Abby: November, December, and Side-reads

Hi Family! It was wonderful to see so many of you this last week. I hope you all had a good Christmas. And Lynness, congratulations on your new bundle that's cookin'! Between you, Jennica, Samantha, and me, we're adding four more great grandchildren in about 6 months. Awesome.

I just wanted to share what I'm reading right now. Nothing specific to say about any of them yet, but I'm enjoying all I'm reading.

Brisingr by Christopher Paolini (finished this one a few weeks ago - it was fun. Again, not Harry Potter calibre, but fun all the same. There will be one more book in the series.)
John Adams by David McCullough (for my November read although it may be February before I've finished it!)
My Life in France by Julia Child
Helping the Thumb Sucking Child by Rosemarie Van Norman
Mommy Mantras: Affirmations and Insights to Keep You from Losing Your Mind by Bethany E. Casarjian, Ph.D., & Diane H. Dillon, Ph.D. (I blogged about this one. I'm really loving it. It's a very easy, enjoyable read so far. I like the tone and the humor and it's full of helpful ideas.)
I, Robot by Isaac Asimov (for my December read)

Raehink: December Reading

With the holidays coming upon us all quite quickly, I will make our December read an easy one. Your assignment is to choose any book that you own to read. It could be one you've had sitting in your "to be read" pile, one you've been putting off, or one you just haven't had a chance to get to because you were reading books given to you or from the library. I know you each have at least one or two titles like this. So enjoy the holidays and curl up with a good book. And don't forget to post about what you've been reading each month. We love to hear from you!

Happy reading!

Mim/Mom: Of Bodies, the Fall, and Frankenstein's Monster

In October I read two of the books I'd hoped to read: Frankenstein (Mary Shelley), and The Body Snatcher (Robert Louis Stevenson). They were sufficiently creepy and suspenseful! I especially enjoyed the literacy of both authors--their ability to express things clearly and beautifully. I was unprepared for all the symbolism in Frankenstein--all the implicit comparisons to the story of Adam and Eve and the Fall. (Where have I been?) It was fun to be aware of the 1816 prevailing thought regarding the Fall, and to see how the Monster was a modern Prometheus who created a great dilemma for his creator (as Adam and Eve supposedly ruined things for God). Actually I've had a chance to comment on the importance of the Fall, both in our Relief Society book group full of nonmember friends (regarding the book Frankenstein) and in Protestant Women of the Chapel groups.

Here's a Halloweeny passage from Frankenstein. Most of this is actually a quote from Samuel Taylor Coleridge: "I hurried on with irregular steps, not daring to look about me:

Like one who on a lonely road,
Doth walk in fear and dread,
And having once turned round, walks on,
And turns no more his head;
Because he knows a frightful fiend
Doth close behind him tread."

The Body Snatcher is only 16 pages long in my little Dover Thrift Edition, and it's a really fun short story when you don't have time for anything long. Based of the reality of medical students using cadavers for their studies, and the possibility of actually recognizing a cadaver in class . . . Did you know Mary Shelley never really spells out how Dr. Frankenstein got the parts for his monster(s)? But everyone assumes it was "bodysnatching." I like Stevenson (Treasure Island, Kidnapped, etc.). Both of these books had the effect of making me want to write more, and to read lots of well-written stories!

For November I'm going to watch a biographical DVD instead of reading a book. I've ordered Paradise Lost: The Life and Times of John Milton from Amazon. (More Adam-and-Eve stuff, actually.) With my being at an overseas military address, the DVD may not get here till December so my "report" will lag behind. I didn't find the book about Milton that I was looking for, so the DVD will be better than a book this month.

Besides, I need extra time for another book I'm supposed to be reading for our Relief Society book group. We chose a Military category for November (and Veterans' Day), so I'm going to read If You Survive (George Wilson). As I was telling Rae H, this is a book Maddie actually picked up off the Recommended Military Reading shelf, of all places. She knew nothing about it, but it looked interesting and then she just devoured it! And Blake stayed up most or all of one night reading it himself. (He has an endearing habit of snitching our books and reading them during the same time we're reading them.)

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Lynness: random replies and news

Well, Inkheart, etc. sounded interesting, so I read the first 2 last week.  I loved the idea of 'getting lost in a book' and how they change you and you them (kind of like Jasper Fforde, but very different), but I didn't like the actual story in the first one as much as I wanted to.  I did like the second one better.  I'll have to put a hold on the 3rd and see where it goes.  I also got The Thief Lord, by the same author, and have high hopes.  I checked out a book on Joan of Arc and an African-American woman's memoir of her life as a slave, neither of which I have cracked, b/c I'm frantically trying to finish my parents' anniversary gift for Wednesday.  Here's the real reason for the post- we talked to Jennica last night: she has read Twilight and went with a group of friends Saturday to...Forks, WA!  Evidently 'Dr. Cullen' has a reserved parking spot at the hospital, different houses are labeled as being various book characters', you can see the cliff where Bella dove, etc..  I guess the whole town is in the act!

Rae: These Isn't Really My Words

Lynness: It's not really a pioneer journal, but it IS based on the author's grandmother or great-grandmother who settled in southern Arizona. So, it's pretty close. But it is fictionalized. Still worth your time when you want to fit it in, though.

Lynness Re: Rae: Booky comments

So...the "These is my words" is not an actual pioneer journal? I was
lead to believe (by announcements in RS for the book club) that it was,
though not LDS pioneer.
Hmmm... I'll still probably read it, but I may get an actual pioneer
journal or other relatively obscure person's memoir for my un-famous one.

Rae: Booky comments

It's so wonderful to hear what y'all are reading!

Abby, I have tried to like Orson Scott Card, but have had a real difficult time finding stuff of his I really enjoy. I haven't read Ender's Game, but I know the junior high kids at the library couldn't get enough of that series. I did enjoy the Seventh Son series, but didn't finish it...I think I read the first four or five. I thought it was quite creative. I read Songmaster and a set of his short stories for a book club and hated it. So, I've pretty much given up on Card. Oh, and I also liked his Lost Boys, but it's kind of a downer.

Bill inhaled the Brisingr book. I also gave a copy to Curt for his birthday. Don't know if he has finished it yet. I haven't read any of them, but am glad that the story is absorbing enough to keep a teenage boy reading! He and I read Inkheart as well. I thought that book started out so well and had so much potential. Unfortunately, I didn't think the author kept it up to the end. I lost interest and never read the others in the series.

For what it's worth, I love Gerald Lund's early books. I like his church history series too, but got tired of the characters and drifted off into actual accounts of the early saints. I haven't read his New Testament series for the same reason. I prefer reading the Bible. But he does write well.

Liz and Lynness: Beccy and I absolutely LOVED These Is My Words, also. There is a sequel, which Beccy has read and I have not. But she liked it too...just not as much. Perhaps I can get her to post about the sequel. I thought Words was so well written. I almost forgot that what I was reading was fiction, since the author made it seem just like a real journal. I recommend that book to anyone looking for an uplifting novel. I'm so glad you took the time to read it! And Lynness, your precious time would be greatly rewarded with it...it will just make you feel good.

Happy reading! And thanks for posting...

Lynness- November read

I am planning on 2 reads- a famous person and an unfamiliar one. Just
to broaden myself and see who I find. I am considering reading
something on Joan of Arc, since a quote I heard recently regarding her
bent my mind that way. I don't know if our library has anything good on
her, though. We'll see. As for the unfamiliar one, I will try "These
is my words"- our RS book club read that this month and so I was
already somewhat interested (I don't go the the RS book club- I don't
have enough free evenings as it is...) and then w/ Liz recommending it,
I thought I should go for it. Our library doesn't have it, but I can
probably borrow from someone in the book club. If not, maybe I'll try
another pioneer journal.

Abby- I recommend you finish the Ender series: the other 3 books have a
COMPLETELY different feel. Almost like a different author. I enjoyed
Ender's Game in a way, but liked the rest better. I have not read any
of the Ender's shadow, etc. Anyone?
I had previously read Eragon and Eldest and thought they were okay,
though they felt like they slowed down or just got too bulky, but have
no real compulsion to read Brisingr, although if I have a hunk of time
any time soon (..right....), maybe I will.

Abby: PS

Oh yeah - Liz, I'm so glad you read Twilight!! Can't wait to hear what you think of the other three books in the series.

Abby: I've been reading...

We went such a long time with no posting there and then I think this makes the fourth post in 24 hours.

I realize I haven't been doing a very good job talking about what I've been reading, although as always, I have been reading.

I did read Eragon for my fantasy read and enjoyed it. Definitely not Harry Potter level material, but still highly enjoyable. I also continued on to read the second book in the series, Eldest, and am now on the list at the library for the last book in the series, Brisingr.

