October: The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander

Thanks for filling in in the month of September Emily! I really appreciate it since I've been such a total slacker! So I was thinking about this little series of books the other day and about how they were some of my favorite growing up. I might regret this choice later, but I remember loving The Chronicles of Prydain and hope you all enjoy the first book in the series for the month of October.

From Amazon.com:
"The tale of Taran, assistant pig keeper, has been entertaining young readers for generations. Set in the mythical land of Prydain (which bears a more than passing resemblance to Wales), Lloyd Alexander's book draws together the elements of the hero's journey from unformed boy to courageous young man. Taran grumbles with frustration at home in the hamlet Caer Dallben; he yearns to go into battle like his hero, Prince Gwydion. Before the story is over, he has met his hero and fought the evil leader who threatens the peace of Prydain: the Horned King.

What brings the tale of Taran to life is Alexander's skillful use of humor, and the way he personalizes the mythology he has so clearly studied. Taran isn't a stick figure; in fact, the author makes a point of mocking him just at the moments when he's acting the most highhanded and heroic. When he and the young girl Eilonwy flee the castle of the wicked queen Achren, Taran emotes, "'Spiral Castle has brought me only grief; I have no wish to see it again.' 'What has it brought the rest of us?' Eilonway asked. 'You make it sound as though we were just sitting around having a splendid time while you moan and take on.'" By the end, Alexander has spun a rousing hero's tale and created a compelling coming-of-age story. Readers will sigh with relief when they realize The Book of Three is only the first of the chronicles of Prydain. --Claire Dederer --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title."

$5.99 on Amazon.com

September: "The Covenant" by Beverly Lewis

From Publishers Weekly: Inspirational novelist Lewis begins Abram's Daughters, a Lancaster County series about four Amish sisters, in the tradition of her previous novels. It should please her fans, while not offering much in the way of fresh material. It's 1946 in Gobbler's Knob, Pa., Sadie Ebersol and her sister, Leah, are exploring the joys of "rumschpringe" the period of relaxed rules and running around that Amish teens enjoy prior to their baptism into the church. Tomboy Leah's first love is Jonas Mast, but her father Abram has determined she'll marry Gideon Peachey, whose father's farm adjoins the Ebersols'. Her beautiful sister Sadie's defiance crosses the boundaries when she becomes involved with Englischer Derek Schwartz. Heartache is inevitable. The dialect (perty, redd, Dat, ach, wonderful-gut, jah) is as dense as sugar cream pie, as are the italicized terms.

This book is the first in a series of 6 or so written by Beverly Lewis, but was recommended to me by my friend who just got thru reading it. Even though it is a series, I thought it would be good since it focuses on a subject I know very little about (the Amish). I'm intrigued...I hope it's good!

You can pick up a used copy at Amazon starting at $.o1. Happy Reading!

What is September's Book?

I am in need of some reading material! Are we going to have a book for September? I have my book for October picked out if Tricia is needing a break to get ready for the baby! Let me know and I'll post my book if need be! (For now I am holding off reading it until Oct...but it has been tempting me on my nightstand!:)

Let's Chat: The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio (July)

Here's what I thought.

Here's what Emily thought.

What did the rest of you think?

Book Suggestion

I hope you all don't mind a quick post about a book I recently read. I figure we can't get enough reading suggestions (although we never have enough time to read them all). Anyway, after complaining a little too much about my current lot in life to my wonderful mother, she got me this book. She served on the Provo Library board with the author and his wife is Kathleen Hughes that was in the General Relief Society Presidency a few years ago. He talks about how he had to watch his three kids as well as 2 neighbor girls for one whole summer and so he knows how it is to be a mom. Of course he makes it known that this doesn't give him full insight into the life of a mom with young kids but it's helps him understand a little bit of what we go through.

There was one chapter in the book where he interviewed his daughter and daughters-in-law about raising their kids. One of them let her son watch The Lion King over and over all day. She said, "I know that's really bad to do, but killing a child is a lot worse." For some reason, I could totally relate to that comment. I've been there before and I'm sure I'm not alone.

