Gossip and Dictionaries

I'm reading a book my mom gave me: Open Secrets: A Spiritual Journey Through A Country Church. I get a kick out of how the author pokes a little fun at himself--he has a PhD in Theology and comes to a little country church for his first call. He thinks rather highly of himself. His father points out that a 28 all he's done is go to school, he's never worked, he's married and has a child coming--yet, he's not accepting the call from this little church in New Cana, IL- it's time to get to it! Richard (the 28 year old in question) doesn't want to come right out and say that he's waiting for something better, yet that's what it is. Anyway, he does end up in New Cana, and for all his book learning, he learns much more about his own inadequacies, and about you know, real people, than you can learn from reading a book and being in class. What does this have to do with gossip? Well, he has a chapter called "Gossiping the Gospel":

"The word gossip originally implied a spiritual relationship. A gossip was a sponsor at a baptism, one who spoke on behalf of the child and who would provide spiritual guidance to the child as it grew in years. A gossip was your godmother or godfather. Gossiping was speech within the community of the baptized. . .Gossip is the community's way of conducting moral discourse and, in an oddly indirect way, of forgiving old offenses. In our town all desires were known, no secrets were hid, and every heart was an open book. Every life was gossiped by all, and all were gossips."

Isn't that just fascinating? I had to look it up in the dictionary to make sure he was really telling the truth! It's almost as this definition has disappeared from our culture.

I recently had a conversation with a friend who was excited about how her students were using their dictionaries, and how excited they were to consider words and their meanings. Wouldn't it be great if we got back to that sort of rich language, in our writing and in our vocabulary. The only time I really use a dictionary is during Bible study. Almost every time the definition takes me deeper into the passage I'm studying. I need to do more of this in my recreational reading. Usually, I'm in a hurry to absorb the story, and don't want to take the time. I need to learn to slow down--perhaps I'll find the story will have more depth and meaning for me if I do.

The Middle Place by Kelly Corrigan

This is our Book Club book for June. It is a great story about life, finding yourself, falling in love, dealing with cancer, and family--not necessarily in that order. If you go to her website, , and listen to the trailer, you will get a real sense of her voice. What is "The Middle Place"? It's about being a parent and a child at the same time. It's a place we will (God willing) be for an extended time in our lives. I can't imagine anyone not liking this book. Also watch her video "Transcending", it may bring tears to your eyes!

I have been so lucky in the books I'm reading lately--hopefully this will continue!

The Writing On My Forehead

What a good book. The Writing On My Forehead by Nafisa Haji is the story of an Indo-Pakistani girl living in the United States. The main character, Saira is an inquisitive child, the kind who gets into trouble because of her curiosity. The story is about being that kind of person, in a world that is structured by cultural expectations, including arranged marriages. It involves her growing into herself as an independent American and a daughter of an Indo-Pakistani family. She is the kind of woman you root for, and the ending of the story was a surprise to me, I didn't get that "aha" moment till the very last pages. I highly recommend it and give it a 5!

Child Witch Hunts in Africa

Have you seen this story (http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=7658899)?
Be warned, it is sad and horrible. It distresses me that this is going on in the name of Jesus. It amazes me that a country has laws about witchcraft. It hurts me what they are doing to children.

The Earth Hums in B Flat

The author of The Earth Hums in B Flat is 62 years old, this is her first novel. I love that! Gwenni can fly -- she flies over her village, and hears the Earth's music,but also discovers secrets. Will the secrets hurt or help her and her family. I love Gwenni's voice, and how her "oddness" that her mom finds so disturbing is considered quaint by her neighbors. Gwenni wants to be a detective, but the police officer tells her:

"Detecting isn't a suitable job for a woman, Gwenni" he says. But he won't' tell me why it isn't. Maybe he doesn't know.

That made me laugh. So many things aren't suitable in life, but who's to say why they're not. We always act as though suitable is so desirable, don't we!?

Gwenni flies at night, but is always striving to fly while she's wide awake. I had a dream once that I was flying. It was so real that I'm not convinced that it wasn't real! It was though I had no burdens, nothing to weigh me down--such a sense of contentment and well being. I am always wishing I can repeat that dream.

Gwenni's flying doesn't always bring her a sense of well being, sometimes it scares her, but still, she doesn't want to lose it. She says:

"Up here, far away from everybody, the night is peaceful; there's no sound except the hum of the Earth. . . Mr. Hughes Music said it was B flat . . . But he doesn't know how the Earth's deep, never-ending note clothes me in rainbow colours, fills my head with all the books ever written, and feeds me with the smell of Mrs. Sargent's famous vanilla biscuits . . ."

A Book to Make Friends With

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is a 5 in my view. What a great book. I would take just about every character in this book as a friend in my real world. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is the name of a book club that was created to protect its members from arrest by the Germans. As a result, people who were not readers were "forced" to begin to read books and talk about them with their neighbors. The main character, Juliet, finds out about this club through a correspondence she begins with one of it's members. It is an engaging and charming book, the kind that you savor as you read it, and, for me anyway, one that is worth re-reading. These non-readers meet authors that they learn from, and some begin on a journey of reading that was never part of their life before. In her correspondance Juliet says "That's what I love about reading: one tiny thing will interest you in a book, and that tiny thing will lead you onto another book, and another bit there will lead you onto a third book. It's all geometrically progressive--all with no end in sight, and for no other reason than enjoyment." I couldn't have said it better myself. Isola, a member of the society says: "I didn't like Wuthering Heights at first, but the minute that specter, Cathy, scrabbled her bony fingers on the window glass--I was grasped by the throat and could not let go." I'm so glad that I wasn't an adult when I first was "grabbed by the throat" by a book. As Juliet carries on her correspondence with the society, each one shares with her the book they read, and their thoughts on it. In this way you feel you get to know them intimately, and long to know more about them. Their thoughts about their island home being occupied by Germans provoke you to consider how you treat all people, not just the ones you like. Even in hard situations, even when a whole people seems evil, there are some that stand out as decent human beings. In short, I find nothing not to like in this book. It would be a great present for a friend, or an addition to a library.

