Tag Archives: books

Ignored Characters

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As I mentioned, to my surprise, I loved rereading Little Women. I think I liked it more now than when I first read it as a teenager, simply because the goody-goody characters were refreshing to me after the novels and the nonfiction books I’ve been reading. I related to the girls.

Author Geraldine Brooks read Little Women the first time when she was ten. When her mother recommended it, she said to take it with a grain of salt: “Nobody in real life is such a goody-goody as that Marmee” (Afterword, page 354). With that concept was born Brooks’ Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, March.

While March focuses a little bit on Marmee, the majority of this book is about Mr. March (called March), the father of the girls, who, in part one of Alcott’s novel, is away fighting in the Civil War. In this novel, we read his letters to Marmee, and then we read the truth of what is happening to him in the South. March writes ” promised her that I would write something every day: I never promised I would write the truth” (page 4).

In a fascinating contrast to the girls’ failures in Little Women, March’s failings are huge to him; he cannot solve them in a chapter or even by the end of the book. As Little Women delves into the little problems of teenage girls, March delves into the larger problems of an adult before and during the civil war: slavery, death, violence and war, betrayal, marital and extramarital relationships, and confusion about one’s role in the world and in a family. (Disappointingly, there is a far amount of sexuality in this book, so keep that in mind.) To me, it is an intriguing contrast to the goody-goody world of Little Women.

Geraldine Brooks has thoroughly researched both the civil war and the life of Louisa May Alcott’s father, Bronson Alcott, for many of the philosophies and characteristics of Mr. March. Since Alcott herself based Little Women on her own experience, basing Mr. March on Alcott’s father seemed very appropriate. I love a well-researched novel, especially historical fiction, and this certainly was well-researched.

I also loved the concept of fleshing out a character that otherwise wasn’t noticed. I know I never gave a thought to Mr. March when I first read Little Women. Only on rereading Little Women now, knowing that I’d read March next, did I realize how little attention is given to him.

What behind-the-scenes fictional character would you like to know more about?

Note: I’d recommend reading Little Women (at least part one) before approaching March. They complement each other nicely.

Favorite Authors: Alexander McCall-Smith

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When I was a child, I would go to the library on my bike with a backpack full of already-consumed books, return them, and get another full backpack full of to-be-read books. Sometimes I’d go through a series, reading every single one as they were available at the library. Other times I went through “author phases.” Then I would check out every book by a particular author and read those.

For past two years or so, I’ve been on an author kick again: I was looking for quick, easy-to-read, “empty” fiction that was enjoyable. I realize this isn’t really a good thing. I should always use my precious reading time for books that actually add something to my life. But they do: they add sanity.

I enjoyed reading Alexander McCall-Smith’s The Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency a few years ago; it’s a good book club book and every book club I’ve been in has read it. It is about a “lady detective” in Botswana. How McCall-Smith, a man in a kilt, is able to capture this delightful woman and the intriguing country in this series is just amazing to me. (I know he wears kilts because I met him in Chicago a few years ago: he was wearing a kilt. That was before I knew most of his books take place in Scotland.) When I went to find the subsequent books in that series to read them (I think I’d only read through number five), I found that he had a number of other series.

Note: Some libraries classify him as Smith (SMI) and some classify him as McCall-Smith (MCC) or both (Naperville Public Libraries). My current library has him under MACC.

Here’s the rundown.

The Number One Ladies’ Detective Agency series

These are clean, moral books, with clever characters and an intriguing setting. They should be read in order, as the plots build off of each other. As with many series, I believe the first books are the best; the formulaic style gets old further on. I love reading about Botswana. I never knew anything about it, but reading novels that take place there give me a sense of place. Now I want to go to Botswana to see the terrain!

  • The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency
  • Tears of the Giraffe
  • Morality for Beautiful Girls
  • The Kalahari Typing School for Men
  • The Full Cupboard of Life
  • In the Company of Cheerful Ladies
  • Blue Shoes and Happiness
  • The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
  • The Miracle at Speedy Motors (I haven’t read this one yet: it’s either not published yet or not in Australia yet.)

