BOOKS, BOOKS, BOOKS

I have been trying and trying to blog for a few weeks now.  I'm pretty discouraged, because I can't get pictures to upload.  So I'm trying again... on a different computer.  We'll see... (if all else fails, at least there are words!)
I have been reading a lot lately.  Every summer we do Book Bingo.  I choose 9 books for everyone to read.  If the girls can get a blackout before August 31st, they get to purchase $20 worth of new books for themselves.  They love it.  Scott and I participate too, but we don't get the incentive.  (Maybe I should complain to management... oh, wait.  I am the management.)
So here are 4 books I have recently finished:




"Dude, Don't Be a Lemuel: A Teenage Guide to Avoiding Lemuelitis" by David Bowman was a fast read.  I bought this book because of the amusing title and I thought it would be a fun "church" book. 
It was.  It's very teen friendly, with occasional comic strips and "what ifs" that add humor (like what if Laman had a cell phone and was texting Lemuel from inside the city...)  It's interesting and humorous how two people can see the same situation, and based on their attitude, have a totally different perspective.  I had fun reading this book.




"The Miracle of Freedom: Seven Tipping Points That Saved the World" by Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart was much more difficult, but an amazing book that I highly recommend.  (In fact, it was recommended to me by my parents - so I knew it would be good... and it was.)
The book grabbed me in the first chapter when it stated, "a student asked the professor, 'how did slavery start,' and the professor replied, 'that is the wrong question.  You should ask when did freedom start.  Throughout recorded history there has been slavery, and it has only been in the last 1-2% of recorded history when freedom was wide spread.'"  The book explores seven points when the survival of a culture ultimately ends up spreading the news of democracy, the worth of the individual, and freedom.  Examples include WWII, the invasion of the Mongols, etc.




"Believing Christ" by Stephen E. Robinson was a great book to read.  Throughout my life, I have often felt like a failure because I couldn't be the PERFECT person I wanted to be.  This great book assure me that no one is perfect, but that the goal is to become more Christ-like in our everyday life, striving to improve and become closer to Christ, having the belief and faith that we can do the things he has asked of us.  After reading this book, I realized that WITH Christ and His Atonement, I am perfect right now... and can become perfect later.




If you like "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott, you'll like her book "Eight Cousins" too!  13 year old Rose Campbell has been left an orphan by the death of her father.  Shy, sickly, and depressed, she is shipped off to live with her many relatives, including several aunts, uncles and seven boisterous male cousins.  The experience is, at first, overwhelming.  Rose blossoms under her Uncle Alec's care.  There is a lot of insight, humor and human nature in this book.


So far I haven't been disappointed in my summer Book Bingo.  I have 5 more books to go!  :-)  Stay tuned!