Jane Eyre

by Charlotte Bronte

Jane Eyre. Ahhhh yes. I shall tell you directly, when I began this book, I did not expect to enjoy it. I wasn't really in the mood for a dark and mysterious read. But I read it, because I thought it was about time I read something from the DC book list. Well, it didn't take long for me to become enraptured in the story! I found almost the entire book to be very compelling and wonderfully written. I can only remember two parts I thought were somewhat slow. The rest of the book was delightful. I was under the impression it would be exceedingly difficult to read, but I found it to be easy to understand, yet not in the LEAST unintelligently (Is that a word? It's telling me it isn't...) written. I really enjoyed it- a great deal more than I thought I would.

Jane tells the story. She begins by telling about her miserable childhood. She then moves on to tell about her stay at the Rochester mansion, where most of the story takes place. I won't say anything else. I wouldn't be doing the story justice, and I don't want to give anything away.

I recommend this for ages 13 and up. (I just think older kids would get much more out of it.)

Recommended #5
Most girls consider this a book they should probably read at some point in their lives, and I agree with that.

I've seen two movie movie versions, one of which I really liked, one of which I did not. But look, if you enjoyed the book, don't bother seeing any movie. They will never make a Jane Eyre movie that's as good as the book.

Reminder- The Bronze Bow discussion starts July 24th! Read it! And join us.

Always,
Lady A

Woodward Shakespeare Festival

Greetings again...I just thought of something I should post about again, so when you are finished reading this, you may go back and read the poem I just posted!

For those of you who live in Fresno...

The Woodward Shakespeare Festival is a non-profit company that puts on FREE Shakespeare at Woodward Park! This year, the plays they are performing are The Merchant of Venice and King Lear. I have seen The Merchant of Venice, and it was great! I have heard great things about King Lear coming up as well.

Woodward Shakes has always put on awesome plays. They are an amazing company. PLEASE go enjoy a night under the starts, watching Shakespeare's great works--they are FREE, after all!

Like everyone, they are having serious financial issues. On top of that, right before the opening of The Merchant of Venice, someone stole $3000 worth of cables. AHH!!! This means for the first week or two, the cast of Merchant could not have microphones or enough lighting. They did a great job with dealing with it, but they are in the process of fixing the problem with money they don't have.
It is up to YOU to give donations if you enjoyed the show and want more of them! Even if you cannot give money, if you show up, the more people they count in the audience, the more grants they get, which is good.

@ the 13 Acre area in Woodward Park.
Show starts at 8:00.
$5 to get into the park. (Well, the park isn't free, but the Shakespeare is!)



I have always been a fan of these peeps. This season is looking fantastic! I encourage all of you to get out there and enjoy it!

Always~~
Arwen

The Brook

Hi guys. I PROMISE I will post on Jane Eyre soon. I've been trying to juggle a lot of small art projects on top of the big summer activities I am a part of. It's so busy. I am sure everyone is busy. I plan to be more devoted to the blog when fall comes around. We are thinking of making some changes also. So start checking more regularly when that time comes.

Here is a really pretty poem. I like it.

The Brook
by Alfred Lord Tennyson

COME from haunts of coot and hern,

I make a sudden sally,

And sparkle out among the fern,

To bicker down a valley.




By thirty hills I hurry down,

Or slip between the ridges,

By twenty thorps, a little town,

And half a hundred bridges.




Till last by Philip's farm I flow

To join the brimming river,

For men may come and men may go,

But I go on forever.




I chatter over stony ways,

In little sharps and trebles,

I bubble into eddying bays,

I babble on the pebbles.




With many a curve my banks I fret

by many a field and fallow,

And many a fairy foreland set

With willow-weed and mallow.




I chatter, chatter, as I flow

To join the brimming river,

For men may comeand men may go,

But I go on forever.




I wind about, and in and out,

with here a blossom sailing,

And here and there a lusty trout,

And here and there a grayling,




And here and there a foamy flake

Upon me, as I travel

With many a silver water-break

Above the golden gravel,




And draw them all along, and flow

To join the brimming river,

For men may come and men may go,

But I go on forever.




I steal by lawns and grassy plots,

I slide by hazel covers;

I move the sweet forget-me-nots

That grow for happy lovers.




I slip, I slide, I gloom, I glance,

Among my skimming swallows;

I make the netted sunbeam dance

Against my sandy shallows.




I murmur under moon and stars

In brambly wildernesses;

I linger by my shingly bars;

I loiter round my cresses;




And out again I curve and flow

To join the brimming river,

For men may come and men may go,

But I go on forever.

The Bronze Bow - Discussion

Hey Everyone!

I was thinking we should have a discussion on "The Bronze Bow" by Elizabeth George Speare because there has been some interest and just because- because it's a good read! I was thinking we should all read it and have the discussion Saturday, July 24th. I think I'll be around, but I mean, we usually just catch each others comments whenever we get on, so it doesn't really matter. Sound like a plan?? I'll find some discussion questions and post them asap.

~The DC Board.

