Lady in Waiting

It has taken me a while to get to my next book review, but here it is! Lady in Waiting by Susan Meissner is two tales woven together as one.  The reader is first introduced to a modern-day Jane - a recent empty-nester and antique shop owner, who is shocked to find that her husband wants a break from their marriage after 22 years together. In the midst of her struggle to work through life's unexpected events, she finds an old ring that immediately intrigues her when she sees that it has a Latin inscription including her name, Jane, on the inside of the band.  After several chapters, the reader leaves modern-day Manhattan to travel to 16th century England, and is introduced to a young Jane, who is grieving the death of her benefactor, Queen Dowager Katherine, and struggling to find her new place in a life over which she has little control.

I must admit that I am generally not a fan of novels written in this format. It is frustrating for me to flip back and forth between two stories, never getting quite enough information in one story line before being forced to switch to a new one! At first, this book was frustrating for me in that way as well.  It also isn't clear how the two stories parallel until later in the novel, other than the obvious assumption that the ring found by the modern-day Jane once belonged to the 16th century Jane. However, this novel won me over.  By the time I cycled back to modern-day Jane, I was interested to see what would happen to her next, but what really held my interest in this story is the historical half of the tale. As a big fan of English history, I enjoyed seeing Meissner's speculations about what Lady Jane Grey's life might have been like.  So little is actually written about her, and I personally liked Meissners suppositions!  Also, toward the end of the novel I was able to see many parallels between the two lives - an aspect of the story that gave me reason to think.

Overall, I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys historical fiction. The author's imagination clearly shines in the historical sections of the story, even if I was not captivated by the modern sections.  For this reason, I give this novel 4 out of 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Totally Random Tuesday

• I didn't get up a Mini-Post Monday because I was too busy getting ready to go see Joanna!!!  Woo-Hoo!  I leave Thursday morning, and I cannot wait!
• My middle son turned five last week.  It just isn't possible! 

Ethan got to open two small gifts first thing on his birthday morning.  And, yes, Joanna, he is wearing an Ohio State shirt.  I didn't plan it that way, he just really likes this shirt! 

• The key to a successful 5 year old boy's birthday party is to over plan.  Otherwise, much wrestling ensues.

Notice how neither of the girls that were invited to the party participated in this activity...I let them be a bit more rowdy than our normal house rules allow since it was a birthday party and all.  And look at the smiles - they had a blast.
• My big boys now have the nicest floors in the house.  Jerry finished putting down Hickory hard wood floors in their room since we had to throw out the carpet after the melting snow leaked in and caused mold to grow everywhere.  I wish I could put it everywhere - it is so beautiful!!!  They love it because they can slip and slide across the floor now.  Hours of entertainment, I tell you!

Ooh, aah!  Isn't it lovely?
• It is ant swarm season.  I hate ant swarm season.  Since none of our windows actually fit well enough to keep ants out, we kill tons of ants every day.  These are huge winged ants, too.  During the height of it, the one window they prefer to swarm will have hundreds of them each day.  We spray around the inside of that window, so they're dead as soon as they come in, but still!  I don't really like vacuuming up hundreds of huge, winged ants every day.
• Joanna asked what the asterisks marks by some of the books in my reading list were, so I thought I'd post that just in case anyone else was wondering.  Toward the end of last year, I challenged myself to break out of the reading mold I am most comfortable in and start reading more noteworthy books.  I rarely read non-fiction, and I want to read more classic literature so I can be better prepared to go back to school for my Master's degree someday (big dream...may not happen, but a girl can dream, right?).  I decided it might motivate me if I could actually see the distinction in my list, so each book with asterisks is either non-fiction or of some literary significance.  I am interested in pursuing a children's literature degree so I am trying to read through all the Newberry award winners, and then the others are considered "classics" by the powers that be.  There.  Now you all know.  Don't you feel better?

