EBN A Book that Became a Movie:The Shack by William Paul Young

In our library they have a display of "quick reads". These books are not especially short, but they are books that are in high demand and can only be checked out for seven days at a time with no renewal. I typically finish with plenty of time and return the book on my next library visit (usually Wednesdays), I got busy while reading this book and didn't get around to it till the day before it was do. I really wanted to finish it though so I swallowed the $.10/day fine and returned it three days late. Sometimes it's just worth it.

I saw a trailer for this movie and decided it was one I probably wouldn't be able to see. It starts out with the kidnaping and murder of a little girl who looks a little too close to my Penny. All stories like that, real of fiction, give me nightmares. I have a hard enough time sleeping without inviting horrifying dreams into my head. But a few weeks ago a friend was talking about the book and said it was really pretty good. I saw the book on display and decided I could give it a try. The beginning was heartbreaking, though kind of unrealistic. The whole rest of the book was a weekend the surviving father spends with God (aka Papa, Jesus, and Sarayu or the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost). The book sparked some interesting conversation, like what race do you think Heavenly Father is. The theological ideas in the book were interesting. What I found most interesting was that as I was reading it, I kept finding things that would ring true with me and other things that really just fell flat. It may be that I was just picking and choosing those things that fall inline with my own theological ideas, but I think it was more than just me. I think that the Spirit testifies of truth regardless of where it is coming from. Reading this book was like looking at the stars through a very cloudy sky; a lot of confused conjecture but little glimmers of genuine truth.

As interesting as the discussions of doctrine were, they were also kind of boring and felt forced. The best part of the whole story was the narrative. The story was beautiful and so relatable, regardless of personal circumstances. No matter who we are we all need healing of some sort, we all need to forgive and be forgiven, and we all need to find the love that comes in our relationship with our creator. I definitely didn't agree with all the ideas in this book, but the love expressed in it was thick and beautiful and I loved it.

EBN A History Book: How to be a Victorian by Ruth Goodman

Some how I found this BBC television series on YouTube called the Victorian Farm. I was curious so I watched the first episode and found it super interesting. I ended up binge watching the entire series, as well as the spin off series' Victorian Pharmacy, Edwardian Farm, Monastic Tudor Farm, and War Time Farm. Right now I'm watching the one they did about the Railway in England, but haven't had a ton of time to watch it. I really loved the shows. They featured my favorite type of history, the nitty-gritty parts of everyday life. I love seeing the everyday reality of peoples lives, how it was then compared to now. There was so much difference between now and then, but also so much the same. While watching, I saw a promotional video that one of the main historians on the shows wrote called How to be a Victorian. It sounded really great, and I decided to check it out.

This book was everything I hoped it would be. It covers all of the day to day stuff people expereinced, from when they woke up in the morning till when they went to bed at night. It covered all sorts of interesting things that I didn't know about like the fact that they rarely lit the fireplaces in their bedrooms, even the wealthy ones. They saw it as a frivolous expense and only lit fires in bedrooms if someone was ill. They also had this idea that disease was spread by bad smelling air so people would have their windows open all the time, even in the middle of winter. There were stories of extremely poor people who had a clutch of children all huddled together for warmth with the window wide open. Also, poorer people didn't usually make their own clothes, they would by them second hand; explains why having the latest fashions was such a big deal.

The craziest stuff was how human waste was disposed of. I knew people in rural communities just used outhouses and either filled them up and then moved them or kept them regularly composting. I actually know of a few people who live in the boonies out here in the American West who still use outhouses. But I had never really given it much thought on what people in urban areas did with all that extra waste. Well, they would fill up lined cesspits and they night-soil men would come and remove it. The system was far from perfect and there were some serious problems that came up while they were creating a system that actually worked (e.g. huge cholera epidemic).

Probably the worst part about the Victorian era was its unregulated and excessive use of opioids in everyday, over the counter medicines. Not only could you easily and cheaply get opioids for adults, but they were widely used for infants and children. Medicines that were that were meant to help babies with things like teething or tummy bubbles were full of addictive substances. On top of this the amounts even in the same product brand varied. The risk of overdosing your child was very real. She gave some crazy statistic like one in five infant deaths was caused by opium overdose. The infant meds weren't the only terrible products designed for babies. Ugh, the Victorian era has to have been one of the worst times to be a baby. I have a hard time giving my kids any medicine, even tylonol, I think the craziness of the Victorian times might have made me even more leary. This book made me so grateful for things like modern science, vaccines, indoor plumbing, sewage treatment plants, and central heating. A really great read.

EBN A Book by an Author with Your Name: Radio Girls by Sarah-Jane Stratford

Well, here comes another dumping of book challenge entries. This having only one computer while your husband is going to school full-time is for the birds. He is either at school with the computer or doing homework at home with it. It only ever seems to be available late in the day when I am too tired to read, let alone type. I caught a lucky break today though. He is neither at work or at school and doesn't feel like studying this morning. So I am seizing my opportunity and  entering the last few books I've read before the opportunity is lost.

Radio Girls is a story that takes place in the late 1920's. I covers the working experience of a secretary at the BBC. The book as a very strong feminist message and highlights the work of Hilda Matheson (one of the first and most successful female producers). I really liked the story, especially the evolution of the main character Maisie. It felt like her negative perception of the female was a bit exaggerated, but maybe not. Perhaps people really did view women as weak and one dimensional, but based on what I've  read, that feeling was mostly due to a lack of imagination rather than the intentional repression of a race. There were genuine misogynistic pigs in roles of power for sure. Maisie's perspective may have been exaggerated at the beginning of the book to show greater contrast, but her confidence at the end was strong and felt real.

I really enjoy most feminist literature and read a lot of it in college, but I do have my qualms about it. I feel that in our effort to be considered the equals of men we strive to become like them, losing all the beautiful characteristics that make us female. By throwing off those things that make us feminine, we are not showing  the world that women are the equal of men, we are only showing that the male is better and all genders should strive for it. At the same time there are those who say that all those things that make us women not only make us the equal of men, but make us better. I find myself going down that particular rabbit hole all the time. But that stand is flawed too. Men and women are different, as they should be, but those differences don't make  us of unequal value. I really believe that men and women need each other and that both are dependent on the other in more ways than just procreation.