In Praise of Books

A book is a garden you can hold in your hand,
An orchard you can take on your lap.

A book is a companion who sleeps
Only when you are asleep,
And speaks only when you wish him to.

A book is a tree that lives long
And bears delicious and abundant fruit
That is easy to pick and perfectly ripe
At all times of the year.

A book obeys you by night and by day,
Abroad and at home;
It has no need of sleep
And does not grow weary from sitting up.

--Al-Jahiz (Abu Uthman Amr ibn Bahral-Jahiz, known to his friends as al-Jahiz, was born in Basra in 776 and was the leading literary and intellectual figure of his age.)

I like that when reading a book, we can commune with the author no matter what time frame they lived in. People we'd have no chance to sit down or talk with, are as close as our thoughts when reading the words they have written.

Another thing I like about books, outside of the fact that I like to read and have broad interests, is that they can be put down and later picked back up again -- that's an important thing in a busy life. Invariably if I try to watch TV, I am interrupted. I might as well not try to watch TV unless it is recorded so that I can treat it like a book.

Plus reading a book is one of the few things that gets a little bit more done each time, like knitting or embroidery, unlike the chores of life that are never ending. You can actually see progress in reading a book as you get further into it, similar to seeing an embroidery begin to take shape.

I have, however, in recent years given myself permission not to finish a book if it doesn't strike me in one way or another. Because I read fast, I could skim to finish -- but when time is at a premium, I'd rather move on to another book or another project. It's the rare book that I read every word at a pace that is savoring it.

I like the tactile nature of books, holding them in my hands. I'm not really into using wooden stands to help me hold a book, though it might be nice if a book is particularly heavy. And I like the way most books smell -- a combination of paper and ink.

Android Phone Apps and such for reading
I store and read parts of books (and books with the Kindle for Android App or Stanza)on my iPod Touch (quotes and such) and at one time had the Bible downloaded into my Palm. I now have a Bible App for my Android phone that offers many versions.

ebooks
And now that I have a Kindle, I have read many ebooks. I have read a friend's manuscript on the computer. I did not print it out. Then I converted it for Kindle. I have also done this with some research I have done.

Audio books
I have listened to a couple of audio books which were very well done. The Harry Potter audio books are excellent. Jim Dale, the reader, voices every character differently. Another I read (and heard) took place in England. The reader had an English accent, so it had a different feel than reading it to myself with my own voice which is not English, but American. I get impatient listening to a book because I can read it so much faster, but it is a good pastime in the car on long or repetitive rides.

What are you reading?

Video
I thought this video was quite funny. Introducing the book (with subtitles.) This is a skit showing how a monk might have learned to read a book when he was used only to a scroll. Not too far off from introducing a computer or an ebook. We gotta learn how to do it!

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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Originally posted 2007-02-16 08:03:57.

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This is the book that started me reading books by Lauren F. Winner, when I read a review of the book. It sounded interesting.

It was, and it wasn't, at least for me. Dark nights of the soul are not uncommon to those in or out of religion. It's likely proverbial that each person's dark night is dark to them, and it's not a contest to see whose is darker or what problems or grief precipitate the crisis. And there really is no satisfactory answer, in the throes of a crisis, why one is in it.

In Mudhouse Sabbath (see my review here) Winner is looking forward to her marriage and complimentary of her husband-to-be. This book chronicles her crisis of faith when she is miserably unhappy in her marriage and decides after much prayer and unhappiness to divorce him after six years.

She says very little about their marriage, but you can read between the lines. I had a couple of pretty good ideas.

She does not write anything negative about her husband, but she wends her way through her own crisis. It doesn't help her, some of the things that are said to her (for example, that it is a sin for her to divorce.) Her ex-husband is well thought of and seems not to show any signs of the crisis, at least in this book.

Her mother dies shortly before her marriage, after a long struggle with illness, and that doesn't help the beginning of her marriage.

Her faith path
In her short life, she has gone through moderate interest in Judaism (her father was Jewish, her mother was not), to Orthodox Judaism, to Christianity, falling in love with Jesus. Even her friends wonder if she will move past Christianity. So far, she has not. She is ordained in the Episcopal church, since this book came out. She also teaches at Duke Divinity School in North Carolina.

