EBN A Humorous or Satirical Book: The Only Pirate at the Party by Lindsey Stirling and Brooke S. Passey

Several of the books I had put on hold at the library came in this last week, which was good. I was worried I would have to start aimlessly hunting the library shelves for books to fill out the categories on my list.

YouTube is one of those things that I've gotten into via my siblings. YouTube was born when I started college and, other than short silly videos that made me laugh, I didn't think much of it. Nearly 10 years later, I see it has really developed into an interesting internet space with some pretty stellar creators (YouTubers). Lindsey Stirling is one of several channels I follow and subscribe to. I first saw a cover she did of Legend of Zelda music, and have enjoyed watching her creations grow and develop.

While reading this autobiography, I was surprised to find out that she and I are the same age and come from similar backgrounds. We are both LDS, her dad was also a teacher who wrote on the side, her mom worked in the school cafeteria while my mom worked in the school library. She and I also grew up in very frugal households. And we both went to church universities. I loved reading about how her life developed from a typical start to an extraordinary present.

I also really enjoyed her silly and slightly irreverent sense of humor. I often find LDS authors are so nervous about misrepresenting their religion that their genuine nature doesn't shine through. Stirling doesn't seem to suffer from that problem. She unashamedly states her standards and bears her testimony of God without stifling her vibrant personality.

The chapters and moments she talks about her struggle with anorexia were appropriately serious, but were also very heartening. I think almost all teenage girls at least flirt with the idea of extreme weight loss measures. I know I did, but it was a silly teenage thing that I never thought seriously about. True eating disorders are not something you choose to have or not, they are just something that develops in the brain, usually without the person recognizing it. Because of this, many people see it as incurable, but this phrasing is so discouraging. Like someone who suffers from clinical depression, or extreme addiction, the problem never does really go away. The thoughts and desires will always sit somewhere in the back of a persons mind because it is how that brain has been hardwired, but, as Stirling shows, it can be overcome. A person is made up of a body and a spirit, and that spirit is powerful.

EBN A Book Recommended to You by Someone You Just Met: The Linclon Hypothesis by Timothy Ballard

So I've joined a book club. I am really excited about this; I'll finally have people outside my family to talk analytically to about books. I haven't been part of a book club since college and have really missed it. Most of my excitement is coming from the chance to read books and have intriguing discussions about them, but a little part of me is just excited to have a little intellectually stimulating adult conversation. Don't get me wrong I love the adults in my day to day life (namely my husband), but I'm really craving some variety. Plus the combination of stay-at-home-mom and firefighter's wife doesn't automatically provide for a lot of time spent with grown-ups.

This book is written by an LDS author for an LDS audience. That being said, although I think anyone would find this book interesting, unless they had a basic knowledge of church history and Mormon doctrine, they would be a bit lost. The hypothesis, in a nutshell, is this: Partway into his presidency and the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln identified the covenant between God and the inhabitants of the United States. He recognized the countries need to repent of its sins (slavery and the violent oppression of minority groups). Once he and the Union saw this and sentiment changed, the tide of the war changed too.

According to The Book of Mormon, the American continent is a "promised land", meaning a place where God can establish his church and see it thrive. LDS people also believe that God influenced the founding of the United States. Within a promised land there is always a "covenant people". These people promise God that they will do his will and keep his commandments, and in return He will bless those people and the land with increased prosperity. Now, I fully believe this and accept it as truth, but did Abraham Lincoln? That's the theory.

The idea that America is an unique and blessed country is not new. Even before it was an independent nation, inhabitants felt like it was meant to be more than just another place to live. They felt like it was going to be a "light upon a hill" or an example to other nations and that God would make it so. When the Civil War broke out, it seemed like that status was would fail, but it didn't. Through the leadership of Abraham Lincoln and assistance from Heaven, the country was saved. It didn't happen though, until Lincoln and the nation changed their feelings about slavery and violent oppression.

While reading this book, which has a lot more detail then I could outline here, my mind kept thinking of the failings of the 13th and 14th amendments. Yes, slaves were freed and all citizens were given federal protection, but how long did it take before that protection was actually enforced. About a hundred years. I wasn't sure why God would grant forgiveness when the repentance was only halfway felt. I'm still thinking about it, but I have come to some conclusions.

