August Wrap-Up

Hello, my peoples! I am still here (eh, more or less), and thus, an August wrap-up is indicated! And...I'm trying something new today.

Again.

Because I don't have enough going on in my life (*laughs in 18ish credit hours*)

I guess August is the month for it, though? I changed my wrap-up format last August, too.

Anywho, so the new plan is for me to give a brief summary of my month, and then hop into what I'm calling "Worth Reading", which is a way of me talking about a few of the books I've read this month in a picky and choosy sort of way while also kinda recommending books to you? We'll see how it works. 

So, anyway. My August has been insanely busy, what with my birthday (yes, I'm 19 now, finally!), the 16th annual camping trip that we take every year with a bunch of dads and their kids from our parish, frantically trying to get ready to go back to college 2000+ miles away (both packing and trying to see people before I leave), actually coming back to school (how does 14.5 hours of travel sound to you?), and then actually starting school again, whaaaaat. Crazy. (School, by the way, is more crazy than it is crazy that I'm starting school again. In other words, a professor in ONE of my classes on the first day of class told us that he thinks we should spend 21-24 hours per week on his class material. If you don't hear from me, I'm dead, and/or crushed under project briefs.)

Some highlights:
-Taking a seven-mile urban hike with Pippin (raising the number of miles I'd hiked that week to fourteen *dies*)
-Getting to livestream a wedding wherein the priest was asking the groom "Do you take [name omitted for privacy] to be your lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold from this day forward until death do you part?" but the groom cut him off after "lawfully wedded wife" with an enthusiastic "I do!!!!" and the priest had to start the vow over again
-One of our priest friends saying Mass for us barefoot in our backyard
-Being blessed by our pastor before I left
-Reading a WHOLE TON of stuff during the 14.5 hours of travel
-Coming back into the Newman Center and immediately seeing a bunch of my friends who mobbed me for hugs
-There being two fantastic new chaplains, one of whom reminds me of Fr. DD, and who I can see becoming a spiritual confidant or at least good friend as well
-Reading part of A Midsummer Night's Dream in the lounge with friends, each of us taking a part (I'm Hippolyta)
-The priest dunk tank the day before classes started (yes, really)

Oh! And I thought that even though I'm doing Worth Reading, I'd also still have a section for funny quotes, if I had any to share. So. Funny quotes:

Professor: "Currently the plan is to give you only one attempt per quiz."
Another student: *audible gasp*
Entire lecture hall: *bursts out laughing*

Professor in a Landscape Architecture class: "We're so lucky the water falls out of the sky here! That's amazing!"

Professor: "When I took this class in undergrad, I got a C."

Thomas: "I mean, I don't know, maybe you'd go off to Poland for the weekend during the school year!"
Mary: "Okay, you would do that, but you're Thomas. We're not talking about Thomas here. We're talking about Mary."

Me: "Fr. M, are you eating your cake with your knife on purpose to irritate me?"
Fr. M: *guilty smile* 

On to the books!

Worth Reading...

...if you enjoy reading books about books

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
This novel is a book about books in the sense of a fictional book about the assembly of a real book--the Oxford dictionary (with all due respect, the book did not impress upon me the actual title of the dictionary...I think it was the Oxford English Dictionary, but please don't hurt me if I'm wrong. XD)--from the perspective of the daughter of one of the men working on it. It was fascinating in two ways, both because the assembly of the dictionary is fascinating--has anyone else ever been curious about how one writes a dictionary? No? Just me?--and also because the way the book was written and paced was unusual, I thought. However, a main focus of the book was the feminism of the main character, which for the most part is the good kind of feminism but does for whatever reason tend to lead to a few inappropriate topics/words/activities (not graphic, but not recommended for a younger reader). So, be warned. (Also, the ending is DEPRESSSING. The characters deserved better. Just saying.)

Ex Libris by Anne Fadiman
This slim volume is a collection of essays not only about books but also about readers, and it is hilarious. From a description of how hard it was for she and her husband to merge their libraries after they got married, to a dissection of her family's compulsive proof-reading habit, to the influence that her parents' library had on her, to how readable catalogues are, she covers a pretty wide range! And it's all fascinating, and--much of it--hilarious. 

Bilbo's Journey by Joseph Pearce
A brief look into the Catholic/Christian themes of The Hobbit, which, while not long, did give me a fair bit to mull over, especially in terms of how often Tolkien uses the word "luck" within the book. Especially recommended if you love The Hobbit. 

