The Wren with the Books
@bookwren.bsky.social
tolkien, fantasy, Christianity, light instead of darkness, and good over evil
At the internet’s behest, and with great recommendation, I recently read The Poppy War by #R.F.Kuang #RFKuang
I wanted to love it, and it got a lot less lovable as the story progressed. I’m all for grimdark fantasies - this aspect wasn’t my chief complaint.
A solid 3-star read, in my opinion.
I wanted to love it, and it got a lot less lovable as the story progressed. I’m all for grimdark fantasies - this aspect wasn’t my chief complaint.
A solid 3-star read, in my opinion.
September 29, 2025 at 2:08 AM
At the internet’s behest, and with great recommendation, I recently read The Poppy War by #R.F.Kuang #RFKuang
I wanted to love it, and it got a lot less lovable as the story progressed. I’m all for grimdark fantasies - this aspect wasn’t my chief complaint.
A solid 3-star read, in my opinion.
I wanted to love it, and it got a lot less lovable as the story progressed. I’m all for grimdark fantasies - this aspect wasn’t my chief complaint.
A solid 3-star read, in my opinion.
In the wee hours of the night, I cuddle close to my girl, just weeks old, and she trusts me to love and feed her whenever she cries out for me.
While I don’t get “much” done nowadays, I cherish every minute.
She grows bigger with each passing day, and I get to be there for all of it.
While I don’t get “much” done nowadays, I cherish every minute.
She grows bigger with each passing day, and I get to be there for all of it.
September 29, 2025 at 2:03 AM
In the wee hours of the night, I cuddle close to my girl, just weeks old, and she trusts me to love and feed her whenever she cries out for me.
While I don’t get “much” done nowadays, I cherish every minute.
She grows bigger with each passing day, and I get to be there for all of it.
While I don’t get “much” done nowadays, I cherish every minute.
She grows bigger with each passing day, and I get to be there for all of it.
I went into labor just hours after writing this post, and she was born the next day. Hallelujah ❤️🎀!
I spotted this bee wiggling inside a pink rose, rubbing gently against the petals.
It reminded me sweetly of the feeling of my daughter cozying up in my belly now.
How special and sweet it is to carry this little bumblebee until she’s ready to join us in our arms. 🌸🐝
It reminded me sweetly of the feeling of my daughter cozying up in my belly now.
How special and sweet it is to carry this little bumblebee until she’s ready to join us in our arms. 🌸🐝
September 5, 2025 at 6:30 AM
I went into labor just hours after writing this post, and she was born the next day. Hallelujah ❤️🎀!
I spotted this bee wiggling inside a pink rose, rubbing gently against the petals.
It reminded me sweetly of the feeling of my daughter cozying up in my belly now.
How special and sweet it is to carry this little bumblebee until she’s ready to join us in our arms. 🌸🐝
It reminded me sweetly of the feeling of my daughter cozying up in my belly now.
How special and sweet it is to carry this little bumblebee until she’s ready to join us in our arms. 🌸🐝
August 16, 2025 at 7:21 PM
I spotted this bee wiggling inside a pink rose, rubbing gently against the petals.
It reminded me sweetly of the feeling of my daughter cozying up in my belly now.
How special and sweet it is to carry this little bumblebee until she’s ready to join us in our arms. 🌸🐝
It reminded me sweetly of the feeling of my daughter cozying up in my belly now.
How special and sweet it is to carry this little bumblebee until she’s ready to join us in our arms. 🌸🐝
Jesus, teaching in the Synangogue on the Sabbath, asks the Jews whether he should heal the man with the shriveled hand.
“Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil? To save life, or to destroy it?”
Silence.
Jesus looked around with anger.
Then, he healed the man.
“Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil? To save life, or to destroy it?”
Silence.
Jesus looked around with anger.
Then, he healed the man.
August 4, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Jesus, teaching in the Synangogue on the Sabbath, asks the Jews whether he should heal the man with the shriveled hand.
“Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil? To save life, or to destroy it?”
Silence.
Jesus looked around with anger.
Then, he healed the man.
“Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbath, or evil? To save life, or to destroy it?”
Silence.
Jesus looked around with anger.
Then, he healed the man.
