How a strict British teacher nurtured my love of reading

As I've mentioned before, my parents were missionaries in Beirut, Lebanon, for a couple of years when I was a little girl in the mid-60s. For twelve months--the last part of 3rd grade and all of fourth grade--I attended a British school called Manor House. (The portrait of Queen Elizabeth II hung in the school's lobby.)

I recently dug up some things I wrote reminiscing about my time there. Here you go:

Miss Gardiner

My second year at Manor House (I was in the fourth grade) started out calmly enough--until our new teacher from England arrived--Miss Gardiner.

Miss Gardiner terrified and awed me. She was stern, strict, overly puritanical in my opinion, and unkind. My classmates shared my terror of the large old lady with the iron-gray hair worn in a braid encircling her head and a round, bespectacled face.

I remember how it annoyed me when, after lunch, she would clean her teeth with her tongue. How she terrified me when she hit my best friend, Nadia Nash, for cheating!

Nadia was part Lebanese, part British, and spoke with a delightful French accent. Her mother was a popular French and music teacher at Manor House, and we were the best of school friends. I shared her tears over the humiliating corporal punishment Miss Gardiner had administered to her.

I was fond of reading books, which I kept on my lap away from Miss Gardiner's eyes. So you can imagine my horror when she punished Serena McClelland for doing that very thing! Serena was the beautiful child of Scottish missionaries. I admired her silky blond hair, fair skin, pink cheeks and blue eyes, and it hurt my very soul when she cried.

Math--what awful memories that word conjures! The students were far ahead of me in that area, and it seemed I couldn't grasp any but the simplest principles. Most of the morning lessons were devoted to math, so after lunch I could more or less relax.

Reading time

At this time I could sit in my class and listen to Miss Gardiner read. She was constantly reading aloud to us, and it was the only part of her teaching that I enjoyed.

She read to us of the history of Britain, and I was fascinated by the kings and queens--a fascination that continues to this day. She read Greek mythology and classic literature.

So I profited from Miss Gardiner's teaching after all. She helped instill and nurture in me a love of literature that grew steadily.

Manor House seemed like an odd school to me, but I know that much of what I am today was influenced by my time there. I've no doubt that my Anglophilia--love of all things British--took root at that time, and has never left me.

My fifth grade was spent at American Community School, almost an exact replica of a Hometown USA school. It was fun and interesting, but not nearly as much of a really different experience as was Manor House School.

A historical novel that rambles a bit too much...

Lady of Hay by Barbara Erskine

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I picked this book up at 60 per cent off at the Borders' going out of business sale, for two reasons: I love historical novels, I love BIG juicy novels, and because of the rave reviews on the back cover--including the ubiquitous designation (yes, I've used it too) of "unputdownable."

Well, Lady of Hay wasn't a bad book. In fact, it was well written and well-researched, and I did care about the main character, Joanna.

And though I love big books, I believe this one suffered from being TOO big.

Not only was it putdownable, I found myself almost grudgingly picking it up again, as if it was a school assignment and not something I was just reading for pleasure.

It's about a modern-day woman who submits to hypnosis, revealing that she was a baron's wife in the 12th century. As the regressions become more in-depth and frightening, Joanna realizes that her past life has become inextricably--and dangerously--intertwined with her present life.

Yep, you have to swallow the whole "past life" thing, but this IS fiction, so I'm OK with suspending disbelief.

However, I found myself getting a little impatient with the lengthy narratives that took place when Jo "regressed" into her past life character, Matilda...and I even started skimming a bit, which is something I try never to do when I read a book.

Honestly, if it were edited down to roughly half its current size, I honestly think it would have been a terrific book. It's a compelling story about a fascinating woman who really existed.


It's just...too long.




View all my reviews

Two Tales of Two Husbands: Dancing on Glass and Picture Perfect

I don't know how I ended up reading two books in a row that deal with domestic abuse--I certainly didn't plan it that way!

Jodi Picoult's Picture Perfect I picked up at a half-price bookstore in Texas, needing a page-turner that would help eat up the miles of the long car trip back to Illinois.

And a page-turner it certainly was. I had it finished well before we got home, where, surprise! A book titled Dancing on Glass, by an author I had never heard of--Pamela Binnings Ewen--was waiting for me in the mail our neighbor had collected for us, sent unsolicited by a wonderful book publicist.

Both books were very good and had some things in common. However, one of them stood out, gripping me in a way I haven't felt while reading a book in quite some time--and I've read some really good books lately. I'll tell you which one in a moment. First, some re-capping:

Picture Perfect, by Jodi Picoult

This is the story of Cassie Barrett, who wakes up in a cemetery one day with no memory of who she is or how she got there. Cassie is found by a man who has just arrived in Los Angeles to join the LAPD--William Flying Horse, a half-Sioux Indian man from South Dakota.

