books

Running Away to Home, La Bella Lingua, Dune, and the Woman Who Laughed at God

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I keep starting more books, and can’t seem to finish many of them. But here are a few reviews to start off the year:

Running Away to HomeRunning Away to Home by Jennifer Wilson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Having done a very similar thing myself, I enjoyed reading Jennifer Wilson’s account of how she took her family to the Czech Republic in search of her ancestors. I loved all the little details of their acceptance into her ancestral village, and how she and her suburban American family learned a different way of living and seeing the world. However, the book lacked a certain internal consistency and completeness.… Read more

King Arthur, Tolkien, Bells, the Dead Sea Scrolls, and the Pillars of Hercules

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

We spent our Saturday morning at a different  library (the central library for Kern County), and I had the feeling I often do when visiting a new library: that I would like to move in and live there forever, take possession of the whole, as it were, like a dragon reclining on his hoard of gold. As Patricia McKillip puts it in her latest novel of my acquaintance,

“The odd thing about people who had many books was how they always wanted more. Judd knew that about himself: just the sight of Ridley Dow’s books unpacked and stacked in corners, on the desk and dresser, made him discontent and greedy.

… Read more

Live Poets Society

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I can’t really say that I don’t remember a time when I didn’t love to write. Because I do remember that time, quite vividly in fact. I must have been seven or eight, and my mom tried everything to get me to write. Finally, she gave me an assignment to write a letter to the Tooth Fairy. I was supposed to explain how I had accidentally swallowed my loose tooth, and request the customary remuneration despite the absence of the actual article. I can still visualize the kiddie-lined paper with my cop-out missive written in large awkward letters and callously denying the very existence of that benevolent fairy:

Dear Mommy, Please bring me lots of money.

… Read more

Hunger Games, Jane Austen Revealed, and Whose Bible Is It?

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Well, I have a quite a cornucopia of books for you today. You’re welcome.

The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the first third of the book (before the Games start). Collins set the scene nicely for a thought-provoking and moving story. Unfortunately, the execution of that story left something to be desired. Much of the rest of the book read as a cross between a first person shooter video game and a reality show (with some corny teen love triangle stuff thrown in). The writing kept coming off as shallow when it was (presumably?)… Read more

My Favorite Homeschooling Books

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

This week I’ve been playing around in Goodreads. I have this problem with checking out books from the library, reading them, and then not being able to find them again when I want them. Goodreads keeps track of all the books I’ve read and whether I like them or not. And since lots of those books are available on Kindle now (have you checked out Amazon’s new book-lending program?) It’s kind of like my own virtual library.

Sometime when we have a house and I get all my books out of storage, I’ll reorganize my non-virtual library. But for now, my brain needs some help, and Goodreads is a great solution.… Read more

Avoiding Twaddle at the Library

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

When I was a kid, my mom would take the five of us to the library every week. Each child had a large plastic crate in his/her room for library books, which crates we took with us to the library when we went. With six library cards in the family and a limit of 20 books per card–well you can do the math for how many library books we went home with most weeks. The really hard days were the ones where the library computer system was down, and you could only check out five books on each card. It was like a mini version of “If you were stranded on a desert island .… Read more

The Other Wind, An Acceptable Time, and C.S. Lewis in Space

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Time for some more book reviews. These are some new books by old favorite authors. Some winners, but more losers.

The Other Wind (Earthsea Cycle, #6)The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read the first several books in this series (LeGuin’s Earthsea books) quite a while ago. They’re among the better fantasy that is available for young readers. The Other Wind is a lovely journey back to the world of the wizard Ged, the wise Tenar, and their daughter Tehanu (who is also a dragon). This is a mature LeGuin at her very best. I love how her characters have aged along with her.… Read more

Thor, The King’s Speech, and Amazing Grace

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

Well, how about some movie reviews? I don’t watch that many movies these days. I was far too spoilt when I lived in Provo and could watch artsy foreign films for free just down the street from my house. But I do suffer through trans-Atlantic flights from time to time, so I do occasionally watch movies. Even (fairly) new movies.

On the way home from Tunisia, I watched two out of three. Sorry, but if you want a review of Pirates of the Caribbean #17 (or whatever number it was), you’re out of luck.

I did, however, watch Thor. And found it seriously underwhelming.… Read more

Rough Stone Rolling, Mother Teresa, and Misquoting Jesus

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

I will probably never catch up with reviewing books now that I have a virtually unlimited supply of them, but I like to share at least my favorites with you.

Joseph Smith: Rough Stone RollingJoseph Smith: Rough Stone Rolling by Richard L. Bushman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I really cannot overstate how fascinating I found this book. Although as a Mormon I was fairly familiar with the general outlines of Joseph Smith’s life, this was the first real biography of him that I’d ever read. Self-categorized as a “cultural biography,” it paints a picture of the Prophet against the backdrop of other religious and philosophical thinkers and innovators of his day.… Read more

Conquering Trojans, Thorns, Aliens, Orsinia, and Sleeping Beauty

Sarah Bringhurst Familia

One of the things I told you I was looking forward to in the U.S. was unlimited books in English. I spent the first couple of weeks reading books off the shelves at my in-laws’ house. But my voracious (and long-suppressed) literary appetite soon called for more drastic measures; i.e. the public library. The first time we went, I made sure to bring my two pieces of mail with my address on them, but forgot my driver’s license, and was thus unable to get a library card. Fortunately, Grammy had brought hers, and lent it to us. Between the three of us (Axa, Raj, and I), we were with difficulty able to limit ourselves to the thirty books allowed at a time.… Read more