"The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton

I first read this book when I was about 13; that would have been about 1971. It was still a pretty new book; published in 1967. I know it's not great literature, but it touches me each time I've read it; but no time more than this time.
Over the past year I've had the opportunity to take care of and make friends with a patient at the hospital; a girl just 16 years old, who is dying of ovarian cancer. We have similar tastes in music, movies and books. Over the last few months we've shared our favorites with each other. One of the last times I took care of her I told her about this book and that S.E. Hinton was just about her age when she wrote it. I hadn't read it in several years and had forgotten many details; like Johnny's age when he died, and the line on page 107 "Sixteen years ain't long enough." When I read it this week I cried with regret at having given the book to her; thinking it would add to her hurting. But perhaps it might have been okay, knowing that even a fictional character felt what she is feeling.
So many things I love about this book; the relationship of the three brothers and their group of friends, Ponyboy's love of poetry and sunsets, Darry's feeling of responsibility, Johnny being like a "southern gentleman" (pg 106), the correct use of the phrase "I couldn't have cared less." (pg 141) I guess that's one of my pet peeves, but S.E. got it right.
I hope you who read it have enjoyed it. And I'm dedicating this family book club reading of it to Karlee.

The Diary of Anne Frank

Ok. I didn't post at the beginning of December, but I think we all knew that "The Outsiders" was the book for December and January. So, we are just about half way through with that time. I am posting to let everyone know that the book that we will be reading in February and March is "The Diary of Anne Frank" I love this book. I hope you will all enjoy it if you have not already read it. Well, that's it, we will be discussing "The Outsiders at the end of January. Hope you are all doing well and I love you all very much. XOXOX

~Heidi~

Time to review

Well, it is the beginning of December already, and time for us all to share our thoughts on "The Swiss Family Robinson". I suppose I will start...

I must admit that I did not finish the book. Sorry Ben. This has been a very crazy and stressful time for me. Anyway...I was very impressed with the bravery of the whole family. The parents at the beginning. When they realize their situation, they are calm and collected even though they are afraid for their lives and the lives of their children. They stayed calm to make it easier for their children. I hope that I would be able to do the same for my kids in a serious situation.

I also liked that they saved the Captain's Great Dane. At least I think it was a Great Dane. I can't remember for sure now.

I love that they made a home for themselves on the island. They were very resourceful. I was impressed with how much the Father knew. He was a very smart man. I have often thought that I would like to live on an island with my family(extended family also) the way the Robinsons did. We would all have our own houses of course, but we would work together so we would all have what we needed. And we would all be together which would be SO great!! I think that is my idea of paradise. And of course we would have no run-ins with pirates.

Well, thanks so much everybody for participating in our book club. Thanks especially to Ben for choosing our last book. And to my Johanna(Mom) for choosing our next one.

Love to you all,

~Heidi~

Change of plans.....yet again.

Ok, so Aimee, Lynsey and I have discussed it, sort of, and I think that we should take a short break due to the busy Holiday season. We will be discussing The Swiss Family Robinson in December. I imagine all who have not finished it will be able to by then. And then I think that we should have December and January to read The Outsiders as it will still be pretty busy for everyone.

And then it is time to start the order over. I will be choosing a book for February, and so on. Unless there are some who would like to change the order or who would not like to choose one at all this time around. Please let me know so that I can make the changes.

I am so grateful for those of you who have participated. I have really enjoyed it. It makes me feel closer to all of you, just knowing that we are all doing something together, miles and miles apart. I will post the book I choose for February as soon as I can so that those of you who are able to and would like to read ahead, may do so.

I love you all very much and am so very blessed to have such a wonderful family.

~Heidi~

Ok, so I am a total slacker. I have still not finished the book for September. And October is already more than half way over. So, I want to know what everybody wants to do. I want to read the book. I really like our book club and I want it to keep going. And I am really excited for the book my Mom has chosen. The one we are supposed to be reading now. Anyway, I was thinking that the schedule doesn't really matter too much right? We could just allow 2 or 3 more weeks to finish Swiss Family Robinson(well, for me to finish it), and then move on to The Outsiders. And then continue one from there. I suppose this needed to be discussed also. What does everyone want to do after that book. No one else has volunteered to pick a book after that. So, should we end it after that, or should we start over with the same order of people? I would really like some feedback, please?

