November/December

Sorry, sorry, Breanne told me about choosing a book, and I chose one... and promptly forgot to post it. Anyway. The book for this month (no longer two months...) is The Christmas Box, by Richard Paul Evans. I think most of you have read this one, but I figure rereading it won't hurt. (I feel like some of you might hate this book... So if that's the case, sorry. Don't read it.) Anyway, I hope this puts us in the mood for the Christmas season.

Nov/Dec-Losaunne

So, it looks like everyone else is having as hard of a time reading and posting as I am! Losaunne has the book choice for November/December, so hopefully we will hear from her soon!

Round Two: The Help

I think everyone's had a chance at round one, right? I have really enjoyed this so far, even though I haven't been the best about reading every book. I blame moving all over the country for that. And I also blame this baby fever that seems to have taken hold of everyone else for the lack of comments from everyone else. :) Anyway, I think there have been some good discussions so far, so let's keep going with a good thing! I will do September-October, and then it's back to Losaunne for November-December.

The book I chose for this month is The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I have been wanting to read this for a while now, but I wasn't sure I would get a chance in Israel. Sunday night I realized that it was my turn again, and all I wanted to read for this month was The Help. But where would I get a copy?

And then Monday I went to the bookstore on campus here to get a textbook. And guess what? Sitting in front of the store, in a pile of bestsellers on sale, was The Help. And it was only 20 shekels (about $5.45)! You can bet that I took it as a sign. This was the book we needed to read.

Anyway, I hope all of you can get a copy or at least watch the film. I'm excited.

Better Late Than Never

Right? Sorry I've been so slow in posting this - Breanne asked me a while ago, but I've been dithering too much about what book to choose. I finally settled on Man's Search for Happiness by Elder Ballard. This should be an easy one to give everyone a break for the summer months; you can probably read it in a Sunday afternoon, and most of you should have read it at least once already. I know I read it many times on the mission. Anyway, I kept thinking of this book as we read the last one, so I figured I'd suggest it. Hope you all enjoy!

2 Months and a New Baby!

So Jocilyn will be doing the book club book for July. And she thought (and I agree with her) that the 2-month thing worked really well. Trying to get and read a book in a month or less was just kind of exhausting (I am still working on Man's Search for Meaning!).

So what do all of you think? 2 months/person/book, which works out to about 1 book/person/year? Yea or Nay? Let me know in the comments.

Also, Jocilyn has a new baby. That's what the second half of the title is for. :)

Man's Search For Meaning

I finally finished the book. I agree with his philosophy on so many levels, consequently I loved the book. He is missing one vital element, the atonement. He leaves everything in our own hands, I am so glad that I know there is help beyond what I can do. Some of my favorite quotes form the book;

The way in which a man accepts his fate and all the suffering it entails...gives him ample opportunity...to add a deeper meaning to his life.

The prisoner who had lost faith in the future--his future--was doomed. With his loss of belief in the future, he also lost his spiritual hold; he let himself decline and became subject to mental and physical decay.

He who has a why to live for can bear with almost any how.

When we are no longer able to change a situation...we are challenged to change ourselves.

Man's freedom is not freedom from conditions, but it is freedom to take a stand toward the conditions.

A positive attitude enables a person to endure suffering and disappointment as well as enhance enjoyment and satisfaction. A negative attitude intensifies pain and deepens disappointment; it undermines and diminishes pleasure, happiness, and satisfaction.

All of this is made even more poignant by his life experiences. He had every opportunity to become bitter and angry and chose instead to help others through their bitterness. I thoroughly loved the book and this morning as we were reading in 2nd Nephi and read that man was to act not be acted upon I wished that Mr. Frankl would have had the opportunity to read the Book of Mormon. I would love to hear others thought on this book if any of you have a chance to read it.

Finally!

