I love my Kindle Fire!!!!

Anyone who knows me well at all knows that I am an avid reader. I read LOTS of fiction and a fair amount of non fiction. I read for learning, for entertainment, for distraction, for comfort, for inspiration. Since I was a child, reading a good book has been among my dearest pursuits.

As an anniversary gift my sweet husband bought me a Kindle Fire. It's absolutely delicious to be able to carry around 100 different books in my jacket pocket. As I have indicated in an earlier post, my tastes are rather eclectic so I tend to be somewhat fickle in going between various genres. With all these different books (and a few magazines) collected on my Fire I an find something yummy to suit any mood.

There are hundreds of books that are available for download for free or very low cost. Many of them are drivel. Some, however, are quite good.

I've recently download several collections - complete works by classic authors: Mark Twain, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, HG Wells, and unbelievably - the whole collection from The Bronte Family (YES - all of them: Charlotte, Ann, Emily and Patrick). My brain has had enough of formula murder mysteries. I'm ready to dig deep into some of these time honored classic tales. Some I will be re-reading for the 3rd or 5th time since childhood. Some I will be discovering for the first time.

I know spring will come soon and then I'll have lots of yard work to get busy with. There is laundry to do and dinner to make. I do have a job - two of them actually. So I won't be able to just get lost in my books nearly as much as I would like. But all the more reason to choose carefully which sort of books I spend my limited discretionary time on.

Just as I think it makes sense to take care in what sort of people I choose to surround myself with in my social world, I want to be more judicious about my reading life in the coming months. I've recently finished one or two books that I wish I could delete from my brain. They convinced me it was time for a change.

So one of my goals for the coming year is to read a dozen or more classic stories and discuss them well with other people who care about serious literature.

For starters will be Persuasions by Jane Austen. (Click here for chapter summaries)My sweet blogger friend, Mimi, over on Bigger than a Breadbox is hosting a discussion of the book. I'm excited to join in!

What have you read lately??

What I'm reading - 2012

I've been doing some eclectic reading of late - all different genres, all different formats. Here are the books I have been perusing of late:

Right now I am at different points in EACH of the following--

All the Women of the Bible by Edith Deen (hardcover - copyright 1955)

The Great Disruption: Why the Climate Crisis Will Bring on the End of Shopping and the Birth of a New Word by Paul Gilding (Hardcover - copyright 2011)

I Don't Have to Make Everything All Better: Six Practical Principles That Empower Others to Solve Their Own Problems While Enriching Your Relationship by Gary & Joy Lundberg (softcover - copyright 1995)


Extraordinary, Ordinary People by Condoleezza Rice (Kindle - copyright 2010)


The Crystal Bridge by Charles M. Pulsipher (Kindle - copyright 2011)

Autobiography of Parley P. Pratt edited by his son, Parley P. Pratt (Kindle - copyright 1938)

Unleash the Power Within by Anthony Robbins (Audio - copyright 2005)

One Simple Act: Discovering the Power of Generosity by Debbie Macomber (Audio - copyright 2009)

It's sort of interesting simultaneously reading/listening to all these different things. I have Tony Robbins in my car to listen to on my way to and from work. I have the Macomber book in the CD player in my kitchen and listen to that when I'm doing domestic stuff.

The Great Disruption is in the bathroom (by the way - did you know there has been very detailed research about who does or does not read in the john?).

I usually read the Women of the Bible book for a bit in the morning when it's quiet and I have yet to enter the fray of whatever the day will have in store.

I read Crystal Bridge at night before turning out the lights.

The Lundberg book on Not having to make everything better is something I'm reading as one of several sources for a class I'm going to be teaching on Marriage and Family Relations so I tend to read it in my office when I'm in school mode.

Both the Parley Pratt autobiography and the memoir by Condaleezza Rice are ones I pick up now and again to read a little bit of whenever to mood strikes me. I seldom read either one for very long - but I've enjoyed sampling them both.

I'm getting increasingly intrigued by the sci-fi/fantasy book, Crystal Bridge

Each one of these books has their place for me.

