Northanger Abbey

Title: Northanger Abbey
Author: Jane Austen

The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid --Henry Tilney of Northanger Abbey.

I have recently gotten involved with a book club and volunteered to lead the discussion this month.  I choose Northanger Abbey (NA) because it is one of my favorite books in all of literature and because we had spent the last several months reading books in the same genre.  I've gotta make the girls work ....

Anyway, I had forgotten how much I loved this novel, it has been about five years since I last read it and was reminded that probably my favorite passage in literature is occurs between Henry and Catherine during one of their dances.  But the quote at the start of this post has to be a rival for it.

There are so many things to contrast:

Sibling pairs: Catherine and James Morland, Isabella and John Thorpe, Henry and Eleanor Tilney
Guardians: Mr Allen and General Tilney
Villians: John Thorpe, General Tilney and maybe even Captain Tilney
Places: Bath and Northanger Abbey
Couples: James Morland and Isabella Thorpe, John Thorpe and Catherine Morland, Henry Tilney and Catherine Morland, and even Eleanor Tilney and the unnamed Viscount
Fathers: Mr. Morland and General Tilney

There are more things to compare but these are some of the big ones.  There are so many reasons and opportunities for misunderstanding and a very atypcial hero and heroine to enjoy but these are the reasons why it makes this book one of my favorites.  This is a book about books and about growing up--Catherine comes to realize real life is different from novels and to appreciate the happenstances of life are enough without adding unneeded drama because of an over active imagination.  Henry is a reader, just like Catherine but either because of a more stable personality or just greater maturity he can separate the two.  And yet it is novels that help to draw them together. 

Jane Austen wrote this book to mock what was the current in late 18th century: gothic literature.  And throughout the novel you hear her voice speaking as the narrator, telling us what she thinks about the state of things in Catherine's world.  It is fun to hear the young Jane speaking to us, so many years after her death, but I think that she can be heard in this book in ways that her later writings don't reflect.  She's always there as the narrator but she is more sarcastic and humorous in NA, I think.  And as always, the heroine gets her hero and goes on to live a rather ordinary life.  Catherine is no Lizzy Bennet in the end and that is the charm of the novel.  This could happen in real life for many of us mere mortals.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do.  It is worth the effort to read such a well written story which has withstood the test of time.

The Lady in the Tower

Title: The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn
Author: Alison Weir
Amazon link here

This is a great read if you are looking to better understand the rise and fall of Anne Boleyn. The book starts off slowly as we meet many of the individuals and families involved in the intrigue surrounding the fall of Henry VIII second wife. All the names can be quite confusing but it really gives you a glimpse of the various agendas the people surrounding Henry had. Life in the 16th century could be brutal just as it can be today and Anne was as much a part of the drama as everyone else.

Did you know that Anne was evangelical in her religious views? It is partially because of Anne's influence that Henry broke from the Catholic Church. Granted Henry was looking for a reason to divorce Katherine of Aragon (his first wife) and the Pope would not grant an annulment. Separating from Rome allowed Henry to put Katherine and her daughter Mary aside to marry Anne.

And Anne's only surviving child, Elizabeth, took the throne after Henry's death. But before that could happen England had to go through a civil war. Supportors of Henry's two female heirs sparked a violent war between English families in what is called The War of the Roses. The white rose families supporting Mary and her Catholicism and the red rose families backing Elizabeth and her more Protestant viewpoint. But that is all in the future when Anne is long gone from the scene. This book focuses on Anne's downfall and ultimately the beheading of a Queen outside the Tower of London.

Soar With Your Strengths

Title: Soar With Your Strengths: A Simple Yet Revolutionary Philosophy of Business and Management
Authors: Donald O. Clifton and Paula Nelson
Amazon link here

I started this blog mainly to share good books that I enjoy reading but the inaugural post will be based on a book I had to read for my Executive Management and Leadership class at Liberty University.

I would recommend this to anyone looking to capitalize on the things that they do well. It is not a heavy read, nor is it a deep book but it will get you thinking. It is eight short chapters which can be read in less than a day or read in small bites so that the chapters can be processed more fully.

The premise of this book is to find out what you do well and do more of it. Then to find out what you don't do well and learn how to control it. It begins with a parable about a rabbit and other wild creatures who decide to go to school. This parable becomes the launching point for the book and highlights how much we hurt ourselves in this culture when we focus on the things we do wrong rather than working to improve the things we do well. It ends by reminding us how important it is to celebrate our, and others, achievements. And for someone who is not really into making a big deal about the things I do well, it has made me realize that celebration is equally important to success.

This book is definitely worth reading.