Mormon Scientist

Mormon Scientist: The Life and Faith of Henry Eyring by Henry J. Eyring


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was less of a biography than a memoir about Henry Eyring. It's written by his grandson and so is treated with less objective observation than a real biography would be. In fact, in some ways it was more of a religion book than a biography book at all. The author presents an ideal and then explains why Eyring exemplifies it. It made for an interesting format but one that repeated ALOT of experiences and quotes, which I think, ultimately was a disservice to Eyring's life by making it seem there was less to tell than there was.
Still, Eyring's life was pretty extraordinary and his example of someone who was able to balance career and religion, science and faith was inspiring. While I think most Mormons today can reconcile evolution with divine creation, perhaps that is because Eyring's bold take on it back when it was a national debate.
All in all, I liked the book, enjoyed the stories about Henry--I just wish the author would have let the life speak for itself.

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Too Much Happiness

Too Much Happiness: Stories by Alice Munro


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I felt like Goldilocks reading this book. It wasn't too obtuse, it wasn't too banal, it was just right. Munro does a great job of delving into her characters, and creating a world for them in just a few sentences. She does a great job of forshadowing just enough that you know what's going to happen without you consciously *knowing*. And most of the time, the plot builds to a satisfying end with just enough intrigue to mull over later. Interestingly, the only story I didn't love was the title story "Too Much Happiness" which was actually based on a real person. While terribly interesting, I didn't feel connected to the main character like I did with her other "fictional" characters in the other stories. It seemed that in Munro's eagerness to showcase an amazing woman and get in all the facts, she forgot to let us peek in under the surface. The rest of the stories are excellent.

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Close Calls with Nonsense

Close Calls with Nonsense: Reading New Poetry by Stephen Burt


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I thought that this was a book to help the average reader understand newer poetry. Aside from three essays, this is more of a collection of critical pieces *about* modern poetry writers, and it is clearly not for average readers, but for real afficionados of poetry. For one thing, I would never want to play Scrabble with Burt--his vocabulary is astounding--and while I will admit that once I looked the words up on dictionary.com they were exactly the right word to make his point--many times I had to look up too many words to understand his point--"portmanteau word" , "mingling plagency", "phenomenological inquires"... maybe these are household words for poets and poetic students, but not me. In conjunction with the big vocabulary, his points were so dense and rapid at times, that I was continually having to read paragraphs 2 or 3 times to understand his point. And while describing one poet, he would refernce their work with a nod to another poet, whom I also didn't know.
That aside, I will have to say that as a *textbook* this was very informative. I learned a lot of poetic verbage such as what a "sestina" or a "pantoum" is (although, it's not because Burt explains it, it's because I had to look it up) and I was introduced to a lot of names in poetry I hadn't heard before and he included enough of their poetry to help me decide whether I wanted to read more of their work.
It took me about 2 months to wade through this book, but I look at it like I took a home study course on modern poets. Still, I think this was more of a 500 or graduate level course, and I could've used a poetry 101 or at least 200 first to really appreciate it.

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Percy Jackson and the Olympians

The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan


My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This third book felt more like a set-up for the grand finale than a well-defined quest. We get introduced to lots of characters who either die or play piviotal roles in the upcoming books. Still, I enjoyed meeting Apollo, with his fast cars and terrible poetry. Some of the baddies were really good, like zombie soldiers and Atlas (really, Atlas is a baddie?!). There were a few deus ex machinas (literally and figuratively) in this book, which is only fitting, being an ode to Greek literature and all.
Enjoyable overall, but not one of the best in the series.

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The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book captured by kids' imagination the most of any of the books--and I can see why, with a maze underground that constantly shifts and bends time and space. Each corner introduces the characters to new dangers, challenges, and wonders. Lots of adventure, lots of fun. It does a good job of setting up the series for the final book as well.

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My rating: 4 of 5 stars The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan



The final book is full of action. In fact, there is so much of the grand and final show-down in the book, that it does tend to drag on a bit. The gods have all joined together to fight Typhon, a super-monster that is making it's way across the U.S. and the demi-gods are left to defend Olympus against Kronos. Monsters seem to overwhelm the heros, but new allies come to help drive them back. Then Kronos unleashes another new suprise monster/attack and a surprising new ally comes to the rescue, et cetra. Still, the story has enough emotional integrity to keep it from becoming too tiresome. The ending wraps up nicely, though there are a few inconsistencies. I won't quibble about them though, because overall the series was fun, adventurous, promoted good things like family, loyalty, and environmentalism, and most importantly, excited my 9-year old enough to read the whole series.