It is both interesting and profound, as well as sad, that in one of her books, she chronicles one of the reasons why she left Judaism -- for one thing, no one went after her to shepherd her back, to ask her why she had stopped going to shul, or where she was physically or mentally. In this book she feels that when she couldn't pray for herself or even go to church, she felt she had friends who were praying for her.

Additionally she says that while she converted to Orthodox Judaism (because one is considered a Jew if one's mother is, regardless of whether one's father is) in many ways it did not count -- and her then-boyfriend's mother did not accept her -- and neither fully did he, because he hoped to have large family (both sides) gatherings at the various important days of Judaism when he married. Ironically, he later seriously dates a girl who is not Jewish at all, so much for all that. We all wonder what his mother would think then.

These are salient points to think about for the expression of our own faith traditions -- do we pay attention if someone disappears? do we fully accept them if they weren't born into it? do we continue to show love? what if our children are dating or marry someone not of our faith?

What do we say to someone deep in a crisis -- and do we even care what they are going through? (Perhaps our own life is in tatters.) Caring will cover over many a mis-statement, but saying the wrong thing without love is a sure turn-off.

In an interview with Kim Shippey, after he read the book, she told him

that the spiritual life can be summarized as a process of meeting God again and again. “I will say that there was a season of alienation between God and me—a standoff, perhaps. Still chronicles the tail end of the standoff and the beginning of a reacquaintance. . . . I encounter God in sermon-writing. In my fear. Sometimes in silence. I know God to be present in my conversations with friends, in my classroom. In my failures. In my merrymaking and in my sorrow.” Christian Science Sentinel p 20 4-9-2012

As she says in this book:

“I am not a saint. I am, however, beginning to learn that I am a small character in a story that is always fundamentally about God.”

Have you read it? What did you think?
Do you have a favorite of her books or articles?

My take
I give this book 2 stars out of 5, only because faith stories and faith crisis are an interest of mine, and having gone through some deep waters myself, I read other people's stories to see how they come out the other side. But this book seems to me to wallow more than a bit and also to whine. It doesn't help that those she goes to for spiritual comfort and advice do not give it. (Similar to many stories, actually.)

My advice is to read the chapter at the end of the book with questions and answers, then skim through the rest of the book. That chapter gives an overview of what she learned -- the book is almost a moment by moment diary.

It is also available for Kindle:

You can read my review of Girl Meets God here.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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I think I'm getting a little tired of this series, although it still reads fast and is familiar. I got this from the library.

This time Stone and Dino are called to D.C. by Holly and Lance to investigate, at the behest of the president, two deaths deemed suicides -- first the wife, then her husband.

As the bodies mount up, it is apparent there is a serial killer on the loose. But who it is and how to catch him or her is in question.

It turns out the husband was not who he appeared to be. He has regularly been seeing multiple lovers, and appears to be a sex addict.

Stone and Dino share a suite in a hotel overlooking the White House.

Stone does his usual amoral thing of bedding every woman he comes in contact with, including Holly (again.) He is coming out of being widowed. I don't find these scenes erotic or even particularly interesting; they are so truncated. You know the drill: about two sentences, fade into the next chapter.

Dino also has a lover in this book. You never see any of this in any detail.

The foursome are quite chummy, discussing much of the case and the results of the investigation. And there has been a leak somewhere.

Meantime there is a rogue agent after the fugitive Teddy Fay. I think Teddy would simply like to live his life with Lauren Cade, but it is not to be. Unfortunately, he is forced to play a hand he knows all too well.

There is a bit with both Stone's son and Dino's son. Very little, not even enough to whet your interest.

Have you read it?
I rate it 3 star. There is a lot of serious violence, some on the page, some off the page as it is discovered, and the amoral bedding of nearly every female by Stone. I didn't care for either of it, but it is hard to put down, because the interest in the characters has been set up in previous books.

It is beginning to have elements of fantasy, as far as I'm concerned. Would that we were all so wealthy!

It is available for Kindle:

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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SEALed with a Kiss by Mary Daughtridge is a warm-hearted, lovely story filled with genuine characters and a lot of love.