Professor Dr. von Igelfeld Entertainments Series

These are collections of short stories, each book being fairly short. The eponymous professor is incredibly conceited, which conceit places him in rather humorous situations.

  • Portuguese Irregular Verbs
  • The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs
  • At the Villa of Reduced Circumstances

The Sunday Philosophy Club Series or Isabel Dalhousie Mysteries

How do I say this? While the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series is full of Botswana morals and Dr. von Igelfeld is a pompous, conservative, middle-aged German professor, these books are modern. They are set in McCall-Smith’s Edinburgh, and feature an almost 40-year-old single woman’s life and decisions, including her love life. While I enjoyed the mystery in the first novel, the “mysteries” in the subsequent novels have only disappointed me and Isabel’s immoral decisions disappoint me. I’m not sure I’ll read any subsequent novels. Maybe I don’t get in to the series because I just don’t relate to her. They aren’t spectacularly written, and the setting and character don’t interest me. It’s just Scotland (sorry if that offends anyone). It seems to rain a lot.

  • The Sunday Philosophy Club
  • Friends, Lovers, Chocolate
  • The Right Attitude to Rain
  • The Careful Use of Compliments

44 Scotland Street Series

In the tradition of Dickens, McCall-Smith writes a serial novel as a regular column in the newspaper, in this case The Scotsman. The novels track the daily life of persons living at said address in Edinburgh (although some of the characters move to a new address) through two-four page chapters. There are some other interesting characters that keep me interested, such as the six-year-old Italian-speaking, saxophone-playing Bertie, who has an overbearing mother. I enjoy these very much.

  • 44 Scotland Street
  • Espresso Tales
  • Love over Scotland
  • The World According to Bertie
  • The Unbearable Lightness of Scones (I haven’t read this yet; it either hasn’t yet been published yet or it hasn’t come to Australia yet)

McCall-Smith has also written a few collections of short stories, children’s stories, and academic text books (he was a Medical Law professor), none of which I have read.

What author(s) do you like and keep returning to, year after year?

Castles in the Air and Growing Up (A Little)

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It’s been a long time since I’ve read a young adult novel (other than Harry Potter, which doesn’t count), so when I picked up Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women this week, I was at first taken aback by the rosy, generic moral lessons within it. As I began, I didn’t think I’d have much to ponder, since it’s a reread for me. But I was wrong.

At first the moral lessons were a bit silly to me. For example, when the girls want a holiday week, without any chores, their mother agrees and lets them, knowing they will learn their lesson. Sure enough, by the end of the week, they are ready for chores again! If only lessons are really learned that way.

By the middle, though, I was finding myself relating to the teen angst as the girls began courting and dealing with each other and their life dreams. They plan their “castles in the air” for what they want to be doing in ten years, when they are — get this — between twenty-two and twenty-seven.

What’s your castle in the air for ten years from now? My castle in the air is a four-bedroom house with a fenced-in back yard, a few mature trees, and a few children swinging on a swing set and otherwise playing together. But I’ll go where ever Heavenly Father wants me to be and I’ll accept whatever little blessings he wants to send me (or not send me). I never envisioned Australia, and my life now is essentially my castle in the air. I don’t want my life changed too much. I am very happy.

As I was reading Little Women, I really found myself enjoying the story, as childish and “rosy” as it is. Then, during a scene when a character marries, I had a moment of bizarre realization: I’m not one of them. I’m already married. I have a baby. How am I relating to these girls?

It felt so weird to realize that I’m beyond that stage of life. My life has moved on.

Do you ever have moments when you look at your kid(s) or your job or your degree and wonder how you got there? I know I’ve lived each day to get here, but that moment just seemed out of chronological order. How did I get here already?

By the way, Nancy was the randomly selected winner for Buy Your Friend a Book week.

Book Tag

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Jessica tagged me with this:

1. Grab the nearest book (at least 123 pages)
2. Turn to page 123.
3. Find the 5th sentence.
4. Post said sentence on your blog.
5. Tag five people.

