By David Sheff
Gary gave us all a copy of this book. I finished it soon after he gave it to me. It is a tragic story with some happy parts. I don't know how bad life ever really got for Gary, but I'm sure it was horrible. He never, luckily was homeless or disappeared like this young man, as far as I know. It really tore at me about divorce and the effect it has. I am so grateful Gary is in recovery. This young man goes in and out of sobriety sometimes after over a year so that was unsettling. He however could not grasp the concept of God so AA was difficult for him. I have read in the AA book about how people without this belief can still do well. I also felt at times that it was unfortunate that the parents had so much money for all the things they were able to provide. They would not just give money in the end. They learned that lesson as we all must. Lots of swearing. I don't know if the read would be the same for you as siblings as for a parent.
Once again I marvel at how people can be on drugs and function (?) if you can call it that.
I think this is a window into Gary and what his life was so for that I highly recommend it.
I think his inscription says it all,
"This book really gave me a look at what the other side of addiction does to all the people involved. I could not have made it here if I didn't have you in my life. I love you. Gary"
Having Gary back is on of the greatest gifts I have been given.
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Saturday, January 26, 2013
More January books
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate
by Jacqueline Kelly
First off, listen to part of the author's bio:
She is a practicing physician and lawyer.
What?! How can you be both? And now a successful author, too? Some people.
Okay, that aside, this book was so great. I loved it. It's told by the young Calpurnia Tate who writes, "My name is Calpurnia Virginia Tate, but back then everybody called me Callie Vee. That summer, I was eleven years old and the only girl out of seven children. Can you imagine a worse situation?"
Go read it. Mom, I bet this would be a great audio book.
Three Wishes
by Liane Moriarty
I picked this one up because I really liked another of Moriarty's books called "What Alice Forgot," and I would totally recommend that one. This one, on the other hand, was LAME. Too much swearing, too much sex, not funny, characters were lame, blah blah blah. To be honest, I skimmed a lot of it because it was not great but I still wanted to know what happened. I would NOT recommend this one.
What are you guys reading? If you want to read together, here's what I currently have on my night table:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (for bookclub)
A Girl Name Zippy by Haven Kimmel (been wanting to read this for awhile)
The Dinner Diaries: Raising Whole Wheat Kids in a White Bread World by Betsy Block (I have no idea what to call this particular type of genre of nonfiction--Journalistic nonfiction? I imagine it will probably read sort of like the Happiness Project.
Happy reading!
by Jacqueline Kelly
First off, listen to part of the author's bio:
She is a practicing physician and lawyer.
What?! How can you be both? And now a successful author, too? Some people.
Okay, that aside, this book was so great. I loved it. It's told by the young Calpurnia Tate who writes, "My name is Calpurnia Virginia Tate, but back then everybody called me Callie Vee. That summer, I was eleven years old and the only girl out of seven children. Can you imagine a worse situation?"
Go read it. Mom, I bet this would be a great audio book.
Three Wishes
by Liane Moriarty
I picked this one up because I really liked another of Moriarty's books called "What Alice Forgot," and I would totally recommend that one. This one, on the other hand, was LAME. Too much swearing, too much sex, not funny, characters were lame, blah blah blah. To be honest, I skimmed a lot of it because it was not great but I still wanted to know what happened. I would NOT recommend this one.
What are you guys reading? If you want to read together, here's what I currently have on my night table:
The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (for bookclub)
A Girl Name Zippy by Haven Kimmel (been wanting to read this for awhile)
The Dinner Diaries: Raising Whole Wheat Kids in a White Bread World by Betsy Block (I have no idea what to call this particular type of genre of nonfiction--Journalistic nonfiction? I imagine it will probably read sort of like the Happiness Project.
Happy reading!
Thursday, January 17, 2013
January's books (so far)
Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me? (and other concerns)
by Mindy Kaling
Kaling is a writer for The Office (she also plays Kelly) and now stars in and writes for her new show: The Mindy Project. This is just one of those funny little memoir type books that is written purely for the purpose of making the reader laugh. It's a quick read and a funny one, too.
Heaven is Here
by Stephanie Nielson
Nielson is the famous blogger of the NieNie Dialogues. She started that blog in 2005 and had quite a following. In 2008, she was in a tragic plane crash that left 80% of her body burned. This memoir recounts the accident and the year that followed it. Nielson is an active member of the church and lives in Provo. She also has 5 children. I found this book to be really interesting and also uplifting. I thought she was very honest in how hard and painful the experience was, but showed how love and hope can make something good and beautiful out of something as awful as this was for her. I'd recommend it.
Sidenote: Look at all these memoirs I'm reading. I think it feeds my voyeuristic tendencies. Ha ha.