I remember hearing somewhere that it doesn't matter how good or bad you are in comparison to other people; what matters is where your heart is and where it is heading, Just because I make mistakes and am often imperfect in my actions doesn't mean that I have no hope of eternal life and salvation. Heavenly Father knows my desires and as long as I am actively striving to be better and continually repenting and trying, it doesn't matter where along the path to perfection I am when I die. I just need to be heading the right direction. Why didn't God sweep the United States from off the earth during the Civil War? Because the change in Lincoln's heart and the heart of most of the North was a step in the right direction. It was far from perfect and not all citizens felt it, but it was still in the right direction. This gives me, at least, a tiny bit of hope for America today. The country might be pretty disgusting in many ways but there are still times when we make steps in the direction God would have us go. In a direction that supports this promised land in a way that allows His gospel to thrive and spread.  

EBN A Book with Music in It: The Day the Music Died by Ed Gorman

I seem to be doing okay with this challenge. I have a good sized list of books to read that can be applied to the various categories. About three of them are on hold at the library, but the rest I have actual copies (I raided my parent's library over the weekend). Now I just need to make sure I make the time to read all these books. I think I'll be fine, though I've got a couple of heavy duty bricks in that pile.

I really enjoyed this book; I didn't think much of it at first but by the end I really liked it. It takes place right after Buddy Holly's plane crashed, hence The Day the Music Died. It's a straight forward murder mystery with pretty natural feeling plot devices and an semi-unresolved but still satisfying ending. The characters were all terrible reprobates and charming (Judge Whitney was especially fun). The voice had a strange rhythm to it (reminiscent of those old smokey private I movies with all those stellar one liners). It took me a little time to jive with it, but once I did I really liked it.

So, amongst images that make me think of American Graffiti, and Mad Men, a really great story of death and change is told. The shift of life played out by the characters is a type for the shift that American culture underwent at about the same time. The Utopia that those who survived WWII created for themselves is becoming disillusioned and challenged and that brought about change (on all levels of life) and death. There is a small part where the main character is reveling in the beauty and happiness of life, in the vitality of youth and all its promise, and then in an instant he is filled with an overwhelming sadness. Life isn't all sunshine and daisies and never can be. Teenagers grow up and become adults with all the pain and confusion real life can produce. The "perfect" American family always has sorrow and difficulties. As prosperous as the economy can be, there will always be those who are oppressed by poverty. This story portrays the death of a dream that comes clear, for the main character any way, after the death of a rock and roll singer.

This story certainly wasn't without its faults. It could have been twice as long as it is, but it was still very good. And I appreciated the short chapters.

EBN Cozy Mystery: Hare Today, Dead Tomorrow by Cynthia Baxter

A cozy mystery. I wasn't exactly sure what this was supposed to be. What is it that's supposed to make a mystery cozy. Turns out, "cozies very rarely focus on sex, profanity or violence. The murders take place off stage, and are often relatively bloodless (e.g. poisoning), while sexual activity (if any) between characters is only ever gently implied and never directly addressed.The cozy mystery usually takes place in a small town or village. The small size of the setting makes it believable that all the suspects know each other. The amateur sleuth is usually a very likeable person who is able to get the community members to talk freely about each other. There is usually at least one very knowledgeable, nosy, yet reliable character in the book who is able to fill in all of the blanks, thus enabling the amateur sleuth to solve the case."

http://www.goodreads.com/genres/cozy-mystery

So basically the book version of all those TV crime shows people watch. I actually really enjoy those type of shows. NCIS, Bones, Murder She Wrote,and Castle are some of my absolute favorites. I didn't realize this till I had already started one of the books on the library's suggestions list for this category. If I had, I probably would have chosen a different book. Probably an Agatha Christy or maybe a Lee Child. Oh well...

So, this wasn't that bad of a book. Parts of it were actually kind of funny. I liked that the book could stand alone even though it was in the middle of a series. A lot of the story line seemed contrived and a bit forced though, pretty typical of this style of novel. This is something I would firmly place under the category of "beach reading"; something that doesn't require much concentration, can still entertain, but won't distract you from supervising your kids at the park too much. 

My personal feelings for the book are kind of lukewarm. I enjoyed it well enough (the S&M dungeon party was pretty funny) but I didn't really feel much of a connection to the main character. She was just very into her pets (she is a vet so it totally makes sense). Don't get me wrong, I like animals well enough, especially my own giant beast of a puppy, Jazz. The sight of animals just doesn't seem to elicit the same feelings in me that the character has. Maybe if I had picked a book where the sluth and I have a little more in common I would have liked it better. Maybe a stay-at-home-mom, or English professor, or maybe even a couple of old-lady gardeners (e.g. Rosemary and Thyme). I think I'll make that a goal of mine. To find a cozy mystery series with a main character I can fall in sync with. 

