{Book Review} Rita's Story

It is a rare occasion for me to stay up through the wee hours of the morning reading a book.  These wonderful occasions have typically been reserved for captivating, cliffhanger reads including R. L. Stine, Harry Potter and Twilight.  Yet, this wonderful book sale find of 50 cents was read within 4 days time (with only 3 days of actual reading!).  I couldn't put it down.

I wasn't even going to purchase this book.  It doesn't look like anything special.  On the back cover I read one sentence about a healing, and I decided to take a chance.  I was mainly impressed because the book was signed and dated by the author...for 50 cents?  My nerderific bibliophile self was intrigued.

This memoir was engaging and so interesting!  I loved reading every moment of it.  I laughed.  I cried.  I prayed along.  I stopped to reflect on my own life.

I honestly believe that I was supposed to read this book.  I was surprised to read about her studying at Maryville College in St. Louis (where I received 2 of my own degrees) and her work with special education (which I also do).  God spoke to me in a way in this little unassuming book that changed my life.

Read this book.

I will let you borrow my copy.

I plan to share this with all of my friends.

{Book Review} Being George Washington

Although I purchased and started reading this book in late February, I did not finish it until last night.  I must say, I usually enjoy a good biography or works by Glenn Beck because they read authentically to me.

The first half of this book was amazing.  It was told in a journal style about George Washington and the revolutionary period of history.  For the most part, it was chronological, engaging, and wonderfully written.

The last part of the book was less enthralling to me.  A lot of the information seemed to be repetitive, it lost it's chronological appeal, and there was more commentary then actually storyline.  I forced myself to get through it.

Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to know a little more about this historical time period and the personality of George Washington.  But be diligent to get through the end!

"Sing You Home"

Well, I broke down and bought the book, "Sing You Home" by Jodi Picoult.


I was a little leery to purchase it because...


1.  It was fiction.  I typically don't read fiction anymore.  I like learning, so I typically go for work by Saints, Catholic scholars, biographies, and (honestly) theoretical astrophysics.  
2.  It dealt with homosexuality.  Don't get me wrong, I have many a homosexual friend (hello, I'm a musician).  But is that type of storyline going to draw me in?  Probably not.
3.  It dealt with controversial pro-life issues.  I had the feeling that the book was slanted against my viewpoint, so I was apprehensive in spending my leisure time reading it.
4.  The synopsis of the book made the ex-husband "evangelical" seem crazy.  That's never a good sign.  I may not be evangelical, but I've been called crazy in relation to my faith and beliefs.


Why did I want to read it?  The main character is a music therapist, that's why.  That NEVER happens.  Most people have never heard of my profession, let alone has a bestselling author created a novel with a main character that shares my job title.


So, I bought it on sale today.  I read the back cover and cringed.  I read some of the reviews on Amazon and cringed some more.


Sigh.  Some of my colleagues have already asked me if I've read the book.  Many said they picked it up because of the music therapy aspect and want to discuss it with me.  So, I guess I just better read it and develop my own opinion.  Who knows, maybe (doubtful) I'll enjoy it even though it challenges Christian morality with every step.


More to come after the reading...

B90: Judith

Judith beheads Holofernes

I like reading things either really early in the morning or late at night, so I have a full day to ponder the material I read, often relating it to daily events or to the longings of my heart.

Judith was both difficult and a joy to read.  For my non-catholic-y readers, you can find the Book of Judith here with the introduction that I'm reading in The Catholic Study Bible.  In the Catholic bible, Judith is found after Tobit, before Esther.  So, as many of the Old Testament books begin, Judith opens with a narrative of war and battles in regions that are a bit fuzzy in my visual of an ancient map.  These parts of the bible that describe war, battles, and war strategies do not hold my attention unless there is a personal biographical narrative embedded within it.  Luckily, the book of Judith quickly got to the main storyline of, well, Judith!

The storyline is typically well known.  The Israelites are under attack and may be forced to surrender.  Judith convinces the elders to allow her to leave the gates of the city in order to do God's will and save God's people.  She ends up in the enemies tent, with a drunk commander.  She takes his sword, beheads him, and takes his head back in a sack to the village elders and God's people are saved.

When I read this last night, this one passage really stuck out to me:

Jdt 8:8: "No one had a bad word to say about her, for she was a very God fearing woman."

I know that many times I say things that I shouldn't say at work or with friends, and I often wonder if people speak ill of me when I am not present.  I'm glad I read this passage so I can take it to prayer for me to know when to shut my mouth so I can evolve into the character of a God fearing woman.

Today I was driving around trying to get some errands done.  When I drive, I contemplate things and life.  I started thinking about Judith...  Oh, God had quite the field day with my heart and mind this morning!

Often, I avoid God's tug on my heart.  I don't know if a lot of people know this or not, but when I'm at Mass or before the Blessed Sacrament, I feel his presence very strongly in a physical way.  It moves me.  It tugs at me.  It calls to me.  But, I'm often fearful of where it will take me.  In the story of Judith, the Elders were afraid of what would happen to the people in the city, and therefore gave God an ultimatum to receive water and food or they would surrender.  Judith was not fearful.  She prayed.  She heard the voice of God and acted.  God, in turn, saved his people by her hand.

How often do I hear the voice of God and refuse to act?  How often am I fearful and ignore the call, tug and voice?  How much good could I be doing to help others if I would have acted?

Judith, pray for us!  Help us to be trusting and fearless.  Help me act when the Holy Spirit moves me.  Jesus, I trust in You!