What are you reading these days?

Daddy or the Daughter? Reading the Burkes back to back

For several years now I have been an avid reader and audio book listener of the works of James Lee Burke. The man's word pictures steal away my breath. His complex, very human characters always intrigue me. The man simply writes some of the most STUNNING sentences I've ever encountered after over 40 years of reading hundreds and hundreds of books.

Then recently I got my first taste of his daughter Alafair's work. While both write murder mysteries they are completely different in style. I must say I got far more caught up in the suspense of Alafair's writing. But after finishing her book 212 I returned to one of JLB's earlier works,Sunset Limited. It did not have me on the edge of my seat waiting to learn what was going to happen next the way Alafair's book did. Instead it had me absolutely mesmerized with what was happening NOW due to the amazing language.

I think I like her plots better. I definitely like his sentences better.

Setting is another big difference between the two. Alafair's series takes place in New York City. Dave Robicheaux is a Cajun cop in New Iberia, Louisiana.

I love the sense of place in those bayou books.

Granted, the elder Burke has written other books in other settings, but the ones that completely capture my heart are the misadventures of Nam vet and drunk-in-recovery Robicheaux and his hilarious sidekick in the pork pie hat, Clete Pursel. I've read so many of these I feel like these two guys are old friends.

I'm sure I will read more of Alafair's work. I very much enjoyed 212 (both the area code for NYC and the building number for the murder that occurs in the opening scene of the novel). But when it gets right down to it, my all time favorite writer is still the grand master, James Lee Burke. The voice he brings to his novels is so rich and complex, filled with undercurrents of visceral themes and failed humanity.

Alafair's writing is taunt, driven, full of surprises.

Comparing the two is like asking me if I like chocolate or peanuts better. They are entirely different. But the combination of reading them both back to back is absolutely delicious. Pass the Reeses peanut butter cups please, and hand me another novel.

To Blurb or not to Blurb, that is the Question

I've been toying with the idea of printing out a book from this blog that would capture my first year in Idaho. I've been looking at some layouts over at Blurb and tinkering with what I would include and what I would leave out.

I'm ambivalent. Part of me says the last thing I need is another THING. When we left Oregon we deliberately opted to downsize, getting rid of 30 years of accumulated STUFF to take up a more simplified life. However, this feels different. I think I would like having an actual book with words and pictures that I could look at and share.

I expect if I do go ahead with it I'll clean up and edit some of the posts a bit. I tend to write a lot of free flowing babble on these pages, and don't always even take the time to spellcheck. (HORRORS - don't tell my students!)

Since I long ago lapsed out of the habit at keeping a personal journal and I never have gotten around to any sort of formal personal history, this is probably as close as I will ever come to recording my days.

Who knows? Maybe one day my grandkids will get a kick out of it.

Books Read in 2011

I didn't keep track of my reading until summer. I started logging each book on July 1, 2011. I'm sure there were many good ones early on, but what they were is anybody's guess. So here are the ones I DO have a record of:

JULY 2011
BOOKS IN PRINT:
The Ambler Warning by Robert Ludlum
The Spire by Richard North Patterson
Sweet Dreams by Aaron Patterson (Review Here)
Safe Money Millionaire by Brett Kitchen & Ethan Kap Review Here)
A Morning for Flamingos by James Lee Burke
Latter Rain by James M. Conis Review HERE

Audio Books
Death of a Village by M.C. Beaton
Leaving Yesterday by Kathryn Cushman
The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis

August 2011
BOOKS IN PRINT:
Deception Point by Dan Brown
212 by Alafair Burke
Sunset Limited by James Lee Burke
Dead Connection by Alafair Burke

Audio Books
These Things Hidden by Heather Gudenkauff
Let's Roll by Lisa Beamer
Death in the Afternoon by Ernest Hemingway
Brother, I'm Dying by Edwidge Danticat

September 2011
BOOKS IN PRINT:
Angel's Tip by Alafair Burke
Two for Texas by James Lee Burke
....and a whole lot of student papers!

