I recently read North and South and liked it much more than I expected, given that the miniseries made little impression on me (maybe it was overhyped to me by my friends). (Granted, Middlemarch is my favorite book, and I think that miniseries doesn't capture the delight and humor I found in reading the novel, mainly because the narrator's voice wasn't included. So maybe some miniseries, while fine adaptations, just fall short of great books.) I'll have to put Mary Barton on my list.
I loved Mornings on Horseback. Teddy Roosevelt's unusual family totally reminded me of my own family. We did a mix of Catholic grade school, homeschool, public high school, and community college, all in whatever order we chose, because my parents had a plan that didn't correspond to anyone else's rules. They were persistent enough to eventually get blank signed permission forms for whatever crazy academic things we were doing next. (I took college English 101 in the summer after my first year of high school and got an A and then asked to take high school English 10&11 in the same year. Which no one at the school had ever done before. [My dad: "One is American Lit and one is British literature, clearly those aren't prerequisites." Lol!] It turned out the chair of the high school English department had been my community college professor in the summer, so she said, "Kate already got an A in my college course, let her do whatever she wants.")
My parents were raising well rounded Renaissance children, who could love reading passionately, write and give persuasive speeches, travel widely, have outdoor and physical experiences, do science experiments backed up with data and calculations, and be confident enough to see rules as suggestions. Four out of five of us are electrical engineers, a different four out of five of us are big readers (though we all love and analyze and discuss stories), all of us are talkers and speech givers. We're all loud, critical/analytical of movies, argumentative over ideas and ideals, burst into quotes or song lyrics at any provocation, and generally figure out a way to get to our goal in whatever situation we're in... I think we're delightful, though I can see how my husband feels when my family all gets together at once, like Levin at the end of Anna Karenina, that there was "too much of the Scherbatsky element" in the house. 😅
PS. I started listening to Close Reads and I'm mildly obsessed. I've listened to them discuss Brideshead Revisited, A Canticle for Leibowitz, Howard's End, and I'm in Anne of Green Gables now.
North and South is phenomenal. Mary Barton at some points feels like a study/preparation for it, and Margaret Hale is one of my favorite literary heroines. I enjoyed the miniseries, but I agree it really doesn't capture the mastery of the novel. I love Middlemarch and have yet to watch the miniseries; I started it but didn't feel compelled to continue. With Middlemarch in particular I think you hit on something with the lack of narrative voice-it's essential. It's continuing to be so fun; I definitely have been enjoying their adventurous and full life and thinking about it in terms of our own homeschool/hybrid schooling decisions. That's wonderful that your parents persevered in giving you such a varied and tailored to your needs education. I was a public school kid in a great area, and had a good overall experience. I would never have considered other options for my own kids if it wasn't for my own positive experience of a Great Books education at a Catholic university and for meeting my husband and seeing how well homeschooling/private school worked for them. I so hope that my kids grow up to love learning and literature as much as you and your siblings seem to, and have that same chance to be adventurous and have so many experiences! And haha love that-it's as it should be. And ahhh that's an emotional time to do that. Oof! My similar incident was rereading "Where the Red Fern Grows" when I was pregnant for the first time-I was ugly crying alone in my apartment and it was not good. I'm so glad you're enjoying Close Reads, they have been so great for me and are indirectly responsible for this Substack even existing in the first place!
Happy Belated Divine Mercy Sunday!
I recently read North and South and liked it much more than I expected, given that the miniseries made little impression on me (maybe it was overhyped to me by my friends). (Granted, Middlemarch is my favorite book, and I think that miniseries doesn't capture the delight and humor I found in reading the novel, mainly because the narrator's voice wasn't included. So maybe some miniseries, while fine adaptations, just fall short of great books.) I'll have to put Mary Barton on my list.
I loved Mornings on Horseback. Teddy Roosevelt's unusual family totally reminded me of my own family. We did a mix of Catholic grade school, homeschool, public high school, and community college, all in whatever order we chose, because my parents had a plan that didn't correspond to anyone else's rules. They were persistent enough to eventually get blank signed permission forms for whatever crazy academic things we were doing next. (I took college English 101 in the summer after my first year of high school and got an A and then asked to take high school English 10&11 in the same year. Which no one at the school had ever done before. [My dad: "One is American Lit and one is British literature, clearly those aren't prerequisites." Lol!] It turned out the chair of the high school English department had been my community college professor in the summer, so she said, "Kate already got an A in my college course, let her do whatever she wants.")
My parents were raising well rounded Renaissance children, who could love reading passionately, write and give persuasive speeches, travel widely, have outdoor and physical experiences, do science experiments backed up with data and calculations, and be confident enough to see rules as suggestions. Four out of five of us are electrical engineers, a different four out of five of us are big readers (though we all love and analyze and discuss stories), all of us are talkers and speech givers. We're all loud, critical/analytical of movies, argumentative over ideas and ideals, burst into quotes or song lyrics at any provocation, and generally figure out a way to get to our goal in whatever situation we're in... I think we're delightful, though I can see how my husband feels when my family all gets together at once, like Levin at the end of Anna Karenina, that there was "too much of the Scherbatsky element" in the house. 😅
I reread all the Anne books when I was night nursing my first baby and no one warned me about baby Joyce either!!!!! I was a *wreck*. 😭
PS. I started listening to Close Reads and I'm mildly obsessed. I've listened to them discuss Brideshead Revisited, A Canticle for Leibowitz, Howard's End, and I'm in Anne of Green Gables now.
North and South is phenomenal. Mary Barton at some points feels like a study/preparation for it, and Margaret Hale is one of my favorite literary heroines. I enjoyed the miniseries, but I agree it really doesn't capture the mastery of the novel. I love Middlemarch and have yet to watch the miniseries; I started it but didn't feel compelled to continue. With Middlemarch in particular I think you hit on something with the lack of narrative voice-it's essential. It's continuing to be so fun; I definitely have been enjoying their adventurous and full life and thinking about it in terms of our own homeschool/hybrid schooling decisions. That's wonderful that your parents persevered in giving you such a varied and tailored to your needs education. I was a public school kid in a great area, and had a good overall experience. I would never have considered other options for my own kids if it wasn't for my own positive experience of a Great Books education at a Catholic university and for meeting my husband and seeing how well homeschooling/private school worked for them. I so hope that my kids grow up to love learning and literature as much as you and your siblings seem to, and have that same chance to be adventurous and have so many experiences! And haha love that-it's as it should be. And ahhh that's an emotional time to do that. Oof! My similar incident was rereading "Where the Red Fern Grows" when I was pregnant for the first time-I was ugly crying alone in my apartment and it was not good. I'm so glad you're enjoying Close Reads, they have been so great for me and are indirectly responsible for this Substack even existing in the first place!