Andrew gets this super smile every time I give him an oatmeal cookie.  I think I'm packing 10 of  these for the plane ride to Joanna's house...
• I prefer peanut butter with chocolate over any other chocolate combination I can think of.
• I need some coffee.  Strong coffee.
• I need some ideas for how to celebrate my birthday next month.  How does one celebrate the big 33?  Send any and all ideas to my sweet husband, okay?
• Our allergies make birthday cakes pretty much out of the question, but it turns out that as long as the birthday "cake" item has some frosting and a candle, no one cares!  By the way, these allergy friendly oatmeal cookies are the best oatmeal cookies I've ever had!  Not all allergy foods are gross.

Mini Post Monday

Okay, so it is a bit late, but it is still Monday - so no comments from the peanut gallery, ya hear??

• I think Ethan has a future career as an inventor.  Tonight at dinner he said, "We should make a toy ear that when you push the button, ear wax comes out!"  Aaron and Jerry confirmed that they would buy that gross toy in a heartbeat, so I'm guessing it would be a big seller!

Ethan choosing out a toy at Toys R Us.
• Speaking of ears, my kids call Q-tips, "ear-picks."  Gee, with a name like that, I'm a bit scared to use them!
• Things I like hearing out of my child's mouth: "Dad, can you please move?  I'm trying to vacuum."

Jerry laying floor tile.
• The bathroom remodel has been all about laying tile this past week.  Jerry got down floor tile and got the custom tile we ordered up on the wall.  It looks awesome!

Our awesome custom wall tile.  This stuff looks sharp!
• It is fun to watch my kids develop their own personalities.  This last week we took the kids to Toys R Us to spend some Christmas money.  Ethan found something he liked, didn't care that it didn't use all his money or wasn't the "best" or "ultimate" or whatever.  He liked it, so he chose it.  Aaron, on the other hand, had to line up every Lego set he saw that he liked and was in his budget, then sit on the floor in front of them to ponder what would be the absolute perfect choice. 

Aaron studying his Lego choices.  He went with the Space Police set all the way to the left, if you want to know!
• One of my goals for 2009 was to read more books of literary significance.  I love to read, but I am admittedly in a rut when it comes to reading.  I like to read easy fiction.  I like a good romantic, historic, or action novel.  These are fun to read, but not challenging in any way.  I wanted to expand my literature selections to include non-fiction, "classic" literature (the kind that is found on recommended reading lists), and Newberry Award winning children's literature.  So how'd I do?  According to our side blog, I read 34 books this year.  Not bad.  Of those 34, 21 books fall into the "easy fiction" category.  I wish it had been half or less, but that still means that I read 13 books this year that probably wouldn't have been in my "read" pile last year.  Of those 13 books, 5 were non-fiction, including one biography.  This is a very new thing for me!  The remaining 8 were still fiction, but were "classics" or award-winning, or deeper "make you think" books.  My goal for 2010 is to make it half and half.

The big boys making no bake cookies - yum!
• We finally got Andrew a new car seat and switched him to forward facing.  When he was born, we got a bucket style seat that went up to 30 pounds, so he still fit in it until just before Christmas.  He really loves being able to see out the window now, though!

Although you wouldn't know it from the look on his face here, Andrew loves his new car seat!
• Remember the couple I told you about last week who died on Christmas Eve?  At their memorial service this past Saturday, the family walked in to "Pomp and Circumstance."  It turns out that my friend, Pat, always wanted her funeral to start off with that song because she saw her death as the "commencement" of her life with Christ in Heaven.  She knew because of her faith in Jesus, her death was not the end for her.  Isn't that a wonderful song for a funeral when you look at it that way?

