When Books Were Fun

In which we discuss The Hunting of the Snark (1876) by Lewis Carrol and A Child’s Garden of Verses (1885 ) by Robert Louis Stevenson, and consider that rhyming poetry is an ideal way to give children a love of words and language and that you don’t always have to understand everything to enjoy it. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss Roughing It (1872) Tom Sawyer (1876) both by Samuel Clemens, aka Mark Twain, and consider the humor of Twain’s self-deprecating narrator in a fictionalized memoir and the humor of the fictional Tom Sawyer outwitting the adults around him. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss Vanity Fair (1847/48) by William Thackery and The Tombs of Atuan (1971) by Ursula Leguin, and consider girls’ choices and their consequences, whether the girls be characters in a realistic 19th century novel or a priestess-in-training in a fantasy novel. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss For Whom the Bells Toll (1940) by Ernest Hemingway and The Well of the Unicorn (1948) by Fletcher Pratt, and consider Hemingway’s gritty tale of conflicting wartime loyalties in the Spanish civil war and a gritty high fantasy tale of conflicting wartime loyalties, published several years before Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings defined the fantasy genre. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss Pride and Prejudice (1813) by Jane Austen and The King of Elfland’s Daughter (1924) by Lord Dunsany, and consider the psychological and social insights of Austen’s beloved classic as compared to a fairy tale of love between moral and immortal, beyond the fields we know. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss The Age of Innocence (1920) by Edith Wharton and City of Illusions (1967) by Ursula LeGuin, and consider how a novel of high society New Yorkers and moral problems related to love and marriage parallels a novel of a not quite human man navigating problems on an alien dominated future Earth. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss Twelve Years a Slave (1853) by Solomon Northrup and This Hallowed Ground (1956) by Bruce Catton, non-fiction accounts of slavery and the civil war it engendered, and consider their ongoing relevance in the 21st century. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss Barchester Towers (1857) by Anthony Trollope and consider how a comedy regarding situations unfamiliar to modern readers (in this case, 19th century Anglican Church politics) can nonetheless be funny and fun to read for its handling of timeless aspects of human nature and social interactions. Relevant to anyone ever affected by office politics. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss Nicholas Nickleby (1838-39) by Charles Dickens and Just William (1922) by Richmal Crompton and consider the comedy of suffering dire circumstances and dire characters versus normal 11 year-old suffering. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.

In which we discuss The Coral Island (1857) by R M. Ballantyne and The Lord of the Flies (1954) by William Golding and consider the differing worldviews of authors and critics regarding boys shipwrecked on tropical islands. [email protected] Check out Al’s stories at sonrisestories.com. Check out Jeff’s upcoming book at perebruinpress.com.