I didn't read Caves of Steel for my sci-fi read. I read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card instead. It was interesting...I guess I liked it, but I feel kind of like I'm still not really sure what the whole point was. Or maybe it's that I understood what the point was but was expecting there to be more to the story than was there? I'm not finding a good way to describe what I thought of it. It's kind of how I felt when I read his series about Alvin the Maker. Has anybody else read these and have more they would add?

I didn't read anything for our October read.

November, I'm thinking I might read a musician or composer biography because that's what first comes to mind when I try to think of people who've been dead more than 100 years. :) Or maybe I'll read the book Lucy Mack Smith wrote about Joseph Smith (which I've been trying to read for some time now). We shall see.

I also have my name on the library list for InkDeath by Cornelia Funke. Beccy, I got started with Inkheart because you mentioned Curt wanting you to read it (I think!). Have you read Inkspell or InkDeath? Anyone else?

Oh yeah, and I also reread Gerald Lund's three adventure novels, One In Thine Hand, The Alliance, and Leverage Point. The Alliance is my favorite of the three followed by Leverage Point, but they're all very fun.

That's what I've been up to in the reading world....sorry my notes are not more descriptive or intellectual. Another time I suppose.

Liz: Oct, Nov, and a book I LOVED

I finished the Twilight series this month. It had been a LONG time since I read a book that I carried all over the house with me for weeks, stayed up late several nights with, and thought about while I wasn't reading. I had to tear myself away when it was time to get in the van and go pick up kids from school. I think once I even had it with me, open in the passenger seat, and hoping for a red light so I could read as I sat in the van!! (Not the safest idea . . .) 

I enjoyed reading a series like that at this point in my life. I enjoyed getting inside the characters' heads and being in a fantasy world. I think I ALWAYS love fantasy. As for the scary part, it was only somewhat scary . . . but that's good because Pat was out of town most of the nights I stayed up reading, and if it was too scary, that would not have been good. 

For a biography I don't yet know what I will read . . . maybe Florence Nightingale? Has she been dead over 100 years? I've always admired her and her service. 

I LOVED THE BOOK THESE IS MY WORDS BY NANCY TURNER.  I can't say enough good about how it affected me. At first it seemed slow (probably because I was reading the Twilight books in between) but I got into it soon enough. It made me want to write in my journal more, and it made me admire the main character; I have been so inspired since reading it! In fact, I feel like I want to write about every single day of my life, no matter how boring it may seem to me, because there is always great significance to the little things with my children . . . and more significance with hindsight. I feel like there will never be enough time to write all I want to write but I don't mind. I feel excited about all I want to write, and I feel like, if I can record my life, I can handle anything. Writing is such a part of me--and writing about my life is so important to me. Especially after reading a "journal" of another person. It was awesome. So to all of you, if you haven't already read this book, just know I love it and LOVE what it did for me--and maybe you will do. 

Lynness: Scary read...

I jumped online to do some scripture cross-referencing for my lesson tomorrow and saw that there was a post on the book blog: it's been very slow there lately- part of that is me, so I thought I'd take a minute to post. I did read The Positronic Man and thought it was somewhere between okay and good. I realized at the end that the Robin Williams movie "Bicentennial Man"- (or something close) must be based on that. Did anyone ever see that? Is it worth watching? I also read Ringworld and wasn't impressed. For October, I decided to get 50 True Tales of Terror on the basis that I'd rather read something awful that's true rather than made up. I don't need any more scary images crowding my head, especially ones made up just to scare, but I figure that history, at least, can be learned from (hopefully) or help ensure that some people didn't die in vain. I didn't read all 50 stories, but I read a good portion. The stories were varied, including conditions in Jewish ghettos in Poland in WWII, earthquakes in South America (in which a graveyard was torn open and bodies were ejected and rained onto the streets of the city below), stories from the American West in the 1800's, stories of bloody ascensions in Southeast Asia, and a description of the murder of Rasputin, etc... I also checked out a book of ghost stories from the greater Richmond area. (There are 5 volumes of VA ghost stories and several volumes on particular areas, like Richmond, or types of ghosts, like Civil War.) I was hoping for at least a good story, but these were very prosaic. Maybe around a dying campfire on a chilly night around 11pm...

Rae: November Read: Biography/Memoir

I hope those of you that wanted to do so found something somewhat scary to read for the month of October. I read The Lovely Bones...which wasn't really scary at all but was quite interesting. I liked it and disliked it all at the same time. I found the narrator's conception of heaven really refreshing but I really did not care for the way the whole story ended. It was a bit too farfetched and was probably distasteful to many readers. I found in my research of reviews that people either really liked the book...or, predictably, they hated it! I was more down the middle.

As for November's read...we had this same category over a year ago and it was successful so I'm bringing it back. Choose a non-fiction biography or memoir. The only caveat this time is that the person you are reading about must have been DEAD FOR OVER 100 YEARS. That narrows it down a bit without making your search for a title too much of an effort, I hope.

Enjoy the last days of fall...except those of you who live in areas where they have only spring and summer (read: Abby!). I'm already listening to Christmas music. It has snowed once but didn't stick at all. But it WAS snow so I pulled out the music. It always makes me feel happy!

Happy reading to you all!

Lynness, sci-fi and scary

I haven't posted for a while for 2 reasons. 1) seminary started and 2)
I haven't found a satisfying sci-fi book. Not that I haven't been
reading. I read several stories some sci-fi, some not, from Orson Scott
Card's "Maps in a Mirror." I think the short story, like the one-panel
cartoon, takes real talent to pull off well. And he does. Most of what I
read was very memorable. Some disturbing, some brilliant, some both, but
very memorable. But, I wasn't satisfied. So checked the shelves for a
couple of the big names in sci-fi in the library. I ended up taking
Arthur C. Clarke's "The Songs of Distant Earth," which I found very
mediocre, though I did like his very believable but brief attention to
the social reaction of earth's peoples after they find out that the sun
will be going super-nova by a certain date (some have the "eat, drink,
and be merry, for tomorrow we die" attitude, some use all their talent
and wealth to try to find solutions for taking people off earth and
transporting them to other planets, some use it as proof that there is a
God - we've been wicked and he's done with the warnings- and others use
it as proof that there is none, etc.).
I am interested in the idea of alternate histories (which comes into
sci-fi when the idea of billions of other alternate universes where just
one little decision is different and is reachable by means of science)
and read a few alternate history short stories, but still was not
satisfied. So I kept looking. I've requested a few that I've heard of,
to see what they're like "The Positronic Man" (from Abby), "Ringworld,"
but haven't received them yet. I like sci-fi, generally. Not the
multitude of Star Trek sequels and spin-offs type, but I am not opposed
to suspending reality and imagining the future or anything (I do have a
friend who dislikes books or movies based on anything that is not REALLY
possible, so she doesn't like any sci-fi or fantasy, including HP,
etc... I however, have no such aversion). But I want something that is
satisfying. I don't know exactly what I mean by that, since I haven't
taken the time to figure it out, but I did find "The Host" satisfying
(but couldn't count it for this month, since I had already read it...)
If I find another that is satisfying (or if you find one for me!) Then
I'll post it.
As for October, I don't like to be scared, either...I'll see what I can
find. Maybe a Michael Crichton sort of thriller. That might be right for
me.

What Maddie's Reading

Maddie doesn't seem too excited about this blog so I'm posting instead of her, but I want to tell you all what she's going to read this year for AP Lit. The students are supposed to "live with an author." They read four of the author's major works during the school year and write papers about them. She came home with a list of authors so long that it made me wish this was my assignment and that somebody would make sure I could get around to it. Maddie asked me for advice, so I told her which authors I thought would appeal most to her. She decided on Alexandre Dumas, with the four major works The Count of Montecristo, The Black Tulip, The Man in the Iron Mask, and The Three Musketeers.

Enough to Creep Me Out

For October I'll read The Bodysnatcher by Robert Louis Stevenson--it's only 16 pages so I know I can do it! I'm studying to take the GRE again but if I can find enough time I also want to read The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary, by Simon Winchester. That's one that Mother and Rae gave me some time ago.

I'm still reading Frankenstein although it's gotten so totally unbelievable (REALLY sci-fi) that it's bogging down a bit in the middle. I mean, how could the monster stay hidden in a lean-to at the back of the house for a year and learn all the beauties of the English language by watching the family in the house through a chink in the wood while listening to them converse every evening? Come on! But I still find the language fun.

I like to scare myself if it's stuff that won't be too gross and realistic. I like true crime sometimes, especially from the viewpoint of the forensic detective. As for Halloween, I can tolerate it now but only because I have grandchildren.

Rae: October Ghouls and Ghosties

I really don't like All Hallow's Eve or being scared, but tis the season so...our pick for the month of October will be any title that scares you silly. It can be fiction OR non-fiction (your choice) and it should have the potential to make you want to read during the day with lots of people around. We each have our own "fright" factor...it doesn't take much to make me shiver...so choose your title accordingly. Explain to us why the book frightened or fizzled...whichever the case may be!

