Ancient Futures by Helena Norberg-Hodge

My great reading buddy Mary lent me this book after sharing it with our book club. I hadn't had a chance to read it, but I enjoyed her enthusiasm for it and borrowed it after our meeting in the park. It is an amazing book that challenged my thinking about helping people in "developing" countries. I have always been skeptical of the negative influence the so-called developed world has on others, but I thought there was a contribution that could be made, or at least an exchange. Now I'm not so sure. This author powerfully describes the destruction of the contentment and health of the Ladakhi people have experienced as they enter the "modern" world. Here's a quote from page 196:

• In the past few decades we have seen a narrowing of vision--in effect, an insidious dumbing down of society--at the same time as economic activity has globalized. As we become further removed from the sources of sustanence and other needs, it becomes increasingly difficult to see our impact on the rest of the world. How do we know that the food we buy hasn't been grown with slave labor, using toxic herbicides and fungicides? Because of the huge scale of the economic system, even those who want to do good can unknowingly participate in activites that have brutal and destructive effects.

And from page 195:

• The so-called global village--hailed by government and industry as uniting all nations in pursuit of the fruits of the global economy--is in fact a highly volatile monoculture based on on community or connection to palce but on universal consumerism.

And from page 194:

• Beyond these widely recognized problems, another crisis is only now beginning to be acknowledged. This is the human suffering--the psychological and spiritual poverty--of people pushed to produce and consume at an ever-accelerating rate. The resulting stress and time pressures are proving almost unbearable...

This book is powerful because the author describes in great detail the life of the Ladakhi people and one can see what a hard and yet satisfying life it is. Then she describes the effects of the developing world on the people in this isolated area and it's heart-rending. In the Afterword, quoted above, she brings it all together in a way that made me wonder at the wisdom of even offering medical care to developing countries. If a life is hard, healthy, and self-sustaining, it doesn't make sense to interfere. She also describes policies that are having a negative effect on these countries. It all reminded me of what I see very close to home--life on our Lakota Indian Reservations.

To me, this is another voice in the cry for more local living in smaller communities. I think of big high schools and how kids are lost there. I think of our urban cities and how people feel lost there. Living in smaller communites with food produced nearby seems to work on so many levels! Another connection I am thinking about is how in my church, we have a built-in mechanism to stay small and local--wards are divided when they get too big, and they are based on geography so one is always with one's closest neighbors. This makes sense!

The Jumping-Off Place by Marian Hurd McNeely

This delightful book is published by the South Dakota State Historical Society Press and includes black and white illustrations by William Siegel. It would make a perfect "read aloud" for children from eight or so upwards. It tells the story of four siblings who homestead in South Dakota in the early 1900s. Their challenges are many yet their fortitude and courage are great! This book is based on the actual experiences of the author, which makes it even more interesting to me. The characters are reflective of their time--hard workers and optimistic. I have read this book twice, just because I enjoy where it takes me. I gave a copy to my friend Terri, who has given away additional copies too. This is a keeper; I plan to read it again before too long.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt

This book captivated me right from the start! It was one of those books that called to me between chapters and made me want to stay awake to read more. Holling Hoodhood is a seventh grader in 1967 and he is hilarious, sensitive, real, and smart. He imagines his teacher, Mrs. Baker,  is at war with him, and details her dirty looks, quotes her, etc. Each chapter is a new month in the school year, and as their relationship develops, you can feel the mutual admiration. It’s wonderful!

Another reason I liked it was the time…people are smoking, Viet Nam War is running in the background, and so are flower children. It’s richly and accurately done!

This is alternately tragic and funny by turns…Holling’s parents, particularly his father, are dolts. They are heartbreaking! But Holling’s ingenuity and independence are developed because of this… There aren’t many books that make me cry real tears, but this one did, in several places. The caring teacher, the heartless parents, the big sister’s problems, the POW arriving home, the love between teacher and student, all were very sweet experiences for me.

One of Mrs. Baker’s tricks is to require Holling to read Shakespeare during their Wednesday afternoons together. He is the only Presbyterian student who doesn’t have to attend either Catholic or Jewish services on Wednesday afternoons. This gives him ample time for private tutoring from Mrs. Baker, and the reader gets a fresh chance to appreciate Shakespeare’s lessons as well. Totally delightful!

I sent this book as an audio gift to Annabee for Christmas this year. I can't wait to see how she likes it! Gabe's fourth grade teacher has it in her classroom collection, but I think it's too sophisticated for him...I wonder if Ann will think it's okay for hers? I really think she'll enjoy it!

Dancing with Mr. Darcy: Stories Inspired by Jane Austen and Chawton House edited by Sarah Walters

Border's in Rapid City was closing its doors. Everything was down to 80% off. I was shopping with nine-year-old Gabriel who was disappointed the Lego sets were all gone. I saw this and thought, "Why not?" I love Jane Austen and this sounded like a way to enjoy how other authors see and interpret and mimic her. I was right! This is a delightful short story collection and I totally enjoyed all but two of them. There are twenty stories total, so those are pretty good odds.

Some of the ideas and approaches were extremely creative! Although it wasn't my favorite story, "One Character in Search of Her Love Story Role" really knocked my socks off as an idea. Characters from different novels visit and shadow each other to learn character traits! Absolutely delightful and novel. And I don't agree with the choice of "winners" but that's okay...It was interesting to read how they were chosen. One of my favorite stories is #6, "Eight Years Later."  It's a decidedly feminine book, with all of the authors, the editors, and introduction written by women. It may have benefited from a masculine influence. These stories also increased my desire to visit Jane Austen's world in England someday.

