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The Platypus Reads Part XII




Well, events of the last month have derailed much of my proposed blogging. Thoughts on Dune have gotten overwhelmed by my current reading of The Half-Blood Prince (A day late and a dollar short, but I'm almost done with the series). Still, I may attempt to restart that thread at a latter date.

With N.T. Wright in the bag, the new theological work is Bishop Ryle's book on holiness. We're reading through it for faculty devotions. I've wanted to dig into Ryle for a while, so now I get my chance.

I've also finished the first edition printing of The Book of Lost Tales I that my in-laws were nice enough to get me for Christmas (The picture above is J.R.R. Tolkien's painting of Taniquetil). I recommend it for lovers of The Silmarillion and those who have a keen interest in artistic composition. If you're in the mood for more of The Lord of the Rings it comes off as fragmented and frusterating (That was my impression when I first picked it up many years ago). You can also look at it as "a different version" or "an earlier telling" of the major events of The Silmarillion (which is essentially what it is: the earliest drafts of Tolkien's legendarium). All in all, I enjoyed the read and look forward to snagging a copy of volume II. I highly recomend volume III, The Lays of Beleriand, as well as the recently released Children of Hurin.

Well that's all for now. I'm off to run errands, but remember: "the Platypus speaks Truth!"

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