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Categories Recap

Recap (2016.01.09)

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In my spirit:

  • Working on memorizing Ephesians 1:15-23 – and having it inspire me to prayer and worship
  • Practicing confession, more frequently than I’d prefer as I’ve often found myself frustrated with and short towards Tirzah Mae

In the living room:

  • Packing, packing, packing. I don’t have enough boxes for our books so I’m planning to do that part in stages.
  • How is it possible that I can wash three loads of dishes daily and still have messy kitchen at the end of the day?

In the kitchen:

  • Putting meals on the table, but nothing spectacular.
  • I didn’t grow up eating cinnamon rolls with chili, but I know others did – and I felt like rolls on Monday so chili became my excuse.

In the nursery:

  • Tirzah Mae’s new thing is waking up at night and wanting to stay awake. I’m so thankful this hadn’t been or experience in the first year.
  • I think my breastmilk volume might be decreasing – sometimes it seems like Tirzah Mae will nurse and nurse and nurse some more; and, when I finally get tired and offer her a water cup instead, she gulps it down.

In the craft room:

  • No crafts these days – see “packing”

In the garden:

  • Still dormant for the winter – I’ll be moving my raised bed out to Prairie Elms soon, and I’m contemplating whether to move my compost too.

At Prairie Elms:

  • We do a final walk-through at the beginning of next week – it’s starting to look DONE!
  • We’ll close on our mortgage (to pay off the construction loan) Friday – and them we’re ready to start moving in!
Categories Book Reviews

Book Review: Animals of the Bible illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop

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Books are about words, right?

Of course, right.

Or at least that’s what I’ve always thought.

While I read picture books, I really only care about the words.

While I’ve been reading picture books for years, I’ve typically only cared about the words.

But after reading Baby Read-Aloud Basics, I’ve been trying to pay more attention to the pictures, especially when reading out loud to Tirzah Mae. Then, I read Donald Crews’ Freight Train (recommended by Baby Read-Aloud Basics) and was absolutely enthralled by the illustrations. The library copy I’d borrowed featured a Caldecott Honor Medallion – which inspired me to look at the Caldecott Award.

I discovered that the Caldecott Medal is given by the American Library Association (ALA) to the illustrator of an outstanding picture book.

Okay, okay. If the ALA considers illustrations important enough to give an award for them, maybe I should pay a little bit of attention to them.

And what better way, I figured, than to read through the Caldecott Award winners?

Dorothy P. Lathrop received the very first Caldecott award for her Animals of the Bible, published in 1937.

My library’s copy had to be retrieved from storage, and I was interested to see the penciled-in note on the front flyleaf indicating that water damage had been officially noted 9/17/70.

The text of Lathrop’s Animals of the Bible consists entirely of passages from the King James Version of the Bible, all of them pertaining to animals in some fashion. Each story (with a few exceptions) is accompanied by a full-page black-and-white illustration.

Reading this (and looking at the pictures) reminded me of Laura Ingalls Wilder, looking at the pictures in Pa’s big Bible and in his animal book.

I couldn’t help think of the great differences in picture book illustrations since 1937. Perhaps the easiest to note is the change from black-and-white to full-color illustrations – but even more striking is the variation in level of detail. It certainly seems that recent illustrations tend towards the cartoonish, with spare details. But the further back one looks, the more detailed the illustrations tend to be.

Lathrop’s illustrations are highly realistic montages of multiple animals in distinct environments along with carefully drawn plants. They are delightful (apart from the unfortunate addition of halos on Jesus and the angels, a convention I rather detest.)

I can see a preschool or early elementary child enjoying these illustrations, although I think said child would likely be overwhelmed by the King James English of the text. Then again, I’ve never been much of an illustration person, and I may be translating my own tastes to a child – if you can find this book at the library, I’d find it there and try it out on your child before buying.

Rating: 3-4 stars
Category: Children’s picture book
Synopsis: A collection of “animal” passages from the King James Bible along with striking full-page black and white illustrations.
Recommendation: Children might be interested in the illustrations, not sure how easily they’ll get the King James English.

Categories Pregnancy, Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday: Prenatal visit

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I got a call from my OB’s office as we were traveling back from Lincoln. My OB is on medical leave, the receptionist told me, and would I like to reschedule my first appointment with one of his partners?

