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One Sit Reads: My review of The Magician’s Nephew by C.S. Lewis

The past few weeks were hell for me. So I needed something light hearted and simple to read; so I returned to a world that I knew would give me the comfort I needed...Narnia. I was introduced to The Chronicles of Narnia when I was in the fifth grade. It was one of those books that sparked my imagination as a child. When I was embarking on my college career The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe came to the big screen. And I was immediately disappointed. I felt like the movie had failed to capture the magic of the words Lewis had written so long ago. For the past few years I have wanted to return to Lewis stories and experience it with an adult eye. So that’s what I started last week.
In the Magician’s Nephew we are introduced to Digory and Polly; two average, adventure seeking children. One of these adventures leads them into Digory’s Uncle Andrew’s study. While in the study Andrew makes Polly vanish and forces Digory to go after her. It seems that Uncle Andrew is a magician and has discovered a way to travel between worlds. While Digory and Polly are gone they happen upon Queen Jadis; a terrifying, self serving and very destructive ruler. While trying to escape her and get back home to London they end up bringing her along. That is when all hell breaks loose. Jadis causes a bunch of craziness on the streets of London; it becomes clear that the children have to get her back to the world she came from. So they use the magic that Andrew invented to bring not only Jadis and themselves back but Andrew, Frank (a carriage driver) and his horse. The group ends up in Narnia at the moment that Aslan is singing the world into being. They watch as Aslan creates Narnia from nothing. Flowers, trees, mountains and animals come into being. Aslan grants a few of these animals the ability to speak. And sets the rules for how they must live. In fact, he even adds another person to the mix - Helen (Frank’s wife); and installs them as the first Queen and King of Narnia. Narnia seems perfect, however, there is an issue - Queen Jadis. She is on the loose in Aslan’s beautiful world; she is evil to the core and Narnia must be protected from her. Since it is Digory’s fault that Jadis was bought into Narnia Aslan sends him on a mission (with the assistance of Polly) to bring back the fruit of a magical tree. The fruit of this tree will help protect Narnia from Jadis for centuries. Once his mission is complete Digory is rewarded by Aslan and sent home (along with Polly and Andrew).
At the heart of this story is friendship, love, magic and faith. As many of you may know C.S. Lewis was a devout Christian and wrote the Chronicles as a way to explain the gospel to his God daughter. The Christian themes in the story are more evident to me now then they were to me as a child. I found myself smiling as I read about Aslan creating the world. It was as perfect an analogy as you can get to the creation story in the book of Genesis. And from a child’s perspective its probably a lot easier to understand. Of course, Aslan is God/Christ; and the choice of him as a Lion is symbolic as well; for God is described as a Lion in the biblical book of Hosea. Aslan is an animal that the children should be scared of but they are also drawn to him. They see a fierce gentleness in him. And when at one point Digory expresses sorrow over his mothers illness you see that Aslan knows his pain well; which reminds me of the compassion of Christ. Queen Jadis is an example of evil in the world. I took her to be a representative of sin and being unrepentant. She is selfish and self serving at her core. She cares about nothing and no one. Her ways will be her undoing.
Lewis storytelling is simplistic and magical. It’s an easy, one sit read. And anyone that says they don’t like Narnia needs their head examined. These stories are just that good. I have decided to read one book a month from the series until I have finished the entire thing. I gave The Magician’s Nephew 5/5 stars on goodreads.

The Bookbabe Reviews To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

I have seen the movie at least once and for what ever odd reason I was never really compelled to read the book; even though I had owned a tattered second hand copy for a number of years. I began my journey with this book with only a baseline knowledge of what the book would hold within its pages. To my surprise the book made me long for the simpler times of Childhood. Were I was able to live a carefree and easy life. To Kill a Mockingbird is very much a story of growing as it is an indictment of an America long since dead and buried. An American, that even today, some in our society would like nothing more than to go back to.

In Lee’s American classic we meet a young girl nicknamed Scout and her older brother Jem and their father Atticus. The Finch’s live in the small southern town of Macomb. Scout and Jem are your typical children - they tease one another, get into as much trouble as possible and live for soft summer breezes and cool lemonade. They do however, have an aching desire to see Arthur “Boo” Radley come out of his house - and the children spend summer after summer (with the help of their friend Dill) attempting to get a glimpse at old Boo Radley.

