I’m reading a diverse list this week:

Word Painting by Rebecca McClanahan

What I think
This book is REALLY helpful and I thank Amy Mackinnon and the Writer’s Group blog for recommending it. It’s just what I needed to calm my very worried and angst-ridden mind as I pondered how to proceed forward with my work in progress revision.

The Earth Hums In B Flat by Mari Strachan

What I think
An interesting premise and one that I will report back on. This is an assigned book review for Bookbrowse.

and reviewing a pile of Susan Wise Bauer books. Why? It reminds me that there is a purpose to all my hard work. I have some goals and many of them follow in Susan’s footsteps. (Only now I sound like a groupie.) Really, Susan is so inspiring to me. When I read something she’s written, I calm down.

Happy Friday, everyone! I am so glad it’s here.

For some research for the novel I’m writing, I’ve been loving this week spent with I. Lilias Trotter. Lilias Trotter was a missionary to Algeria in the late nineteenth century into the early twentieth century. She spent most of her life among the Muslims of North Africa, giving up a life spent for herself. Proclaimed by art critic John Ruskin as one of the potentially best artists of the nineteenth century, Trotter instead painted and wrote books about her experiences in North Africa.

Those books are almost impossible to find nowadays. About ten years ago, I found one on Abebooks.com, called Between the Desert & The Sea, but her most famous (made so by Elisabeth Elliot’s continued writings about Trotter in Elliot’s own books), Parables of the Cross, has been almost unfindable. Imagine my surprise this week when I went looking for it and found it in the UK, for less than I paid for Between the Desert and the Sea. It’s on it’s way and I cannot wait.

Anyway, so a small press has reprinted Parables of the Cross.

What I think
This is a great way for everyone to be able to read the wonderful book that Trotter wrote, and that Elisabeth Elliot then introduced to the world. I love it. Trotter served overseas for over 38 years where she also died. Just an amazing woman.

Then her biography, A Passion for the Impossible, by Miriam Huffman Rockness, is a great introduction to Lilias’ life and work.

What I think
Her story is inspiring to me in that she was perfectly content where God placed her. True, she could have had the art world at her feet, but that wasn’t where she was supposed to be. It reminded me that even though I press forward with my writing and my plans, if it isn’t what I’m supposed to be doing, I don’t want it.

Not that I’m giving up my dreams (for those who aren’t entirely sure the will of God is something you want to follow, I understand where you’re coming from). I will still work for them, however, having faith that those dreams will come true doesn’t mean hanging on to MY VISION of how I think that will happen, but relinquishing control to God (for you, it may be relinquishing control to the universe, karma, whatever you believe) so that I’m not left waiting for a certain thing to happen and thus miss the other better thing that comes (often how God works in my life; your mileage may vary).

Anyway, great week with Lilias and I’m so glad her approach to life and to the world will be present in my novel, folded into a character that very quietly, almost silently, influences the story for the good of everyone involved.

Have a great weekend!

Are we really at the end of the month already? Goodness. That month just disappeared.

I’m finishing up Cutting for Stone (reviewed in this post; going nice and slow so that it doesn’t end too soon), but I also found a couple books that I’m loving this week. Completely different too.

In the Lost City of Z, author David Grann has taken me on a trip to the Amazon, to a world full of plants and animals determined to maim and destroy human beings, and to an almost-100 year old mystery of an explorer lost in that jungle. Fawcett, who left in 1925 and was never seen again, was the expert on the Amazon. His disappearance fueled endless speculation and myth about exactly what happened.

