Longing for Hosea and Prayer

Fifteen Freewrite


I am listening to The Diary of Anne Frank. This is such a beautiful book. I cannot believe it has taken me so long to read it. It is a true classic. She would have made a wonderful writer had she lived past adolescence. It makes me sad to know she is the same age as my mother-in-law, and she died at such a young ago. She is up to January 1944 and exactly half way through the book. I wish we knew what happened to her.  


I probably shouldn't do this for very long because I am going to Pilates. Then, I am meeting with Terri to debrief about the Shabbot retreat. I am still debating about going to the chiropractor tomorrow. I must have pulled a muscle two days ago because I woke up with rickety back for the first time since getting this bed. The good news is that another night on the bed has made it go away. I am sore from the pull, but I think it is all back in place.  So, should I spend 24 dollars or shouldn't I.  I also have someone wanting that Theophostic spot too, and I am not sure if I should do that after having an appointment because sometimes I just need to lay down and rest to let everything settle. What to do?  I am not sure.


I am still not recovered from last weekend. It was a BIG weekend, but a GREAT weekend. I wish all my friends could go to this great seminar and learn. Even though I rest all day Monday, yesterday ended up being a busy day because of a double lesson in Precept Romans study, follow up from the seminar and looking toward the future (Nate calling, Mary instant messaging me, Jamie emailing me), meeting with Greg to set up a living trust, and going to one of our financial institutions to set up a P.O.D. for our accounts there.  Now, I have follow up with faxing the deed to our house and finding out about different things. I also need to set up Michael's prostodonics.  Many when it rains it pours. I also have a girl asking for Theophostic that I really need to pray about. Last time, it was a 9 am - 2 pm thing, and she is somewhat dependent in wanting a ride home afteward.  I am not sure if it is the best investment of my time as I am really concentrating on those connected with our ministry. With all of this, and I am still so tired right now.  The muscle relaxant (which I have taken in AGES) is not helping me in my decision making! What to do Lord?


Even now, my cell phone is buzzing. I wonder why? Pilates class reminder so no worries.


George has awakened, and he is making coffee. My chai tea is right next to me coaxing me into the day. I want to soak into Hosea for the last day. I wish there were a Pilates class in the mid-morning because that would fit in more with my schedule. I love my morning time, and if I decide to sleep in a bit (woke up at 5:30 but forced myself to go back to sleep until 7 for extra rest I think I need). So, my time is curtailed.  


Well, I think I will go to Hosea and prayer now. Bye.

Love this Quote!

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52 in 52 Week 16: Near Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well by Billy Graham

As I had already mentioned in an earlier post, I got tired of reading classic 20th century tragic novels, and I needed a breather. This was a wonderful break! It isn't anything really profound, but there was something sacred about reading what will be Billy Graham's last book. He is moving toward heaven, and this book is full of the wisdom that almost 93 years of life can bring. 

Here is a picture me reading it in the library. After realizing that the cumulative effective of two months of tragic novels was hurting my soul, I road my bike in the sunshine to the library and read this book in my favorite room in the city! 

4:35 AM Freewrite

I am not sure if I will write for fifteen today because I really want to get to my study of Hosea today. I tried several times during our seminar this week, but I ended up doing the book table for most of the weekend because the guy they assigned to man it didn't know anything about any of the materials, and people were asking a ton of questions. Since George, Kathleen, and I know about all of them, we ended up sitting back there and enjoying time with different people. It was a blast really with many really fun conversations! 


I tried meditating on Hosea 4, but there were so many interruptions. So, I am up early to have some time until the flurry happens all over again today as we are at the book table again at Calvary Chapel for the morning service. Then, Jamie, Donna, Jon, and Amy are coming to our house to talk to our kingdom community about kingdom living. 


We went to the Mandate School graduation after the Friday and all day Saturday event, and I was so TIRED. My new Tempur-Pedic mattress awaited me! So, we just stayed for the graduation, skipped the dinner and games afterward, and picked up pizza and calzone and watched FUNNY British comedies on PBS while i had the massage on my bed at full throttle. :)


I fell fast asleep at 10:12 pm only to wake up at 3:45 am this morning. I am glad to have the extended time with God before going to Calvary this morning. I love people, but I am really tuckered out. 


It was interesting to talking with one of the young guys at Calvary about Myers-Briggs. I think he makes it a lot more complicated than he needs to make it; talking about dominant this or that. Stuff that others have probably tried to make out of the Myers-Briggs that isn't really there. I had no idea what he was talking about, and I have taught on it for 25 years now. So strange that it has been that long! I graduated from grad school in 1987! Where has the time gone?  I was such a confused person then. That job at Lane Community College was such a disaster. What made me take it? It was so UNFULFILLING! That is when I first sense the power of other people's intercession in my life when I started sending out little prayer cards (by mail then because that was the only way), and how God just PLOPPED Steven Hawthorne and Bangkok in my lap at Proclaim 87. He also PLOPPED George Weaver in my life at Proclaim 1987 after a very brief encounter in March of 1987!  That was such a God thing to go from total lack of fulfillment in a "career" job to a life direction and life partner all on one God-directed November day.  It was all because God told me to cancel that retreat with Carla's mom and go to help Tom with his workshop there. God is so good!


BYE!

52 in 52 Week 16: Steppenwolf by Herman Hesse

ICK!


I only read three classical books in high school:


1) The Holy Bible - My upbringing included no Bible. So, I jumped at the opportunity to take "The Literary Survey of the Bible" from Mr. Watson in my public high school in 10th grade. GREAT decision, and the best classic I have ever read. It is my life goal now to help people understand it: www.3yearbiblebookclub.blogspot.com.


2) The Great Gatsby - Read it in 9th grade and didn't understand it. Saw the movie when it came out in the movie theatres in the 70's and didn't understand that either. I read it in my 40's and appreciated its brilliance.


3) Siddhartha - Read this in the same class in 9th grade, and it was my first exposure to Hinduism, but I thought it was odd that it was written by a German, Herman Hesse. Maybe I should try it again? (Addition: I went for a walk with my friend, Cathi, and she said one of her friends said Siddhartha was her favorite book. So, I think I will try it again.) 


So Steppenwolf is my second Herman Hesse novel.  It is an autobiographical/psychological novel, and I wonder if Herman Hesse was on drugs when he wrote it. He only admitted to alcohol and hashish in his lifetime, but many have speculated because this book talks about drug use (opium) and explicit sex (thankfully never describing it), and the end seems so hallucinogenic!  