It's a story that makes you glad you read it. The story-line is believable and the characters' falling in love is equally so.

I enjoy the books by Suzanne Brockman, so I thought I might enjoy this series. This is more a love story than a story about the military SEALs, though the main character's SEAL training comes in handy in the end.

Navy SEAL Jax Graham has been given an ultimatum by his commanding officer: fix the situation with his 4 year old son, no excuses. Jax' ex-wife has died. She had kept his visitation to a minimum and his job had kept it even further. A SEAL never knows when he must be ready to go at a moment's notice. Her mother will gain custody, but that is not a good situation.

So Jax takes his 2 week vacation, on orders, with his son.

Family therapist Pickett Sessoms is in the same place, at the same time, closing a beach cottage against a coming hurricane. She enters the equation, helping Jax regain his confidence as a father, while he learns how to talk to his son, who is smart enough to know a few things, but too young to connect the dots.

There wasn't much that was contrived or hard to believe in this book. The characters are well drawn, and their awakening to love comes naturally and at an acceptable pace.

These are people you really care about, as the story moves forward. Even the dogs are well drawn.

In many ways the love in this story reminds me of the love that is in Morning Glory by LaVryle Spencer. The characters have fully lived, picking up wounds along the way. Each of them heals wounds of the other, gently and with love.

Have you read the book or any others of Daughtridge? I will be reading more in this series.

Head's up: the ex-mother-in-law drinks and is verbally abusive to her little grandson; Pickett has celiac disease, which is mentioned, but not to distraction...

I give it a 5 out of 5.

The book is available for Kindle.

See my review of SEALed with a Promise here.

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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Originally posted 2010-05-21 23:04:33.

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This book was offered free for Kindle as a hook to the rest of the books in the series. It is the first time I had heard of this author, her heroine, or the series, but it sounded fun.

This book is gentle, somewhat slow moving (or perhaps I just didn't want to rush through it) humorous and insightful. I highlighted quite a bit in the book.

It is a Christian story, but it is not preachy. At times you hear her prayers or her thoughts on God and life in general, and she helps one character be more inclined to visit churches (which his previous girlfriend had wanted.)

The Story
Ivy Malone is an older lady who within the first few pages loses her best friend, approximately the same age, to sudden death. She muses on life as she goes through it, much like I do, but perhaps more pithily. I enjoy hearing her humorous thoughts as she goes about her business. Her asides are sometimes laugh out loud.

She and her friend had gone out to an old cemetery, only to find that there had been vandalism. Many of the headstones were pulled or pushed over.

They go to the police, but they are overlooked and under accepted.

So Ivy vows, after her friend's death, that she will go out to the cemetery at night to watch for the vandals to return, which of course they ultimately do. She wants to solve the mystery, as well as catch them.

During the process she realizes that she has become invisible, in the sense that wherever she goes, including to the police, she is pretty much ignored for the younger people who are in the same place. She figures she can use this new found invisibility to figure out what is happening.

She is definitely braver than I!

Along the way she nearly gets killed and solves a murder. And she is courted by one man and is somewhat courted by another (or it is the development of a good friendship in elder years.)

The characters
I enjoyed the development of characters in the book -- for example, the young woman with a mystery herself or the young police officer that befriends her (and she befriends him) who does believe her. I also liked the strong friendships, for even their foibles are simply accepted.

I was sorry that a character is murdered.

My rating
I'd give this book 3 out of 4 stars. It's not terribly frightening nor gory. Ivy certainly has pluck, something I'd like to continue to cultivate in myself. She is sort of Nancy Drew, all grown up. She is a genuinely nice person in her dealings with everyone.

All the ends are neatly tied up, pretty much, which might not happen in real life, but you feel good for spending some time with Ivy.

Have you read this book or any of the series? do you have a favorite?

Buy: Invisible (Ivy Malone Mystery Series #1)

Buy: Invisible (Kindle book) (Ivy Malone Mystery Series #1)

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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Originally posted 2011-01-07 21:04:24.

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We went to see this at the midnight show of opening night. There weren't a lot of folks there, which surprised me, but it might have been because people were sure about the casting.

