10:04. Ben Lerner

10:04. Ben Lerner

Now, if only I didn't have to try to explain what the book is about, because, just like its title, the plot of 10:04 is a bit obtuse to the non-millennial

“Lerner obviously loves playing with language, stretching sentences out, folding them in on themselves, and making readers laugh out loud with the unexpected turns his paragraphs take. “

10:04 is a strange and spectacular novel. I'm not sure if it is a good read by I enjoyed it. It will make you laugh and ponder.

Hallelujah Anyway. Anne LaMont

Hallelujah Anyway . Anne Lamont

Anne Lamont would one of my favorite authors and wrote  Bird by Bird. Brigham was kind enough on my birthday treat me to a creativity and writing seminar featuring Lamont.  Subsequent  to which I checked this book out at the library.

A good book, not a great book. Wonderful subject of mercy.

Mercy means we soften ever so slightly, even when the other person is a jerk 

 Micah 6:8 what does God ask of me -

He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and  , but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?

“Pope Francis says the name of God is mercy. Our name was mercy, too, until we put it away to become more productive, more admired and less vulnerable. We tend to forget it's still there.” 

“Mercy is radical kindness. Mercy means offering or being offered aid in desperate straits. Mercy is not deserved. It involves absolving the unabsolvable, forgiving the unforgiveable. Mercy brings us to the miracle of apology, given and accepted, to unashamed humility when we have erred or forgotten.” 

What if we know that forgiveness and mercy are what heal and restore and define us, that they actually are the fragrance that the rose leaves on the heel that crushes it? 

The soul rejoices in something it already knows

“Everything slows down when we listen and stop trying to fix the unfixable.” 

“Kindness toward others and radical kindness to ourselves buy us a shot at a warm and generous heart, which is the greatest prize of all. Do you want this, or do you want to be right?

“In many spiritual and wisdom paths, it is written that God created us to have company and to be God’s loving eyes and hands on earth. But in certain African Christian catechisms it says that God created us because He thought we would like it.” 

Hallelujah that in spite of it all, there is love, there is singing, nature, laughing, mercy.” 

New Yorker cartoon -one dog to another dog -  it's not enough that we succeed but cats must fail

Mercy stories - self righteousness versus mercy , lack of forgiveness versus repentance—these conflicts were so crucial 

The Prophet Joseph smith reportedly explained that the setting or context of the parables revealed their meaning. He said: “I have [a] key by which I understand the scripture—I enquire what was the question which drew out the answer.”

Jonah and mercy

It is comforting to know that we worship a God who is merciful and who allows His children many chances to learn His ways and be obedient to them. Who among us would be saved without a second chance—more than one opportunity to prove ourselves in the sight of God? The story of the people of the city of Nineveh and the prophet Jonah shows that the test of life is a multipart exam and reminds us to be more long-suffering with those who slip and fall. Jonah tried rebuffing the lords offer of mercy but the lords mercy persevered.

Prodigal son and mercy

The Prophet Joseph Smith taught that in this parable, the elder son represented the judgmental Pharisees in the Savior’s audience and that the younger son represented the publicans. Eldest son—Pharisees and Sadducees murmuring and complaining because Jesus sat with publicans and sinners.” The son does not have a correct understanding of the principles of repentance and forgiveness. Yet his father replies: “Son, thou art ever with me, and all that I have is thine. 

What does the ending of the parable signify for the dutiful son? Perhaps he is like those of us who fill our assignments and attend our meetings, but fail to learn charity—that unconditional love the Father has for all his children and which he commands us to obtain and exercise. For those of us whose lives are similar to that of the dutiful elder brother, the challenge is to learn to welcome God’s repentant sons and daughters—our brothers and sisters—with godly love - mercy.

One must enlarge ones souls toward others if you would do like Jesus. … As you increase in innocence and virtue, as you increase in goodness, let your hearts expand—let them be enlarged towards others. You must be longsuffering and bear with the faults and errors of mankind. How precious are the souls of man!”

Good Samaritan  is another story of mercy 

The take away for my day-to-day life :

Mercy subset of charity

Need to conscientiously chose showing love

Be a kind man.

The Bedlam Stacks. Natasha Pulley

The Bedlam Stacks. Natasha Pulley

"The Bedlam Stacks" is a mixture of historical fiction and fantasy – particularity nice if you like trees. It's 1860, and Merrick Tremayne, former employee--read: smuggler-of the East India Company,you know those Brits, conquer by sword or by stealth. He ends up on an expedition to Peru; (I need write Don Ball and get his opinion), to smuggle cinchona trees out of the Andes in order to combat the quinine shortage in India. The village he finds himself in--’Bedlam’--isn't just built on quaint Inca ruins; it has moving statues, glowing pollen, and something very mysterious going on. Feels like a partial Dr Who story; the period details are mixed with a modern casualness of style that makes it work " It's light and fast-paced with a different take on colonial travel and adventure story, with extras. And the unknown quality of staging it in Peru just adds to the charm of trees.