I think Hesse had a hard life. He was raised in a Pietist home, and he was an interesting child:  

From early on, Hermann Hesse appeared headstrong and hard for his family to handle. In a letter to her husband Johannes Hesse, Hermann's mother Marie wrote: "The little fellow has a life in him, an unbelievable strength, a powerful will, and, for his four years of age, a truly astonishing mind. How can he express all that? It truly gnaws at my life, this internal fighting against his tyrannical temperament, his passionate turbulence [...] God must shape this proud spirit, then it will become something noble and magnificent -- but I shudder to think what this young and passionate person might become should his upbringing be false or weak."^[8]
Hesse showed signs of serious depression as early as his first year at school.^{[9] (wikipedia.org)}

You can see Hesse's peitist roots in the words of Hermine about the Kingdom of God. That was the best part of the book. We are made for another world in the Kingdom of God, and I heartily agree with this. (The lifestyle of Hermine makes you question how much she really understood living in the Kingdom of God in the here and now.)


This book is about a man's inner turmoil between the "wolf" and the "man."  It had moments of brilliance; but overall, I would not recommend it for the sensitive soul.   



It is weird, and I didn't like the mood it put me in. Toward the end of the book, I wanted to throw up as I listened to one of the situations.


What gives with these 20th Century novelists? Were they just so jaded after World War I that they had to pour it all out on the page?


Some quotes supplied by kuniyoshi | Aug 8, 2011 |  on www.librarything.com:

On art: 

“When he worships his favorites among the immortals, Mozart, perchance, he always looks at him in the long run through bourgeois eyes. His tendency is to explain Mozart’s perfected being, just as a schoolmaster would, as a supreme and special gift rather than as the outcome of his immense powers of surrender and suffering, of his indifference to the ideals of the bourgeois, and of his patience under that last extremity of loneliness…” 

On fate: 

“The man of power is ruined by power, the man of money by money, the submissive man by subservience, the pleasure seeker by pleasure.” 

On man’s insignificance: 

“…the Steppenwolf’s look pierced our whole epoch, its whole overwrought activity, the whole surge and strife, the whole vanity, the whole superficial play of a shallow, opinionated intellectuality. And, alas! The look went still deeper, went far below the faults, defects and hopelessness of our time, our intellect, our culture alone. It went right to the heart of all humanity, it bespoke eloquently in a single second the whole despair of a thinker, of one who knew the full worth and meaning of man’s life. It said: ‘See what monkeys we are! Look, such is man!’ and all at once all renown, all intelligence, all the attainments of the spirit, all progress towards the sublime, the great and enduring in man fell away and became a monkey’s trick!” 

On living life: 

“How I used to love the dark, sad evenings of late autumn and winter, how eagerly I imbibed their moods of loneliness and melancholy when wrapped in my cloak I strode for half the night through rain and storm, through the leafless winter landscape, lonely enough then too, but full of deep joy, and full of poetry which later I wrote down by candlelight sitting on the edge of my bed! All that was past now. The cup was emptied and would never be filled again. Was that a matter of regret? No, I did not regret the past. My regret was for the present day, for all the countless hours and days that I lost in mere passivity and that brought me nothing, not even the shocks of awakening.” 

“It is certain in any case that life is quite disarmed by the gift to live so entirely in the present, to treasure with such eager care every flower by the wayside and the light that plays on every passing moment.” 

On oneness: 

“Man is not capable of thought in any high degree, and even the most spiritual and highly cultivated of men habitually sees the world and himself through the lenses of delusive formulas and artless simplifications – and most of all himself. For it appears to be an inborn and imperative need of all men to regard the self as a unit. However often and however grievously this illusion is shattered, it always mends again.” 

On selling out: 

“Most intellectuals and most artists belong to the same type. Only the strongest of them force their way through the atmosphere of the bourgeois earth and attain to the cosmic. The others all resign themselves or make compromises. Despising the bourgeois, and yet belonging to it, they add to its strength and glory; for in the last resort they have to share their beliefs in order to live.”

On suicide:  

“No, I am sure he has not taken his life. He is still alive, …. , listens to the world beneath his window and the hum of human life from which he knows that he is excluded. But he has not killed himself, for a glimmer of belief still tells him that he is to drink this frightening suffering in his heart to the dregs, and that it is of this suffering he must die.”

This book made me want to read Faust by Goethe though because he is mentioned many times in the book. 

Free Fifteen

Free Fifteen


I am so happy! There is life after taxes! I pushed the button at 4:45 pm yesterday, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. It has been hanging over my head. I had finished them a while ago, but we needed to strategize about how to lower our tax bill! YIKES! A combination of lower withholding at OSU than the USDA AND some non-deductible (but Kingdom minded) donations made for a much higher bill than normal. Also, we didn't get the child tax credit this year because it only goes up to children under 17, and Paul turned 17 in November.

All that to say is that I talked to Bob K, my mom's broker. He isn't a tax consultant or financial planner, but he is a personal family friend after so many years of handling my mom's funds. He gave me great counsel. So, I begged George to come home so we could just get it OFF MY PLATE. We went to two different institutions and shifted money to our individual IRA's and contributed more to the Oregon College Savings Program. VOILA! Tax bill significantly reduced and even a REFUND for Oregon! WOOHOO!

I am sure Bob thinks I am a total idiot when it comes to all of this. Actually, he knows we are not into money, which is a very good thing. My mom was so good at all of that. She would call him almost daily. I mentioned that I am more like my dad, and he concurred that my dad never called him and didn't want to think about money. It was always my mom. I just don't have time to do it. The good news is that George and I both like to be frugal with what we have! So, even though we aren't "into" money, I think we do pretty well at managing it.

Speaking of managing it, the whole Jesus Community from our first two groups wants to do the Dave Ramsey Financial Freedom course. They asked me if I know anyone who has it. I know who has the high school edition, but I need to figure out how to get the "adult" one. (Just went an wrote someone to ask to borrow them and forgot I was in the middle of a freewrite!)

Speaking of being frugal, we bought a Tempur-Pedic, and the biggest hindrance for me eight years ago was how expensive they are, but I feel like there is a difference between being frugal and being too cheap when it comes to health. So, we took the ENORMOUS plunge and bought two twin extra-long beds.  I am so happy with it. We kept on telling ourselves it was going to be like when we bought air-conditioning for the house when we had to replace the furnace. One was a necessity and the other was not, but every year when Michael's allergies are too bad for us to open the windows on a hot day in the summer, we know that we made more a necessity purchase. Now that I have spent two nights on that mattress, I know that I live with low-level pain every morning that I have to work out of my body before I can fully function!  I haven't had to do my normal routine the last two mornings. I am "unlocked" when I rise!  YAY!

