Reading and the Receptive Capacity of a Woman’s Soul

Reading and the Receptive Capacity of a Woman’s Soul Written by Carolyn Seida “Why do you read novels? Do they change the way you live?” My husband’s question caught me off guard. I don’t remember the answer I gave, but I kept coming back to his question. I was deep into Wuthering Heights, and this…

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Keeping Vigil: Literature, Companionship, and Grief

In June 2025, my dad, a 56-year-old healthy father of eight kids, was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. At the time, I was six months pregnant with our fourth child. My husband had lost his job, gotten a new job, and started a business all within two weeks of my dad’s diagnosis. I was feeling lost and very alone.

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Rediscovering the Joy of Reading

Book and candle on a wooden shelf.

When I was a little girl, my favorite summer pastime was to sit underneath the tree that my Grandpa Harry had planted in our backyard and read a book that had been carefully selected from the children’s section of the Bexley Public Library. The sunshine illuminated…

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A New Frontier

A book titled 'Giants in the Earth' on a wooden shelf with plants and other books.

A New Frontier Written by by Susan Severson I write this on a blizzarding night with Per Hansa and Beret on my mind. The magnitude of our forefathers’ sacrifices is as clear and heavily laden on my heart as the snow on the towering pine trees outside. This is what good literature does. It is…

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Friends and the Formation of the Heart

A cup of coffee and a book on a white lattice table.

But how do we find these friends? And, just as importantly, how do we become such friends?
Obviously, a strong sense of virtue is paramount to genuine friendship, but if we are to help each other continually grow in grace and goodness, we should ideally possess clear insight and understanding, as well—particularly insight into our human nature, its foibles, and its strengths. And what better way to examine human nature, to truly consider events and people, than through the study of literature.

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