Audio Books
The Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury
Oh Pioneers! by Willa Cather
The Keepsake by Tess Garritsen
Exit Ghost by Philip Roth

October 2011
BOOKS IN PRINT:
The Element: How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything by Sir Ken Robinson

Audio Books
LA Outlaws by T. Jefferson Parker
A first Rate Madness: Uncovering the Links Between Leadership and Mental Illness by Nassir Ghaemi

November 2011
BOOKS IN PRINT:
Half of Paradise by James Lee Burke
Judgement Calls by Alafair Burke
The Assassination of Governor Boggs by Rod Miller (Review HERE)
Trial by Fire by J.A. Jance
Now You See Her by James Patterson
No Second Chance by Harlan Coben

Audio Books
Men of Ireland by William Trevor
The Capture of Cerberus by Agatha Christie
The incident of the Dog's Ball by Agatha Christie
Long Gone by Alafair Burke
Superfreakonomics by Steven Levitt and Steven Dubner

December 2011
Books in PRINT
Growing Up Amish by Ira Wagler
Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Traveling by Tin Lizzie by Laura Purtyman McBride

Audio Books
Ape House by Sara Gruen
You Were Always Mom's Favorite! - Sisters in Conversation Throughout Their Lives by Deborah Tannen
Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway

New Read

I picked up a book my husband had checked out from the library just to see what it was. I simply cannot put it down. Sorry love, this one is MINE. You can read it while I'm at work, but in the evenings, hand it over.

The book is Ambler Warning by Robert Ludlum. It has a very intriguing premise.

From the inside cover: "On Parrish Island, a restricted island off the coast of Virgina, there is a litle-known and never-visited psychiatric facility. There, far from prying eyes, the government keeps in "deep storage" former intelligence employees whose psychiatric state makes them a security risk to their own government, people whose ramblings might jeopardize ongoing operations or prove dangerously inconvenient. One of these employees, former Consular Operations agent Hal Ambler, is one of the few who is so dangerous that he is in complete isolation form other patients, kept heavily medicated and closely watched. But there is one critical difference between Ambler and the other patients in the facility: Ambler isn't crazy.

With the help of a sympathetic nurse, Ambler manages to first clear his mind of the drug-induced haze and then executes a daring escape. On the loose and barely one step ahead of the retrieval teams sent after him, he is out to discover who had him stashed in the psychiatric hospital and why.

But the world he returns to isn't the one he so clearly remembers-friends and longtime associates don't recognize him, and there are no official records of any person named Hal Ambler. With no resources and his unknown enemies closing in on him, Ambler has to uncover the truth of who he was and figure out what it is about him-remember what he knows-tat makes him such a danger that someone is willing to risk everything to see him dead."

This book was published in 2005 - AFTER Ludlum's death.

Apparently Mr. Ludlum's publishing house has made a tasty industry of printing several of Ludlum's works since his death in 2001.

One does wonder a bit how many of these words were actually written by Robert Ludlum and how many came from the unnamed author and editor who "prepared it for publishing". But right now, I frankly don't care.

This book has all the intrigue and suspense of Ludlum's other work - the tale of Jason Bourne which was made famous by actor Matt Damon.

Yet this one is not just Bourne in a different setting. It it has it's own unique character development and plot twists. I'm only a little over 100 pages into it so far, but I'm savoring every paragraph.

A New Read - Earl of Darkness

I just received a brand spanking new book hot off the press from the author - "Earl of Darkness" by Alix Rickloff.

From the Publisher:
The magic she tries to hide . . . Born a lady, but reduced to surviving in the slums of Dublin, Catriona O’Connell has been hired to steal a mysterious book from Aidan Douglas, Earl of Kilronan. But Cat is secretly Other, an age-old mixture of Fey and human—something Aidan recognizes immediately when he surprises the lovely young burglar in his library, about to steal a magical diary.. . . is the magic he desperately wants. From the moment Aidan sees her, Cat’s spirited beauty enchants him, but her uncanny abilities are what he truly needs, for Cat can understand the mystical language in the diary he inherited from his murdered father. So Aidan makes an offer: translate the book or be thrown in prison as a thief. And as Cat slowly deciphers each page, she and Aidan are drawn together by passion . . . and into the violence of the Other world that is the Kilronan legacy. Can they defeat those who seek the book, or are their lives in even greater danger than their hearts?

