My June read done

Hi everyone! I am done with Man's Search for Meaning. It was very interesting. It made me feel stoic afterwards, like I should be able to handle any suffering. I had mixed feelings about his being so detached about it all. I sort of wished he would be more personal, but then I thought that maybe it was the only way he could cope with the experiences.
I shared some of the incidents in it with Pat and he was very interested. I recommend it to anyone; it made me think and ponder purposes and meanings in life . . . but I do not want it to be my only read about the Holocaust. I haven't read anything else. I'd like to read The Hiding Place now after what Beccy said about it.
As for July, I do not think I will try to fit in a book--I think I will be pretty tired! I am already three days overdue. Wish me luck! Love to you all; I'll keep reading your posts and joining in when I can.

Laziness?

I doubt very much that it is laziness! Going from two to three children has got to keep you busy. That's the beauty of our book group. Feel free to opt out completely or just pick a short book any month you are feeling harried. Guilt-free! We look forward to your return to the reading world in August. I'm looking forward to a little Harry Potter myself!

Lulu's July book (or lack thereof)

I'm just wanting to tell everyone I don't think I'll be reading a book this month--at least not in the chosen genre. I had one heck of a time trying to finish Every Secret Thing--it took me six weeks, and I even skipped some parts at the end out of sheer exasperation. It's a long story! Actually, I would have renewed it (for the third time) if our library hadn't been closed for four days with air conditioning problems. And I'm happy I read it, but it was certainly very heavy reading.

Of course, I'm also waiting for the seventh Harry Potter book. So that might just be my only read this month. (And possibly a Mrs.Pollifax book.) I feel like a circus balancing act, trying to just get up in the morning and keep our selves, our babies, and our house afloat! If I have any literary juice left at the end of the month, maybe I'll read Tituba after all. Until then, excuse my laziness....

Love you, everybody.

Side read

I am about 1/3 of the way through a book called History On Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier. It's the account of a libel trial in Great Britain. The woman being sued for libel is an American historian whose specialty is the Holocaust. In one of her books, she described another historian...and I use that term loosely...as "one of the most dangerous spokespersons for Holocaust denial." On the basis of that, he (David Irving) sued her for libel in GB where the burden of proof is on the defendant rather than the plaintiff. It's extremely interesting. I am floored that ANYONE could even try to deny that the Holocaust ever happened! But apparently it's big business...and not just by the nutcases in Iran.

Each of your books sounds fun! Enjoy your patriartic holiday! We will be in Coronado for the big parade as well as beach time, fish tacos, walks in the evening, surf fishing, real Mexican food and visiting Ivan's folks...maybe the last time for a while.

Beccy's June & July reads

First, I delighted in all of your posts! I'm curious, Liz, to know your thoughts about Man's Search For Meaning. I am glad I read it, but I can't say that it changed my life. I did feel that The Hiding Place was a life-changer when I read it, probably in part because it was written without Dr. Frankl's heavy-duty and--to me, sometimes cold--psychological analysis. (It was interesting to me, Mim, that you mentioned it, because it was on my mind all throughout Frankl's book.)

Also, The Hiding Place was really my first (literary) exposure to the atrocities of the Holocaust. But now that I think about it, it wasn't learning about the Holocaust but the character of Corrie Ten Boom's father who had the life-changing effect on me. One of the most touching parts to me is when Corrie asks her father one of those deep questions that children innocently ask. They are riding on a bus with their luggage, all of their possessions in one big bag if I'm remembering right. He knows that the answer to her question is too painful and beyond her comprehension. He gently explains how knowing ugly things about the world is like carrying heavy luggage, and since she is still so small, she can just let him carry that luggage for her until she is big enough to lift it herself. Does anyone remember that?

Anyway, later Troy and I went through Dachau. I felt like a witness to the Holocaust, in a small degree. That was mind-blowing. I wept continuously throughout the tour.

Frankl's descriptions of incidents of Nazi cruelty reminded me of the depravity of the Nephites before their annihilation--they too were hardened, blood-thirsty, past feeling. I truly cannot comprehend being so cruel, so ugly-evil to another human being, though I can see how a person gets to that point through increasingly evil choices. At the same time, there were some who retained charity for others while being tortured. The cumulative effect of the book on me (with The Hiding Place in the back of my mind the whole time) was to bring into sharp and sobering focus the two extremes of what man can become.

Fun genre for July, Rae! I am excited to read Shadow Patriots by Lucia St. Clair Robson. It's about a young woman from a Quaker family who risks her life during the Revolutionary War when she becomes a spy for patriot forces. It is a fictional account of George Washington's female spy in New York that only went by "355." It has rave reviews on Amazon. Incidentally, the heroine's name in the novel is Kate. :)

I hope to finish it before Harry Potter comes out!

July read

I will be reading In Gallant Company by Alexander Kent. It takes place on a British ship while they are fighting the American colonists. I thought it would be fun to read something from the British point of view.

Great choices, ladies!

Mom/Mim & Abby's July book choices

I'm reading Witnesses: a novel by Marcy Heidish -- it's about Anne Hutchinson, who among other things was a religious freedom activist.

Mom is reading The Winthrop Woman by Anya Seton, about Elizabeth Fones who married Harry Winthrop.

It'll be interesting to compare notes when we're done.