My felicitous February Feast

My personal February entertainment was filled with Valentine theme books, music, and shows. 

In the reading department, I loved reading a fabulous series with Jane Austen as the main character, a detective nonetheless, Jane and the Canterbury Tales by the amazing writer Stephanie Barron.  I read a few of these books last year and fell in love with every single one of them right away.  Stephanie Barron treats the reader with an intricate mystery plot with Jane Austen herself solving the mystery.  Being as attentive to human behavior as she was, this was a very flowing facet of her character.  The historical facts are thoroughly researched, the knowledge of Jane Austen's life is followed accurately through her letters, the fascinating descriptions of the period are described in detail and give the reader a stunning view of Jane Austen's society.  All of these perfections would make anyone want to read any book.  But there is more.  The double treat of the book is the style and language that it is written in.  I think even Austen herself would be envious of the eloquence of the style and the beauty of the words.  For me this touch made the series not just another mystery series I enjoyed, but a classic read that keeps me wanting for more.

Other books I read:

The 5 Love Languages: The secret to love that lasts by Gary Chapman  - A straightforward and simple introduction to the different kinds of ways we express and would like to receive love.

Catching Alice by Clare Naylor - A fun book that started off as a relaxing kind of read, but then it introduced serious themes that were thoughtful and interesting.  A brokenhearted Alice leaves her native land of England and accepts her American friend's invitation to work and live in L.A.  She enjoys the beautiful weather, the gorgeous people, the trendy organic foods, the fashionable styles, and much more.  When the honeymoon period is over however, she realizes that all that comes with a prize and isn't at times what it looks.  Through it all, she also understands what true love means to her.  I have to say the author not only understood the California culture well, but she did a good job in portraying its highs and lows pretty accurately.

The Berlin Boxing Club by Robert Sharenow - A great addition to the Holocaust literature.  It is set against the backdrop of Hitler's rise of power and the discrimination against the Jewish community, this book is also a coming-to-age story.  Karl, a 14 year old boy, Jewish by heritage but not in practice, has to learn how to survive the bullying and the increase of discrimination of his friends, and then the whole community in general.  Early on in the book he meets and becomes friends with the real-life boxing champion Max Schmeling, who helps him through out the book learn boxing as well as learn how to grow up.  The characters were very well developed and felt very real.  What they said and did I could imagine myself do.  The plot was interesting and since it was set during the rise of Nazi power, it felt I was there right in the beginning.  This was a beautifully written book with themes that can teach each of us lifelong lessons.

In the TV department, I watched various shows.  Gillian and I continue to follow Once Upon A Time each Tuesday on our date night.  We still love it!  I'm also enjoying Hart of Dixie, Bunheads, and an old show, but new to me, which I don't watch very regularly, The Gilmore Girls.  I love the dialogue in this show, and even though it is very fast and I may not catch even half of the references to American culture in each episode, I've really enjoyed it.  However, my favorite show for the month of February has to be Lie to Me.  Netflix has all of its three seasons, and I felt very upset when it was over and I learned that the show was cancelled after three seasons.  It is one of my favorite shows dealing with the understanding of the psychological behavior of individuals.  The two main characters are psychologists who have studied the human facial and body language to an extent that they can tell the various thoughts going into each of their clients' minds.  And I love the chemistry between each of the characters.

Music was a big part of this month's entertainment.  I had a thirst for Puccini and Rossini, as well as all of the other bel canto composers.  As always and forever, I enjoyed listening to Bellini's Norma most of all.  Classical wasn't the only branch of music I listened to however.  I had a great time listening to Josh Groban's new CD, All That Echoes with my favorite song being Brave and his rendition of Falling Slowly. Beautiful! I also explored some of the new folk bands such as Mumford and Sons (I Will Wait), Lumineers (Ho Hey), and Hunter Hays (Love Makes Me).

What an amazing world we live in.  We have access to the masterpieces of the past, we can enjoy the talents of today, and we have a chance to be part of the future.  Wow!  Enjoy it!