EARL OF DARKNESS
ALIX RICKLOFF

•Pub. Date: December 2010
•Publisher: Simon & Schuster Adult Publishing Group
•ISBN-13: 9781439170366
•ISBN: 1439170363

You can see an excerpt from Chapter 1 HERE to get a taste of what I'm about to read.

I'm intrigued, hopeful, apprehensive, as I get ready to peruse the pages of this new book by an unfamiliar author - admittedly a genre I seldom dabble in. It's sort of like going to a fancy dress up party where I don't know any of the other guests. I may have a smashing good time. I may feel awkward and out of place. Who knows? But I'm ready to jump in and see if it is a fit.

Thanks ever so much for the book Alex - I will let you know what I think...

New Virtual Book Tour on the Way

Trisiti Pinkston is at it again.

A successful writer herself, Tristi also works as Senior Editor of Valor Publishing. In that role she has been a real champion of finding fresh and innovative ways to get the word out about new books coming to market. One that she has successfully done is the "Virtual Book Tour" in which several bloggers are invited to read a pre-release copy of a new book and then write a candid review of that book on their blogs.

I have been fortunate enough to be included in this gathering of readers in the past. On March 24 I will be reviewing The Cleansing of America by Dr. W. Cleon Skousen.(Click HERE for a biography of Skousen)

While I have heard a lot about Skousen's past works, I have not yet read any of his books. I have a PDF file of this soon to be published work on a flash drive I will take with me as I am traveling to Arizona this week. I have about a three hour lay over in Salt Lake at an airport that does NOT offer free wi-fi. (What's the deal SLC?) So instead of bemoaning the fact that I can't get online while I'm there I'll use that time to do some reading.

I look forward to seeing what the book has to offer and I very much appreciate Tristi's continued confidence in me as a reviewer. I'm excited to have the opportunity to give this book careful thought and share my reactions to it here.

Books Read / Listened to in 2010

I started out with the best of intentions for tracking every book I read or listened to throughout the year. However, after just a few months I got side tracked and quit writing them down. Sigh. I know there were many others.

But here's my list of what I did keep track of. The audio books are the ones with asterisks (*) and the others I read the old fashioned way.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver *
The Run by Stuart Woods
Anyone But You by Jennifer Cruise *
Speaking in Tounges by Jeffery Deaver *
Blood of Angels by Reed Arvin *
Bordon Chantry by Louis L'Amour
Always Looking Up by Michael J. Fox
A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity by Bill O'Reilly *
Impact by Douglas Presston
Burnt Toast and Other Philosphies of Life by Terri Hatcher *
Lethal Legacy by Linda Fairstein
Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose *
The Bridges of Madison County by Robert James Waller

I've wracked my brain trying to recall those I didn't make a note of.

I mostly read whatever books my husband brought home from the library. Even though our tastes in books are generally somewhat different I enjoyed being able to talk with him about the various stories he had dread. There were several murder mysteries, espionage thrillers and the occasional western.

Whether it is fiction or non-fiction, serious or fun, basically I just love to read!

BOOKS

I just finished reading reviews of the book "Twilight" over on Jacquandor's blog, Byzantium Shores. (yeah, that's where I usually go when I'm up in the middle of the night and can't sleep.)

I've never read Twilight and don't really plan to. I've heard some people rave about it and some say it is crap. Just not a genre I'm interested in.

I TRIED to read the first Harry Potter book, but it left me cold. I quit after the first 70 pages, baffled by all the hype.

I've been thinking some about why I think of some books as well written and others as not. It has a lot to do with voice. I like a book that uses words well and that engages me into the characters.

