Lemonade and Lit, Week 5: Beauty Discussion

Other Lemonade and Lit posts:  Introduction, Week One: Booked, Week Two: Booked Discussion, Week Three: Beauty, Week Four: Sexuality in Booked, Week Five: Beauty Discussion, Week Six: The Last Thing I Remember,  Week Seven: Klavan Discussion.

Lemonade and Lit:

An Adult-Teen Read Along, Week 5

Hey guys!  Welcome to our discussion on Robin McKinley’s Beauty.  But before we sit down to talk it over, just wanted to thank you for making our recent Debate on Sexuality in Booked one of our top posts this month!  I thought your comments were brilliant, and we had plenty of support on both sides…which makes for robust reading.  If you haven’t already seen it, go check it out!

The Lemonade

I did promise some delicious lemonade, though, so I’d better make good on that promise.  Here’s one I really, really want to try, since I’ve been going through a sparkling water phase.

Sparkling Mint Lemonade

• 1 cup fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
• 8 fl. oz. simple syrup (see note above)
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 6 cups cold water
• Ice, as needed
• 2 cups sparkling water
• Lemon wheels for garnish

If these ingredients look appetizing, click on over to the Williams Sonoma site and you can find the directions for making your own.

The Discussion

 Podcast 32: Beauty Booktalk Hosted by Emily Whitten. 

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Today, we’re discussing Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley.  In case you’ve forgotten who we are, here are some short bios of my guests.  (You can of course find out more about me, Emily Whitten, on our About page.)

• Gina Dalfonzo is editor BreakPoint.org (including BreakPoint Youth Reads) and Dickensblog. Her work has appeared in “The Atlantic,” “National Review,” “The Weekly Standard,” “Christianity Today,” and “Guideposts,” among others.

• Joseph Murphy is a Redeemedreader intern and rising senior at Bryan College, where he studies history and political science.  As a home school student during high school, Joseph was introduced to many of the great classics of literature.  He continues to enjoy great books, both through classes and on his own.  Some of his favorites include Jane Eyre, Les Miserables, and 1984.

• Abby Burns is also a Redeemedreader intern and a rising college freshman in Richmond, Virginia.  She has had a love for literature her whole life, stretching all the way from Dr. Seuss to Dostoevsky. Unfortunately, like many readers, she had to learn at a young age that she could not survive on eating, sleeping, and reading alone. (She says she gave it her best shot, though!) Now she divides her time between her family, preparations for her first year of college, and work with her youth group.   You can read more of her work at www.wordsoundimage.tublr.com.

Don’t forget to check back next Saturday as we begin our third and final book, Andrew Klavan’s The Last Thing I Remember.  And let us know what you thought about these books so far!