My Antonia
by Willa Cather
We read this for book club this month. It was my second time reading it (last time was in 2011). I just think this book is so beautiful. I love it so much. If you haven't read it, you really need to and if you have read it then you should read it again. This book was Cather's masterpiece and I could go all English Major on you about the themes and symbolism and style and all that but I will refrain and simply tell you that it is a classic for a reason and should be read by all.
by Mindy Kaling
Kaling is a writer for The Office (she also plays Kelly) and now stars in and writes for her new show: The Mindy Project. This is just one of those funny little memoir type books that is written purely for the purpose of making the reader laugh. It's a quick read and a funny one, too.
Heaven is Here
by Stephanie Nielson
Nielson is the famous blogger of the NieNie Dialogues. She started that blog in 2005 and had quite a following. In 2008, she was in a tragic plane crash that left 80% of her body burned. This memoir recounts the accident and the year that followed it. Nielson is an active member of the church and lives in Provo. She also has 5 children. I found this book to be really interesting and also uplifting. I thought she was very honest in how hard and painful the experience was, but showed how love and hope can make something good and beautiful out of something as awful as this was for her. I'd recommend it.
Sidenote: Look at all these memoirs I'm reading. I think it feeds my voyeuristic tendencies. Ha ha.
My Antonia
by Willa Cather
We read this for book club this month. It was my second time reading it (last time was in 2011). I just think this book is so beautiful. I love it so much. If you haven't read it, you really need to and if you have read it then you should read it again. This book was Cather's masterpiece and I could go all English Major on you about the themes and symbolism and style and all that but I will refrain and simply tell you that it is a classic for a reason and should be read by all.
Wednesday, December 26, 2012
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin
I'd heard some positive buzz about this book and thought I'd give it a
try. I really enjoyed it. I liked Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert,
but took some issues with some of her big points and how she went about
finding happiness. I think Gilbert is by far a stronger writer, but I
agreed much more with Rubin's ideas and her journey to become a happier
person.Rubin is married with two small daughters and has a successful career as a writer but she recognizes that she can do and be better. She breaks her project up into different resolutions that she focuses on each month over the course of a year. I liked her honesty and her light tone. It was an enjoyable read for me.
I liked this, "I didn't want to reject my life. I wanted to change my life without changing my life, by finding more happiness in my own kitchen. I knew I wouldn't discover happiness in a faraway place or in unusual circumstances; it was right here, right now."
Another, "The days are long, but the years are short." This echoes my life right now in so many ways.
I think it is a great read anytime, but especially now with a new year coming up.
I liked this, "I didn't want to reject my life. I wanted to change my life without changing my life, by finding more happiness in my own kitchen. I knew I wouldn't discover happiness in a faraway place or in unusual circumstances; it was right here, right now."
Another, "The days are long, but the years are short." This echoes my life right now in so many ways.
I think it is a great read anytime, but especially now with a new year coming up.
Daughters in My Kingdom
I wish we could figure out a way to post pictures of the books to go along with our posts. Emma, do you know how to do that?
Daughters in My Kingdom was recently put out by the church and given to people at church (for free). It is a history of the Relief Society and also discusses the roles of women in the church, home, world, etc. I didn't really look at my copy until I was called to serve in Relief Society about 6 months ago and then I made it a part of my morning scripture study time--it's actually a pretty short book, but I only read small bits over the course of the 6 months--you could probably sit down and read it cover to cover in a few hours.
Anyway, I really liked it. I learned a lot of things I hadn't known before. I don't know if you guys heard about the pants thing down there in Utah but women and our role in the church has been/is/will be a big issue for a lot of people in and out of the church. As a practicing Mormon, I think it is important to learn about Relief Society and more importantly, my divine gifts/role as a woman and a daughter of a Heavenly Father. As I studied this book, I also read a really interesting article about women and the church. I would definitely recommend it and would love to know your thoughts on that as well.
Here's the link:
http://www.fairlds.org/fair-conferences/2012-fair-conference/2012-to-do-the-business-of-the-church-a-cooperative-paradigm
Daughters in My Kingdom was recently put out by the church and given to people at church (for free). It is a history of the Relief Society and also discusses the roles of women in the church, home, world, etc. I didn't really look at my copy until I was called to serve in Relief Society about 6 months ago and then I made it a part of my morning scripture study time--it's actually a pretty short book, but I only read small bits over the course of the 6 months--you could probably sit down and read it cover to cover in a few hours.
Anyway, I really liked it. I learned a lot of things I hadn't known before. I don't know if you guys heard about the pants thing down there in Utah but women and our role in the church has been/is/will be a big issue for a lot of people in and out of the church. As a practicing Mormon, I think it is important to learn about Relief Society and more importantly, my divine gifts/role as a woman and a daughter of a Heavenly Father. As I studied this book, I also read a really interesting article about women and the church. I would definitely recommend it and would love to know your thoughts on that as well.
Here's the link:
http://www.fairlds.org/fair-conferences/2012-fair-conference/2012-to-do-the-business-of-the-church-a-cooperative-paradigm
Sunday, December 23, 2012
The Man You'll Marry
Yeah, yeah I got this book. It is by Debbie Macomber and after listening to One Simple Act I was really interested to see what her writing was like.
It back reads,
The wedding dress was made many years ago, and it came with a promise: The first man you meet . . . is the man you'll marry. Shelly Hansen was horrified when her great-aunt's wedding dress arrived - because, according to family legend, she was destined to marry the next man she met. So when she tripped on an escalator and fell into Mark Brady's arms, she told him - and herself - that she wasn't interested in marriage. But then she started seeing him everywhere . . .. Coincidence?
After her own wedding, Shelly sends her best friend, Jill Morrison, the dress - which is delivered to Jill's hotel in Hawaii, But at least the man she sat beside on the plane - gorgeous grouch Jordan Wilcox - can't be the man in question, can he? She met him before she got the dress!
I picked this one because I had listened to a This American Life episode where the great grandma had made baby pants for a boy and a dress for a girl. The women in the family then started sending either the pants of the dress to each other when the were pregnant and the clothes were always the predictor of the sex of the baby. It was a fun story. This lasted for almost 20 births. So hey, maybe a wedding dress could do it too.
Of course it was formulaic but she did a nice job. It was clean too. I am sure this is a big draw. Needless to say the woman knows what she is doing. 100 million copies of her books in print.
7 hours long on CD so likely not to bad of a read, maybe 300 pages. Nice fluff to wrap presents by.
It back reads,
The wedding dress was made many years ago, and it came with a promise: The first man you meet . . . is the man you'll marry. Shelly Hansen was horrified when her great-aunt's wedding dress arrived - because, according to family legend, she was destined to marry the next man she met. So when she tripped on an escalator and fell into Mark Brady's arms, she told him - and herself - that she wasn't interested in marriage. But then she started seeing him everywhere . . .. Coincidence?
After her own wedding, Shelly sends her best friend, Jill Morrison, the dress - which is delivered to Jill's hotel in Hawaii, But at least the man she sat beside on the plane - gorgeous grouch Jordan Wilcox - can't be the man in question, can he? She met him before she got the dress!
I picked this one because I had listened to a This American Life episode where the great grandma had made baby pants for a boy and a dress for a girl. The women in the family then started sending either the pants of the dress to each other when the were pregnant and the clothes were always the predictor of the sex of the baby. It was a fun story. This lasted for almost 20 births. So hey, maybe a wedding dress could do it too.
Of course it was formulaic but she did a nice job. It was clean too. I am sure this is a big draw. Needless to say the woman knows what she is doing. 100 million copies of her books in print.
7 hours long on CD so likely not to bad of a read, maybe 300 pages. Nice fluff to wrap presents by.
One simple Act Discovering the Power of Generosity
This is by Debbie Macomber. I had never heard of her when I got this book. I really liked it. She has great stories and you feel like you could do something to help this world (people). She is a #1 New York Times best-selling author. The back reads,
Debbie Macomber penned this rousing work extolling the virtues of gving. Here she asks, "What if you, personally, could make the worked a better place . . . by tomorrow?"
Can one person truly make a difference? The answer, says Macomber, is yes. In this audiobook you will hear riveting true stories about individuals sharing time, materials, support, and more to brighten the lives of others. And by doing so, these people reap untold rewards for their simple acts of kindness.
Join Macomber as she illustrates how often single acts of intentional generosity have positive reverberations across space and time.
Really a good book. She is Christian and does talk about Christ but it is not like an LDS Christian book. I thought she must be a motivational speaker. It was a really powerful book. The next time I was at the library I say one of her books so I got it (reviewed elsewhere). One of her stories in One Simple Act, was that she wanted to be a writer. At an event she had the opportunity to have a New York Times editor read a fiction story she had written. She was so excited and then the editor ripped it to shreds in front of the gathering. Later she went on to sell the story and it became her first big break.
The CD was 5.5 hours so I don't think the book would be a long read. She really had one great story after another and not a lot of guilt to go with them, just some gentle nudging.
Debbie Macomber penned this rousing work extolling the virtues of gving. Here she asks, "What if you, personally, could make the worked a better place . . . by tomorrow?"
Can one person truly make a difference? The answer, says Macomber, is yes. In this audiobook you will hear riveting true stories about individuals sharing time, materials, support, and more to brighten the lives of others. And by doing so, these people reap untold rewards for their simple acts of kindness.
Join Macomber as she illustrates how often single acts of intentional generosity have positive reverberations across space and time.
Really a good book. She is Christian and does talk about Christ but it is not like an LDS Christian book. I thought she must be a motivational speaker. It was a really powerful book. The next time I was at the library I say one of her books so I got it (reviewed elsewhere). One of her stories in One Simple Act, was that she wanted to be a writer. At an event she had the opportunity to have a New York Times editor read a fiction story she had written. She was so excited and then the editor ripped it to shreds in front of the gathering. Later she went on to sell the story and it became her first big break.
The CD was 5.5 hours so I don't think the book would be a long read. She really had one great story after another and not a lot of guilt to go with them, just some gentle nudging.
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