I just finished reading My Sister's Keeper when I talked about over on Page Nibblers. I liked that book A LOT. So I picked up another book by the same author, this time trying Songs of the Humpback Whale which I'm having a very tough time getting into. Meanwhile I'm listening to the audio book I See You Everywhere by Julia Glass. That book has me absolutely gripped, although at first the way it kept skipping around in time had me a little perplexed. Once I got the hang of a non-linear story I got very interested.

Another book I recently listened to that I actually liked a lot was Widow of the South by Robert Hick, a civil war novel based on a true story.

Then, for a change of pace I listened to The Blue Zone by Andrew Gross, a thriller about a family ripped apart when the father is arrested for money laundering and dealings with a Columbia drug cartel. He testifies against his partner and the family goes into hiding in the federal witness protection program... one thing leads to another and soon you find that nothing is as it seems.

There are so many good books out there...

It is interesting to me how authors manage to create characters, events, whole worlds sometimes out of thin air. Some pull it off better than others. Some take away my breath with their power with words. Others leave me wondering why I bothered. And isn't it interesting how different people will have such completely different takes on the very same book?

So for the twilight fans or Harry Potter fans ... more power to you for liking those books that I had utterly no interest in. I don't feel the need to bash the books as drivel. I just pass them by and reach for something else. To each their own.

Men

My husband is reading the book Tsar by Ted Bell. He just read a sentence to me from page 314 that totally cracked me up! Two characters are having a conversation. It is between a woman who is a singer starlet type and her male manager who are getting ready to go on the maiden voyage of a huge airship. The woman says to her manager:

"What about you, Stoke? Aren't you even a little excited?"

to which he replies:

"Honey, you know me. I only got two emotions. Hungry and horney. You see me without an erection, quick, make me a sandwich."

Oh the commentary I could give on this...but I think I'll just leave it alone.

Road Warrior says Thanks Sidney!

Tonight on my commute home I spent two hours sitting in a line of cars on Hwy 11leading out of Walla Walla. Here I was all happy that the snow was finally melting so roads would be SAFE at last (have had some white knuckle drives in white out conditions and done some really scary slipping and sliding on my daily commute in recent days.) But today we started getting high winds (40 mph) and that in combination with some wet and ice left on the roads contributed to a couple semi tip overs. Then there were three or four OTHER accidents from cars pulling into the other lane to get around the traffic backups and running into oncoming traffic. It was pretty awful.

I left work looking forward to getting home at a decent time and actually having time to make a nice dinner for my man. Alas...best laid plans. Yes, it was frustrating just sitting there for two stinking hours. Dinner was grilled ham and cheese instead of enchiladas. But at least I had the patience to sit and WAIT rather than risk pulling out into the other lane like so many others and possibly contributing to the mess. At least I DID get home safe, from the look of some of the wrecks I passed, not everyone did.

This whole commute thing is wearing me out. But such is life when you live out in the middle of no where.

However, it wasn't all bad. As usual I had an audio book with me, so I got to spend some quality time with Mr. Sidney Poitier reading the letters he wrote about his life to his great granddaughter in his book Life Beyond Measure.

It was fascinating to hear about many of his experiences growing up and the way various things influenced him. It makes me wonder what sort of messages I would want to leave for my own grandchildren or posterity beyond.

Page Nibblers is born

My dear friend Rozel and I have decided to create a virtual book club. When first considering why we (who are both OH SO BUSY) are motivated to do this Roz said: "I just want to read a book and talk to someone about it. I want others to pick books that I would have NEVER given a second thought to. Since I am no longer in school, my brain feels like it is dying. I don't have enough self discipline to read a book on my own so if I am responsible to others I will be more motivated (even though it is a guilt free book club)."

We are still tossing around ideas about how much structure and how much anarchy we want in this collaboration. It's just beginning to congeal into a plan. We've started a blog to guide and record our meanderings. Check us out HERE.

I'm excited to have a place for some old friends and new friends to come together to talk about what we are reading.