EBN A Book You've Been Meaning to Read: Christy by Catherine Marshall

A book you've been meaning to read. This was a hard selection. Not because I couldn't think of any books I wanted to read, rather I had too many. I am one of those people that never seems to make a dent in my "to read" pile no matter how much I actually read. There just always seems to be a ton of books I think I might like. There also seems to be a ton of books that other people seem to think I might like. So the pile will only continue to grow until the visual image of my "have read" list will look something like that library in Disney's The Beauty and the Beast; or at least that's the goal. Don't shame me for not getting there yet. I'm only thirty and I have 4 small kids.

This week's book has been on my "to read" list for a very long time. It is one of my mother's all time favorite books, and she has been telling me I would love it since I was in high school. She's usually right. I found this book at a thrift store for .75 cents while attending my one of my first semesters at college. I started reading it but then became a little overwhelmed by all the required reading I had to do that semester and just didn't have time. Fast forward a decade or so and here I am; digging through my boxes of books (my husband seems to think finishing basement bedrooms and bathrooms take priority over built in shelving for all my books) looking for something I haven't read but want to. Let me say, my mother was right...again.

I absolutely loved this book. The characters were approachable and very relate-able. The steady and beautiful change that comes over the main character was powerful but slow and oh so realistic. In the words of Anne of Green Gables, she and I were "kindred spirits".

Every now and then I come across one of these books where the main theme or message is so in line with my own personal philosophy that I wonder if the author happens to be Mormon too. It almost never is the case and this was no exception. But just because I'm a Mormon and the author comes from a more traditional Christian background doesn't mean that we don't share a faith. The message she shared in this book about God's love for his children and the absolute necessity for all of us to embody and share that love is what I would classify as a true and everlasting principle. Regardless of which dogma you adhere to, unconditional, unfailing love can be the most powerful and unifying force in this world if we will just let it guide our view of those around us. Our feelings for others change, and often they change too as we interact with them. The shift in the character of Bird's-Eye is not just the crazy fantasy of a fictitious book; it can be real. Our love affects others far more than we recognize.

I genuinely loved this book. If I were rating it I would give it a 9 out of 10 (very high praise for me).

EBN A Book Chosen Because of its Title: Moo by Sharon Creech

Well here we go, another week, another book. I probably shouldn't feel as proud as I do about making it a second week on this particular challenge (I still have 48 to go) but I do. I'm actually very proud of myself. I have made it two weeks into my New Year's resolutions and am still going strong. If I make it to February, I'll be surprised. Wish me luck.

The book for this entry is Moo by Sharon Creech. I was intending to use this for the YA category but I decided to save that for a different novel. Who knows, I might get lucky and see John Green publish his next book before the end of this challenge (if only). A "book chosen because of its title" fits this one so well, I felt it must be so. I, of course, found it in the children's library while I was waiting the eternity it takes for my son to choose a new Magic Tee House book to check out. I had read a couple of Creech's books before and enjoyed them, though I haven't read any since taking YA lit in college. Mostly I just really liked the title. I have heard a large variety of "moo"s in my life and each one communicated something different. I was curious what this one was saying.

First off, let me say, I love rural country, realistic fiction stories. They almost always have a great sense of down to earth humor that I love. They also often have some ignorant city type who gets thrown into all that humor. I always seem to feel like that's me. I have never lived on a farm or kept any livestock but I have spent half of my life around family who does. I feel I can sympathize with characters who get thrown into a world where they are expected to work hard at something they don't know anything about, but in the end find they love it and all the simple pleasures that come from that type of gritty labor. Creech manages to convey that transformation in a classic but beautiful way in Moo.