Happy reading!

From Somewhere Between Japan and Hogwarts

Hello Everybody! I've been following the blog with great interest but I haven't posted for many months. I've even been reading, most months. In February when we were all reading a romance or relationship book, I read The Shadow Wife by Dorothy Eden. The romance or relationship was warped! But at least the setting was Denmark, so I enjoyed that. And there was enough suspense to keep me hooked.

In the spring when we were all reading Newbery winners and kid-friendly read-alouds, I chose Esperanza Rising (by Pam Munoz Ryan) because Maddie had been begging me to read it. Just as Beccy reads things for Curt. Esperanza Rising was a beautiful book that I'll always remember, and better yet, it created a stronger bond between Maddie and me. I'm convinced that a lot of the books we love are loved for those family-connection reasons, and that's a fun thing about this family book club.

I also read Holes, by Louis Sachar, knowing that Rae H and Beccy and Maddie all loved it. (It was one of my Newbery reads.) Then I cuddled with Maddie on the couch and watched the movie version. More memories!

I read The Whipping Boy (Sid Fleischman)--I think that was my choice in the month that we chose kid-friendly read-alouds. I'm convinced I would've enjoyed it ten times more if I had been reading it aloud to a kid, especially one of my grandchildren. I might even have considered it a classic if I'd done that. Like I said, who we read with/for can really influence what we think of a book. This one's silly and elementary school level, but not super. I notice there's quite a big difference between one Newbery and another, don't you all?

I need to escape to the other side of Platform Nine-and-Three-Quarters fairly often, so I've continued with the Harry Potter books that I'd started some years ago. I'm in #5 now and they're all so delightful. My Fantasy read for August was #4. It's hard for me to enjoy fantasy but Harry Potter suits me to a T.

My Relief Society book group decided to read the Twilight books for October (a Halloween theme, I guess) and I know a few of you have read them. But I can't take an interest in any of that, so I'll just tell them about my September Sci-Fi read for the Hawkes book club, which is Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I'm halfway through it and enjoy it as much as Harry Potter, even as different as those two are. I love the way the Victorian authors, when they weren't just being verbose, could say so much in so few words because they had enough vocabulary. It's kind of a lost art.

All of these books are fiction but I love my nonfiction options and could never live without them. So when we all read books associated with our own locations, for July, I read Hiroshima (John Hersey) along with Blake and Maddie, while the Hinkles were here. I would've loved it at any point in my life, but it's far more meaningful since I've come to Japan. I also read one Rae and I found here (she read it too and mentioned it in this blog) called Nine Who Survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Robert Trumbull). It hadn't occurred to us that some few people lived through the A-bombing of Hiroshima and then happened to be in Nagasaki three days later when that city was bombed. Talk about bad luck! The situation keeps reminding me of one of Mother's favorite jokes--the one that inspired the name of one of our cats--where "Clyde" wonders aloud to God why everything goes wrong for him. (Like Stanley Yelnats in Holes?) And the voice from heaven says, "I don't know, Clyde, something about you just ticks me off." Anyway, it was fascinating to read of people's varied responses, weak and strong, to the crisis of the A-bombing. And to know there will be more events like that in our own lifetimes.

I'm nibbling at several other books over a period of time, and they're the perfect thing when I pick them up, the way you want to eat something sometimes and you know that the very thing you need is an orange, or a bag of popcorn, or a cucumber. (I think I associate the fiction more with chocolate.) I'm still reading No More Words, by Reeve Lindbergh. I have to take it in small pieces, since it's about Reeve's gradual loss of her mother Anne (read by Rae and Beccy and needing to be shared with me). Also This Is Your Brain on Music (Daniel J. Levitin) and Language in Thought and Action (S. I Hayakawa) are great favorites right now.

Well I'm sure this is all anyone wants to see in one post, so I'll make an effort to write in "littles" that come more often. I love the sharing we do here. I must go now and start some bread for tonight's special guests. This has been the priority, though--like a lot of you I'd usually rather read than cook! Mim/Mom

Hi everybody, this is maddie! The one and only. And this post itself is a test. To be honest, I didn't feel like making a comment at all but mom wanted me to just to see if it would work since the computer was giving her trouble. And she thinks I should mention the books I've recently read. Well I read "Born on a Blue Day" by Daniel Tammet. I liked it because it was really new and interesting. He's an autistic savant, and he happens to be gay too. Interesting. Anyways, this is a long enough comment for a test. Bye!

Liz: I'm so excited!

Hi! I'm so excited because I actually read a fantasy book in a timely manner for our book blog club! (I don't really have much time now to report on it though!!) I read A Wrinkle in Time, for the first time, if you can believe that. Overall it left me with a good feeling, and I would like to read it again a couple of times because there's a lot in it to ponder. My favorite character is Charles Wallace. He reminds me of my Joshua, actually. I enjoyed the read, carrying the book around with me as I did laundry (or as I pretended to do laundry) and other things.

I highly recommend reading the author's Newbery Medal Acceptance Speech. It's really short but it says some profound things.

Love you all,
Liz

Lulu: HP

I'm re-reading the Harry Potter series. I've been reading the first one to the boys, and although I'm not sure just how much of it they're really absorbing/understanding, they're very quiet and thoughtful and enjoying it when I read. And most of Reed's questions suggest that he is getting the gist of it.

We're over halfway through. But a couple of nights ago, after I finished reading to them, I wanted to keep reading by myself. So I did, and finished it the next morning. :) And then I decided I wanted to read the whole series all over again, and I'm almost halfway through the 2nd one today. It has helped in my recent early-morning wake-up endeavor to have a good book to look forward to. This morning at 6:10, the words actually ran through my head, "It's okay, it's okay, you can read The Chamber of Secrets after you've run and the kids are fed and dressed!" Hee hee....oh, the power of a good book. So count that as my fantasy read, I suppose, and I guess Ender's Game will be my sci-fi read. Honestly though, I might not even touch it again until I'm done with HP.

Lulu: Leary of looney librarians literary tastes

Disclaimer: If any of you wonderful family members love any of these books I mention in less-than-glowing ways, know I don't intend to offend. Reading tastes are reading tastes, eh?

I have concluded that the two librarians (who recommended Dandelion Wine, Janet Evanovich's first three Stephanie Plum books, and The Name of the Wind) here (at the Santa Clara library) do not have reading tastes close to mine.

I started reading Dandelion Wine and just couldn't stay put. My mind wandered and I was a little bored and it felt like a chore to keep reading. However, I'm thinking of reading Fahrenheit 451, since I seem to remember Abby reading that and loving it. (Didn't you, Abby?)

I read the first Stephanie Plum book and wasn't sure how much I liked it. But I think I can conclusively say it was a colossal waste of time. I didn't hate it, but there are probably at least 100 other books I would have enjoyed reading better than that one.

Today I picked up The Name of the Wind from the hold shelf at the library, and after reading the inside cover and trying not to yak all over it, I'm 100% certain that 1)I will not read it and 2)The librarian who recommended it most definitely does not share my reading tastes. I didn't "almost yak" because it was gross.

It was just....oh, maybe I'm just a book snob. But it seemed so.....contrived? I'm having a hard time coming up with words of description. I guess all fiction is "contrived" to some point--but this writing was not my taste, not convincing, and reminded me faintly of a Harlequin romance novel I accidentally picked up from a used book shelf years ago. (I'm certain I offended a number of store patrons when I got to the bottom of the first page and emitted a very loud disgusted groan as I put it back on the shelf. In my defense, I was fifteen.) It's not that the writing in The Name of the Wind was suggestive or even romantic--just Harlequin-y, somehow. (If you like Harlequin romance novels, well.....I'm sorry....sorry that you like them.)

So anyway, I've picked up a few Barbara Michaels books--I think I've already read all the Elizabeth Peters ones, sadly, except for a few of the Amelia Peabody ones--and a couple of Fannie Flagg's. I will be reading Ender's Game and most probably The Host. Hopefully they both fall into either/both science fiction and fantasy. Oh, and Fahrenheit 451.

Rae: The Golden Compass

I finished my fantasy read The Golden Compass late last night. I love Fridays and the fact that I can stay up a little later and read...when I can manage to stay awake, that is. I really enjoyed this book. It's kind of a mix between fantasy and sci-fi as it seems to be set in a world very similar to ours. The story revolves around a girl named Lyra, and it is her destiny to save the world basically...although I will have to read the other two books in the trilogy to really see how she does it. Toward the end of the book, I did notice the anti-Church and specifically anti-Catholic themes coming forth, but it really didn't bother me. I have been told that it gets much worse as I read along. I will continue to read over the next couple of months and will report back what I find. Now, I guess I will rent the movie and see how the adaptation plays.