Okay,I'm a slacker. I chose the book as soon as Breanne asked me to be responsible for it this month, (actually I had several in mind just waiting for my turn) but the beginning of the month was sort of crazy and then when I finally sat down to post this I realized I was so computer illiterate that I didn't even know how to post, just comment. That was an incredibly long sentence, sorry. Finally with some help from Kaitlyn I am to this point. I realize that this has been a crazy month for all of the family is seems that everyone is either moving, having a new baby, going on a road trip, or having to spend every free moment at my house building a deck and keeping the house together while I have been gone. Sooo, I am wondering if my book choice can be for May and June. The book I am choosing is Mans Search For Meaning by Viktr Frankl. This is purely a selfish choice because I can quote several parts of it but have never read it myself. This is the perfect motivation for me to do it. Happy reading! Breanne, maybe you can use your new Library of Congress card. Losaunne do they have libraries in Skagway?

Love you all,
Mom

March and April

I am sorry to say that I still haven't read the book from April. I am looking forward to it but it was checked out of the BYU library when I ran in to get it (the last month of school just gets so busy!).

Laura has the book choice for April. I look forward to it! I think the discussions generated here are interesting and insightful--and just so much fun!

The Velveteen Rabbit

When I was 10 years old, my friend gave me a beautifully illustrated version of "The Velveteen Rabbit". Over the years this book went missing and it wasn't until recently that I realized it was gone. I found a copy at a garage sale, but since it is still a bit over Maxton's reading level I decided to share it all with you. It is very short (since it is already the 11th of April) and is about a rabbit so that ties in with Easter, right? I am excited to read this book again after so many years. I will post comments after I have read it. If you can't find a copy or don't have time to go to the library, you can read it online in digital form. It you search for "The Velveteen Rabbit" you will find several options for online reading.

And There Was Light

When I was 16 or so, my Sunday School teacher (Brother Hogan, for those wondering) brought this book to class and mentioned it as part of the lesson. I was very intrigued and talked with him about it after class. He let me borrow it for a while, but life was too crazy with homework and other commitments to read the entire thing. Soon several weeks had passed, and I felt like I should get it back to him. I returned it, having only read a few chapters. I have always wanted to finish the book, so this provides a great opportunity!

And There Was Light is the autobiography of Jacques Lusseyran, a central figure in the French Resistance during WWII. He was in an accident during his childhood that left him blind, but as he grew up he learned to deal with his disability in some interesting ways. From what I understand, he trained himself to actually see, inwardly, the light of others. His abilities were priceless during the war because he could sense whether those with whom he interacted were good or not. I don't know much else about the story, but I am excited to learn more about this inspiring hero.

Comment

Sorry for my lengthy comments on the last two books. For those who don't want to read it all, here is the conclusion of all my ramblings.

My take-away thought focused on the definition of self. Alice Walker defined herself as a black woman who was fighting against oppression. Ayn Rand's book depicted first a group who defined themselves merely as parts of the machine of society, than a man who defined himself as the ultimate end in himself, above all other considerations. Each of these definitions is lacking in truth and ultimately leads to discontent and despair.

What I was reminded of and hope to more fully implement is that the only way to find true happiness for ourselves (and be able to love others with real charity) is to fully accept the one true definition of self and others - our divine worth. When I fully accept that I am a beloved child of God (with all that entails), and that each person on this earth is a beloved child of God (without considering any other quality about them), then I am at peace with myself and others. Then am I truly not prejudiced; then am I truly charitable; then am I truly happy. Then I am complete.

"A Room of One's Own," or, Why I Chose This Book

[Sorry--I started this last week but it took me a while to finish it! Have fun finishing this book and reading Anthem.]

Virginia Woolf wrote an essay (quite a long one) called "A Room of One's Own" in which she discusses the absolute impossibility of success women have faced in writing fiction. She believes that for a woman to be able to write fiction, she needs a room of her own--where she can go to think, to write, and a space that she can own, a place where she can be herself.

I think about her essay often when I read literature written by minorities or those who are oppressed. This past summer I took an African-American literature class, and it really opened my eyes to a lot of the things people struggle with when they are trying to work against public opinion. Those who work to enact change are often viewed as radical, and when we look back with the 20/20 vision of hindsight, sometimes I think we feel that they were perhaps too over the top. "Be a little more moderate," we might think. "It probably wasn't that bad."

But it was that bad, and most times when people rise out of the midst of oppression they have to overdo it so that their posterity can have a "normal" live--not too far to the right or to the left.