An ideal flight companion.

The Soul of the First Amendment . Floyd Abrams .

The Soul of the First Amendment . Floyd Abrams

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

No need to be a constitutional expert to appreciate Abrams approach of history and context and current issues regarding the First Amendment. It’s clearly a tough issue to define hence why it’s continually before the Supreme Court . He’s a bit libertarian but clearly a knowledgeable expert and clear writer.

The challenges of the first in America ‘: It protects hate speech. It protects beyond-stupid speech. It protects harangues and advertisements for divisive causes. Remarkably, in some cases, it even protects people from libel and slander convictions’

Justice Hugo black :’the very reason for the First Amendment is to make the people of the country free to think, speak, write, and worship as they wish and not as the government commands.’

Franklin Roosevelt 1941 four freedoms speech, worship , freedom from want, freedom from fear

Scalia “ The government cannot be trusted to assure through censorship fairness of political debate”

“ The premise of our system is there’s no such thing as too much speech that the people are not foolish but intelligent and will separate the wheat from the chaff”

The presumption must always be to publish. Only information appears highly likely to compromise significant national interest should be withheld.

“Ultimately American press has been held to have virtually carte blanche freedom to decide what to print. But that leaves the press with another decision - what to print. The first amendment provides no answer this question. It never does.”

The book is very quotable, engaging, thoughtful and topical for today’s world regardless where you stand on the issue.

Shoe Dog A memoir by the creator of NIKE. Phil Knight

Shoe Dog A memoir by the creator of NIKE. Phil Knight

I'm familiar with the story but never heard it from Phil Knight’s point of you. The book moves rapidly along with the interesting history of the growth of NIKE and the fine line between falling apart and succeeding. Time and again he illustrates the key role relationships play in a person’s success. People you can trust, people you would go to the mat for and they for you, with people who you enjoy or can be simpatico with their idiosyncratic behaviors and they with yours.

A few tidbits

In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's mind there are few.

Shunryu Suzuki, Zen mind beginners mind

The Oregonian mindset - “the cowards never started, the weak died along the way - that leaves us”

Told his kids bedtime history stories and inserted his kids name into the history stories e.g. Ben Franklin and ‘insert child's name here’ make the kid part of key player in solutions.

The bucket list – he encourages pursuing one

Everyone is seeking a connection , a oneness, a mi casa es su casa.

Seek a calling even if you don't know that means seek it. If you are following your calling the fatigue will be easier to bear, disappointment will be fuel, highs will be like nothing you've ever felt.

Sometimes you need to know when to give up. giving up doesn't mean stopping don't ever stop!

Have faith in yourself but also have faith in faith.

A good story.

An interesting and gifted man.

Fascinating and fun to read as he weaves together business and personal life. Interesting that his desire to ‘relive’ it would be to unsay some of the things he had said, to say some of the things he’d omitted and ‘to be a better father’.

The Kingdom of Speech. Tom Wolfe

The Kingdom of Speech byTom Wolfe

"I was searching through the 'new book’ section of the Delray Beech library and said Hmmm...I've never read any Tom Wolfe; maybe I should give him a try." He's definitely compelling with words, so it is not remarkable that he would turn his attention in this book to the subject of how we got them. I like language so I grabbed it. An interesting sequel to my Astrophysics book, for this book countervails Darwin & Chomsky on evolutionary theory of man. In particular the origin of speech and language.

Wolfe uses specific facts related to language that put holes through the theory of everything that Darwin & Chomsky rely on to be universal, and so demonstrated Chomsky wrong, or at least incomplete .The smoke cleared and the origin of language remains a mystery - Wolfe doesn't offer a solution to ‘how language’; in my purview it does not dispute the totality of the evolution but just man's jump from animal. Wolfe might be simplistic but it's an interesting read and causes one to ponder.

I appreciate a few examples he illustrates that challenge Darwin:

- Evolution would not select for injurious or detrimental traits, with which Homo Sapiens is replete. ( E.g. why would we evolve to be both white and hairless as adaptations to cold?)

-Evolution would not equip a species with an advantage that would only come into use thousands of years into the future ( speech).

Astrophysics For People in a Hurry. Neil DeGrasse Tyson

Astrophysics For People in a Hurry

Neil DeGrasse Tyson

A popular, the library wait list took 8 weeks, science book centering around a number of basic questions about the universe, which Tyson has addressed in various essays and lectures over time complied in book format.

With a swift pace, upbeat tone, and the ability to condense astronomical issues into consumable English, Tyson includes his view of additional saving graces offered mankind by science.