For my science fiction pick in September, I will be reading Saucer by Stephen Coontz (?) for my other book group. I already read an Arthur C. Clarke novel called The Deep Range this month and was sorely disappointed by it. It was very believeable sci-fi but was just a bad novel. Too many plotlines with no resolution or complete abandonment of said plotlines. I found it frustrating but finished it anyway...hoping it would get better. It didn't.

I hope you are each enjoying your reads as well as the transition to fall.

Happy reading!

Lulu: Books past, present, and future

I've wanted to know more about Emma, myself. Liz, I have a bookmark with a painting by (I think) Liz Lemon Swindle, and it's Joseph holding the twins. That story and that painting always bring out some of my strongest emotions. Maybe I'll read one of Aunt Rae's suggestions.

I'm excited about the genres for these reads because fantasy and science-fiction are definitely not the first ones I pull off the shelves! They're....the last. I went to the library today and asked one of the librarians what he would suggest to someone trying out science fiction or fantasy. He had a few suggestions, and mentioned that that's almost all he reads, and then another librarian gave me her suggestions, and they were both quietly excited and helping me peruse the shelves for their suggestions. We put in a request for Ender's Game, a book Kate recommended (and obviously, one she and Michael love!), and also a request for The Host, which I will probably not get for another month. And....what else.....oh, something they recommended. Can't remember. Ultimately, the only two books I actually came home with were Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury (Rae, didn't Bradbury write some short stories? I seem to remember loving something by him....it might have been someone else, though.) and the first three Stephanie Plum novels by Janet Evanovich (which the librarian suggested when I told her I loved suspense and mysteries).

When my dad visited, aside from bringing his cheery spirit and smiling face, he brought several "goodies". Among those was the book The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less (Terry Ryan). My mom and Abby both had glowing reviews, and Liz, didn't you enjoy it, too? Well, anyway, I have been reading it aloud to Phill at night after the kids are in bed. We're halfway through (after only two nights reading) and we both love it! I highly recommend it. It's a fast read, too. Oh, and Rae, we so enjoyed that DVD slideshow of your Japan visit. What beautiful photos of an incredibly beautiful place! Is there a particular book you would recommend me to read about Japanese culture or history?

I also just finished a book that I loved, called Welcome to the World, Baby Girl!. I loved this book, and I was sad when it was done!! It's by Fannie Flagg, the author of Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe, which I plan to read next. After my six other books waiting in line, of course. :)

Rae: More about Emma

Liz...A lot of people think that Emma fell away from the church because she chose not to go with Brigham Young and the rest of the saints when they traveled west to Utah. She stayed behind to take care of Lucy Mack Smith and she quite honestly didn't get along with Brigham...or he with her. So that animosity created a lot of assumptions. She DID have a difficult life and you should read all about her and make up your own mind about her. After I did that, I realized that I would never judge her one way or tuther...that it was definitely in the hands of the Lord. I know she loved Joseph and her children. Those histories I have read describe her as such a good lady. I choose to remember her that way.

She remarried after a time and didn't really have a happy time back in Nauvoo. There were issues about whether their son was really meant to be the next prophet or not. He became the leader of the RLDS church, now the Community of Christ.

If you cannot find the one book I recommended, I can send you my copy if you will PROMISE me that I will get it back someday! I'm sort of attached to it because it is out of print...hey, maybe I can copy it? Let me know. I definitely think it is worth your while to read about her. She was an amazing woman with great strength. I know I couldn't have made it through her trials. You can do a search for the BYU Studies articles online. I think most of them are free to download.

I'll be happy to share anything else about her if you can't find much. Check your ward and stake libraries as well. And ask older people in your ward if they have that book. I actually found it at a used book sale up here...

Happy searching and reading!

Liz: Why Emma-&another question

Thanks, Rae, for the book titles and suggestions.

I recently read a chapter (19, I think) in our RS/Priesthood Manual about trials and tribulation. I have learned of the story before but when I read about the mob that came in the night and tarred and feathered Joseph while his infant twins were inside sick with pneumonia, I cried. I found myself wondering about Emma. I know that one of the babies died five days later, and I wonder what else Emma would call a trial in her life. Surely there were many!! So I am just seeking more information about what she went through, as well as hopefully a good account of what felt and did. I have an impression, maybe incorrect, that she fell away from the gospel. Is that true?

Thanks, again,
Liz

Rae: Answering Liz

I have read quite a bit about Emma...good and bad. There aren't too many books written just about her that do her justice but there's a lot of information in BYU Studies articles and within other biographical books. What specifically are you looking for?

A fair book about her is called Reflections of Emma: Joseph Smith's Wife by Buddy Youngreen. It was published in 1982 and might not even be in print anymore. There's also quite a bit about her in Rough Stone Rolling which is Bro Bushman's fairly new book on Joseph.

Does this help?

Lynness: Fantasy read

    I read Brandon Sanderson's Elantris, recommended by my sister.  I didn't realize he was LDS until I got the book and noted that he taught at BYU and found a familiar idea in the pages- better for one man to suffer than an entire nation be destroyed because of unbelief.  I liked it overall: I liked that the story progressed from 3 different viewpoints, it was well written, the characters were strong, the story moved along even though it was a large book.  I was engrossed enough to read it the day I got it.  However, there's a lot of political intrigue, which made for a good story, but I dislike not know who's REALLY good or bad.  Maybe it's simplistic, maybe it's just that there's enough duplicity in the world already, but I don't like being tricked or played- even by characters in a book.  I've never really been one for mysteries b/c I can never figure out "whodunnit."  Perhaps this is because I am usually unable to see past whatever face people put on- even with real people.  I don't have much of a gift of discernment.
    Also, the other main thing I was discontented with was that the mechanics of the magic that the main character was trying to figure out- and did- are never really explained to the reader.  I was reading something about writing science fiction recently (actually by Orson Scott Card, relating to the Book of Mormon- how incredibly hard it would've been to write if Joseph Smith were just making it up) about how readers don't usually want to know the details about the mechanics of the warp drive, or whatever, and that it often detracts from the feeling of reality that you want the reader to get (e.g., if one of us were to write a story in which the character drives to the post office, we don't describe the procedure of driving- we just take it for granted that everyone will understand).  I see the point there, but when the aim of the protagonist is to figure out how it works, I want to find out as he does, not just see the beginnings of the answer starting to come together, and then WHOOSH- everything is solved.
    Still trying to figure out my sci-fi read- I'd better do it soon!  September is almost here, and Ruth's naps are getting shorter, which means it'll be all seminary prep when the baby's down once school starts.

Liz: A question

Hi ladies,

Has anyone read anything on Emma Smith?

Thanks,
Liz

Lynness: Sci-fi and fantasy reads

Well, I think my fantasy read will be "Elantris" by Brandon Sanderson,
recommended to me by my sister, Kate (who, incidentally, found this blog
through my blog and has read it and has been commenting to me via email-
she went to the Governor's School, too). We have fairly similar tastes,
so I think I will enjoy it. I'm not so sure what I will read for
sci-fi- I loved The Host, I enjoy most of Connie Willis, I've read
Eragon and Eldest, I have read Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game, etc.,
some Terry Pratchett, anyway... If you're loking for some sci-fi to
share with kids, I remember thoroughly enjoying Janet and Isaac Asimov's
books about a robot named Norby when I was in elementary school.

Lynness: Affluenza, etc.

When we visited Utah in March, I grabbed a few books from Rae's discard pile, one of them being "Affluenza," a follow-up to the PBS documentary of the same name.  I just started it and have gotten through the "symptoms" section.  If you want a book that is well written, moves quickly, and makes you think about really important things, then read this.  I highly recommend it- so far- I hope the rest is as eye-opening as the first part.  Here is my response, written just before bed last night, to the first section:

We are the hollow ones
whose center cannot hold-
so much nothing
made from Something Grand.
And there is something ex nihil
after all:
Piles of debt and dross
And cups running over with emptiness
in the land of plenty.
A land flowing with guilt and money.

It reminds me of a verse in Haggai: (Chapter 1)

  5 Now therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts; ^aConsider your ways.

  6 Ye have ^asown much, and bring in little; ye ^beat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that ^cearneth wages earneth ^dwages to put it into a bag with ^eholes.

Just a completely random question:  had anybody ever read Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South?  (Not the Civil War one- N&S of England in the industrial revolution.  Class conflict, worker's unions, and of course, Jane Austen-ish love).  I absolutely love the movie, but our library system doesn't have the book, though it has Cranford, but I found I couldn't seem to get into that.  I thought about buying it online, but wanted to know if it was good, since Cranford wasn't up my alley.

Also, if you want to read something really prescient about the internet (and really feel like Big Brother is right around the corner in the process), read "The Big Switch."  Did you know Google's stated aim is to create artificial intelligence from all the data it gathers about us?

Lulu: Prejudice

I "went away" for a little while and came back to some very thought-provoking posts, all of which spurred some interesting conversation between Phill and I.

