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2023 Bookish Books Reading Challenge

My Progress:


23 / 30 books. 77% done!

20 Books of Summer 2023

My Progress:


17 / 20 books. 85% done!

2023 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama (2)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
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- California (12)
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- Connecticut (3)
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International:

- Australia (3)
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My Progress:


42 / 51 states. 82% done!

2023 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


25 / 25 books. 100% done!

2023 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


48 / 50 books. 96% done!

Booklist Queen's 2023 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


50 / 52 books. 96% done!

2023 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


46 / 52 books. 88% done!

2023 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


35 / 40 books. 88% done!

2023 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


29 / 40 books. 73% done!

2023 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


13 / 25 books. 52% done!

2023 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

Book Bingo Reading Challenge


20 / 25 books. 80% done!

2023 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


88 / 109 books. 81% done!

Children's Book Reading Challenge...For Adults!

Sunday, February 04, 2018

The One Where I Actually Read Something My Husband Recommends to Me

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

My husband often accuses me of ignoring the many book recommendations he's given to me.  And justifiably so.  It's not that I don't appreciate his suggestions or that I don't want to experience a book that he's enjoyed—it's just that we like very different kinds of books.  You've no doubt noticed that I'm a fiction kind of girl.  I read for entertainment, so I generally shy away from anything that's too deep.  As I like to tell my husband, if I have to re-read every sentence five times before I understand it, I'm out

One of my husband's very favorite books is The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis.  He's been urging me to give it a go for a long time, reassuring me that it's more readable than many of the tomes he likes to consume.  Ironically enough, it wasn't until it was selected as the next pick for my book club that I finally gave it a chance.  And you know what?  The hubs was right.  It's a worthwhile read.  Do I count it as a favorite of mine?  No, but that's okay.  I'm glad I read it and took the time to ponder Lewis' thoughts.

The allegorical story in The Great Divorce is told by a man who dreams he gets on a bus and takes an incredible journey through Heaven and Hell.  He converses with his fellow passengers, meets a variety of supernatural beings, and has his mind opened to some surprising truths about life, death, human nature, and good vs. evil. 

I know a good deal of Lewis' ruminations went straight over my head, so I'm not going to even pretend that I understand The Great Divorce.  I did, however, enjoy "meeting" the different bus riders, each of whom represents a different type of person—the proud, the faithless, the fearful, etc.  When my husband asked me which of them I most identified with, I replied, "Um, all of them?"  I saw portions of myself in each of their weaknesses, which definitely provided food for thought.  I also appreciated Lewis' ideas on letting go of "earthly" concepts like fairness, justification, quarrels, etc. as I, too, feel that such things do not exist in heaven.  

Overall, then, I enjoyed The Great Divorce.  It's a short book with some big messages, most of which I would probably have to read about five more times in order to really get.  Maybe I'll do that. 

(Readalikes:  Besides The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the only other thing I've read by C.S. Lewis is The Screwtape Letters.  It's similar to The Great Divorce, I think.)

Grade:


If this were a movie, it would be rated:


To the FTC, with love:  The Great Divorce is from my personal library.

3 comments:

  1. This is not for me, but I do love that you read it because your husband recommend it to you. I always love to find new books and having other people recommend their favourite books to me is always fun!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like a thinking book. I love some of Lewis’ works but they can be a bit deep.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh! This sounds so interesting!!

    ReplyDelete

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