Bonus Round Book Report

I am on track with my goal of reading a book per month, but I am not counting the books that I read for my two book groups, as I consider those "required reading" as opposed to free reading.  But, I just HAVE to put a plug in for a book one of my groups read in May: "I Capture the Castle" by Dodie Smith.  It was a DELIGHTFUL read.

It tells the coming of age tale of Cassandra, a young girl who lives in a dilapidated castle with her impoverished family.  Cassandra narrates the story and I love her funny and beautiful observations about life.  This book made me laugh out loud, and I stayed up late reading it.  I highly recommend this book if you are in the mood for a light and fun read.

Epic Book Report Saga Continues

As promised, over the past few months I also read two books on American women.  The first was "America's women: 400 years of Dolls, Drudges, Helpmates, and Heroines" by Gail Collins, a liberal opinion columnist at the New York Times.  The second one was "Leading Ladies: America's Trailblazers" by Kay Bailey Hutchinson, a conservative senator from Texas.  As you might imagine, the books differed widely in focus and writing style.  Let me say this clearly: Hutchinson's writing is terrible.  At times her sentences were painful to read.  If she didn't get someone to ghostwrite this for her, she should have, and if she did get someone to ghostwrite it for her, she shouldn't have paid them. 

Collins' book has a narrative arc which focuses on the journey of women throughout America's history.  She theorizes that American women were actually more valued when they were viewed as a productive part of the household - in the early days they were responsible for making candles and soap, spinning thread and making cloth, and other vital household duties.  Once people could buy household necessities in stores, women were devalued and, Collins argues, idealized.  Men began to focus on how women were delicate and needed protection - they were soft and unable to hand the hard stuff (an argument that would have been pretty foreign to the settler women of frontier America - they endured much hardship and worked alongside their husbands).  Collins argues that this was when men began to emphasize women's role as mothers and placing them on a unattainable pedestal.  

Many of the anecdotes Collins relates are charming and she really does tell a fascinating story of the courage of women throughout American history.  On the other hand, she seems to delight in pointing out the flaws of those she chronicles - she focuses on these flaws a little too much, in my opinion.  For example, one of the main point she makes about Dorthea Dix, who was a mental health advocate and Superintendent of Nurses during the civil war, is that Dix was anti-Catholic.  While this seems to be true, it ignores the great good accomplished by Dix both during the civil war and as a mental health advocate.  But I did enjoy that she didn't over-idealize the women she portrayed.  She knows these women are heroines, but they are flawed beings just like us.  

Hutchinson, on the other hand, seems loath to make any negative remarks about anyone.  She gives every one of her "Ladies" a patina of goodness that leads you to think all the women she talks about are saints worthy of a halo.  She never mentions anything controversial - I assume this is in order to appeal to the broadest audience and sell more books, but it gets old after a while and makes me long for the controversy Collins focuses on.

Hutchinson also organizes her book differently than Collins' - she has chapters based on topic, focusing on famous women scientists, Nobel laureates, First Ladies, writers, and other groups.  Hutchinson's book did make me want to read (better-written) stories about the women she portrays - I still need to read Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring," for example.  I was also glad to learn about the women Nobel prize winners and their struggle for acceptance.  

Here, in no particular order, where some of my favorite quotes/stories:

- Speaking about a trailblazing writer, Edgar Allen Poe stated: "Humanity is divided into three classes: Men, women, and Margaret Fuller." (Collins, page 101)

- Rachel Carson, author of Silent Spring, spoke at a national book award ceremony and said "Wonder and humility are wholesome emotions, they do not exist side by side with a lust for destruction." (Hutchinson, page 248-249)

- When a line of immigrants was waiting for food at Ellis Island, the guards insisted "Ladies First."  When this was translated for the women, who came from male-dominated societies, an old Slovenian woman cried out, "Long live America, where women are first!" (Collins, page 259)

- "Take your stand and hold it; then let come what will, and receive the blows like a good soldier" - Susan B. Anthony (Hutchinson, page 176)

- The famous former slave orator, Sojourner Truth, entered Indiana and rebel sympathizers threatened to burn down the hall she was scheduled to speak.  She responded: "Then I will speak upon the ashes." (Collins, page 178)

- Jane Addams said in a 1897 speech: "I am not one of those who believe-broadly speaking-that women are better than men.  We have not wrecked railroads, nor corrupted legislatures, nor done many unholy things that men have done; but then we must remember that we have not had the chance." (Hutchinson, page 313)

- When told that it would be easier for Wyoming to become a state if they stopped giving women the right to vote, the state legislature telegraphed to their Washington negotiators: "We will remain out of the union a hundred years, rather than come in without our women." (Collins, page 236)