We actually talk about these things often. We've talked about the possibility of adopting in the future--because of various promptings--and race is one aspect we discuss in that vein. We don't have a preference as to the color or gender of the baby/child we will adopt one day. We honestly don't. We will take the one who needs us! But we're not unaware of obstacles a child might face if adopted into a family of a different race. Although we have no problem with a baby or child of another race, we know that there are some who would question it. And so we discuss that aspect, too, examining our own beliefs and probing for hints of prejudice. I know I'm not without prejudice, but I don't usually feel like it's something that is a problem for me. Perhaps I'm complacent? We find ourselves generalizing. And we find ourselves struggling not to do that when we watch the news. We're far from perfect, too.

In Hinesville, we were amongst what I always thought was a pretty evenly balanced black-to-white ratio of people. I do remember that when we moved there, it wasn't hard adjusting to the various ethnicities present--I had come from a school in Belgium which hosted students from 35 different countries--what was hard for me was that I did feel like the minority, and I did feel afraid of saying something wrong without meaning to. I didn't even know if my black friend would want me to refer to her as black or African-American or something else. But I became best friends with her, and I feel like I learned a lot from her. She is the (girl) friend I remember most fondly from Georgia. (I met Phill in Georgia, so he takes the cake for all-time favorite.) I asked her what was okay once, and what wasn't, and her answer was so smart--she said that she couldn't possibly speak for all black people, just as I couldn't possibly speak for all white people. I remember feeling so completely stupid for viewing her as a spokesperson! And I still feel ashamed when I remember that! She actually asked me once, "Rachel, are you afraid of black people?" and I remember feeling that I honestly wasn't, but then saying that I would be more afraid approaching a black man on the street on a dark night in Hinesville than I would be of approaching a white man on the street on a dark night in Hinesville. I hated myself for saying that. I still hate that I ever felt that way. My friend was incredibly smart and incredibly helpful. She did mention that I ought to be healthily afraid of any man on a dark street anywhere at night, just to be safe. :) She actually helped me work through some of those feelings of fear that I think are the way my prejudices manifest themselves.

They're not all gone, though, and I do notice that living in Utah has had its effect on me. I actually miss seeing more black people. But I've noticed how Reed stares with wide, curious eyes when he sees anyone here who's not Hispanic or white. It doesn't ashame me that he does that, because he's only curious and he's seeing something new. He does refer to the little boy next door as The Brown Boy. He's Hispanic. It bothers me so much that Reed calls him that, but I think that is because of my own prejudices--not Reed's. He's only noticing the color of Javier's skin. He has no problem with it. It is simply descriptive in Reed's use. Why, then, does it bother me when Reed calls him that? Is it because I remember Javier that way? That I remember him as the Hispanic little boy next door? I don't like confronting these uglier aspects of myself--but I think that it's the only way to do as Rae and Abby said and learn to stop defining people as any -ites and see ourselves the way the Lord does.

Although Phill was robbed in Hinesville of his credit cards and a dollar from his wallet by three black men with guns and knives, my best friend in Georgia was a black girl, and Phill went to work every day in Fort Stewart with black men who were his friends and promised as soldiers to defend his life along with their own in times of war. We have also both met Ro, and we love him so much. He really is just a beautiful man, a giant spirit. I feel blessed to have him in the family.

I guess to summarize, I think the biggest pitfall Phill and I have is to generalize. The most trouble we get in is when we compare the masses against how we think all should be. Who are we to decide that? I know I have a long way to go before I am without prejudice.

It never occurred to me to pray about my issues, as I usually don't bring them to the forefront for examination. I'm grateful, though, for the awareness and for the chance to confront these things and work on being more like Christ would have me be.

Lynness: loving my neighbor as myself

Thinking back on BYU, I always wished there were MORE
black/Asian/Indian students, because I was used to that. It bugs me
that I feel the way I do as well, which is probably why I had such a
response to unload on everyone. But, as I said, hopefully I'm not
passing it on (as much) to my kids. I have been 'hyper-alert' to my
interactions with black people lately: I know I don't choose a white
checker's line at the store over a black checker's line or anything like
that (I choose the one that looks like it will go the fastest, which
somehow usually ends up being the longest one half the time), and when
we went for a walk the other evening in our neighborhood, it was all
black people we waved at and spoke to.
Rae, I think you kit the nail on the head when you said "I want so
much to love them. But I often don't." and how we just wish 'they'
would be more like 'us'. We all think that everything would be so much
easier if everyone were more like ourselves (not just races, but
genders, backgrounds, etc...). Perhaps this is WHY there are different
races: because we need to go through this process of becoming people
with no more '-ites' to love as the Savior does and to become like Him.

Rae: Wow, Lynness, What a Post!

I was most intrigued with what you wrote in your two recent posts. It made me analyze, yet again, my own feelings toward those of other races. It's an ongoing thing...I do it every so often to see if I have improved at all. I say improved because, yes, I am prejudiced in many ways and have a sincere desire to see all people the way the Savior does. But I don't. Yet.

My experience with blacks in school was in the Northwest, where they blended in nicely with everyone else. I don't remember too much in the way of racial difficulties in my junior or high schools. I had black friends. I was also chased and beaten up by a black girl. But I don't think it had anything to do with her race. Or mine. She just happened to be that color. I don't recall any black teachers, either. Your experience on the east coast was far different than mine.

Then I moved to Lancaster and basically lived in a mini ghetto. The blacks there seemed to have a real attitude of entitlement with everyone else owing them something. Whereas before I had no feelings one way or the other toward them, after a decade in CA, my attitude had really changed. I don't know the reasons (or the answers) why more blacks in my city seemed to be involved in crime, drugs, dysfunctional families, and gangs. I just know that I got really tired of it and it made me much more aware of my own "whiteness."

Then I acquired a black son-in-law. How I love him! I am able to talk to him openly about some of these very issues. I found that he doesn't particularly like the aspects of his black culture that bother me the most. He has been good for our family. We've talked about the difficulties our grandchildren could have being half-black and half-white. I appreciate the fact that he is open to conversation about race. Incidentally, do you suppose so many people like Obama because, although he is black, he doesn't fit the average stereotype? And I heard a poll saying that quite a large segment of the population still will not vote for a black man for President. Amazing.

My feelings toward Hispanics have moved in the same direction. I want so much to love them. But I often don't. I get tired of their seeming unwillingness to assimilate and learn English. Much of our increase in crime in Utah involves their presence. Why do fifteen Hispanic people have to live in the same house on my street? I know I don't love them like the Savior does. But I want to.

I think one of the great benefits of the Book of Mormon is to show us how to love one another as He does. To feel as if there are no "ites" among us. I do know that for the most part, when I deal with other races on an individual basis, I have no issues with them and often learn so much. It's the whole group mentality thing that gives me the greatest difficulty. It often shames me but it is what it is. For now.

Making the decision to go to Japan was difficult for me because of preconceived notions about Asian people. Scary to think I could feel this way in 2007. But it is so. I felt as though I had nothing in common with the Japanese (or other Asians). No place to start. But I received two wonderful blessings before I left and had some personal (and quite spiritual) experiences in Japan that were just for me...tender mercies from a loving Lord who knew what I needed. My feelings have changed and I have a love for the Japanese people. I can't begin to explain how...it's too personal. But it's happened.

I think the Church can open doors for us in that way. And I think that if our ultimate goal is to love people individually as the Savior does then he will help us move in that direction according to his timeline and our desires. At least Isaiah will be surrounded by those of different races where he is. He can learn to love individuals for who they are despite what their race's behavior in general might be. I think not having more diversity can cause problems too. A most interesting post. You always provoke my thoughts! Thanks...and happy reading!

Lynness: Addendum- learning more about me all the time

A few things to keep in mind, or to add to my last...
You've got to remember that I lived most of my public school life (2nd
half of 1st grade through12th) here in the county just minutes from
Richmond, the capital of the Confederacy, where statues of Confederate
heroes line Monument Avenue in Richmond a few streets from where I went
to high school. And that my mother and grandmother grew up here and that
all my mother's people were southern. (My daddy, however, is a Yankee.)
And you have to realize that for some here the Civil War lives on.
Growing up in this kind of environment is bound to leave a mark- whether
you're black or white.
While my mother and her family have never said anything very bad about
black people, the prevailing attitude was to just stay out of each
other's way. And while she has some very close black friends, all the
ones I can think of were not raised in America. I am sure I'm
stereotyping, but the African-American population seems to have an
attitude. And perhaps it is cultural- a reaction to the treatment their
ancestors received at the hands of mine; or perhaps a devil-may-care
posture in the face of continued inequality. I remember asking my mom
what she thought of the movie "Remember the Titans," which I enjoyed.
She was 6 when the Brown decision was handed down and experienced
desegregation in the Petersburg area, 25 minutes south of Richmond. She
said something along the lines of, "Well, the black kids I knew sure
weren't as nice as the ones in the movie."
I think that's my whole problem: generalizing. While I have no problem
interacting with black people on a person-to-person basis, I still can't
seem to shake the legacy that has been handed down to me. I certainly
would not feel comfortable going to a "black" church (and often wonder
what black investigators think when they come into our chapel and see
99% white people- I don't blame many for never coming back), and I don't
seek out black friends (although I don't seek out friends much period:
although not shy, (I love to teach- seminary, sign language, anatomy,
you name it) I am more of an introvert and prefer small groups or
one-on-one interaction and actually get stressed by having too many
social commitments or friends to keep up with.)
In the book that started all this, it noted that counties in VA with a
smaller black population were more liberal and had less of a problem
with integration, while places with larger black populations (like
Richmond) had more of a negative reaction. Why is this? Maybe because a
smaller population is less threatening while a bigger one seems in your
face all the time? Maybe that's the point I'm at- I am starting to feel
like a minority and, surprise, surprise! I don't like it...

