ah, books

Next week we are discussing Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card for our homeschool study group. It took me all week to locate a copy--David found a pdf but I didn't want to read at my computer all weekend, and a friend gave me access to an mp3 file, but I didn't like the reader's voice, so I was still trying to find an actual BOOK to borrow. I even scoured the books at D.I. to no avail. Last night a neighbor's son brought by their copy, though, and tonight I finished it. We spent the day with David's family because his sister Jenn is in town, so I had lots of time to read. I haven't read much since I started my job three weeks ago and it was nice to get absorbed in a story again. A good book is like a drug for me. A few years back I went through a phase where I had no interest in reading novels. I preferred various genres of non-fiction. Since beginning our classics studies, though, for the Thomas Jefferson Education stuff I've rekindled my love of novels. There really is so much to be gained and learned from having vicarious experiences. Pretty amazing, actually.

a really cool thing

The past couple of days I've been listening to Anne of Green Gables on librivox.org. It's a public domain catalog of many MANY audio books. Sometimes you might get a less than stellar recording, but for many books there are multiple versions, so it is worth checking out. If you want to listen to Anne of Green Gables, I can highly recommend version 2. The reader has an excellent voice, very well suited to the text.

stephenie meyer fans...

You really have got to read The Host. I loved it. Two enthusiastic thumbs up.

laddie & gratitude

(if you squish the title of this post, it's "latitude.")


I read it in a whirlwind to finish before our discussion group met tonight, but I give Laddie by Gene Stratton-Porter (same author as highly reviewed-by-me Freckles) five stars. This book has it all--enlightening thoughts on education, characters who inspire you to improve your own life, mystery, adventure, romance, humor, fabulous pastoral descriptions...I could probably go on for a bit longer. This book is on the Thomas Jefferson Education short list of classics to get started in furthering your own education and developing the skills necessary to be an effective mentor, and after finishing it, I can plainly see why. This book is online in its entirety on Google Books. I was fortunate enough to borrow a copy from a friend, since it isn't quite the same to sit at my computer on a metal folding chair and read such a lengthy work. (sidenote:I think I need a more comfortable office chair....maybe it's time to hit D.I. when I get some disposable income.)

Anyways, you should read it. It's fabulous.

Today I'm grateful for ward/neighborhood members who look out for each other. And for people with skills willing to share them. And that my house is no longer 85 degrees.

finished!

David and I finished reading Jane Eyre last night. We were quite happy to be done, especially as it is overdue by about 10 days at the library, but I will miss reading it together. Such a tale of romance and suspense with such strong characters and a compelling story! I was happy that I loved it just as much this second time through, a decade after my first reading of it. One thing I noticed a lot more this second time through was the steadiness of Jane's character. I think when I read it as a 20 year old, I was very much swept away in the romance and excitement of it all. This time I was able to appreciate her and her constancy though many trials and difficulties as well as temptations. Absolutely fabulous. David enjoyed it as well, so it isn't just chick lit! Four thumbs up!

a quotation

When God had made The Man, he made him out of stuff that sung all the time and glittered all over. Then after that some angels got jealous and chopped him into millions of pieces, but still he glittered and hummed. So they beat him down to nothing but sparks but each little spark had a shine and a song. So they covered each one over with mud. And the lonesomeness in the sparks make them hunt for one another, but the mud is deaf and dumb. Like all the other tumbling mud-balls, Janie had tried to show her shine.

Janie
Their Eyes were Watching God

the joy of a good book

You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend. ~Paul Sweeney

David and I have been reading Jane Eyre together for the last six weeks. We have only been reading it aloud & only reading together, so it's taken a fair amount of time to get through the lengthy chapters. I have read it once before, ten years ago, and I read it in less than three days, I believe, staying up until four a.m. to finish it the final night. I absolutely loved it, but haven't picked it up again since then. David has never read it. I have been delighted to find that it meets and exceeds my memories of it. I love it even more this time around, being able to add my life's experience of the past decade to my interpretation and understanding of the characters. And I actually find there is something quite gratifying to going slowly through a book. Often, like the quotation above says, I feel sad at the end of a good book, because I have to say goodbye to the characters and I have to cease having them dwell in my mind. I sometimes feel a genuine disappointment when I read a good book too quickly (though it's hard to help in some cases!) because I only had a couple of days to mull over the ideas and live vicariously through the lives of the books inhabitants.

