Recent Reads {Pride and Prejudice}

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen - Yes, the original Pride and Prejudice, unabridged, and without any zombies or vampires. ;-) Truly, a story I never get tired of, and I don't know what I can say about it that's new or different! I love the wit of the narration, the ridiculous pomposity of Mr Collins and Lady Catherine, the giddy foolishness of Mrs Bennet and Lydia,  the dry comments from Mr Bennet, and of course the conversations and romance between Elizabeth and Darcy!   This time I am reading Austen's novels with Peter Leithart's Morals and Miniatures as my field guide. Leithart's insights into Austen's characters and style are fascinating and are deepening my appreciation of the quality of her work.

Recent Reads {The Cat of Bubastes}

The Cat of Bubastes: A Tale of Ancient Egypt by G.A. Henty - Confession: this is the first G.A. Henty book I have ever read.  It was on the reading list for Spencer's WorldLit and since the younger kids were studying ancient Egypt, I thought it would make a good read-aloud.  We started our schooldays by reading from this classic over the past few weeks.  At first Landon and Kennady were very reluctant, but I think their attitudes improved as we got further along in the story.  Kennady made several inquiries as to when the Cat would finally appear in the story, and indeed the title character doesn't make an appearance till about halfway through and (spoiler alert!) is dead within a chapter of her first appearance.  However, the circumstances surrounding the cat's death are pivotal in the outcome of the story so perhaps the title Henty chose isn't so odd after all.  Overall, we enjoyed the book and while no one has asked about other Henty books, I suspect there wouldn't be too much objection should another of his titles appear on our reading list.