All Shrugged Out

About three weeks ago I finished listening to Atlas Shrugged. (A big, big thank you to Marie for providing the option to listen rather than read! I never would have finished if reading were my only option.) I listened primarily when I was up nursing Andrew during the night, so I may have dozed off a time or two, but I think I heard most of it! :)

Have you finished it yet? Although I cannot say that I liked this book, I am glad that I "read" it if only to provide a humorous comparison each time Obama comes out with a new program and a new office to run said program. And truly, there needs to be something to laugh about as I watch my freedoms be ripped from my hands one at a time! I think that I would have enjoyed the book more if Rand had left out about a third of the book. I think it could have been easily condensed by at least a third without losing any of the plot and details important to the story line. Plus I felt like she wrote this book with a thesaurus in hand. Have you felt that way? I wish I could think of a specific example, but since I listened mostly at 4:00 AM, one eludes me just now, but it seemed like she would pick a big descriptive word from the book, use it three or four times in a paragraph, and then realize, "Oh, I've used that a few times now, I should find another "smart" word now!" Perhaps it was just my general frustration with the overly long descriptions of things having nothing to do with the actual plot that made me think this.

Even with those complaints, I do think I am glad I "read" this book. It made me think a bit more about what is going on around me politically, which is something I don't generally do on my own. Sadly, unless I try really hard, I do not usually pay attention to politics until they intrude upon my life in a way I cannot ignore. I think it is probably time for me to change that.

A Great Book

I have been doing some heavy reading lately. I have been reading summaries of scientific studies, books to learn about cooking in traditional methods, and two autobiographies. I am not one to normally read so much non-fiction, so this has all stretched me quite a bit mentally. However, it has been a good exercise for me because all four books I have read recently have been excellent! One of the autobiographies I read is Same Kind of Different As Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore. This is an awesome book and I recommend it highly! I enjoyed this book for many reasons. First of all, it is set in Ft. Worth, Texas, so it is right in my home stomping grounds! I can picture many of the places mentioned in this book. But beyond that, this book challenges the very way I think about acting out my faith and how I think about the homeless population in my area. I am ashamed to admit it, but often when I see a homeless person on the side of the road, I am not moved to compassion. I do not often think, "I need to show Jesus to this person." It has happened before that my response was like this and I helped the person or prayed for them, but more often than not I wonder what they did to end up that way. I tend to assume the worst about their character and become fearful for my safety, even if I have no reason to suspect the person to be violent. Anyway, this book is the story of a homeless man, his life, and his encounter with a woman who had a passion for showing God's love to those less fortunate than her. While reading this book, I laughed out loud, shed real tears, and grieved for my lack of compassion. I hope that you'll read this one - it is an excellent book!

Of Boys and Cats and...::snore::

So last Thursday I finished reading It's like this, cat by Emily Neville and I've been putting off my post reviewing it because I really found it to be a boring book. Granted the target audience of this book is pre-teen to young teen boys, but that is also the target audience for The Outsiders and I loved that book. This book follows a 14 year old boy through his life for about a year. Like most books targeted at this age group, it is a coming of age story in which the boy realizes that his dad is not so bad after all. It is set in New York City in the early 1960's so this boy's life is different from most any boy today in that times have changed so much since then! The boy, Dave, inherits a stray cat from a neighbor lady that rescues them and this cat becomes his constant side-kick. The story shows him maturing beyond his boyhood friends to more mature friends and going from thinking girls are a simple annoyance to having a bit of a girlfriend. There is only one point of high adventure, and it is not even for him, the protagonist, but for his neighbor lady! It is still central to him since it is a time that he gets to see his dad in a new light, but still, I was disappointed by that.

Even with all my negativity, this book has some redeeming factors. First of all, I think kids would enjoy it much more than me. It is really neat to see first hand what city life was like for a kid in the 60's. I am amazed that his mom lets him ride the subway from Manhattan to Coney Island and his bike to the Bronx. He goes all over the city, and as long as he is home for supper it is okay! How wonderful! Most kids cannot even do that in the suburbs anymore! I did some of that, but not even to that extent, and I am not sure I would let my kids do it! Also, it is set in the city. A lot of books for boys are set in the country in an idyllic type setting, which is unrealistic for most children. I think that will help a child relate to the main character. It was also clean and wholesome. It was written in 1963, when most authors weren't trying to gain teen readership by writing shocking and edgy stuff!