I may not be 100% ready to birth this baby in 4-5 weeks but at least I’m one book ahead of schedule on my Goodreads 2025 Reading Challenge
July 18, 2025 at 2:12 PM
I may not be 100% ready to birth this baby in 4-5 weeks but at least I’m one book ahead of schedule on my Goodreads 2025 Reading Challenge
Reposted by The Wren with the Books
these vintage library promotional posters go so hard
![[vintage book posters, from the 1910s to the 1960s, with slogans like "develop the power that is within you" and "for greater knowledge, use your library often"]](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:hppum4l25hcczzffastsicpq/bafkreiavh5kz4naixgys6ia6z4pa3bq5clmccducidoiwda5prwosysqgi@jpeg)
June 29, 2025 at 8:05 PM
these vintage library promotional posters go so hard
June 28, 2025 at 11:17 PM
You may consider this your personal sign to re-read Pride and Prejudice 🪞⛲️🕰️🗝️📜
#JaneAusten #PrideandPrejudice #booksky
#JaneAusten #PrideandPrejudice #booksky
June 28, 2025 at 9:18 PM
You may consider this your personal sign to re-read Pride and Prejudice 🪞⛲️🕰️🗝️📜
#JaneAusten #PrideandPrejudice #booksky
#JaneAusten #PrideandPrejudice #booksky
This is so exciting - I’ve been looking forward to this game for a while now!
Tales of the Shire is now available for pre-order! I’m pretty happy to see it’s only $40, I had been bracing myself for a higher price point.
My affiliate link: amzn.to/44mybbd
My affiliate link: amzn.to/44mybbd
Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of The Rings™ Game - Nintendo Switch
Welcome Home, Hobbit! From the creative studio, Wētā Workshop, live the cosy life of a Hobbit in the wonderfully serene landscape of the Shire. Discover, decorate, and share in this idyllic corner of Middle-earth. Join friendly Hobbits and familiar names awaiting your arrival in Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings™ Game. Create your own Hobbit as you set forth in Bywater. Greet comfort at the door as you decorate your own Hobbit hole, tend to your garden, fish at clear ponds, forage wild fruits and herbs, and trade with townsfolks. Prepare homemade meals to share with fellow Hobbits and foster relationships. With much to see and lots more to eat, enjoy days of splendor in the picturesque forests, lakes, and pastures. Unwind in the place where what matters most are all the little things. Help bring the community together to achieve village status in Bywater. Experience delight in Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game
amzn.to
June 28, 2025 at 12:51 AM
This is so exciting - I’ve been looking forward to this game for a while now!
Is there anything better than this?
June 27, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Is there anything better than this?
I feel my little daughter all day at this stage of pregnancy. How special is it to hold her closer than I ever will, now, before I even get to meet her. How precious it is to cherish her before I see her face.
God is so sweet to us.
God is so sweet to us.
June 26, 2025 at 4:29 PM
I feel my little daughter all day at this stage of pregnancy. How special is it to hold her closer than I ever will, now, before I even get to meet her. How precious it is to cherish her before I see her face.
God is so sweet to us.
God is so sweet to us.
One of the best things I’ve read in a long time.
“Even those who approach Jesus with misguided intentions are still sought by him.”
“Even those who approach Jesus with misguided intentions are still sought by him.”
Kierkegaard’s fiery final writings expose the hollowness of cultural Christianity and call us to a faith that costs everything—and gives even more. @plough.bsky.social
www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...
www.plough.com/en/topics/fa...
Kierkegaard’s Attack on Cultural Christianity
Those who champion Christianity for its moral values, aesthetic appeal, psychological benefits, and civilizing influence are nothing but swindlers.
www.plough.com
May 26, 2025 at 2:09 PM
One of the best things I’ve read in a long time.
“Even those who approach Jesus with misguided intentions are still sought by him.”
“Even those who approach Jesus with misguided intentions are still sought by him.”
Reposted by The Wren with the Books
not to be sentimental but I think it’s beautiful that libraries exist and are free and that we can use them. I love that there are so many bookish folk who are always reading and learning. I’m so glad to live in a world where there are books.
May 22, 2025 at 9:54 PM
not to be sentimental but I think it’s beautiful that libraries exist and are free and that we can use them. I love that there are so many bookish folk who are always reading and learning. I’m so glad to live in a world where there are books.
Reposted by The Wren with the Books
Tolkien's different drawings of Rivendell.
