Category: book reviews

Books that Form Us – #2.

Second in a Series of My Book Reviews.

 Good books do more than entertain; they shape the soul in ways that are subtle yet profound.  Here are the extensive books I read in May and June 2026.

Ancient Poems, Ballads, and Songs of the Peasantry of England transcribed by John W. Parker and Son (1857).

✒️ Each of these 108 ballads, poems, and songs in this collection were written in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and compiled into this 1857 transcription by John W. Parker and Son.  This became a lengthy reading foray for me, not only because of the number of works, but also due to the language style that I needed to adjust my understanding of the writing style especially.  This is a very good book if you enjoy this sort of language arts.

Silent Struggles by Ann S. Stephens (1865).

✒️ Wow . . . what a lengthy novel filled with sea adventure!  Admittedly, this took me a couple of weeks to read, and I am a fast reader.  I somewhat enjoyed it, mostly for the themes of bravery and fate.  Amid a violent Boston storm, a young man and an aging minister, strangers to one another bound by an uncanny sense of fate, wait on a hill for a troubled ship to reach the harbor.  Their connection deepens when they witness a desperate escape at sea: Barbara Stafford, a courageous young woman fleeing mortal danger.  As the storm intensifies, both men show remarkable resolve, and the youth ultimately plunges into the raging waters to save her.  Their collision of among these lives sets the stage for a story shaped by bravery, destiny, and the unexpected ties that form in moments of crisis.

Jingle in the Jungle by Aldo Giunta (1957).

✒️  This is a short story that proves not every written tome had clean language back in the 1950s.  I dumped this story because of the taking of God’s name in vain.  I didn’t get past the second page.  This science fiction shortie was first published in “If Worlds of Science Fiction,” June 1957.

 

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Books that Form Us – #1.

First in a Series of My Book Reviews.

 Anyone who knows me knows that I am, at heart, a voracious reader.  Books have been my lifelong weakness and delight.  From the Little Golden Books that we poured over as kids, to my first parochial school library borrowing of A Is for Annabelle by Tasha Tudor, to the day I trudged home from the public library carrying eleven books for the mile‑and‑a‑quarter walk back home— stories and education have always been my companions.  Good books do more than entertain; they shape the soul in ways that are subtle yet profound.  This is the first in a continuing series that highlights books that I have recently read.

Books that I have read so far in 2026:

Toxin by Ouida (1895).

✒️ This short, fast reading story started off strong and ended weak.  All that for an opal necklace, a murder, and a wedding!  The writing style of Ouida (Maria Louise Ramé – 1839-1908) is intelligent, smooth, descriptive, and is peppered with French and Italian phrases.  Other readers might find this story their string of pearls and phial of a deadly toxin, but it wasn’t for me.  What I did learn about Ouida was that she was a contemporary of Oscar Wilde, Wilkie Collins, Robert Browning, et al.

Ole Mammy’s Torment by Annie Fellows Johnston (1897)

✒️ This was an entertaining short story with a lot of great dialect, funny scenes, and believable characters with true dialect in their voices.  The authoress is well-known for writing “The Little Colonel” series, which was made into one movie in 1935 with Shirley Temple.  My goodness!

The Children’s Own Longfellow by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1908).

✒️ What a fun book of poetry that I thoroughly enjoyed from cover to cover!  This is an early 20th century collection of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s poetry, curated especially for young readers.  Gathering some of his most cherished works, the volume presents Longfellow’s storytelling in a form that is accessible, engaging, and rich with imagination.  The collection includes well-known pieces such as “The Wreck of the Hesperus,” “Evangeline,” “Paul Revere’s Ride,” and selections from “The Song of Hiawatha.”  This was enjoyable.

The Status Civilization by Robert Sheckley (1960)

✒️ This book is a lesson for today.  Will Barrent comes to consciousness aboard a prison transport headed for the planet Omega, his memories erased and his guilt for murder already decided. Omega is a place where the only way to stay alive is to break the law—because the law itself requires wrongdoing. With most newcomers surviving only a few years, Barrent is forced to adapt quickly to this upside down, topsy-turvy society while searching for answers about his own past. His journey eventually returns him to Earth, where he uncovers startling revelations about both planets and the hidden machinery of power that binds them together.

 

Our Lady of Good Studies, pray for us.  O Mary, our hope, have pity on us.

Indulgence of 300 days each time.  – Pope Pius X, January 8, 1906

 

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee.

Indulgence of 300 days each time.  – Pope Leo XIII, March 15, 1884; S.P. Ap., April 15, 1932.

 

 

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