Another quote I liked in the book said, "Once we meet the perfect mother...we should enshrine her, build a statue to the Unknown Mother, and then admit that she's the only example of perfection who will ever exist. We could maybe give out little statues of her at Mother's Day sacrament meetings, made out of chocolate, and then the mothers could take her home and bite her head off - and get a nice little chocolate rush at the same time."

Anyway, the book is available on Amazon (supposedly starting at $.07). I highly recommend it. It's a quick read and it really helped me refocus my life and this point and time. If you liked the mothering book we read a few months ago, you would greatly enjoy this!

August: And Only to Deceive by Tasha Alexander

"Emily agreed to wed Philip, the Viscount Ashton, primarily to escape her overbearing mother. Philip's death while on safari soon after their wedding left Emily feeling little grief, for she barely knew the dashing stranger. But her discovery of his journals nearly two years later reveals a far different man than she imagined - a gentleman scholar and antiquities collector who apparently loved his new wife deeply. Emily's desire to learn more of her late husband leads her through the quiet corners of the British Museum and into a dangerous mystery involving rare stolen artifacts. To complicate matters, she's juggling two very prominent and wealthy suitors, one of whose intentions may go beyond matrimony into darker realms..." -Back Cover

"Had Jane Austen written The Da Vinci Code, she may well have come up with this elegant novel." -Martha O'Connor

Disclaimer: I searched through a lot of lists trying to pick out a good book for August and while several jumped out at me I was hesitant to pick them having never read them or talked to anyone who had and besides, we all know that there's only one book coming out in August that really matters right?! (Just kidding.) I read this book recently and thought it was a lot of fun. If any of you have already read it leave a comment and maybe I'll look for another one!

Available on Amazon for $11.16 new and from $2.22 used and new.

Let's Talk: The Book Thief (June)

Here is my take on this book. If you haven't finished it--DON'T READ MY REVIEW YET!

I thoroughly enjoyed reading from the perspective of death. I found it added an interesting depth to the story as you knew that death was always near. I also thought it was different how death kept telling us what was going to happen way before it did--like who was going to die and how. I didn't find the book to be overly graphic in the depiction of death or the events of that time. The war itself only served as a backdrop to a great story as it unfolded--the story of a girl who comes to love books and find comfort in words.

My favorite character was probably Rudy. I thought he was funny (because of the Jesse Owens incident) and genuine as a friend (saving Leisel from herself when she sees Max again). I could imagine a cocky boy like him being 'real.' I also liked that the author depicted Germany at the time not as a country full of absolute Nazi supporters, but a country with at least a few people who were decent. Ones willing to hid a Jew or think Hitler Youth was a waste. I cried at the end for Leisel.

I would give it 4 3/4 out of 5 stars!

Book for July

I had a couple of books in mind for July but decided on this one (The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Kids on 25 Words or Less) because I think it's the most fun. It's a little bit like that Zippy book in a sense that it's a memoir. It's a quick read, witty, and is based on a true story. It's actually written by the Prize Winner's daughter. There's even a movie based on the story with Julianne Moore. It's okay but the book is definitely much better. I thought all you summer Ohio folks might enjoy a read from a story based in Ohio.

In case you need more info here's the review from Publishers Weekly. "In the 1950s, the Ryan family struggled to make ends meet. Ten kids and a father who spent most of his paycheck on booze drained the family's meager finances. But mom Evelyn Ryan, a former journalist, found an ingenious way to bring in extra income: entering contests on the backs of cereal boxes and the like. The author, Evelyn's daughter, tells the entertaining story of her childhood and her mother's contest career with humor and affection. She is not a professional narrator, but her love and admiration for her mother come through in every sentence. Evelyn won supermarket shopping sprees that put much-needed food on the table, provided washing machines and other appliances the family couldn't afford, and delivered cash to pay the mounting pile of bills. This well-told, suspenseful tale is peppered with examples of Evelyn's winning poems and slogans, taken from the years of notebooks that she saved and passed on to her daughter, and has a fiction-worthy climax that will keep listeners laughing even as they're glued to Ryan's tale." (Forecasts, Feb. 5). The book is available on Amazon from $6-$15.