The Bronze Bow

Hello All-

Sorry it's been so long! Today, I decided to post on "The Bronze Bow," by Elizabeth George Speare. I have read this book so many times it's crazy. I haven't actually read it recently, but I know this is a good book.

This book is set in first century Judaea. The lead character, a young man named Daniel Bar Jamin, lives at the same time as Jesus of Nazareth.

Daniel's father was crucified in front of him by the Roman occupiers (as his uncle did not have money to pay the tax) so even at the age of eight, he immediately hates and distrusts the Romans and vows that he will avenge his father's death. His mother dies of grief after her husband's death. Daniel's younger sister, Leah, is traumatized by these events, possessed by demons, and never leaves the house. The children are both taken in by their grandmother, but as she becomes ill and poor over the years, she sells Daniel to Amalek the blacksmith. Daniel escapes his cruel master, running away to the mountains where he meets Rosh, the leader of an outlaw band of rebels,who plan to someday overtake the Romans.

Several years after these events, he meets two old childhood friends: Joel bar Hezron and his twin sister Malthace, who climb the mountain for a holiday. Joel fiercely wants to join Rosh's band, so he promises Rosh that he will be a spy in Capernaum, the city to which he is moving.

One of Rosh's missions has Daniel capturing a slave. The crew names him Samson (a character in the Biblical book of Judges with immense strength and quite a temper) for his brute strength. Samson doesn't talk or understand anything, but he sees Daniel as his master and follows him. One day, Simon the Zealot, Daniel's friend from the village, comes to tell Daniel his grandmother is dying. He returns to his village of Ketzah and sees his grandmother. She passes on and Daniel is left in charge of Leah. Later, Simon tells Daniel he is going to follow Jesus and leaves Daniel in charge of his shop; Daniel and Leah move. At some point a Roman soldier younger than Daniel (a conquered German) befriends Leah after he sees her. Daniel eventually finds out, and goes into a fit of rage. Leah, who had seemed to be in the process of being cured, falls back into fully being possessed by her demons.

That was from Wikipedia- but I don't want to ruin the ending. I like this book so much, I think we should have a discussion on it. What does every one else think?

~Tony D.

5/5 Recommended

Some Emily Dickenson poems

Salvete!

Emily Dickinson has written so many poems! She is a great writer. Lord Anthony will be posting any time, but here are a few her poems in the meantime.

I've always liked this one - it's only an excerpt:

There is no frigate like a book

To take us lands away,
Nor any coursers like a page
Of prancing poetry.
This traverse may the poorest take
Without oppress of toll;
How frugal is the chariot
That bears a human soul!

Another:

Heaven is what I cannot reach!
The apple on the tree,
Provided it do hopeless hang,
That "heaven" is, to me.

The color on the cruising cloud,
The interdicted ground
Behind the hill, the house behind, --
There Paradise is found!

Well, that is all for now. Have a great weekend, all of you. And remember, you may always invite your friends to follow Darles Chickens too!
Hopefully we'll hear from Lord Dewhurst soon. Also, we are in the process of  making some changes on this blog. I have some ideas I need to
talk to the crew about. So stay tuned :)

Always,
Lady Arwen

Mere Christianity aka The Case for Christianity

by C.S. Lewis

Well, helloooo, fellow geeks! How have you all been? I'm glad we've had posts from Dewhurst and Dodge of late, so there is some variety. We should probably get organized again as to who posts when and all that...I'll talk to the DC peeps, and we'll see.

Anyway! This is a great book. Basically, Lewis lays down the chief points of Christianity. I love the style in which he wrote this book. He lays down a principle, then he gives examples of things we can easily understand so we can get it. He repeats himself in different ways so one can grasp the point. I like the way he wrote this far better than the way he wrote the Chronicles of Narnia.

My favorite part of the this book was definitely the first book, specifically chapters 4 and 5. I LOVE the way he spoke of agnosticism. What he said about it is precisely my opinion of it, but he wrote it in such a clear and perfect fashion.
Here's probably my favorite quote in the whole book:

"One reason why many people find Creative Evolution so attractive is that it gives on much of the emotional comfort of believing in a God and none of the less pleasant consequences...All the thrills of religion and none of the cost. Is the Life-Force the greatest achievement of wishful thinking the world has yet seen?"

Those words made me tremendously excited, because I have always thought about it exactly like that! It was thrilling to read words that I so fully agree with and am passionate about. Here are some more quotes I loved:

"God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror: the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from. He is our only possible ally, and we have made ourselves his enemies."

"In religion as in war and everything else, comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth...in the end, despair. Most of us have got over the pre-war wishful thinking about international politics. It is time we did the same about religion."

So I liked when he talked about the meaning of the universe and about whether there is or is not a God in the first place. As the book moved on, I did not get as much of a thrill, but it was still very good.

I actually disagreed with a bit of what he said. (I don't remember what chapter it was.) He acted as if this one point was a fact, but I disagreed. I won't go into the problems I had with it now, but if you want to talk, I definitely will.

Rated #5 - Watch out for the ninjas.

Thanks for reading. I hope you'll read the book.

Always,
Lady Arwen