Even though it wasn't my favorite, I would still recommend this to a youngster. I probably wouldn't recommend it to a peer though.

It's Tough Being Esau

At least for Sara Louise it is.

I really enjoyed reading Jacob Have I Loved by Katherine Paterson. I didn't realize that she was the same author that wrote Bridge to Terabithia which I also enjoyed, although it has been 7 years since I read that in my children's lit class and I cannot say that I really remember what it was about...maybe it will be on my reading list too.

I usually enjoy a good "coming of age story" like this one and of course the protagonist is very sympathetic. You cannot help loving the girl who is out shined in every way by her younger twin sister. She is hardworking, honest, funny, and genuine. I found myself rooting for her to succeed, although I couldn't have guessed how she would have ended up all grown up. I was disappointed with her when her sister got to go away to school and she had to stay home, I felt her anger when her sister used her hand cream without asking. I really wanted Call to grow up and love her for real. But as it turns out, she ended up doing exactly what she was meant to do, being exactly where she was meant to be, and loving exactly who she was meant to love.

I just loved the comic relief provided by Wheeze's grandmother! Her constant rambling of inappropriate scripture cracked me up - mostly because I am not bearing the brunt of a similar weird, old woman. And I was so pleased that Sara Louise's father truly got her. It was like her one haven of hope at home - being out and understood by her dad. Everyone needs someone like that in their lives.

I love children's literature. This settles it. I won't be reading many adult books for a while. In fact, I've already started my next book...

A Different Kind of Book

Though it is not my normal type of book, curiosity caused me to buy and read 23 Minutes in Hell by Bill Wiese. It tells of his experience of spending 23 minutes in Hell after which time Jesus removed him from Hell and restored and comforted him and allowed him to ask some questions as to why he was allowed to have this experience before putting him back in his home. It is different from some other accounts of "Hell experiences" that I have heard of before in that Bill was a Christian already and he wasn't dead when he went. This wasn't a near death experience, rather he believes that God allowed him to be taken there in order to warn people that it is real and that time is short to come to Christ and avoid Hell forever.

There were several things about this book that I liked. First, Bill writes from a very humble point of view. He does not try to elevate himself because of his experience. Second, he provides scripture references to show where his experiences are supported by what is written in the Bible. Last, he includes excerpts from other people's accounts of similar experiences to show where his experience was the same or different from his.

But there were a few things about this book that leave me feeling skeptical. I wonder about God allowing one of His children to experience the horrors of Hell. He didn't get into scriptural references about that. It makes me wonder if the Bible ever talks about God temporarily abandoning one of His to Hell. Job comes to mind, but although Job was allowed to be tested by Satan for a time, he was never sent to Hell. I don't know if that makes a difference or not. The other thing is that there is no way to verify his experience. There were no lasting physical marks on his body, even though he describes his body being thoroughly broken by demons during his time in Hell. Granted, there is no physical proof of my salvation either. Hopefully there is a visible change in me that is obvious to those I come in contact with, but it is not like God tattoos each of us when we begin a relationship with him. So I am not sure that is a valid complaint.

Anyway, I am glad I read the book. It was a very fast read and it was interesting, too. I would recommend it, but maybe as more of a springboard into personal research in the Bible rather than as an authority on what Hell is actually like.

