The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright

Okay, Okay I know I’m behind the times (I swear my to-read list is multiplying behind my back), but I finally got a chance to read The Wednesday Letters by Jason F. Wright. The Wednesday Letters is a national title based on the premise that an older couple, Jack and Laurel, die within a short time of each other. They are found in each other’s arms and the family begins the grieving process while at the same time discovering a secret their parents have kept from them. Every Wednesday, Jack wrote Laurel a letter and Laurel kept them all. As their children begin reading the letter they learn even more secrets about their parents: some fun, some heartbreaking.

Although there were moments when I felt the emotions were a little over-board in their descriptions, I’d have to say that my time with The Wednesday Letters was very enjoyable and satisfying.

This is a sweet book that captures the essence of humanity, both good and bad. It made me think a little bit harder about my own choices and my judgments of other people’s choices where I have no right to judge at all. The Wednesday Letters reminds me that there is always more than one side of a story and every one of them is valid. We’re all just doing our best from day to day, trying to figure out how to stay afloat. It reminds me to make goals for myself and always honor my commitments. It reminds me to try my best everyday, to be a little more dependent on the Spirit and a little less dependent on the world.

This book earns a place on my list of recommendations for a quiet Sunday afternoon. It’s not long, or complicated, and the messages are clearly portrayed in ways we can all understand. It’s a nice reminder about the power of the atonement, repentance and forgiveness even when none of those things seem possible to our frail mortal minds. It provides an inspiring start to some very good subjects for us to ponder as we enter the Easter season. The Wednesday Letters offers a measure of love and hope for a number of common difficulties we can face in this life. I can almost guarantee that you will find yourself somewhere in the cast of characters and probably learn something about your potential as well.

I also realized that after Tuesdays with Morrie, and The Last Lecture, this is the third book I’ve read in less than 12 months that had to do with dying. I’ve gotta find a new theme. My husband is beginning to eye me suspiciously and wonder about my sudden urge to make sure the wills are up to date. Too much introspection can be down right depressing.

I’m still looking for that totally awesome comedy that does nothing but make me laugh out loud. Send me your recommendations—let’s give my husband a different reason to think I’m off my rocker for a while. ;)

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Brass Dragon Codex by R.D. Henham

I discovered the Dragonlance books when I was in high school and fell totally in love with them. They were a perfect fit for the type of fantasy I liked. I did stop reading them eventually; they seemed to just keep covering the same stuff over and over and again, but without my favorite characters, less clothing, and more violence. That’s why I was pleased when the new Dragon Codex series was announced as companion guides to A Practical Guide to Dragons. I loved the thought of returning to the world of Solamnia with a little bit more innocent perspective.

The Dragon Codex books definitely fit that niche. These are middle grade readers and they are fun. You can peak at some more information on Red Dragon Codex by R.D. Henham, here. It gives a good feel for what this series is like and what to expect.

When Rebecca Shelley, the assistant scribe for the Brass Dragon Codex by R.D. Henham sent me a review copy I was totally excited. I’d already read and loved the Red Dragon Codex so this was a big treat for me. The excitement got doubled when my oldest boy, currently in a dragon phase, caught sight of the book. I not only got to read a great book, but I got to read Brass Dragon aloud with my son and that’s one of my favorite things to do.

Bonus points were also awarded to Brass Dragon Codex on the merit of actually holding my special needs son’s attention past chapter 1. If he’s not interested, there’s nothing anyone can do to get him to listen any further.

I found the young brass dragon Kyani, or Tumbleweed (since it’s just dumb to give someone you just met your real name), to be my favorite character. He is newly orphaned, very innocent, very talkative, and very lonely. He was totally cute and lovable to me. The gnomes, Hector and Amber, were interesting, but I didn’t get as attached to them as I did Kyani. I suppose that’s the way is should be since the book is meant to be a dragon adventure.

I think was less attached to the gnomes because I had a chip on my shoulder: I miss some of the original quirkiness and antics of the gnome characters as they are portrayed in the Brass Dragon Codex. I seem to remember that in my favorite Dragonlance books they made it very clear that gnomes are thinking, and consequently talking, much faster than most normal people can comprehend. They talk about this in the Brass Dragon Codex, the quirk is still there but it’s not portrayed in the same way. Iwaskindofattachedtoseeingtheirramblingsentencesallstrungtogetherwithoutspacesandpunctuation. I totally understand not doing that in a middle grade reader, it would frustrate a reluctant reader to no end to see something like that, but I still missed it. I’m just weird that way.

I also loved the subtle moral lessons quietly laced throughout the text:

If you want a friend, you have to be a friend.

If you want someone to listen to you, try listening first.

It’s important to have goals.

It’s important to work on those goals.