If you love the book, you will love the movie. I'd see it again in a minute, and I will definitely buy it when it comes out as a DVD.

What's not to love about a movie that makes you happy, where you know the main character is going to be OK, where there is a lot of humor, and it is fun to watch!

Casting:
Let's talk casting. I wasn't at all convinced until I saw the movie. It was perfect.

I liked the idea of Katherine Heigl, but I wasn't sure if I'd like her in dark hair. Not to worry. She looked great.

Debbie Reynolds as Grandma Mazur was not at all who I pictured. But she got me in the first minute of her first appearance on screen. Considering Grandma Mazur is a favorite character, that is saying something.

Lulu -- well, I had thought Queen Latifah, but she is too high class for the part. But Sherri Shepherd was perfect in the part, and her getups were just like Janet Evanovich describes her.

Vinnie (Patrick Fischler) was perfect.

Now Morelli (Jason O'Mara) turned out to be a good choice. There is a lot of magnetism between him and Stephanie.

And speaking of magnetism, Daniel Sunjata as Ranger, turned out to be perfect. Many of us had thought of the Rock in this part, but Daniel couldn't be beat.

Ana Reeder as Connie, does a good job.

I didn't have anybody in mind for her parents, so they were OK. They don't have a lot of screen time compared to some of the other characters.

If you liked the book, do yourself a favor and get on down and see the movie. You know it is a terrific franchise, and I'd like to see the other books made as movies too. This one has to sell tickets for that to happen. I'd definitely go see them.

Have you seen it?
I give it 4 stars. I liked it!

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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It's been a long time since I've enjoyed an author and book, as much as I enjoyed Christie Craig's Divorced, Desperate, and Dating. This book is easily as good, if not better, than Janet Evanovich's series featuring Stephanie Plum. Seriously. If you like Stephanie Plum, you will love this book. And the good news is that it is part of a trilogy, so there is more on offer, including other books by this author.

I suppose you would call this romantic suspense, but there is so much wit and humor in it, that it crosses genres, as far as I'm concerned.

I managed to pick it up when it was offered for free on Kindle. Yippee!

Make no mistake, the sex is hot and heavy, but it is realistic. The hero and heroine do not jump into bed at the first available moment, but there is a lot of sexual tension as they determine how far they will take the relationship.

Sue Finley is a murder mystery writer. She researches how to kill her victims. Her good friend is married to a police officer, whose good friend is Jason Dodds, also a police officer. It just so happens that 4 months earlier, she and Jason had shared a spectacular kiss. He asked for her number, but he hasn't called her back.

In the meantime, she has begun to date Paul who is just odd enough to give you the willies. She is considering breaking it off.

And then she starts getting threats to kill her that are copycatting the book she has written, but is not yet published.

At first, it seems like a loathsome prank or publicity stunt, though she realizes it is not. Then it escalates into serious territory. Re-enter Jason Dodds to save the day -- and he does. He is one of the first to take the threats seriously, and he refuses to leave her until the person behind the threats is discovered. He has, what he thinks, are good reasons for not calling her after their kiss, but that goes out the window when they are in close proximity.

There really is some suspense here, but it doesn't get into the horrors of suspense mysteries, thankfully. I wanted to finish the book to know where it was going.

The story is peopled with odd characters, similar to the Stephanie Plum stories. Her mom is a character, and her grandparents keep tabs on her life. There is a lot of love, even with peoples' eccentricities.

I really enjoyed the book. I give it 4 out of 4 *, and I will look for her other books.

Click here to read it on your kindle. It's not free any longer, but it is worth every penny!

Have you read any of her books or this one?

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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Originally posted 2010-10-22 20:27:39.

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Someone once said that grief is self-centered.

Having been there, done that, I have to disagree. For me, if it was self-centered, it wasn't self-imposed. I don't ever want to grieve again as deeply as I did ever ever, if I have a choice.