Will takes Cassie under his wing, but her memory begins to return, and she is soon claimed by her husband, Alex Rivers--who just happens to be the biggest movie star in Hollywood.

When she joins Alex, Cassie begins to remember why she left him, and why everything is definitely not as "picture perfect" as it seems.

Dancing on Glass, by Pamela Binnings Ewen

Amalise Catoir is an innocent...a young girl raised by loving parents in rural Louisiana now working her way through Tulane law school in 1974 by waitressing in New Orleans' French Quarter.

Amalise is optimistic, joyful, and has a strong personal relationship with God, with whom she talks frequently.

She's also intelligent, hardworking and ambitious, determined to realize her dream of being a lawyer in a time when female attorneys are just beginning to make their way into law firms.

Enter Phillip Sharp--a moody, brooding, mysterious artist who sweeps Amalise off her feet with his irresistable passion for her.

Just as Cassie has Will to depend on in Picture Perfect, Amalise has Jude...a young man a few years older than herself who she describes as her "oldest, dearest friend," a strong rock who has always been there for her.

Along with Amalise's parents, Jude finds himself increasingly appalled at her relationship with a man who is not what he claims to be.

Phillip Sharp of Dancing on Glass and Alex Rivers of Picture Perfect share many of the qualities of an abusive spouse. Both are handsome, charismatic, and have convinced their spouses that they love them above anything.

Both have had childhoods filled with neglect and/or abuse, which lead Cassie and Amalise to feel that only they can save and heal them.

Both Phillip and Alex, also, are fanatically possessive of their spouses, unreasonably demanding and ultimately cruel.

I have to say I liked Dancing on Glass better...

Although both books are superbly written and strongly compelling, I have to say I liked Dancing on Glass the best.

While Picture Perfect definitely kept me turning the pages, Dancing on Glass was absolutely riveting. Ewen did such a masterful job of drawing me into the story that I simply couldn't wait to see how it unfolded. Her writing is beautiful and evocative--I could almost feel the humidity in New Orleans, taste the beignets on Jackson Square, and feel the shattering blows Phillip delivered in his alcohol-laced rages.

And the last several chapters? Honestly, I can't remember when I physically felt the suspense the way I did in the last few chapters of Dancing on Glass! Rather than just empathetically observing Amalise's terror, I felt it. People, that's good writing.

And I won't lie that as a person of faith, I appreciated the strong faith element in the story. I've often wondered how people make it through such horrific ordeals without God. Amalise didn't have to.

I would recommend both books to anyone who loves suspense, but Picture Perfect does contain some language and sexual situations that may be offensive to some.

I can wholeheartedly recommend Dancing on Glass, and I absolutely can't wait to read more from Pamela Binnings Ewen.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Linking up with Semicolon's Saturday Review of Books today!

Booking Through Thursday: Grab the nearest book...

Participating in Booking Through Thursday today, and here's the question:

It’s National Book Week. The rules: Grab the closest book to you. Go to page 56. Copy the 5th sentence as your status
(We’ve done something similar to this before, but it’s always fun, so … why not?)

This was much more challenging for me today than it would normally be! I'm on vacation in Texas, and I'm sitting in my mother's livingroom. The only books nearby are of the coffee table and gift book variety. Many of them don't even have five sentences on a page!

The book I'm quoting from is a lovely pictorial titled The Majesty of Natchez, by Steven Brooke.

It's filled with photographs of some of the most gorgeous, stately, architecturally beautiful homes in a city that's called " one of the largest and best-preserved collections of antebellum architecture in the country."

So, page 56 includes a photo of a lovely winding staircase in a house called "Auburn." The fifth (and last) sentence on page 56 is this one:

"The interiors of Auburn feature original furnishings and an extraordinary freestanding geometric stairway that is an architectural masterpiece."

It really is a beautiful book--and having just seen "Gone With The Wind" again on my way down to Texas, it's especially of interest to me!

Bookish Images Monday: Sawyer Reading

Welcome to Bookish Images Monday! I'd love for you to participate--if you'd like to, more info after the pictures.

No drama in television history has been as literary as “Lost,” with heroic conman Sawyer proving that a man can look sexy reading a book.--Chauncey Mabe

Everyone who knows me knows that my favorite TV shows of all time is "Lost." (If you haven't watched this show, and you love a good story with wonderful characters, I highly recommend it!)

It so happens that one of my favorite characters, Sawyer (played by Josh Holloway) loves to read. And what better thing to pass the time on a deserted island than to read?

