Lynness: Non-fiction, interrupted

I enjoy the non-fiction books very well, when I find one that is
well-written and engrossing. If not, then I tend to let other books
take priority. I haven't posted this month because I read "Brother, I'm
Dying" by Edwidge Danticat, but then decided to read something else for
my 'real' read. I had enjoyed it but felt it was not really what I was
looking for in that it didn't give me helpful information on a current
issue. So I got several others. I got a couple of chapters into one
and felt it wasn't what I was looking for either. And all this time
I've been keeping up with PBS: Masterpiece Theater which is showing Jane
Austen movies. I've been watching them and then reading the books that
same week. I haven't watched or read Mansfield Park yet, but I read
Northanger Abbey (my least fav. so far) and Persuasion (I thought it was
pretty good, but the book better, and would like to see the A&E
version), and finally (at the recommendation of Abby and my sister
Kate), Twilight. I read the whole thing today. I don't know if I can
wait until February to read New Moon for my romance fiction (that may be
stretching the definition- Twilight was labeled "Horror" at my
library!) I did not expect Twilight to be such a page turner!
Anyway- the problem with non-fiction is finding one that fits what I
want and having so many fiction choices that are so tantalizing! I just
got a few more non-fictions yesterday: one about the electoral process
and one about immigrants... now that's it's the 28th, we'll see how far
I get....
My sister called me at 10:45 Sunday night just as I was getting
settled for the night to tell me about President Hinckley. After that I
was wide awake for a while, thinking and talking about it to Nathan.
Then I went down and re-did my seminary lesson plan- we talked about
Elijah and Elisha and the mantle and succession in the presidency. He
was the only Prophet all my students remember. The oldest was 5 when
President Hunter passed away. I saw that the?/an? Archbishop of the
Greek Orthodox Church died the same night. Maybe there's some
missionary dialogue happening there right now... I'd better get back to
my seminary lesson after putting it off all day to read Twilight. Love
to you all!

Lulu: Non- versus Fiction & Gordon B. Hinckley

Aunt Rae, I echo Abby's sentiment. If I can find something within the genre, and it grabs my attention right away, then I feel confident that I will be able to fit it in between all my various responsibilities. I'm fine with the way things are, and I'm fine with a change, if that's what you think we need. I trust you as our book-chooser. :)

I also wanted to add that, strange as it may sound, I'm almost....happy....to hear the news of the Prophet's passing. Here's why: I'm happy that he can be with his wife again, and I'm happy that he lead the kind of life that must have made it very peaceful for him to go from this life to the next. I'm happy that we know that death is not the end, and I'm happy that we were able to be lead by such a righteous and humble man during the last several years of his time on earth. So while I will miss his sweet voice and counsel, I am happy, thinking of his happiness.

Abby: Fiction vs. Non-fiction

Aunt Rae, I don't mind alternating each month between the two. I'm not set on it either though. If more of us want to change I say go for it if it gets more of us reading.

For myself, I decide whether or not to read with our blog each month simply based on how quickly I can find a book that interests me. Some categories are just easier to think of titles for than others (or easier to know where to look for ideas). If it takes to long to find a book I begin to feel like I won't have enough time to read it.

Does anyone else look at it this way? Maybe it'd be helpful if anyone who knew of some good books made suggestions or if anyone who knew of places to look for ideas shared those as well.

Rae: "Love"erly February

The month of February has always been hard for me. It's generally nasty, brutish and short (to quote a famous historian). Even with the leap year. But hopefully some good fiction will help my attitude.

Our choice for this month will be fiction...and...wait for it...romantic! You may stay strictly with the genre and read a "romance"--they do have their place...I blew through five or six thick ones at Aunt Vicki's one summer after a particularly emotional breakup--or you may simply choose a novel that centers around a relationship. Have fun finding something.

Note to all you readers: Since we seem to see less blogging during the non-fiction months, would you prefer to read two fiction for every non? Let me know. I know you are all busy with your little families and lives...but I have sensed a balking sentiment when the non-fiction month rolls around. Is it my imagination?

Happy reading!

Rae: God and Giuliani

For my January read, I found God's Name in Vain: The Wrongs and Rights of Religion in Politics by Stephen L. Carter. I was intrigued by all the hubbub (bub) regarding Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee and their respective faiths. I really learned a lot from this book and especially liked the fact that the author himself is a Christian...so he already appreciated my point of view! I recommend it to anyone.

Carter refers to a metaphor that was first used by Roger Williams (a 17th-century Baptist). It has to do with the garden and the wilderness. The garden is the domain of the church, where the people of God congregate and try to live their lives according to the gospel. The wilderness is the world which lies beyond the garden. It is uncivilized and potentially threatening to those in the garden. A wall (read separation between church and state) separates the two--to protect the garden from the wilderness (not the other way around)...not unlike Berlin Wall. The author says we need religion to be somewhat separated from state because we (the religious) need to stay in the garden and take the higher road. If we mix with the political (wilderness) we run the risk of sullying ourselves and the garden. Even the Old Testament prophets (with a few exceptions) called the bad kings to repentance rather than dethroning them. It was all rather interesting and good food for thought.

The other book I picked up is Grand Illusion: The Untold Story of Rudy Giuliani and 9/11 by a couple of journalists. I wanted to know more about that particular candidate, but this book is really more about the mismanagement and bureacracy surrounding the initial response and the cleanup of Ground Zero. It really hasn't told me anything more about Giuliani that I hadn't already surmised from listening to him. The best part of the book are the chapters about the aftermath and the health problems of the first responders, cleaning and construction crews, and residents who lived nearby. Thirty-year old men with black-lung disease, for instance. Fascinating. It's quite prescient of our governmental response to the Katrina disaster. We say we are prepared, but...can we really be with such an octopus in charge?

