Reading Journal: Ten Books

Lately, a few folks on my facebook have been posting the "Ten Books that Have Stayed With You" tagging game.  Before anyone tagged me in it, I decided I wanted to do it as a blog post (and then post it on facebook because....I like social media), mostly because then I could include links to each book (mostly on goodreads). 
To be honest, considering my horrible reading retention, this was pretty easy. 
They are in no particular order.

8. O Pioneers! by Willa Cather
I'm currently in the middle of my sixth or seventh annual "fall" re-read of this book.  I almost have some of my favorite passages memorized, and think about scenes from it often.

4. Circle of Friends by Maeve Binchy
This introduced me to the wonders of Ms. Binchy (the only author I seek out on a regular basis).  Plus, it has one of my favorite endings of all time.  Complete enough to satisfy, yet ambiguous to disagree about.


5. The Book of Mormon: Another Testament of Jesus Christ
Reading this had changed my life and helped understand my Savior more, before even taking into account the circumstances under which the book was originally introduced to the world.



3. The Princess Bride: an Abridgement of S. Morgenstern's Classic Fairy Tale by William Goldman
Duh.  Also introduced to me the idea of breaking the fourth wall in literature, which is where some of my most favorite parts are located.  When I was younger, I toyed with the idea of shelving it under Morgenstern.  And, someday, I'll get around to mailing the publisher for the extended reunion scene.


10. Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst
I don't care that it's a children's book, that some good stuff in there. But, some days, you just want to move to Australia.


1. Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz
You know a book is good when you don't realize you're shouting at the characters at 2 a.m., as though they can actually hear you.

9. KJV of the Bible
There's some good stuff in there.


7. Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Withing by Natalie Goldberg
It's a great little handbook for writing and editing.  Or it's a nice, easy read if you're not looking for guidance in those areas.  I need to get in touch with my inner samurai.


2. Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
I was in fourth grade the first time that I read this, and I didn't finish it because I got sick, missed like two weeks of school, the teacher had to go into my desk, return it to the library for me, and I had to wait a long time before no one else was reading it so I could check it out.  I sometimes still cry when I get to *that* part, and I don't think I ever want to see the movie.

6. Daughters in My Kingdom: the History and Work of Relief Society
This book made me feel wonderful about being a woman, and many of the stories inside of it help inspire me to be a better woman.


Fun Fact: As a testament to my inclination towards classic literature, I read Empire of the Sun by J.G. Ballard during my sophomore year study halls.  Only recently have I learned it's been canonized.  (I also read Wuthering Heights and The Great Gatsby during high school, by choice, and not for assignments.)

Reading/Writing Journal

Reading....
I anticipate being able to do more of this now that I have a job that allows me to read while I'm working.  (I'm a personal care companion for the elderly, so I can read after they've gone to bed, so long as I'm attentive to their needs.)

Writing....
Was over a week behind on NaNo, due to this. 
Have made significant progress.  Still haven't hit any of my word count goals, though. 
My next one is for 30k by EOD tomorrow, which I probably won't hit.  I'm only at 21k.  Thanks to Friday, I know I can write 11k in a day (much to the displeasure of my wrists), but....I have to work from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. tonight and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow, then go straight to the temple.
After which I will come home and promptly go to bed.  Yoishka.

Reading/Writing Journal

I kinda got burned out on reading. I've had bookmarks in "Temples from on High" and "Uncle Tom's Cabin" for...oh,....probably at least a month now. I'm a little more than half way through the latter and not quite half way through the former. I was hoping to be in Cather and have finished a reread of Card so I can go see Ender's Game in the theater.

I'm trying my hands at NaNoWriMo again this year. I was going to do literary fiction with a story about multigenerational   friendships built on common faith. But then life issues crowded my brain. Including writing a ten minute extemporaneous speech to be given this Sunday in front of about 1500 people.

So I set aside the litfic in favor of YA, which may or may not prove semi autobiographical, with an extra shot of Lizzie Bennett into the main character, Shelby.

I'm super far behind at 1,367.

Writing/Reading Journal

After getting fired, I took what most people would call a vacation, and I suppose it was.  (It will eventually be chronicled on my main blog, you should know.)  On the last leg of the trip, I met a man, and it seemed like a good short story.  I mentally composed it on the way home Tuesday, (did you know that both Mark Twain and Walt Disney grew up in Missouri?!) but didn't actually start composing it until later in the week.  Like Thursday or Friday.  Unfortunately, a lot had happened in those few days, and the magic of the story had faded a little.
The buildup wasn't coming out as extemporaneous as I would like it to be, so I stopped.  I think I was afraid of disappointing myself with the ending.  I came up with a pretty great one, but I'm a little bit scared that what I actually write is going to not meet my expectations.

Since writing those two paragraphs a couple of days ago, an idea has come to me that took the story from the realm of what actually happened and made it a little more fictional, albeit still believable.  Pretty much, instead of just eating dinner at home, we eat dinner in a hospital because that makes for a more interesting story.

*~*~*~*~*

My reading took off when I lost my job.  So fast, that my blog couldn't keep up with it.  (Good thing for the goodreads app, since I nearly lost track of what I read.)
So fast that I had to screech the breaks on "The Diva Runs Out of Thyme" so I could finish "Saviors on Mount Zion."  Normally I try not to manipulate my rotisserie like that, but I really did not want to shelve that last book.  I'm hoping I'll finish it sometime today, which means I replace it with another True.  Not a big fan of that, and I'll probably also finish "Thyme" today and starting two books within a day of each other is not on my list of favorite things, either.  But it was worth it to stay loyal to my guidelines and still finish.

Reading Journal

Finished "Emma," and only about a week behind the goodreads reading group I was reading it "with."  I felt like it dragged a little more than most Austen, so I'll probably just stick with the movie.

I read "The Lonely Polygamist" in a week, which says something because I'm a slow reader, super busy, and the book is over 600 pages. 
The Lonely Polygamist by Brady Udall


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


A good, albeit lengthy, read. Although I enjoyed the style and the story, I wasn't that impressed with the abundance of curse words in the second half of the book. Udall has a knack for characterization in this book, which can be tough when you have so many. Each one focused on is relatable in some way, which is extremely useful in accomplishing the task of engaging readers. I highly recommend it if you like to notice patterns, themes, and motifs, and think about the implications of what you're reading.
I can't not share this quote, which I think would make a great tagline:
"He was a man with a crush on a prostitute, a condom in his wallet, and gum in his pubic hair--what could it all mean?" (p. 193)




View all my reviews

I also finished "Episodes" last night, but probably won't post a review.  Let's just say I bought it at the dollar store and got what I paid for.  It wasn't bad, but I thought it lasted a little longer than it needed to.   After finishing it, I took "Uncle Tom's Cabin" off the shelf.  It was between that, "1984," and "Crime and Punishment."  To replace the polygamist book, I started reading one of the 3 series mystery novels one of my work moms gave me.  Since all 3 have to be shelved in the "random" category, I'll have to breeze through my others in order to complete them. ....maybe I should have gone with "1984" instead.  It's on my 100 list, and even though my AP class studied it in high school, I never completed the reading.  I didn't get past Uncle Tom's introduction last night, so it's definitely not too late.  So I think that's what I shall do.