OK, I am not proofreading and hitting the button because I want to use this early morning to meditate in Hosea. My Bible Book Club time has been shorter recently because of having these taxes!!!!

BYE!

10 Minuter

I am in the mood for just a 10 minute freewrite. We still haven't decided about what we are going to do about our taxes, whether we will add more to our IRA and reduce our tax bill or just pay our taxes outright. Decisions. Not sure why OSU didn't withhold more because our AGI was about the same this year as last year, but they withheld much less than what the USDA held in his check. I must decide by the end of today though because I have too much going on tomorrow to worry about it. 


Jamie and Donna are coming on Sunday, and I am very excited about this. I want to keep the group to our Kingdom Community though so they have time to ask questions and really talk. The number we had when Bob came was perfect. So, we will hopefully have that number.


Today, I really am going to meditate deeply in Hosea. I started it yesterday. It is sort of a sad book when you think about Gomer's unfaithfulness and Israel's too. It has some of the most beautiful passages in it though. One of which was in my wedding:

"“I will betroth you to Me forever; 

Yes, I will betroth you to Me in righteousness and in justice, 

In lovingkindness and in compassion, 

And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. 

Then you will know the Lord." (Hosea 2:19-20, NASB95) 

It is a beautiful book. 


Steppenwolf, on the other hand, is not a beautiful book. There is such darkness and weirdness to it. I am almost done with it, and I am pretty glad about that! The Bluest Eyes isn't much better. It is getting pretty sad. I don't know where the story is going because I refuse to read a synopsis, but it is pretty sad. I can tell. I read The Song of Solomon by Morrison, and I remember liking that, but I remember it was sad. It was so long ago, I can't remember what it was, but I think there was violence in it. 


Nearing Home has been sweet. Billy Graham is still with us, but we lost Mike Wallace, who was also born in 1918, along with my dear old dad who died far too soon. The anniversary of his passing, May 2, is coming up. Heba is doing her dissertation defense that day, and that should keep my mind off of it. It used to really affect me. Now, it just gives me a sweet reminder of how blessed I was. That generation rocked! 


Well, ten minutes is quick. Pressing. NOW! 

2 PM Freewrite

By the way, if you want to know this "freewrite" meaning. Go here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_writing

That will give you an idea of where I am coming from. Maybe this is cheating because this really is "freetyping"! LOL!


I usually do my freewriting when I first get up, but I have taken Ny-Quil the last few nights because of that really hard night four nights ago when I first starting getting this cold.  It wasn't really a "hard" night, but the dreams were weird, and I woke up at 3:30 am feeling like it was 6:00 am and time to get  up. Then, my cold really blew up. So, I have gotten three really good nights of sleep, and my cold is almost totally gone. So, no more Ny-Quil, and I can go back to my early morning freewriting with Jesus. LOL!


This morning I got up just in time to make my chai tea to take on the go to Pilates class. It was G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S outside. So, I walked and praised. Then, I listened to Steppenwolf (the weirdest psychological novel - was Herman Hesse as unhappy as Steppenwolf?).


When I got home, I decided to catch up on pictures and figure out what to do on this big tax bill versus putting the maximum in for IRA's for the two of us. Still deciding, but all the tax paperwork is DONE other than this one little decision. Then, I can send it off.


I picked out all my pictures, but I still need to post about a week's worth. 

So, I am getting to my time very late. Oh, Jens and Deborah are coming to look at our queen sized bed too. We bit the BIG bullet and bought the Tempur-Pedic. Supporting my Swedish cousins. (I should get a discount for being a Swede!)  Everyone says that it is a good investment, but YIKES they are SOOOOO expensive. We could have gone on a Viking River Cruise for that price! 


I'm good with it. I also set up things with Mary about coming to our group on April 25 which will be really good.  So, I have done a little bit of work along with the pictures. It just feels to good to be upright again and not feeling miserable! 


I am in Hosea today. I had written most of it three years ago, but Katrina did the introduction and chapters 1-4. So, I will be reading in that today. I like Hosea. I get Hosea. 


I was doing really well on my eating. I am doing OK today too. I am drinking lots of water and not snacking.  


I am not knowing what to write, but if you read the explanation of "freewriting" on Wikipedia you know that when you can't think of writing anything, you write that. I am just continuing to move my fingers. I usually have fifteen minutes worth of things to say, but not today. Maybe because it isn't morning. Writing in the afternoon is my WORST time of day to be writing. What am I thinking to be writing on Hosea? Maybe I should just have some prayer time and call it a day. It is OK. I am self-employed in that way, and I often work on Saturdays. Last week was really heavy with a full day of Theophostics thrown in there. I am usually good for one appointment. Two was a bit much!  But I love that too. Love, love, love what I do, and I have no one to apologize to about it. 


The boys are both gone until 4:15 pm today. Paul was not happy about having to wait an hour for the bus when he just misses the one before that by 2 minutes. Why don't they have it leave at 2 pm so that people getting out of class at 1:50 can get on the bus? It doesn't make sense to me. Maybe I should call and ask them why. There must be a really good reason. Michael didn't seem to mind, but he doesn't get out of class until 2:20. I am glad they are taking the bus though because gas for the Suburban is just getting too expensive for us. I am being driven crazy by the extra spending we have had to do. I am SOOO cheap!   :)


There we go. 11 seconds. Now I am DONE!!!!!!

52 in 52 Week 15: The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

In the middle of listening to Steppenwolf and reading The Bluest Eyes from my 100 Great Books List, I threw my hands up and said, "I cannot read another depressing novel, especially in the middle of Holy Week!  So, I told myself, "Get thee to a library!" So, I found Billy Graham's latest book, Nearing Home: Life, Faith, and Finishing Well and read the first 100 pages in the beautiful library reading room (review and picture of me reading forthwith).  What balm to my soul!


But I needed a listening book for Holy Week too (What good is a shower without a good book to listen to on my speaker?).  I realized that I had gotten a free audiobook of one of my favorite spiritual classics, The Pursuit of God, from www.learnoutloud.com (or maybe www.christianaudio.com). I had never gotten through it before and figured that Holy Week was a perfect time. 


Oh my word, BALM TO MY SOUL! I think this is my third time reading it, and it gets better every time! I found myself underlining and posting them to my Facebook page so much (You can get it free on a Kindle too). It turns out that one of the girls in our kingdom community had started reading it on the same day and was sharing from it on Wednesday night. It got two other girls to read it this week too.


If you are a follower of Jesus or you are exploring Jesus and have never read him, TOZER IS YOUR MAN!  He is hands-down my favorite devotional writer. You will love him.


Here it is in a PDF if you don't want to buy it: The Pursuit of God. 


If you have a Kindle, here is the free version for you: The Pursuit of God

Friday Fifteen Freewrite

I love the quietness of the morning. I woke up at 3:30 am thinking it must be near dawn. I figured I might as well get up. I realized that it is Good Friday. So, I read the Thursday night through predawn events of Good Friday. Jesus spent a sleepless night all those years ago. I don't mind being up so early. It is a sacred time.

I have been listening to The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer. I love it. I have read it maybe twice before, but I have never listened it to on audio. It was one of those "Free Friday" audiobooks from Learnoutloud.com a while back. So edifying. Such food for my soul. I decided that I need to lay off the classical books that are so depressing! I was listening to Steppenwolf a few days ago and reading The Bluest Eyes on my Kindle. I have been reading a LOT over the last three months, and I decided to take a break and read some spiritual classics. I also went to the library reading room and started Billy Graham's latest (and probably last) book, Nearing Home. Again, food for my soul. I feel so lifted up and edified. I need to take the classics in smaller doses, especially the ones from the 20th century. I feel like I should finish Steppenwolf though because it will be due soon.  Not until after Easter though.

I was going to write about something, but I can't remember what. Oh yes, I had two Listening/Theophostic prayer sessions yesterday, and they both went really wonderfully! I was so encouraged by both times. God replaced lies with His truth and there was release and peace, even joy and laughter. No one who would sit in my study would deny there is a God! :)  I know now that God's prompting for me to do more Theophostic this year was because Carol, my wonderful mentor in this area, is moving to Dallas/Fort Worth by the end of 2012. For many years, I just sent people to her instead of doing it myself. I am thankful for Donna W. coming to Corvallis last April and being a reminder that this is a great tool for my tool belt that I needed to develop more. I am tickled to think of all the healing that has happened over the past year, not only through the sessions I have been a part of, but also through the sessions that others who were trained last summer!  There are so many that have been trained too. It is so nice to not be the only one doing it in this area!  I am hoping Kathleen will also bring people through training too.

You are good, God!

The two sessions were GREAT yesterday, but I will say I am a bit exhausted! I started at 9 am and wasn't done until 6 pm. It wasn't all listening prayer and included lunch with the first person and discipleship and talking with the second person afterward about some things they were dealing with. I was very tired at the end.

Now, I have the sniffles. Not a full-blown cold, but the sniffles. :)

Six seconds. Off to 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles for the morning. Pressing without proofreading.

Freewrite Fifteen

Well-Tuned Strength


I had not been able to go to Pilates for 2 1/2 weeks, and it was definitely showing. I think that class really helps my mental health two because . . .

1) The instructor is sweet and cares about you
2) The people notice when you don't come and are so kind and friendly
3) The moves stretch, relax, and strengthen me
4) It strengthens me all over
5) It doesn't hat the weird YOGA Hinduism thrown in
6) Jessica takes us through the same warm ups and stretches every time

So, I need to go. I say when I skip that I will do it at home, but I don't warm up as well, do the moves and stretch as thoroughly. I need the companionship and the relaxation.

So, I will go now again.


Well-Adjusted Heart/Well-Educated Mind

The above helps. Finally making some decisions about that major purchase has helped (ouch for the cost, but I think it will help my back - we bought an adjustable base Tempur-Pedic mattress). Acknowledging my sense of loss over Samira moving to California, Heba leaving, Elizabeth and Michelle leaving, homeschool ending, and Book Babes changing has been SO HEALTHY for me!  The Lord continues to be the anchor of my soul, and I know that He is GOOD and that He loves me. This is undeniable. I just need to adjust to the new paradigm in my life now and settle into the new normal. This is all very healthy for me.

I also think I need to back off on the depressing tragic novels. They just keep coming, and when I had the prospect of reading Hemingway, I said, "Enough is enough," and brought The Sun Also Rises back to the library and got a wonderful and sweet book by Billy Graham about finishing well. This has ministered to my soul, and I think I am going to delve into some devotional classics for a season and forget about my goal-orientation of finishing that 100 Great Books List! When my Well-Educated Mind goals interfere with my Well-Adjusted Heart goals, it is time to make some changes. I will finish but in smaller doses.

Well-Watered Soul


Ending my posts on the Gospel Harmony Book Club has also been a loss. It balanced out the "gloom and doom" of the prophets. So, now I am just left with the prophets. So, I need to be intentional about reading in the Gospels and Acts now even thought I am not posting about it. It will be better for my soul.

I believe in the "full counsel" of the Word, but the second year of Bible Book Club is also like a tragic novel! LOL.

Well, I am relaxed and well and ready for write on Amos 2 before I start cooking lamb, honey baked red potatoes, fresh green beans with almonds, and haroset for Passover tonight (modified because we have other things on our agenda).

Well, I have 1:14 left on the clock, and this is my wrap up. Need to keep writing.

Had a GREAT "date night" with Paul. George dropped us off at Wendy's on his way to his meeting, and we talked, walked home, and sat on the couches in the living room and talked for another hour. We talked about so much. Hurts he felt from another mom growing up, and how he had to forgive her. I was able to explain that mom's mental problems, and that is wasn't him.

Well, the buzzer range. BYE! Pushing without proofreading!

52 in 52 Week 14: Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

 I was very satisfied with the whole trilogy. I have said enough in the post about the first two books. Well worth the read, and I turned on others, and we have been talking about it. So fun. 

52 in 52 Week 13: The Pearl by John Steinbeck

I had tea with my friend, Sharon, a couple of weeks ago, and her son, home on break from Annapolis Naval Academy, sat down with us to discuss classical novels. He had said he didn't like Pride and Prejudice a few years earlier, but he finally sat down and loved it. I like that he tried again when he was a few years older.


He also said, "I had to read The Pearl in high school, and that story is just stupid."  I told him I had it on hold at the digital library. It made me wonder if he would like this one too if he gave it a try at an older age.


I did not think it was stupid. Yes, it is another depressing, American novel of the 20th century, but it is profound. I love Steinbeck's writing. He is a wonderful craftsman of a story.  This is a simple, symbolic short novel set in the early 1940's. It tells of what happens to a poor family that finds a great pearl. The main themes are anti-materialism, knowing one's place in society, greed, illusion versus reality, and the wisdom that comes out of difficulty. 