If anyone has already read this and wants a different book, let me know and I'll come up with a different one. If not, enjoy and I'll look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Book Review: "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis

Annette already wrote her review of this book on her Book Barn Blog so I thought I'd post mine here.

I was the one who picked this book, but since May was pretty much the stinkiest month for me, I didn't start it until late in the month. I just couldn't bring my "insane" self to read such dark stuff. I was afraid it would make me even crazier than I was already feeling. Besides, all the "tempting" that was being talked about was a little too fresh in my mind as I felt like satan was doing a number on me already with my hubby working so much.

So, after life (and I) calmed down, I got to reading...albeit late in the game.
I'd have to say that I was somewhat confused during some of the reading due to all the "big words" that Lewis uses. Evidently I'm not as sophisticated in the English language as he is. But I did get the jest of what he was trying to convey. I guess that's why I had such a hard time reading it in the beginning. I could just see my 'tempter' talking about me to another 'lower tempter'--and I didn't want to think about all the ammunition they had. I was intrigued by the fact that this is quite possibly how 'tempters' work. With the Gospel foundation I can see how all this could play out; how sophisticated satan is in his tactics, how just as Christ knows everything about us, satan too, knows us but instead uses that knowledge to hurt us rather than help us. It was all very revealing and eye opening to me.

I wouldn't say this was my favorite book, but I'd rate it 3 1/2 out of 5. My biggest hangup: All the big words. Sorry Mr. Lewis!

June book: The Book Thief

Yes, so I am supposed to choose the book for June and May has been THE craziest month of my year thus far! But hey, it's not over yet and so I give you June's book selection: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. I have heard amazing things about this book! Here is a review from Amazon:

"Grade 9 Up–Zusak has created a work that deserves the attention of sophisticated teen and adult readers. Death himself narrates the World War II-era story of Liesel Meminger from the time she is taken, at age nine, to live in Molching, Germany, with a foster family in a working-class neighborhood of tough kids, acid-tongued mothers, and loving fathers who earn their living by the work of their hands. The child arrives having just stolen her first book–although she has not yet learned how to read–and her foster father uses it, The Gravediggers Handbook, to lull her to sleep when shes roused by regular nightmares about her younger brothers death. Across the ensuing years of the late 1930s and into the 1940s, Liesel collects more stolen books as well as a peculiar set of friends: the boy Rudy, the Jewish refugee Max, the mayors reclusive wife (who has a whole library from which she allows Liesel to steal), and especially her foster parents. Zusak not only creates a mesmerizing and original story but also writes with poetic syntax, causing readers to deliberate over phrases and lines, even as the action impels them forward. Death is not a sentimental storyteller, but he does attend to an array of satisfying details, giving Liesels story all the nuances of chance, folly, and fulfilled expectation that it deserves. An extraordinary narrative.–Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA"

The book is $9.59 on Amazon. I'm looking forward to it! Sorry it's so late!

Let's Chat: A Girl Named Zippy (April)

Okay ladies! We are terrible about chatting up a book after we've read it! Here's what I thought about Zippy and I want to know what you all liked. What was your favorite part?

What's our book for June?!

Let's Chat: It Takes a Mother to Raise a Village

I'll start off the chatting about this one even though I wrote a little about it on my own blog. I guess we should be discussing it here, too, though! :) Feel free to add your own posts after reading mine! I'd love to see how everyone else feels. Especially if you are older/younger than me or have more/less children. It would be interesting to see how those things affects your perspective on this topic. Do you feel as strongly as she does?? Do you agree with the things she says? etc...

I LOVED this book and felt like it should be required reading for all stay at home moms. You know we are all just trying to make the world a better place by raising good kids who will turn into good adults. I felt like Colleen Down understands how important the role of a mother is without being "preachy" and making us feel guilty because we are not perfect at it. Sometime we get caught up in being perfect that we forget that it's not about that...I felt like she put raising kids into perspective--you need to not lose yourself completely, you need to have fun, let things roll off your back, and you need to dig in your heels on the things that matter. I laughed a lot, I cried some, and I recommended this book to LOTS and LOTS of the women in my life. I have also thought about this book lots when thinking about things as they are happening in my life. I am personally going to try and read this book once a year so that I can remind myself why I chose the hardest job in the world.