Apparently, quite a few books survived the crash, and it was especially nice for Sawyer when he found a pair of reading glasses among the wreckage.

Among the books we saw Sawyer reading: Watership Down by Richard Adams, A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle, and Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck. (Go here for more of Sawyer's books.)

I'd love for you to participate in Bookish Images Monday.

Remember, you do NOT have to post a ton of images--one will be fine if that's all you want to do! (I just tend to go a little crazy.)

They can just be interesting or pretty book covers if you want. Or just pictures of books, bookcases, libraries or bookstores. Or they can be humorous, or vintage, or related to movies based on books. They just need to be book-related in some way.

Feel free to grab this button:



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Be sure to post your link in the Mr. Linky below, leave a comment, and visit others who may participate!



*Photos from Google Images

From the Archives: Angela Hunt's The Awakening

(This review was originally written several years ago and posted on a website that is now defunct. It was one of the first books I read by Angela Hunt, and she quickly became one of my favorite authors!)

The Awakening is billed as "A Novel of Discovery," and Hunt herself calls it "a modern-day parable." But although the symbolism is apparent, and becomes even clearer on reflection after reading the book, it's never heavy-handed.

What carries the reader along is the essential quality of any good fiction book--it's all about the story. And it so captivated me that I read the book in one afternoon, simply unable to put it down.

It's the story of Aurora Rose Norquest, whose mother has just died after ten years of Aurora nursing her through the ravages of Alzheimer's.

Although we never meet Mary Elizabeth Norquest in the present, she's a formidable figure in Aurora's past. Patrician, elegant, loving but ultimately cruel, she is the driving force behind Aurora's hermit-like existence, and the constant spectre in the dreams that terrify and paralyze Aurora.

Hovering in the background of her memory is Aurora's father--a famous novelist who is vilified by her mother as unfaithful and unloving, having apparently abandoned Mary Elizabeth and Aurora many years ago for a mistress in England.

But Aurora can't stop thinking about her father and hungering for a connection with him--a possibility that becomes even more tempting when she learns that he may be seeking her out as well.

A new neighbor--a kind and eligible male neighbor at that---shows up to nudge Aurora out of her agoraphobic existence. But at the same time, Aurora's mother's longtime best friend, Aunt Clara, seems to be pushing to keep Aurora cloistered and alone.

Aurora's gradual blossoming under the nurturing friendship of Phil Cannon, as well as her persistent longing for her absent father even as she battles the demons that fill her dreams, makes for fascinating reading.

Angela Hunt draws us into the haven of Aurora's Manhattan apartment to the point that we feel we are with her there, shivering after a nightmare or making tentative steps toward a new and abundant life.

As I said, it's only on deeper reflection--and with the help of an interview with the author at the end of the book--that we truly appreciate the symbolism and the parable qualities of the story.

And that's when we can truly rejoice in our own abundant life and incredible relationship we as Christians can enjoy with our own Father.

Booking Through Thursday: What Book Were You Excited to Read?

I'm participating today in Booking Through Thursday. Here are the questions:

What’s the last book you were really EXCITED to read?
And, were you excited about it in advance? Or did the excitement bloom while you were reading it?
Are there any books you’re excited about right NOW?

OK, I know this sounds very convenient, but I was actually really excited to read the book I'm reading now--Liz Curtis Higgs' Mine is the Night.

I had read the first book in the series, which is a re-telling of the biblical Naomi and Ruth story, but set in 18th-century Scotland. (This is a device Higgs used masterfully in her Lowlands of Scotland series, which was a re-imagining of the Jacob/Rachel/Leah story.)

Since I know what happens in the Naomi and Ruth story, I have a pretty good idea of how things are going to turn out, but I was excited to get my hands on this book and see how Higgs envisions it.

I ended up winning four books in a blog give-away, and when a couple of the books weren't available in the US, I was told I could have any book on Amazon.com--so "Mine is the Night" is now mine!

Better than I even expected


I have to say, my excitement has blossomed as I read the book. Truthfully, I'm having a hard time putting it down. I'm supposed to be getting ready for a long road trip right now, and I find myself continually returning to this book!

There's something about the way Liz Curtis Higgs writes. The way she turns a phrase, her descriptions, her characters, everything, is just lovely, evocative and compelling. I've truly loved everything she's written, and I have read every piece of fiction that she's written thus far.

What am I excited about reading next?

A few on my to-read list that I can't wait to get my hands on:

Minding Frankie, by Maeve Binchy
When Sparrows Fall, by Meg Moseley
Nightmare, by Robin Parrish
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows