A mystery...

So last Monday I was driving my kids home from scouts when I suddenly pulled over. A new paperback book fluttered helplessly in the middle of the road. I love books. I made my daughter hop out of the car and get it like we did with the black box turtle, even if she was rolling her eyes as she did it. "Mom!"

So the book is Joshua Harris's latest, "boy meets girl." He previously published "I Kissed Dating Goodbye."

At a quick glance, the previous reader diligently studied the text, underling and highlighting passages. Then there are some places where the reader couldn't hold back a retort, the feminine handwriting jotting "Ha!" in the margins or "OK...."

The book, as I imagine its predecessor was, has a very traditional Christian perspective on the roles of men and women in marriage and how that affects the efforts of single Christians striving to remain pure until marriage.

For example, a list of questions a man should consider when trying to determine if he should marry begins with, "Am I prepared to lead my wife spiritually and serve her in every way?"

Later he encourages women to avoid leading while dating to give your boyfriend a chance to practice leading for when you are married. "How else can you practice for the time when you will follow your husband?"

But she didn't get that far. Her notations stop about a third of the way in, in the chapter that offers the sage advice of allowing room for friendship before premature intimacy, suggesting, for example, that you pray together, discuss sermons, and read the Bible.

So why do you think the book was in the middle of the road? Did she drive off with it on the roof of her car? Did she throw it out of the window? her boyfriend? a girlfriend?

Let me know if you want your book back.

I'm reading a book that Julie sent me called "The Birth House" by Ami McKay. I underlined this sentence:

"Victory isn't anywhere near the same as peace."

Do you write in your books? What I write depends on the book. Sometimes I just underline or star so I can find that part later. Sometimes I write a counterpoint or a sound, like "mmmm".

When my ex-grandmother-in-law passed away and everyone was picking over her things, putting their name on stickers on her stuff, I just took a couple of books off her shelf. One was her Bible. I had hoped she wrote in the margins, although she didn't. She did have a chapter torn out of a sexy detective novel stuck right in 1 Thessalonians. There was no writing in that either.

I have a friend who was reading in the Library of Congress. He was outraged to find notes penciled into the margins of a very old book. He took it to the librarian who told him that those were written in there by the man who donated the book to help start the Library: Thomas Jefferson. Wouldn't those margin notes be cool to read?

You know, some of the scriptures in the Bible were margin notes written by the scribes that later scribes just included?

Set in the last half of the 14th century, World Without End by Ken Follet is the story of the lives of the citizens of the imaginary town of Kingsbridge in England, the setting of his previous epic, Pillars of the Earth. WWE follows the lives of some of the descendants of his previous tome. I wished it hadn’t been so long since I read Pillars. Some of my details are foggy, but the feel of the two books were the same.

I remember wondering if the sex and violence in Pillars were gratuitous or necessary. Follet continues as a master of vivid description, which can be startling in the sex and violence scenes. The battles and fights, with their knives and swords and arrows, seem much more disturbing than gunshots, the damage done more horrific. And the punishments dispensed by the priests! I wanted to look away, but it was a book. I hated to keep reading, but I couldn’t put it down.

I think those details, however grisly, are necessary to the character development. It is one thing to say she fought off the attacker and won. It is another to hear the knife slicing through sinews, feel how hard she thrust, see where it came out, and what came out with it. I feel much more impressed with her ferocious self-preservation. I doubt I could do that. The description of the Great Plague was nightmarish and exhausting. The details, however revolting, create a more visceral reaction from the reader. By contrast the love and the beauty were more inspiring, more of an oasis.

I also think the details, although fictional, are historically accurate. How miserable life was 700 years ago! How dangerous! As humans, we have been mistaken about so many things. We have come a long way, but I’m sure we are still mistaken about much in our world.

The other thought I had after reading the book was about extremism in religious and social structures. This book follows the lives of four people: two caught in the extremes of society and two struggling away from those extremes in religion. It seems that the Earl and the peasant were both helpless against the injustice of class and obedience. They could not foment any change. It was the merchant class characters who made any lasting social impact. Their struggles and visions ultimately improved society. Makes me wonder what that says about us – about me.

I really enjoyed this book and recommend it, although it is not for the squeamish. Any of you who like horror books & movies with probably think it is nothing. I just hate to witness evil and brutality. However, the book is not about evil so much as the triumph of hope over it.

I have started a 1000 page book. I almost didn't because I knew what would happen. The laundry stacks up. The kids have to cook for themselves. I unintentionally stay up too late.

I am reading Ken Follet's "World Without End." Nothing was "the good old days" about the 12th century. What mean times they were. Kids and women were rarely treated with any dignity and expected abuse.

I think we are evolving as humans into a more compassionate humanity. The question is, is the part of us that is evolving going to survive the part of us that is using up all our resources? At least I'll have time to finish my book first.

The book review I wrote has finally been posted. It was fun to do, especially because I got the book pre-release. If you look through this website and its archives, you will want to go directly to the book store. If you are into it, you can sign up and be added to their list of potential reviewers.

The review that I wrote is for Meg Cabot's Queen of Babble. Meg Cabot is most famous for her Princess Diaries series. She writes a lot of adolescent lit and some adult. The one I reviewed was in between those two categories.

womenwriters.net

Between my daughters' play rehearsals, my son's lacrosse, and my reporting job, I'm logging in a lot of driving hours. So I have returned to audio books. I love it. Now the driving doesn't seem like such lost time.

I just finished listening to "A Million Little Pieces" by James Frey. You may remember the hubub about this book. The author said it was a memoir and got on Oprah. After Oprah he admitted it was fiction, pissing off the big O.

whatever.
It is a compelling story that you should avoid if you can't stand cussing. If you think your life is a mess, this is sure to give you some perspective. I'm sure he's got you beat.

The bottom line, whether or not the author meant it, is that a little love goes a long way. Imperfect love, love grudgingly given, weak dependent love, the hope of love, any love at all is worth living for.
Anyone out there read it?

Do you think you can have too much love? I think it is possible. I have declined offers of love because of its dependent and smothering nature. I suppose either extreme can be overwhelming. Maybe some kinds of love are easier to balance than others.

What are you guys reading lately? I'm between books.
I have at least a dozen books in my stack of books to read, so I don't need to go buy one. It's kind of like exercising. Once your habit is interupted, it takes an effort to get back to it. And when you're into it, you get distracted from everything else.

Here are just a few of my choices:
Living History by Hilary Clinton, seems timely
A Painted House by John Grisham, sure to be a page turner
Lord of the Flies by William Golding - I don't think I ever read it, but I know so much about it already I don't know if I want to read it.
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers - I love the sarcasm
The Stranger by Albert Camus - if it's good enough for George, it's good enough for me
Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler - I don't know what it's about, but it comes well recommended
The Book Borrower by Alice Mattison - definitely chick-lit
Drowning Ruth by Christina Schwarz - an Oprah book so it is likely sad

whaddaya think?