April Reads

Just a pondering... I have no idea how Sonja reads so much. I have only myself to take care of and can't manage to read a quarter of what she does... and I'm not even really reading! I'm listening to all these.... as I drive 100 miles or so a day. If I even attempt to pick up a real book, I fall right asleep. I just don't see how she does it... so what it has taken me an entire month to listen to, Sonja could probably finish in a week. But nonetheless, here's what I read in April.

21) Blood Done Sign My Name by Tim Tyson *****

(Oxford, North Carolina - Memoir)

The incoming freshmen at Carolina are usually required to read something over the summer and then participate in a series of discussions during their orientation. The summer of 2004, when this book was published, it was the required reading... thus I heard a lot about it as the undergraduates on campus buzzed. However, I never did read it. So when I saw it in audio form at the library, I decided to pick it up. I really, really liked it. As I have been faced with my own bigotry, real or perceived, of late, it was an interesting story about a young man's own internal battle about what is right, what is fair, and how they are not always equal.

22) Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson *****

(1001 - Victorian)

I was uber distracted while listening to this book and it just really didn't hold my attention. Though I think if I were reading it as a bed time story to young kids, I would enjoy it more. I mean, who doesn't love a pirate story?? The characters are charming, there's enough 'action' to keep it moving, and overall, it really is an enjoyable story. I know I'll read it again.

23) Do the Voices in My Head Bother You by Steven Tyler **

(Boston, Massachusetts - Memoir)

If you take all the swear words out of this book, it would be about 100 pages shorter. Just sayin' But sill... the story of the rocker who is the age of my parents is still fascinating. Drugs, debauchery, disaster... that's pretty much his life. It's honestly a miracle that he's survived this long. I appreciated his candor in presenting the things that kept him going, his love of the music, and his moments of inspiration. It just makes me like Aerosmith all that much more. I especially liked one of the end quotes where he called a band mate a man of many colors... but then went on to delcare himself a rainbow.

24) The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman ****

(Masada, Israel)

In the later half of this month I was having difficulty making any decisions by myself and needed guidance. So... after reading Sonja's blog and her gagillion books she'd read that week, I decided to make my life easier and just read what she had read. I also had been to Masada last summer, and was also fascinated by its story. I will agree with Sonja in that this book is beautifully written. It made it all that much more real as I remembered some of the images of Masada ...

Masada in all its glory... you can see the "snake path" that leads up to the main gate.

View from King Herod's palace... the square towards the center bottom
is one of several camps of the Romans when they came to lay seige on Masada

Some of the store rooms King Herod had built



A model of Masada

One of the many dovecotes (or columbariums) at Masada

Anyway... if you really want, you can see more pictures here.

Rain

 Thou, O God, didst send a plentiful rain, whereby thou didst confirm thine inheritance, when it was weary.

Psalms 68:9

http://a1gaurav.files.wordpress.com/2011/06/its-raining2.jpg

I Am

[You], my friend, are a man of many colors.

But I... am the rainbow.

-Steven Tyler

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VBNfXiX83hU/UKE03dW57WI/AAAAAAAAKTM/UdST6BqjqKk/s1600/rainbow-paint-splash.jpg

Dilemma

Bruce got a bath on Saturday. He's so nice and pretty and shiny and clean. It's like he's a new man, er, Prius. I want to help keep him clean by keeping my stuff picked up, and the floor clean, and not having crumbs everywhere. Which would probably mean not eating in the car.

The only problem with not eating in the car... I might starve.

Dilemma.

It's real

So when I was in Israel last summer, I was surprisingly underwhelmed with a spiritual confirmation that this was all real. I was more amazed (and slightly appalled) that other believers had bedazzled Jesus. See above - this is the display at the Church of the Holy Sepluchre; which is built, supposedly, on or near the cruxifiction site.

I had the same sort of experience in the Garden of Gesthamene...

While there was a certain reverence there, I did not find myself overcome by the Spirit testifying of this specific place's divinity. I justified it with tourism and skepticism of Constantinople, but part of me still wondered if there was something wrong with me.

Needless to say, I was surprised that it was these images that came flooding back to my mind this Easter Sunday. I'm always a little 'tender' on Easter, but this one was a little much for me to handle. It probably didn't help that I had only a few hours sleep the night before... that tends to make me even more emotionally fragile than I already am.

Anyway, the waterworks were primed during the opening hymn of I Know My Redeemer Lives... one of my favorite hymns. Then as the priesthood holders prepared and passed the emblems of our Lord's eternal sacrifice... I couldn't hold it in. Feelings of the deepest gratitude overcame me. The images of the sacrament table (that when covered, often look like a burial table), the Church of the Holy Sepluchre, and the Garden of Gesthamene kept rolling through my mind. I also kept thinking of the wonderful people surrounding me, my covenants in the temple, and all the goodness God has given me. And I knew that so many things were real.... my Father in Heaven, my Savior, His sacrifice, His resurrection, His love for me, the people around me, my testimony, my covenants... all of it. It's real. And oh how I am blessed to have that knowledge.