We just read three chapters tonight (finishing a few minutes ago) and if it weren't so late and we didn't have 9:00 church, we couldn't have stopped now.

The joy of books!
To sit alone in the lamplight with a book spread out before you, and hold intimate converse with men of unseen generations - such is a pleasure beyond compare. ~Kenko Yoshida

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

I just finished reading the above mentioned book. Excellent, enlightening, and interesting. The short answer is, as author Michael Pollan says, Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants. Pretty sound advice that has kept the human race alive for a few million years.

One distinction of note he makes is between actual food and food-like substances. Food-like substances are those foods you generally find in the center of the grocery store, while actual food is more likely to be found in the periphery (i.e. produce, milk, cheese, meats). He delves into the "religion" of nutritionism, the belief that food is only a collection of nutrients/vitamins/carbs/fats/proteins. He supports the idea that food is more than a sum of its parts.

I like his guidelines for selecting food, so I'm going to list them here, as much for my own reference as for anyone else's benefit (parentheticals are my additions/clarifications:

Avoid food products containing ingredients that are A) unfamiliar, B) unpronouncabeable, C) more than five in number, or that include D) high-fructose corn syrup.

Avoid food products that make health claims

Shop the peripheries of the supermarket and stay out of the middle.

Get out of the supermarket whenever possible.

Eat mostly plants, especially leaves.

You are what what you eat eats too. (Yep, that's typed correctly. Read it again if necessary! In other words, if the cow you ate was fed junk calories, you're eating junk calories.)

If you have the space, buy a freezer. (Especially if you eat meat--find a good grass fed source and stock up.)

Eat like an omnivore. (Eat a variety of foods. You are more likely to cover your nutritional needs this way.

Eat well-grown food from healthy soils. (For example, a carrot grown today is generally less nutritious than one grown 50 years ago because the fertilizers and pesticides do not provide the same level of nutrition in the soil.)

Eat wild foods when you can.

Be the kind of person who takes supplements. (He says that until you are middle aged, most people shouldn't need supplements, but as we age it is helpful.)

Eat more like the French, or the Italians, or the Japanese, or the Indians, or the Greeks. (Nearly all traditional diets are healthy because they are less refined--refined sugars & flours are two of the main culprits of our Western diet.)

Regard nontraditional foods with skepticism.

Don't look for the magic bullet in the traditional diet. (So the new "superfood" isn't likely to be that super. Better to eat a healthful variety.)

Pay more, eat less. (Buy better grown food. Good food, i.e. fruits/veggies/etc, is more expensive than crap food, but it's better for you.)

Eat meals. (Put more energy/time into meal preparation and eat fewer snacks.)

Do all your eating at a table. No, a desk is not a table.

Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does.

Try not to eat alone.

Consult your gut. (Don't judge your fullness by how much is left on your plate or in the bag. Pay attention to your own level of fullness. It may take some effort to figure this out, as we don't generally pay attention in our culture to internal cues.)

Eat slowly. (Meaning deliberately.)

Cook and, if you can, plant a garden.

So there you have it. :o) Pretty sound ideas, methinks.

finished reading

Over the past few days I finished reading Jacob have I Loved and Look Me in the Eye. Reports:

Jacob have I Loved is a coming of age novel, a sort of modern Jacob & Esau (hence the title) story. It's well written, but since I think the target audience is adolescents, I didn't really connect with the story too much. It did make me think about parenting issues, though, and the importance of making sure each of your children feel loved and valued for who they are.