May 16, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Tolkien's different drawings of Rivendell.
The Nicene Creed has always been cool it’s totally uncool to think the Nicene Creed is uncool
More and more churches are turning to the Nicene Creed to anchor modern worship.
CT spoke with Tish Harrison Warren, Glenn Packiam, Albert Mohler, Dale M. Coulter, Matthew Barrett, and others to find out why.
CT spoke with Tish Harrison Warren, Glenn Packiam, Albert Mohler, Dale M. Coulter, Matthew Barrett, and others to find out why.
How the Nicene Creed Became Cool Again - Christianity Today
More and more churches are turning to ancient words of faith to anchor modern worship.
www.christianitytoday.com
May 16, 2025 at 4:13 PM
The Nicene Creed has always been cool it’s totally uncool to think the Nicene Creed is uncool
These roses were not *quite* yet a Mother’s Day gift from my husband, but a representation of what is blooming for us as a growing family.
Next year I’ll get to enjoy Mother’s Day with a 7 month old!
Next year I’ll get to enjoy Mother’s Day with a 7 month old!
May 15, 2025 at 1:10 AM
These roses were not *quite* yet a Mother’s Day gift from my husband, but a representation of what is blooming for us as a growing family.
Next year I’ll get to enjoy Mother’s Day with a 7 month old!
Next year I’ll get to enjoy Mother’s Day with a 7 month old!
This post is good (Jokien et al., 2025).
BREAKING: a rival Pope has been declared and taken residence in Avignon, France. This Avignon Papacy is a direct rival to the Chicago Pope and sets up a conflict between AP and Chicago style Catholics.
May 11, 2025 at 5:46 AM
This post is good (Jokien et al., 2025).
“The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.”
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.”
May 5, 2025 at 4:21 PM
“The Road goes ever on and on,
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.”
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.”
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
May 2, 2025 at 2:48 PM
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Reposted by The Wren with the Books
I know life isn't always easy.
There are hard times and trials.
But it's also filled with great beauty.
Slow down to soak it all in.
Be grateful. Enjoy the gift of life.
There's wonder everywhere you look.
There are hard times and trials.
But it's also filled with great beauty.
Slow down to soak it all in.
Be grateful. Enjoy the gift of life.
There's wonder everywhere you look.
May 1, 2025 at 10:54 PM
I know life isn't always easy.
There are hard times and trials.
But it's also filled with great beauty.
Slow down to soak it all in.
Be grateful. Enjoy the gift of life.
There's wonder everywhere you look.
There are hard times and trials.
But it's also filled with great beauty.
Slow down to soak it all in.
Be grateful. Enjoy the gift of life.
There's wonder everywhere you look.
The cherry trees were bursting with raining petals as we tasted wine from the nearby vineyard.
Life is good and the fruits of it are worth cherishing.
Life is good and the fruits of it are worth cherishing.
April 27, 2025 at 12:42 AM
The cherry trees were bursting with raining petals as we tasted wine from the nearby vineyard.
Life is good and the fruits of it are worth cherishing.
Life is good and the fruits of it are worth cherishing.
He is risen and the tomb is empty! Hallelujah!
April 20, 2025 at 4:35 PM
He is risen and the tomb is empty! Hallelujah!
Holy Saturday.
I wonder how Jesus' friends mourned, how many toiled against the feeling that maybe He wasn't really the promised Messiah as they had believed Him to be.
What darkness they must have had over their hearts.
1/6
I wonder how Jesus' friends mourned, how many toiled against the feeling that maybe He wasn't really the promised Messiah as they had believed Him to be.
What darkness they must have had over their hearts.
1/6
April 20, 2025 at 4:59 AM
Holy Saturday.
I wonder how Jesus' friends mourned, how many toiled against the feeling that maybe He wasn't really the promised Messiah as they had believed Him to be.
What darkness they must have had over their hearts.
1/6
I wonder how Jesus' friends mourned, how many toiled against the feeling that maybe He wasn't really the promised Messiah as they had believed Him to be.
What darkness they must have had over their hearts.
1/6
Reposted by The Wren with the Books
The sentence from Tolkien that C.S. Lewis said summed up his entire philosophy of history.
April 17, 2025 at 3:17 PM
The sentence from Tolkien that C.S. Lewis said summed up his entire philosophy of history.