The book nearest me is Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri. I just finished it. It is a book of short stories, so this sentence of dialogue doesn’t make much sense out of the blue: “You are wiser than that, Eliot.”

In a sense, each short story in this book is about a person who feels isolated and lonely. In this story, the 30-year-old woman from India feels lonely away from her family. In this sentence, she is telling the ten-year-old boy that she can tell he already knows that he will be alone in his life. He is wiser than she is because he expects to be alone; she doesn’t.

I tag Paige and Liz (but only if you want to participate). I think you are the only people who read my blog that have a blog and haven’t already been tagged. If you read this, you have a blog, and you haven’t been tagged, consider yourself tagged: and let me know that you are reading!

Buy Your Friend a Book Week

I like to read. You may notice that I’e been writing up my reviews of books I read recently. Last week, I discovered, was Buy Your Friend a Book week. Book reviewing blogs across cyberspace gave away books like crazy.

I live far away from everyone who reads this blog, so I can’t really send you my recently read books without paying an arm and a leg. (Maybe I will someday when we’re back in the USA.) However, since we are all in cyberspace, I can easily send you an email gift certificate to Barnes and Noble.

Therefore, to encourage further reading around the globe, and to be nice to my friends and family who read my long-winded blog entries, I’m giving away a $20 Barnes and Noble gift certificate to one person, randomly selected, who comments on this post.

In your comment, tell me one of these things:

  • Why you deserve a $20 book certificate
  • What book you want to read next (not what you have to read) and why you want to read it

Answer both questions in two separate comments and you’ll be entered twice. It’s that simple. And, I suspect, you’ll have great chances of winning.

I just liked the idea of sharing books.

Enter your comments by the end of the day Friday, April 11 (USA time). I’ll randomly select the winner by April 15 and contact you by email. (Your gift certificate will be emailed to you.)

P.S. If I get spam comments, I will delete them.

What I Learned from the CIA

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As I mentioned when I read Michael Ruhlman’s The Elements of Cooking, I’ve also been reading one of his other books about food, The Making of a Chef. This book is Ruhlman’s behind-the-scenes look at what a “culinary education” entails, particularly what it takes to earn a certificate or degree at the CIA (the Culinary Institute of America).

I have become very interested in cooking and what makes a “good” cook. What does it take to be a “chef?” About one-third of the way through this book, I began to realize that I never want to be a chef: it does not sound like fun.

However, as I read about what a chef must learn, how a chef must prepare each day before the restaurant doors open, and how to approach each day in the kitchen, I began to think differently about food and cooking. Here are some concepts that I appreciate better now (I listened to the audio book, so I can’t give page numbers):

Mise en place

Ruhlman defines this in The Elements of Cooking as “literally, put in place;  the kitchen term for your setup, the gathering and preparation of all the tools and food you need to complete the task at hand.” In The Making of a Chef, Ruhlman discusses his time in the Skills kitchen at the CIA, learning to cut and prepare food. He discusses the time he spent working in the restaurants of the CIA, where he spent hours preparing his mise en place before the restaurant opened its doors and he actually began cooking. While I certainly don’t care how I cut my carrots, I was impressed with the time that was always given to make sure everything was ready to go before starting the grill or turning on the stove. As Ruhlman pointed out, if you have everything together before you begin, and you are familiar with the cooking plan (or recipe), then everything will fall into place when you begin cooking. If you aren’t prepared, then things could fall apart and you’ll find yourself “in the weeds.” If you are prepared, ye shall not fear. (Even nonfiction cooking memoirs are inspirational!)

Cooking is a series of problems solved.

I loved this concept, and it really is true:

  • My chicken burned on the grill; what do I do differently next time? (I always burn chicken on the grill)
  • My ____ tastes boring; what do I add?
  • This sauce isnt thick enough; how do I thicken it?
  • I’m out of ____; what do I substitute?
  • My _______ is [insert problem]; what did I forget?