I rated this book a 5 out of 5

Emily: 33yr old mom of 2 boys and 2 girls

May: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

Annette is right! I chose C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters. I'm hoping I'm not the only one who hasn't read it. Like I said before, I had a hard time finding a book, but figured since Pres. Monson quotes C.S. Lewis all the time in his talks that he must be worth reading. So there you have it! Happy reading to all!

Here is a little snipit from Amazon.com to tell you what it is about:

Who among us has never wondered if there might not really be a tempter sitting on our shoulders or dogging our steps? C.S. Lewis dispels all doubts. In The Screwtape Letters, one of his bestselling works, we are made privy to the instructional correspondence between a senior demon, Screwtape, and his wannabe diabolical nephew Wormwood. As mentor, Screwtape coaches Wormwood in the finer points, tempting his "patient" away from God.
Each letter is a masterpiece of reverse theology, giving the reader an inside look at the thinking and means of temptation. Tempters, according to Lewis, have two motives: the first is fear of punishment, the second a hunger to consume or dominate other beings. On the other hand, the goal of the Creator is to woo us unto himself or to transform us through his love from "tools into servants and servants into sons." It is the dichotomy between being consumed and subsumed completely into another's identity or being liberated to be utterly ourselves that Lewis explores with his razor-sharp insight and wit.

The most brilliant feature of The Screwtape Letters may be likening hell to a bureaucracy in which "everyone is perpetually concerned about his own dignity and advancement, where everyone has a grievance, and where everyone lives the deadly serious passions of envy, self-importance, and resentment." We all understand bureaucracies, be it the Department of Motor Vehicles, the IRS, or one of our own making. So we each understand the temptations that slowly lure us into hell. If you've never read Lewis, The Screwtape Letters is a great place to start. And if you know Lewis, but haven't read this, you've missed one of his core writings. --Patricia Klein

It's available used from Amazon starting around $2.00! Bargain!!

Picking a Book is Hard to Do!

Okay, so I just have to put up my disclaimer before I reveal by book choice for May. It has been quite a chore for me to pick a book as I'm really not a big time reader (thus my reason for joining the book club). I went thru a lot of choices--ones I had heard about, bestsellers, amazon recommendations, etc. I thought I had a book picked out, but I just kept 'wondering' about it. I'm always leery of most of the world's "choices" as they are filled with garbage that I don't care to read. If only books came with ratings, like movies, I could judge them with a little more insight. But, not so... So, I read thru LOTS of book descriptions and readers reviews and still was having a hard time. I told a few people of my dilemma and got some great book ideas from them (Finally some opinions I can trust.) So, in my next post I will reveal my May selection... Hint: Its from a well known author, who also wrote a very well know children's book.

By the way--How far are you with April's book--"A girl named Zippy?" I'm ready to talk!!

A Few Legistics

Hey ladies! To clear up some confusion and make things easier for everyone, Annette in her wisdom suggested that we add a list of who is choosing the book for which month. I have added a list to the side column titled "Who's Choosing When". It has a list through the end of this year of who is choosing the book for each month. If you don't want to choose a book, can't do it that month, or know of people who are joining the book club, just let me know and we'll change things accordingly. If you are the one choosing the book for the following month, please post which book you've chosen by the middle of the preceding month so everyone has time to pick it up. There is also a list of what we've already read in the right column to help everyone know which books have already been chosen. If for some reason you go to post and are not able to, please let me know. It may be that I just need to change to your rights. If I have not sent you an email with an invite as an author to the blog, please email me and we'll get it all squared away so you can post. (Also, please let me know if I have misspelled your name anywhere!) If anyone has any other suggestions on how to make things work better in our book club, we would love to hear them. We're a work in progress! Thanks for bearing with us as we work out all of the kinks! Happy reading everyone!

