I read this one years ago, and thought it quite light and fun. It seemed like a good choice to throw in my bag for our recent road trip to Minneapolis and Rochester, MN, for a new car purchase and our Mayo checkups during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was.
I like the setting of a small East River South Dakota town. I like the time period -- it's about a high school reunion of folks about my age, and both time periods resonate with me. I enjoy the author's humor. The mystery aspects got a little too complex for me, but that seems to be par for the course for me lately.
I laughed out loud a couple of times. But is it a great story or great writing or interesting characters? Not especially. The bad guys are one-dimensional and the good guys are not that interesting. But for light reading on a summer road trip? Perfect way to get away.
Wednesday, May 27, 2020
Wednesday, May 13, 2020
Echoes of Eden by E. Douglas Clark
The subtitle is "Eternal Lessons from our First Parents"
Even though this book is ten years old, it feels very current with my thinking and the thinking I'm hearing from guests on the Maxwell Institute Podcast and the Leading Saints podcast. This author inspired hope in me about my role as a wife and partner. Using wonderful and interesting sources, not well-known, he makes a strong case for absolute equal partnership between husbands and wives.
For years in the church we have heard, "Women and men are equal, but the man presides in the home." Or similar. This is counsel that I heard and heeded. But it did not lead me to a good place. I often abdicated my responsibility for thinking and doing; instead, I got lazy and left it up to Leonard in many cases. I blamed the above doctrine for this. And I was wrong, very wrong!
This author does a beautiful job of giving examples of how Eve and Sariah were powerful and respected and vital partners in the work of their husbands. They were in it together, just as our Heavenly Parents intended it. Looking at their lives, it inspired me to be more devoted in my partnership with Leonard and to take my place as his equal. Not to abdicate. I loved President Hinckley's clear counsel on this matter, but somehow I didn't hear it. Now I do.
I really enjoyed this book and the new meaning it gave to my understanding as a wife. And it also helped me appreciate many of the aspects of their lives that I had never before considered. Well worth the read!
Even though this book is ten years old, it feels very current with my thinking and the thinking I'm hearing from guests on the Maxwell Institute Podcast and the Leading Saints podcast. This author inspired hope in me about my role as a wife and partner. Using wonderful and interesting sources, not well-known, he makes a strong case for absolute equal partnership between husbands and wives.
For years in the church we have heard, "Women and men are equal, but the man presides in the home." Or similar. This is counsel that I heard and heeded. But it did not lead me to a good place. I often abdicated my responsibility for thinking and doing; instead, I got lazy and left it up to Leonard in many cases. I blamed the above doctrine for this. And I was wrong, very wrong!
This author does a beautiful job of giving examples of how Eve and Sariah were powerful and respected and vital partners in the work of their husbands. They were in it together, just as our Heavenly Parents intended it. Looking at their lives, it inspired me to be more devoted in my partnership with Leonard and to take my place as his equal. Not to abdicate. I loved President Hinckley's clear counsel on this matter, but somehow I didn't hear it. Now I do.
I really enjoyed this book and the new meaning it gave to my understanding as a wife. And it also helped me appreciate many of the aspects of their lives that I had never before considered. Well worth the read!
Friday, May 1, 2020
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
My dear friend Leslie sent me this book during our sequestering for the COVID-19 virus. She had just finished it and thought I might enjoy it. We had been talking on a walk(via airpods since she's in Laramie) and her description of it intrigued me. Well, from the opening page, I knew this book was going to be great! It was. Hooray!
It's so seldom, lately, that I find a book I adore This is one. As soon as I finished it, I began again from the first page so that I could pick up the little hints and red herrings the author had dropped along the way. My memory is such that I miss a lot from week to week, so it helped to just open it again. I had read it slowly because it is so beautifully written, so I would occasionally forget the characters. The second time through I also went slowly and just savored his use of language.
It was also interesting to notice the author's style. He frequently used the pattern of THREE...in his sentences, there were very often three things listed. I started noticing and marking that pattern, and then found them everywhere! Plus the number three was significant throughout the book... I probably didn't catch them all, but this author is so cryptic and intelligent that I know these were all purposeful. I enjoyed catching them. Plus, he uses alliteration and assonance CONSTANTLY! So fun to notice...
And his clues along the way--wrapped brown packages, unfinished thoughts, etc., show up again later. I loved following these threads like a mystery. And the main character, the "Gentleman" was such a fine person and the way he developed over the time span in the novel was beautiful. I loved his sense of humor, too.
It was interesting to read this particular story in the midst of quarantine from a pandemic! This main character is sequestered too, and couldn't leave the hotel because of his sentence to stay there. The political backdrop of the young USSR was fascinating to read about too.
I also enjoyed the way the author played with time...very short time spans, then expanded time spans in the middle, and again short time spans at the end. Very clever! And how about the fact that the climax of the book -- the unexpected return of a grown up Nina -- occurs at EXACTLY the middle of the book? So many amazing things this author did...plus all the chapter titles begin with "A" and fit the content perfectly.
Have I even mentioned the culinary delights beautifully described? Mouth-watering and discerning! And the sumptuous characterizations. Fabulously interesting and unexpected. Laugh-out-loud witty dialogue and shenanigans. And a completely fresh and beautifully rendered story. A great book on all counts. (Get it???) YES. I love this book and will savor it again soon. I think I need to send copies to Melissa and Sierra. If they enjoy it half as much as I did, it will be worth it!!!
It's so seldom, lately, that I find a book I adore This is one. As soon as I finished it, I began again from the first page so that I could pick up the little hints and red herrings the author had dropped along the way. My memory is such that I miss a lot from week to week, so it helped to just open it again. I had read it slowly because it is so beautifully written, so I would occasionally forget the characters. The second time through I also went slowly and just savored his use of language.
It was also interesting to notice the author's style. He frequently used the pattern of THREE...in his sentences, there were very often three things listed. I started noticing and marking that pattern, and then found them everywhere! Plus the number three was significant throughout the book... I probably didn't catch them all, but this author is so cryptic and intelligent that I know these were all purposeful. I enjoyed catching them. Plus, he uses alliteration and assonance CONSTANTLY! So fun to notice...
And his clues along the way--wrapped brown packages, unfinished thoughts, etc., show up again later. I loved following these threads like a mystery. And the main character, the "Gentleman" was such a fine person and the way he developed over the time span in the novel was beautiful. I loved his sense of humor, too.
It was interesting to read this particular story in the midst of quarantine from a pandemic! This main character is sequestered too, and couldn't leave the hotel because of his sentence to stay there. The political backdrop of the young USSR was fascinating to read about too.
I also enjoyed the way the author played with time...very short time spans, then expanded time spans in the middle, and again short time spans at the end. Very clever! And how about the fact that the climax of the book -- the unexpected return of a grown up Nina -- occurs at EXACTLY the middle of the book? So many amazing things this author did...plus all the chapter titles begin with "A" and fit the content perfectly.
Have I even mentioned the culinary delights beautifully described? Mouth-watering and discerning! And the sumptuous characterizations. Fabulously interesting and unexpected. Laugh-out-loud witty dialogue and shenanigans. And a completely fresh and beautifully rendered story. A great book on all counts. (Get it???) YES. I love this book and will savor it again soon. I think I need to send copies to Melissa and Sierra. If they enjoy it half as much as I did, it will be worth it!!!
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