Katherine by Anya Seton is a time period novel that does a wonderful job taking you back into the centuries when the world, and England in particular, was so different. The language and descriptions of daily life are as enjoyable to read as the actual story. This historical fiction is based on real people from the royal family, primarily John of Gaunt and his life's love, Katherine Swynford.
The same sweet lady that invited Zach and I to her house for a medieval feast gave me this book for Christmas to read. (She was one of Zach's older students a few semesters ago in a Shakespeare class) She said it had taken her through the deliveries of four of her six children. It's her favorite non-religious book of all time. I enjoyed it, but perhaps not that much. Overall I give it four out of five stars. Entertaining enough to satisfy but also enlightening enough to feel a little smarter when you are done.
The Book of Mormon of course belongs in a whole other category. It was lovely to finish it Sunday morning sitting on the bed with the baby. Very calm and serene. As I sat and pondered for a few minutes after I had finished, I could feel the quiet power that comes from reading this book of scripture. I thought about the life and love of the prophets, about Christ's visit to the Americas, about the book being written for our day and our time. Over all I give it six out of five stars and say if you haven't read it lately, maybe its about time to start it again. I've already started over since this year's Sunday School lessons are based on the Book of Mormon this year. I have every confidence that I'll enjoy it just as much this time as I did last time, if not more.
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