Look Me in the Eye is about the author's experiences growing up with undiagnosed Asperger's Syndrome. He didn't find out about it until he was in his late 30s or so, I believe. Socially he struggled, and had to deal with so many negative assessments of his personality and behavior throughout his growing up years. He did have real genius for electronics and computers, though, and had a number of adventures developing cool stuff like rocket-shooting guitars and smoking guitars as well as the lighting effects for KISS on tour. I heard about this book on NPR quite a while ago and requested it at the library. My main motivation was to get a better understanding of Asperger's, as David's friend and computer programmer has Asperger's, too. Reading the book was really insightful into what it must be like to live in his mind. It was well written and the stories were enjoyable, but near the end I was just done looking at the world through his eyes. People with Asperger's have a hard time seeing others' points of view and are typically self-centered as a result, and I was tired of the "Me me me" focus of the book. Though, of course, I guess that's the point of most biopic writing. I did finish it, though, and would recommend it to anyone interested or curious. I'm looking forward to reading some of the writings of his younger brother, Augusten Burroughs, starting with Running with Scissors . Their parents had quite a variety of problems, so if nothing else you come away with renewed gratitude for your own, less traumatic childhoods. (Assuming you had such a childhood. I was fortunate enough to.)

kindness (or a double whammy book & movie review)

I recently finished reading Freckles by Gene Stratton Porter. The funny thing is, I've had this copy of the book since I was quite young, I'd say since age ten or so. But the cover of the book always turned me off, plus it has a lot of "brogue" in the dialogue, which can be hard to understand. I think I made it through the first chapter at some point in my youth. But other books by this author are on the "classics list" for the Thomas Jefferson Education Five Pillars reading, and since I didn't have those at hand, but did have Freckles, I picked it up a few weeks back and started reading it. It took me longer than it normally would have because I've been reading other books (including Haven Kimmel's The Solace of Leaving Early which I also recommend), but sometimes I enjoy a slow read because it gives the characters more time to become real to me and gives the ideas and themes of the book more time to permeate my soul. This book certainly merits some pondering. The story is of a young man called Freckles who was abandoned at birth and raised in the loveless environment of an orphanage. Due to an accident as a baby, he only has one good arm. After he leaves the orphanage, he finds a group of people who see beyond his humble background and his maimed body and give him the opportunities for growth and excellence that he'd never had before. He positively blossoms because of their love. It is a truly wonderful story.

Last night we had a "Girls Night In" (plus David) and watched Lars and the Real Girl. It is also a story of a damaged soul who hasn't felt much love in his life. I was struck by a similar theme as in Freckles. Namely, that our treatment of those who might be viewed as damaged or inferior really reflects only on ourselves. How we treat such people is an unobstructed view into the goodness of our own hearts. In the Lars story, his brother Gus says, "They'll laugh at him," and the doctor/psychologist says, "They'll laugh at you, too." I think it comes down to which side we want to be on. Fear of man makes us want to be the ones laughing, but love makes that irrelevant because we know what we should do. I know I've been in situations where I laughed and I shouldn't have, and I remember the feeling of complete smallness that accompanied the laughter. You instantly feel worse for having participated, and even scared because you know that it wouldn't take too much for the tables to be turned and everyone would be laughing at you.

So, I highly recommend both the book and the movie. And the kindness.

days of clarity

I woke up this morning, not too early, but earlier than I have been waking up, and David was already on his way up to SLC for a class. I spent some time going through our iTunes songs and improving our "DANCE!" playlist, and also tried to buy a song from iTunes featured on Dan in Real Life, which we watched last night. (But for some reason my iTunes account isn't working, which is driving me nuts because I really want to buy this song, and I want it now, dang it!) Anyways, I was really enjoying listening to music and having some time to myself, and the kids slept until about 8 o'clock, so I had about an hour. For some reason, the combination of quiet time alone and finally not having a head that is full of congestion has combined to give me a wonderful day of clarity. I finished reading an article How to Learn and Why, and my brain feels great and all attuned to the order of the universe. It's days like this that make me long for my graduate school days, when at least I felt like it was easier to fill my brain with knowledge when it was ready to receive it. Of course, many days were spent trying to force knowledge and learning into a less-than-ready mind, but I still loved the idea of learning and discussing what I learned.