The major question is: "Can money buy you peace, love, and harmony in life?"  It is interesting to look at this question in light of the lottery being 500 million today. There is a hot discussion on my girlfriend's Facebook page about what people would do with the money. Yesterday, I watched the new commentators banter about it. I didn't know that one of the mega winners was kidnapped and murdered by his sister-in-law. WOW!

The timing of this novel is perfect for this discussion!


Hector Elizondo's narration is perfect.  It is a 2-3 hour listening feast. 

Sickness in the Morning

I'll just write straight for 15 minutes without taking my fingers off the keys. 

I haven't done this for a while because we were on vacation. The zoo was fabulous. The day was sunny (but not warm), and the animals were out, and it is nice to have kids that are still interested in animals. We ate good Portland pizza and donuts (I could only stomach one, but the kids had many more), great hearty hotel breakfast, Indian food. We feasted on Powell's Books and walk a crazy amount. We even hiked Multnomah Fall which was much harder than I thought. Everyone told me it was easy, but I think those are people who only went to the bridge and not up the 11 switchbacks that led to the platform overlooking the top. I felt like I talked them all into something they didn't enjoy, but they all said they enjoyed it afterward just as Paul even said he enjoyed working out at Timberhill and missed that. That was a good conversation too.  Things we don't look forward too but do once we have done it. I have gotten through that barrier in my physical exercise. I don't even flinch now about going to work out or even run because I know that I always feel better afterwards. They usually have to remind themselves of that. All part of growing.

It was a growing time for our family. I shed a few tears to get to deeper issues, and we realized how much we all mean to each other. That was so sweet. I love these three so much. It was a sweet family trip, but it made its adjustments as we realize that they will be leaving the nest soon, and our family vacations may not look the same. The kids were totally open to having a weekly coffee date one-on-one with me. I realize that I need that since they are going to LB. I see them going in and out, but I so miss being on the couch reading books and doing homeschool TOGETHER. I want to know them as adults now. I have keenly sensed the loss that I feel since the homeschool chapter has closed. I loved those years. I will NEVER regret homeschooling. 

We also got the book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking. Paul really realizes how much his introversion has hindered him. He can't initiate with people very easily. He wants to grow in that area. We are going to try to read it together. Michael is growing and has become more outgoing as Conrad disciples him. I am not sure if he will read it, but it will be good for Paul and I to read it. People do not believe that I am an introvert, but I definitely have been trained to be more extraverted, and I can seem that way to the outside world. At best I am an "ambivert" (Cain's word, but I usually use "midtravert" in my talks on personality type). I can function well in both the inside and outside world, but I have to tell myself to function in the outside world, but I never have to tell myself to have some alone time. That should tell you something right there!

Well, the kids are stirring, and I hope to have some breakfast with them. My cold feels better this morning than it did when I first got up. You know I am sick when I sleep almost nine hours when I usually only need six. :)

I have 1:36 left on my timer, and I have not lifted my fingers from the keyboard, and I am not going to proofread this thing. 

Heather, I know that I need to respond to your fasting question. I thought I already did. It may be hidden inside the email I sent about other things, and it may not be very long. Fasting: it is good. It helps you focus on the LORD rather than food. It makes going and praying easier if you don't have to pack along food. Every time your stomach hungers, you can channel it into hungering for the LORD.

Bell ringing!

52 in 52 Week 13: Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

I still love this series. The second book was just as good as the first. I had to finish it by reading it on the road to our vacation spot because my son had finished the first one and was ready to read this one.  Now, my youngest is on the first, my oldest is on the second, and I am on the third.  My husband is reading Moby-Dick, but I think he is definitely interested too!! This series is definitely "catching fire" in my household. This is the first time this has ever happened with pleasure reading books. I am hoping I can talk them into going to the movie at the end of the week. :)


It delights me to see it passing up the more "pop" books that we have seen over the last few years. I only read one of those "pop" books for a book club review a few years back, and I thought it was very poorly written (I hear that they get better as they go on, but I didn't like the message either).  The Hunger Games books are well-written and have a great message. There are no witches, warlocks, or vampires in sight, and I like that very much!


I have always loved first person narratives. I don't know why that is. Jane Eyre is one of my favorites, and that is in the first person too. I know that this is no Jane Eyre, but it is a great, contemporary, dystopian novel. I am not going to tell you who that "voice" is because if you haven't read the first book, I don't want to spoil its conclusion, but here is that voice:

"In that one slight motion, I see the end of hope, the beginning of the destruction of everything I hold dear in the world. I can't guess what form my punishment will take, how wide the net will be cast, but when it is finished, there will most likely be nothing left. So you would think that at this moment, I would be in utter despair. Here's what's strange. The main thing I feel is a sense of relief. That I can give up this game. That the question of whether I can succeed in this venture has been answered, even if that answer is a resounding no. That if desperate times call for desperate measures, then I am free to act as desperately as I wish."  (p. 75)

KICK IT! Love that paragraph. :) I'm rooting for you. Throw caution to the wind:

  "...there is suffering in the light; an excess burns.  

Flame is hostile to the wing.  

But to burn and yet to fly; 

this is the miracle of genius." 

 - Victor Hugo, Les Miserables  

I found this interesting bit on inspiration and origin for writing the trilogy on Wikipedia: 

Collins says that the inspiration to write The Hunger Games came from channel surfing on television. On one channel she observed people competing on a reality show and on another she saw footage of the invasion of Iraq. The two "began to blur in this very unsettling way" and the idea for the book was formed.^[5] The Greek myth of Theseus served as basis for the story, with Collins describing Katniss as a futuristic Theseus, and that Roman gladiatorial games formed the framework. The sense of loss that Collins developed through her father's service in the Vietnam War also affected the story, whose heroine lost her father at age eleven, five years before the story begins.^[6] Collins stated that the deaths of the young characters and other "dark passages" were the hardest parts of the book to write, but she had accepted she would be writing such scenes.^[7] She considered the moments where Katniss reflects on happier moments in her past to be the more enjoyable passages to write.^[7]

(By the way, I read this from a print book and did not listen to the audio book that is pictured)

52 in 52 Week 13: The House Church Book by Wolfgang Simson

I had read his Houses that Change the World in 2009, and I didn't care for it. Not because I didn't agree with much of what he had to say, but it was so negative toward the traditional church, and it fomented intense negativity toward it in our group. I didn't like that (and the leader of the discussion didn't help it either). So, I was happy to hear that others encouraged him to revise the book without all the negativity. The result: I loved it! 


I had also listened to eight lecture by him, and I had changed my mind about him too.