‘With this book, and the hopeful hunger instilled because of it, Tyson seeks to better the world with an army of scientifically literate, curious, unified, conscious human beings.’ Tyson admits, “If I’ve succeeded, you’ll be culturally conversant in my field of expertise, and you just may be hungry for more”

I enjoy digging into a hard science book every once in awhile to try and sharpen the old synopsis. This is very readable and only a few sentences required re-reading. Tyson isn’t opposed to faith though he is opposed to religion. I working on better understanding the totality so I can better articulate my religious beliefs as well. I don’t find glaring contradictions between the ever evolving definition of science and my beliefs, being given that there will probably be a half-dozen more definition of dark matter and dark energy before they land on the ‘one’.

I am comfortable living in ambiguity; if you are as well – then read this book , can’t say that I exited with confidence of being culturally conversant but its good read.

The Infinite Atonement . Tad R. Callister

The Infinite Atonement . Tad R. Callister

The book:

One reviewer describes it as: The Infinite Atonement is rapidly becoming a classic, as it offers what may be the most comprehensive treatment of the Atonement in our day. It's the kind of book you will want to read in a quiet space, with a pencil and notepad in one hand and the book in the other. It is a compilation of quotes, thoughts, talk segments drawn on a depth of resources extensively analytic. That being said it is a slow and thoughtful read where it informs always but does not always inspire. It did introduce new thoughts and feelings to me; and led me to ponder the atonement more frequently and probe the scriptures more and pray more on how to apply it to my life more completely and share and teach it simply to those in my stewardship.

The Atonement is the atoning sacrifice that took place in the Garden of Gethsemane and on the cross at Calvary. He paid the price for our sins, took upon Himself death, and was resurrected.

‘The word “atonement” appears 69 times in the KJV OT (and only once in the KJV NT!) Most commonly this is a rendering of the Hebrew verb kaphar“to cover,” which is usually translated something like “to make an atonement.” The noun appears as a plural, kippurim (lit. “atonements”). In Modern Hebrew, the archaic plural has been replaced by a singular, such as we see in the expression Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.’

"The Atonement is the central act of human history, the pivotal point in all time, the doctrine of doctrines." The Atonement is infinite in time. It applies retroactively and prospectively through time immemorial.

Three principles of the Atonement that, if written in our hearts, will increase our faith in Jesus Christ.

Principle 1: “All that is unfair about life can be made right through the Atonement of Jesus Christ.”

Principle 2: “There is power in the Atonement to enable us to overcome the natural man or woman and become true disciples of Jesus Christ”

Principle 3: “The Atonement is the greatest evidence we have of the Father's love for his children”

Scriptures to review

2 Nephi 9

Alma 34

Ether 12

A video to watch #becausehelives https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2015-04-1010-he-lives-celebrate-easter-because-jesus-christ-lives?lang=eng

Wickedness alone seldom, if ever, has been the cause of man's destruction; the greater tragedy is wickedness coupled with an unwillingness to repent.

Learn how to shed your regrets and how to master your memories so you can hold yourself together as a person - living without bitterness without remorse.

We are in a time of incredible intensity, some challenges of our own making, some challenges because of satan, and some challenges just because the randomness of statistics impacts us. The Savior can helps us overcome all. We can find joy in all circumstances through the lord.

These are things we can rely on. These are things that can make all the difference in the life.

My prayer is that we can each find peace and joy through the trials of life. You have the tools before - turn to the Lord and embrace His atoning sacrifice.

The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peter & Joan Hess

The Painted Queen

Another in my series of dead author books: 

An Amelia Peabody Novel of Suspense (Grisham was as good as it dead to me you should count his as well). The concept from  Elizabeth peters - dead, and execution is Joan Hess - living writer.

An Amelia Peabody Novel of Suspense. ... “Devoted Amelia Peabody fans will read this book with tears in their eyes as they bid farewell to these much-loved characters (and author).”. ... “Amelia Peabody, the bossy archaeologist in Elizabeth Peters’s romantic adventures set in Egypt ..." gives an overview of my feelings of the series. I read one of her books before going to Egypt and when I heard about this new and last work I had to read it quickly. 

 An ok, not a great book, but given I am a fan of the series it was a must read. A slight exaggeration of the traditional style and pacing but consistent enough to be a part of her work. 

Sorry to see it end , I've enjoyed them.

Camino Island by John Grisham

Camino Island by John Grisham

Grisham is an author who I stopped reading years ago because so many of his books felt like the same formula recast . But, this is new and a different kind of genre for him; it is about books, bookstores, rare manuscripts, a bit of thievery and Florida. I thought I'd give it a whirl.

It's a quick read multilayer story. I stayed involved in solving the resolution, which was different than anticipated, but satisfactory. It was a good book to distract me from Hurricane Irma preparations.