Lynness: a really, really long response to my July read

I have a feeling that this might ramble a bit and be long. I didn't
really read all of my July read. I picked it up kind of late and it
isn't the most readable book- lots of quotes, court cases cited, and
statistics. The title is "The Color of Their Skin: Education and Race in
Richmond Virginia 1954-89." I never got a chance to browse the adult
section without kids running off (or trying to), so I kind of gave up on
my initial intent (finding something recent about Jamestown, the burning
of Richmond in the civil war, Thomas Jefferson- since we just went to
Monticello in May, or about the many first in Chesterfield County
history - first grist mill in the US, one of the first (if not the
first) coal mines, first railroad, etc..- all in the area in which I
grew up), though I still wouldn't mind reading about those things. Then
I chanced to hear a spot on PBS about an upcoming program and hear some
startling quotes about what white Virginia lawmakers in the 1950's had
to say against desegregation in public schools. One, by the governor, I
think, said that white and blacks in public schools together would
produce a 'mongrel breed' and basically would bring Virginia down. A few
days later I jumped onto the library's web site and search under this
topic and found surprisingly few entries, none of then recent. I went
and got the book I chose a few days later and have mainly browsed it,
but have been thinking much...
I know I am prejudiced to some degree. We all are- generally people
prefer the known to the unknown; the similar to the different. I can't
remember where, but I read recently about a sociologist (I guess) who
had modeled neighborhood segregation: even if 2 neighborhoods start out
homogenized, with equal numbers of, say, black and white families, where
there are no 'clusters'- it kind of goes white, black, white, black,
etc.- if a white family moves to the other neighborhood, then there
would be an opening between two black families. And because we tend to
prefer people who are similar, a black family is more likely to move in
there. And the white family who moved is more likely to move closer to
other white families. So the balance starts to be disrupted. And, over
time, everybody moves closer to those like them and in the end, you have
one black neighborhood and one white neighborhood.
The whole book was about Richmond's response to Brown v. Board of
Education, the failure of 'massive resistance' in other parts of VA,
where whole school systems were shut down for months, and the token
acceptance but passive resistance in Richmond that prolonged the
segregation and eventually caused a kind of re-segregation: in 1954 (the
year Brown was handed down) the Richmond school system was 57% white. In
1989 (when the book was written), it was 88% black.
I'm not going into all the history and ado it caused- that was the whole
book. I was interested because in 1989, I was in 4th and 5th grades in
Chesterfield County, just south of Richmond, which at one point- before
I was around- had been ordered to consolidate with the Richmond school
system in order to make the Richmond school system (predominately black)
more racially even. I was interested because I attended a high school in
downtown Richmond: a magnet school, mostly white, sharing a building
with a Richmond city public school, mostly black. And because now we
live on the 'Southside'- some of the poorest and most crime-ridden areas
of Richmond are on its south, and though we live in the county, not the
city (VA is unique in that incorporated cities are not part of any
county- they are their own entity), urban sprawl draws it ever closer
and all the Title I elementary schools in the county are around us. And
because Isaiah's class picture shows 6 white kids, 8 Hispanic kids and 8
black kids. And his afternoon summer day camp at the school has about 5
white kids and the great majority of the rest (of a total of 60 kids
when all are present) are black.
I do not remember any black kids in elementary school. I am sure there
were at least a handful, but not many. I had no black teachers. Most of
this was a result of where we lived. Ours was a predominately white
neighborhood, well into the county. We were the poor people- we got
'adopted' by various organizations to receive Easter baskets one year,
Christmas gifts the next. We had free lunches at school, often food from
the Bishop's storehouse at home. We moved after sixth grade to near
where Nathan and I live now and I attended a middle school that had a
much higher percentage of black students (and got bullied by a group of
black girls in the locker room and ended up getting sent to the
principal's office for 'fighting'). Still, no black teachers. In 8th
grade I was encouraged by guidance counselors to apply for The
Governor's School for Government and International Studies, a magnet
school for gifted and talented students drawn from 16 counties (talk
about busing!) I was accepted and for high school went to Thomas
Jefferson High School, a still-open Richmond city public school in
downtown Richmond (with bullet holes in the Art Room window on the first
floor). The book actually mentions my school. It discusses the plans
Richmond had for revitalizing the public school system and for cutting
down the 'white-flight' due to the school situation. One of their
successes was a magnet school known as Community High. The book mentions
plans for 3 more magnet schools, one of them a Governor's school at
Thomas Jefferson, to open in 1990. Open it did, but not until 1991 after
protests from TJ students, parents, alumni, and politicians and a
compromise was reached that stated we would only be there temporarily.
(A couple of years after I graduated, my sister Kate, who followed in my
footsteps there, was with the Governor's School when the move was made
to the abandoned Maggie Walker School. Ironically, this was originally
an all-black school that became the oh-so-successful Community High
magnet school. I have no idea what happened in the 10 years after the
book was written to bring it down.) At the Governor's School I had black
teachers, but do not remember feeling any element of surprise at being
taught by black educators, and black peers, but both were in the
minority. 2 of my circle of close friends were black (and two were
Asian, one from India, the rest white). I am pretty sure that my black
friends, at least, at times, were called or made to feel like 'Oreos'
(you know- black on the outside, white on the inside) by other black
people, not just because they went to a school perceived by black people
as 'white,' but because they spoke like white people- no Ebonics style
stuff- and appreciated things that are stereotypically more white
culture- classical music, etc..
Anyway- all these things have been going around in my head. I know my
parents are prejudiced, and my grandparents more so. Each generation is
hopefully successively less so, but what am I passing on to Isaiah? I
don't know if our neighborhood, which is quite large, is more black or
white, but our street (and we live on the nicer end of the neighborhood)
is almost all black. All the kids at the bus stop are black besides
Isaiah and one other boy who will be in middle school next year. I have
very deliberately never said anything disparaging or stereotypical about
any other race to him. I have never commented on the number of black
kids in his class, or that his teacher is black. I greet people, black
or white, in our neighborhood. Black kids are as welcome in my yard
after school as white ones. But I'm sure he knows by my actions that I
prefer white people as a whole to black people. I have black friends,
but none close. I don't feel I relate to most black people, but I have
never really tried to cultivate a deeper friendship. Really, I don't
have many friends outside of the Church period, and our Church is most
definitely (in North America, at least) predominately white, and so that
sets up some limits. Really I know that, by and large, most parents-
black or white- try to raise their children right and keep them safe,
but I guess somehow I'm scared, deep down, irrationally, that my kids
might get 'brought down' more by association with black kids than white
ones.
But here's the thing...is it prejudice to want to keep your child safe
when crime statistics show that there is more crime in lower income
neighbor hoods and that those lower income neighborhoods here are
usually predominately black, or, increasingly, Hispanic? Is it prejudice
to not want your child to come home talking like the other (black) kids?
It is interesting to me that black politicians and businessmen, i.e.
people with money and power and education do not speak like the black
people all around me speak. It seems to more education a black person
has, the more white they sound. So I say it's not color you hear, it's
level of education. And is it wrong to not want my children to sound
uneducated?
I was talking to my sister about not being sure about sending Isaiah to
the school he is in now and she told me I was prejudiced. I responded
that the problem was not so much color as income. Now, before you go and
remind me that my family was the poor one and not get so high and
mighty, let me say that we had the gospel and we had a mother who stayed
home. Most of the kids- black, white, whatever- in our area and going to
Isaiah's school do not have stay-at-home mothers. Many in our
lower-income area are single-parent families. Those with 2 parents
usually have both working outside of the home. In many cases this cannot
be avoided, but the result is that the children are raised by the world.
In day cares since birth, in front of TV's for hours at a time since
toddlers, running around the streets without supervision, etc.. I don't
really want my son around these kids who know what they should not at
this age and teach him. I have a friend who moved from beside us to a
neighborhood (much more expensive than we could afford) where the
parents are well-educated and much more careful about the raising of
their children. But the Nephites had a problem with pride and
opportunity for education and level of income. Am I prejudiced against
poor people? (How can I be- I am one. Well, not really poor, but we
qualified for a 50% reduction in the cost for the summer camp put on by
the county because of income. We are...part of the eroding middle-class.)
So the upshoot is- I'd like to move into a better area- better
neighborhood and schools (although I have no problem with the academics-
it's the environment), further from the city- and meanwhile there's a
revitalization going on downtown, and now it's hip to be in the city
again, but if you want to be anywhere decent/safe, you've got to have a
pile of money. So the rich white move in to the nice places in the city,
the black population pushes further into the county, and the white
population flees ever outward, driving up the prices in recently rural
areas. More white flight- and I'm a part of it, or would like to be. Am
I prejudiced? What do I do about it?