Except she had a question first. Are you planning a home birth? Because none of our other providers work with home birth midwives, so… I tried to explain that while we’re hoping for a home birth, we’re also intending to follow with our OB in case a hospital birth is necessary. She was reluctant to reschedule me with another provider, given my home birth hopes. I began to get a little frustrated. “I still need my labs done, don’t I?” “Well, if you’re going to give birth in a hospital, yes.”

Sigh.

I finally convinced her that yes I really did want an appointment with someone and she offered the midwife. Great! I thought. While my OB is the only one in town (to my knowledge) that works with home birth midwives, I am familiar with the practice’s nurse midwife and know that she is pro-physiological childbirth and pro-VBAC and is on friendly terms with my home birth midwife (definitely NOT givens in the large group practice my OB belongs to.)

So when I arrived for today’s appointment, I was thrown off kilter to learn that I hadn’t been scheduled with the nurse midwife but with the nurse PRACTITIONER, an entirely unknown quantity.

This week I’m thankful…

…for good first impressions
I was prepared to tell the nurse that I’m continuing to breastfeed my fourteen month old (oh my – I just realized that Tirzah Mae is as old now as my big sister was when I was born. Crazy.) I was also prepared to face disapproval for that practice.

What I was not prepared for was for the NP to knock on the door while I was breastfeeding Tirzah Mae, to have her insist that I not interrupt “lunch” on her account, and to sympathize with me over how Tirzah Mae’s difficult start meant I had absolutely NO lactational amenorrhea.

She put me right at ease.

…for gentle probing and full acceptance of my right to decline
When I asked that we try doppler to hear baby’s heartbeat rather than doing a ultrasound, she asked if I was afraid of the procedure. I explained that no, I wasn’t but preferred to use the least invasive tests necessary to obtain needed information. She explained that yes she could use Doppler but that the heartbeat might not be detectable at this point. She didn’t want me to be worried, she said.

This made clear to me that she’s used to dealing with normal pregnant women who think the more information they have (as far as prenatal testing goes) the better. But her recognition that the purpose of ultrasound at this point is more for reassuring a mother that everything is fine than for any diagnostic purpose and her willingness to skip that for me encouraged me greatly. (For the record, we didn’t hear a heartbeat on Doppler – but we have no reason to think that all isn’t well with this baby.)

…for a timely reminder
When the NP asked if I had any questions, I couldn’t think of any. But when I got home, a blog post I was reading mentioned the US Preventative Services AHQR EPSS App to help clinicians determine which screenings and preventative services to provide their patients. Medical wonk that I am, I downloaded it and entered my information. And there, under Grade B recommendations was the use of aspirin for prevention of preeclampsia. My OB had mentioned that at a postpartum visit after I’d had Tirzah Mae. I called the NP to ask her advice – and since the reminder had come at just the right time, my case was fresh in her mind and the question easy to answer.

…for prenatal peace
Given what happened in my previous pregnancy and how my previous delivery turned out, it would make sense to be anxious this time around (yes? at least, it would be plenty normal.) But I am at rest with this pregnancy (thus far). Even as I hedge my bets, seeing both my OB (who performed my c-section) and my home-birth midwife, I feel at peace about whatever the outcome may be. God is sovereign over pregnancy and preeclampsia, over care providers and birth settings, over babies living and babies dying. So while I hope and pray for a long pregnancy (Maybe I can get that 41 weeks, 1 day I expected from my first pregnancy?), for an uncomplicated unmedicated home VBAC, for a healthy baby and a healthy me both through and after pregnancy…I am resting in the reality that God knows and God chooses best.

Categories Books

Reading Resolutions

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January is the time of year when book bloggers everywhere are listing their reading resolutions, joining reading challenges, and otherwise posting plans for the year’s reading.

And I am stuck trying to figure out if I should join in.

First, am I a book blogger? I suppose that’s the niche I fit in best, if a niche I am to fill. But I am just erratic enough that I am unsure.

Second, dare I write resolutions this year? My pregnancy and the expected new addition to our family is just one obvious reason to keep my expectations low this year. Then again, my last pregnancy didn’t keep me from reading in the least. But we’ll be moving out to Prairie Elms in less than two weeks – and I have a feeling THAT will put a definite damper on reading, at least for this first bit of the year.

I’d love to participate in Carrie’s Lucy Maud Montgomery Reading Challenge this January as I have for the past several years. But I’m packing away our home and preparing it to be sold. Will I have time to read?

