Here is some advice I could have used before I rambled too much on my blog about this period of loneliness I’ve been in.
At times God puts us through the discipline of darkness to teach us to heed Him. Song birds are taught to sing in the dark, and we are put into the shadow of God’s hand until we learn to hear Him…Watch where God puts you into darkness, and when you are there keep your mouth shut. Are you in the dark just now in your circumstances, or in your life with God? Then remain quiet…When you are in the dark, listen, and God will give you a very precious message for someone else when you get into the light. — Oswald Chambers
My favorite line of this quote, which I first saw in the Jan Karon book I’m currently reading, is “Watch where God puts you into darkness and when you are there keep your mouth shut.”
Keep your mouth shut.
Ouch.
That one hurt because I know I haven’t done it.
I certainly plan to read this quote over a few hundred times and chew on it for a bit. It was very timely for me and interesting because I almost didn’t read from that book due to being too tired.
If you feel so moved, tell me what you think of this quote. Does it fit where you are now or where you once were? Let me know in the comments.
I have to confess I’ve never read Good Omens or anything by Neil Gaiman (other than Fortunately the Milk with the kids) or Terry Pratchett (I tried in high school but – my head – well, it still hurts.) so when my husband insisted my son and I watch Good Omens with him on Amazon – well, honestly I had no choice. I was sort of told I was watching it and I sort of had to because I’m a huge David Tennant fan. It was six one hour episodes, so like a mini-series and we binged watched it over a couple of days.
So we spent last weekend watching all six episodes while randomly covering my 4-year old daughter’s eyes or taking her out of the room altogether. And when it was done my husband looked at me, as he so often does after he lets me into a little of his world, and said: “So, what did you think?”
“I think I need to start the next book in The Mitford Series so I can escape into a very sweet, very innocent and maybe even a little pointless world.”
And that’s what I did. I put the thoughts of Armageddon behind me, even if it was a humorous take on the end of the world, and finally finished the fifth book of the Mitford series “A New Song.” As for what I really thought of Good Omens: I’m still very confused by it all but I’m still a David Tennant fan and I think even more so now. Yes, Michael Sheen was very good as well and I actually was able to stand Jack Whitehall for more than five minutes, which is longer than I can normally stand him.
What was hilarious to me was how Gaiman got slammed on Twitter for making Adam and Eve black (hello… they most likely were). That’s what people were upset about? The whole series was pretty much mocking the Christian faith, in a way, though not in the worst way I’ve ever seen, but someone got their panties in a bunch over Adam and Eve being black? Um… okay? Weird.
After watching Good Omens, I saw an interview with Gaiman about writing that I really enjoyed.
As so often happens when I start asking questions about a favorite author of my husband’s, I ended up with another piece written about said author being shoved into my hand:
I can’t say I minded. It was very interesting, well written (of course) and the artwork outstanding. The story was intriquing, a bit baffling for me in parts (since I don’t know every incarnation of Batman in the comics), and definitely engaging.
Keeping with my weird, eclectic literary taste, I watched Good Omens, read Batman: Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader and then finished Jan Karon’s light, skipping through the tulips writing with “A New Song” (the fifth book in The Mitford Series) and then also, finally, finished All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot (or real name Alfred Wight).
I thought I’d try a Debbie Macomber book since I saw an interview with her I really liked, but then I saw the pilot episode of a series on the Hallmark Channel, based on a series she wrote, and am having second thoughts.
The worse line in the Cedar Cove show?
“One thing she won’t have in the city are her memories because they are here in Cedar Cove.”
Uh … no … her memories are in her head. Dork. That newspaper editor who was supposed to have written that should be fired. Immediately. And if it that is how Macomber’s books read I may have to fire her too. We’ll see what I think after I read “A Little Bit Country.”
So, I approach my first Debbie Macomber book with a huge amount of trepidation, even though I loved this interview with her on YouTube (though less so the awkward interviewer):
Also in my queue to start this week are the following books:
All Things Bright And Beautiful by James Herriot
In This Mountain by Jan Karon
The Elmo Jenkins Trilogy by McMillan Moody
The Father Brown Complete Collection by G.K Chesterton
As for my blog this week, here are the links to what I rambled about.