It’s sometimes more important to help someone you love with their goals instead.

Sometimes friends are more important than things.

And many others. We all need those reminders sometimes.

They’re not preachy, but the morals are still there and that’s a difficult thing to balance and a rare thing to find done well. I think Brass Dragon Codex fit the bill there, as well as being action-packed and interesting.

All in All, you’ll find Brass Dragon Codex a good, safe read for the middle-grade reader and a quick, entertaining one for yourself as well. Great job, Rebecca! Um, I mean R.D. Henham.

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Pay it Forward and Other Great Books on Kindness

This past week I had the opportunity to spend a little time in an airport. It was not a good day for flying and there were many delays. Now, as inconvenient as delays are it seems that we tend to forget that said delays are not one person’s fault or generally anyone’s fault. Yet, everyone was looking for someone to blame and someone to complain to.

Here's the sad scenario that played out. When my daughter's plane delay was announced I was a little frustrated, yes. She was traveling alone for the first time and the delay served to give her something more to worry about. We worked it out and everything was fine. However, the minute a lot of people heard about the delay there was a mad rush to the ticket counter to demand that the problem be "fixed"-- even when there was absolutely nothing those poor ticket agents could do to make a plane grounded for a band of severe tornadoes leave the ground.

Everyone was worried and upset. About themselves.

As the line snaked around the corner I listened to the ticket agent make the announcement four different times that: they were fully aware that people had connections and deadlines, that they were prioritizing their efforts according to the tightest connects etc. and trying to make sure everyone would be able to make it to their final destinations with the least hassle possible. He pled with everyone to sit back down and let them call up passengers by destination so the most urgent cases could be served first. He reminded them that if they had to keep dealing with each person on a one on one basis it would take three times as long and people would inevitably miss the best window of opportunity because the ticket agents had not been able to do their jobs efficiently. It made sense to me. But oddly enough, I watched as no one, that's right, no one left the line. In fact they got more agitated.

Everyone there was so concerned about themselves they refused to step back and help the problem be solved for everyone, rather than standing in line to make sure they were dealt with first.

Why is that? Why has our society become so calloused that we can't see beyond our own lives to what might be good or helpful for someone else?

I watched those agents work steadily for the next three hours: getting yelled at yes, getting thanked for fixing things to the best of their ability, no. In fact, by the time the whole thing done the ticket agents no longer had energy left over for kindness either. They were sad and they were tired. I felt so bad for them. But apparently I was the only one. Even as I approached the counter to confirm my daughter’s landing time someone else came up to yell at them. Again.

And yes. A few people did miss the best flights because the ticket agents hadn't been able to do their jobs well. They got blamed for that as well.

So. Here are my book recommendations for the week. If you haven't read these titles, please do. There is something to be said for getting a good solid reminder of what service, Christ-like kindness and love are all about. We hear a lot about providing service in the LDS church, but I think we sometimes forget why it matters so much. I think we sometimes forget that service isn't always about ultimate self-sacrifice and it shouldn’t make us miserable. It's about being joyful and aware of each other. It's about looking for the best ways to be happy through helping and lifting someone else toward happiness as well. I can't help but think that whole airport scenario could have gone so differently if even half the people would have been a little more concerned about each other and a little less concerned about themselves.

Pay it Forward by Catherine Ryan Hyde This is a fictional book about finding a way to change the world through kindness.

Call to Arms by Chris Bratseth, Erik Hanson, Brad Stokes and Val Litwin, and

Cool to be Kind by Val Litwin, Chris Bratseth, Brad Stokes and Erik Hanson

These two books are written by four young men who have dubbed themselves the Kindness Crew and set out on a roaming tour of Extreme Kindness. They show you how to find ways to have your own kindness experiences.

52 Weeks of Fun Family Service by Merrilee Boyack This is a book of decent ideas on how to incorporate service into our families more.

The Kindness Handbook by Jeri-Lynn Johnson This is an older title but I love the specifics it gives. This book gives ideas about what you can say and do for just about any situation that you might find yourself needing to reach out to somebody in.

yourLDSneighborhood has added exciting new things to its website. Please drop by and take a look, browse around, check out our vendors, our radio station, our authors, our musicians and more. Check out the Neighborhood.

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Finished (Sort Of)

Today, I'm happy to announce that I have finally finished my WIP. Well, the first draft of it anyway. This particular baby caused me a much longer labor than I usually like so I'm relieved to have him finally here. But, he also weighed in at a hefty 84,149 words which is pretty long for a YA and tells me that even though the story is all there now, I have a lot work and editing to do.

It's always a relief to get to this point, but the trip is far from over. Now, an entirely different type of work and creative process begins. I have to figure out if anything I've said is worthwhile. There are parts where I know I've done my job well, but plenty of parts where I wonder what I was thinking by putting such gibberish on the page.

