Thursday, January 26, 2012

world lit at the coffee shop


Amy and Elise are studying World Literature for school this year in conjunction with World History.
Mark and I decided that we would read all of their assigned books also,
so that we could more effectively discuss ideas and concepts together.

And we decided to make it all the more special by going out to coffee for our post-book discussions! 
It's been very fun to explore various coffee options in the city.
The spot below (Bo's at Abreeza!) is the quietest one we've found so far.


We've read a variety of books together, from C.S. Lewis to Shakespeare.
This week we finished the book
which highlights God's amazing grace in the lives of three key men of the Protestant Reformation:
Augustine, Luther and Calvin.

It was an excellent book, giving us unique insights into the lives of these three men of God, and challenging us in light of both their failures and their faith to see the hand of God at work for His glory.

Now we've moved on to John Bunyan's "Pilgrim's Progress" and I'm looking forward to some Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Joseph Conrad, Corrie Ten Boom and other great authors in this second semester!
I just love sharing great books with my family! ♥


What great books have you read recently?

********
     As a side note, while we were having our discussion this week, one of the employees of the coffee shop moved to open the inside blind just next to our window. As the blind went up, he peered outside through the window at us, smiled when he caught our eye, and waved a happy wave.  I was struck again by the friendliness of Filipinos, and by the contrast in America, where it would feel a little threatening, invasive, or just plain strange if a coffee shop employee was smiling and waving at me through a window.  I'm so privileged to live in a place with this kind of friendliness!


6 comments:

Carl G said...

Victor Hugo's Les Miserables is once of my favorites - so much truth embodied in fiction!

The Girls said...

What a joy it is sharing books with our children! We've just finished reading Little Britches by Ralph Moody aloud for the 4th or 5th time and I was again struck by the delight of shared literary experience with my family. Have you read that series? It is one of our most favorites! Thank you for sharing your experiences with Amy and Elise and what you're reading.

us5 said...

ooh! yes, Les Miserables! i need to re-read it, Carl...it was back in my college days that i last read it.

and my fellow book lover, 'The Girls'...no! we have heard lots about Little Britches, but we've not read one yet. i wonder if it's available on Kindle...? thanks for a reminder to check it out!

Jaymi Bragg said...

Oh, good! Our computer is finally allowing us to comment. (Some weird security connection wouldn't let me earlier.) Anyway, yes...I love books too and sharing them with our young sons has been one of the greatest joys. In fact, I think we've got a future "book worm" in Samuel. He loves to say, "Let's go read!" The library hear is so terrific, so we've made several trips already. Although we're not up to Les Miserables yet, we're enjoying some childhood classics like all of the Dr. Seus books, all of the Eric Carle books, Corduroy, Blueberries for Sal, Peter and the Wolf. Nathan can't wait for Samuel (and later Matthew) to get older and their attention spans to grow so that he can read the Narnia series to them. Books! Books! We love them!

Jaymi Bragg said...

I mean "here" not "hear". ugh! Homynyms!

us5 said...

it's great to see you back, Jaymi! relish these early years of great children's authors with Samuel! we still have so many favorites from those years! i'm delighted to know you've got a fabulous library nearby!! that's one thing we miss very much...