- Prudence Crandall started a school for black girls In Canterbury, CT.  The state legislature passed a law making it illegal to start a school for out-of-state black children.  Prudence was arrested, and averred: "I am only afraid they will not put me in jail."  Eventually her students were terrorized into leaving, but a few of the black girls she taught went on to become teachers themselves.  (Collins, pages 163-165)

- Barbara Bush, speaking at Wellesley College commencement, ended her speech with this gem: "Somewhere out in this audience may even be someone who will one day follow my footsteps, and preside over the White House as the president's spouse.  I wish him well!" (Hutchinson, page 117)

- Mother Jones, a union organizer, was imprisoned in Colorado in 1913 at age 76.  She said of her ordeal: "I had sewer rats...to fight, and all I had was a beer bottle; I would get one rat and another would run across the cellar at me....I fought the rats inside and out just alike." (Collins, page 288)

- Lindy Boggs, a member of the House of Representatives, was part of the Banking and Currency committee when they were writing a bill to end discrimination in banking.  Lindy added the phrase forbidding discrimination on the basis of sex or marital status, and said to her fellow committee members: "I'm sure it was just an oversight that we didn't have 'sex' or 'marital status' included.  I've taken care of that, and I trust it meets with the committee's approval."  Later, when she was buying her first house alone, the loan officer wrongly tried to turn down her loan, making up federal requirements that did not exist.  Lindy told the loan officer: "My dear, I am the author of the law that forbids this type of requirement for female persons and the elderly.  You are not complying with the federal regulation, you are in defiance of it." (Hutchinson, page 342)

- "If there's a book you really want to read but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it." - Toni Morrison (Hutchinson, page 127)

American women are awesome!

Seriously, It's Time For Another Book Report

March, April, and May were busy months, but I did find time to do some reading.  Mostly I have been AWOL because of my big trips in May (10 days abroad and a week in the Midwest for work).  I've realized that I need to make reading more of a priority - so often I come home from work and it's easier to just sit in front of the TV and vegetate than to pick up a book.  Lately, my favorite pastime has been watching the new BBC series of "Sherlock!" but I'm now out of episodes (can't wait for new ones!!).  Hopefully June will find me reading some books that have been sitting on my shelf for far too long.

In preparation for my trip, I read Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw.  If you have ever seen "My Fair Lady," it's the play that musical is based on.  Much of the dialogue in the musical is exactly the same as the play, so I don't feel like I gleaned a whole lot of new facts (although Freddy's sister is a funny minor character that is not in the musical).  SPOILER ALERT: I was disappointed to find that at the end of the play, Eliza Doolittle marries Freddy (in the musical the ending is much more ambiguous).  I don't like that at all - Freddy is not her intellectual equal and he's a total spaz.  Shaw's intimation is that Eliza's only choice is between Freddy, who adores and worships her but is simply a slave who doesn't really know her or challenge her; and Henry Higgins, who treats her with no respect but is able to help her grow and become a better person.  Eliza, there's got to be more to life - have a little gumption!  I saw the play in London, and it was fabulous, especially with Rupert Everett as Higgins!

I also read "Citizens of London" by Lynne Olson, which I highly recommend.  It's about three Americans who lived in London during the World War II and were instrumental in convincing the American people and FDR that America needed to help Britain and enter the war.  The book focuses on Ed Murrow, CBS radio broadcaster; Averell Harriman, millionaire and Lend-Lease program administrator; and Gil Winant, former New Hampshire governor and US ambassador to England.  Olson's prose is engrossing and really readable - she made the streets of wartime London come alive with vivid descriptions and contemporary accounts.  I really liked learning about Gil Winant, who was a gentle and compassionate man, and I think he was a great American.  What really struck me as a read the book was how much the British people had to endure - so much suffering!!  I had heard about the Blitz before but this book made the horror and grimness of it real to me.  It was a terrifying time and I salute the people of London for their courage and determination.  I think if the Blitz had happened in America, we would have whined like little babies.  If you're considering reading the book, just be aware that all these men, though married, had affairs during the war - so just be prepared.

I also did finally finish my two books on American women, but I'm going to post that separately.

Hope

Yes, I have been hiding from you.  I did not fulfill my reading goal during March (but working on finishing the books for April, and am about 1 1/2 way done!).  So this post won't be about reading, but instead about Easter.

Unfortunately this Easter I will not be attending the sunrise service at the Lincoln Memorial, (see previous post here), but I wanted to talk about what Easter means to me: HOPE.  Hope in a future that is better, brighter, and more beautiful than yesterday.  Hope that renews and beautifies us, just like springtime does for the entire earth.

In a political context, hope is often considered foolish and impractical idealism - a false hope spread by politicians eager for our votes.  But I think politics can inspire us to create that better future.  True hope leads to action - action to help others and to give them hope and courage to face difficulties.

