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!!