Rae: Answer to Abby and Fantasy Read

I heartily recommend Japanland and Confucius Lives Next Door. They were probably the best reads about the culture. I read one before I left and one when I got back...so I think they are pretty spot on.

Bill loved Eragon the book and didn't like the movie at all. Duran didn't like the book but loved the movie. Guess there's no accounting for taste? Bill has also read Eldest and we are eagerly awaiting the last leg of the trilogy due out in September. I already have it ordered on Amazon.

I think I will try my hand at The Golden Compass for my fantasy read. It is listed as a fantasy rather than science fiction so I think that fits the bill. I was intrigued with all the controversy surrounding the movie. I am often drawn to the banned books and find that, more often than not, all the hubbub is silly. This series is supposed to be really anti-Catholic and anti-morals.

I don't regularly read in either of these genres (although I have read a lot of them over the years) so I will have to take a trip to the liberry and see if I can find a sci-fi book that catches my eye. Bill wants to read Dune but I have seen enough of the movies that I don't think it's up my alley. I might have to pick Duran's brain too as he loves sci-fi. I'm excited to be reading something different!

I recently bought a non-resident card at Spanish Fork library because the Payson one is just too small. Spanish Fork's is a bit bigger...and the fee was cheaper than the $100 that Provo wanted. SP was only $25 a year. Much better and not as long a drive.

Happy reading!

Abby: July, August & September Reads

I think I've already mentioned that sometimes I don't pick a book for the month because I can't think of anything quickly. It's not a very good reason at all. But that's what has kept me from reading in our topic for July. If I think of something before the month is up, I'll give it a try!

August & September will be easy for me because I love science fiction and fantasy and already have two books in mind. For fantasy I'm going to read Eragon. I have heard many good things about the book. From what I hear, the movie is nothing like the book which is promising. I thought the movie was pretty lame. (That was a first for me - watching a movie before having read the book!) For science fiction I'm going to read something by Isaac Asimov. Eric is reading Asimov's Foundation Series in chronological order right now and loving it. From the bits and pieces he's mentioned, I think I will too. I read The Positronic Man not too long ago and enjoyed it. So for science fiction, I'll probably start with the first of the Foundation Series (not from the main trilogy, but from the whole series). I think that would be Caves of Steel.

If any of you are stumped on fantasy or fiction, feel free to ask me! :) I know you'll have great suggestions too, Rae, you're just awesome that way! Just off the top of my head, here are some of the fantasy/sci-fi I've loved reading: Inkheart (Cornelia Funke), A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle), The Dark is Rising Series (Susan Cooper), Artemis Fowl Series (Eoin Colfer), Dragonsong (Anne MaCaffrey(sp?)), The Wheel of Time series (Robert Jordan), The Positronic Man (Isaac Asimov), Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Douglas Adams), The Host (Stephenie Meyer), The Sisters Grimm: Fairy Tale Detectives, Ella Enchanted (Gail Carson Levine), and Beauty (Gail Carson Levine). Of these, I think only The Positronic Man, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and The Host are true sci-fi although A Wrinkle in Time and Dragonsong have several sci-fi elements. Like Rae said, there's definitely some cross-over.

Oh, and speaking of science fiction - Lynness, I finally read The Host by Stephenie Meyer and loved it. Has anyone else in the family read it?

Rae, I'm intrigued by your list of Japanese culture reading. I think I'm going to go look up several of those! It'll be good to read some of that after the time I had there last summer.

August and September Read

You get two months for the price of one in this reading assignment! Should you choose to opt in...read FICTION in the SCIENCE FICTION and FANTASY genre...ONE OF EACH...which is why you get more time. I realize this may be difficult for those of us who don't naturally read these genres. But that's what this "club" is for...to stretch your minds and introduce you to new authors and genres.

Here are some basic guidelines to assist you in defining the genres. (Obviously, there is some overlap and no one will be policing you or reading over your shoulder. And feel free to include a young adult or childrens book as your choice...as long as the genre is the proper one.) Science fiction generally includes stories with themes related to science and technology. The books present a radically different but possible reality. They may deal with time travel, space colonies, robots, life on other planets, or invasions of Earth. The moral of the stories often revolve around the conflicts between science and superstition or progress. Some classic sci-fi authors are Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury (he writes fantasy too), Arthur C. Clarke, Philip K. Dick, Robert Heinlein, Frank Herbert and Frederick Pohl. There are many newer authors as well. Look on www.fantasticfiction.co.uk for ideas if you get stuck.

Fantasy almost always has elements of magic, often includes imagined, strange or fantastical creatures or dragons, and sometimes deals with mythology and legends. The moral almost always deal with the battle between good and evil (and usually good wins). Many fantasy books include elements of humor as well. The Narnia series, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter are definitely more fantasy than sci-fi (remember there's often some overlap). Artemis Fowl and the Dragonlance series are primarily fantasy. So is The Dark is Rising series. You get the idea, I assume.

Ask each other for help if you need it. You can also find information online and at most libraries. These two genres have many loyal readers and you shouldn't have a problem trying to find two titles to read. Let us know what you think about your books...especially if these are genres you don't normally read.

Happy reading!

My July Reading

In preparation for our trip to July, we read several books as a family. I read to the boys before we read our scriptures each night. Depending on what we are reading at the time, the scriptures come as a relief! We read Hiroshima by John Hersey, Japan Made Easy, and A Glorious Way to Die which was in preparation for a museum trip in Japan. My personal reading included Confucius Lives Next Door by T. R. Reid (I would recommend this to anyone...Gpa loved it!), Shutting Out the Sun by Michael Zielenziger, The Sushi Economy by Sasha Issenberg, Nine Who Survived Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Robert Trumbull, The Battle for Okinawa by Hiromichi Yahara, and Japanland by Karin Muller. Now that we are home, I am reading another book outloud to Ivan on the battle of Okinawa as well as continuing to read books about Japan. I'm hooked. What a wonderful culture, country and history. It's filling a hole in my education! And needless to say...none of my schoolwork for BYU got done in the month of June or July.

As far as my local history read goes...my book is on the way. It's the new one on the Mountain Meadows Massacre by Richard Turley, a church historian. I have been waiting six years for it to finally be published and it's supposed to be the end-all book on the subject. I have read everything I could find on the massacre and am really looking forward to this read. I will have to reward myself with personal reading time as I get my homework done each day!

The post separately I will assign in August for a read. I know that makes no sense...but Mim will understand it as that's how most signs in Japan are translated into English!

Happy reading!

Abby to Beccy :)

I have not read the My Father's Dragon series to the girls but I have wanted to for quite some time. It's been on several lists as a recommended read-aloud and Jim Trelease, of the well-known "Read Aloud Handbook", says wonderful things about it. BUT, I haven't been able to find it at any of our recent libraries (Provo, Orem, Tallahassee). One of these days I'll just have to go find it on Amazon and buy it. Especially knowing that you and your boys have enjoyed it! Right now I'm reading The Witches by Roald Dahl to the girls and they are loving it.

Beccy to Abby

Have you read the My Father's Dragon series? These were favorites with my boys. The illustrations on our copies are fun (I suppose it depends on which edition you find, because they are pretty old). It seems to me that these would be just the right speed for Heidi.

I love to read your posts even if I'm quiet and not posting often. I am reading The Friendly Persuasion, at Rae's and Dad's request--it's great fun. I'm actually reading about 8 different books. I just nibble. It's been a long time since I've had time to really sit down and indulge in a long novel. Maybe when school starts . . .