From Publishers Weekly,

In 1925, renowned British explorer Col. Percy Harrison Fawcett embarked on a much publicized search to find the city of Z, site of an ancient Amazonian civilization that may or may not have existed. Fawcett, along with his grown son Jack, never returned, but that didn’t stop countless others, including actors, college professors and well-funded explorers from venturing into the jungle to find Fawcett or the city. Among the wannabe explorers is Grann, a staff writer for the New Yorker, who has bad eyes and a worse sense of direction. He became interested in Fawcett while researching another story, eventually venturing into the Amazon to satisfy his all-consuming curiosity about the explorer and his fatal mission. Largely about Fawcett, the book examines the stranglehold of passion as Grann’s vigorous research mirrors Fawcett’s obsession with uncovering the mysteries of the jungle. By interweaving the great story of Fawcett with his own investigative escapades in South America and Britain, Grann provides an in-depth, captivating character study that has the relentless energy of a classic adventure tale.

Schwartz’s book, The Magic of Thinking Big is not new, but J.D. over at Get Rich Slowly said he was reading this book recently and enjoying it, so I went looking for it on my bookshelf.

Amazon.com writes,

Millions of people throughout the world have improved their lives using The Magic of Thinking Big. Dr. David J. Schwartz, long regarded as one of the foremost experts on motivation, will help you sell better, manage better, earn more money, and — most important of all — find greater happiness and peace of mind.

The Magic of Thinking Big gives you useful methods, not empty promises. Dr. Schwartz presents a carefully designed program for getting the most out of your job, your marriage and family life, and your community. He proves that you don’t need to be an intellectual or have innate talent to attain great success and satisfaction — but you do need to learn and understand the habit of thinking and behaving in ways that will get you there. This book gives you those secrets!

* Believe You Can Succeed and You Will
* Cure Yourself of the Fear of Failure
* Build Confidence and Destroy Fear
* Think and Dream Creatively
* You Are What You Think You Are
* Make Your Attitudes Your Allies
* Learn How to Think Positively
* Turn Defeat into Victory
* Use Goals to Help You Grow
* Think Like a Leader

What do I think

Reading both books at the same time is a bit of a juggle. I’m reminded to “know thyself” while reading City of Z (the ancient Greeks believed that “know thyself” meant to know your limits, that you were human and not a god) and in an entirely different approach in Magic of Thinking Big, to “know thyself,” which in essence means to search inside myself to accomplish great things. The latter belief is also how we all ended up thinking that we should search inside long and deep in order to attain satisfaction. Blech. That’s not really that fun.

I subscribe to the ancient Greek thinking on that phrase, however (it’s a warning to my limitations) and I agree with Elizabeth Gilbert’s fine assessment on the writing process seen in this excellent YouTube video: (it’s worth watching all the way through)

Have a great weekend!

I’ve spent delightful hours this week inhaling Cutting For Stone by Abraham Verghese. A proper review (it is part of my 100 books series) is forthcoming in days to come.

I’m working on a review for Thomas Nelson Publishers on Hank Hanegraaff’s update on his famous book (out March 3, 2009), Christianity in Crisis: 21st Century.

From the book:

“Having lost the ability to think biblically, postmodern Christians are being transformed from cultural change agents and initiators into cultural conformists and imitators. Pop culture beckons, and postmodern Christians have taken the bait. As a result, the biblical model of faith has given way to an increasingly bizarre array of fads and formulas.”

Plus, I finished my review of Eve by Elissa Elliott a few weeks ago, but I don’t think I mentioned the book on the blog.

From Publishers Weekly,

Elliott reimagines the story of Adam and Eve in a debut novel that richly evokes earliest biblical times. The story is told from the points of view of Eve and her daughters: Naava, the beautiful weaver; Aya, the quick-witted, club-footed cook; and Dara, the compassionate observant twin. Eve recounts the fall and how she and Adam wander until settling down to grow crops, raise livestock and start a garden of their own. Elliott offers readers vivid details about the first childbirth, the first intercourse, the first recriminations, the first environmental calamity and the first hunt, but the novel really comes alive when it departs from lushly imagined retelling and thrusts the family into unfamiliar territory when the brood encounters a city and city people. Elliott is at her imaginative and linguistic best describing city life, customs and architecture, building tension as Naava falls for a prince, fueling Cain’s wrath. Elliott makes biblical fiction her own with a female perspective that emphasizes emotional turmoil, sensual experience and an impressive range of imagery that brings to life daily life in the beginning.

