Our ancient church was full on Sunday night for an Advent service that hovered between earth and heaven. Everything was candlelit, the choir carried us along, and the season of hope and expectation opened before us. I walked home past winter trees shining with white lights, lit the fire, and kindled the Advent candle. Let's not rush too fast to Christmas. Let's enjoy this short and precious season.
In Advent I am re-reading 'Learning to Dance', an inspiring book by Michael Mayne about the patterns and seasons of life and of nature. He quotes widely, which makes it a good dip-into book if I'm too busy or too tired to work my way through the layers. And I have some other reading planned, too.
LYS lent me the latest Adrian Plass, which meant that I kept laughing out loud unexpectedly and alarming Tony. I have a little light book about motherhood on the waiting list, and then I intend to apply myself to seasonal reading and My Great Adventure.
Somebody commenting on the blog a while ago recommended The Legend of Holly Claus, so I bought it and kept it until now to read. I'm looking forward to that. And then, I have a plan. My Great Adventure. All writers have half an eye on the next book and the one after that, even when they don't have a clue what it will be. I have the feeling - and maybe this applies to all writers too - that there is a book inside me that I still don't know about, and it has to be written. Something that nobody else could write. So I'm going to re-read all my favourite books, children's and adults'. Perhaps, by re-reading my favourites, I will hear the call to whatever story in me is crying out to be told.
The interesting thing is that many of my favourite books are Christmas books - The Children of Green Knowe by Lucy Boston, The Thirteen Days of Christmas by Jenny Overton, The Tailor of Gloucester by Beatrix Potter, and oh - perhaps my very favourite book in the world - The Dean's Watch by Elizabeth Goudge. So that will be my reading over Advent and well into the Christmas season too.
Oh, and Narnia. But you guessed that.
4 comments:
Oh, more stories! How wonderful! That's better than getting snow! (Which is a treasure...unless of course it's cast by a very evil witch without a drop of Adam's blood.)
Narnia...absolutely wonderful! I've recently been reading some of the collected letters of C.S. Lewis...and the tidbits in there are amazing!
I hope your day is a lovely one--but if you do need an umbrella, I hope you have a faun close at hand!
Narnia. Yey! 'Nuff said! :-)
And, I LOVE Adrian Plass. My brother from N. Ireland brought me "The Sacred Diary..." when I was 15 & my parents used to laugh along with me, as they heard my PEALS of merriment from my bedroom as I stayed up into the night, reading.
I can't get enough CSL. You might like to google Malcolm Guite, poet, priest, and much more. I believe his address on Lewis at Westminster Abbey is online somewhere.
Nina, how good to know that Adrian Plass has crossed the pond! I mean to do a post about him soon. The latest is 'Adrian Plass and the Church Weekend'. He is now 62 and 3/4. He still makes me laugh out loud.
Hi, Margi! Glad to hear you've got a copy of The Legend of Holly Claus, you're in for a treat! I'm planning on rereading mine this Christmas, it's a tradition for me :)
And I loved The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge, but I haven't heard of The Dean's Watch! Will keep an eye out for it next time I go to the bookstore.
Happy holidays,
Sannie
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