Sorry guys, I feel like I have messed everything up.

Book for September

Hi everybody! So as I think you all know my pick for our book this month is "The Swiss Family Robinson". I thought I would be very familiar with this story because I watched the movie quite alot of times growing up. After reading the book I have found that like most books turned into movies there is much more to it than I thought. I enjoyed reading this book very much. It took a long time to get through it because I was reading it out loud to Joseph, but I think he enjoyed it also. I would read to him at night and also whenever he was in the tub taking a bath. Anyway I enjoyed this book and hope you all will to.

Ben

A Final Encouragement on the Jan Karon Novels

At Home in Rexburg

Heavenly Heidi was kind enough to give me a nudge today and remind me that the time for reading the first Mitford novel by Jan Karon, At Home in Mitford, has pretty much expired, although no points will be lost if you are still trying to finish it. (Sorry. After 20 years, I'm sort of in the habit of saying things like that.)

So, by now, I'm pretty certain that I can spill a few beans that you've already become aware of on your own. Father Tim is in love with Cynthia Coppersmith, the children's author. His friend and antique dealer, Andrew Gregory, a dangerously handsome fellow of half English/half Italian heritage, hasn't got a chance with her, but that hardly matters, since all the other women in North Carolina and much of Europe seem to find him attractive. I.e., don't worry about Andrew. His turn is coming.

Unlike our Emma, Father Tim's Emma is a pain in the neck and various other anatomical parts. But her heart is in the right place and even she, in the fullness of time, will come to "represent" the best of Mitford. Read on if you want to understand that shameless pun.

You will have noticed that these novels seem to cover a year or a little more each. This means that, eventually, Dooley will have to grow up. Yes, Jenny is sweet and adorable. But she is not the one. Keep reading.

And what about Dooley's scattered siblings and alcoholic mother? In Father Tim's world, everybody is redeemable and most everybody gets redeemed. But it'll take you a couple more books to learn about all that.

What did you think of Miss Sadie's love story? Yes, we liked it, too, but, like you, we were frustrated by it. But lots of good will come from what her special beau, Willard, built before he went off to WW II and got blown away in France. Ms. Karon never states whether Willard died at Normandy, Bastogne, or some other legendarily easy place to get KIA, but Willard's "shadow" will continue to be cast over Mitford for many, many years.

I often imagine Jan Karon's writing room being wall-papered with notes reminding herself to finish some story she started in the sixth chapter of book three, or something like that. You've met most of the major characters by the end of the first book, but there are still a few more wonderful people to come. I guarantee you'll love them. Some of the characters you've already gotten to know at the church and in the shops along Main Street will be developed into very "touching" (touche'!) foils (again, sorry) as the years go by. The book store lady. The bakery lady. The barber who drinks on the job. They all have their challenges and their adventures, even if their adventures are of the small town variety. Those of us who were raised in small towns love such stories all the more for that.

What about the Man in the Attic? The shoe salesman who shouted "Are you up there?" And does the hair ever actually get ridden "off 'at ol' horse?"

Sheryl and I love these stories. We hope you will, too, and that you'll be able to squeeze them in with whichever family reading club books you choose to read. So far, everybody in the family seems to have great taste, don't you think?

Shall We Just Be Mellow, My Friends? I Capture the Castle: A Discussion

Originally, I had planned out an elaborate series of thought-provoking questions and ideas for I Capture the Castle. However, now I think I'd just like to hear what you thought of it, pure and simple.

Here's what I liked:

1. The Castle--the setting's ambiance; the very idea of living in one, whether you are poor or not; the history of it all.

2. Cassandra--I loved being able to see her grow, learn, experience and even change in bittersweet child to young adult ways. Her ambitions are charming and her journaling inspired me to want to keep more faithful records myself. I mean, look how quickly things changed from day to day and sometimes even as she wrote.

