Become a Bookworm!

I really like our Relief Society here. I'm on the activity planning committee and--at the risk of sounding boastful--we come up with some pretty awesome ideas. (Of course, most of them are our chairman's, Ashley, but still.) Anyway, at the beginning of the year we had a little meeting to roughly outline what we'd like to do for our monthly/bi-monthly activities. Ashley said she had been trying to think of things that used our talents and she was a little despairing because she didn't feel she had any talents that were really shareable. Then it came to her that she loved books and could share that. At the meeting she found she was in good company and so we decided to have an activity that focused on learning to love books and how to find some great ones. It was awesome! We had some people sign up to share books from different genres, and despite trying to keep it to about 40-45 minutes so there'd be time to peruse the books on display as well, we went over. But nobody seemed to mind--which means it's really good!

Anyway, I just thought, since there are so many people who read this blog who love to read books, I would post the titles and genres of each. Before I do that though, let me start off with a couple of tips Ashley gave before the presenters got up.

~I know some of you are already on there, but Goodreads.com is a great site. Mike just got on recently too, and he's really enjoying it. Go! Explore! Add me as a friend! It's free and it's pretty easy to navigate.
~Ashley keeps book-journals. They're not anything deep necessarily, but just the title of the book, the author, and a little blurb about it. She read a couple; some of them were as short as, "Fantastic!" and others go into more detail. I prefer to write in my books. Either way, I strongly recommend writing. When I write about what I read, or take notes in the margins, even if I never go back to that book again, I remember a lot more from it. Reading to me demands participation.
~(This one's from me.) Try to read from a variety of genres. Mike has a really hard time getting away from non-fiction, and Ashley has a really hard time getting away from YA, and another friend of mine reads only fiction, especially sci-fi, and another friend of mine just told me she's a junkie for socio-economic commentary. That's all well and good that they enjoy reading those genres, but c'mon! Ever heard the phrase "stranger than fiction?" That is so true! There are some incredible true stories out there, and you're totally missing out! But if all you read is non-fiction, you are depriving yourself of some of the most moving and truthful and eye-opening prose there is; honestly, you're hampering yourself from a greater understanding of the world you live in. And fiction like that can come from any sub-category--any. After you've read some of each then you can decide whether you really just don't like that genre or not. Not before. Okay, off my soapbox.

Onto the books! (The titles are links, except for the church historical fiction ones. I tried to find more than just reviews, but that's not always the case. Sorry!)
Science Fiction: Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card
Romance: (trilogy) Fitzwilliam Darcy, Gentleman by Pamela Aidan (point of view of Mr. Darcy)
Church Historical Fiction: (She kind of got carried away picking, so these are all series) Prelude to Glory by Ron Carter; Children of the Promise by Dean Hughes; The Promised Land by David G. Woolley
Non-Fiction: Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand
Biography: Washington: A Life by Ron Chernow; Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Young Adult Novel: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Middle Grade Novels (between 8 and 12): Ida B. by Katherine Hannigan (I am putting this on my list, FYI)
Graphic Novel: Bone by Jeff Smith
Poetry: Behind My Eyes by Li-Young Lee
Mystery/Thriller: The Brass Verdict by Michael Connelly
Adult Fiction: Room by Emma Donoghue

Things I've Learned

Some of you may know Mike and I have been watching the three children of some friends of ours while they're in England for the week. We're almost done--they get back on Saturday morning--but it's been an interesting experience. Let's just say we are glad twins--and triplets--don't run in either of our families! I thought I'd share a few highlights.

Deep thought:
~If Wish Bear can grant pretty much any wish, why are there any other Care Bears? And for that matter, is there really any risk in any of the episodes?

Proud moments:
~The food is a little different than what we normally have at home. I don't know that it's worse or better, it's just--mooore--what exactly? Faster? Yes, it's faster. Much faster. I was a little worried Madie might end up not feeling very well after a week (she's got sensitive bowels, if you know what I mean) or worse: that her tastes would be spoiled. All my work! Not that we only eat organic foods or even all good foods--I love to bake and Mike's obsession with homemade ice cream is hard to reel in sometimes--but we eat a lot of vegetables and fruit and vegetarian meals and fishy meals--a nice balance I think. Madie eats two or three whole fruits a day. So last night while the other three were chowing down on saucy chicken and rice (with extra sauce poured on top), I was very happy to see that the first thing gone from Madie's plate was the broccoli. :)

~Despite all the craziness and extra kids, I've gotten a lot of reading done. In fact, I finished The Memory Keeper's Daughter. Oh so good!

Breakthrough:

~I realized what it was about some friends' houses that really turned me off as a kid: the smell. It's not the smell of poopy diapers or pee-soaked beds. It's the smell of microwaved corn dogs and maple syrup long after breakfast is over.

A Long Walk Back

I am so excited. Have you heard me talk about The Long Walk by Slavomir Rawicz? Well, if you've mentioned the words "book" and "good" around me any time in the past three years, then yes, you have. It was recommended to me by my roommate, Angela, and I have recommended it to just about everyone I know who can read. It is sooo good. Anyway, Mike found a preview for a movie called "The Way Back" online (no TV, so we didn't know about it even though it came out on the 21st, so many of you may have heard of it already). As I was watching it I realized it is The Long Walk. It looks so good! I don't think it will be a disappointment at all! (Not to mention is has Ed Harris and Colin Ferrel. Oh yes, ladies. Ferrel.)

Enjoy.

Dumped and How To Deal

Mike left me for a man named Kevin and a tent up in Yosemite. It's really hurting my self-image as a wife. So, to console myself I'm planning on breaking out a piece of cheesecake, watching Doc Martin and thinking about what to do next on the short story I'm writing. (It's due Wednesday! YIKES!)

I did want to leave you with my booklist for the year. Now, these are the books I'm determined to read this year, and if I have time I'll stick some more on the end. But I'm not a particularly fast reader, despite being an avid one. I think it's cause I stop to re-read things all the time and take notes in the margins. I used to feel really embarrassed about that, until just recently I was reading an article that said "deep reading" was going the way of the dodo bird. (For those of you who don't know, the dodo is extinct.) They mentioned things like re-reading, making connections to previous parts of the book, and taking notes when they described deep-reading. I was so relieved! I thought I was just slower than everyone else! But now I realize I'm probably just doing more than a lot of people when they read. It's great to just read for pleasure, without analyzing deeply, etc. But I just find that kind of thing a lot of fun. It's like when I watch a movie: I need to talk about it with someone so we can discuss the artistic qualities of it and the acting and the plot, etc., and if there is a moral, what it is, etc. I guess it just makes it more fun for me.

Anyway, on with the list!

Non-Fiction
The Last Empty Places by Peter Stark (Already started it. It is sooooo good so far!)
Encyclopedia of the Exquisite: An Anecdotal history of Elegant Delights by Jessica Kerwin Jenkins
Stuffed: Adventures of a Restaurant Family by Patricia Volk
Classical Tradition by Anthony Grafton
Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand
Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner

Fiction
Room by Emma Donoghue
Solar by Ian McEwan
The Imperfectionists by Tom Rachman
The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
A Day No Pigs Would Die by Robert Newton Peck
Bloodroot by Amy Greene

Poetry
Newspaper Blackout by Austin Kleon (I'm really excited about this one!)
God Damsel by Reb Livingston

Plays
Ghosts by Henrik Ibsen


What are you reading?