Quite an Odyssey

So I finished reading 2001: A Space Odyssey and I actually really enjoyed it. I was expecting to just make my way through it because it was on the list of classic books I wanted to read, but I was surprised at how interesting it really was. The beginning starts with "ancient man" through the evolutionary view. I found their theory that aliens gave the ape-men their leg up by showing them how to become men and leave the ape behind. For a while I wondered why that was even part of the storyline because it really didn't seem to fit, but it all comes together in the end. It was also really interesting to see what someone in 1968 thought life would be like in the year 2001, since I know what life actually was like in 2001! I was amazed at how much he had right, like some people living in space stations floating in space. However, the moon is not colonized and no one can just travel back and forth to locations throughout space. The thing I got the biggest kick out of was a section toward the beginning of the book. I thought that Ted Turner and Al Gore must have gotten their thought manuals straight out of the beginning of this book! Check out this section:

As long as he could remember, it had been not a "situation" so much as a
permanent crisis. Since the 1970's, the world had been dominated by two
problems which, ironically, tended to cancel each other out.

Though birth control was cheap, reliable, and endorsed by all the main
religions, it had come too late; the population of he world was now six billion -
a third of them in the Chinese Empire. Laws had even been passed in some
authoritarian societies limiting families to two children, but their enforcement
had proved impracticable. As a result, food was short in every country;
even the United States had meatless days, and widespread famine was predicted
within fifteen years, despite heroic efforts to farm the sea and to develop
synthetic food.

That just cracks me up! You know, he wasn't too far off on the total population, and China is only not a third of the worlds population because or their policy limiting families to one child only. That amazed me a bit!

Anyway, the ending was a bit weird for me, but still I enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone.

On another note, I originally started choosing the books I am reading based on lists of what is expected knowledge for a person entering a master's program in a literature field. I was thinking about a master's degree in a literature field because it would be so very marketable. However, every time I get a chance to work with children's literature, I realize that it is my first passion, over British or American literature. My children's literature class was the class I enjoyed most in my undergraduate studies. I think that it would be short-sighted of me to pursue a degree that wasn't my primary passion. I didn't want to say I would get my master's in children's literature, because many colleges do not have a children's literature professor, and the ones that do usually only have one. But, I could also work for a publisher or try my hand at writing. And really, it is going to be so long before I can even pursue another degree that it seems ridiculous to consider it now. The long and the short of it is that I am going to add classic children's literature to my list. I am going to start by reading every Newberry Award winning book since the first year it was established. I think I will enjoy that immensely and then whatever way I decide to go years and years from now, I will be prepared. I am almost done with my next book already, so I need to head back to the library for my next installment...

Thought For the Day

"All our days ebb away under your wrath;
our years die away like a sigh.
The span of our life is seventy years,
or if we are strong, eighty;
yet at best it is toil and sorrow,
over in a moment, and then we are gone.

Who grasps the power of your anger and wrath
to the degree that the fear due you should inspire?
So teach us to count our days,
so that we will be come wise.

Return, ADONAI! How long must it go on?
Take pity on your servants!
Fill us at daybreak with your love,
so that we can sing for joy as long as we live."

Psalm 90:9-14 Complete Jewish Bible


I don't really care for poetry all that much, but this is beautiful to me. I'd love to know Hebrew so I could read it in it original form.

This World of Ours

It seems like there have been so many disheartening things that I have read lately about homosexuality teaching in schools, neglect and abuse of children, and other evils in our world. It is so easy when all of this is right in my face to want to buy a secluded piece of land somewhere and hole up - protecting my children from the world. But I cannot really do this. Not only would my husband absolutely not support it, it is not practical for us and may also defeat the purpose God has for us here in this world. I have been taught that we are to be in the world, but not of the world. The is very hard at times, since the desires of the world are strong at times - but it is possible.

I started reading the book Escape by Carolyn Jessop. (I know, I know...I still haven't finished Mansfield Park. I got totally bogged down in the "should we allow this play, father would/wouldn't approve of this play..." section. Boring... I will finish it though.) It tells of her escape from the polygamist cult FLDS. It is particularly interesting to me in light of the 400 children who were recently removed from a FLDS sect here in Texas. It is constantly in the news. Anyway, she said something in the acknowledgments section that really sticks out to me. (Yes, I'm a dork. I even read dedications and introductions to books!) Anyway, one of the groups of people she acknowledges is the people who made it possible for her children to have Christmas the four years since she left FLDS. She says,

"The FLDS is constructed on a scaffolding of lies. We were all brainwashed into believing that everyone in the outside world was evil. Every Christmas, when I see the delight in my children as they unwrap presents from people they never met, I realize what a monstrous lie we were taught to believe."