How do you get through? in my own words in no particular order (and you may have other ways):
- don't listen to ones who say really strange things to you in the name of trying to help
- be good to yourself every day
- hang onto the lifeline of spirituality and God
- make choices for happiness -- choose small things that make you happy
- look for any good that you can find
- recognize the smallest happiness/good and multiply it, if you can
- do this day by day, without fail, and somehow you get down the road a piece...
- don't fault yourself for grieving (you have two problems if you lay guilt on yourself)
- honor your feelings, they are valuable, even to God
- don't listen to others who tell you that their way is better/you are at fault
- use your life experiences to help others, if possible
- do something to take your mind off yourself -- visit with a friend, read a book, get out into nature, volunteer your services...

How are you getting through or how did you make your way through?
or how have you seen others make it through?
To some extent, each has to find and do what it takes to get through. Know you are not alone. And somehow, we do get through, as hard or as impossible as it seems.

Here's a book that sounds interesting:

In the book The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times Stephen G. Post tells how he got through a relocation crisis and how others can get through hardships or disappointments.

Be bold if life throws you a curve ball or you are forced to make changes in your life.

Throw yourself wholeheartedly into the journey...with a full heart...ready to give of yourself with compassion and forgiveness, never seeking the hidden gifts but finding them just the same. Stephen G. Post

Buy: The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times

Buy: (Kindle Edition) The Hidden Gifts of Helping: How the Power of Giving, Compassion, and Hope Can Get Us Through Hard Times

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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Originally posted 2011-02-08 07:14:18.

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The Phantom Tollbooth is an adorable book. I don't know how I missed it when it first came out.

While marketed for young adults or children, it is definitely one an adult will appreciate, perhaps more than a child. It is chock full of idioms, synonyms, antonyms, and other assorted word plays. Reading it to a child would be a delight for the adult -- and one where you'd have ample opportunity to define phrases and explain why it's so clever. And the child (or adult) would pick up many (or be reminded of many) clever, clever, clever turns of phrase.

In some ways, it reminds me of the classic Half Magic.

And it's a cute story, to boot!

Anna Quinlan wrote a book report on it when she was 10 and said: "This is the best book ever."

I have to agree. I give it 5 stars out of 5 stars.

The story
Milo is a very bored young man, totally glum. Learning for him is nothing short of useless -- why would he ever need any of that information!

Ah, but he is about to receive a magic tollbooth that will take him to lands beyond where he will rescue the princesses Rhyme and Reason. Along the way he will travel in such places as: Dictionopolos and Digitopolos and meet the Mathemagician, among others.

His companions are the dog Tock (who has a clock built in) and the Humbug.

Have you read it?
The author has also collaborated on a musical score and a libretto for an opera that is performed in schools and theaters:

And he has written a number of other books that I will be looking into. One, The Dot and the Line, was made into an Academy-Award winning film.

I got mine from the library, but bought it for my Kindle too.

Here's something about the movie from 1970:

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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Well, whaddya know. We are moving into a new era, for sure!

2009 Christmas season
Kindle was the most gifted item in Amazon's history
I'm not surprised!

However, Amazon gave no sales figures for the device or the electronic book sales.

Of interest, perhaps, is that Amazon does not pay bloggers when a blog reader orders an ebook, only for paper books that are purchased via a blog, if that app has been activated.

It's a first:
2009 More electronic books sold for Kindle than paper books

The sales record was achieved on Friday, December 25, Christmas Day, when people who had received a Kindle as a present logged on to Amazon.com to load their new Kindle with reading material.

Topic of conversation when traveling
Who knew!

Reading an ebook, my Kindle, becomes a way to meet people -- either those who already have a Kindle or those who want to know or ask about it.

I met some cool folks on recent travels.

I did not see any other ebooks, only Kindle.

Do you have an ebook reader? What Kind, if not Kindle?
Do you have a Kindle?
I do. The more I use it, the better I like and enjoy it, especially for travel.

I'm trying to be carefully frugal. Most of my ebooks now are free ones, but I am slowly buying a few too.

I'm waiting for Kindle to match the Sony ebook capability of reading library books. That would be great! Do you think it will happen?

Update 2011: They do, but I haven't tried it yet. And my library now has the capability. Whoo hooo!

What's your favorite genre?

Karin
www.savvythinker.com

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Originally posted 2009-12-29 17:11:42.

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