RKLW {reading, knitting, listening, watching}

{A once-a-week post about what I’m reading, knitting, listening to, and watching.}
{Feel free to join along and link to your post in the comments.}

Reading: I’m reading, or have read, a lot of things this week. On the list, in no particular order:
The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
Lay Siege to Heaven and Citadel of God both by Louis de Wohl
Divergent by Veronica Roth
Ranger’s Apprentice: The Battle For Skandia by John Flanagan
A Sister’s Secret by Wanda E. Brunstetter
SummerHill Secrets by Beverly Lewis
The Complete Father Brown Stories by G. K. Chesterton

Knitting: A Honey Cowl, a pair of house socks (which were finished after this picture was taken!), and the mate to another sock. I had to *gulp* frog my Smaug socks because they were WAY too small. For those who don’t know, frogging is pulling out the knitting. It’s a dreadful thing to have to do, but it needed to be done so that I will be happy with the end result later on. It’s only bearable with deep breaths and chocolate.

Listening: The Return of the King soundtrack.

Watching: Holiday Inn, An Unexpected Journey, and The Desolation of Smaug. Rewatching the Hobbit movies in preparation for going to see The Battle of the Five Armies…. *sniff* I just know there will be many, many tears shed!! I’ll be sure to tell you all about it…

I’ll be taking a break from blogging for the next week, it being Christmas and all. 🙂 I hope you all have a wonderful, happy, and blessed Christmas.

What have you been reading, knitting, listening to, and watching? Leave a comment!

rainbow spines

When you look at books, the first thing you see is the spine of the book. Sometimes the spines are very pretty. Sometimes they’re really ugly. I searched through my favorite books to find ones with pretty, rainbow spines. Here they are in order. I hope this cheers up your dreary day!

Red

Alice In Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll~ I just had to include this book. My blog is named Alice In Bookland, after all! And the book itself is stunningly pretty. I love the vintage spine. And the White Rabbit on the front? Darling!

Orange

Theodore Boone: The Accused by John Grisham~ The third of the Theodore Boone: Kid Lawyer books by John Grisham. The spine looks more red than orange, but whatever. This is a really good book, great for boys. And girls!

Yellow

Now We Are Six by A.A. Milne~ I think this book was printed in the 1930s or so. It is gorgeous!

 

Green

Tiger’s Destiny by Colleen Houck~ Number four in the Tiger’s Curse series.

Blue

The Penderwicks at Point Mouette by Jeanne Birdsall~ Can I say how much I love the Penderwicks? The sisterly love between them is wonderful. The story is sweet. Skye trying to be the OAP (oldest available Penderwick) is hilarious. This is the third in the Penderwick series.

 

Indigo

Anne of the Island by L. M. Montgomery~ My favorite of all the Anne books. I like it because Anne is older (but not too old), and it has romance. And Gilbert! Oh, I have such a literary crush on Gilbert…

 

Violet

The Quiet Light- A Novel about Saint Thomas Aquinas by Louis de Wohl~ Louis de Wohl is one of my favorite authors ever in the history of authorship. His books are so well written, so detailed, and the subjects are wonderful. This one, about Saint Thomas Aquinas, is one of my favorites. And it’s one of the only books I have that has a purple spine!

Care to share your favorite rainbow spine books? Comment below!

The Spear~ review

The Spear -by Louis de Wohl

All Cassius Longinus, son of a noble Roman house, wanted to do was impress a noble lady, win her hand, and make a name for himself as a great soldier. Unfortunately, his plans are forced to change when Sejanus, most important man in Rome, becomes even more ambitious. He’s out for the throne, and the family Longinus is in the way. Cassius is sent to Judea, a little outpost on the frontier of the Empire, in the escort of Pontius Pilatus. Stationed in Jerusalem, he gets mixed up in all sorts of plots and possibly something even more dangerous; a man calling himself the Son of God, the Messiah…..

Louis de Wohl considered The Spear to be the magnum opus of his literary career. Frankly, I’m inclined to agree. Of all de Wohl’s novels, I think The Spear is one of my favorites. The novel revolves around the last days of Christ and all the events leading up to the Passion and Crucifixion. The style of writing is so lush and descriptive. Mr. de Wohl has an interesting way with prose. He uses dialogue outside of quotation marks. That makes no sense. It’s more like the characters’ thoughts are more detailed than the dialogue. Character-wise, I like Naomi the best, I think.

Have you read The Spear? What did you think? Comment below!

The Joyful Beggar~ book and movie review

The Joyful Beggar- by Louis de Wohl

St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most well-known saints of all time. He’s popular among Catholics as the patron saint of animals, and even non-Catholics know who he is. The Joyful Beggar is the story of Francis’ life, as told by one of the greatest Catholic storytellers.

The Joyful Beggar follows Francis as he goes from being the spoiled son of a wealthy merchant to the founder of the Friars Minor, or Franciscans. Born in Assisi, he was named Francis after his father’s love of all things French. There are other storylines that add to the richness of the story. The lives of St. Clare of Assisi, Frederick, King of Sicily and Holy Roman Emperor, St. Dominic, and Pope Innocent III are woven in with ease. Mr. de Wohl is a master of detail. He described the Italian countryside, the sands of Egypt, and the Italian society of the 1200s in amazing detail.

The Joyful Beggar was made into a movie called Francis of Assisi. I actually watched the movie not that long ago on the feast of St. Francis, October 4. It seems to be pretty typical of a movie made in the 1950s or so, (I didn’t see the actual date). It has a very grand, sweeping style, but plays around a bit with the novel. That’s understandable, as it’s rather hard to cram a 370 page book into an hour and a half movie!

I enjoyed the book and the movie. The Joyful Beggar was the first de Wohl book I ever read and I have been hooked ever since. 🙂

Have you read any of Louis de Wohl’s books? Which is your favorite? Tell me in the comments!