The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
Book 1: The Magician’s Nephew
Finished May 9, 2026
I’d only read “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” a long, long time ago so this one was fun.
“Laugh and fear not, creatures. Now that you are no longer dumb and witless, you need not always be grave. For jokes as well as justice come in with speech.”
And speaking of laughing, another quote I particularly liked:
Now the trouble about trying to make yourself stupider than you really are is that you very often succeed.
Book 2: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Finished May 10, 2026
It’s been so long that all I really remembered about this was the one brother being a little prick and Turkish Delight. So it was fun to go back and really read it as an adult.
Book 3: The Horse and His Boy
Finished May 11, 2026
Book 4: Prince Caspian
Finished May 12, 2026
Upon being called back unexpectedly to Narnia:
“And now we know what it feels like for the Jinn,” said Edmund with a chuckle. “Golly! It’s a bit uncomfortable to know that we can be whistled for like that. It’s worse than what Father says about living at the mercy of the telephone.”
“at the mercy of the telephone.” If C.S. Lewis only knew…
“Such a horrible idea has come into my head, Su.”
“What’s that?”
“Wouldn’t it be dreadful if some day, in our own world, at home, men started going wild inside, like the animals here, and still looked like men, so that you’d never know which were which?”
Hmm. You don’t say. What an awful thought.
Book 5: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Finished May 19, 2026
“We thought the Duke would have been pleased if the King’s Majesty would have married his daughter, but nothing came of that—”
“Squints, and has freckles,” said Caspian.
“Oh, poor girl,” said Lucy.
I happen to know someone else who squints and has freckles 😒
lol
Suddenly, only about the length of a cricket pitch from their port side, an appalling head reared itself out of the sea.
This quote in context or in general isn’t that important but it made me laugh all the same because my dad had a habit of using “a football field” as a standard unit of measurement. So seeing “the length of a cricket pitch” here reminded me of that.
Book 6: The Silver Chair
Finished May 21, 2026
“Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things—trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play-world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.”
This stood out to me because it felt very A Course in Miracles but simpler…but kind of backwards yet not. It made sense at the time.
Book 7: The Last Battle
Finished May 22, 2026
“There is no black hole, save in your own fancy, fool,” cried Tirian. “Come out of it.”
Isn’t that the truth.
I think it’s definitely worth reading this series (or at least some of the books) as a kid and as an adult. The final volume did leave me feeling a bit deflated, even though I understood why it had to end like that.
Rating: ★★★★★
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