I’d love to participate in Barbara’s Laura Ingalls Wilder Reading Challenge in February. But I’ll be settling us into our new home (and potentially still working on getting our current home saleable or rentable.) Will I have time to read?

I’d like to participate in July’s Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge at Reading to Know, but that should be serious nesting time. Will reading factor into my nesting this time around?

As year-long (or almost year-long) challenges go, I’d really like to join with Amy’s Newbery Through the Decades Challenge. But I’ll be skipping at least the first month, and I don’t know how things will go from there.

I’d also love to do Tim Challies’ Visual Theology Reading Challenge. But… see above.

So I may or may not participate in one or all of the above.

What I do know for sure is that I want to make some adjustments to my reading this year.

As I’ve reflected on my recent reading, I’ve realized that I’ve been doing a lot of “how to” reading. Now, there isn’t anything wrong with that sort of stuff. It’s valuable to read about parenting and childbirth and breastfeeding and whatnot. But a diet consisting entirely of how to just isn’t right.

So I’ve resolved to try to balance my reading in 2016 around five categories.

Books for Loving

These are books that serve to deepen my love for God. They’re books on the nature and acts of God. Books about the nature and effects of salvation. They’re books that cause me to wonder at and worship the great God of the universe.

Books for Growing

These are books that help me meet goals. This is where those “how to” books can fit. Books to help me communicate better. Books to help me parent more effectively. Books to help me keep my house clean or to organize my days. Books about gardening or cooking. They’re books that help me grow in the areas I’ve identified as needing growth.

Books for Knowing

These are books that help me gain general knowledge. History, Biography, Sociology. Books about disease processes (not necessarily “how to fix this disease”). Books about politics or current events. Books about economics or foreign policy. Things that stretch and expand my mind, that expose me to new ideas.

Books for Seeing

If books for knowing help me gain general knowledge, books for seeing help me gain understanding of the human state. These books help me understand human emotion, human relationships, human problems – not from a clinical standpoint but on an experiential level. This is the place for literature and poetry, for delving into the complexities of human interaction in a way nonfiction can’t.

Books for Enjoying

While I’ve often considered this category escapism, I’m realizing that it’s important that I include the books I read for sheer enjoyment in my regular rotation. Reading adventure novels from John Flanagan’s “Ranger’s Apprentice” series or Regency Romances from Georgette Heyer aren’t simply an escape. They’re an opportunity for me to step back, to lose myself in a story, to laugh and to recharge. Yes, I can’t let these become all I read, but having escaped into one of these on a semi-regular basis allows me to return to “real life” a better and more relaxed woman. So these too will be a part of my regular reading this year.

Categories Thankful Thursday

Thankful Thursday: November’s End

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November is when my old enemy, Seasonal Affective Disorder, returns with boxing gloves on, pummelling me in disability before chaining me to the couch. It’s not particularly pretty – and the effects are compounded by usually high expectations of what I want to accomplish for the holidays.

But November doesn’t last forever, and neither do my bouts on the couch. December dawns (sometimes in December, sometimes in May, depending on the year) and I emerge from the fog.

This week I’m thankful…

…for medication
It always feels like a failure to go back to my doctor and ask for medication yet again this year. Shouldn’t I outgrow the disorder, I think. Shouldn’t I just be able to manage? But once I’m outside the fog, I remember that taking the medication isn’t failure, it’s victory. It corrects things just enough that I am capable of trying to manage. And I am so thankful for it.

…for my husband
When I am inclined to fret and fuss about my circumstances, about my own failures, about how I’m not normal – Daniel reminds me that I can’t expect to be the same or to feel the same now as I’ve “always” felt. My circumstances are different. I’ve never been 30 before, never had a one year old before, never had a 30 year old husband before :-) It’s okay for me to feel different. I am different. And that’s okay. Almost 3 years into marriage, my husband remains a potent evidence of God’s grace in my life.

…for family
We spent the last week of November with our families in Lincoln. My brother from Wisconsin and his family were in town and I enjoyed the ultimate in therapy – long conversations with family, low stress games (we played lots of Forbidden Island and Pandemic, both cooperative games), sleeping in, and no pressure to keep the house clean.