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The 19th Wife: A Novel by David Ebershoff


My rating: 2 of 5 stars
This was an interesting read for me, since as a Mormon, I haven't read literature about Mormonism that wasn't either written by a Mormon or was anti-Mormon literature. So there was more emotional baggage attached to this novel than I'm used to. Still, this novel, while historically enlightening, left a lot to be desired.
There are two tales entertwined--one of Ann Eliza, the 19th wife of Brigham Young, who divorced him and then campaigned vigorously against polygamy. The second is a murder mystery set in the cultish "Firsts" who still practice polygamy in modern day. The historical tale takes up the majority of the book, and is the more interesting of the two. Although it was a "memoir" written to show the abuse Ann Eliza endured as a multiple wife, I thought she came off a bit unsympathetic--selfish and vindictive as opposed to victimized and justified; in some ways it was hard to care about what happened to her. The modern day tale was, in my opinion, not well-developed, most of it was completely unbelieveable, and was wrapped up without much of a climax; even the epilogue left many questions still unanswered.
As far as the treatment of Mormons and Mormon history I have to say Ebershoff was more fair than I thought he'd be. There were even some parts of our history that I discovered as a result of reading this book. As far as the accuracy, the real memoir of Ann Eliza is available for free online, and it only takes a quick skim to see where Ebershoff deviates. Other questions of validity were quickly answered with a few google searches--and he has a quite lengthy note at the end of my copy addressing where he aquired his information.
The main character in the modern day story is gay mainly, I think, to point out the parallels between how early Saints were pressed upon to accept polygamy for their salvation and how gay practices are not tolerated today. So I get that--(although the characters fall into the stereotypes of either flamboyantly gay or clingy and neat, and all hypersexual, and so no one felt like a real person). But why the modern day characters have to swear so much, that I don't get.
In the end, the sole reason I liked this book at all was because it motivated me to read more about the early saints in Salt Lake, and because it prompted a few deep discussions with my husband late at night.

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Once a Runner

Once a Runner: A Novel by John L. Parker


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was described as the "best novel about running", and I read an excerpt in Runners World that was pretty good. I admit I checked it out hoping to help my motivation but I took the "best novel about running" in stride--add enough adjectives and anything can be the "best". I will readily admit that it's not the best novel--some parts are confusing, the subplot about being kicked out of school isn't very developed and doesn't seem to make much sense--but it may very well be the best novel about running (not that I've read any others--except if you can count The Time Traveler's Wife). Parker captures what it is like to run beautifully. I surely haven't experienced a tenth of what an elite runner must feel like, but Parker described the parts of running I do know so well and so elegantly that I readily believe the rest.

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Trial by Trail

The thing I love most about our subdivision is the running trail that circles the subdivision. If you run the complete loop, it comes out to about a 5K. At one point, the paved path becomes a dirt path that borders a lake. It's only about a quarter mile but I've had my fair share of adventures on it nonetheless.

I am not a fast runner but I compensate for my slowness in two ways. One, I wear fast clothes. You know, sweat wicking, slinky clothes that have racing stripes and swooshes. Two, I try to run at unpopular times, like say, 10 am or 1pm, so that I am the only runner out there. That way I won't be passed too often. I run as regularly as a SAHM with 4 kids can, and my times have slowly, (so slowly), but consistenly improved. I think I even convinced myself I wasn't so slow anymore until one Saturday when I broke one of my rules. I ran at the peak running hour for the weekend--9am.

I was pushing myself, running hard. I was sweaty and I could feel my form suffering. My hair was plastered to my face and I was making gasping noises. I was on the dirt path, rounding the lake. I knew I had less than a half mile and I was done with the run for the day. I fumbled with my mp3 player, trying to eek out some fortitude by amping up the beat, when from nowhere a runner side-stepped past me on the single-file path. Startled, I stumbled a little, and watched with dejection as toned, tan thighs and a perky pony tail bounced effortlessly past me.
I lurched awkwardly as I tried to answer with a burst of speed of my own, arms flailing, feet thudding, but it was pointless. I could have been standing still; the young runner steadily bounded from view. In a burst of recognition, I watched youth personified pass by me, without a look back, presumptuous and oblivious, now steadily receding from my grasp.

I sighed and resumed a joggers shuffle, ignoring pain in my knee, hip, and--was that a twinge in my back? My hips may have started their mid-life spread, age spots might be shadowing my face, my toddlers may have turned into teens, but I know my PR is still out there, and I have plenty of time to grab it. Youth may no longer be my adjective, but maturity has imbued me with tenacity and perseverance. I embrace this body with all its flaws and know that I have plenty of miles to wring out of it yet.