I find myself wanting to solve the problems before they are unsolvable. (One chef in the book suggested that any food is fixable unless it is burned. Then you’re out of luck. You can’t un-burn it.)

What does it take to be a good cook? Basic understanding, passion, and balance.

I loved how balance was an essential part of being a cook in one chef’s equation. The chef told Ruhlman that those chefs that worked too much and didn’t do anything else really were not the best cooks. In my case, I think being a “good cook” is realizing that “good” is not the same as “perfection” and “cook” is not the same as “chef.” My family doesn’t need perfection, and they don’t need a chef. They need a mom and a wife who happens to prepare dinner every night.

President Metz (president-chef of the Institute) never eats anything he cooks without a critical eye.

I like the concept of being critical of my own food; if cooking is a series of problems solved (as discussed above) then I need to recognize the problems in order to improve on them. However, I don’t think it’s necessary to always eat critically. I’m not a chef; I expect to take some days off!

When we put food on the table, we make a value statement. Your own values and your own standards: that is all.

I think this is the crux of my goal in cooking. I want to be able to put food on the table that I feel good about. I will cook to my standards, accepting the fact that I will take days off from caring and critiquing what I put in my belly.

My Conclusion

This memoir is very different from the last Ruhlman book I read. In some respects, I recommend this book over The Elements of Cooking. Elements is a reference book for the more-confident cook. It is above me in some ways. This memoir, on the other hand, is a delightful look into the world of professional cooking and what makes the difference between a good cook and a professional cook. It helps me think about cooking in a completely new way. I think any home cook, any waiter, and any semi-professional cook could benefit from this inside look at cooking for the food industry. I needed that, probably before I read Elements. Now that Ive read The Making of a Chef, I feel I should go back and reread the essays in the beginning of Elements.

There is a lot to being a cook! Understanding the elements behind it is just part of it.

Reading

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Here are some inspiring quotes I found when I was preparing for my enrichment night presentation.

D&C 88:118 “And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith.”

I love this commandment! But I realize it says seek, not read. We should be learning, not just page-turning, as I like to do.

“[Quotes D&C 88:118] Surely, such books must first include the scriptures. Next must be the words of prophets, seers, and revelators.”
–President Ezra Taft Benson, Ensign, Sept 1988

I found myself reading some of the Mormon blogs a few months ago — you know, the forums where individuals analyze general conference talks and discuss how they can personally apply them to their lives. As I began to spend my time doing that, I realized that I should be spending my time actually reading the words of the prophets. That is where the spirit is to be found, not in others’ analyses: I need to come to my own understanding, with the spirit to guide me. I should spend more of my time studying the scriptures and the words of the prophets, not necessarily what other people say the scriptures and the prophets say. There is a difference.

With the abundance of books available today, it is a mark of a truly educated man to know what not to read. Of the making of books there is no end. In our reading, we would do well to follow the counsel of John Wesley’s mother: “Avoid whatever weakens your reason, impairs the tenderness of your conscience, obscures your sense of God, takes off your relish for spiritual things, increases the authority of the body over the mind. The fact that a book or publication is popular does not necessarily make it of value. The fact that an author wrote one good work does not necessarily mean that all his books are worthy of our reading. Many novels and modern publications are corrupters of morals or distorters of truth.
–President Benson, Ensign, Sept 1988 (emphasis added)

There is a lot of trash out there. I’s disappointing when that is what wins the awards and praise, but sometimes it happens. I guess that’s the difference between things of the world and things of God. Just because I like one novel by a Nobel prize-winning author does not mean I should read others of theirs: some of them are just bad!

I read a book for a book club and I dismayed that it had a lot of “bad” scenes in it. I felt like I should finish it because the book club was going to discuss it. But I’ve decided I’m not going to do that again: it it’s bad, I won’t read it, even if it is popular or on an award-winning list or on the book club list.

