scarlet Letter (Nathaniel Hawthorne)

Theological:
Reformed Dogmatics, 5 Volumes (Geerhardus Vos)
Systematic Theology (John Frame)


Philosophical:
Are Women Human? (Dorothy L. Sayers)
Not That It Matters (AA Milne)
Rhetoric (Aristotle)


Historical: 
Team of Rivals (Doris Kearns Goodwin)
The Andersonville Prison Trial (General N.P. Chipman)
Eisenhower (Stephen E. Ambrose)
Truman (David McCullough)


Devotional:
Faithful Women and Their Extraordinary God (Noël Piper)
Idols of the Heart (Elise Fitzpatrick)
Self-Confrontation (John Broger) 

Final Review for 2017: Glorious Conquest and Inglorious Defeat

He was born on the island of Corsica, small in stature yet giant in his own mind.

Napoleon Bonaparte rode on the waves of the French Revolution. In the midst of chaos, bloodshed, moral decay, and economic uncertainty, he won first the hearts of the French army and finally the hearts of her people. In three short years he established himself as emperor of France, a title he greedily held onto until his death.

Many people know Bonaparte only as the petite conqueror who marched an enormous army into Russia, froze half of them, retreated, and then sometime after that (their history here is vague) met defeat at the battle of Waterloo. What they forget is that Bonaparte accomplished much good for the French nation. He quelled the destructive fires of the Revolution, revitalized and stabilized the French economy. During the first few years of his reign the French nation prospered. 

Ever the multi-tasker, he set out to conquer Europe while reconstructing the French government and eco. His vision was to unite the continent under one government, with one currency and one language. He saw himself as the man to accomplish this task. But the source of his vision became the source of his downfall: his pride. While he was a remarkable leader, and in many ways unstoppable, he failed to see his own limitations and ended his life in defeat and disgrace. His once-loving French people cursed his name, for he had sacrificed their sons and their resources for a vision they saw no reason to share. One by one his allies became his enemies as they saw their lands, cultures, and freedoms swallowed up by this mad man and his army. 

Napoleon loved himself and his vision too deeply to see that those around him slowly came to hate his impossible dream. He was so caught up in his perception of himself, his abilities, and his early victories to realize that his power was overstretched and weakening. 

The Age of Napoleon by Will and Ariel Durant captures the drama and detail of Napoleon's rise to power. Not only that, but they give the reader a glimpse of the different facets of life in the European nations surrounding France. The reader is left with a deeper understanding, not only of Napoleon's person and rule, but of all of Europe at the end of the 18th Century and the beginning of the 19th.

Unlike many historical narratives, the Durants do not pick an extreme when describing this famous man. Some historians look on him as a power-hungry ogre, devouring countries and cultures. Others see him as a military genius whose vision was too sophisticated for the world he lived in. The Durants take a much more conservative approach, neither praising nor denouncing him too much. They look at his limitations and his seemingly impossible feats with the understanding eye of humanity observing just another human.
At the same time they do not lose the beauty, intrigue, and drama of that time. The Age of Napoleon truly is a fascinating, colorful age in history, one that all of us could benefit from studying at some point in our lives.

2018: Changes and Opportunities

I have been in a season of change over the past few months. The changes are not completely over yet, either. Some big ones for this next year are:

- I'm quitting my job to spend more time developing my writing/academic opportunities

- We've moved into a house we're sharing with a family

- I'm hoping to expand my reading list.

The first change is a pretty big one. I've always relied on some kind of full-time job to help keep my schedule in order, to act as a natural time restraint for socializing (because, let's be realistic, I would give all of my time to that if allowed), and create a sense of urgency for whatever reading/writing/projects I've had in the past.

Beginning in February that is all going to change. I'm going to have more time on my hands, and I want to use it wisely to bless others and to grow in my knowledge, skills, and my faith. 

The second change has already happened and it has been quite fun and encouraging thus far. It is nice to be living in community rather than isolated in our own little corner.  

As these two changes unfold, I hope to share more about them with you in the coming months. Needless to say I am excited and a little terrified of both. 

The third change is one that I can very easily share with you right now. I want to expand my reading list for this year. I have the freedom for the next few months to consistently read a substantial amount (if I order my time well, hehe). I want to use that opportunity to check some books off of my ever-growing list. I also want to improve the content and consistency of the book reviews I write, so that I can provide those of you who read this blog a steady diet of new titles and genres to read.

I am really excited about the changes that are unfolding. But even if they do not work out the way I would like(and trust me, 2017 didn't so I have no rose-colored dreams for this year), I know that ultimately they will work together for my growth and good, and for the glory of God. I hope that your 2018 is full of such changes as well, and that you can share the journey of growth
with me.