The Literary Life Podcast

This week on The Literary Life podcast, our hosts explore the popular Agatha Christie mystery novel, Death on the Nile. This discussion will contain spoilers, so if you haven't read or listened to the book yet, stop this episode! But before we get to the book chat, we want to announce that our brand new The Well Read Poem podcast is now live! Also, head over to HouseofHumaneLetters.com to check out the Winter Webinar Series and Kelly Cumbee's class on King Lear. Angelina, Cindy and Thomas begin the book discussion with a comparison of the authors known as the "Queens of Crime." They also talk about the form of detective novels and how Christie in particular plays with the form to keep readers on their toes. Thomas notes the similarities between Death on the Nile with Henry James' novel The Wings of the Dove. In addition to covering the plot of the story, our hosts walk us through the ways in which Christie writes in order to keep us guessing. If you haven't heard it before, please go and listen to Episode 3: The Importance of the Detective Novel. Commonplace Quotes: The sacrifices of friendship were beautiful in her eyes as long as she was not asked to make them. Saki (pen name of H. H. Munro) Pious worshipers, whether or mortal or immortal artists, do their deities little honor by treating their incarnations as something too sacred for rough handling. They only succeed in betraying a fear lest the structure should prove flimsy or false. Dorothy Sayers "Once I went professionally to an archæological expedition–and I learnt something there. In the course of an excavation, when something comes up out of the ground, everything is cleared away very carefully all around it. You take away the loose earth, and you scrape here and there with a knife until finally your object is there, all alone, ready to be drawn and photographed with no extraneous matter confusing it. That is what I have been seeking to do–clear away the extraneous matter so that we can see the truth–the naked shining truth." Hercule Poirot, Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie When We First Met by Robert Bridges When first we met, we did not guess That Love would prove so hard a master; Of more than common friendliness When first we met we did not guess. Who could foretell the sore distress, This irretrievable disaster, When first we met? -- We did not guess That Love would prove so hard a master. Book List: Beasts and Super-Beasts by Saki (H. H. Munro) The Toys of Peace by Saki The Mind of the Maker by Dorothy Sayers Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie Agatha Christie Ngaio Marsh Margery Allingham Gaudy Night by Dorothy Sayers The Wings of the Dove by Henry James Leave It to Psmith by P. G. Wodehouse Tim Powers Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the "Friends and Fellows Community" on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/. Check out Cindy's own Patreon page also! Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let's get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

This week on The Literary Life podcast, we are excited to delve into the literary life of the mysterious Mr. Banks! But before we get started, we do want to let you know that we have posted the reading schedule for January-March, and you can view it on our Upcoming Events page. Also, Blue Sky Daisies Publishing is running a fun contest for kids involving our new Commonplace Books, so you will want to head over to their website and check that out! Finally, be looking out for The Well Read Poem podcast coming to a podcast app near you on January 18, 2021! Cindy begins the interview asking Thomas about his family background and the influence of his parents on his own reading life. He shares about many of the books he loved in childhood and how that shaped his tastes in literature. He also talks about how he approached school learning as opposed to his personal reading. Angelina asks Thomas to tell about how he fell in love with poetry and how he ended up going to college even though that was not his original goal. He also shares more about his reading as an adult, as well as his habit of commonplacing quotations. Commonplace Quotes: …but I was glad to sing again too; it had been a greater loss that I realized in that particular wintering which saw the waning of my voice. It wasn't about the vanity of being able to trill out a fine song; it was about the joy of singing for its own sake. Katherine Ma Michael explains to Adam in the last book of Milton's Paradise Lost, that tyranny exists in human society because every individual in such a society is a tyrant within himself, or at least is if he conforms acceptably to his social surroundings. Northrup Frye The Gods that are wiser than Learning But kinder than Life have made sure No mortal may boast in the morning That even will find him secure. from "A Rector's Memory" by Rudyard Kipling Time, Real and Imaginary by Samuel Taylor Coleridge On the wide level of a mountain's head, (I knew not where, but 'twas some faery place) Their pinions, ostrich-like, for sails out-spread, Two lovely children run an endless race, A sister and a brother ! This far outstripp'd the other ; Yet ever runs she with reverted face, And looks and listens for the boy behind : For he, alas! is blind! O'er rough and smooth with even step he passed, And knows not whether he be first or last. Book List: Wintering by Katherine May The Double Vision by Northrup Frye Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carol Beatrix Potter books Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling Oxford Book of Children's Verse Praeterita by John Ruskin The Golden Treasury of Myths and Legends The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun by J. R. R. Tolkien Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis The Saga of the Volsungs by Anonymous The Adventures of Tintin by Herge Encyclopedia Brown by Donald J. Sobol The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson Kidnapped by Robert Louis Stevenson Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott Rob Roy by Sir Walter Scott Julius Caesar by Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare A Midsummer Night's Dream by Shakespeare The Complete Poems of John Keats Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy Hardy the Novelist by David Cecil The James Bond Dossier by Kingsley Amis The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea by Mishima 84 Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff The Double by Fyodor Dostoevsky Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the "Friends and Fellows Community" on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/. Check out Cindy's own Patreon page also! Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let's get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

