Category: Books

I read “A Single Shard” last week, and I have to say it was one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. It’s the story of a young boy in Korea called Tree Ear, who was dropped off by a river as an infant. He is raised by an old man, who lives under a bridge. Tree Ear becomes an apprentice to a potter, and the book follows his journey.

This book is everything that fiction should be: inspiring, exciting, emotional, and fulfilling. I feel like I’ve become a better person from reading this book. 10/10

I don’t have students on Fridays, so that gives me time to read in my classroom. Today I finished “The Egypt Game” by Zilpha Keattey Snyder. It’s a Newberry Honor book, and it was rather delightful to read.

Two young girls discover that they’re mutually fascinated by all things to do with Egypt, so they begin to play a pretend game where they imagine they’re Egyptian. Four other children join them, and the book follows their game. Fun read.

Turtles All the Way Down was recommended to me by Lauren, who told me it was the most influential book of 2017 for her. I can’t say it was quite an impactful for me (easily Daring Greatly) but it was educational and thought-provoking.

The premise is the main girl has debilitating OCD, which affects every aspect of her life. It was rather uncomfortable to read, because I kept wanted to say, “Gahhh just stop! Be normal!” But mental illness is not a choice; nobody wants to be controlled by his or her mind. But tragically millions of people are. Compassion is the answer.

For some reason I can’t get a photo of the cover of Till We Have Faces to load… So sorry about that.

Till We Have Faces was amazing.

It’s a retelling of the myth of Psyche and Cupid, and CS Lewis spins in all kinds of new levels of doctrinal insight and beauty. If you’re unfamiliar with this myth, the super watered-down version is Psyche is extremely beautiful, and the goddess Venus gets jealous, so she commands that Psyche be sacrificed to her son Cupid. But then Cupid falls in love with Psyche, but Psyche isn’t allowed to see his face. Then her sisters come to take her away, and they tell her she should light a lamp so she can see his face when he’s asleep. She does that, and he wakes up, and she is banished forever.

The main character of Till We Have Faces is Psyche’s sister Orual, who is not beautiful. The story is told by her, and it’s her journey of realizing that she doesn’t actually see anything the way it really is. We have to gain experience in order to see clearly, and won’t be able to really see anything until we “have faces,” or come to the other side and look back.

I was overcome with my deepened understanding of the doctrine of mercy after reading this book. Lewis is a master at teaching allegorically.

Great month for books!

DARING GREATLY, by Brene Brown

Just wow. Of all the books I’ve read, save the Book of Mormon, this book has been the most life-changing. I am so grateful for this book. A few key lessons:
1. Being brave is worth it, no matter the outcome.
2. The only opinions that matter are those of people with you on the field.
3. The antidote to foreboding joy (aka horriblizing) is gratitude

WORTH THE WRESTLE, by Sheri Dew

This book was also beautiful. The title comes from the story of Enos in the Book of Mormon, when he “[wrestles] with God” because of a question he has. The topic is timely, because the Church has begun encouraging questions more than ever. Although I don’t really have doctrinal questions, I do have questions about God’s plan for me. We can wrestle with Him about that too! He wants us to engage in the wrestle. It’s worth it.

The film of “The Glass Castle” recently came out, and due to my policy of always reading the book first, I obtained a copy and devoured it.

The Glass Castle is a memoir by Jeanette Walls about her life growing up with an alcoholic father and a slightly crazy mother. It’s pretty intense, and definitely not light or enjoyable. However, I found it informative, emotional, and in some ways beautiful. Life is hard, but the human spirit is capable of incredible resilience.

The movie was fine. I liked the book waaay better.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, I have a goal to reread everything I was forced to read in High School. This month I chose one of the first books we studied in 9th grade Honors English, and oh my goodness.

I remember liking it back in 2006, but the world sure was a different place a decade ago. Reading it in 2017 was an entirely different experience, and I think 100% of adults living in the US should read it before the year ends. I don’t think there could possibly be a more timely or important book, besides maybe the Book of Mormon. The issues discussed are SO RELEVANT today!!!! I literally thought racism was a problem of the past the first time I read it. Boy was I wrong.

This is a message that I think we would all do well to remember, brought to us by the ever-insightful Scout: “I think there’s just one type of folks: folks.” We’re all humans; all children of God. The color of our skin means nothing.

Reading this book again was a true joy, and it’s made it to my top 10 all-time faves.

Hi friends! So I’ve been MIA for the last month because I treated myself to a European trip (my first time!) as a reward for successfully finishing my first year of teaching. It was amazing, Finland was my favorite country, Europe>America, and I literally slept for 12 uninterrupted hours last night. It’s good to be back.

This particular trip afforded me with ample time in airports and on trains, which means I read quite a bit. The book I finished yesterday in the Reykjavik Airport is Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance– my dad’s favorite book. I now know why it’s his favorite.

The premise of this book is a father and son on a cross-country motorcycle trip. The father shares his thoughts on proper maintenance of motorcycles, which is actually a metaphor for our lives. He also discusses quality in depth. Really interesting.

I found myself silently sobbing to myself in the airport yesterday, surrounded by hundreds of people that had no idea about the journey I’d just taken. Books are like that. You finish, and it’s hard to believe that no one else knows what you’ve just experienced. Reading is the best.

Okay, so I actually started reading this book about 9 months ago, but I finally finished it this month! I guess that kind of makes it sound like a boring book, but it’s really not. It’s well-written, engaging, interesting, and practical. By that I mean it could literally change your life.

The premise of this book (as you’ll see from the cover) is the author, Gretchen Rubin, writes of her experience spending a year trying to be happier. She deliberately focuses on one aspect of happiness each month for a year. Fun read, good stuff.

Ugggggghhhhhhhh. I did not enjoy this book.

Catch 22 is a WWII novel, set on an island in the Mediterranean Ocean. It’s pretty much the story of Captain John Yossarian, and I don’t even have anything of substance to share. I don’t feel like I’ve been changed by reading this book, and I can’t say that I enjoyed any of it.

In summary: this is your warning. Read it if you so desire, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Okay, I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to read this book! It was first published in 2005, and I feel like I’ve been hearing about it every since. But for some reason I never got around to reading it… Until now!

Brief background: Miri is a young girl living with her father and sister on Mount Eskel. The king’s priests divine that someone from their small village will be the prince’s bride, so all the eligible young maidens are sent to an academy to learn how to be a princess.

What I loved: A ROCKSTAR FEMALE PROTAGONIST. Miri is everything I could hope for in a heroine. She’s flawed but still lovable, she’s got a boy but he’s not a big part of the story, she’s strong-willed and kind. Big fan.