Often when we hear about the evils of pornography, we think of pornographic magazines, movies, and Web sites. Because men are more visually oriented, such material seems to appeal primarily to them. Yet the sexually explicit literature targeted at women, who are more verbally oriented, can be damaging as well. Like visual pornography, such literature presents a warped view of sexuality and is arousing and addictive. It dulls our spiritual senses, which distances us from God, and it can impair our ability to have healthy, lasting relationships.
“Addicted to Romance Novels”, Ensign, July 2003

We walk out of movie theaters if they are bad. Why not walk away from a book? If a book is dulling our spiritual sensitivity, we shouldn’t be reading it — just like movies.

The following quotes are inspiring to me — and a challenge to make better choices in my reading and other time-consuming activities. There are many choices we can make between good and better and better and best.

“As an evidence of increased spirituality we become more selective in what we read. J. Reuben Clark said, ‘My rule now is, never read anything that is not worth remembering.’ Thomas Jefferson always read something ennobling just before he retired, ‘whereon to ruminate in the intervals of sleep.'”
–Elder Douglas L. Callister, Ensign, Nov 2000 (emphasis added)

“We should begin by recognizing the reality that just because something is good is not a sufficient reason for [reading] it. The number of good things we can [read] far exceeds the time available to [read] them. Some things are better than good, and these are the things that should command priority attention in our lives.”
–Elder Dallin H. Oaks, Ensign, Nov 2007 (paraphrased; emphasis added)

“Some people learn to read but don’t read. At some point in our lives, we learned to read. But are we reading? Are we growing in wisdom?”
–Elder Joe. J. Christensen, Ensign, Nov 2000

The only way that we may overcome the world is by coming unto Christ. And coming unto Christ means walking away from the world. It means placing Christ and Christ only at the center of our lives so that the vanities and philosophies of men lose their addictive appeal.

We no longer have the luxury of spending our energy on anything that does not lead us and our families to Christ. That is the litmus test for Relief Society, as well as for our lives. We are not women of the world. We are women of God.

—Sister Sheri L. Dew, Ensign, Nov 1999 (italic emphasis in original; bold emphasis added)

The following quote doesn’t have a lot to do with reading, but I love it because I feel it describes what I want to be. I think reading and learning is a way we can further develop our mother heart: that is why I make time to read, whether it be reading as I eat breakfast, reading as I feed my baby, or listening to an audio book as I make dinner.

What is a mother heart and how is one acquired? A woman with a mother heart has a testimony of the restored gospel, and she teaches the principles of the gospel without equivocation. She is keeping sacred covenants made in holy temples. Her talents and skills are shared unselfishly. She gains as much education as her circumstances will allow, improving her mind and spirit with the desire to teach what she learns to the generations who follow her.

If she has children, she is a “goodly parent” (1 Nephi 1:1) who lives and teaches standards of behavior exactly in line with the teachings of living prophets. She teaches her “children to pray, and to walk uprightly before the Lord” (D&C 68:28). Rather than listening to the voices and partial truths of the world, she knows that gospel standards are based on eternal, unchangeable truths. She believes that to be “primarily responsible for the nurture of [her] children” is a vital, dignified, and “sacred responsibilit[y]” (“The Family: A Proclamation to the World,” Liahona, Oct. 1998, 24; Ensign, Nov. 1995, 102). To nurture and feed them physically is as much an honor as to nurture and feed them spiritually. She is “not weary in well-doing” and delights to serve her family, because she knows that “out of small things proceedeth that which is great” (D&C 64:33).

–Sister Julie B. Beck, Ensign, May 2004 (emphasis added)

The Chef’s Craft in Every Kitchen?

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I have mixed feelings about Michael Ruhlman’s The Elements of Cooking: Translating the Chef’s Craft for Every Kitchen.

The Elements of Cooking is one-part opinionated essays about cooking (pages 1-50) and one-part alphabetic encyclopedia of opinionated “essential” elements to cooking. There are things I liked about both parts and other things that bordered on ridiculous. (For example, Sharpie is included in the list of essential elements to cooking. Its definition: “This brand of permanent marker is excellent for dating and labeling food; keep one in your tool drawer along with painter’s tape.” p. 215)

I didn’t realize why I was annoyed by this book until I started reading Ruhlman’s previous best-seller, The Making of a Chef. I haven’t finished that book yet. It is the story of how one is trained at the Culinary Institute of America to become a chef. Only as I read this second book do I realize what the problem is with the first book: I don’t want to be a chef. Therefore, it’s not necessary to translate the chef’s craft for my kitchen.