This week on The Literary Life podcast, we are bringing you our year end review of our own reading lives. Angelina kicks off the conversation by asking Thomas and Cindy how they would describe their reading lives this year. They talk about their favorites and highlights in books this year, as well as a few books that fell flat for them in 2020. They share about some authors they had not read before that they enjoyed this year. Finally, they tell us how they did with their own 20 for 2020 Reading Challenge lists. Don't forget to check out the upcoming reading challenge for next year, the Literary Life 19 Books for 2021 challenge! If you missed it, you will want to go back and listen to the previous episode full of ideas for each challenge category. Also, there is still time to order Literary Life Commonplace Books before the new year and begin recording your plans, progress, and favorite quotations! Commonplace Quotes: Our fathers find their graves in our short memories and sadly tell us how we may be buried in our survivors. Thomas Browne "But, my, my! We don't learn easy!" he chuckled mournfully. "Not to learn how to live till we're about ready to die, it certainly seems to me dang tough!". . . "But, papa," she said, to console him, "don't you think maybe there isn't such a thing as a 'finish', after all! You say perhaps we don't learn to live till we die, but maybe that's how it is after we die, too–just learning some more, the way we do here, and maybe through trouble again, even after that." Booth Tarkington Charlotte Mason says that books are one way that we grow, not for ourselves, but beyond ourselves. Where does she suggest we start? Here's her list of suitable "Instructors of Conscience": 1.Poetry, preferably spending time with one poet 2. Shakespeare's plays 3. Novels, with characters who "become our mentors or our warnings" 4. Ever-delightful essayists 5. History, including ancient history 6. Philosophy, to allow reason to work upon knowledge 7. Theology, including the Bible 8. The things of nature 9. Science, so that "we no longer conduct ourselves in this world of wonders like a gaping rustic at a fair" (p. 101) 10. Art, approached "with the modest intention to pay a debt…" 11. Sociology and Self-Knowledge Our aim is not to become know-it-alls, but rather to gain a sense of the Ought in all this, why we owe it to God and to the world to become people who observe carefully and think clearly, "with gentle, large, and humble thoughts." And the ultimate result is not graduation, but gratitude, to the One who created "the beauty, glory, and fitness above our heads and about our feet and surrounding us on every side!" Anne White Ring Out, Wild Bells by Alfred Lord Tennyson Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky, The flying cloud, the frosty light; The year is dying in the night; Ring out, wild bells, and let him die. Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true. Ring out the grief that saps the mind, For those that here we see no more, Ring out the feud of rich and poor, Ring in redress to all mankind. Ring out a slowly dying cause, And ancient forms of party strife; Ring in the nobler modes of life, With sweeter manners, purer laws. Ring out the want, the care the sin, The faithless coldness of the times; Ring out, ring out my mournful rhymes, But ring the fuller minstrel in. Ring out false pride in place and blood, The civic slander and the spite; Ring in the love of truth and right, Ring in the common love of good. Ring out old shapes of foul disease, Ring out the narrowing lust of gold; Ring out the thousand wars of old, Ring in the thousand years of peace. Ring in the valiant man and free, The larger heart, the kindlier hand; Ring out the darkness of the land, Ring in the Christ that is to be. Book List: (Amazon affiliate links) Urn Burial by Thomas Browne Alice Adams by Booth Tarkington Honest, Simple Souls: An Advent Meditation with Charlotte Mason by Anne White Black Wings Has My Angel by Elliott Chaze Cover Her Face by P. D. James Margery Allingham Ngaio Marsh Towards Zero by Agatha Christie Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie Range by David Epstein The Company They Keep by Diana Pavlac Glyer Poet's Corner ed. by John Lithgow The Year of Our Lord 1943 by Alan Jacobs The Narnian by Alan Jacobs Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin Taras Bulba by Nikolai Gogol The Stricken Deer by Lord David Cecil Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy When Books Went to War by Molly Guptill Manning 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff Stephen Fry's Greek Myths series The Centre of Hilarity by Michael Mason The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery Tenebrae by Geoffrey Hill The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Circe by Madeline Miller G. R. Stirling Taylor William Morris by Alfred Noyes The Devil Takes a Holiday by Alfred Noyes The Towers of Trebizond by Rose Macaulay Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amos Terry Pratchett The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima Saving the Appearances by Owen Barfield David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Four Quartets by T. S. Elliot Good Things Out of Nazareth by Flannery O'Connor Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the "Friends and Fellows Community" on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/. Check out Cindy's own Patreon page also! Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let's get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

