Books I read in August

AUGUST

1. Tales of Passion, Tales of Woe by Sandra Gulland and 2. The Last Great Dance by Sandra Gulland
I really enjoyed these other two books from the Josephine series. Although I didn't think Josephine was such a saint as Gulland made her sound, I felt compassion for her and I was glad Gulland portrayed her as a tender mother, devoted wife, and sweet friend.

3. The Tale of Two Castles by Gail Carson Levine
Such a delightful teen book portraying the usual Levine strong female characters with a mix of smart dragons and good hearted ogres. What's not to like!

4. Tender is the night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
This book took my breath away right off with its first paragraph. I couldn't breath as I read page after page of the most beautiful language ever to have been written. Named as the most autobiographical writing of Fitzgerald, I couldn't help but feel his anguish, despair, love, pride, uncertainties, arrogance, humility, and above all his genius. Reading his book brought two major feelings in my heart. One was the feeling that I shouldn't write another line ever again. The way Fitzgerald writes transcends human capability. It is another level of language and art. If you can't write like him don't write at all. However, this option would leave us with very few books in the world since not many can write like him. The second feeling I got was wonderment, a feeling that took me away from the real life and into the magical world of art and language and true beauty. The plot and the characters give a lot of topics to discuss, but it is the language that is the main character in this book. A must read for any fans of American literature, and especially of the Great Gatsby's author.

5. Whatever it takes: Geoffrey Canada's quest to change Harlem and America by Paul Tough
This was an inspiring book about helping our students in the poor areas of the country to dream big and be engaged in the design of their own life. Geoffrey Canada, an African American himself born and raised in Harlem, overcame that mental and physical block that prevents so many African American kids in Harlem to get out of their poverty mentality and life of gangs and crime. And for many years, he has dedicated his life and resources to build confidences and change attitudes about education in Harlem as well as in the whole country. My favorite idea of his that isn't used as much as it should in the poor areas is the fact that he knew that to change the attitudes of the children one should change their parents' lifestyle and way of thinking, and as a result, he has build schools not only for Preschool and up to 5th grade, but has opened parenting classes for the parents themselves. It's slow progress, but it is progress nonetheless. His example inspired me to first be the best mother I can be for my own children, as well as to serve in my community in whatever means I can.

6. The Reading Promise: My father and the books we shared by Alice Ozma
This was a delightful book to read and enjoy. Little Alice and her father have made a promise to each other to read every day for 100 days. As the 100 days has come and gone, they realize that they have truly enjoyed reading to each other, and so embark into another promise to 1000 days which promise continues till Alice goes to college. A wonderful book showing the power of daughter-father love and their love for books. The book encouraged me to continue reading to my children, which I do quite often, but sometimes life gets on the way and I'm satisfied with my kids reading on their own. For this reason, mostly to push myself in doing it regularly, I compiled a Promise statement that I introduced to my children and husband, and after discussing what that entailed, we each signed our part of the bargain. Here is a copy of James's and ours:

August 29, 2011

Reading Promise

I, James Garmon, promise to read great books with my family every day (till Christmas Day), wherever we may be, for at least 10 minutes. I promise that I will listen carefully, be proactive in choosing good books to read, and discuss what I learned with my family.

I, James Garmon, promise to read the Scriptures with my family every day (till Christmas Day), wherever we may be, for at least 10 minutes. I promise that I will listen carefully and participate in the discussions we may have.

August 29, 2011

Reading Promise

I, Melita Garmon, promise to read great books to my children every day (till Christmas Day), wherever I may be, for at least 10 minutes.

I, Elijah Garmon, promise to read the Scriptures to my children every day (till Christmas Day), wherever I may be, for at least 10 minutes.

Since then, we haven't missed one day of reading to our kids at night from good books and scriptures. Our kids are actually the ones that remind us of our promise when we feel too exhausted of doing one more thing or when it is too late. It is my favorite time of the day, becuase no matter how busy we have been all day, and no matter how crazy my life might have been that day, we always have that one hour before bedtime to be with each other. Often times, Elijah has taken over for me in the reading good books part if I'm not home, and I've done the same when he is at the temple. I'm grateful for lessons we learn from others. Nothing beats reading in making better people out of our children however technologically advanced our civilization may become.

7. The Royal Game and other short novels by Stefan Zweig
I wrote about Zweig in June, when I read one of his short novels. This is another compilation of his best work using psychology to explain his characters' actions and thoughts. I really recommend these short novels to anyone who likes to read books that deal with inner struggles and overcoming the natural tendecies, or what happens to us as humans when we let our insticts take charge. Amazing analysis of human mind and heart.