Do You Think Elizabeth Bennet Didn't Like Making Love to Darcy?

I mean who can really believe that! Yet, in Colleen McCullough's new book "The Independence of Miss Mary Bennet", that is what she leads us to believe. Although this book is about the youngest sister, Mary, I picked it up to see what the author did with Elizabeth and Darcy. This is really a silly romance novel disguised to entice us by the title and our curiosity about Darcy and Elizabeth. I can't really say that I read this book, but I did skim it really fast so I could see what she did with the characters. It was disappointing. I mean, who can believe that Elizabeth would be disappointed in her marriage, and that the servants all don't like Darcy because he's cold and stern. I mean, come on, in Pride and Prejudice we learned the servants said he was one of the kindest, most generous people they knew. (On a side note here, how disappointing that when I went to pick up the link at BN the first page and a half was all movies, not even the actual book!) The story itself is a little fantastic, Mary was plain, now she's beautiful. Although beautiful, and more intelligent than in Pride and Prejudice, she isn't very smart in a practical sense. Then of course she does fall in love and into bed with her future husband before they get married, just like in any sordid romance novel. Fortunately, things do work out better for Elizabeth and Darcy, now he understands that he just needed to take his time and coax her into enjoying the intimacy of marriage. Ugh. I just really don't recommend this book. On another side note, Lara - I just can't believe you've never read Pride and Prejudice, THAT book, I highly recommend. This book, I can only rate as a 1.

Advance Review Library Book Results

I did pretty good! Not one book was smarmy, my word for predictable romantic fiction, avoidable at all costs. Here are my ratings, one being bad and 5 being excellent.

A Flickering Light by Jane Kirkpatrick: 3
I really like Jane Kirkpatrick, so this book was a little disappointing to me. I really liked her Love to Water my Soul, A Gathering of Finches and Mystic Sweet Communion. This story, about a girl from the 1900's with a love of photography and an attraction to her married male employer just didn't quite do it for me. Her A Simple Gift of Comfort: Healing Words for Difficult Times is a lovely gift for someone who is struggling in life.

Drawing in the Dust by Zoe Klein: 5
This books was so good. I loved that the author is a woman rabbi and knows her Bible so well. She took her Bible knowledge, used her imagination and created an intriguing story. Page, an american archeologist uncovers the bones of the prophet Jeremiah under the haunted home of an Arab couple. Jeremiah's bones are not alone however, they are wrapped around the bones of the mysterious Anatiya who has written a scroll about her parallel journey with Jeremiah. Naturally Page is on a journey of her own. She is always looking for Elijah in the bones that she uncovers as an archeologist, so she misses the story of the bones. Her colleague, Mortechai, says "it is sad for the bones you find. That they are trying to tell you their story, and you are mad at them for obeying God's order. They still have magic Page. You only have to be open to meeting them on their terms. . . Bones are intimate. Even your lover never touches them. They are an ivory relief of an actual life, a physical record of journeys braved, wars fought, loves entangled."

Healing Waters by Nancy Rue and Stephen Arterburn: 3
This is a christian fiction book, which is better than average. It's the story of a beautiful woman in charge of a Christian ministry where they trust God to heal everything. She becomes tragically burned and at first believes God will heal her, and expects those around her to believe that as well. Her sister, who has struggles of her own, comes to care for her in the process learns to take care of herself. Her faith increases, while her burned and scarred sister's decreases.

The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son by Rupert Isaacson: 5
This book was so interesting. Can an autistic boy be healed by Shamans and horses? This family's journey into Mongolia to visit the healing shamans results in some big changes in their young son's behaviours. It's a fantastic journey - fantastic in the travels they made, and fantastic in the choices they made. Their young son has an affinity for horses, or at least, horses have an affinity for them, and this is how the journey begins. This is true, which makes it all the more fascinating.

Lace Makers of Glenmara by Heather Barbieri: 2
Did not like this story. I never really like stories where women sleep with men on their first meeting, and then wonder if it's love. . .

Bride of Frankenstein

No, this is not a book I've just read, rather, it's what I think I looked like prior to going to bed Friday night. After starting the week with a kidney stone and an emergency visit to the hospital on Tuesday morning, I ended the week at a sleep clinic. It was so strange sleeping in a "hotel room" without any other family members. I am so sad that I didn't bring my camera so you could have all had a view of what I looked like! About 15 wires attached to my scalp, more on my neck and chest, 2 on each of my legs, and monitors wrapped around my chest and abdomen, and some sort of tube thing similar to the oxygen tubes people wear in the hospital around my face and nostrils. I was a vision in loveliness! Then you lay down and lights out. Your technician's voice comes floating into the air--move your eyes to the right, to the left, up and down. Open your eyes, close your eyes, wiggle your toes, etc. Then you go to sleep, while they video and monitor you for the night. This freaked some of my friends out, but it didn't really bother me. Then at 6 "the voice" wakes you, it's time to get unhooked, shower and go home. It will be interesting to hear the results (2 weeks from now).