3. Cassandra's Father--I loved that all his seemingly wacky, non sequitur doings amounted to brilliance. I love his redemption and that he understood the kids' motivation (that they knew he could do it) and used his imprisonment as a catalyst.

4. Love--So many real and assumed types of love are seen, talked of, planned for, experienced, misunderstood and finally revealed.

5. Times Gone By--I always love to escape to another era, don't you? Phrasings, stereotypes, clothing styles worn, hairstyles, social ettiquettes, etc. This was a welcome escape!

What did you like? What did you think? Would you recommend this book? Was it anything like what you had expected?

You don't have to answer any of those questions. I just want to hear what you have to say.

Thank you to each of you who tracked down a copy and read the book.


Love,
Autumn

Change of plans...

Hello to all!! I am posting to say that I think that we should take a break for July, for a couple of reasons. First, Lisa is very busy right now and needs to focus on more important things. I think she should. Good luck to Lisa with summer school and everything else she has on her plate. And I also must admit, that I am a little behind. I have only been able to read parts of the last 2 books. Because of just plane crazy life, and because my books never get to me in time!! That is so annoying (I order all of mine on line). So, We are going to skip July, and I am going to catch up with some books. Jim and Sheryl are in charge for August. I believe they have already chosen a book and I am way excited to read it. Jim makes it sound great. So, anyway, if any of you disagree with my decision and think we should just reassign someone else who has a book in mind, then let me know. If I do not hear from anyone, I will just plan on starting back up in August. I love you all and hope you all have a very happy Independence Day!!!

                      ~Heidi~

Jan Karon's "At Home in Mitford"

Everything good about small town life is in the Mitford Novels.

Sorry, kids. I just can't seem to get with the program. We got started reading our big Sherlock Holmes collection back in May and we'll finish it tonight with The Final Problem. Of course, as everyone knows, it turned out not to be the final problem at all. The public simply wouldn't let Conan Doyle kill off such a popular character as Holmes.

It has been such a pleasure to re-read all these stories. One or two were actually knew to me.

How different was the England of that time! Morally, it was better, in that it tolerated less of open immorality and crime. Socially, it was worse, in that everyone still had to "know their place," just as you see in the earlier novels in the same century by Dickens. Upward social mobility happened, but it was still frowned upon by many. Politically, it was better. England was becoming a more free and just land all the time, I think. It had certainly come a long way since the days of the events surrounding Charles I which produced The Musgrave Ritual.

When it was time to go into a dangerous situation, neither Mr. Holmes nor Dr. Watson would hesitate to drop a revolver in his pocket. And no one would have dreamed of questioning their right to do so. Today, England is rife with violent crime, virtually no one can legally own or carry a firearm, and even knives have been prohibited. Like our legislators, Parliament myopically insists that the problem is with the availability of arms. But the real cause of crime and degradation in both our societies is a loss of the desire to do what is right.

Sheryl and I are supposed to pick the book for August, I think. We hope everyone will find time to read the wonderful first-in-the-series Mitford novel. It is called At Home in Mitford. Jan Karon is the author. She's pretty good. Let me warn you, though, that her characters are so delightful that you'll feel as though you've known them all your life. And when you finish one novel, you'll dash out to grab the next one just because you want to keep up on everyone's life.

The thing that really amazes me about her work is that there is virtually no violence in it except for one deputy stopping a .25 slug one time, but he's up and around in time for his wedding. No embarrassing scenes, either. Just good people going about their daily activities, trying to be the best people they know how to be. We've been through the whole series about four times now. Sheryl and I will often refer to events and characters in the Jan Karon novels as casually as we might mention friends and family in the real world.

The first novel starts out slowly, but within two or three chapters you're already hooked on the tiniest little dilemmas. When we lived in Boise, I actually parked the car and walked into an Episcopal (Anglican or Church of England) chapel one time. I wanted to get the feel of where everyone sat and how everything might look in Mitford's "Lord's Chapel." There's nothing anti-Mormon in them. In fact, the name of our church never comes up. The closest it came to happening was when the Baptist and Episcopal preachers combined their choirs for a special event and one of them bragged, "This is a regular Tabernacle affair" or words to that effect.

