Last summer, while my grandmother was living with us, she began to read C. S. Lewis' Surprised by Joy.
I think it was for her book club, or maybe for her scripture study class - I'm not sure. In any case, soon after she began reading, she began coming to me with questions about obscure words, French phrases, and many,many book titles.
Pretty soon she go me reading the book too (and writing notes for all of the little penciled * she had left throughout the text).
To be honest, I am still not quite finished reading (I fell behind around Christmastime), though I am still enjoying it just as much as I was when I began!
Lewis has been one of my favorite authors since the days I first entered Narnia with the magician's nephew ( I will forever be very fond of sweet Polly). But other then the Narnia books, I have only read his fiction ~ Til We Have Faces, The Screwtape Letters, and The Great Divorce.
If you haven't read Till We Have Faces, order it from the library or go search Half Price Books right now! It is one of my favorite books, and such an amazing retelling of the store of Cupid and Psyche ~ perfect if you were (or are) a Greek mythology buff like I am!
Of course I would go off on a tangent about books! - though, for this post at least it is quite fitting:
One of the first things I began notice in Surprised By Joy was all mentions of Books and how they formed Lewis' childhood. Shakespeare, Dickens, Trollope, Keats, Shelley, and Tennyson are all mentioned before the forth page.
I can tell you, I was in Book-list making Heaven!
So I began to search our bookshelves as I read, looking for the books he mentions.
(I do have to admit, the book of Wagner operas illustrated by Arthur Rackham was not on our shelves. I had already been looking for it online, and it took months of looking before I finally found a copy within my budget!)
I am still making my book list as I read, but for now, these are the books I want to read first:
Le Mort Darthur by Sir Thomas Malory
The story of the life and death of King Arthur - of course these amazing stories would form Lewis' childhood! For the sake of honesty I will tell you that I have not actually read it cover to cover... the last few years reading and I have not been on very good terms. It began when I began getting sick in high school, and my brain just got more and more muddled and foggy, and when that mixed with my dyslexia I just could not make sense of the words. Even then, about five years ago now, I could not help myself when I saw Le Mort Darthur for $2 at a used book store. After I brought it home I would pick it up from time to time, reading individual stories I remembered from childhood, stories that felt more like old friends then my brain working to understand nonsensical symbols. But this year, with my mind starting to clear, I have put it on the top of my pile - right under Mrs Dalloway, The Two Towers, A Room With A View, and, of course, Surprised by Joy :)
Ants, Bees, and Wasps by Lobbock
Lewis read this book as a young teen, when he was trying to get over his fear of insects.The note I wrote for my grandma for this book was "Lubbock's Ants, Bees, and Wasps: A book Lucy wants for Christmas! :)" Well, nowadays it's not the type of book you can walk inside a bookstore and find on the shelf... I dream of being an amateur entomologist, so I kept an eye out online and found a beautifully warn copy for only a few dollars. Most exciting was that it has a note inside from Christmas 1886! It is so beautifully written, and as most of the science comes from observation, I have not found any glaring inaccuracies - though I am sure it is not quite up to date. But, the sweet style of it makes any scientific mistakes completely forgivable, and so enjoyable to read thorough.
Don Quixote
Funnily enough, so far that I have noticed, Lewis does not actual mention reading this book - However, on one of the first few pages Lewis uses the word "Quixotic" to describe his father. It was the first thing my grandma asked me to look up, and though I had heard the word used before, I had never put two and two together to realize it came from Don Quixote! I am sure my poor Grammy got more then she bargained for when I went off chattering about how it became a word describing Don Quixote's unrealistic idealism, and how interesting it all was! (she wore a very patient smile though all of my excitement ~ I suppose she is used to me by now.)
The Ring of Niblung by Wagner and Rackham
The copy I have consists of The Rhinegold, The Valkyrie, and Siegfried. Lewis only says that he read 'Siegfried and the Twilight of the Gods, illustrated by Arthur Rackham,' but I am pretty sure his and my copies are at least similar. Arthur Rackham has long been one of my very favorite illustrators, and over the years I have found old copies of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, Hans Christian Anderson's Fairy Tales, The Romances of King Arthur, and Tales from Shakespeare, all illustrated by Rackham. His work is just the right mixture of creepy and innocent to call to both poles of my art loving heart.
Locksley Hall by Alfred Lord Tennyson
I found a copy of this book about a year ago on the shelf of a charity shop my sister was volunteering at. I swooped down upon it at once! Tennyson has been perhaps my favorite poet for I don't know how many years. I fell in love with The Lady of Shallotte when I was young - and who can't when they watch little Meghan Fellows reciting it as she lay in that sinking boat? (I can't even bring myself to watch the new Anne of Green Gables shows that have come out, and have just gone back to reading the books!) What made me hug this copy of Tennyson to my chest was the lovely cursive notes written in 1897 by a girl called Elizabeth North while she took a class on poetry.
The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
I really can't say much about this one because I have not yet read it, and have been purposefully keeping myself in the dark about it's story! So far as I remember, Lewis only mentions Wells in the context of having conversations with his Uncle about it as a child, but it was enough for me to take it off the shelf and put it in the pile of books beside my bed ;)
Well, what do you think? Have you ever read a book that gave you a whole list of other books to read? I can't wait to see what else C. S. Lewis suggests before the end! Are you busy making a book list for 2018? What's on your list so far?
Oh, and please do tell me how you like Till We Have Faces!
With all my love,
Lucia Marcella