We read it with our Kingdom group, and it caused us to dream about what would be the components of a house church. The discussion was great and challenging. In the process, our pastor and elders said they would be open to this being an "arm" of our traditional church to give an alternative. So, it might happen.

52 in 52 Week 13: The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy

This novel is subtitled, "A Story of a Man of Character." I wanted to read this after hearing a lecture about "Scene and Summary" by Timothy Spurgin in The Teaching Company's Art of Reading course.  He explains that summary is used to activate our senses, and Hardy is a master at doing that.


First off, I became a Thomas Hardy (1840-1928) fan when I read The Return of the Native. My book club, overall, disliked it which really surprised me.  He writes beautifully, but his stories aren't always all pretty and tied up in a bow of a happy ending.  His genre is naturalism. It is also a "bildungsroman" novel meaning it charts the protagonist's moral and psychological development. In this case the protagonist is Michael Henchard. The opening summary and scene had me hooked from page one. 








The novel was written from 1885-1186 and published in serial form in both England and America. 

Hardy was also a poet, and you see it come out in his prose.  The Book of Great Books says:

Rich, dense, formal prose describes characters and settings (both natural and social) in detail; gives a sense of nature's majesty and power: "The sun had recently set, and the west heaven was hung with rosy cloud, which seemed permanent, yet slowly changed." 

I distinctly remember feeling this way when I read The Return of the Native. His description of the heath made me feel like I was right there. I felt like I was in Casterbridge also.


I found the protagonist extremely sympathetic and found myself rooting for him, despite his imperfections!

Spilled Milk Stepping Stone

Well-Watered Soul


Your presence astounds me this early morning. I got up sensing that I would not have a Theophostic appointment this morning, and there was an email sent at 11:24 pm last night asking for postponement due to sickness.  So, I can luxuriate with You and my family until my 2:30 appointment. At which time, I can luxuriate with someone that has been through Theophostic and already has a memory that they want to explore and is a Theophostic counselor herself. So, it should be a delight. :)

I am happy because this is our first day as a family free of the confines of college studies. Michael is reading The Hunger Games, Paul will probably be talking, talking, talking because he is excited to have school done with, and George just might need to stay home and work due to the snow!

Back to Your presence. I was a little down yesterday. It was triggered by Michael spilling my freshly made chai tea in an effort to move my tea cozy. It is so true that there is "no use crying over spilled milk," but it made me very sad. It wasn't the spilled milk but something I had been mulling over and struggling with.  The pieces had been falling together over the last five days as an old friend (who I haven't talked to for some time) called me about her gift of discernment. Another friend had told her to call me to ask questions about this gift. This old friend and I have SO MUCH in common. I think that people with that gift should get together because then we wouldn't think we were crazy! LOL!

All that to say is that she confirmed something from a discernment from years ago (and one of the real and deeper reasons why we had to make drastic changes six years ago), and she got me thinking about a more recent discernment. It confirmed that the "weight" that I had been experiencing and stuffing for five days was real.  While it came up with my phone conversation on Tuesday, I stuffed it  only to have it resurface with the spilled milk.

My first action was to pray through my "Morning Affirmations" Scripture. (And felt convicted that I needed to apologize to Michael for scolding him when it was an accident. I did that immediately. Such a forgiving guy with such a big heart.) Then, I decided to record it so that I could play the Scripture on my iPod anytime, anywhere. The "Protection in Spiritual Warfare" section is always so invaluable to me, and Carol C. and Patty have always exhorted me to "armor up" daily because of the nature of our work. I am lazy sometimes in this area, and I usually pay for it.

The "cloud" of discernment of evil still remained. SO, I texted Kim and Teala. They both called. Kim, is my discernment twin, and she confirmed for me many things about my experience recently. She also said, "If it is still bothering you five days later, Carol. It is probably pretty important." We prayed and I was able to check up on her spirit with Ted being gone and pray for her as well. Love my soul-mate!

Then, Teala called with much needed wisdom (I really think this may be a gift of hers) about acting on a nudge from the Lord and not delaying. She related an experience where she did not act upon a nudge to back away from a relationship (in love), and she paid for it by being attacked by that unhealthy person for no reason other than that person's own pain. (Thus explaining why she wanted to go out for tea. She didn't say why (because she is an introvert), and I didn't follow up on it. I knew something was wrong. Should have followed up more.)

So, I think I know what to do. I have become a target of another person's pain, and I think I need to just slowly back away (and it may be temporarily until that person heals more). I think that person's spiritual attackers know my number and are doing everything they can to discourage me, but I will pray from a distance and let the LORD strategize and fight for me.

The reservations about doing this because of the cost that it would cause me in other areas were quickly settled when I processed out loud with Teala too.

SO, I come this morning firm in my resolution of a course of action that will probably be more beneficial for all.

Thank You God for bringing back peace. No use crying over that spilled milk because it led me to profound peace this morning. :)

Spring Snow Wednesday

It is snowing! I was all dressed and on my way out the door for Pilates, but I am a wimp when it come to driving in the snow. So, I'm staying home again.


Well-Watered Soul


Soaking in 2 Kings 10-11 and Matthew 2 (for Kingdom Community).


Well-Educated Mind


The Mayor of Casterbridge is so engaging. The narrator is brilliant. Really enjoying it after all the dystopian novels!

Speaking of dystopian novels, I am reading Catching Fire and enjoying that but am not seeing the need to rush through it because the movie will not come out for some time.


Well-Adjusted Heart

Great!


Well-Tuned Strength


I did "Praise Moves" warm up and mat work. The mat work was pretty hard. There is one move called "The Harp" that I am not absolutely sure I should have done. I am sore in the muscles of my upper back. We will see if that is a good thing for my back as the day moves one (maybe it is a good thing that I didn't go to Pilates).

I didn't do any cardio yesterday but that will be my break day since we will be exercising over the weekend, probably both days.

Good Morning

Yesterday was a great day. I was a domestic diva. I made luscious, homemade lentil soup in the crock pot with freshly baked challah bread that came out just as Jennifer was leaving from our discipleship time. I was able to give her one of the loaves which was my hope but I wasn't sure the timing would be so very perfect.

I also sorted and started the wash; but of course, Michael took over when he got home from his final.

I also did all my back and shoulder exercises and some of the harder Shandra core ones (to see which individual exercise is the one giving me the back problem). After dinner, I took a long walk and talk with Georgie! :)


In addition, I made a library list of all the books (28) I have left from my "100 Great Books List," The library (as opposed to Library2Go) includes all forms of the book: digital audio and Kindle, CD, and print. That was a more efficient way to do it.  I have a game plan for every book. Many of them are on CD which I keep forgetting is an option!  I am having so much fun with this list. It is so much easier than slogging through many of the really HARD (but good) books on The Well-Educated Mind list! I might even complete it by the end of 2012 (Why am I so wanting completion on everything I start?). 

