Book Meme

This meme comes from Linda.  Feel free to use it on your blog if you like! 

1. Do you remember how you developed a love for reading?  The earliest book I remember reading on my own was called "A Child's Bible Reader."  Each week an aunt (I think her name was Charlotte) read stories to her niece and nephew. I read that book over and over . . . and I still have it!  I think it instilled in me not only a love for reading, but a love for God's Word. 

2. What are some books you read as a child? I read all sorts of things.  I remember finding a box of books in this house we lived in--I think it came with the house. In it were copies of JANE EYRE, GONE WITH THE WIND, HIS BEST GIRL, and a biography of Albert Schweitzer.  I read every one of those books over and over--and I think I was about seven or eight. If I didn't understand something, I just kept going.  :-) 

3. What is your favorite genre? I don't really have a favorite.  The only thing I don't particularly care for is fantasy--sorry to say so, but the Lord of the Rings just leaves me yawning. I have no idea why. 

4. Do you have a favorite novel? Without a doubt--THE NUN'S STORY, by Katherine Hulme. I think this book was also in that box of books, and I've read it dozens of times.  Wonderful, and based on a true story! 

5. Where do you usually read? In my library chair, or on a plane.  These days I really have to work to find time to sit and read for pleasure. 

6. When do you usually read? My favorite time is on an airplane.  No distractions, and nothing to make me feel guilty! 

7. Do you usually have more than one book you are reading at a time? Oh, yes.  I have piles of partly-read books all over the house, but most of those are nonfiction.  With novels, I tend to read until finished, unless I get bored with it. 

8. Do you read non-fiction in a different way or place than you read fiction? See above. 

9. Do you buy most of the books you read, or borrow them, or check them out of the library? I buy them.  Because if nobody buys books, authors starve.  Sad but true. 

10. Do you keep most of the books you buy? If not, what do you do with them? I keep them for a while, then I either give them away, exchange them, or shelve them.  But I ran out of shelves a long time ago.  Around here, we shelve and then we stack! 

11. If you have children, what are some of the favorite books you have shared with them? Were they some of the same ones you read as a child?  My son has never been a reader, and my daughter loved to read until the school's accelerated reading program killed the joy of reading for her.  I'm still upset about that. 

12. What are you reading now? I just finished BECKY for my neighborhood book club.  And I have a half dozen nonfiction legal books on my desk, fodder for the WIP. 

13. Do you keep a TBR (To Be Read) list? List?  No. Stacks.  Everywhere. 

14. What's next? Whatever my book club chooses for next month . . . and whatever I grab as I head out for my next plane trip.  One of my pet peeves is running out of books before I get where I'm going. I hope the Kindle will solve that little problem! 

15. What books would you like to reread? The Nun's Story . . . MODOC, and THE CALL OF THE WILD.  

16. Who are your favorite authors? Now I'm going to get in trouble--I have too many author friends and too many favorites!  So I'll name authors I don't know personally--Jodi Picoult, Anita Shreve, Allison Weir, and Phillipa Gregory come to mind. 

That's it!  Feel free to be tagged! 

~~Angie

Novellas?

Today's Wall Street Journal has a little blip titled "How Novellas Could Rescue Fiction Writers and Readers."  The gist of the story is that since everyone knows people read less these days, perhaps we can entice them to read novellas instead of novels.  

Says the author, taking a cue from Jean Hannah Edelstein's book blog on The Guardian:  "with a length somewhere between a short story and a novel, the novella can deliver a sophisticated read in the time it takes to watch a reality-television program or a movie.  Thanks to the amount of paper they require, novellas can profitably sell for the price of a magazine. Best of all, growth in novellas would bolster intellectual standards in an industry that lately has been accused of dumbing down literature. The novella's brevity tends to bring out "care and thought ad the extra level of creative gusto" in authors." 

Okay.   While I applaud the idea in theory, I don't think someone who is averse to books--and I know people who are--is more likely to pick up a novella than a novel.  And those who DO love to read tend to feel dissatisfied if you only give them one main plot (all you typically have room for in a novella.)  Furthermore, novellas tend to be produced in hardcover, not softcover, so the initial expense is actually much greater than a magazine--unless you're talking one of those showy magazines that I don't usually read.  :-) 

I've written at least one novella (it's too early in the morning to do an extensive search of my memory bank), and its sales were dismal.  Readers want an emotional payoff that's worth the time they've invested into a book, and while it may be possible in a shorter work, it's much more difficult.  So the publisher who pushes novellas may actually be asking his authors to work harder for less money and fewer sales. 

