Sofa Spotlight - Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott

It’s taken me about three months to get through Ivanhoe. Partly because it is fairly long (my penguin edition is around 500 pages) but also parts of it require quite a bit of concentration.

Anyways it’s a story about Ivanhoe – a knight who has come back from the crusades, but at first no one knows who he is. Which, as you keep reading, becomes a bit of a theme in this book. There’s quite a few characters who keep their true identity hidden at first. Although often you can see through it straight away. But back to Ivanhoe. He wants to marry Rowena who he has known from childhood. The problem is his father does not want Ivanhoe to marry Rowena because Rowena is a Saxon princess and he wants her to marry Athelstane, heir to the Saxon throne, so that they can put a Saxon back on the throne of England. So Ivanhoe ends up getting banished because he won’t stop wanting to marry Rowena.

Which is the Saxon part of the story.

The Norman part is about Richard the Lion Heart and Prince John and also Robin Hood. So basically the whole story is about who should be King of England.

The whole thing about Saxons and Normans made the start of the book a bit hard to get through. But at the start you meet two of the best characters, Gurth and Wamba, who are both at the bottom of the food chain but are brilliant and probably braver than some of the knights. Gurth – another one who hides his identity for part of the story – runs off to follow Ivanhoe and although later gets in trouble for it ends up saving the lives of Ivanhoe’s father. And Wamba isn’t far behind him when it comes to heroic rescues.

Along with Gurth and Wamba you have some characters that are supposed to be serious but come off as hilarious. Brian de Bois-Guilbert needs to make up his mind about whether he is good or bad, and ultimately about what he wants. Athelstane, probably not meant to be serious, but all he is about is food and drinking and at first I wasn’t a fan of him, but he comes good in the end.

Robin Hood also features, but not as much as I thought he would. While everyone else is charging around on their horses he is keeping an eye on things and making sure he is always handy with his bow and arrows when needed.

Oh and Ivanhoe spends most of the book wounded and out of action. Yet makes at least two people fall in love with him.

For all that I did enjoy reading it. Scott makes you love or hate the characters he creates and the story is exciting. I just wouldn’t take his novel as historical fact or anything like it.

This post was going to be...

...about Ivanhoe. But I'm ten pages from the end and I can't stay awake any longer to finish it, let alone string a sensible sentence together about what it's like.

So next Monday will be Ivanhoe... I hope.

Sofa Spotlight - Quiet, Susan Cain

I feel like I was very late to read this book – well actually that’s probably the story of my life, but anyway every time I told someone I was reading this they would say “oh yeah I’ve  read that.” Often this was followed with a “it’s really good.” Which I was discovering. It’s taken me nearly a year if not longer to read it so now I’m really late. So if, like me, you’re late on this too here’s what it’s about.

First off it’s a book about introverts. And this introvert likes to read – so perfect – it’s like reading a book about what I’m like. Kind of. There’s a lot of science to get through – or enjoy if that’s what you like. For me I didn’t understand all of it, but the parts that I did understand made a lot of sense. What resonated the most were the parts that talked about how introverts interact with extroverts. Which in my world is as little as possible. But that’s starting to change.

There were quite a few moments when reading this that I thought – yeah I totally do that. And when you tie that in with the science suddenly I was thinking that maybe my need to be alone isn’t as anti-social as I first thought. Curling up with a book and shutting out the world for a bit is ok. Also the fact that I have no problem standing up and speaking to a room full of people but then have major problems spending time with more than four or five people at a time, is no longer a mystery to me.

If you’re in any way interested in the human mind and how it works then this is a good book to read. I find it fascinating, but my interest has mainly been about how the brain processes and deals with language – seriously it’s amazing. This is dealing with a different part of the brain to the parts that I’ve studied in the past, but it’s been no less enjoyable.

There’s more to this book than just science – so it’s worth working through it if science puts you off. I enjoyed the sections on history – how being an extrovert became what everyone wanted to be and thought you should be – and also the sections on how different cultures have different ideas on whether being an extrovert or an introvert is better. Towards the end there’s stuff on how introverts can navigate the world and thrive. I guess for me the danger is that I will hide behind an introvert label and use it as an excuse not to make an effort with people when I really don’t feel like it.

I finished the book with lots to think about – which is a sign of a good book right?

Oh and did I say that the cover looks great? Because it does.

Interval

I’m nine books into my year – books being the best way to measure time of course and I feel that it is time to take a deep breath and order popcorn and ice cream and get ready to settle in for the next chapter.

In the next three weeks I’m hoping to finish these three books:

Ivanhoe ­– Walter Scott

Quiet – Susan Cain

Endless Night ­­– Agatha Christie

If you’ve read any of them comment below and let me know what you thought of them. I’ve loved all of them so far, but the biggest surprise was Ivanhoe. From the way it started I really didn’t think I would get on with it but it’s brilliant – so wonderfully melodramatic.

Endless Night is the last Agatha Christie I will be reading for a while and it is fast becoming my favourite. I read half of it in one sitting. And I’ve been glaring at everyone who has tried to talk to me while I’ve been reading it – yes it’s one of those.

It’s taken me nearly a year to read Quiet not because I don’t like but just because it was on my books to take my time over pile. Most people who I’ve talked to about this have already read it, so I’m late to the party but if you haven’t read this book and you’re an introvert, stop reading this blog and go buy it. If you want a little taste of what it’s like follow the link.

As well as reading I’ve also been busy writing with SallyMiller – maybe one day I will be able to measure time by how many writing projects I’ve finished. But for now I will just stick to measuring it by books. Anyone else measure time like this?

