I Love Books and Memes.....But I Love Books More...

First off, thank you all so much with your helpful advise in the last post. I think I can handle tofu and maybe templates now.


I got tagged!! Maid of honor tagged me for this meme!!

1. The three most influential books in my life are:

Summer Of My German Soldier by Bette Greene. This was the first real grown up book that I can remember checking out of the library. I was with my grandmother (the crazy one) and she let me check it out of the library in Post Texas. I was around 12 at the time. I learned alot from it then and even more when I read it later in life. The part about irregular people have helped me to understand so many people in my life.

*In a perfect world, no one would have parents like Patty's, and no one would have to live through the neglect and injustice that made up her daily life. But the world is far from perfect and at least she had Ruth and Anton to love her and show her how things could be.

"He did love me," I said to Ruth. "And maybe one day my mother and father will too."
Ruth's eyes came level with mine and I could feel her resources rushing forward like front line soldiers to battle. "I ain't nevah `fore cast me no `spersions on other folks' folks," she said slowly, "but your folks ain't nevah gonna feel nothing good regarding you. And they ain't the number one best quality folks neither. They shore ain't. When I goes shoppin' and I sees the label stamped, `Irregular' or `Seconds', then I knows I won't have to pay so much for it. But you've got yourself some irregular seconds folks, and you've been paying more'n top dollar for them. So jest don't go a-wishing for what ain't nevah gonna be." pp. 191-192.

I watched her. It was like watching my very own life raft floating away towards the open sea. And yet somewhere in my mind's eye I thought I could see the faintest outline of land. Then it came to me that maybe that's the only thing life rafts are supposed to do. Taking the shipwrecked, not exactly to the land, but only in view of the land. The final mile being theirs alone to swim. p. 198.*

Now does that not just make a lot of sense?

A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving will remain my number one book of all times. I love this book and find new things in it each and every time I read it. Taught me that God does work in the details and is very aware of each and every thing that is going on...and that there is a reason.

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant. I fell in love with this book. I love the thread of strong woman and what they do. I am a strong advocate of women mentoring women and standing by one another.



2. Three books I’ve read more than once. (sorry but the same as the previous catagory)

Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene

The Red Tent by Anita Diamant

A Prayer For Owen Meany by John Irving


3. Three great books I personally hated.

Anything by Thomas Wolfe. I do not know why but I HATE his writing.

Anything on the Oprah Book Club....always so damned depressing.

Fictional mysterys or who done it's *gag* but I love true crime (non-fiction) books.


4. Three pure pleasures.

Any cookbook I can get my hands on. I especially love Ruby Ann, Paula Dean or Gooseberry stuff.

Steven King

Postsecret by Frank Warren. Love the book over and over and over and I love the web site too.


5. Three great books I should have read but haven’t yet.

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Harry Potter by JK Rowling...just have never ever been interested.

War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy



6. The last three books I ordered.

Eat To Live by Joel Fuhrman. So far it is really working.

Spiritual Disciplines. Ordered for the study with my Sunday school class. I have not been disciplined enough to read it the way that I should.

Postsecret by Frank Warren. I. LOVE. THIS. BOOK.

I am adding a category:

Books that I have read that should have never been made into a movie:

Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden. They BUTCHERED THAT POOR BOOK. If you have only seen the movie...I beg of you to read the book. The book is wonderful and detailed and you get nothing out of the movie. Mr. Golden should sue.

A Prayer for Owen Meany was made into Simon Birch. You get a little of the jist of the book but they even changed the damn ending!! I promise you that you will love this book if you will read it. If not, I will buy it from you.

Okay....who wants to play? I know Rach will wanna!

Comments

  1. Thanks for the tag - I will work on it. But,

    do not speak to me anymore. I am appalled that you don't like mysteries and that you have hidden this information from me like some sort of social disease. You are dead to me!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh yeah, you are dead on about the Oprah bookclub list. Gah!

    DON'T SPEAK! DEAD TO ME!

    ReplyDelete
  3. ~rolling of the eyes~

    Yeah sure what ever.....you will want to eat out of my hot sauce at lunch and will have to talk to me.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous8:32 AM

    Come on, ladies, can't you get along? It hurts Pastor Dave when he sees you fighting.