What about you?  Would you rather read a novella than a novel?  Does size matter?  (Sorry for the double entendre.)  Does a really thick book give you pause at the cash register?  I think Harry Potter proved that length doesn't hurt sales if the readers are invested in the story, but I doubt many new readers would be willing to take a chance on a book that weighs more than two pounds. 

What are your thoughts?  And, BTW, is there a book we haven't done as a BOM that you'd like to hear about?  Let me know! 

~~Angie 

BOM: Q&A

Well, the only questions I have to answer have to do with animals in heaven and evil animals. :-) Good thing those topics aren't at all controversial . . .

Okay--this is probably one of those occasions where the things of God will seem like foolishness to those who don't believe, but I have based most of the following opinions on Scripture. You're free to look 'em up.

Can animals be evil? I believe they have a will, and they can certainly choose to do wrong. All you have to do is look at the dog who's lying on the sofa and knows he's not supposed to be there. If that doesn't cut it for you, Dr. Penny Patterson tells the story of when Koko was using a stick to pry a window open. (I think I also used this with Sema.) When she was caught, Koko quickly used the stick as a "cigarette" and pretended to smoke it. Ah! Deception!

So yes, I believe some animals have at least a basic knowledge of good and evil and can choose between the two. Not nearly as well-developed as man's of course, and we'll probably only see this in higher animals. (I don't know--do soldier ants whip lazy worker ants into submission? I know ants can use tools.)

I also believe that animals can be used of God--and by Satan. Satan used the serpent to tempt Eve. God used Balaam's donkey to speak to Balaam. God also used two bears to devour a group of boys who called Elisha "baldie" (look it up, 2 Kings 2:24).

I suppose we could also say that God used frogs and locusts and flies in the plagues of Egypt.

If you think of animals as servants, I think we begin to see their rightful position. Not that the position of servant is to be disdained--Jesus said HE came as a servant, after all. God gave man dominion over the animals. They serve us, but we are to be benevolent rulers. "Blessed," says the Scripture, "is the man who regards the life of his beast."

Animals originally lived in peace with man in the Garden--and man was apparently vegan. But after man's fall, God used animals to provide Adam and Eve with clothing. After that, God told man to use animals for food and sacrifice as well.

Notice Genesis 9--a lot about animals in this chapter. First, notice that animals who kill people are to be condemned to death (evil animals?) verse five.

Second, notice verses 8-10: animals are included in the Noahic covenant. They are included in the promise that God will never again destroy the earth by flood.

Third, notice verse 2: for the first time, God says, "All the wild animals, large and small, and all the birds and fish will be afraid of you. I have placed them in your power. I have given them to you for food, just as I have given you grain and vegetables."

Apparently animals weren't naturally afraid of man until this point--and they will return to this fearlessness at some point in the future, perhaps when the lion lays down with the lamb, i.e., in the Millennium or on the New Earth, depending upon your eschatology.

The fact that all the animals came willingly to Noah before the flood is interesting when you realize that this natural fear didn't appear until after the flood.

Aside--did you know they're making Bruce Almighty 2? From the previews I've seen, looks like there's a Noah thing going on.

In the story of Jonah, notice that the king of Ninevah (Jonah 3:7) had even the ANIMALS fast when the people repented. And later, when God chided Jonah for his recalcitrant attitude, God said, "Ninevah has more than 120,0000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?"

God counts animals, too.

Finally: while I don't agree with Native Americans' pantheism, I do think they had one thing right--I've heard that whenever an Indian brave killed a deer, for instance, he would thank the deer for providing food for his family and giving of his strength. I actually think that's the right attitude toward animals. God has given them to us for our sustenance. So we should be thankful, not domineering or cruel.

For this reason I am not a vegetarian, but neither do I support those horrible farms where pigs and lambs are raised in tiny little boxes, or any inhumane butchering of livestock. I DESPISE the hunting of endangered species and animals' heads hung on walls for show . . . but do not condemn a hunter who kills a deer for food. But those people who go to Africa and shoot elephants and lions who've been penned in . . . don't get me started. My blood pressure begins to boil.

I like elephants. I'm going to write about them one of these days.

Well, enough of my animal ravings. If you're interested in reading more, read DOMINION: The Power of Man, the Suffering of Animals, and the Call to Mercy, by Matthew Scully. It'll open your eyes.

~~Angie