Suprise Packages

Recently I've been reading the novel "Surprise Packages." It is the last one in the "Company of Good Women" trilogy, by LDS authors Nancy Anderson, Lael Littke and Carroll Morris. Although it's the last in the series, it's the first of their work I have read, and that has been a bit of a struggle for me. Although I'm well over half way done with the book I've never yet determined a specific plot. It sort of unfolds like life, with event following event, some of them quite dramatic, but none of it seeming to necessarily be leading me to any specific destination. There are some deliciously interesting scenes. But I don't seem to grasp the big picture. My greatest frustration has been there seem to be too many peripheral characters being mentioned all throughout each section that never get fully developed. There are passing references to things that have happened which are never entirely explained, which feels abbreviated or rushed to me.

Then it dawned on me: perhaps these seemingly undeveloped characters are people who played more prominent roles in the earlier books in the series. I suspect they keep cropping up in the shadows to give the trilogy some cohesiveness as a set rather than each being a stand alone? I'm not sure. I feel like I'm at a real disadvantage for not having read the earlier works, and that makes me petulant.
It's like walking into a conversation midstream and feeling out of the loop.

To try to get some insight, I went to check out the blog the writers share: Crusty Old Broads.
Like the three characters in the book, these three women each live in different parts of the country, each with her own unique background and challenges.
As I read more about them they all seemed like women I would genuinely like to know.

I am intrigued by the idea of how these ladies each write their own stories and then weave them together into a single tale. It reminded me a bit of the way Jean Auel alternated between Ayla and Jondalar in Valley of the Horses. But then, I got impatient with that one too...reading the chapters out of order to give me longer segments with each character.

This book (and I suspect the whole series) is definitely aimed at the LDS women niche market, with all the references throughout to things unique to that culture. I've read some books about a particular subculture that seemed to invite others in to experience a taste of this other way of living/thinking/being...I did not get that sense from this book. Instead, it seemed like an insider's view of things for those who already understood what to expect. On the one hand, there are bits and pieces that as an LDS woman I can TOTALLY relate to. (Yes, during the summer my church building is so cold from air conditioning in one part of the building that the ladies do keep a stack of crocheted afghans to wrap around their shoulders during RS.) But on the other hand, I was concerned that non LDS people would be put off by the steady references to things like patriarchal blessings and temple covenants that set it apart from a wider audience. I could think of a couple different women friends I'd like to pass the book on to next, but wasn't sure they would care for it for that reason, even if they might really enjoy the characters and the main story.

Still trying to figure the book out I read some interviews the authors had done to promote it. For me, the key piece came with this:

What were the biggest challenges you faced as co-authors?
1. Merging files and making corrections. On the first book, Lael was the manuscript master. For the last two, Carroll took on that job.
2. Literary liposuction. The story of each character—told completely—would have filled its own book. So cutting the text without gutting the story was a challenge.
3. Writing the third book of the series. We knew where we were going in the first two books, but none of us had written ahead in book three. We had only general ideas about where it would go.
4. Making the series add up to something. We wanted our readers to finish the series feeling that they’d been changed by the time spent with Deenie, Juneau and Erin. We hope they will periodically read the series over, like visiting old friends.

Maybe that's the key. Maybe I'm not meant to "get it" all the first time through. Perhaps when I have more time I'll go back and read the earlier two books in the series: Almost Sisters and Three Tickets to Peoria. Perhaps then I'll get a better feel for who these three women (the main characters) are. That much I can do. However, the real disappointment is that I won't get to meet the ladies creating them. THOSE are the ones I'm really curious about.

Book or Movie?

Mimi brought up a good question over at Bigger Than A Breadbox.

“What movies are better than the book that they are based on?”

Rather than repeat the list she gave I'll let you wander there if you are curious.
But it has gotten me to thinking some on my own book vs. movie perceptions. Also, as I said in my comment at Mimi's blog, I'm noticing I process differently when I READ a book with my eyes vs. LISTENING to audio books - even when hearing unabridged books that have exactly the same words.