We cannot recommend these novels too highly. They'll give you the warm, relaxed feeling of living in a small town, surrounded by kind, decent people. They have their funny little traits and even a few faults, but they're all basically good folks. You'll love them.

Holmes Discussion

So....how was it? What did you think? James and I read the first 7 of the 12 stories together and we did enjoy them. I'm sure we will keep going and finish the book. I actually bought a book that has the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes as well as the next book of stories called the Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes. So we have plenty of Holmes stories to keep us busy for a while. Sometimes, as we were beginning a new story I would think, "These stories are a little repetitive. Holmes always stumps Watson by gleaning clue after clue from seemingly minute details." But then we would find out about the case and I would have to change my thinking. Of the 7 stories we read, the cases all so very different and quite clever, I thought. You would have to be very clever to be able to write about a person as clever as Sherlock Holmes.

Which story was your favorite? I think I would have to choose The Red-Headed League. That one surprised me. Some of the others like A Case Of Identity and The Man With The Twisted Lip I was able to figure out (or at least have a good guess) way before Holmes had to explain it all to Watson. The Red-Headed League was kind of funny to me too. Maybe it wasn't meant to be, but reading about scores of red-headed men lining up in hopes of gaining a wonderful unknown position was funny to me. Then poor Mr. Wilson sitting in an office for a few hours everyday copying the encyclopedia made me laugh some more.

I thought of a couple more questions for you. Why does Holmes like to have Watson's company so often? Aside from documenting cases, what other assistance does Watson offer? Is Holmes just lonely? What did you most enjoy about Sherlock Holmes, the character? Even though he does it over and over, I enjoyed Holmes ability to really observe. I also admired his ability to stop his work and move on to other things when there was nothing more to be done for the current case. Overall, I think Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson both are remarkable people. I hope you all enjoyed the Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.

I Capture the Castle

I suppose if I had ever read The Hundred and One Dalmations I would already have been familiar with author Dodie Smith, but such was not the case. Having only watched the Disney adaptation as a child, her name sadly didn't register anything upon reflection. You see, I "met" her casually one evening whilst skimming through recommended summer reading paperbacks on a generously heaped Barnes and Noble table. The coverwork initially grabbed my attention, as it seemed to suggest another time or place. What kept my attention was that J.K. Rowling (yes, of Harry Pottter laude) so highly recommended this book as a "favorite". "Enough said", I thought, "cool cover art and an amazing recommendation is more than I usually get. Sold." And you guys, that was the beginning of a wonderful little time for me--as I hope it will be for you as well.

This book was written about 60 years ago, as more astute readers will recognise in certain stereotypes casually mentioned as you read the book. To me, it was a charming throw-back to how things used to be. Women were certainly not very liberated at the time or in that place, which makes Cassandra's family more quirky and fun against such a drab background. Think of Alice's family in"You Can't Take it with You", and you'll about have it.

More than anything else I can tell you as you begin this book, I will tell you that it was not what I was expecting after having read the back cover. The depth of experiences and character motivations really drew me in in ways I couldn't have anticipated. To say I related to more things than not in this book would be a supreme understatement.

Forgive what you may find to be the mildly slow beginning and give this book a chance. I'll be particularly interested to hear what Ben and my Dad think of this book, as male readers. Is this a story that also appeals to men? I'd sincerely like to know.

Also, to me, in a perfect reading world, we would be able to refrain from completely judging characters' actions by our own set of adopted morals. These characters are not LDS or religious, but they are good people going through life and facing interesting, often challenging situations. As you read, I would be curious to hear if some of the character's actions make you think less of them because we as religiously based family members would possibly have chosen other than they do? I am not talking about anything too scandalous, don't worry. Remember this is the author of The Hundred and One Dalmations, afterall! I'm talking more about pyschological pressures and decisions than anything else;you'll know the parts I'm talking about when you get to 'em...!

And with that little teaser, I will bid you adieu and Happy Reading! Thank you for taking part in this month's reading assignment. I look forward to talking with all of you soon! (Oh, and I have a copy I am willing to send if anyone needs it.)

