Elizabeth > Recent Status Updates

So glad I stuck with it! Better all the time.

And parts of it are really funny!

Enjoying it a great deal now.

Getting better.

Maybe I’m cynical, I’m not loving this. It still seems very much like salvation through works. If you want to be saved, you must do X and Y and Z and not mess up. You’ll be a hero! I’m sure Christ will end up fitting into this narrative somehow. But I think it would be nicer if CHRIST were the hero.

The scene where Moses beats him up was pretty interesting. Still not loving the story.

Oh, no! I started this yesterday and am hard-pressed to remember a time when I was more disappointed in a book. I had been looking forward to this one for a long time, too!

“Who hath a greater combat than he that laboreth to overcome himself? This ought to be our endeavor, to conquer ourselves, and daily to wax stronger, and to grow in holiness.”

Can’t find my edition on GR; chose this as it’s also 288 pages.

“From one Word are all things.”

Oh, no!! My last progress update for a while—the book was due back at the library! I have 13 pages to go (the rest is the index and back matter). I almost made it . . . but not quite.

Struggling with faith in an age of Rationalism and Aufklärung, "I believe, help my unbelief." BWV 109 "Ich glaube, lieber Herr, hilf meinem Unglauben"

I would have liked Pelikan to have shown what this meant for Bach. How did this tension play out in his faith (or personal life)? And how does his music for King Frederick show Bach's "brilliant rationality"? I'm not clear on the connection. Want more info.

Oh no, he’s over-simplifying, and it’s confusing! After spending most of Ch. 1 describing the church year, he’s now conflating it with the secular calendar. He describes sacred Christmas music for January 1st as for the New Year, but the church new year was Nov-Dec, and January 1 had been a separate religious festival back when New Year was in March. Bach’s music celebrated the feast of the circumcision, the 8th day.

Connecting Bach’s music to Luther’s “cristocentric existentialism.” Faith transcends despair. Joyful music even in a chorale about Anfechtung. Interesting observations.

It's gotten so much better! Characters that I didn't like before are becoming interesting, some of the side characters have come back into the story in a big way, and the tension is still building. I am also impressed by the number of strong women in this tale. I am quite interested to see what happens next.

Just about half way through, and I'm still waiting to see a character I actually like. There are a few nice side characters who are way more interesting than any of the leads. A pity the story isn't about them.

Pp. 68-69 show a bunch of different book covers. Most of them are familiar, but the Harry Potter cover is VERY different, and really nice. Is that what HP books look like in the UK?

Yes! Yes, I LOVE this book!!

Yes! Yes, I LOVE this book!!

Dragging my feet because I don’t want it to be over.

Lots of creativity and varied approaches in this last collection. 3rd person POV, Sherlock narration, vampire story—he’s trying lots of different things before he says goodbye to Holmes.

“There are always some lunatics about. It would be a dull world without them.”

Just LOVED The Dying Detective! Poor Watson—such a loyal friend!

Like: Aw, Sherlock is such a good friend, but he always tries to hide it. It’s cute, not so much for what’s included as for what’s left out. (He’s one of those guys who doesn’t show emotion.) Adorable.

Don’t like: Watson had such a sweet courtship in Sign of the Four, and now ***SPOILER ALERT*** his wife has died (of something? I assume?) and the whole thing is glossed over. He’s widowed in the background. No info.

I’m loving this—can’t wait to read more.

Some thoughts:

The writing is getting better.

Watson is getting better at thinking like Holmes. Holmes is delighted.

The police who deal with Holmes are much less inept than the ones from earlier in the series.

Holmes doesn’t seem to like women, but he respects strong, independent women. He is also very kind. He’s surprising.

Like the characters so much! Watson is a dear heart, and Sherlock, for all his gruffness, can be very kind. I also like how John is irritated at Sherlock’s flaws: no free pass for his shortcomings.

Some stories hint at an unreliable narrator—love that! Even egotistical Holmes implied once that Watson embellishes Sherlock’s role. Holmes seems keen to include John and finds him useful. Is Watson downplaying himself?

Just finished A Study In Scarlet. What a beautiful introduction to Sherlock’s character! I didn’t like him very much from the short stories I’d read before, but here, in the first S.H. tale (and a longer tale at that), Doyle does a great job of developing his character. He’s flawed and interesting and likeable in a way that just can’t come through in a short story. So glad to be reading these in order now!