Here's the really weird thing though: the bloody thing still doesn't have a really cool name I'm totally in love with.

I've been calling it Blood, in fact. Well, the official name I gave the file was Blood of the Gods but that's kind of a mouthful, isn't it?

Actual conversation held in my kitchen of late:

Me: "I got to work on Blood today."

Husband: "Good. How far did you get?"

Me: "I hacked out about another 2,000."

At which point my children have lost their appetite. Which is actually fine, since I didn’t want to cook dinner anyway. :)

Hopefully I’ll hit on just the right name while I’m doing revisions. Of course, it really doesn’t matter. If I ever get someone to publish it they’ll change the name to whatever marketing tells them will sell best but still. . . it’s nice to call your baby something other than “hey kid” don’t you think?

Ghost at Work: Bailey Ruth Raeburn Series, Book 1 by Carolyn Hart

Have you ever read a book and had something click for you that just made you want to hunt down the author and ask the golden question, "By any chance are you LDS?" Well, that's the experience I had when I read Ghost at Work.

Ghost at Work was the first book I’d read by Carolyn Hart and I was thoroughly pleased with my experience. This is a national title, but I found Ghost at Work to be a wholesome, fun read without all the unnecessary stuff found in so many books these days. It made for a great afternoon escape and I highly recommend it.

Ghost at Work is the first book in the Bailey Ruth Raeburn series by Carolyn Hart. Bailey Ruth is dead, happily living in heaven with her husband, when she gets the urge to return to earth. The solution? Signing up with the Department of Good Intentions. In her new role she will be allowed to visit earth to help out people experiencing “dire situations” requiring heavenly intervention. The problem? Bailey Ruth has difficulty following rules, and there are a lot of rules for those sent to earth on heavenly missions. If Bailey Ruth can ever learn to follow the precepts of the Department of Good Intentions she might actually get to keep the job; but, helping out Kathleen- a preacher’s wife who finds a dead body on her porch- seems to require a lot of rule breaking and it’s totally fun to read about!

You can hear a podcast about the book here. Or, read an excerpt from the book here.

Now. What was it about Ghost at Work that made me suspect Carolyn Hart might have some knowledge about the LDS Church? Bailey Ruth Raeburn’s biggest problem with helping Kathleen seems to be an inability to remember to be “in the world, but not of the world.” Sound familiar? Uh-huh. It did to me, too and it’s been driving me crazy ever since. See, I was sure that it was simply a scripture, but it also felt like something I kind of thought was specific to the LDS culture. Hmmm. Hence, I drove myself and several people in the halls at church insane trying to figure out the origin of that statement.

I tried looking it up in the scriptures. At first, I thought it was a Doctrine and Covenants thing. No luck. Then, I thought, “Ok, it kind of sounds like a Paul thing.” No luck. Then I got really determined. I looked through the entire Topical Guide reference sections for both world and worldly. I found some close matches: John 17:11-17 being the closest, but no scripture that specifically said, “Be in the world, not of the world.”

I looked online. I found one quote that said it was a statement coined by Hugh Nibley (upon referring to the above scripture), but could not find an original reference under his name. I found a couple of generic Christian websites talking about it, but not quite quoting it the same way my silly memory has it etched in my brain.

I took a casual poll among my friends in other religions and converts to the LDS church. Those outside of the church said, “Sure its makes sense as a Christian thing but it’s not something I hear all the time.” Those who were converts to the church said, “No, I never heard that before joining the church.” Those who were life-long members said, “Of course it’s in the scriptures.” At that point a long silence would follow as they went through the same searches and logic I did, eventually they’d sigh and say either, “Well, it’s in there somewhere” or “it’s a modern revelation did you check [insert prophet’s name here] works?”

So. Here I am, sorely tempted to contact Carolyn Hart just to find out what religion she is. At any rate, I do highly recommend curling up with Ghost at Work for a no stress, feel good mystery. I’ll be checking out a few more of her titles to see if they all tend to provide such good, clean entertainment. Ghost at Work certainly fit the bill.

Now, somebody set me straight on that whole worldly business. I can’t afford to be any crazier than I already am. Besides, if I can’t get it figured out while I’m alive how will I ever stand a chance of landing a job with the Department of Good Intentions myself?

yourLDSneighborhood has added exciting new things to its website. Please drop by and take a look, browse around, check out our vendors, our radio station, our authors, our musicians and more. Check out the Neighborhood.

And while you're there, subscribe to the yourLDSneighborhood Newsletter. In addition to being able to shop in the new virtual neighborhood, the newsletter brings you articles, products, services, resources and interviews from around the world-all with an LDS focus. Look for issues delivered to your email inbox every week on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.