Animal Farm (& More April Reads)
I read five books last month: George Orwell’s Animal Farm plus four others. Scroll down to read my impressions of each title.
The 5 Books I read in April
Animal Farm by George Orwell
We re-read Animal Farm last month as a family.
This political fable by George Orwell is every bit as relevant now as when he first penned it nearly 80 years ago.
Our kids were annoyed and upset by how the pigs on Animal Farm repeatedly changed the rules to suit themselves and constantly rewrote history and misrepresented past events.
But even more distressing was how many of the other farm animals accepted without question whatever the pigs told them — even when it clearly contradicted their own experiential memories of how things actually happened.
The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright
The Saturdays was our first introduction to the delightful Melendy family whose four children decide to pool their allowances in order to send each of the siblings in turn off for an independent adventure on consecutive Saturdays.
One goes to an art museum where she makes an unexpected friend. Another goes to the circus. Another gets a haircut and a manicure on her special Saturday. And another brings home a dog.
The entire tale is filled with familial love, faithful cooperation, and many marvelous surprises.
On Writing (and Writers) by C.S. Lewis
I found C.S. Lewis’s On Writing absolutely delightful. Filled with sound advice and sage tips in easily digestible tidbits, the entire book is comprised of selected portions on the topic from his voluminous personal correspondence.
The most impressive part of the book lies not in the very excellent and practical guidelines provided, but in the fact that the entire content of the book was gleaned from the countless, thoughtfully-crafted letters Lewis sent to friends and colleagues over the years.
Oh, that modern man would weigh his thoughts so carefully and express them so articulately — in private as well as in public!
Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
We listened to several books during a lengthy road trip last month, but the most enjoyable was an adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days, featuring the voices of 2½ dozen talented actors.
This trilling adventure story details a time-bound wager Phileas Fogg made to circumnavigate the globe. Would he make it in time, despite experiencing setbacks and delays at every turn? The suspense kept us all on the edge of our seats.
Capture His Heart by Lysa Terkerst
Subtitled “Becoming the Godly Wife Your Husband Desires, Lysa Terkerst’s Capture His Heart details eight important areas through which a wife can either make or break her husband.
These areas include supporting him spiritually, encouraging him emotionally, enjoying him sexually, appreciating him vocationally, engaging him intellectually, and more.
For such a short book (only 160 pages), Terkerst offers up a treasure trove of Biblical advice and practical wisdom.
Do you love to read as much as we do? I’ve gathered all my best resources for bibliophiles onto this page, or you can read more of my book reviews by following this link .
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