These are the kind of things I thought about when I took the African-American lit class. I really wanted to choose a book that highlighted the beautiful things I learned about African-American literature, but all of the books that we had read in that class required too much explaining to really understand what they did for the African-American world. So I chose In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens because, as a collection of essays, I thought it would be a perfect way to peek into the mind of an African-American writer. And, if you didn't have time, you could just read a few.

Do I feel uncomfortable when I read this kind of stuff? Of course. I feel uncomfortable that the atrocities that prompted the Civil Rights movement were so recent--just one generation ago. I feel uncomfortable that similar prejudices exist today, even if they are not so prevalent. But I also feel a real sense of empowerment. Just as the African-Americans sand "We shall overcome," they did overcome, and even though the world isn't perfect yet, it is a lot better.

But there is still a lot of prejudice in the world. This is why I believe it is our duty to become educated about others so we will "understand them better, and love them better" (anyone recognize that quote?). And, I believe that we can learn a lot about our own struggles through life and how to make an impact and a difference, even when everyone else says we can't.

I would love to hear any thoughts any of you had about any of the essays. The following are a few of my favorite quotes:

"So much of the satisfying work of life begins as an experiment; having learned this, no experiment is ever quite a failure." ("But Yet and Still the Cotton Gin Kept On Working")

"Your job...is to change the world. Nothing less or easier than that...the world is not good enought; we must make it better." ("A Talk: Convocation 1972)

Anthem

I don't know about anyone else, but February always seems to be such a busy month to me. So for this month's reading, I chose Ayn Rand's Anthem, a short book--barely 100 pages--to accommodate everyone's schedules.

I read this book in high school and actually enjoyed it, unlike other books I've read by Ayn Rand. I was going to read it again before posting, but was unable to find the time. Consequently, I have no review to share with you. I guess you'll just have to share your own reviews in the comments!

In Search of Our Mother's Gardens

In preparation for Black History month in February, and also in honor of Civil Rights Day (for some reason I thought that Black History month would be in the same month that Civil Rights day was celebrated, but I guess I was wrong), I thought we should read this book:

In Search of Our Mother's Gardens, by Alice Walker. I was first introduced to this book in my African-American literature class this past summer. We only read one essay from it (it is a collection of essays written by Walker), but I was hooked and have wanted to read it ever since.

If you have trouble finding it, you can read the first 70ish pages on google books.

I thought that I would introduce two essays, to begin with. Because this book is a collection of essays, you can read them in whatever order you want. You don't even have to read them all! That is the beauty of essay books.

The first essay I read was the title essay, "In Search of Our Mother's Gardens." I loved this essay because it talks about the natural instinct of creating that seems to lie inside of all women, even when they are oppressed or unable to develop their creative arts. I love what she says about her mother when she is working in her garden:

"I notice that it is only when my mother is working in her flowers that she is radiant, almost to the point of being invisible--except as Creator: hand and eye. She is involved in work her soul must have. Ordering the universe in the image of her personal conception of Beauty."

The feminist in me loves that--because, in my personal definition, a feminist is someone who believes in the rights of a woman to be a woman. I don't think women need to be men to have real rights, but when they are not allowed to be themselves--when the have no outlet for creative expression--that is a real tragedy. But somehow, through the centuries, women have kept living and kept loving--and kept creating--even when they lived in circumstances of slavery and oppression. As President Uchtdorf said in October 2008, "The desire to create is one of the deepest yearnings of the human soul. No matter our talents, education, backgrounds, or abilities, we each have an inherent wish to create something that did not exist before." This enduring legacy of creation and beauty is what Alice Walker is searching for when she is searching for her mother's gardens.


The second essay I read was "Looking for Zora." Zora Neale Hurston was one of the first black woman novelists--she wrote Their Eyes Were Watching God and several other novels. Zora was Alice Walker's inspiration, because Alice Walker wanted to be a black woman writer and she wanted a role model, someone who would help her know that she was not alone in this undertaking. I think this essay does a good job of showing just what a role model can mean to someone.

I will leave it at this for now. I am excited to hear what all of you think about the essays--if you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to post them in the comments!