Love,

Autumn

P.S. Do you think this book inspired J.K. Rowling to use a castle setting in her novels as well?

Conan Doyle is Still Cool

Perhaps I should apologize to the group that we haven't gotten onto the band wagon with this family book club as much as we had hoped to do. I am shocked to discover - again - that life is busy and sometimes even hectic.

But I noticed that the Sherlock Holmes stories are coming up soon on the family reading list, and Sheryl and I have gotten a head start. We've read three of the stories in about 4 days. I've read many of the stories before, but I don't recall whether I've ever read them aloud to someone else. It's great fun. We've started with A Scandal in Bohemia, The Read Headed League, and A Case of Identity. We're going great guns and hope to have many of them read by the time the family starts chatting them up. I've always loved them, anyway.

BBC's series based on the stories starred Jeremy Brett in the title role. I've seen others do well in the part, but, to me, Jeremy Brett WAS Sherlock Holmes. That's remarkable when you consider what an artless, harmless, romantic he played in the film version of My Fair Lady. I wonder whether he did his own singing in that part. I know that Audrey didn't.

Some pretty good Holmes movies have been made out of books which were written by others, long after the death of Sir Arthur. Nicole Williamson, who played Merlin in the 1980 (or thereabouts) version of Excalibur does a bang-up job as Holmes the cocaine addict in The Seven Percent Solution. Robert Duvall fakes a pretty good British accent as Dr. John Watson, and Alan Arkin plays Sigmund Freud as one might wish he had been. Besides, you can't go wrong with a movie which features a sword duel on top of a train that is sprinting along the Danube. ( I took a train along the Danube in '92, but it didn't sprint, and we never got to go up on top for a breather and a sword fight, because all the trains over there are electric now, and the pick-ups are on top, a situation which could be shocking for someone with 36" of steel in his hand.) The movie is deliberately and deliciously melodramatic and features some very fine music, not to mention some glorious east-European scenery.

Holmes is great. I look forward to chatting with you all about the stories.

Guy de Maupassant - One Depressed Guy

Beloved Family,

There are many authors whose works I have read, in whole or in part. There are even more authors whose work I've been meaning to read for decades, in some cases several decades. Sheryl recently got a free bag of books from Borders! She chose nothing but classics. This means that, last night, I got to start the Aeneid, an epic I've wanted to read for many years. It's first line alone is among the most famous phrases in all literature: "I sing of arms and the man..." The first official journal of the National Rifle Association, many years before The American Rifleman, was called Arms and the Man.

Before starting Virgil's master work last night, I stayed up late to finish the last of 26 short stories by de Maupassant. I've been about a month working at this little anthology. It has given me both respect and sadness for its author.

De Maupassant is a fellow who can turn a phrase with the best of them. And he can whip up what Mark Twain would call "a flowery comparison" with the ease of a true master. Many people have tried to describe outdoor scenes and their impact on the characters and their moods. But when this fellow does it, I almost forget that I'm sitting up in bed with one light on, warm and dry, in a rented house in Chubbuck, Idaho. I can actually believe that I'm breathing the first breaths of spring by the Seine river in the 1880s. I can feel myself riding a horse along a path through a forest which meets overhead and whose beginning and end are lost in the distance of both directions.

His characters are well developed and well drawn. You feel that you know them or have known someone just like them. In that respect, he has a great deal in common with Charles Dickens.

But, while Dickens always shows us that virtue will, in some degree, triumph in the end, de Maupassant repeatedly shows us that no one is completely virtuous and that, in the end, it makes no difference how virtuous one has tried to be. His point of view, then, is quite hopeless, especially in his later stories. Perhaps the Victorian period, with its much spoken of suppressed sexualilty, was even worse for the passionate Gallics. I don't really know. Actually, it seems that their usual casual attitude towards marriage vows was already very much in place by 1850 when the author was born. His characters seem to lament that they cannot find happiness in such behavior. But, as we all know, "Wickedness never was happiness."