Is there a downside to hope?  Anne Shirley in a melodramatic moment once said that her life was a "perfect graveyard of buried hopes."  One of my favorite movies is "Shawshank Redemption,"  which takes place in a prison and has a bit to say about hope.  Red, Morgan Freeman's character, says this: "Let me tell you something, my friend.  Hope is a dangerous thing.  Hope can drive a man insane."

Hope can tantalize and torture us with things that can never be.  But that is only so if we put our hope in things that disappoint us.  I believe that Jesus is our Saviour, and in him we have hope for eternal life.  Elder James E. Faust said it well when he stated: "The unfailing source of our hope is that we are sons and daughters of God and that His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, saved us from death."  ("Hope, and Anchor to the Soul," Ensign, Nov. 1999).

Later in the movie Shawshank Redemption, Tim Robbins' character, Andy, writes his friend a letter, saying "Remember, Red, hope is a good thing.  Maybe the best of things.  And no good thing ever dies."  Have hope!!  There is so much goodness in the world, especially when you step outside the bloviating blogosphere and picayune punditry of today's American political scene.  When we have hope, like Andy, we can share it with others, as he did with his friend Red.

Neal A. Maxwell said it better: "Being blessed with hope, let us, as disciples, reach out to all who, for whatever reason, have 'moved away from the hope of the gospel' (Col. 1:23).  Let us reach to lift hands which hang hopelessly down" ("Brightness of Hope," Ensign, Nov. 1994).

So, celebrate this Easter by rejoicing in HOPE!  If you're religious, read the two articles quoted above.  If you're not, watch the movie Shawshank Redemption.  Share hope with those near you (whether geographically or emotionally) who are laboring under heavy burdens - they are all around us, and they need our help.

(Tangent: The frivolous part of me also associates Easter with hats, and new dresses.  I liked the hat picture here.)

Book Report - Part Two: Saga of Austen Continues

This month I actually finished TWO books, but I'll only share one of them here.  I just finished a book about Jane Austen written by a single evangelical Christian woman, it was an interesting perspective on Austen, and on life.  The book is "A Walk With Jane Austen" by Lori Smith.  It's an autobiographical account of a woman's travel through the places Jane Austen lived and walked.

The author perfectly expresses some of the same angst that Mormon single women sometimes experience when they get older and are still unmarried.  Plus, I just love Jane Austen, and I'm going to England in May, so it was a fun book to read to see where I should visit to walk in Jane's shoes.  One of my favorite parts was a prayer that she quotes which Jane Austen herself wrote:

Look with Mercy on the Sins we have this day committed, and in Mercy make us feel them deeply, that our Repentance may be sincere, & our resolutions stedfast of endeavouring against the commission of such in future. Teach us to understand the sinfulness of our own Hearts, and bring to our knowledge every fault of Temper and every evil Habit in which we have indulged to the discomfort of our fellow-creatures, and the danger of our own Souls. May we now, and on each return of night, consider how the past day has been spent by us, what have been our prevailing Thoughts, Words, and Actions during it, and how far we can acquit ourselves of Evil. Have we thought irreverently of Thee, have wedisobeyed Thy commandments, have we neglected any known duty, or willingly given pain to any human being? Incline us to ask our Hearts these questions Oh! God, and save us from deceiving ourselves by Pride or Vanity. 

If you've ever read any Jane Austen, you know that she was very good at pointing out the pride and vanity in the world, and gently chiding us for it.  I thought this was a beautifully composed prayer that really expresses the meaning of daily repentance and self-evaluation.

My goal for March is another two books: both about the heritage of American women, one by a liberal columnist and the other by a conservative Senator!  Happy Women's History Month!

(You can read the full prayer and one other one here: http://acacia.pair.com/Acacia.Vignettes/Two.Evening.Prayers.html)

My Funny Valentine

You may not know it, but I DO have a valentine's sweetheart.  Let me tell you about my special valentine:

- My valentine is smart.
- My valentine knows all the right moves.
- My valentine sometimes completes my sentences.
- My valentine can be bold (or not).
- My valentine is a multi-tasker.
- My valentine has a record of everything we've ever done together.
- My valentine remembers what I like and don't like.
- My valentine does whatever I ask (TRUE LOVE!).

You may have guessed, my valentine is Microsoft Excel.  Yes, the computer program.  As an accountant, I think it's going to be a long term relationship.

Joy

Here's my message of the day - find Joy.  I love the word JOY because it implies more than transitory happiness or contentment.  It implies that you have found something you treasure and hold dear.  Find the joy that lasts.

For me, baking is joy.  Here are some cupcakes I baked today for a friend's birthday.  Purple ones are chocolate, light pink ones are strawberry, and dark pink ones are red velvet.