Persuasion

I read Persuasion by Jane Austen for my book club. The book description says, "At twenty-­seven, Anne Elliot is no longer young and has few romantic prospects. Eight years earlier, she had been persuaded by her friend Lady Russell to break off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth, a handsome naval captain with neither fortune nor rank. What happens when they encounter each other again is movingly told in Jane Austen's last completed novel."

I am not really a fan of this type of book, and I will admit it was a challenge to push myself through this one. I don't really get the disparity of how some people love Jane Austen book so, so much and yet to me, her books are pretty boring and hard to follow. Clearly I'm missing the boat but alas. I think I just don't read books like this enough for me to follow the content easily, so I kept having to refer to cliff notes to make sure I wasn't missing something. At book club, we did get to discuss some of the funny characters (like Anne's sister Mary) and the things in the book that tie into our world today. But overall, not really my kind of book.

Rating: * (1/3 = It was okay)

The Mansion

I read The Mansion, a short story by Henry van Dyke, for my book club.  I had never heard of this book before, but it apparently is a must-read each Christmas season along with A Christmas Carol.  I was able to read The Mansion (a super quick read) for free on the Internet.  It is about a religious man named John who is very wealthy, donates to charities, and seems to live a life without error.  However, one night in a dream, he finds that the mansion he expected to find for his reward in heaven is not at all what he expected.  The lesson in the story comes near the end where John asks the Keeper of the Gate, "What is it that counts here?"  and receives the answer, "Only that which is truly given. Only that good which is done for the love of doing it."

This is a really wonderful story that was very thought-provoking.  It was so easy to relate to the main character as he desperately tried to explain to the Keeper of the Gate all that he had done for good on the earth.  He then with disappointment received an explanation that he had already received his reward for those acts: "Would you be paid twice?"  It made me really think about how I should seek do good in this world without needing praise or recognition--the reward may not come in this world but in the next.

Rating: * * * (3/3 = Loved it)