...if you have a passion for Dominican scholarship 

Francis of Assisi by Fr. Augustine Thompson, O.P.
A book about St. Francis written by a Dominican? Why, yes. And the best book about St. Francis I've ever read (barring Chesterton's biography, which Fr. Augustine says himself is more about Chesterton than Francis XD). It takes into account Francis's own writings and the writings closest to him in history, carefully examining each source before deciding to incorporate it. And the portrait it paints of St. Francis is much more human (imperfect, a sinner needing God, a man reluctant to lead, &c) than any biography of him I've ever read before. 

St. Dominic's Way of Life by Fr. Patrick Mary Briscoe, O.P. & Fr. Jacob Bertrand Janckyk, O.P.
This book explores different aspects of Dominican spirituality and how it can be incorporated into the spiritual lives of any Catholic (or even Christian, probably). I was reading through it going, "yes, obvious, well, that's pretty obvious, um, I knew that", and realized...yeah, because I know a ton about Dominican spirituality! (Duh, Samantha. *facepalm*) So, I think it might be more worth reading for someone who doesn't know as much about Dominican spirituality, but even I did learn a few things. ;)

...if you need a good mystery

The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers
I love Dorothy Sayers. I've decided that I like her mysteries more than Agatha Christie's, not because they're better mysteries, but because they're better novels. No one can beat AC for twists and turns, but no one can beat DS for characters, setting, and overall ambiance. The Nine Tailors is set in a little town in the fens of England, and specifically centers around the bells of the church of that town (hence the title--The Nine Tailors was a type of ring rung for the dead, I think). I loved reading about those bells. Beautiful. Also, I think it has the distinction of being one of the best mysteries of hers I've encountered in all of her Lord Peter Wimsey books. 

...if you're a fan of epic fantasy

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson 
I don't even know what to say about this one. I've read Mistborn by Sanderson, and that was awesome, but TWoK is absolutely above and beyond. The detail of the world he crafts, which is completely different from ours! Is insane! I'm still dying over the plants he invented, which are perfectly suited to their environments, and just HOW. And how long did it take him?? Not to mention cultures, races, forms of dress, landforms, weather...I could keep going. 
And the characters. THE CHARACTERS. Somehow, he managed to not make me care at all about changing viewpoints??? Which never happens???? Because all of the characters are so brilliant? (Okay, I was a leeetle annoyed at Shallan's absence from Part 4. Because I need more Shallan in my life, and by extension, more Jasnah. (I have been informed by Legolas that she thinks I'm a lot like Jasnah. I'm not inclined to disagree.) But also KALADIN my dear. And DALINAR and his principles I LOVE HIM SO MUCH. So, yeah. The characters and narration are brilliant, too.
It's almost enough to make one forget that it's some 1000ish pages long, and there are supposed to be ten books total in the series. XD

...if you like unreliable narrators

Okay For Now by Gary D. Schmidt
I just reread this one this past week, since it seems like a summer book (just read the parts about what you do with a Really Cold Coke and tell me you disagree. I dare you), and highly enjoyed it. It's been awhile, and I've gotten a bit older since I read it last, and while I can't say that I noticed as many new things from my Old And Wise perspective as I did when reading, say, The Wednesday Wars, there were a few things. For instance. Doug's father is really complicated. For instance #2, the adults make assumptions, but sometimes they're justified? Like, yes, all of the suspicions they have are awful, but they're assumptions I would make, too, in that situation. Does that make me an evil adult now? XD In addition, I had forgotten how many book references there are, if you look (Babar, The Five Little Peppers, Charlotte's Web, &c), and also how many "unknowing" references to things coming in the future. Which is a nice tip of the hat to those who know politics/technology/&c. But aside from the things I noticed this time reading it--it's just a really wonderful book about a boy growing up during the Vietnam War...but wonderful in a very different way than The Wednesday Wars. Also, and I know I've said this before, but it incorporates Audobon prints, and our library has an Audobon folio kind of like the one in OFN, and having seen some of the pictures, I have a renewed appreciation for the ones referenced. :)

How was your August? What do you think of my new wrap-up format? Which do you prefer, Agatha Christie or Dorothy Sayers? Have you read anything by Brandon Sanderson?