As I worked in the morning, I listened to The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy. What a great story so far. I was intrigued and hooked by the first page (or first minutes of the audio book). He was originally a poet, and it comes through in his prose. As I recall, I also liked The Return of the Native that I read several years ago, but the Book Dames read it and didn't like it as a whole. That one didn't end happily. I hope this one does, but the journey is delightful, and while I don't know the destination, I like the book along the way. It even beat out the next in The Hunger Games Trilogy, Catching Fire, for my affection! Not that Catching Fire is any less consuming, but I listened to The Mayor of Casterbridge first, and when it came down to being able to sit down and read a print book during my rest time, I wanted to continue to listen to it! It is 17 hours and on a limited time check out. Catching Fire is on loan from Shelley.  So, I have some lee-way. 

By the way, I wish I could remember where I heard an analysis of The Mayor of Casterbridge. I remember having a visual of it and thinking, "I must read that!"  I think I had gotten "The Art of Reading" from the library in a DVD, but I don't see it on the library website now. I am so confused. No matter.

It makes me want to form a group that wants to read artfully. There is absolutely nothing wrong with pleasure reading, but I realize I don't read for pleasure or escape. I think the only time I ever have was when I read the Jan Karon Mitford books in Malaysia. Reading about snowstorms in North Carolina was so comforting when I was sweating under my sheets in order to not be attacked by mosquitoes at the GTZ Guest House on the edge of the jungle!


About an artful reading group. I think back to asking Cully what he thought of The Brothers Karamazov, and he gave an answer that challenged my thinking. Made me realize that I hadn't thought as deeply about that book, and I wanted to!  Aaron's question at Christmas about what I thought of the metafiction in Don Quixote made me and Elizabeth laugh (because I didn't know what that word meant), but it also made me think!


Cully, Lee, Aaron, Matt (We love the same kinds of books. My ISFJ soul-mate.), and George would be so awesome to have in a book club. It could be me and all the guys. Elizabeth is gone. She would have done it. I wonder if there are any women out there who would also like to do that. LOL! There would be plenty of women who would feign artful reading if Cully and Lee were in the group! LOL!  They are the heart-throbs of the "Huck Finn" group. (Matt and George are obviously taken, and I don't know Aaron's status with the women.). All that said, I don't want to sound snooty about reading, but I just don't fit, especially in Book Babes. I like Book Dames - they are a very nice group of women.  I have not felt very good at Book Babes.  The people have ebbed and flowed there, and I have liked it at times, but this new mix is not good for me.  I was ready to quit after Henrietta Lax, and I even went to tell Michelle afterward, but we got to talking about other things, and I thought I would give it another try. That was several months ago, and I am still feeling that.  What to do!?

George said something at dinner last night that cracked me up, "When does the boring part of Moby-Dick start, Carol?"  I asked him what page he was on, and he said, "Two hundred."  LOL! If he is that far and not bored, he is a true fan of the book!  I do think if I were to read it again, I would probably not find it as boring because he made so many references to other authors and works that I had not read yet. (George just knows them because of his awesome high school and liberal arts education at Willamette.) Now, I would know who and what Melville is referring to. He was a self-educated man. I admire him so much. 

Speaking of being self-educated, I spied on the Oregon State University MA/MFA Literature degree. Then,  less than an hour later, Michele, who is in that program right now, wrote her sister, brother, Elizabeth, and me to ask about good American Literature books after the 1600's. When I referred her to my lists on this blog she cried, "You are probably the most well-read person I know! You should go to OSU. Then we could be classmates."  I laughed being that I had just looked into that possibility. I could do it for 37.50 per credit hour too (because George is on the faculty).  I love to read and learn for the pure joy of it though. I will ponder it. 

Well, this is too long. I have to get to work since I did very little writing yesterday.

Fast Freewrite

I'll make this quick. I have been on the library website making a list of all the books left on my 100 Great Books List. My awesome, best-library-in-the-country has them all in one form or another. So, I have the list printed out. 28 to go, and I am SO ENJOYING this journey. 


So far, I have learned so much through the selections. I haven't necessarily liked all of them (American naturalism/realism is so depressing!), but I have learned from all of them. In addition, they are SO MUCH EASIER than most of the books on The Well-Educated Mind list! I feel like I am breezing through them, but in many ways, I think I can breeze through them because I have that wonderful background from all those "hard books on that list" (as Lisa Cowden so wonderfully put it several years ago).


That is why it was funny for me to have people say that William Wilberforce: Hero for Humanity was hard to get through. It didn't seem hard to me when I compare it to others books I have been reading, but I had a feeling it would be for this group. I want books that may be hard and that call me to action. The goals are different for that group. It is more about reading for pleasure, which I think is a viable and wonderful goal, but is it my goal? Is it the best use of the precious hours of my day? Does it fit into my overall goals and ministry?


Which makes me wonder whether if I am done with the Book Babes. It has been a great season (January 2001 - to now), and I have read all but one of the 134 books (The Wake of the Wind is on my nightstand. It was one I could not get in the library when I was new to the group and didn't know anyone well enough to borrow it from them.). I haven't "liked" all of them, but I have given them all a try. But I have so many other books I like to read rather than the ones selected, and I am seeing that my tastes are so much different (although I really liked Unbroken). In my very positive life, this is somewhat negative right now. I will pray. 


I have all these young people like Cully, Matt, Micah, Elizabeth (if she were still here), Aaron,etc who I talk with about books all the time, and they love the hard, deep ones.  Their thinking blows me away, and I could learn from them. I am still pondering that. They would jump at the opportunity to discuss these books. 


I am such a woman of tradition, but it is OK after 11 1/2 years, isn't it? I took a break from Book Dames because I was teaching American Literature, and that was really healthy for me. Maybe I should just take a break. 


I will definitely pray.


In the meantime, I am at so much peace. I am around such awesome people of peace right now. SO many exciting things are happening in our life and ministry. The boys are doing well (Paul is still figuring out faith right now, but he is verbalizing it so well, and the discussions have been really GOOD). George and I are well (But we have always been well. I don't know why that is so, but I am grateful for it.).  The ministry is going so well. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the balance of writing, counseling, life coaching, discipling, training, co-laboring we are doing with these AWESOME 20-somethings. They are GEMS, GEMS, GEMS. And it is fun to see them get engaged (Two since November and One on the way!).  LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE our life.