So blessed.

*Thanks to Sister B for having tissues in her purse to wipe away my tears!

It's April? How did that happen?

Woah! It's April. I'm a little overwhelmed at that thought right now.

Forget lambs and lions... March stormed through here like a tornado. So let's see if we can pick up the debris and make some sense of what I did last month. I...

• enjoyed the spring flowers coming up in my yard
• celebrated Britt's birthday with some good time at Lilly's Pizza and Artspace. I love her!
• attended David's baptism
• went to a Delta Kappa Gamma meeting with some of the most Southern women I know; I truly adore spending time with them. They are dignified, educated, and a powerful force for good.
• spent some time with Kat - having dinner and going to the temple
• took a week off work to drive a gagillion hours to KISS da BABY!!! (and see Kellee and Frankie and Gina, too!) Once Gina gets a flicker link for us, I'll share some pics.
• worked in the garden
• and the usual stuff... temple work, institute, family home evening, exercise, chiro appointments, and time with friends

His kissable face pretty much consumed my thoughts for the entire month of March... there were a few other thoughts, too... but a girl's gotta have her secrets, right?

March Reads

14) Summer of the Monkeys by Wilson Rawls *****

(Ozarks, Oklahoma)

Regina mentioned in her blog or faceyface that she was reading this to JB and recalled how our dad read it to her. I don't remember if Dad read this book to me, but I know I read it and wouldn't be surprised if we read it as a family. Anyway... I decided to take the same trip down memory lane, and was not disappointed! I also love this story... the monkeys are hysterical, Jay Berry's love for his sister is amazing, and the healing power of love is so evident. I look forward to reading it to my own children someday!

15) The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff **

(Utah)

Several of my colleagues have read this book and then have a million questions for me. So, I bit the bullet and read it (okay, listened). The thing I kept having to tell myself was, "it's fiction." Unfortunately, there is quite a bit of fact in there (e.g., Wife No. 19 really is a memoir published by Ann Eliza Young)... so my worry is that those not of my faith will read it and take it as more fact that fiction. I don't think polygamy is something we should hide behind as Latter-day Saints; I come from a polygamous union so I can't hate on it too much. But it's over now and the communities of polygamists that still exist concern me. I have worked with 'sister wives' before and while they are individually great and wonderful women, I always found it interesting that they really thought their half living in the 19th century and half living in the 20th century was normal. Anyway... Not a fan of the book, but I can at least have an informed conversation with those who ask me about it.

16) If I Stay by Gayle Forman ****

(Portland, Oregon)

This was an interesting little ditty that I liked a lot more than I thought I would. I mean, the jacket description sounded okay, but it was surprisingly poignant. I don't think it hurt that there was a 'musical' undertone that tugged at my musical soul. As I am also a believer that we often get to choose whether we stay or go (e.g., E1), I'm glad the story turned out like it did!

17) Small as an Elephant by Jennifer Jacobson ****

(Maine)

This is another little heartbreaker of a story; where a little boy has to be MacGiverish and go searching for his mom throughout the wildness of Maine. It's a story about trust, good luck charms, and the power of forgiveness. It liked it! :o)

18) King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard ***
(Victorian - 1001)

Allyson picked this up for me at a book vendor's fair she went to at the end of February. She comes home, presents me with my gift and says, "It's a classic!" Of course that means no one I've asked as ever read of it... let alone heard of it! So yes, it was classically Allyson! Anyway, we listened to it on the drive to and from Georgia (with a trip to FL in the middle). It was pretty funny actually... I especially liked the part where the white men were trying to convince the African natives that the proper chief (who had gone missing as a young child) was now there and ready to take over. They did some pretty crazy things!

19) Unfamiliar Fishes by Sarah Vowell ****

(Hawai'i)

Continuing on the path of nerd alertness, I decided to pick up this little treasure about the conversion and annexation of the Hawai'ian islands. It told the history of the first Christian missionaries and the impact it had on the local government, which in turn impacted the annexation and eventual statehood of the islands. Sounds utterly dry, right? Well... the author was so unbelieveably snarky that I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion. In my opinion, this is how history books should be written!

20) The Absolute Value of Mike by Kathryn Erskine ****

(Donover, Pennsylvania)

When Allyson goes to book vendor fairs she comes back with hundreds of books... then proceeds to read them in mass quantities in short amounts of time. Then she makes a stack on my desk of the ones she thinks I'd like. This was one of them. And she was right. This was a cute 'coming of age' story about a young man figuring out what he's good at all the while saving a community. Each of the characters had to address their own skeleton, as it were, but of course they all come together in the end and realize their absolute value is always positive.