…for delight
There have been hard parts and fun parts of every stage of Tirzah Mae’s development (except maybe the three month long newborn phase – that was just hard). But this has been the least hard and the most fun stage so far. Tirzah Mae is imitating. She pantomimes pumping the hand sanitizer bottle and then wiping her hands together. She delights to wash dishes with me. Nothing suits her better than to stir some imaginary batter in a sour cream tub while I’m stirring real batter. She “folds” laundry and “reads” books and wipes the floor. She tries her hand at brushing her own teeth (now that I’ve realized I can harness her imitative power by brushing my own teeth in front of her). This stage is a delight, and seeing her imitating me has been a bright spot amidst the darkness of the season.

…for last year’s mercy
Even as I felt I was sinking this November, I was (and still am) acutely aware and overwhelmingly thankful for last year’s mercy. I’ve had Seasonal Affective Disorder for at least 15 years, have required medication to cope for the past 10 or so. But last year, I was off my medications, I was pumping and traveling to visit my preemie in the NICU, I was immediately postpartum with a birth experience that was exactly the opposite of my hopes – and I had no depression at all. God was so merciful to spare me that last year.

…for the One whose power is made perfect in weakness
Every year, when the strongman overcomes my defenses, when I find myself waving the white flag in surrender yet again, when I am again taken captive to the encroaching darkness, I am reminded of my need to rely on God. My body, my mind, my heart are so frail. I feel at the mercy of the sun, but that is when I must fall on the mercy of God. And when I fall upon His mercy, He shows himself strong, again and again and again. When I am weak, He is shown strong.

Thank you, Thank you, Lord.

“My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”
~Psalm 73:26

Categories Book Notes

The Brothers Grimm: Wrap Up

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I had grandiose plans of reading ALL of the Grimm’s fairy tales, but I’m awfully glad that I gave myself the out from the beginning. As it was, I read 22 of the tales and 14 picture book versions, listened to 1 audio retelling, and watched 2 video retellings. I posted reviews of the retellings – and have a half dozen half-written posts about the other tales I read.

I’ll post those someday – but for now, I’ll just list what I read:

Hansel and Gretel

I read and reviewed eight different picture book versions of this very famous tale.

Rumpelstiltskin

I read and reviewed four different picture book versions and a video retelling of this familiar tale.

King Thrushbeard

I found only one picture book version of this fun Taming-of-the-Shrew-esque story. I’d like to see more.

The Frog Prince

No kissing! Yay! I read one picture book version, listened to an audio version, and watched a video retelling (that I didn’t like at all.)

Stories published elsewhere

So, those Disney stories I watched/read as a child? I think most of them are probably drawn more from Perrault’s French version of the stories. But I did read the Grimm’s versions of “Puss in Boots” and “Cinderella”.

Less-Familiar Princesses

“Maid Maleen”: a Sleeping-Beauty-like tale, except with more twists. “The Skillful Huntsman”: a modest man slays figurative dragons (actually giants and maybe a pig?) and wins the princess’s hand. “The Princess in Disguise”: a Cinderella-like tale, except with more twists (including a really yucky incestuous promise.)

Tailor Tales

I read two different tales about tailors (generally clever but rather self-important men). “The Gallant Tailor” aka “The Brave Little Tailor” aka “The Valiant Tailor” aka “Seven at One Blow” is the one I remember from childhood. But there is also “The Giant and the Tailor”.

Stories with Adult Themes

Infidelity and wife-beating. Not exactly great material for children’s stories. Preview these before you share them with your kids: “The Little Farmer”, “Sharing Joy and Sorrow”, and “Old Hildebrand”.

Gruesome Tales

You’ve been warned that the Grimm’s are GRIM and are eager to mine the depths of their gruesomeness? Try “Fitcher’s Bird” and “The Robber Bridegroom”.

Create-your-own Fairy Tales

A few of the tales seemed incomplete, like they’re just waiting to be made into an episode in a Shrek-like fairy tale amalgam. Wanna try your hand at it? Read “The Golden Key”, “Sweet Porridge”, and “The Old Beggar Woman”.

Thumbling Tales

Actually three different tales: “Tom Thumb”, “Tom Thumb’s Travels”, and “The Young Giant”.