I have another current affairs title on tap for next week. I may or may not get to it, depending on school reading I have to do. It's called Generation Me: Why Young Americans Are More Confident, Assertive, Entitled--and More Miserable Than Ever Before by Jean M. Twenge.

Lynness, I read a lot about illegal immigration while in California. I was really trying hard to wrap my thoughts around the issue...which is so volatile there. On the one hand, I could see the negative impact it had on the schools, the community and the hospitals. It bugged me that they were being rewarded (welfare benefits) for their illegal status while I had to obey the laws. It bugs me that if their babies are born here, they are American citizens. On the other hand, I tried to be Christlike about it all (but he did say to render unto Caesar...) and be loving and help them assimilate. I'm most troubled about it and feel my own prejudices come to the forefront. At times I probably sound like a bigot...I feel that strongly about the issue. But I don't know how to solve the problem anymore than the politicians! We've let it go on for too long. You might also want to read something about the immigration policies in our American history. In my class reading assignments, I have discovered that this issue is nothing new...nor is the volatility.

Mim, I actually downloaded Gore's movie onto my Ipod and watched it. Bill watched it in school. We both figured out pretty quickly that the movie was really all about Al. It was me, me, me! I figure if a 14-year-old can figure that out, then it must be pretty obvious! I did find an article that debunks most of the science he presented, but I haven't sat down and studied it yet. My own feeling is to not concern myself too much about it. I think it's cyclical (remember in elementary school and junior high and the threat of the next ice age?) and when you throw in what we know about the second coming and the earth's response to it, it sort of makes sense. Then again, we are out of control when it comes to proper stewardship of this earth. We're pretty greedy and exploitative. I'll be interested to know your response to it all when you have finished your reading.

Well, my goodness, what a long post! Hope you are all enjoying the topic and learning lots of new things. Lulu, someone told me that once you become a mother, you never sleep properly again! And just when you think things are settling down as the teenagers leave home, your body goes through menopause and you wake up in the night anyway! Just be tired and be happy?

Happy reading!

Lynness- January read

I'm interested to find out what Mim has to say after her reading on global warming (and I don't know what it has to do with peace, either).  From what I've heard/read and can gather (which isn't much), there's scientists on both sides who think the evidence is in their favor and it seems to be more of a political issue than it is an environmental one.  I don't know what to think, so I'd be happy to hear more.  Maybe the "veil of stupidity" is kind of like Lehi's "mists of darkness" and is another one of Satan's tactics to confuse us.  But hey, as long as we pick a side and make it our 'religion' instead of focusing on the "weightier matters" then he's happy.  (This is a recurrent theme for me lately- we continually discuss the 1st two commandments in seminary, since the children of Israel had such a problem with them, and how people put other things and ideals before God today.)

My official read is still undetermined.  I reserved "Brother, I'm Dying" by Edwidge Danticat after looking up immigration in our library system (there were surprisingly very few to pick from other than How-To manuals for citizenship).  While waiting for the book to become available I picked up a pro-immigration book, an anti-immigration book, and a collection of essays on the subject.  This one I will definitely read: the author is a fiction writer and this is her family's story- it has intrigued me from the first page and moves very quickly.

While picking up my reserved book, I found (on the new non-fiction shelf) "The Holy Vote: The politics of faith in America" and "Nation of Secrets: The threat to democracy and the American way of life."  I plan to browse these and perhaps read one or both.

Happy reading...

PS- Lulu- as far as sleep issues go, I read once that Robert E. Lee said something to the effect of every hour of sleep before midnight is worth as much as 2 hours of sleep after midnight!  Goes along with "Early to bed and early to rise..."  For me, I can tell that it does make a difference if I only have 5-6 hours of sleep if they come earlier rather than later.  Don't know if this works with your schedule or not.  As fas as the baby sleeping... I have read in more than one baby sleep book that instead of feeding and then putting the baby to sleep, you should feed when the baby wakes from naps and have a little time cushion between the evening feeding and bedtime so that the baby does not become dependent on a full feeling or on actually eating in order to fall asleep and doesn't need the same to put herself back to sleep when she wakes in the middle of the night.  This worked with Isaiah; with Ruth sleep hasn't been as much of an issue as it was with him, so I'm not strict about it.

Global Warming and the Veil of Stupidity

Whatever Joseph Smith said about the "veil of stupidity" (Rae's post) must apply to all the hype on the subject of global warming.  Yesterday I checked out a copy of Al Gore's book, An Inconvenient Truth, but I don't intend to read it.  I just feel obligated to have it on hand while I read/skim the other book I checked out for January, The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism , by Christopher C. Horner.  I'd like to know what the whole issue is and whether it's as stupid as it seems.  I CAN'T believe Al Gore received the Nobel Peace Prize and I don't know what global warming has to do with peace.  I don't want to be stupid myself on the subject, though.    MIM/MOM

Lulu: I resolve to sleep.....at better times.

I'm pretty burnt out and trying to sort of re-structure our schedule a little bit, so I doubt I will join in the book-reading this month. I'm trying to wake up earlier. And from a person who's pretty much a bear in the morning, this is a huge step. I'm also trying to get Savanna to sleep more often and more soundly, which means that it's one massive Sleep Project in the DeVault home this month. So please forgive my absence while I work on something that seems to be second-nature/easy for most people! :) I'll still be reading the blog, so I won't really be absent. Just....quiet.

Actually, if anyone has any tips--baby sleep, waking up earlier/better--feel free to share! For some reason, I seem to have lost the skills I had when getting the other two to sleep through the night. *sigh* Oh, I love being a mom. I really do. But I am soooo tired.