Even a man who has led an absolutely virtuous life, such as Monsieur Saval in the story entitled Regret, feels that by avoiding opportunities he had to commit adultery with his best friend's wife, he has only contributed to the pointlessness of his own existence! What an attitude!

If you get an anthology of De Maupassant, you may find that its stories are arranged chronologically as are those of our little volume. This makes it easy to observe a pattern to the development of his themes as he grows older. I say "older" rather than "old," because he never grew old. He died of syphillis in middle age. In his early twenties, he participated in the Franco-Prussian War, a terrible humiliation for France and a type of preview of the First World War in its protracted battles in trenches dug in mud. Several of his earlier stories are either about the war or are about its impact on peoples' lives after the war. The occupation of portions of France by Prussian (northeast German) soldiers seems to have left an almost manic bitterness in the soul of France if de Maupassant's writings are any indicator.

The war caused many men to lose either their lives or their livelihoods. It caused many women to lose what little virtue they thought they had. It caused old women to lose their husbands and sons. And there are stories about all such unfortunates. Mother Sauvage is perhaps the most moving of his stories about the Prussian occupation. The reader finds sympathy for everyone in the story in one way or another. A Duel is perhaps the closest thing to a cheerful story in the whole book, and even it is upsetting until near the end.

After he finishes his period of lamentation over the Franco-Prussian shootout, he moves into a series of stories about young men of means, all of whom seem to have fine houses or apartments and a staff of servants. They all seem to be idle wanderers, casually experimenting with the lives and feelings of others. To be a de Maupassant protagonist is not necessarily to be a likable person. But some of these men feel genuine remorse for the hurt they've caused, one such fellow even going so far as to kiss the three-days-dead face of an older Englishwoman who had committed suicide when she realized that her love for him was hopeless.

A number of his later stories seem to be about what he perceives to be the inevitability of repeating our parents' mistakes. Hautot and Son is a prime example.

Finally, at the end of the anthology, he dabbles in an almost Poe-like fascination with insanity and what it does or does not entail. Who Knows and The Horla are such stories. If he'd been born earlier, hemight have given Edgar a run for his money in that genre. He's pretty good at it.

All in all, let me say that I like Guy de Maupassant as a man and like him very much as a wordsmith. I recommend him for anyone who likes short stories and for anyone who likes well drawn characters and well-painted scenery. I cannot recommend him as a source for a person's philosophy of life.

Let's Discuss....

So it's the first of May and I am finally getting around to reviewing the book for April. I hope you can all forgive my tardiness. I hope that you all enjoyed it, I know it's a hard read just given the subject matter but I really love this book. I haven't read it about six years since my aunt passed away and at the time I don't think I really got all that much out of it.

I found this time as I was reading that I felt very peaceful and comforted by the spirit. I could not fathom ever being in that situation and watching Ben die, but I hope that I would be able to rely on my faith and knowledge of the gospel to get me through. I have often wondered how close the veil really is to us when we are outside the temple walls? If we are living a Christ like life and listening to the Holy Ghost could we have similar experiences in our daily lives?

I found her story one of inspiration and hope. One of my favorite lines from the book was: When times are the toughest, don't get discouraged. God may be fixing to do something wonderful. May we all remember that when we are going through rough times that Heavenly Father is always there. Can't wait to hear what you all thought about it.

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes

So here it is the 1st of May and I'm finally choosing my book. Not because I haven't been thinking about it, I just have a REALLY hard time making up my mind when I'm choosing books for book club. I seriously considered choosing The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie King which I have read and really enjoyed. It is a mystery about Sherlock Holmes and his new young apprentice, Mary Russell. I have never read any of the original Sherlock Holmes books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and I have been really curious about them ever since. So I'm going to drag you all along with me! (hahahaha) Hopefully you don't mind too much. I thought I'd start with the first book of Sherlock Holmes short stories entitled The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. The were originally published as single stories in Strand Magazine from July 1891 to June 1892 and were then compiled and published in a book in October of 1892. You can buy the book very cheaply at Amazon or Half.com. Or you can read them for free online at Wikipedia, Project Gutenberg, Page By Page Books, or Google. Or you can even listen to them at Books Should Be Free, Project Gutenberg, Audio Book Treasury, Disc Shelf, or Learn Out Loud. As you can see we have lots of options for this book. Hope you enjoy!