B90

Today, I start the Bible in 90 Days Challenge.  A wonderful friend invited me to join their B90 group, and I was eager to say YES.  One slight problem, however...  The Bible in 90 Days Challenge programming is for a non-Catholic bible.  What's the problem, you ask?  Oh, just a little thing called the deuterocanonical texts, that's all.

If you break it down and if I want to read the Catholic bible in 90 days (which let's face it, I do!), then I have 7 more books of the bible to fit in these mere 90 days of intense reading.  Which books am I referring to?  That would be: Baruch, Judith, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees, Sirach, Tobit, and Wisdom.  If anyone has a great plan for me to fit these extra books into the structure of B90, now would be the time to share your expertise with me.

Don't get me wrong, I've read the Old Testament before when I was taking graduate level theology courses at Ave Maria University, but it was a quick read.  The reading required for those classes was so intense I couldn't keep up and ultimately dropped out of the program.  Maybe again someday...

I'd really like to read the Old Testament using the newest edition of the New American Bible, but I'm torn between that and the RSV Catholic Edition by Ignatius, which was required reading for courses in theology.  But, honestly, I'm leaning towards my NAB "The Catholic Study Bible" because I can reread the introduction materials for each book, giving a great reference point.  Maybe I have too many bibles...

Anyway, I will be blogging about my reading, impressions, frustrations, new insights, and whatever else may surface.  Get ready bible, here I come!

Book Review: unPlanned

Usually, I do not read an entire book from cover to cover in 24 hours unless it is part of the Twilight Saga or Harry Potter Series.  I typically read about 10 books at a time, rotating my interest between how I am feeling each day.  This weekend, however, I read an entire book in 24 hours.  It was unPlanned by Abby Johnson.

I love biographies.  I think it has to do that I'm fascinated with hearing a person's story.  My former business colleague and professor, Tom Conran, ignited a fire in me to listen to each person's story and to strive to be a great storyteller.

Tom Conran

So, on with the book review!  UnPlanned was a little different than I anticipated.  I knew it was a book with a pro-life and christian message, but I didn't expect to get so drawn into a story line with a main character who was through most of the book very pro-choice and pro-planned parenthood.  Yet, I was engaged from the very beginning.  While reading, I felt like I was experiencing the transformation and change of heart with Abby, and it was a bit emotional.

Overall a great read, no matter your stance on Planned Parenthood or abortion.  In fact, if you are pro-choice, I challenge you to read this book.  You might be surprised.

bibliophile

I love to read. I find that I don't make enough time each day to read what I want to. And, starting next week, I will probably force myself to read textbooks instead of a great pick off of my to read list. Here's what I did in the late afternoon / early evening tonight.

And, yes, my hair looked that crazy. Laying in bed reading something that helps me become a better person with a pen or pencil in hand is one of my favorite activities.

This book is interesting, and if anything, it is a good review of information. I found myself chuckling at the parts teaching you how to "be a good listener." Sure sounded a lot like all the counseling classes I have taken in the past! Reflective statements, checking for understanding, empathy...oh yeah, baby.

On another lovely note, that trip to Europe that is heavy on my mind continues to poke at my heart saying: GO! JUST GO! I feel like that voice inside me, deep down, is screaming it: GOOO!

Shiny

I am admittedly not the neatest person in the world. My home at the current moment is barely livable to me, and I'm going to attack that problem tomorrow. But I must say that there is nothing like having the cleanest, shiniest car in the parking lot. When I purchased my new car in October, part of the deal was free car washes for life at the dealership. My last car was rarely washed. It was silver and the dirt blended nicely with the paint job. Well, I now have a black car, and with the recent snow my black beauty was so dirty I could barely touch it and stay clean. I knew that if I went to the dealer on a Saturday there would be a wait for the car wash. When I pulled in, the nice, cute maintenance guy said it would take an hour and thirty minutes. It was a little longer than I anticipated, but I was prepared with a book to read. Thankfully, it only took an hour. I think I had forgotten how shiny and pretty the car looks when clean, and I felt so proud and happy with my newly clean car. Yay.

While I was waiting, I started reading my new book, "The Five Love Languages: Singles Edition." Most people have heard of the original book, but the new singles edition came out in paperback in 2009 so I broke down and purchased it. I have heard countless references to it and I thought it might be a good read.

Well, it's a fast read. I'm typically a slow reader, but in that hour at the car dealership I read 70 pages. And although I haven't read anything that put all this information linked together, so far everything is a review. I'm hoping to finish the book over this lovely three-day weekend so I can move on to something else before my classes begin on January 25th.

Speaking of classes, I'm hoping I'm not setting myself up for failure this semester. After registering last semester for 15 credit hours and 6 classes, I ended up dropping one class and fumbling through another. So in the fall I completed 12 hours, 5 classes. This semester I'm a little less ambitious with 4 classes and 11 credit hours. Keep in mind that this is while I'm working full time! Three of the classes are undergraduate teacher certification courses while one course is an upper 500 level course on assessment and achievement testing. But the upper level course doesn't mean it will be more work. I have recently decided that undergraduate classes require more "work" than graduate courses. I know, I know, that doesn't really make sense, right? It makes sense to me. Undergraduate classes require more "busywork." Do this, do that...blah. Graduate courses have assignments that are more thought provoking and usually have more real world value to me. Usually. I hope this course has enough new information for me that it holds my attention.

Other than that loveliness, I had a great evening of watching another girlie romantic comedy: "Music & Lyrics." I'm sorry, but I really love that movie! The music and romance...oh so cute.

I must get to sleep...lots of cleaning and crafting to be had tomorrow! Thank you, Lord, for a day of productive errands and relaxing, girlie movie time. My romantic dreamer was happy today.