I didn't go to Pilates because I needed to do some writing while the kids are in their finals. I will do some at home.


Next books:


Print: Catching Fire (It should be The Wake in the Wind, but I already started drinking the Kool-Aid)
Audio: The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy (I think this is a less depressing one, LOL)


God you are SOOO GOOD!  

52 in 52 Week 12: Candide, or Optimism by Voltaire

I had not a clue what this was about. I just knew it was on my "100 Great Books" list, and it was relatively short. 


It was delightful. With the help of an excellent narrator, I laughed out loud several times. It is a fun and seemingly frivolous story with a deeper meaning that I chose to find out about after I finished just enjoying Candide's adventures (and mishaps) all over the world.


This is a very funny but critical satire written in 1758 about different philosophical systems of belief. Voltaire was a major philosopher of the 18th Century Age of Enlightenment (my 17 year old reminded me of Voltaire's background while I was listening to and laughing at this book - nice to know he is learning something in his college history class). His contemporaries were Mosntesquieu, Diderot, and Rousseau. 


You notice that the second title for this book is "optimism."  This title is ridiculing Leibnitzian optimism. Leibnitz (1646-1716) was a German philosopher who had several 18-century thinker popularizing his theories with the statement that "all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds." Voltaire rejects that the the best possible cause reflects God's will.  Candide's tutor, Dr. Pangloss, is representative of this philosophy.


The other extreme is represented by the character of Martin. He represents Manicheanism which was a system originated with Mani, a Persian prophet from 216-276, who believed that good and evil ruled the universe and were in constant conflict. Martin believes that God had abandoned the world to the forces of evil. 


Voltaire was a deist. Deist believe that God is like a "divine watchmaker" who made the world and then set it to run its course without interference in the affairs of everyday life. He believes that humans must cultivate their own garden, and you will see how Candide's philosophy evolves through his life.


It is a quick and entertaining read. 


This is the most important quote for me from the book:

A hundred times I wanted to kill myself, but always I loved life more. This ridiculous weakness is perhaps one of our worst instincts; is anything more stupid than choosing to carry a burden that really one wants to cast on the ground? to hold existence in horror, and yet to cling to it? to fondle the serpent which devours us till it has eaten out our heart? —In the countries through which I have been forced to wander, in the taverns where I have had to work, I have seen a vast number of people who hated their existence; but I never saw more than a dozen who deliberately put an end to their own misery. 

The narrator for this audiobook was probably the best I have ever heard!

52 in 52 Week 12: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Wow! Double Wow! I have heard this novel referred to SO MANY times in my lifetime. I think the first time I ever heard it referred to was when my friend, Missy, said something was a "Lord of the Flies" scenario. I had no idea what she was talking about. (I had such a deprived literary upbringing, but I am making up for lost time.) 


This audio book was really special because it is a digital version of a 1977 recording made by the author. 


What would happen if a group of boys (listen to his introduction below to find out why the island did not include girls) were put on an island without the restraints of civilization? Golding believed that the nature of man was basically evil. He wanted to explore the "beast" in all of us. They weren't just "playing" being stranded on an island. They were living the reality of it. It is a fable about the human condition. Since Golding was both a naval officer in World War II AND taught in a boys' school, he had probably observed quite a bit about the human condition. It is a novel about the loss of innocence too. That is where it goes along so nicely with the book I read right after it: The Hunger Games!



This book is referred to as a symbolic novel, but it can also be considered a dystopian novel:  

This novel isn’t the 12th best on the list (it would be rated much higher in my opinion) but it’s at number twelve because of the on going argument whether this is truly a dystopian novel or not. The definition of dystopia isn’t necessarily clear, though the general definition is that it is a society in which misery and negative conditions prevail (or a seeming utopia gained at horrifying costs.) 

As far as a dysfunctional society, the island with its stranded little boys is it, and once the conch shell is no longer seen as authority, everything breaks apart. If anyone wants to argue that an anarchy could work, this book would be an immediate argument against it. This is an incredible psychological work, and I’d say their society is definitely dysfunctional enough to count as a dystopia. (Top 12 Dystopian Novels)

I think it is a book everyone should read.


He does an introduction in the audio book where he states the whole idea behind the book. This is so worth listening to if you aren't going to get the audio version of this book:

52 in 52 Week 12: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

OK, I have drunk the Kool-Aid, and I now join the ranks of people who are nuts about this book and will be running to the theatre to see it translated to the silver screen.  



Oh my goodness, it just fit in with the "dystopian novel" theme that I have been on since January reading Animal Farm, Brave New World, and Lord of the Flies. Those books are all classics, but I believe this one will be too. 


The author page says that she "continues to explore the effects of war and violence on those coming of age."  


This is meant for young adults, but it is for those older too. 


I first heard about this when having lunch with Laura about a year ago. I saw it in the library, but I had other more important books pressing (like finishing The Well-Educated Mind list), and I forgot about it. 


Earlier this month, we gathered to discuss Animal Farm at our classics book club, and she asked me if I ever read it being that it fell in line with the books I had been reading.  Others in the group overheard and encouraged me; one offering to bring me her copy. Now I was committed. I couldn't fall asleep right away on Friday. So I gave it a try. I was hooked on the first page. I forced myself to go to bed at 12:45 a.m. (and page 45) knowing what I was going to be doing on Saturday. :)


In an age when contemporary fiction is so poorly written, this was just a breath of fresh air! I was afraid it was going to be like Harry Potter or Twilight, and I was assured it was not the same. It isn't. It is far more superior.  


It is a book about what might happen in a futuristic, totalitarian world. I love that it is written in the first person voice of Katniss Everdeen. She is a heroine in every sense of the word. (I love it when women kick it in novels.)


Here is what the publisher writes about the book:

In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Each year, the districts are forced by the Capitol to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal and terrifying fight to the death – televised for all of Panem to see.
Survival is second nature for sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who struggles to feed her mother and younger sister by secretly hunting and gathering beyond the fences of District 12. When Katniss steps in to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, she knows it may be her death sentence. If she is to survive, she must weigh survival against humanity and life against love.

When I entered it on my LibraryThing profile, I noticed it was an "Early Reviewer" book (meaning they give copies for LibraryThing members to read and write reviews), and I never would have looked at the cover and requested to read it. 
So, I am thankful for my persistent friends who wouldn't let me pass this by.


One of those friends just dropped off the rest of the trilogy as I was 18 pages away from finishing up Book 1. I have a feeling I know what I will be doing this Spring Break (if they survive until then).