Lynness: June read

Well, I haven't decided what I'm reading this month (really I just
haven't had long enough at the library to find something- I need to go
without kids if I want to hit the non-children's section books for any
real length of time), but we enjoyed "Babe the Gallant Pig" and
"George's Marvelous Medicine" and now we're working on "James and the
Giant Peach."
These books seem about the right level for Isaiah (actually, he read
all of George's Marvelous Medicine to us) and not too long but
thoroughly engaging. The time we've read together (just the 2 of us,
although Nathan has listened in occasionally) has helped us get closer
and given him some of the 'only child' type attention he was so used to
for so long before Ruth. We're going to keep doing this morning reading
through the summer. We'll see how it works for the school year
schedule. We always tried evening before, but that usually didn't
work. We'd say "Hurry up and get ready for bed so we have time to read
before 7:30!!" But I believe firmly that anyone between the ages of 2
and about 7 (and probably older- like 17- I just haven't gotten there
yet) does not understand the concept of HURRY. We rarely got to read
with that method.
Hope y'all are enjoying summer!

Rae: July Read

Hai Konnichiwa from the land of the Rising Sun. Mim and I have been discussing a suitable topic for our non-fiction assignment for July. I am posting this a bit early this month since we are on our way to Hiroshima very early tomorrow morn.

Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to find a non-fiction book that relates in some way to your present locale. You may choose any type of book within non-fiction i.e. biography, children's, straight history, business, arts, etc. Just make sure that whatever book you choose is non-fiction and relates in some way to an event, location, or person in your city or state.

Have some fun with this assignment. Your options are quite wide open. Abby, in Florida, could choose to read about the making of Epcot Center, the space program, Seminole Indians, or a famous person from Florida. Liz could choose to read about the Alamo, the arts in Texas, or anything else that has to do with the great state of Texas. Lulu could find a bio on a church history character, read about the Pony Express, or the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Lynness could make her selection patriotic with her locale. You get the idea. I hope.

You may make this as dry and boring or as entertaining as you wish. Your topic does not need to be historical, either. It can easily be a contemporary issue as long as it relates in some way to the place where you live. I have tried to narrow down the topic but give you lots of leeway as to subject matter. Have fun and include kidlets if you so desire.

We are so enjoying the lovely land of Japan. We are already halfway through our month (it has gone by FAST) and are looking forward to the things we have yet to see. The people are so gracious and kind. We have been doing a lot of reading about Japan and can see both the good and the bad within the society. We are so glad that we came.

Yesterday, Blake took us to a Japanese mall to get heavy rain gear (a typhoon is off the coast of Okinawa...). We saw two places that appeared at first to be childrens' stores. But they weren't. Everything in them....coats, sweaters, underwear, diapers, frilly dresses, hats, shoes, strollers, jewelry and personal flotation devices...were for DOGS! Many of the Japanese choose not to have children and so they lavish their affection and yen on little dogs. We saw some in strollers where infants should have been. It was a bit creepy! Just had to share.

Happy local reading!

Poems for Fun

Liz & I brainstormed together to come up with a poem to accompany a blanket I made for a friend's new baby. I wanted the poem to say something about being homemade, possibly about flaws, as well as say something about how it's not pink but that's okay (she's having a girl). Here are some of the partial lines we came up with. I think it'd be fun if anyone interested wants to finish them or create their own.

Made with thought it's not store bought
Believe me, there's no match

Made with thought it's not store bought
You'll never find it's equal
?? ??? ??? ??? ??? ?? ??? ???
Believe me, there's no sequel.

Made with thought it's not store bought
You'll never find it's equal.
It will keep your baby warm
although they'll be no sequel.

And here's a complete one we almost picked talking about the colors:
You may think that pink's the thing
For your new girl to wear.
But blue and yellow are nice and mellow
and make a lovely pair.

Here're the two stanzas I used for her card:
Made with thought it's not store bought
But sewn with love and care.
Come rain or shine your babe won't whine
If wrapped and not left bare.

Some may think she should wear pink
and blue is for a fellow.
Yet I believe that there's reprieve
when blue is paired with yellow.

Lynness: Re: Babe

    I had never heard of Babe until my sister read it in elementary school and I thought it sounded like a stupid premise for a book.  But it really is a very endearing book- I read the whole thing and enjoyed it, and Isaiah seems captivated so far.  I didn't pick it because of its literary merits or overwhelming fondness, however- it was just because it was downstairs already and not in the kids' room where Ruth was sleeping.  But I think it's going to turn out very well!  I have never read the Wind in the Willows.  Every time I try I get bored stiff.  How do some of these books get to be classics?
    As far as a reluctant reader, I'm not sure how old Heidi is, but still being interested in having books is good.  You might try to get her interested in making her own books and reading them with her.

Abby: Babe, Stuart Little, and Read-Alouds

Lynness, what do you think of Babe so far? It's often mentioned as a good read-aloud. We just finished Stuart Little and I didn't really care for it. It's kind of strange. I won't go into details unless someone else asks for them. The girls enjoyed it though. (That's what counts right? Ultimately anyway. But I still think it'd be great if I get to enjoy it too.)

We're reading I Houdini: The Amazing Story of an Escape-Artist Hamster by Lynne Reid Banks (who wrote The Indian in the Cupboard). Autumn seems to be enjoying it. Heidi kind of fades in and out of interest and I don't think I care for it much myself. It's very "stream-of-consciousness" since it's from the hamster's point of view. And although the hamster is supposed to be very smart, he tends to ramble. And that is mentioned at the beginning of the book so it's not just my opinion. :) I suppose that's quite an achievement for an author to make it work for an entire book -- but for me -- I start to feel like I'm going to go crazy. I find myself thinking, "Get to the point already!"

To date, from my not-perfect memory, we have read:
James and the Giant Peach (Roald Dahl)
The BFG (Roald Dahl)
The Cricket in Times Square (George Selden)
The Tale of Desperaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread (Kate DiCamillo)
A Wrinkle in Time (Madeleine L'Engle)
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (C. S. Lewis)
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
The Spiderwick Chronicles (all four, or five)

And we have tried but been unsuccessful with:
A Little Princess (the language is very old-style)
The Wind in the Willows (I'm not sure why this one flopped. But it did.)
Matilda (I guess the age just wasn't right, that was two years ago and I haven't tried since.)
Ramona (I was too annoyed to continue. I don't think I could do Junie B. Jones for the same reason. We shall see.)

Autumn enjoys reading from the Magic TreeHouse series aloud to me. I think she's read two completely on her own, but it's hard to know for sure. ;) She WAS able to retell the story to me, so even if she missed some words here and there, she still got the gist of the story. She also loves to read Blastoff!, a great series of non-fiction early readers aloud to Heidi.

Does anybody have any ideas on getting a kid excited about reading? Heidi isn't very interested in being read to lately. I read to them at bedtime each night from a chapter book. Sometimes she stays awake for the whole reading, but not always. And she doesn't really talk about the story later. She seems to be in a bit of a slump right now. I read other shorter children's books to her and she loses interest quickly. Even the bug books. And that's saying something because she loves bugs. But she still loves books. She loves to get them every week at the library and she knows where to find the ones she likes. She loves to look at them. She loves to stack them. She loves to collect them. But she doesn't seem very interested in hearing what's in them. It seems decidedly odd. And decidedly Heidi too. Any ideas???

Lynness: School's out

Well, today was the first official day of summer break.  It started out well: we read chapter one of this month's read: Babe, the Gallant Pig.  Isaiah enjoyed that and is looking forward to the next installment.  Then we had breakfast and did school (we're kind of trying out homeschool for the summer).  We got Nathan the 30th Anniversary Schoolhouse Rock DVD for his birthday (thanks for the idea, Abby) and Isaiah enjoys the grammar rock and we've also been doing a lot of Mad Libs lately, so our lesson was on verbs.  That went well, as did his reading to me (his pick for the day: chapter one of Junie B. Jones, First Grader at Last).  The main problem was that throughout the rest of the day he argued about wanting to go to the pool or have friends over or not wanting to go to Costco or having to do chores.  He seems to think that my duty is to provide him with an adventure every day- or at least a trip to the pool/park/fountains/museum/etc., and doesn't seem to realize that just because he's off, it doesn't mean I'm off. (Well, I am from seminary, for 3 months!)  If we were within walking distance to a park or to anybody's house I was comfortable letting him play at, it would be a little different.   My patience is already wearing thin.  This is why, as much as I love to teach, I don't think I will be homeschooling during the school year: I would go nuts if I had to be with my kids 24/7.  They need a break from me, and I need a break from them!  That sounds awful, I know, but I really don't enjoy playing with him most of the time, and, being that it was just he and I for 5 years, he expects me to be his playmate all the time!  (We're working on trying to make sure there's not 5 years between Ruth and the next one- I don't want to be doing tea parties or Barbies for years- but, as we have seen, we don't seem to be in charge of that).  Now Ruth is getting more fun for him to play with, but she's only one and not so much fun and she gets in his way and usually after about 5 minutes of playing without supervision she's crying and he always claims he doesn't know why. 
Anyway....I'm not really venting, I just know it's going to take some adjusting for Isaiah and I.  And he is soooo persistent.  I think the morning reading- just a few minutes with the two of us before Ruth wakes up- will be good for the both of us.  So we'll keep it up, even after this month's read is over.