    Princess:
    Try Mary Doria Russel's _The Sparrow_ sometime. I read this at least once a year. It the best exploration of what it's like to search for God in the midst of hard times that I've ever read.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Dave!!! *hugs your neck*

    SHE started it!! Not me.

    She is talking to me but she acts like she isn't.

    I have never heard of that book...will have to look for it.

    Dave....when are you getting a blog???

    ReplyDelete
  6. Oh, hush up, Dave! How would you feel if she told ya' she didn't read the Bible. Cause she finds it "too preachy" or something. Geeze!

    *Gives Mindy the Evil Eye and suspects her of harboring Harlequin Romances*

    ReplyDelete
  7. *gags at the mention of romance books and then pokes Rachel HARD*

    This has NOTHING to do with the Bible. I cannot help it that I am not like Velma from Scooby Do....not calling names or anything Rach....but if the kneesocks fit well then....wear them!

    ReplyDelete
  8. What??? Do I need to come and be the MOM of your blogs, now? Congress needs me more, girls.

    Besides, if you can agree that Oprah's book club choices suck (and they do--you're SOO right--depressing as all heck), then you can get along.

    Rach--she likes REAL crime stories, OK?
    Mindy--she likes crime,see?

    Don't make me come out there in the Mommobile!

    ReplyDelete
  9. ~wonders if we continue to push QG if she will really come here~

    *sticks my tongue out at QG* Naner naner naner

    ReplyDelete
  10. I am totally believing that if we all spent a weekend locked up together in a hotel somewhere, we could totally write Oprah's next page-turner. It can't be hard.

    1. Little girl is poor.
    2. Little girl's daddy is a lout and her mama's real weak.
    3. Little girl either runs away from home or enjoys a rich fantasy life or both.
    4. Somebody important is killed, maimed or assaulted.
    5. Little girl achieves some semblance of a happy ending, but still has to face life through a haze of disablity, either social, emotional, or physical.

    You fill in the details...

    ReplyDelete
  11. 1.She had those parents and they all had to live in the home of her strict bizarre grandmother.

    2. She falls in love with the gardner. She truly loves him but he is killed in a garden tractor accident and is plowed under.

    3. She spends her days with her little garden trowel trying to find his remains and contemplating just what the meaning of this whole thing must be.

    ReplyDelete
  12. You are so correct Rach...we could do this.

    My mom also says that we could write commercials.

    ReplyDelete
  13. love Stephen King also, and loved Owen Meany

    ReplyDelete
  14. Rach and Mindy--

    You have indeed deduced the formula for Oprah's book club.

    Congratulations, you're BRILLIANT!

    See--I knew you two would make up.

    Love, QG--MOM

    ReplyDelete
  15. Anonymous4:38 PM

    Amen and amen to Rev. Dave re: _The Sparrow_ and its sequel, _Children of God_, which I accidentally read first and preferred slightly. These books address the question of where God is when following what you are sure is God's will leads to terrible suffering; they grapple with this issue in the most creative way I've ever read.

    My husband shares my regard for these books, although he refers to them as "Jesuits in Space".

    ReplyDelete
  16. Anonymous4:39 PM

    Amen and amen to Rev. Dave re: _The Sparrow_ and its sequel, _Children of God_, which I accidentally read first and preferred slightly. These books address the question of where God is when following what you are sure is God's will leads to terrible suffering; they grapple with this issue in the most creative way I've ever read.

    My husband shares my regard for these books, although he refers to them as "Jesuits in Space".

    ReplyDelete
  17. Anonymous4:40 PM

    Oops! I'm sorry. The word verification gobbledygook acted like it hadn't gone through the first time....

    ReplyDelete
  18. Mindy, I've never read Summer of My German Soldier, but I think I will now. That paragraph about Irregulars is powerful. Thanks for quoting from it.

    ReplyDelete
  19. BTW, Mindy - I may have be wearing the Velma specs today, but Ifooled you! I not wearing any socks!!!

    ReplyDelete

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