What did I think?
I was blown away. I will always love the Genesis story as one of the most beautiful, heart-wrenching stories of humankind. I have always wanted to know what it was like to walk out of the garden and into the world beyond. What did the angel with the flaming sword look like? What was the outside world like? How did they survive? Elliott’s imagery did not disappoint and I felt as if I knew the story better after reading this book. Not a book for the faint of heart, as there is plenty of heartache, strong scenes of licentiousness, but you do feel the longing of all humans to “go home” permeated throughout. It made me want to go work in my garden.

Happy Friday! I’m celebrating. My team on the day job finished a huge project a week early and we are all feeling good!

Believe it or not, I’m in the middle of two more books that are really good. Tony Hillerman’s SkinWalkers (may he rest in peace) and Abraham Verghese’s Cutting for Stone. The latter is 560 pages, so “luckily” I have the flu and a three-day weekend to just curl up and read.

Here’s the scoop:

Publisher’s Weekly writes,

“Vibrant with the spirit of the Navajo people of the Southwest,
Hillerman’s new [not new to 2009] story is a spellbinder, like his Edgar Winner Dance
Hall of the Dead and other praised novels. Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee of
the tribal police work together here, trying to solve crimes that
resist logic. There are no clues to three homicides or to the attempted
murder of Chee. Leaphorn thinks a “skinwalker,” or witch, could have
attacked the victims, all adherents of shamanism, as they are otherwise
unrelated. The skinwalkers represent a schism between witchcraft and
the traditional Navajo Way. A second attempt on Chee bolsters
Leaphorn’s suspicion since Chee is an aspiring shaman. The story
gathers momentum and tension as the partners get closer to the moment
when the murderer comes into the open, and the tragic reason for the
crimes becomes painfully clear.”

Publisher’s Weekly writes,

“Lauded for his sensitive memoir (My Own Country) about his time
as a doctor in eastern Tennessee at the onset of the AIDS epidemic in
the 80s, Verghese turns his formidable talents to fiction, mining his
own life and experiences in a magnificent, sweeping novel that moves
from India to Ethiopia to an inner-city hospital in New York City over
decades and generations. Sister Mary Joseph Praise, a devout young nun,
leaves the south Indian state of Kerala in 1947 for a missionary post
in Yemen. During the arduous sea voyage, she saves the life of an
English doctor bound for Ethiopia, Thomas Stone, who becomes a key
player in her destiny when they meet up again at Missing Hospital in
Addis Ababa. Seven years later, Sister Praise dies birthing twin boys:
Shiva and Marion, the latter narrating his own and his brothers long,
dramatic, biblical story set against the backdrop of political turmoil
in Ethiopia, the life of the hospital compound in which they grow up
and the love story of their adopted parents, both doctors at Missing.
The boys become doctors as well and Vergheses weaving of the practice
of medicine into the narrative is fascinating even as the story bobs
and weaves with the power and coincidences of the best 19th-century
novel.”

So, yes, I loved American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld. Still buzzing a bit from it actually. It was a huge help to my own writing and I can’t stop thinking about the real-life person it was based on. It’s fascinating to me too (I can see why Sittenfeld felt compelled to write the book) and I applaud the author’s ability to take real-life people and create alter-egos (that may very well be true) to show us just what might be going on behind the scenes. Now I deeply respect Laura Bush, but the rub is that marriage does sometimes create a new person from the two people who were once individuals. And sometimes marriage becomes more about one person than about the other.