How about you? Are there movies you think out shined their book origins? Which movies have been the greatest letdowns after a book that was a great read?

Looking at new possibilities

So what next?

I have applied for three jobs. One is in Pendleton, OR. One is in Walla Walla, WA and one is in Wenatchee, WA. I am scheduled to interview for the Wenatchee job in a couple weeks. The two others are still in the screening process.

What am I gonna be when I grow up? Don't know yet. I may just opt not to grow up. But I trust that the universe has plans for me. I simply don't know what that plan is as yet.

I've been listening to the book "A New Earth: Awakening To Your Life's Purpose" by Eckhart Tolle while driving in my car and at home I am reading Homeopathic Science and Modern Medicine: The Physics of Healing With Microdoses by Harris Coulter. Both have been pretty intriguing.

I'm preparing my garden spot and scheming about what to plant.

I just bought myself a mountain bike and am anxious to get out and feel some wind in my hair.

Life is uncertain in terms of where I will live or what sort of work I will do.
But it remains VERY clear about what is truly important: love some and laugh some and work some and rest some. Learn some and teach some and live some and die some.
Just trying to get through each day's lessons with as much humor, gentleness and grace as I can muster.

A warm fire & a good book...

Today is my last day of work until Jan 2. There are many perks to my job, and one of them just happens to be I get this delicious week off when the school shuts down - like an extra paid vacation that doesn't burn any of my vacation days. YIPPEE!

I have several plans for things I want to do during this time off. On Christmas eve we'll have several people over for dinner, sing Christmas songs and read the scripture account of the the birth of Christ. Then on the 27th and 29th I'll be helping a friend with her daughter's two wedding receptions - one here and one in Portland. I hope to finish typing the rest of my father-in-law's journals that I've been posting over at Remembering Fred. I've got some closets to clean and want to get some work done on a stained glass project. Of course, there are also my two online classes that I need to tweak a bit for Winter term. So I will have plenty to do.

But one thing I definitely plan to do is take a couple days to do absolutely NOTHING besides curl up next to a warm fire wrapped up in my favorite blanket and just read. I've just started Tristi Pinkston's historical novel Strength to Endure. Right from the very first chapter it hooked my interest. I'm looking forward to seeing how the story unfolds.

A Thousand Splendid Suns

I just finished listening to the audio book version of A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini - the author of Kite Runner. This is a positively stunning book.

I was impressed by Kite Runner. But THIS book is one of the best I've read/heard in years. MANY THANKS to Mimi for turning me on to this author.

The description of Many Splendid Suns says: "Set in Afghanistan, it is the story of two generations of characters brought together by the tragic sweep of war, with some thirty years of tumultuous recent Afghan history as a backdrop. It is a story about devotion, courage, hope, self-sacrifice, and love."

I read A LOT. I've been exposed to all sorts of tales from all sorts of writers. But this novel truly shook me to the core. It is a powerful, powerful book.

It made me consider so many issues - shame, forgiveness, facing adversity, passion, family ties, national pride - you name it, it's in there. The story is so well crafted that I couldn't help but bond with the characters in a meaningful way so that when they hurt, I hurt. When they rejoiced, I rejoiced. Truly an amazing book. Don't pass this one up!

Click HERE for a YouTube interview of the author discussing the book.

Naming the Perpetrator

While on vacation I read the book "A Random Act" by Cindi Broddus. The story is her true account of a horrific crime - some person tossed a gallon of sulphuric acid off an overpass in the wee hours of the morning just as she and a friend were driving by on the freeway below. The bottle of acid came hurling through the windshield, splashed all over Cindi's face, arms and torso, burning her beyond recognition. She required many surgeries and years of recovery therapy and remains physically disfigured. How she coped with those events and the meaning she gave to it is the focus of her book.

I've been mentally comparing this book to Terri Jent'z account of her late night attack in an Oregon campground. For no apparent reason, an unknown assailant drove his truck up on top of the pup tent Terri and her roommate were sleeping in, then got out of the truck and proceeded to attack them both with an ax. Miraculously, both girls survived, even though their injuries were severe. Terri's book Strange Piece of Paradise tells of her years of investigation to identify the perpetrator who so brutally harmed her.