The children have never had much trouble in life, things are pretty good for them. Until there begins to be some grumbling amongst the town folks about Atticus defending a black man (Tom Robinson) who has been bought up on rape charges. Tom is accused the worst offense imaginable - forcing himself on a white woman. The children are immediately thrust into their fathers business. Even though Atticus tries to instill in them the importance of turning the other cheek and being the bigger person. It’s hardest for Scout to heed her fathers edict and walk away when children at her school call her and her father “nigger lovers”. Some how she does, and so does Jem (for the most part).

The trial on Tom Robinson I believe was a turning point for both of the children. It was as they stood in that court room watching their father defend a man, trying to save a mans life that I believe a part of their innocence was lost. It was at that moment and at that time that the Children really saw that the world wasn’t fair. They were taught a tough and life changing lesson. This moment was heart wrenching and the trial scenes made me angry and also tearful. As a person of color, I wanted Lee to write a different ending. I wanted to believe that with Atticus at the helm of Tom Robinson’s defense that the evident truth would win the day. But, I was wrong. And Atticus lost. And the latter end of the book left me teary eyed and as I said before wanting to go back to a simpler time. When I was a child and the truth and complexities about race, culture, and class were unknown to me.

The beauty of this book is the difficulty of the subject matter. Harper Lee portrayed the attitudes of southern whites with ease because she was one. She also handled with care the need of social change and justice. She showed the reader that not all whites were racist and that some would do their best to treat their fellow man with respect and dignity - right to the end. It’s easy to see why Atticus is a beloved character in literary circles. He along with Scout are perhaps my favorite characters I’ve read in the past few months. With that being said

I am so very happy to have finally picked up this book; and I am very proud to call it my first completed read of the new year. I can’t wait to snuggle up in my bedroom with a nice mug of tea and rewatch the classic film. I gave to Kill a Mockingbird 5/5 stars on Goodreads.

Quotes I Loved:

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view...until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read.”

“People in their right minds never take pride in their talents.”

“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win, but sometimes you do.”

American Classic Lit: To Kill A MockingBird by Harper Lee

I was about 27 or so when I first experienced the movie To Kill a Mockingbird. I don’t know why I decided to watch it - I just had a desire to see it. I had friends that had been “forced” to read the book in Highschool or college and were very indifferent to it. However, I had never read the American Classic or seen the movie. I knew what it was about (roughly) and I kind of had no desire to read it. Then 2018, a really cold night and the desire for a classic read convienced me to dust off my old, second hand paperback copy of the book.
I settled in with the book the other day and slipped into the lives of Jean Louise (Scout) and Jeremy (Jim) and Atticus Finch. I must say that the story is pure and innocent and funny. There is so much to love about the story. So much more detail the movie just left out. I’m about 80 pages in now and I really can’t wait to see what other nonsense Jim and Scout get into.
I know that eventually I will come to the heart and lesson of the story that is so broadly featured in the film. But for now I am enjoying the lovely stroll through Jim and Scout’s Childhood. This book makes me crave games of tag and adventures with my cousins in our grandparents back yard. How simple life was as a kid; and then life happens. I have a feeling tis will be a book I will come back to from time to time to be reminded of the simpler things in life.

The Hit List: Books I Plan to read this year!

My Reading Goal: 80 Books
My Hit List
Young Adult:
Tower of Dawn by Sarah J. Maas
Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
The Assassin’s Blade by Sarah J. Maas
One Dark Throne by Kendare Blake
Kalona’s Fall by P.C. and Kristin Cast
King’s Cage by Victoria Aveyard

Classic Literature:

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontė
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Emma by Jane Austen
Great Expectations by Charles Dickinson
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Non Fiction:

The Girls of the Murder City by Douglas Perry
The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Nigger by Randall Kennedy
I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
The Woman Who Would Be King by Kara Cooney
Rest in Power by Sybrina Fulton
We were Eight Years in Power by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Between the World in Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Inspirational Reads:

Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell
How to here by Rob Bell
What is the Bible by Rob Bell
The Power of I am by Joel Osteen
Sci Fi:
A Darker Shade of Magic by V.E. Schwab
An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon
The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley

Romance:

Lover Unleashed by J.R. Ward
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Transference by Ava Harrison
You Give Good Love by J.J.Murray
I’ll Be your Everything by J.J. Murray
Darker by E.L. James

General Fiction:

Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
The Man in the High Castle by Phillip Dick
The Mothers by Brit Bennett
Balm by Dolen Perkins - Valdez
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
Of course several of these books may fall by the wayside; however, It is my intention to read as many of these as possible. But I also, want to make sure my reading as diverse as possible.