In my marriage, I feel that often I can be a larger presence than my husband. My personality is such that I can talk a hind leg off a donkey and I have very strong personal opinions. Sometimes I worry about it and I try to find opportunities to hold myself back so my hubby can express his opinions. I needn’t worry. He can handle everything I’ve got and more. Just as I pull back, he will give me that look and actually encourage me to talk more. It doesn’t faze him in the least. From my husband, I get a respect that I have my own brain, not attached to his, not less important than his, but one that can get all the way ahead without help from anyone (save God’s grace). Do you know how freeing that is?

I kept shaking my head as I read American Wife. I understand how the main character fell so hard for Charlie Blackwell. I fell hard for my own man. And perhaps because he’s not president, my hubby could care less if I go off on a tangent that he completely disagrees with. He often reminds me as he’s expressing an opinion, “You don’t agree with this” or “You are not his biggest fan, I know” as a matter-of-fact opinion that doesn’t scare him in the least. He may not always get the last word, but in my heart, his word really matters. In his quiet way, I get from him what Alice Lindgren Blackwell does not get from her husband. I get to keep myself, without disappearing, without morphing into this new “married” person.

It’s the quiet ones that are the strongest, and I think that’s what Sittenfeld’s book showed me. Just because my perception of Laura Bush is as a quiet, strong supporting figure to the Bush doctrine (whatever definition we choose; I think there are like four or five out there) doesn’t mean it’s the truth. It doesn’t scare me to think that Laura herself may have completely opposite opinions of our country’s chase for WMDs or that she is 100% against the bedrock of the GOP’s social mantra. What this book did for me was to take an unlikable sissy and rather unsure of herself character and create a powerhouse. I am fascinated by people who hold opinions for their entire lives, never shaken, never faltering. I believe Curtis Sittenfeld did Laura Bush a true service, even if she got one or two events wrong. I think Laura is stronger than I have even thought she was and I respect her even more. It takes guts to stand beside someone who makes mistakes in their life, and even more guts when those mistakes are howled at by the world and by at least 50% of our country (quite possible a lot more; check out his approval ratings). A wild goose chase after WMDs is one thing; a war in two countries that chased its own tail for a few years and sacrificed too many lives is quite another. The question that came to my mind: what would I do?

Before I throw any stones at glass houses, I keep that in mind. And pray Michelle Obama and Cindy McCain much grace.

In honor of the political season, I’m not reading political books. But I am reading a few others.

The Post-American World by Fareed Zakaria was one of those books I was going to avoid until someone told me “Read this, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.” And I like it. A very positive outlook on the rise of the rest of the world (not our decline mind you) and how it will impact our planet. Very interesting. I like this stuff.

Coraline by Neil Gaiman was really freaky delicious. I don’t think I can watch the movie though, because just his description of the “other mother’s black sparkling button eyes” freaked me out. Incredible story, I love the heroine’s spunk. I love the picture of a modern English family (parents both work from home). Great read. This one should be vetted by parents of kids younger than 8.

Patron Saint of Butterflies by Cecelia Galante is an incredible book. I got this pressed into my hand by a writing buddy and I was instantly swept away into Honey and Agnes’s world. I’ve been there before in some ways and never in other ways. Still, it was a powerful book and interesting because I’m meeting more and more children who had parents who were involved in cults and other similar religious orders who had hellish experiences. This book makes you realize how lucky you are to have had a normal, wonderful childhood.

ProBlogger by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett is one I read almost every day. Seriously, between the copyblogger.com web site and this book, I get new insights into doing a better job for my blogging clients (the number of which grew this week!). I started blogging without really knowing exactly how to do it. Got hired to blog and copied another popular blog at first and now, thanks to Darren, I think my blogging style has morphed into my own style. Fun! Highly recommend.

And last but not least (oh no) is The History of the Ancient World by Susan Wise Bauer. This is a massive read. I’m determined to finish it before 2008 is up. I tend to read history in large swathes and then ponder. I then must reread what I already read to make sure I got it right in my head. Great book, worth the time. Can’t wait for the next in the series.

Have a great weekend everybody! Over and out.