P.S. Lyns, I'm still working on your book. Sorry! I'll comment on it as soon as I finish it.

Guide Me To Eternity

Well it's April and the book I have chosen is Guide Me To Eternity. I read it years ago when my Uncle Anthony recommended it to me just after my Aunt Maryanne had passed. I was having a hard time with her passing and this book really helped me.

I have to warn you though this book should be read with a box of Kleenex near by. It is the true story of how a husband and wife's love reaches beyond time and through the veil.

You can find copies of it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, etc.. I also have a copy and am willing to share with whoever wants to come and get it.

Time to "Book Club"

It is the end of the month and time for everyone who would like to comment on "The Giver", to do so.  I hope that you all enjoyed it. It is a different sort of book. I love it!!

So, I guess I will go first..... I have not read the book in several years, and so it was fun for me to read it again. I love this book mostly because of how thought provoking it is. It makes you really think about life the way it is, and possibly how it could be. Not that I think our world could ever be like it is in this book. However, had our Heavenly Father not chosen Jesus' plan, our world may very well be exactly like this. Maybe worse though, who knows? 

      There are some aspects of the community that I wish our world had though. They all work together and for the good of one another. They all focus on being kind to one another. I think that if everyone was required to spend several volunteer hours a month, the world would be a much better place. People would love one another more. Since service is the greatest way to gain love for someone. I am not claiming to be a noble person, I just see in this book, several ways that I can improve myself. 

       I love the parts where the Giver transfers memories to Jonas. It is just so cool. You feel like you are there and experiencing for the first time with him. The Giver in a way makes me think of our Savior. I don't know if Lois Lowry is a religious woman, but the character of the Giver is a very sweet, caring man who loves everyone in the community. He sacrifices his life in a way. He does not die, but lives a life of solitude because of the knowledge that he has. He believes that he has to protect them from it. He takes on all of the different possible emotions. Pain, love, fear, sorrow, joy, and many others. He takes them on himself. So, yeah, very different from Christ's story, but I can't help but think of Christ when I read this book. 

       I love that in the end, Jonas and the Giver are brave enough to put a stop to their world as it is. I recognize that there are several things about the community that are very disturbing. The way they treat birthing mothers, the elderly, and children who do not seem to develop as fast as they think they should. That is so sad. If that were the case in our world, my sweet Luke might not be here. It took him longer to talk than it does most children I think. But that is ok. Well, I think this is long enough, I could go on for a while, but I wont. I am anxious to hear what you all thought. 

Hurry, Hurry, Hurry!

I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed "The Giver," and want you all to hurry with reading it, so we can begin to discuss it. I'm anxious to read your comments. I read the first 8 chapters last night.

The Gospel According to Dickens

Some months ago I became aware of the existence of a Life of Christ written by Charles Dickens for his own children. I spoke about it with someone, perhaps Johanna, and it showed up in the mail recently, not long after my birthday. My heartfelt thanks to the person who bought it and had it sent to my home. I'm not sure who it is, although, as I said, I suspect it was Johanna.

Sheryl and I read about half of it the other day while traveling to and from Rexburg for a doctor's appointment. There is nothing in it to disappoint the Dickensian scholar. He simply combines all the best parts of the other four gospels and tells them in such a way that anyone, adult or child, could understand and remember them. There is something almost Milne-esque about them, I think. He is personal in his telling of every story and in his explanation of every character or circumstance.

It was his wish that it not be published at all, and it was a few generations after his death that it finally was published, in 1933, the same year as our mother's birth. The foreword to the 1999 edition is written by a fifth-great grandson of the great master who seems to feel that it is time his great ancestor's beautiful testimony of the truths of the Lord's life come to light in the world. When one thinks back to what was happening in 1933, perhaps no better time for such a ray of hope could have been chosen.