Today on the podcast, your hosts Angelina Stanford, Cindy Rollins and Thomas Banks take a deep dive into the Literary Life 19 Books for 2021 challenge! This episode is full of ideas and book suggestions to help inspire your #LitLife192021 reading, so be sure to scroll down in your podcast app to view the comprehensive book link list! They not only give reasons behind each category and suggests for the adult reading challenge, but many titles for the kids' version of the challenge, as well! Also, don't forget that our Literary Life Commonplace Books are now available to order via Amazon! These high quality journals are perfect for recording what you are reading, as well as all your favorite quotes, and we have both adult and children's versions. Our publisher, Blue Sky Daisies, is providing us with a fun giveaway, so head over to their Facebook page, our Facebook group, or our Instagram to find the social media image to share and find all the details! Cindy's List of Literature of Honor for Boys Cindy's List of Books for Fortitude linked at The Redeemed Reader Commonplace Quotes: In anything that can be called art, there is a quality of redemption. Raymond Chandler The right teacher would have his pupil easy to please, but ill to satisfy; ready to enjoy, unready to embrace; keen to discover beauty, slow to say, "Here I will dwell." George MacDonald It is difficult for a moneylender to grow old gracefully David Mathew Christ's Nativity by Henry Vaughan Awake, glad heart! get up and sing! It is the birth-day of thy King. Awake! awake! The Sun doth shake Light from his locks, and all the way Breathing perfumes, doth spice the day. Awake, awake! hark how th' wood rings; Winds whisper, and the busy springs A concert make; Awake! awake! Man is their high-priest, and should rise To offer up the sacrifice. I would I were some bird, or star, Flutt'ring in woods, or lifted far Above this inn And road of sin! Then either star or bird should be Shining or singing still to thee. I would I had in my best part Fit rooms for thee! or that my heart Were so clean as Thy manger was! But I am all filth, and obscene; Yet, if thou wilt, thou canst make clean. Sweet Jesu! will then. Let no more This leper haunt and soil thy door! Cure him, ease him, O release him! And let once more, by mystic birth, The Lord of life be born in earth. Book List: The Simple Art of Murder by Raymond Chandler A Dish of Orts by George MacDonald The Great Tudors ed. by Katharine Garvin The Oxford Book of English Verse ed. by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch The Classic Hundred Poems ed. by William Harmon The Top 500 Poems ed. by William Harmon Letters to An American Lady by C. S. Lewis Selected Letters of Jane Austen ed. by Vivien Jones Lord Chesterfield's Letters ed. by David Roberts The Habit of Being by Flannery O'Connor The Iliad by Homer The Odyssey by Homer D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths by Ingri and Edgar D'Aulaire Mythology by Edith Hamilton Metamorphoses by Ovid Heroes by Stephen Fry Mythos by Stephen Fry From Dawn to Decadence by Jacques Barzun The Educated Imagination by Northrup Frye Silas Marner by George Eliot The Warden by Anthony Trollope Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Hard Times by Charles Dickens Cranford by Elizabeth Gaskell Ruth by Elizabeth Gaskell The White Company by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Leaf by Niggle by J. R. R. Tolkien The Secret Agent by Joseph Conrad The Shooting Party by Anton Chekov Kristen Lavrensdatter Trilogy by Sigrid Undset The Life of Samuel Johnson by James Boswell Milton by Rose Macaulay Chaucer by G. K. Chesterton Churchill by Paul Johnson Napoleon by Paul Johnson The Enchanted Places by Christopher Milne Joseph Pearce The Narnian by Alan Jacobs Fathers and Sons by Ivan Turgenev Eugene Onegin by Alexander Pushkin The Death of Ivan Ilyich by Leo Tolstoy A Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn The Awakening by Kate Chopin My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok The Chosen by Chaim Potok The Natural by Bernard Malamud The Brothers K by David James Duncan Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Á Kempis Edmund Burke Journey into Fear by Eric Ambler Doomsday Book by Connie Willis Characters of Shakespeare's Plays by William Hazlitt The Lays of Ancient Rome by Thomas Macaulay Imaginary Conversations by Walter Savage Landor Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg P. G. Wodehouse Gerald Durrell A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson How the Heather Looks by Joan Bodger The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz Paul Thoreau Travels with a Donkey by Robert Louis Stevenson The Lawless Roads by Graham Greene The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell What I Saw in America by G. K. Chesterton The History of the Second Boer War by Winston Churchill The Heroes by Charles Kingsley A Wonder Book by Nathaniel Hawthorne Tanglewood Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Children of Odin Padraic Colum Diane Stanley Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling Men of Iron by Howard Pyle The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson Kate Douglas Wiggin E. B. White Betsy-Tacy Treasury by Maud Hart Lovelace All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee Opal Wheeler American Tall Tales by Adrian Stoutenberg Black Ships Before Troy by Rosemary Sutcliff The Children's Homer by Padraic Colum The Golden Fleece by Padraic Colum The Tale of Troy by Roger Lancelyn Green Tales from the Odyssey by Mary Pope Osborne Encyclopedia Brown series by Donald J. Sobol Boxcar Children series by Gertrude Chandler Warner Detectives in Togas by Henry Winterfield The Adventures of Tin-tin by Hergé The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood by Howard Pyle The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green King Arthur Trilogy by Rosemary Sutcliff Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare by E. Nesbit Tales from Shakespeare by Charles and Mary Lamb Support The Literary Life: Become a patron of The Literary Life podcast as part of the "Friends and Fellows Community" on Patreon, and get some amazing bonus content! Thanks for your support! Connect with Us: You can find Angelina and Thomas at HouseofHumaneLetters.com, on Instagram @angelinastanford, and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ANGStanford/ Find Cindy at https://cindyrollins.net, on Instagram @cindyordoamoris and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/cindyrollins.net/. Check out Cindy's own Patreon page also! Follow The Literary Life on Instagram, and jump into our private Facebook group, The Literary Life Discussion Group, and let's get the book talk going! http://bit.ly/literarylifeFB