In BOTH cases it was a random act by a stranger that brought unimaginable damage to these women who seemed to have done nothing to bring them into harm's way more than merely being in the wrong place at the wrong time. In both cases, the perpetrators were never arrested or held accountable for their crimes. The similarities stop there.

Without question, Jent'z book is better written. Strange Piece of Paradise is filled with striking word images and powerful prose that give evidence to her Yale training. Broddus, on the other hand, is not a writer by profession. In fact, she parnters with someone else to get her story laid out. Evenso, at times her book comes off as too sappy. I acknowledge that from the outset the intent of the two books are entirely different. Jentz aims to speak the truth of what happened to her in the face of a social and political climate that seemed determined to look the other way and sweep all that unpleasantness under the rug. Broddus, on the other hand, deliberately sets out to be inspirational/ uplifting. Her message is of forgiveness and choosing to focus on the kindnesses of those who supported her through the nightmare rather than on the horror or the pain.

Broddus states in several passages that catching the criminal or knowing his specific identity were never a priority for her. Instead, she focuses on "pay it forward" style efforts to make something good come out of the terrible. Jentz, on the other hand, describes feeling driven to find out who did this bad thing. Naming the perpetrator takes on almost a compulsion for her and seems to be a catalyst for her healing (although she uses a pseudonym in the book for the man she is convinced did the assault, she has discussed his real identity with law enforcement officials and given information which substantially incriminates him - if not entirely proves he did the crime. They chose not to follow up because he could not be prosecuted due to expiration of statute of limitations.)

What reading both of these books has got me wondering about is what I believe is the most healthy or most appropriate response to trauma and harm.

While most people will never have to face events of this magnitude, EVERY one of us will face some bad in this world. It is the nature of our mortal existence. When the bad comes, how will I respond? What meaning will I give to the utterly wrong, unfair heartaches that come my way?

Does it matter what the context is?

In the book Too Scared to Cry by Dr. Lenore Terr comparison is made between the effects of ONE isolated terrible awful event that happens to the consequences of enduring prolonged, ongoing trauma. I heard Dr. Terr speak at a conference once shortly after the book came out. She described her research comparing a group of school children who had been kidnapped and buried in their school bus, a young girl who was attacked by a lion at a zoo, and several other "ONE time harmed kids" with a group of young people who had lived in war zones or endured years of abuse. It was a fascinating study of the long-term consequences of what happens when children are forced to live in fear.

But I can't help but wonder what different outcomes might be if we could somehow measure the variable of how individuals DEFINE the bad things that happened to them rather than how much or how long those bad things had to be endured.

The meaning we give to the events of our life has tremendous power. What meaning will I give to my blessings? What meaning will I give to my harms?

Anticipation & Ambivalence

One of my favorite things about being on vacation is having some unstructured time to do nothing more than just curl up with a good book.

Today I read a big chunk of Nothing to Regret by Tristi Pinkston. It is a historical novel having to do with a Japanese American young man caught up in world events following the Pearl Harbor attack. The part I'm at right now is taunt with suspense. Part of me wants to keep turning the pages and part of me wants to PUT IT DOWN just to prolong the time I have to be with this book. I always feel such a moment of let down when I finish a good read. So I toy with myself, savoring the pages, second guessing TP to wonder if it will have the obvious, expected ended or whether there may yet be some twists or turns that will catch me by surprise.

It took me a while to get into the story. But after the first fifty pages or so the pace really begins to pick up. I've had the feeling of being on a raft riding along on a lazy, meandering stream that suddenly transforms to quicker current. Now I'm in the rapids. Is there a drop off or dangerous rock up ahead? Can't wait to find out. I'd love to draw it out and make it last longer, but just like biting down on my hard candy instead of licking it to get to the yummy centers, I guess I'll just go for it all at once.