Elizabeth Russell's Blog, page 7

48 Books to Brighten Your Child’s New Year

Let the Little Children Come to the Classics

While the public education system has, for the past thirty years, been underestimating our children’s creative abilities and progressively dumbing down the required reading in class, a mass of parents have recently displayed an eagerness to have their advanced readers enjoy a far more rewarding venture into the depths of classics and culture.

But where to start? You want to give your child a book that is advanced, but not impossible, and you want...

100 Essential Classics to Read in One Year

Have you ever wanted to read 100 fiction books in a single year? I’ve always wanted to do it, but my health has seldom been good enough for me to tackle such a large project. It’s on my bucket list, though, for 2020, and I can’t wait!

Is it even possible to read 100 books in a single year, you ask. Well, of course, anything’s possible if you set your mind to it! Go for it! I’ll be cheering you on!!!

Although, to be fair, doing so is an enormous endeavor, and you have to choose the exactly...

Marriage and A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court

Mark Twain’s narrator in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, Hank Morgan, can be downright disagreeable. He even has Sir Dinadan the Humorist hanged for his humor being ‘rather worn.’ On the other hand, Morgan displays profound pity, and shows a complexity in the medieval world that can be quite surprising, given Twain’s often strongly caricatured portrayal of that time period. Ultimately, Twain’s narrative serves as a personal yet deeply enriching glimpse into the psychology of not...

10 Literary Stocking Stuffers

Have a friend who loves to read? All they want is books, but their shelves are full – they seem to own it all – and you’re stumped on what to get them for Christmas?

You can’t go wrong with these classics!

Even if your loved one already owns it, you’ll still make their Christmas with these beautiful editions of their favorite books!

1. Pride and Prejudice [image error] [image error] Not only is this a beautifully bound copy, but the addition of Martha Stewart...

Pride and Prejudice Excerpt

I LOVE this chapter! Tim and I did a podcast episode on it when he read it for the first time.

When was the last time you read Pride and Prejudice? Previous Next

4 Christmas Classics You MUST Read

Some classics are obviously Christmas themed, while others on this list merely bear a passing reference to them, but all these books are imbued with the ‘spirit of Christmas present’ deep in their pages and, like Scrooge, live that spirit all year round!

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

In an unending winter, Father Christmas brings hope where there is none; and yet, in the true christian spirit, he can only come to the world after Christ (or Aslan) has already arrived, and can only...

All the Questions You Ever Had About “Parker’s Back”

Another story in Flannery O’Connor’s collection of
short stories Everything That Rises Must Converge,
“Parker’s Back” is the narrative of Parker, a young
man married to a very bitter and ugly wife, who had
an experience of the transcendent when he was
young that he has been chasing ever since. He is finally
confronted by it in an image of Christ that he has
tattooed on his back, and he expects this image to
connect him to his wife, who has always claimed
to be a very...

Everything that Rises Must Converge

By Flannery O’Connor

We've been creating podcast episodes regularly for awhile now,
but I've been negligent about blog posts and emails to accompany
them, so I will be doing that once a week now until I'm caught up!
This podcast is part of our initiative to read more of the greatest
books ever written, discuss them, and better understand them.
We invite you to join us in our quest after the leviathans of literature.

Tim: Everything that Rises Must Converge makes you uncomfortable in that sort...

How to Throw a Literary Fantasy Book Launch Party

I’m back! After a month-long sabbatical and full site overhaul, I am finally back to write deeply and fill the world with wonder!

A little side note, before plunging into the meaty material: I have been sending out surveys recently, and according to the feedback I received, the content I provide that you are all most interested in receiving is ‘writing advice’ and ‘classic book reviews.’ Which is great, because that’s what I love too!

If you missed the surveys, you can take them here: ...

Trinian Map Game

Click on image to enlarge, and click Next to begin the quiz.

Name the Place Game

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3 out of 3 Previous Next