Miscellaneous Tales

“The Nail”, a moral tale. “Jew among Thorns”, an anti-Semitic tale (uncomfortable). “Clever Gretel”, with a not-so-nice protagonist. “The Singing Bone”, a Cain and Abel type tale. “Fair Katrinelje and Pif-Paf-Poltrie”, an incomprehensible courting story. “The Elves”, a Christmas story. “The Goose-Girl”, a rather goosey all-too-compliant gal who gets the guy in the end anyway.

Thanks to everyone for reading along – don’t forget to go to Reading to Know to link up what you read and to read others’ thoughts on The Brothers Grimm.

Categories Book Notes

The Brothers Grimm: The Frog Prince

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I much prefer the Grimms version of “The Frog Prince” to whatever detestable variation resulted in the saying “You have to kiss a few toads before you find your prince.”

This story is (thankfully) not about playing the field, but about keeping promises.

No kissing involved.

The Frog Prince retold by Edith H. Tarcov, illustrated by James Marshall
A relatively faithful retelling of the story, written as a “level three” first reader (for 1st and 2nd grades). The large print and relatively simple sentence structures make it easier for children to read – but this still includes an abundance of words and parts of speech. I enjoyed the little rhymes the frog says. I did NOT enjoy James Marshall’s illustrations, which were cartoonish (all the people reminded me of Alice from Dilbert.)

The Frog Prince by Jan Callner (Audio)
An audio retelling of the classic tale, with a full cast of characters and accompanying songs. There are some embellishments to the story, but most of them are positive developments (showing the princess’s evolution from self-centered brat to friend, for example). Also, there were a few amusing bits – after the fairy godmother exclaims her displeasure at not being invited to the Prince’s party, the narrator asks “Do you know what she did?” and answers “She destabilized the entire geopolitical balance of the region – that is, she turned the prince into a frog”. On the other hand, the songs drove me absolutely NUTS – or at least they would if I had to listen to them more than once. Overall, I won’t be listening again.

The Tale of the Frog Prince from Shelley Duvall’s Faerie Tale Theatre (DVD)
Having been rather disappointed in Shelley Duvall’s version of “Rumplestiltskin”, I was prepared for her “The Tale of the Frog Prince” to be less than stellar. Except that I couldn’t help notice that these were different actors – Robin Williams is the frog, and the back of the DVD case has accolades from the New York Times. I let my hopes rise.

The opening scene, where a narrator introduces the plight of a poor king and queen who couldn’t have a child, raised my hopes further – only to let them be immediately dashed when said king and queen begin harranguing one another.

From there? Well, lots of angry yelling, lots of name-calling, lots of innuendo. Yep, that’s right – all sorts of innuendo.

And a kiss. Of course, a kiss.

I wasn’t a fan. Obviously.

Categories Parenting

My snot-nosed baby

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Since first putting Tirzah Mae in the nursery in August, it feels as though it’s been a constant parade of illness around here.

A little cold that I think might be just allergies except that one of the little girls in my class had been snuffling the day before. A virus that came on suddenly in midday, giving Tirzah Mae and I drippy noses and quickly raw throats – and that lasted 3 weeks. A bout or two of diarrhea (was that just because of her teeth, I wonder, or was it a bug?)

Generally, I’ve felt bad for Tirzah Mae because I’ve been attributing my own pain to her. Her throat has to hurt since mine does. Her ears have got to be uncomfortable because mine are. I’ve empathized in a self-pitying way, reminding myself that it’s no wonder she wants to nurse all.the.live-long.day when her throat hurts like mine does and the only thing that helps is to have a steady stream of warm liquid (that’s not snot) constantly bathing it.

That three-week-long cold? Tirzah Mae started feeling better (for all I can tell) long before I did. In fact, I only just woke up yesterday without my throat on fire.

Yesterday. When Tirzah Mae woke up with a big blob of snot on her face.

I refused to miss Bible study, kept her with me instead of in the nursery. We spent the afternoon cuddling – at least until I had to go to my doctor’s appointment to get a thing-a-ma-jigger removed from my back. She stayed up way later than her normal bedtime (as did her mother).

And she woke me up wailing at midnight.

Except when I went to get her, she wasn’t standing in her crib like she usually does – she was lying on her belly, lifting her head just a few inches off the mattress and then letting it drop back down again.

I fed her, as she snuffled hard through a snot-filled nose.

She fell asleep for a half an hour, woke up again with a muffled cry.

This cry was different, a short mew and then catching her breath.