The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton and completed by Marion Mainwaring

I have long wanted to read Edith Wharton and finally took the plunge this past summer. Perhaps I shouldn't have begun with an incomplete novel, but the title intrigued me. And Wharton's biographers on Wikipidia included a description of this novel that sounded promising. The plot sounds romantic and interesting and describes life in the upper classes in America in the 1870s. I thought it would help me understand more about this time period. Unfortunately, it did not. The novel focuses almost exclusively on the characters, their conversations, and their actions. But the characters are not seen particularly closely; there's a real distance there. It felt almost like these people were strangers. Their lives were focused on status, position, and money. It was really quite depressing in many ways. I kept wondering, when will they wake up and get real? They never did, and perhaps that's one of the points Wharton was trying to get across. I'm not sure. It was not one of those books I found particularly engaging; however I was able to finish it and say, ho hum. Guess it's over. The supposed wit and irony Wharton is known for was completely lost on me. Will I try this author again? Perhaps...but not anytime soon.

Choose to Learn: Teaching for Success Every Day by Russell T. Osguthorpe and Lolly S. Osguthorpe

These authors are incredible people, so it's not surprising their book is, too! I love the Osguthorpe's, and got to know them when they presided over the Rapid City Mission for three years. Their love and enthusiasm comes across in this "tiny but mighty" book. Russ teaches at BYU and Lolly teaches sixth grade, so they alternate voices and examples in the book, giving plenty of variety in experiences and levels.

They assert that learning and success are inseparable. A powerful idea that has changed my thinking...

They take "The Three D's of Success" (Desire, Decision, and Determination) and illustrate how to use them to achieve success--all kinds of success. I think it's a good template for changing, overcoming addiction, or whatever you want to LEARN.
Here are some of my favorite quotes:
"Do your very best and your best gets better." (page 88)
"...excuse-making is limiting their own power to choose. Each excuse a person makes causes success to be a little farther out of reach...Those who choose to learn choose not to whine. Rather, they find ways to solve the seemingly unsolvable. They work their way to success in spite of any obstacle that confronts them." (page 91)
"We are always moving in the direction of our most dominant thought." (quoting Waitly, on page 9)

I also appreciated Chapter Two that differentiates between PRESSURE and URGENCY. One creates stress and the other creates energy. This is a great dichotomy that has helped my thinking.

The Osguthorpe's gifted us this book in 2009, and I've read it and reread it over and over. It's one of my "go to" books for motivation and direction.

The Art of Possibility by Rosamund Stone Zander and Benjamin Zander

This book was recommended to me by Lois Zachary, mentoring guru, who was in South Dakota recently advising us on one of our projects. After she recommended this book to our group, she told me, "It reads like buttah!" She was right! It's very insightful in so many ways, and it's a joy to read. Each chapter has a different "practice" that helps transform one's life and thinking. It's very accessible and full of great little stories. I love the music metaphors!
One of the more powerful ideas is, "It's all invented!" The practice goes like this: Ask yourself, "What assumptions am I making, that I am not aware that I'm making, that gives me what I see?" And after you answer that question, you ask this one: "What might I now invent, that I haven't yet invented, that would give me other choices?" This line of thinking opens up all kinds of possibilities!
Something I underlined: In the measurement world, you set a goal and strive for it. In the universe of possibility, you set the context and let life unfold." I'm pondering this one to see how it might apply to my driven self!
Other ideas in this book coincide very nicely with one of my all-time favorite books: Bonds That Make Us Free: Healing Our Relationships, Coming to Ourselves by C. Terry Warner. The me vs. we, the barriers we build, etc., etc. Powerful ideas that have transformative powers if I would live them! When I do, I feel their power!
Rule #6 is also a delight--to take yourself lightly. Remember this one!
A very motivating chapter is called "Giving an A" and would resonate not only with teachers, but with everyone! I liken this idea to unconditional love, and the authors give wonderful examples of how this plays out in individual reactions to being loved and motivated this way. Here are some quotes I underlined in this chapter:

• Standards can help us by defining the range of knowledge a student must master to be competent in his field. It is not in the context of measuring people's performance against standards that we propose giving the A, despite the reference to measurement the A implies. We give the A to finesse the stranglehold of judgment that grades have over our consciousness from our earliest days. The A is an invention that creates possibility for both mentor and student, manager and employee, or for any human interaction. The practice of giving the A allows the teacher to line up with her students in their efforts to produce the outcome, rather than lining up with the standrads against these students. In the first instance, the instructor and the student, or the manager and the employee become a team for accomplishing the extraordinary; in the second, the disparity in power between them can become a distraction and an inhibitor, drawing energy away from productivity and development.

Early in the book, on page 21, this quote stopped me in my tracks: "In the measurement world, you set a goal and strive for it. In the universe of possibility, you set the context and let life unfold." Definitely food for thought for this goal-driven person!!!

One place where I strongly disagree was with Roz when she advised one of her clients to ask her mother for money...although it illustrated her point of opening up possibilities, I don't agree that giving money helps those who don't seem to manage it well. Just had to go on record here about that!

I have really enjoyed picking up this book for an uplift from time to time, and now that it's all marked up, I enjoy it even more. My friend June sent this book to her musician son, who knows Ben, so his reaction will be very intriguing!