April: A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel

So I'm not sure if the person I had asked to choose the book for April ever saw the message so I went ahead and chose one. I've heard nothing but good things about this book and was in the mood for a light, easy and funny read and from what I've heard, this book fits the bill. Hope you enjoy! Here's a little snip-it of what the book is about:

From Publishers Weekly

It's a clich‚ to say that a good memoir reads like a well-crafted work of fiction, but Kimmel's smooth, impeccably humorous prose evokes her childhood as vividly as any novel. Born in 1965, she grew up in Mooreland, Ind., a place that by some "mysterious and powerful mathematical principle" perpetually retains a population of 300, a place where there's no point learning the street names because it's just as easy to say, "We live at the four-way stop sign." Hers is less a formal autobiography than a collection of vignettes comprising the things a small child would remember: sick birds, a new bike, reading comics at the drugstore, the mean old lady down the street. The truths of childhood are rendered in lush yet simple prose; here's Zippy describing a friend who hates wearing girls' clothes: "Julie in a dress was like the rest of us in quicksand." Over and over, we encounter pearls of third-grade wisdom revealed in a child's assured voice: "There are a finite number of times one can safely climb the same tree in a single day"; or, regarding Jesus, "Everyone around me was flat-out in love with him, and who wouldn't be? He was good with animals, he loved his mother, and he wasn't afraid of blind people." (Mar.)Forecast: Dreamy and comforting, spiced with flashes of wit, this book seems a natural for readers of the Oprah school of women's fiction (e.g., Elizabeth Berg, Janet Fitch). The startling baby photograph on the cover should catch browsers' eyes. (Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.)

It's available for $11.16 at Amazon.com.

Let's Chat

Okay ladies, hopefully you've finished the book since it's March now and I want to hear what you thought so here are a questions to get the chat going:

-What was your favorite part?

-What did you think about Vida Winter's real identity? Did you see that coming?

-Who was your favorite character?

-Do you see yourself in any of the characters in this book?

-Do any of you have the desire to read Jane Eyre again after all the references to it?

-What did you think of the Governess' and the Doctor's "experiment" with Emmeline and Adeline?

Post comments for these questions or anything else you want to bring up!

March: It Takes a Mother to Raise a Village by Colleen Down

Tricia informed me that I am in charge of picking a book for March. I picked the book for February (not having read it before) and while I am enjoying The Thirteenth Tale (I'm only halfway through) I realized that I probably broke Rule #2 because there are a couple not-so-clean parts in that book. So, I have chosen It Takes a Mother for March because I think it will conform to Rules #2 and #3 and be uplifting for all! I've heard great things about it! Here's a little description from Good Reads:

"While the old African proverb of 'it takes a village to raise a child' sounds appealing, perhaps the realities of life are more accurately conveyed in the story of The Little Red Hen. 'Who will help me potty train my child?' asks the mother, 'Not I,' says the village. 'Who will help me clean up this third glass of spilt milk?' asks the mother. 'Not I,' says the village. 'Who will help put braces on my child's teeth?' asks the mother. 'Not I,' says the village. 'Who wants to use my child to further their own political agendas?' asks the mother. 'WE DO,' says the village.
The irony of motherhood is that there has not been a spokesperson for mothers because those who feel most passionately are simply too busy. They're too busy running the car pools, doing the laundry, shopping for the groceries and the 1,001 other things, which are required to sustain life. Some have tried, but really, when was the last time Oprah plopped down her last ten dollar bill for a bag of Huggies and a gallon of milk?
Full time Mom, Colleen Down, has decided to ignore her buzzing dryer and ringing phone long enough to stand up and defend those whose profession it is to rock the cradle, and to remind them once again that they truly do have the power to change the world.
It Takes a Mother to Raise a Village is a humorous look at the joys and frustrations of being a mother of seven, ranging from preschool to college. It Takes a Mother to Raise a Village also takes a serious look at how important the role of a mother is in dealing with the problems that face us in the new millennium. If it takes a mother to raise the village it is also going to take all of the mothers to save the village."

It's available for $12.95 new on Amazon as low as $2.35 used.