The Anatomy of Peace by the Arbinger Institute

I listened to this book on my way to and from a trip to Casper, Wyoming. It is another book (besides Leadership and Self-Deception) built around C. Terry Warner's powerful take on "I and thou" philosophy articulated back in the day by Martin Buber. Wonderful, powerful ways to think. The book unfolds as a drama where parents are dropping off their teenagers at a "reform" experience out in Nature. It can be annoying as stereotypes unfold, but it is mostly very intriguing and entertaining as the ideas are explained through parental dialogue with the camps' founders.

"Getting in the box" is the way self-deception is described, and the misguided thinking it leads to. There are many "boxes" included in the discussion, and they are universal archetypes. "I'm better than..." and "I know more than..." are two that I related to. There are many others. I need to listen to it again to reconnect with this content. It really helped my thinking and my personal change process.

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.