Sofa Spotlight - The Crooked House, Agatha Christie

It’s been a cold couple of days and if you’re done playing in the snow (if you still have any) then this is the book for you. I’m getting close to the end of my Agatha Christie trail, having said goodbye to Miss Marple and Poirot. The Crooked House doesn’t feature either detective and the story is told by the son of the Commissioner investigating the case. He just so happens to be wanting to become engaged to the granddaughter of the victim.

I’ve been reading this for a while – in fact I started it before Christmas. I was only half way through when it was on TV and so I couldn’t watch it because I didn’t want to spoil the ending for myself. So over the last couple of months in various coffee shops and many trains I’ve been trying to get to the end of it so I can find out what happened. It was most intriguing and what was even more pleasing was that I worked out who the murderer was.

The victim is an old man who lives in a bizarre house – both in architecture and also in who lives there. He has a young wife who falls immediately under suspicion. Joining her under that suspicion is the tutor of the two children, and it’s fairly obvious that they more than like each other. But then there is the rest of the family – his two sons from a previous marriage and their children. And also a sister in law. And of course in true murder mystery style they all have motives.

One of my favourite characters was the child, Josephine, who tells our main character, Charles, that she is investigating the murder because the police are stupid. She predicts that a second murder is coming and is correct. But really the best character was Edith de Haviland – she is a no nonsense kind of person who I think sees more clearly than the rest what is going on.

In my mind what makes this novel different to the Marple and Poirot mysteries is that you become invested in the relationship between Charles and Sophia. If they can’t solve the case then Sophia won’t marry Charles. But then there’s also the thought that what if Sophia is the guilty one. It’s an element that isn’t in the other novels and it makes for more interesting reading.

As endings go I was surprised at how satisfying it was. I’m not a huge fan of characters taking the law into their own hands but somehow it worked in this. It’s the kind of ending that makes you shudder with relief.

I’ve only got one more Agatha Christie to read this time round – and I’m hoping to read it a bit of a quicker speed than this one. I have a couple of long train journeys coming up and there’s really only one way to entertain myself – read a good book.

Sofa Spotlight - Elephants Can Remember, Agatha Christie

For some reason I read the title of this book as Elephants Can’t Remember so I was confused for quite some time before it dawned on me. Anyway the reason why that is important is that this is about a murder/suicide that happened a long time in the past. It takes both Poirot and Ariadne Oliver going around asking people what they remembered from a particular time.

I liked Ariadne Oliver, who is a crime writer, better in this book than I have in other ones. I much prefer Hastings but she did alright in this one. I’m guessing that she is meant to be a bit like Agatha Christie from a couple of things she says about not liking the detective she has created in her novels.

So the problem that they are trying to solve is what happened to General Ravenscroft and his wife. They were both found dead with a revolver between them that had both their finger prints on it. So who killed who? Was it double suicide or murder/suicide? Because it happened such long time the pair have to deal with some fairly old witnesses, who thankfully remember things that help them work it out. These witnesses are referred to as the elephants and there are four of them. Two of them were working in the Ravenscroft household at one time.

The reason this whole thing comes up is that Ariadne Oliver is the godmother of the Ravenscroft’s child, Celia. Celia is engaged to Desmond Burton-Cox and it is Desmond’s mother who wants to know what happened to Celia’s parents. Mrs Burton-Cox is one of those characters you’re not supposed to like, and Poirot finds out what is really behind her not wanting her son to marry Celia.

I liked the book but it’s not as good as other novels by Agatha Christie. From what I can tell it was one of the last novels that she wrote and maybe that’s why it doesn’t have the same kind of punch that the others did. I think it had mixed reviews when it first came out as well.

If you’ve never read a novel by Agatha Christie or one of the Poirot stories this might not be the place to start. There are definitely better places. But if you love the characters then it’s a good one to pick up. I’m sad that Captain Hastings doesn’t make it but I know he is in Final Curtain so that kind of makes it alright. Also might have enjoyed this more if I hadn’t got myself confused by the title! I suppose it would have been a very different book if the elephants couldn’t remember what had happened!

Sofa Spotlight - A Call to Spiritual Reformation, D A Carson

This was a book that I never wanted to read because the cover was so naff and I didn’t understand the title. I know that you shouldn’t judge a book by a cover, but we all do it. Particularly now when there are so many good covers out there for books. So there really is no excuse for bad covers. But once I looked into it and worked out what it was about I discovered that it was a book well worth reading.

First of all it is about prayer. Which was on the cover – I just didn’t look hard enough to see it when I glanced at it, so me missing out on this book for so long was my own fault. Carson goes through some of Paul’s prayers in his letters to see what how Paul prayed and the kind of things that he prayed for and about. Each chapter is about a different one of the prayers or a different aspect of them and how we can use them to shape our own prayer lives.

This quickly became one of the few books that I’ve underlined parts of. I have a strong aversion to writing in books so it’s rare that I do, but in this case I did because I want to revisit it in the future and build on what I’ve learnt this time around. I didn’t break the rule enough to write notes though – I’m not a big note taker.

I would recommend this book if prayer is something that you struggle with. It’s one of the things I hate the most and part of the reason for that is not knowing where to start. This book not only helps you find that start but it also helps you to build the framework for building a prayer life. Even if you do know what you’re doing when it comes to prayer I would still recommend it because there’s always something you can learn from Paul’s letters.

Having never read anything by Don Carson before I think I’ve found another writer that I like. He’s very readable and in no way do you end up feeling like he’s setting the bar too high when it comes to prayer.

So my advice is don’t be put off by the cover and give it a read. Take your time with it and get the most out of it. And if you don’t write in books either, be brave, take up a pen (or a pencil if the permanency of ink is too much for you) and underline something. Or just make notes in a notebook – that works too. Either make sure you read this. And if you find a version with a  better cover let me know.