Later, as she is describing the night she left, she talks about how she couldn't tell her children that they were actually leaving. They were so frightened. Once they figured it out, one of her daughters actually said she was taking them to hell.

Although I realize that this is an extreme situation in which these children were completely brainwashed, I see a warning here too. Am I making statements in which I am teaching my children to fear the world and all of the people who do not believe as I do? Or am I teaching them by example how to be in the world but not of it? Fear cannot be the answer. I know that fear is not from God, rather he is perfect love, and perfect love casts out fear. (I John 4:18) The Bible also has so much to say about being in this world. There is lots to say about not being drawn in by the world and not becoming like the world, but remaining pure and holy in the midst of the world. James 1:27 actually says not to become polluted by the world. I really like that wording. Even though we have to guard our hearts and minds and be responsible with our children, we still don't have to fear the world. The Bible also says that though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. (2 Cor. 10:3) The biggest reason I don't have to fear is that God is mighty! He goes before me and fights the battle for me, giving me the victory! (Deut. 20:4) It reminds me of one of my all time favorite verses, "You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." I John 4:4 I so badly wanted to end that verse with an exclamation point!!

I don't know if this will speak to anyone else the way it is speaking to me, but with all the yucky stuff I have heard lately, I needed to think on these things. I cannot fear. I cannot withdraw and teach my children (even if by default) that everyone in our world is evil and to be feared. Afterall, God loved this fallen world so much that he gave his own son to save it - which is far more than I would have done.

Reading List

I have to say that as much as I enjoy reading the Jane Austen books every year, I'm getting a wee bit tired of only reading those books every year. I decided that I am going to make a list of books that I am going to read this year. So, here it is. I'll add more as I figure out what I'm going to read.

- the Bible (One Year Bible plan)
- Because They Hate by Brigitte Gabriel
- Bamboozled by Anglea McGlowan
- Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey
- Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
- Family Driven Faith by Voddie Baucham
- A Midwife's Story by Penny Armstrong
- Fatal Misconception by Matthew Connelly
- Stupid Black Men: How To Play the Race Card - and Lose by Larry Elder
- The Christian Life and Character of the Civil Institutions of the United States by Benjamin F. Morris
- Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
- The Shack by William P. Young
- Left to Tell: Discovering God Amidst the Rwandan Holocaust by Immaculee Ilibagiza

Book Review: The Awakening by Kate Chopin

It has been a while since I said I would post my thoughts about this book, but I am finally getting to it! The Awakening follows the main character Edna Pontellier through her awakening to her inner desires. The book is set in New Orleans in a wealthy neighborhood. This was a time of social expectations. Women had nannies to take care of their children, cooks to take care of the kitchen, and general household staff to take care of all the other household duties. During the summer season, Edna and all her friends go away from the city to the shore and have a long "party-like" season together. During this time, Edna becomes infatuated with a younger, single man, Robert. It is also during this time that she realizes she doesn't have the same natural feelings toward her husband or children that the other women with her have. This causes her to question the established way of things. When the season is over and all the families return to the city, Edna refuses to return to the status quo. Her social etiquette dictates that on Tuesday's she is to remain home to receive social callers. Her husband is shocked when their first Tuesday home, she decides to go out on Tuesday without leaving an adequate excuse! Also shortly after their return to the city, Edna learns that Robert plans to leave the US completely to go to Mexico and pursue wealth there. This puts Edna in despair as she realizes that she love Robert. After he leaves, husband and wife begin to have more conflict as Edna refuses to be the woman she is expected to be. Mr. Pontellier copes by escaping to his club, and Mrs. Pontellier copes by turning to painting and pursuing a friendship with another woman who is on the edge socially. The conflict comes to a head when Edna refuses to go with the family to her sister's wedding. Her parents come to take her children and her husband goes without her to try to save face. For the first time, Edna feels free.

