Till We Have Faces Discussion at Mythgard Academy

As I've mentioned before I'm addicted to Corey Olsen's free classes at Mythgard Academy.  He's the best of all the book podcasts that I listen to because he focuses on what the text is telling us, not on what we know will happen later in the book or getting sidetracked into tangential ideas.

I admit that I have skipped all of the Tolkien materials once they finished The Lord of the Rings. However, these have been interspersed among rich discussions of many wonderful books ranging from Dracula to Le Morte d'Arthur to Ender's Game to Watership Down. 

I'm extra excited that they have just begun Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis. It is a book that I struggle with but which nonetheless fascinates me. I've listened to various podcasts cover it but 20 minutes into the first episode I know that Corey Olsen is showing me the book from a point of view that I find irresistible. 

They're on a lot of platforms but I listen to the podcasts. Find out how to listen or watch here.

A Little Science Fiction Talk for Your Summer

Summer is always a time when we want lighter reading. At least I do. I remember summer vacations from school when I lived on science fiction. 

Two classics are being discussed on podcasts that might spur your interest or just get you to find new angles to that book you love so well. There is one of each below for me.

The Moon is a Harsh Mistress by Robert A. Heinlein

Discussed by: Mythgard Academy podcast

I've read a lot of Heinlein but never cared much about this book. However, there's something about Corey Olsen's enthusiasm that has pulled me through a lot of books I didn't care about and turned me into a fan, most notably Ender's Game and Le Morte d'Arthur.

Here they tackle a classic that I've often been urged to read. Revolution on the moon with a lovable computer ought to be right down my alley but for some reason it never appealed to me. So this is the summer that I finally tackle this award winning science fiction classic.
 

 

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Discussed by: The Literary Life podcast, 3 episodes

This is Ray Bradbury's famous book set in a dystopian world where firemen start fires (in order to burn books) and ideas are enough to get you chased by ferocious mechanical hounds. I'm not reading the book along with them because I know it well enough so that listening to the conversation is enough. 

Scott and I discussed this at A Good Story is Hard to Find way back in 2012. I remember being struck then at Bradbury's prescience in people's fascination with social media, audio, visual gaming and, in essence, amusing ourselves to death. The conversation at The Literary Life reminds me that we have gone a lot further down that rabbit hole in the 9 years since then. It's a good conversation and hits chords that a lot of the usual discussions don't hit, in part because they  are working from a classical education perspective, which feeds into a homeschooling, Christian audience.

Close Reads and The Lord of the Rings

I've been listening to the Close Reads podcast for several years off and on, depending on what they're reading. They discuss books indepth from a classical education perspective which feeds into a homeschooling, Christian audience. That is reflected in their Facebook page which has varied and lively discussions and I regularly check in there too. I especially enjoyed their discussions of True Grit, Death Comes for the Archbishop, Anne of Green Gables, Frankenstein, and Rebecca (a book I detest but which they loved — the discussion was so interesting I just kept listening). They've covered a lot more ground than that so definitely check them out.

Their Patreon subscriber episodes got me through Crime and Punishment, for which I am duly grateful. Russian novels and I don't mix, but the Close Reads conversation pulled me into mostly enjoying that book. 

When they announced they were going to read The Lord of the Rings  I was planning on skipping it. I've read many commentaries on the book and have never found anything that I liked better than Corey Olsen's masterful classes at Mythgard Academy (free!). After all, Olsen's original Tolkien Professor classes were the ones that made me pick up LOTR for a fourth time and finally get through it. Now I consider LOTR the best book ever written, so that's a debt I will never forget. Naturally, I figured between all those other references I'd heard most of the takes on it. 

Then I started seeing outbursts of praise in the Facebook group which piqued my interest so I bit. Finishing up their six-episode discussion of The Fellowship of the Ring, I must add to that outburst of praise. Their conversation is not afraid to dip into Christian viewpoints which resonate with my own take and deepen it considerably. The classical viewpoint also adds richness to appreciating the wisdom J.R.R. Tolkien has woven into the story. The Close Reads discussions equal and complement the Mythgard classes in the best possible way.

Mostly, I thrill to the love and admiration for this work which so clearly emanates from Heidi White and Ian Andrews. They have enhanced my own love of the book which I already thought was the best book ever written. (The host, David Kern, clearly likes the book but he doesn't match the geeking out and love that Heidi and Ian show).

If you're a Tolkien fan and a Christian you're going to want to try this out. The $5 Patreon subscription gets you access to both the LOTR and Crime and Punishment series. They are over halfway through The Two Towers and I look forward to having my mind blown regularly as I journey alongside.