My Initiation: The May Book

So I know the book should be posted a month ahead of time, but there was so much pressure with this being my first pick and all; I really had to make sure it was a good one. I'm super excited about being part of this elite club! I miss you girls. I checked through the old posts to make sure I didn't pick a repeat, so I hope everyone hasn't read this one yet. If so, let me know and I have a back up plan. Okay, the book for May:

The Book Thief
By Markus Zusak

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist – books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau. This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.

My sister-in-law recommended this book and said she was hooked from page one. I got it with the intent of reading it and then life got crazy and that never happened, so here goes another try. Enjoy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, CAMILLE!!

Persian Pickles are just a fancy name for Paisleys

I started the book over the weekend and was bored after about five pages. I really just wasn't in the mood to concentrate and try to get into it so I put it down. I picked it up again last night and it only took me about two pages to be totally into it. I guess I'm fickle. I was reading on my lunch break today and I had to stop in a place that totally left me hanging. BUT...I'm pretty sure I've got the whole mystery figured out. Are any of you reading it yet? Were you bored at first, or was it just me?

snow flower and new book

Ok, so I finished the book yesterday and...I liked it I guess. I got a little tired of the way the culture treated women. I know, that's just the way it was, but I just wanted to yell at some of these characters toward the end. Like Snow Flower's whole family pretty much. I was thinking about what Kim said about the culture being the antagonist in the book and I agree. I do think that Lily was not a very supportive friend to Snow Flower when she was going through terrible times, but were those really her sentiments? Or was she just regurgitating the sentiments of an ancient culture? Lily thought she was comforting her friend by saying she needed to have sons. She was trying to be her best self.

This book also made me very grateful to live in a culture and during a time when I can be whoever I want to be. But, is our culture that much different? We still view women in terms of how they look, how talented they are, what they can accomplish. To be honest, I think we are bombarded with pressure in every part of our culture. As women, we are expected to be beautiful and thin. As a mother we are expected to always be smiling and loving every second of the ride. As an LDS woman, we are expected to be crafty and talented and be able to be everything to everyone. Are we stretched just as thin as the women in this book? In some respects I think we are.

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Ok, so here is the book for April

The Persian Pickle Club
by Sandra Dallas

My sister-in-law really enjoyed it and I pretty much get all of my recommendations from her. Here is a brief synopsis of the book:


It is the 1930s, and hard times have hit Harveyville, Kansas, where the crops are burning up and there’s not a job to be found. For Queenie Bean, a young farm wife, a highlight of each week is the gathering of the Persian Pickle Club, a group of local ladies dedicated to improving their minds, exchanging gossip, and putting their quilting skills to good use. When a new member of the club stirs up a dark secret, the women must band together to support and protect one another. In her magical, memorable novel, Sandra Dallas explores the ties that unite women through good times and bad.

The Young Women Values

I started the book and so far I am finding it interesting. Surprisingly, the foot binding part didn't make me queasy, but it was disturbing none the less. The fact that their culture places a girl's worth on the size of her foot, and not even the natural size of her foot, makes me extremely sad. I am sad that so many girls suffered so much. Obviously, they suffered physically, but more importantly emotionally and spiritually, just because their culture failed to see the big picture. However, before it starts to look like I'm pointing fingers, our culture has done the same thing with body image, so we are also at fault.
As I've been reading this book, the Young Women values continue to come into my mind. I know that it is the spirit that is "bringing things to my remembrance" and testifying of their truth. I've always love the YW values and I have had many experiences that have strengthened my testimony of their importance and reading this book has been another one of those experiences. Specifically, the values of Divine Nature and Individual Worth. Divine Nature...we are daughters of God and that alone gives us more worth than anything else ever can. There is plan for us that is very personal and based on our faithfulness, our actions, and the desires of our hearts, not based on what other people think of us or how we look or how much money we make. Individual Worth...we all have something great to offer. We each have been blessed with specific talents that can bring us, and those around us, so much happiness. We don't have to be clones of the people around us.
My heart just aches for Lily (or every girl who went through this exact same experience) as she is conditioned to believe she has little worth and whatever worth she does have is based on circumstances that are completely out of her control. I'm so thankful that I was taught those 7, now 8, specific values as I grew up and I'm even more thankful now that I still get to learn about them. I can't imagine how girls and women make sense of the messages being thrown at them without the guidance of the Lord through his servants the prophets and the General YW Leaders. Seriously. We are so lucky!!

FYI...in case you didn't know, they just put out another new personal progress book a couple of months ago and they are encouraging ALL women to earn or re-earn their award. You should all do it, it is a really great program. And I'm officially done acting like your YW leader now.

Shout out to our newest member!

Welcome Amy Hendricks!! I am so glad you asked to join our very formal and very strict book club. It made me wonder if there is anyone else out there who has stumbled across our club and wished they were part of it. Right now there might be someone out there in a deep hole of depression because they feel left out of our book club. If you are from Merced and you know the people in the picture on our blog and you want to join, just ask!
Okay, so I thought it would be fun to list some memories I have of/with Amy Hendricks. I'll list mine here and feel free to add yours in the comments section.

1. cleaning out dads' law office listening to Brittney Spears. Don't pretend you are too cool for B.S. and you don't remember...I know you do.

2. The Alto section. Enough said.

3. Driving down G Street after a football game and somebody making us thing the tire on your mini-van was flat.

4. trying to find that chemical that turns pee blue or green to answer Ryan and Tim for prom.

5. Leadership my Jr. year

6. 4th period chemistry. You were in that class with us, right? I have to be honest, all I really cared about in that class was flirting with Tim, but I'm pretty sure you were in that class. However, your last name started with "H" so you were a couple of rows away from me. right?

7. Amy was always one of the happiest people. I love that about her.

Excuse the random thoughts

Did anyone else get a little bit queasy at the footbinding description? I can't even imagine...

I have to admit, my love of the Asian culture took a bit of a hit. I know they aren't the only ones to view women as inferior, but it is so frustrating. To be considered a burden by their birth parents, and a visitor by their in-laws must have been very demeaning. Though, I guess women haven't really changed all that much. Their worth was determined by the size of their feet, the victorian era viewed small waists as most important, and we still often view our worth by superficial means.

I was just reading in the bible of Jacob and his relationship with Leah and Rachel. Rachel was obviously the one Jacob loved, but Leah was the first to have children. In the scriptures she rejoices, saying that now her husband will love her for bearing a son. Yet, Jacob still loves Rachel more. Despite that, Rachel envies Leah for her ability to have children. Apparently women really haven't changed; we will always compare ourselves to other women.