She wouldn’t breastfeed longer than ten seconds before raising her head and flopping her body over onto my belly. She’d begin the mew again and then a desperate attempt to breathe.

Between patting her back and waving my homemade Vicks Vaporub under her nose and keeping her sitting upright next to me in bed, she managed to breathe easily enough to fall asleep again – so long as I kept her in sitting position and kept the vaporub under her nose and didn’t dare fall asleep myself.

Now my daughter is awake. Completing her morning exercises, the daily exploration of the living room. Except for the heavy mouth-breathing, the crusty eyes, and the snot that I can’t seem to keep off her face, you’d never know what kind of night she had.

And today, my empathy can’t be self-pitying. I may be exhausted, but I am only thankful – thankful that last night’s fears were naught. My daughter breathes, she plays, she explores.

We made it through the night. And, this morning?

She’s beautiful, my snot-nosed baby.

Categories Book Notes

The Brothers Grimm: King Thrushbeard

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An unfamiliar tale, “King Thrushbeard” tells the story of a beautiful princess who is less than beautiful inside. She has many suitors, all of whom she turns away with mocking. One such is a king with an pointy jaw, whom the princess mocks as “King Thrushbeard”. In his anger at his daughter’s refusing all her suitors, the princess’s father vows to give her in marriage to the next beggar that comes knocking at the castle door.

And so he does.

This particular story reminds me a lot of “The Taming of the Shrew” – in which a proud and sarcastic woman is tamed by an uncouth husband (although with a bit less spousal abuse!). I would love to see this story retold more frequently.

King Thrushbeard illustrated by Felix Hoffman

This is the only retelling my library had of this tale – and it’s a quite faithful retelling. The illustrations are nice but not amazing – the people are quite angular and their garments are an odd mix of Renaissance-style tunics and jerkins and 1920’s cut flapper dresses. It’s really quite odd. However, since I like this tale so much, I think it’s worth tracking down a copy (even if the illustrations are odd).

Categories Book Reviews

Book Review: Inklings by Melanie M. Jeschke

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Inklings opens on the day of C.S. Lewis’s funeral. A protege of his, David MacKenzie had a change of heart as he watched the flame of a candle on Lewis’s casket burn brightly, unwavering despite the wind. David recommitted his life to God and purposed to make a difference in the lives of students at Oxford, just as his mentor had.

MacKenzie and a friend begin the “Inklings Society” at Oxford, meeting at the same “Bird and Baby” where the original Inklings had met. The group shares literature – that of their own and others’ composition – and discusses matters of life and faith.

Enter Kate Hughes, a Virginian studying in Oxford for the year. She’s reading Shakespeare with MacKenzie, and quickly develops a crush on her handsome believing tutor.

This is definitely a Christian romance, with romance being the operative word. As such, it is fairly straightforward – although with an emphasis on a sort-of courtship-ish model such as was popular among homeschoolers when this was published (the author is a homeschooling mom of many, of course!)

Not being a terrific fan of romances for romance sake (at least not for quite a while), I didn’t find the romance to be tremendously interesting. But the setting? This is like a travel brochure for Oxford. The glimpses into the life and thoughts of C.S. Lewis? Yes, please.

I think that someone reading this for the romance might feel that the travelogue and the Lewis biographical notes are heavy-handed and unnecessary. But not I. I tolerated the romance and relished the bits of Oxford/Lewis info.

Sidenote: Why didn’t I study at Oxford? The whole reading/tutor system seems a much better fit for my learning style than the lecture-style system of American education. Not that I wouldn’t love to attend the lectures – the ones that dons give that aren’t required but that anyone can attend who wants to (be still, my beating heart.)

I read this because my bookclub is reading it – one member of the club had seen it at the church library and was curious about it. And I’m glad we did read it. It’s not spectacular fiction, but passable as Christian romance (isn’t most Christian romance simply passable?) Yet the depth of information about Oxford and about C.S. Lewis made it worth reading for Lewis fans (at least, for Lewis fans who don’t mind Christian romance :-P)

Rating: 3 stars
Category: Christian romance
Synopsis: A British don and an American exchange student carry on something of a romance in Oxford just after C.S. Lewis’s death.
Recommendation: I wish I could draw a Venn diagram, but you’ll have to just imagine it. Imagine the intersection of “those who tolerate Christian romances” and “those who love C.S. Lewis”. Those people would likely enjoy this book.