My favorite part was the fair. I come from a place were the county fair is a really big deal. It is always very well attended, despite the minuscule population size of the county. Every year we made sure to go. We would go check out the vender's booths, the home goods displays, try to get tickets to the demo derby or at least the rodeo. I even got to participate in the little buckaroo once (I caught the chicken!). And, of course, there is the livestock auction. Even now that I no longer even live in the state, I still try to see something of the fair when we go visit my parents in the summer. My mother is in charge of all the 4-H activities in her county (except livestock) because of her job as the county's university extension agent. Being a member seem to have come as an expectation in life rather than a choice, but I loved it all the same. I stuck with just the Family and Consumer Science (FACS) activities, but my brother got to raise a pig for the fair and my cousins covered all areas of the livestock show. Between them and my mom, I got a pretty fair exposure to the singing call of the auctioneer (a really talent I tell you) and almost insane task of keeping both your animal and your white 4-H shirt clean before you go in front of the judges. Reading that little section in the book brought all those memories rushing back. They were all happy and I could't help but smile.

I really enjoyed this book. The fair scenes were only a little part of how it brought me back to my childhood visiting grandparents and cousins and cows.

EBN A Book From a Library Display: Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

Its a new year and you can bet your buckets I have made a list of New Year's resolutions. I always try to keep my resolutions super simple and, hopefully, achievable. This year was no exception. Do 30 minuets of cardio exercise three times a week, do my visiting teaching each month no matter how awkward and shy I feel, and help my soon-to-be-kindergartner improve her literacy. My last goal was to recover some of the literary muscles I had allowed to go to seed in my now almost 7 years as a stay-at-home mom. I had thought about making a goal to write for an hour every day (which I may still attempt to do) but then I saw a friend wearing a sweatshirt from the Extreme Book Nerd Challenge our local library puts on each year. I had wanted to do it last year, but it was already October and I had just had a baby (no way). I asked my friend about it and she was all praises and pride so I decided that would be my mental/professional challenge for the year. Read 50 books from 50 different categories in 50 weeks. To prove we have actually completed the challenge we are supposed to keep a log of the books we have read. I was totally going to just grab a blank composition book and use that, but I couldn't find one and I forgot to pick one up at the store today. So here we are. I'm using my never visited, rarely updated blog as my reading journal. So here we go.

I had registered for the challenge online and briefly glanced at the category list before loading everyone into the car to run errands. We went to the library to pick out books and for me to make my first challenge selection. Unfortunately, Mike was on shift and school had been cancelled because of the subzero temperatures so I had all 4 kids with me and no extra hands. Having made their selections, I herded my band to the third floor where loud children bring a lot more attention. Trying to move fast, I saw a selection of comedy and satire books on display. I vaguely remember that as one of the categories. I grabbed a book with a sort of silly looking cover on it and then herded us all back down stairs and out the doors (stopping to say "hi" to the fishies in the zen garden on the way).


I was really hoping this book was a comedy (life is stressful and I could use a few laughs) but its a satire. I should have known. It was displayed along side a Sherman Alexi novel. I know satires are often considered funny, but they just never are for me (The Princess Bride being the one exception). That's not to say I didn't enjoy the book. I actually liked it quite a bit, especially the ending. The house was the best. Not only was it a good metaphor for the state the family's relationships and Bernadette's personal state of mind, but I found the idea of a house being overrun by blackberry bushes totally crazy. I had a roommate from Portland once who said they were the worst kind of weed imaginable. They don't grow out here in Idaho and I think they taste good in ice cream so couldn't see how anyone wouldn't want them growing in their garden. The most ridiculous part about this story is probably the most realistic. (Respect the blackberry bush.)

I was both irritated and pleased with the portrayal of the religious in this book. Maybe its because I'm deeply religious myself, but it drives me nuts that the only image I ever seem to see of conservative Christians in the media is of hypocritical narcissists who use the name of Jesus to make others feel guilty and themselves feel superior. I promise, people like that are in the minority. The greatest irritation and greatest pleasure in this regard was with the character Audrey Griffin's transformation. She started off as a really uptight, shallow bible thumper, but in then end had a sort of awakening that helped her see the reality of where her actions stood in comparison to Christ's. And she actually went out and did something about it. She did what she could to repent. Most authors like to leave that stereotype 2D. This was a pleasant change.

My favorite part was the relationship Bee had with her mother. I felt like Semple managed to catch the essence of a daughter's love for an imperfect mother so well. The loyalty and patience that character showed was touching. I certainly feel that kind of love and loyalty towards my own mother and pray that my children will find it for me (hopefully sooner rather than later).

The story was good; well paced and decently written. I enjoyed it well enough thought I didn't find it as funny as I had hoped (which is why I am saving that category for a different book). The challenge seems to be off to a fairly decent start.