Lately I'm really coveting the Great Books of the Western World series. I just want to own that collection of wisdom, so that when I have these times of full brain power, as well as a day without anything particularly urgent to do, I can read a classic. It's just a bit more convenient than getting them at the library. Of course, we do have some great books (though not "Great Books") here already, and I guess I should just read those while I'm waiting to have a few hundred extra dollars lying around.

Anyways, here's to being human again! May I make the most of it!

just finished reading

Sarah by Orson Scott Card. It's about Sarai/Sarah, wife of Abraham from the Old Testament. It is an excellent book. Card does well to take you into Sarah's world and into her heart. I like historical fiction for the possibility of really identifying with real people, even if every event may not have actually occurred. Sometimes when you grow up with a story, it becomes less rather than more real to you as time passes. Being a mother, Sarah's struggle with not being able to have children is more relevant and personal. Obviously I've not had the same struggle, but I know people who have and I can imagine the grief. Particularly when she knew that God had covenanted with Abraham to become the father of many nations.

Anyways, my thoughts keep getting interrupted by Kids 1 & 2, but I highly recommend the book. I don't know how many others are in the "Women of Genesis" series, but I look forward to reading them as well. This is my very first time reading an Orson Scott Card book, but I think I've been sufficiently persuaded to read more.

happy mindless reading

I just finished reading Pretties, the second book in the Uglies trilogy by Scott Westerfield. We read Uglies for book club, and while I thought the characters lacked a bit of depth, the story was engaging enough to make me want to find out what happened next. I picked up Pretties from the library Thursday night, read a bit on Friday and finished it late last night.

The general idea (very general so as not to spoil the fun if you read them) is that in this futuristic society, at age 16 everyone gets super-deluxe plastic surgery to become "pretty." This is supposedly based on tne evolutionary desire to seek out mates with certain biological traits (symmetry, big eyes, clear skin, etc) and so noone has an advantage over another person because of their looks. There is obviously more that comes to light, but that's what you learn in the first chapters. If you like cool technology in science fiction books, you will enjoy reading these books for that, alone.

Let me know if you pick them up what you think of them.

literary Wednesday

David & I just finished listening to Stargirl, read by John Ritter of all people. We highly recommend the story. And I found out tonight that there is a SEQUEL, which makes me ridiculously happy. It was one of those stories I was sad to finish as I loved the characters so much. So, hooray! We have requested the CDs at the library.

highly effective me

For our homeschoolling parents study group we are reading Stephen R. Covey's Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. This book is a classic example of my tendency to dismiss and/or ridicule things that are embraced by the masses, because, as we all know, "The masses are asses." And I think I've always been put off by the term "effective." What does it mean to be an effective person? And why would I want to be one? I can say that now that I'm about 1/3 through the book, being an effective person sounds pretty good. I know that I would really like to be an effective mother, with all that being such entails. The book focuses on what is necessary to develop true character in order to have success and happiness in life, and contrasts this character to just having a "winning personality." So, while a lot of the book has been excerpted over the years into soundbites and inspirational quotations, I'm finding much of merit in the text. So, I guess I'll have to eat my words. But hopefully I can do so in a highly effective manner.

ponderings

While visiting my parents this last week, I pulled some of my mom's Erma Bombeck books of the shelf to peruse. I remember being aware as a child that my mom enjoyed Erma's writing, and I remember her column in the newspaper. I think I even went so far as to crack open a couple of the books to get a laugh. But oddly, at the ripe age of 10 or 12, the humors of domesticity, motherhood and marriage didn't appeal to me. But it's amazing what two decades, a husband, two kids and a house can do to one's perspective. One thing that struck me was how little has changed in the realm of mothering since 1976 when she published Motherhood: The Second Oldest Profession. I'd also say that motherhood probably hasn't changed much over the past 1000 years, but I don't think that is true. The Industrial Revolution changed motherhood, and family life in general, drastically by moving fathers out of the home and leaving mothers as the sole caretakers in the home, and also by suburbanizing life for these mothers and children. Additional children were no longer an asset by being extra farm workers or contributors to the family economy, but rather a liability that must be educated and provided for.