According to The Elements of Cooking, a chef is a leader, as in the head of a restaurant kitchen, and is firstly a good cook. A cook is what I do aspire to be. I don’t want to be a chef: I don’t want a restaurant kitchen. I want good home cooking for my home kitchen.

Because I don’t want to be a chef, some items on the alphabetic list of essential elements seem a bit ridiculous. I don’t need to learn about aspic (gelled stock), offal (innards of animals), and foie gras (duck liver). I won’t be cooking them in my kitchen. I don’t need to learn the French terms for my macaroni’s cheese sauce. I don’t need to know decorative knife cuts for cutting vegetables. I don’t need to know kitchen terms (for example, commis is a prep cook in a professional kitchen).

However, on the other hand, as a cook, some of the terms, even the French terms, may come in handy if I happen upon a recipe that uses them.

Also, as a cook I found the opinionated essays about cooking incredibly interesting. Those essays are the reason I would recommend this book to the average cook. They make me think about cooking in a different way. I plan on rereading them regularly. Ruhlman included essays on stock, sauces, salt, the egg, heat, and tools of the kitchen. I think I’ll revisit them in subsequent posts — they are very informative and, I think, discussion worthy.

One book he recommended reading is On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, by Harold McGee. This is a scientific explanation of food, from eggs to meat and fish to plants and on. The author has degrees in science and literature so provides scientific descriptions the layman can understand. When I read it, I’ll let you know if that is true.

Ruhlman’s last essay is about finesse. This is where I feel I’ve departed from his main point of his book: I’m not a chef and so I’m not hoping for “refinement” in my cooking. As a cook, I hope to provide fundamental home cooking for my family. However, I suspect Ruhlman is correct to some extent, even for my home kitchen: “The concept [of finesse] rest[s] on a conviction that paying attention to a few small details in any given preparation has an enormous impact on the finished dish and is the final gratification for the cook in his or her pursuit of excellence” (p. 46).

While I’m not looking for approval of my food as a restaurant chef or even as an amateur chef in any sense of the term “chef” and I’m not vainly pursuing excellence (perfectionist though I am), I think a reward to my efforts at cooking will be a gratifying and edible supper every night with my family, recognizing that there is always room for improvement.

I recommend Ruhlman’s book to the family cook only half-heartedly. It’s great to get you thinking about food, but only with a few tablespoons of salt.

Reading as Home, Family, and/or Personal Enrichment

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I’ve been asked to give a presentation at Relief Society’s Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment night next week about how I love reading and literature. I plan on focusing on how reading enriches our families and our personal lives. I wanted to focus on how it enriches our home as well, but I don’t have any ideas. I’d love to hear your ideas about any part of this.

How does reading enrich your home, family, and/or personal life?

How Do You Read?

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In John Steinbeck’s East of Eden, Steinbeck contrasts two of his characters, and I love this imagery:

And the books that came into the house, some of them secretly–well, Samuel rode lightly on top of a book and he balanced happily among ideas the way a man rides white rapids in a canoe. But Tom got into a book, crawled and groveled between the covers, tunneled like a mole among the thoughts, and came up with the book all over his face and hands.

Part 3, Chapter 23

I think I’ve always been like Samuel: riding along a book (especially novels) without really thinking about them. A few months ago, my husband called me a “page-turner”: as long as I’m turning pages I don’t care what I’m reading, and as a result, I can read two pages and not remember what I just read. The bottom line is, I read too fast.

When my husband pointed this out to me, I decided it was time to read more carefully. I’ve been trying to “crawl between covers” lately — that’s one reason I’ve been giving book reports on this blog.

How do you read a book: do you ride the rapids or tunnel like a mole? If neither, is there another image that you can apply to yourself?