At this point, Edna begins to throw off any restraint. She throws herself into her art and begins to shamelessly pursue a relationship with a man known to be loose with women. Although she occasionally misses her children and sends them chocolates and a note, she continues to be glad she does not have the expected social pressures of her family. After a visit to her children, she decides to move out of her husbands home and rent a small house down the street. She also allows her relationship with her lover to become openly scandalous. Right at that time, Robert comes back because he cannot be apart from Edna any longer. He is determined not to allow his feelings for her lead to an affair, but she pursues him. They are on the brink of consummating their relationship, but she is called away by a friend in crisis. He promises to wait for her, but when she returns, he is gone. He leaves a note telling her that it is his love for her that will not allow him to stay and come between her and her husband. This is the final straw for Edna. She loses her will to live and commits suicide by swimming into the ocean to the point of exhaustion. She does think of her children in her final moments, but feels that they would be better off without her.

This is a depressing story. It goes so far against everything I believe and feel! Not only is there a lot of immorality, but this woman only feels free when she has shaken off everything that God has ordained for women. It also makes me sad that anyone would feel that suicide is the only way out. I think it is somewhat normal to occasionally have doubts about your life, but that God has provided comfort, guidance, and assurance through the Holy Spirit. I find that when I turn to God and devote myself to prayer, any doubts I am feeling are quickly gone as God reaffirms in me His plan for me. Regardless of the way I cannot relate to Edna, and cannot condone any of the morals in the book, I thought the book was well written from a literary standpoint and enjoyed the style of writing. If I wasn't an "English Nerd" though, I wouldn't have made it past a few chapters in this book!

To Drivel or Not To Drivel

I love to read (I've already read 8 books in 2008), but often times I gravitate toward mindless fiction. I generally stick to Christian fiction so I don't usually end up reading trash, but it isn't great literature by any stretch of the imagination. Then the things I pick up at the library - I've ended up with some real doosies. One of my dreams (probably after all my kids are no longer homeschooled - and since I'm clearly not even done having kids yet, this could be a while!) is to go back to school and get my masters, or even my PhD in some literary field. While I did really well in school, graduating summa cum laude with my BA in English, I know I have some real gaps in my knowledge. One of those major gaps, because of my tendency to read drivel, is that there are many, many classics I have not read. I did some research at various university web sites and found lists of both American and British literature that are recommended reading before entering a master's program. I decided that rather than check out mindless book after mindless book from the library, I would read through these lists. It's not that I don't think drivel has its place. Children's literature is full of it, and even though it doesn't teach the children much, it is very valuable for building vocabulary. For adults, it is a great way to relax. But I think I will require myself to finish a book of literary value before indulging in each mindless book this year.

For my first pick, just going down the list, I ended up with The Awakening by Kate Chopin. This actually cracks me up because this very happy to be a stay at home, homeschooling mom with extremely conservative views when it comes to marriage and family ended up starting her journey with one of the most controversial pieces of feminist literature of its time! Even though I completely disagreed with the book and its premise, I enjoyed reading it because it is very well written. It made me sad that this woman felt trapped in a loving marriage with loving children and saw desperate measures as her only way out. I am blessed to know that even on days I don't feel like it, my husband and my children are blessings. I don't know if you really want me to type many of my impressions of the book because a) I could be the only one alive interested in my impressions of this book, and b) if you ever wanted to read it, I would ruin the plot for you!

Even though I enjoyed The Awakening from a literary critique viewpoint, I am thankful to have just started Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. This is one of Austen's books that I have never read and it is a wonderful contrast to the book I just finished!