This is CONAN the LIBRARIAN. It made me laugh out loud! I found it when I was looking for the other little librarian picture. Sorry, had to share.

Hi Mim! Yes, you can play too! Today I talked with Mom on the phone and I told her about our "computer book group." She loved the whole idea and asked if I would print out our writings and read them to her when I visit. She commented that she hoped no one would change their style knowing she would be reading it. :) She was very sharp today and we talked almost an hour. Those moments are becoming few and far between, so I took advantage. Anyway, she says she would read every book we read, if she could.

Lulu, I remember seeing stories about Patty Hearst on the news. Hers is one of those many stories about which we may never discover the truth. With some people it seems more obvious when they are being dishonest, like OJ, or Pete Rose. But others? Like Floyd Landis? Still not sure on that one . . . And so much of what the media presents as "news" is doubtful. Anyway, I'll be curious to hear what you think really happened after you're finished. I love that when I picture you reading, I picture little Savvy too (probably nursing). I associate certain books with each of my babies that I read when nursing them. While nursing Kate I read a whole string of Jane Austen books--it just seemed appropriate since she was my first girl.

Abby, I can relate to your feelings about Great Expectations--ironic, given the title. I think when you read Dickens you have to just enjoy the journey and the intricacies of the plot. It stuns me to think that great authors of his time and before did not have computers, word processors or even typewriters. Imagine the paper shufflings and the annoying pens and refilling them with ink. I have wondered if they would have written more if they had our modern tools. Or what if Mozart had had a computer setup like mine for composing? Anyway, I wanted to say that a friend of mine wrote and produced a musical version of Great Expectations. She has an excellent youth theater group (Center Street Theater) that puts on one major production each year. It was fabulous--I've never enjoyed the story more. It benefited from a few catchy tunes and love songs.

Rae! I'm so glad you are taking a class from Don Norton! He's legendary at BYU. I took Personal History from him in about 1990 or so, and then stayed in touch with him off and on. Did you know that he wrote the style manual for the Church that I used when transcribing patriarchal blessings? He is often consulted by the Church, in fact I think he had a big part in the Encyclopedia of Mormonism. When I worked in Poli Sci, the professors often contacted him if they got stuck on a usage or style issue, and he always came through. His campus office looks like the aftermath of an atomic bomb. He is the original absent-minded professor. I loved his dry wit. He taught me much about honesty in journal writing. He introduced me to the concept of archival quality and got me into scrapbooking long before it was a big fad. It was in his class that I wrote the essays about each of my siblings. In fact, parts of the one I wrote about Matt were read at Matt's funeral by his former bishop, if you remember.

Sorry. This is a long post, but I don't get to blog often and have to comment to everyone at once. :0)