But back to Erma... what's not to love and laugh about from a woman who said

"My second favorite household chore is ironing. My first one being hitting my head on the top bunk bed until I faint."

I also read her very autobiographical A Marriage Made in Heaven, or Too Tired For An Affair. In this book she chronicles her marriage to her husband and their journeys through parenthood, home buying, dual careers, illness, retirement, etc. Something I found particularly interesting was her account of the beginning of the feminist movement. She writes that Betty Friedan came to her town to give a lecture, and she and her friends attending, expecting to laugh and be entertained by a woman who knows what their lives were like. This was not the case. Erma writes that Betty expected an anger that they didn't feel, and rather than feel compelled to join with her, the women felt defensive and threatened by the attitudes of this woman who should have been "one of them."

This prompted me to ask my own mother what her impressions were of the Equal Rights Amendment at the time. She said that she felt strongly that the Equal Pay for Equal Work was important and is still something that hasn't been successfully dealt with, but she did not have favorable views of Betty Friedan and the majority of her goals. She said the worst thing to come out of the feminist movement was an attitude that men are obsolete or irrelevant, and she thinks that has caused a lot of damage, especially with so many single mothers who have chosen to raise kids on their own, the children grow up without a male authority figure, which can be particularly hard for the sons. It was interesting to hear her thoughts on the matter. Especially in light of the several hours I was able to spend in the company of fellow feminist Mormon housewives over the weekend.

I am very glad to live in this generation and in this country, with all its myriad shortcomings and failings, that allow women so many opportunities. To imagine the pain of being a woman in many Asian countries today, where every time you conceive you hope desperately for a male child, as their chances for survival, health and happiness greatly exceed those of a female child. To live a difficult existence where you would grieve for your daughter at her birth, knowing all that she would suffer and her limited opportunities and dependence upon men for every necessity and pleasure in life. What a sad and desperate existence.

Put the book down and step away...

A day after finishing book 7 of Harry Potter, I picked up New Moon, the second book in the Twilight series, by Stephenie Meyer, which I finished last night. While I don't think they are quite as engaging as the HP books, they are enjoyable. Who doesn't love a bit of vampire fiction? But in reading over 1,000 pages since last Friday, I've realized that a good book is like a drug for me. I'd rather read it than anything else. Which means that the house looks like several small tornadoes hit and my sleep schedule is way off. Gratefully, I don't have anything else as engaging to read until Meyer's next book Eclipse comes out in a couple of weeks. Maybe I can catch up on the rest of my life in the meantime.

FINISHED!

I'd have finished earlier, but took a few hours off to get the kids from their grandparents, to run errands, and eat dinner. But I'm finished!

Got it!

After dinner last night, then to the movies to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, we headed to Borders to await the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I purchased my copy at precisely 1:06 a.m. I read the first chapter in the car, another after we returned, and have read a couple more chapters so far this morning. I'm sure I'd get through it much faster if I didn't have pets/kids/bodily functions. In spite of my desire to know what happens, I'm sad to be reading the final installment. It's not too frequently that something comes around that grabs as many people as Harry Potter has. And last night at the book release I saw the woman who gave me the first book seven years ago, and I was hooked. I thanked her for introducing me to Harry, and she said she thinks she must have given that book to just about everyone she knows.

I'm being careful to avoid any spoilers, but I figure my blog is a safe place.