31 Days of Books: Surprised by Oxford

I missed yesterday's!  But I promise I'll make it up.

If you want to read some funny stories connected to me and today's book, you can read about them here and here.

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Title:  Surprised by Oxford

Author:  Carolyn Weber

Published:  2011

Year I read it:  2011

One sentence summary:  In the memoir of her first year of grad school studying English at Oxford, Weber recalls her journey into new realms of academia, relationships, and faith.

Interesting fact:  My cousin had the author as a professor and I found this out only after she had moved - missed connection. 

Three reasons to read it:

• You want to talk about intertextuality?  Weber, now a lit professor, weaves her story with marvelous connections to famous authors, beautiful passages, and a load of U2 lyrics.  It's a beautiful read for any fellow bibliophile.
• While reading this book, I walked into my mom's room and said, "Mom, I have a problem.  I'm falling in love with a guy in a book.  And he's not fictional.  And he's not dead."  All that to say, the romance in this book is a delight!  And the fact that it takes place in Oxford doesn't hurt...
• It is so refreshing to hear of an intellectual's journey of faith.  Weber gets vulnerable, sharing about her wrestling through skepticism, feminism, and a host of other things.  I loved reading about her wrestling and the revelation she got through it.

One reason you maybe shouldn't:

• I really can't think of any detractors for this one.  Highly recommend it!

Great quotes:

"Even Oxford's infrastructure was conducive to contemplation, revelation. Its walls seemed infused with mystery... It was tempting to think that resting my head against htis stony chest would betray a heartbeat, or by putting my ear to this shell, I could hear the distant but undeniable advancing and then retreating of whispered wisdom." 

"Life is messy. Life is beatuiful and terrible and messy. So why would we expect a faith in this life that is easy to understand?" 

"Any student of literature knows that metaphor is far more precise than the literal..." 

"Books become alive not only when read, but when shared..."
"A happy ending makes up for a lot."

"Dead authors really do make the best friends."

Ok... God officially has an incredible sense of humor!

My Aunt happens to be up visiting from San Jose and my mom and I got to have coffee with her this afternoon. When we met up, she told me, "Samara, my daughter had this wonderful English professor at Westmont last year who went to Oxford. She wrote a book that just had your name all over it... So we got you a copy."

Have you guessed it yet?

Of course, she pulled out of her bag... Surprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber.

Ahahahahaaaa!!! God is so funny and SO amazing!

For those not familiar, here is my past history with this amazing book.

And yes, I now own three copies of it =)

In fact, I've decided to name each copy after a different college. So, they are officially "Magdalen," "Christ Church," and "Worcester" haha

I am still blown away! In my heart, I was like, "Jesus, do I get to take this as another confirmation??"

And my cousin had her as a professor! I'm so jealous happy for her =D

I was flipping back through and reminded of some of my favorite parts (its only been 6 weeks, but I could read it all over again!).

All that to say, this book is amazing!

If you want to borrow a copy, leave a comment below =)

Just some treasures from Surprised by Oxford:

"Anything not done in submission ot God, anything not done to the glory of God, is doomed to failure, frailty, and futility. This is the unholy trinity we humans fear most." - Dr. Deveroux, undergrad professor of Carolyn's at her public university

"There is nothing as pitiful as a young cynic, because he has gone from knowing nothing to believing nothing."
- Maya Angelou

"Even Oxford's infrastructure was conducive to contemplation, revelation. Its walls seemed infused with mystery... It was tempting to think that resting my head against htis stony chest would betray a heartbeat, or by putting my ear to this shell, I could hear the distant but undeniable advancing and then retreating of whispered wisdom." [so true, may I add!]

"Life is messy. Life is beatuiful and terrible and messy. So why would we expect a faith in this life that is easy to understand?"

"Take away paradox from the thinker and you have a professor." - Soren Kierkegaard

"Any student of literature knows that metaphor is far more precise than the literal..." [YES!]

"Books become alive not only when read, but when shared..."

"A happy ending makes up for a lot."

- TDH (tall, dark, and handsome)

"You're going to need all the fire you can get if you're going to be a woman and a believer, in academia." - a former Oxford professor and mom, offering Carolyn whiskey, haha

"The only God worth believing in is a dancing God..."

- Friederich Nietzsche [for once, we completely agree]

After quoting Jane Austen, Carolyn muses, "dead authors really do make the best friends."

And finally, at the risk of making me actually like him:

"The world surely, has not another place like Oxford: it is a despair to see such a place and ever to leave it."

- Nathaniel Hawthorne



As many of you know, this is the book I'm currently reading. I highly recommend it!

It's just so funny because--other than the fact the author did not grow up in a Christian home--this girl is SO me!

She loves literature. Her memoir is riddled with incredible literary allusions, profound poetry, and U2 lyrics. Haha. She's cute and clumsy. She's a fellow logophile. And, while an incredible over-achiever, she still cares about fashion =)

And--most important--she lived my dream. She studied for her Masters at Oxford, with a focus on English Lit from 1780-1850. She was pursued by the most amazing man. She's taught at some incredible universities and she's a mom.

I feel like I'm reading about myself, or about how my life may be.

In fact, I'm beginning to think that this book was written just for me.

Right before going to Oxford, a friend from our sister church recommended this.

Then, in October, my uncle sent our family an email with the subject: "A book Samara would enjoy." haha... starting to get the picture.

I, of course, now own the book and am half way through.

But today was the real kicker.

Today my dad visited our dentist, who I saw just a few weeks ago.

He is an amazing dentist (seriously, I never dreaded going to the dentist growing up).

He's also a Christian and we've been seeing him for as long as I can remember.

Over one of those awkward conversations while some tool is stuck in your mouth, I was able to communicate that this summer I traveled to Oxford to study Jane Austen.

He informed me that he's visited Oxford and loved it and that he is also a huge fan of Jane Austen.

Well, that was three weeks ago. Today when my dad was there, Dr. Bemis told him, "Hey, I was reading Christianity today and there was a book highlighted there that just screamed 'Samara.' So I bought it for her. It's called Surprised by Oxford. When it comes in, I'll just call her so she can come pick it up..."

Oh wow! I mean, whose dentist buys them books?? Haha.

All of this had added up to a wonderful little *hint* from the Lord =) I love it!

Needless to say, I will now have a lending copy.

Ok... so I've been swept off my feet through plenty of men in novels--but the hero of a memoir? I feel like such a sinner. I mean, he's a real person. He's already wooed and wed the author.
But how is a girl supposed to resist such a gracious and gentlemanly courtship? Especially set in so magical as setting?

Have I mentioned how much I love this book? I've found it hard to even relay how I love it to my friends and family without reading long passages and whole chapters to them.