The English-speaking world was about to be plunged intoyet another chaotic period of destruction of its families and its lifestyle. The Chancellor of Germany was grabbing power everywhere he could and breaking the Treaty of Versailles in every imaginable way. Those powers which had forced that treaty down Germany's throat in 1919 felt guilty enough to let him get away with it. The leaders of Britain in the thirties were perfectly willing to, in Churchill's definition of appeasement, "feed the crocodile, hoping it will eat him last." And England's once and future allies were willfully turning their faces away from what was happening in Eastern Europe, Ethiopia, China, and elsewhere. After the 9,000,000 dead in the War to End All Wars, they had decided that there would never really be a necessary war again.

It was appropriate that the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ had been organized into missions in all the major countries which were about to spend all their money and all their youth to destroy each other. And it was a sweet little cherry on top that The Gospel According to Dickens should be published that year. Its actual title is The Life of Our Lord. It was read aloud to his children and grandchildren from his handwritten manuscript which was tied together with string. There's nothing new in it, although you might be surprised at what he considers to be the most important parts of the story. It's simply a familiar old story told with an easiness of style that one might expect from someone who could say "Marley was dead to begin with" or "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." I hope you'll all get the chance to read it some day soon.

SOOOOOO SORRY!!!!!!

Ok, so when I picked "The Art Thief" for the book for March, I was sort of in a hurry to find a book and it was the first one I found that was interesting. But I had never read it before. My Mom started reading it yesterday and found that it has quite a bit of bad language. I apologize to those of you who have already started to read it. So, I have learned that from now I should probably choose books that I have read so that I know that it is an ok book. I have decided that I am going to change the book for March. Since this cuts us down on time, I have chosen a pretty short book, but a wonderful book. "The Giver", by Lois Lowry. It is one of my all time favorite books. I am sooo sorry again, and I hope that you will be able to find it at your local Library or borrow it from a friend or something, because I know that you will love it.

Historical Fiction versus Fictitious History

The other day I had to be brow beaten into beginning a book I've been told was wonderful by dozens of students and dozens of other aquaintances, Ron Carter's Our Sacred Honor. I had feared that it would be like so much fiction that is set in History - more fiction than history. Then, too, it is LDS literature which is something that has sometimes embarrassed me in the past with its not-quite-polished feel.

But this book seems to avoid both those pitfalls. So far, at least, his History is right on. Indeed, he seems to know the eighteenth century better than I do. There are instances when people use l anguage which I know they would never have used then, and it does bother me some, but generally, the story is quite believable. This is because it is true, except for about half the major characters.

Only once has he committed the faux pas of calling a musket a rifle. Once. I guess I can let that slide. When he gets to the battles of the Revolution, he'd better know the difference. After all, one is useful at forty yards and deadly at 100. The other allows you to "reach out and touch someone" much further away and with much more certainty of a hit. It took generals a long time to learn that, too, which is why such shootouts as Crimea, the American Civil War, and the First World War were so unnecessarily horrific.

The quality of the story-telling itself, together with an easy way with English has also won me over. If this keeps up, I'll probably have to read all the sequels.

   FYI-  I found the book "The Art Thief" used on Amazon for $1.75, plus shipping, sorry. Wouldn't it be great if that was the total cost?

The Art Thief

I realize that I am in charge of March and that it is February now. But I thought I would just give you all a good head start, and so we will be reviewing this book at the end of March and the next book will be in April, chosen by Lynsey. 

I have never read this book before, but from reading the back it sounded very good. It sort of reminds me of the movie, "To Catch a Thief", with Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. Except in this case it is an art thief instead of a jewell thief, and I don't think there is any romance, sorry. I have never heard of the author before but from reading reviews, I gather that he is very talented. I am really excited to read it because I love mystery's and suspense. And it turns into quite the chase going from country to country all over Europe. You will also learn a lot about art history and Europe in this book, so I figure it will be worth our time. I hope you all enjoy it, and look forward to reading your thoughts.

Our family book club

Welcome to our family book club! I am so glad you are going to be participating. I am going to be selecting the first book within the next few days and will post it then. Love you all!!!