Happy Birthday to Madeleine L’Engle

The re-read post is a bit behind schedule today (have I mentioned yet that I’m an excellent procrastinator?  It is one of my greatest talents.) but I did run across a little tidbit in my
morning Internet perusing.

Today, November 29, would have been Madeleine L’Engle’s 98th birthday.   How about that timing. 🙂

U.S. residents might be interested in this li’lgiveaway from Macmillan Children’s Books – the publisher is giving away a lovely collection of L’Engle’s novels, including the Time Quintet.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled reading… Chapter 4 will be up hopefully late tonight, or tomorrow night at the latest.

Silver and Snow [Nail Art of the Week]

[Madeleine L’Engle Re-Read] A Wrinkle in Time, Part 3

CHAPTER 3:  Mrs. Which

To Summarize:

Charles Wallace, Meg and Calvin return to the Murry home, where Mrs. Murry accepts the last minute dinner guest with aplomb. While Mrs. Murry finishes dinner preparations, the youngsters are assigned to complete their homework, during which Calvin admits his struggle with math, and we learn of Meg’s advanced aptitude for both math and science.  Calvin discovers he fits in to the Murry family dynamic amazingly well, and is recruited to read Charles Wallace his bedtime story.  Meanwhile, Meg and her mother have a conversation in which they touch on how Dr. Murry’s absence is affecting Mrs. Murry, and the somehow supernatural nature of the youngest Murry child.  Mrs. Murry once again postpones an explanation of the concept of a tesseract, and sends Meg and Calvin out for a walk while she readies the younger children for bed.  During their walk, Calvin quizzes an emotional Meg about her father and the rumors surrounding his absence.  He encourages her to stop holding in her grief and fear, and she releases a torrent of tears.  Post-breakdown, Calvin compliments Meg’s “dream-boat” eyes, but their touching moment is interrupted by an excited Charles Wallace, who declares that they are leaving right away, presumably to find their father.  Mrs. Who and Mrs. Whatsit appear, and we are introduced to the third of their party, Mrs. Which, who states that she would prefer not to materialize completely, as she finds it tiring and there is much to do.

Gold and Lava [Nail Art of the Week]

[Madeleine L’Engle Re-Read] A Wrinkle in Time, Part 2

CHAPTER 2: Mrs Who

To Summarize:

The morning after Meg’s midnight encounter with Mrs. Whatsit, she awakens to a sunny day and attempts to write off the previous night’s events to a particularly strange dream.  However, over breakfast, her mother confirms that it was indeed real, although inexplicable.  She notes that the tesseract is a concept that she and her husband had joked about, and promises to explain it later.

At school, Meg’s exhaustion and wandering attention result in a trip to the principal’s office for snapping back rudely at her teacher.  Mr. Jenkins, the principal, attempts to probe into the cause of Meg’s prickly behavior, and suggests she should face the fact that her father has left them.  Meg staunchly proclaims that she will only believe that her father isn’t coming home when her mother tells her that is the case.

After school, Charles Wallace convinces Meg to go with him to the haunted house where Mrs. Which and her friends are staying in order to get more information about the tesseract, as well as to warn them about the potential for being discovered and getting in trouble for the theft of Mrs. Buncombe’s sheets.  At the house, they encounter Calvin O’Keefe, a 14-year old high school junior who states he had a premonition that compelled him to go to the haunted house that afternoon.  Charles Wallace decides to take him in with them to see Mrs. Which, but instead they meet Mrs. Who, who explains the theft of the sheets as necessary to make ghosts as props to scare away any curious intruders.  Mrs. Who indicates that Meg’s father needs their help, and the time is near but not yet ripe, before shooing them out of the house.  Charles Wallace invites Calvin home to dinner, who gladly accepts, noting that he has never seen the Murry house but he has a feeling he is going home for the first time in his life.

Autumn Plaid [Nail Art of the Week]

[Madeleine L’Engle Re-Read] A Wrinkle in Time, Part 1

CHAPTER 1:  Mrs. Whatsit

To Summarize:

On a stormy October night, Meg Murry lies awake in the attic of her family home, fretting about the hurricane weather, rumors of a thieving tramp in the vicinity, her father’s mysterious absence and the vicious gossip about him, and her own awkwardness and dissatisfaction with her life.  Hearing the family dog barking alarms her, and she descends to the kitchen where she finds her 5-year-old brother Charles Wallace waiting for her and heating milk for cocoa.  Their mother joins them in the kitchen for cocoa and sandwiches, and when the dog begins growling again, Mrs. Murry brings in a mysterious figure bundled in scarves, who turns out to be Mrs. Whatsit, a new neighbor who has befriended Charles Wallace.  The eccentric elderly woman accepts the Murrys’ offer of a sandwich and a place to warm up and dry off out of the storm, but declines to spend the night, offering a cryptic parting comment to Mrs. Murry that leaves her clearly shaken: “There is such a thing as a tesseract.”

Fall Colors Drip Marble [Nail Art of the Week]

Well, that turned out… “interesting”. 🤔 I wanted to try a drip marble in fall colors (inspired by mysimplelittlepleasures who did a lovely one), but this for some reason just reminds me of ketchup and mustard smeared on a McDonald’s hamburger  Better luck next weekend!

The Madeleine L’Engle Re-Read Begins

Good morning faithful readers (a.k.a. Hi Mom!)…

Before we begin the official re-read posts, I wanted to give those of you who aren’t familiar with this sort of blog series an idea of what to expect.

My intent is to publish a re-read blog post each and every week, covering a manageable chunk of the book at a time.  Because of my wordiness (and my tendency to try to do too many things in limited time), I am going to start by limiting myself to one chapter per week, unless I find myself with nothing to say, which I seriously don’t expect.  I mean, when do I ever have nothing to say?

As for format, each week’s post will start with a summary of the chapter’s events, and then I’ll follow it up with a bulleted list of “quick takes” – my thoughts and reactions in real time as I read.  I’ll point out things that I enjoy about the writing and the story, and things that I didn’t felt work as well… I’ll squee about adorableness and interject  ROFLs about things that strike my funny bone… I’ll quote passages that I find particularly meaningful or amusing or that hit me over the head with a beautiful use of language… It’ll be like you’re in the room with me while I’m reading. You’ll love it.

My reactions will probably make more sense to you if you’ve read the book recently, so I’ll encourage you dig up your copy of A Wrinkle in Time, or pick one up off of Amazon if you don’t have one of your own, and we’ll start with Chapter 1 next Tuesday.  Come prepared to chime in your thoughts, I’d love to hear them!