So what is on tap for all of you this week in books, movies, or shows?
Let me know in the comments or leave me a link to your contribution for this week’s Sunday Salon, which you can find on Readerbuzz or the Sunday post which you can find at Caffeinated Bookreviewer.
A little chaos reigned for me a few weeks when I watched the movie “A Little Chaos” on Netflix. The basic plot is that Kate Winselt is a designer or a builder or a large breasted woman they needed to look forlorn and longingly at the guy who was also a gardener or a designer or whatever for the king. She is hired to design a fancy concert hall/garden for King Louise VIII (Alan Rickman) and few seemed phased she’s a woman building for the king in 1800 whatever. She’s a woman with tragedy in her past and it takes the entire movie to figure out what her tragedy is.
I believe all the characters are supposed to be French but only the gardener and a couple other characters have actual French accents. The rest have British accents. Not sure what that was about. It sort of reminded me of Robin Hood when Kevin Costner kept losing his British accent and slipping back into Brooklyn or something.
I spent most of the movie trying to figure out why Kate seemed the only woman who wore a dress that pushed her breasts up and almost out completely.
I guess the French were (and are?) an open group but I was really getting confused over who was sleeping with whom as well.
And is it bad that every time I saw Alan Rickman all I could think was “why does the king look like Captain Hook?”
All in all, there was still something charming about the movie. The scenery and sets were beautiful, the costumes were breathtaking, the plot fairly predictable.
Would I watch it again? Not unless I needed another good giggle.
Also in the movie department, I found myself completely delighted with Tea with the Dames on Amazon. This was one my brother mentioned to me when we were talking about another movie. The Dames are Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Joan Plowright and Eileen Atkins. Once a year they meet in the country and chat and “talk shop” so to speak. The movie is a documentary and features the women chatting about their careers, what it meant to become a “dame” and their time as actresses on the stage.
In case your curious, here is a trailer to give you an idea what it’s about:
In the book realm, I am finishing up All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriott and A New Song by Jan Karon.
It was nice of my brother to ruin Herriott’s books for me a bit when he told me that wasn’t his real name. After looking up the reason why James Alfred Wight used a pen name, I understood better and accepted that it wasn’t appropriate for veterinarians at the time to promote themselves so he felt it was better not to use his real name. He also changed the names of those in the books, to protect the innocent and not-so-innocent. The fact James Herriott isn’t his real name doesn’t take away from the witty and touching stories in the book for me like I thought it might. I have learned not to talk to my brother about books I’m reading if he has already read them. Who knows what else he will feel compelled to tell me – maybe the endings of one or two.
I’ve been reading All Creatures Great and Small on my Kindle, which is connected to the Kindle my mom uses. She’s on my account and we share Kinde Unlimited. Normally we are reading different books at different times but Mom started All Creatures Great and Small after me and blew through it before I was done. I almost attempted a competition when my Kindle would notify me that another device registered in my name had made it to a page further than I had, but then I remembered my mom is retired I am a mom with two young children, a needy dog, a pushy cat and a newspaper editor husband who asks me to proof his weekly columns. I finally gave it up and let her blow right past me and finish the book before me, even though I had been reading it for a month longer than her. That’s how slow of a reader I am.
A New Song is a slight departure from Karon’s other books in the series because the story takes place outside of Mitford, N.C., which is where most of Karon’s other books about Father Tim Kavanaugh take place. In case you’ve never read the books, the main character is Father Tim, an Episcopalian priest who lives in the small town of Mitford. The books are about his adventures and how they relate to the quirky, fun, and sweet characters in the town. If you’re looking for something light and not very deep then Karon’s books are for you.
Next up on my book list to read or finish is The Cuckoo’s Calling by Robert Galbraith, All Things Bright and Beautiful (after I finish All Creatures Great and Small) by James Herriott and On Writing by Stephen King.
As for what I’ve been writing on my blog lately: here are some links to my recent posts:
So what are all of you reading or watching or even writing ? Feel free to share here or find out what others are reading by visiting Readerbuzz’s weekly wrap up and Sunday Salon feature on her blog.
Boondock Ramblings 