The hosts dive into the enchanting ending of George MacDonald's 'Phantastes,' examining profound themes of death, rebirth, and self-discovery. They reflect on the protagonist's journey through Fairyland, discussing the transformative power of love and the pitfalls of superficial connections. The conversation also touches on how social media influences real-life relationships. Finally, listeners are invited to partake in exciting reading challenges to enrich their literary lives!

Dive into a discussion of George MacDonald’s Phantastes, focusing on the enchanting 'other world' in fantasy. Discover the interplay of poetry and prayer in Celtic traditions and how they influence modern storytelling. The hosts explore themes of truth, redemption, and the journey through memories, emphasizing the importance of letting go. They also critique modern education, calling for a shift towards nurturing curiosity. With festive touches, they announce reading challenges and highlight new resources for the Advent season.

Dive into the enchanting realms of George MacDonald’s 'Phantastes' as the hosts unravel the themes of disorientation and self-discovery through captivating narratives. They explore the impact of William Morris on fantasy literature and highlight the contrast between false and true homes. Discover the intricate cosmic connections of humanity and the moral complexities of love displayed through various literary works. The discussion culminates in celebrating the transformative power of storytelling, inviting deeper understanding and reflection.

Dive into an exploration of George MacDonald’s Phantastes, where doppelgangers and deception take center stage. The hosts connect themes to literary classics and mythological influences, including the Pygmalion myth. Enjoy humorous discussions about familial quirks alongside profound reflections on identity and beauty in literature. The contrasts of modern versus medieval perspectives offer rich commentary on parenting and personal growth. Plus, festive Advent resources and literary traditions add a whimsical touch to the conversation!

Dive into the enchanting world of George MacDonald’s 'Phantastes' as hosts unravel its rich Victorian themes. They reflect on the importance of imagination and reminisce about the Christmas spirit tied to MacDonald’s works. The role of grandmothers in stories and the dynamics of personal growth are highlighted. Connections to C.S. Lewis’s literary journey spark discussion on storytelling’s impact. Plus, explore how fairy tales blend reality with fantasy, guiding listeners on a quest for wisdom and understanding of their identity.

Angelina Stanford, a literary scholar focused on fairy tales, joins Cindy Rollins, an expert in literary interpretation, to explore the significance of fairy stories. They dive into how these tales transcend mere escapism, revealing deeper truths about life and character. Stanford contrasts fairy tales with myths and addresses common misconceptions about gender roles in these narratives. They discuss the historical roots and cultural universality of tales like 'Sleeping Beauty,' emphasizing their rich metaphorical meanings and enduring relevance.