New Mormon Books

When it comes to books on scriptural studies, there are a few questions that I want to know. Does the author engage in the larger field of studies regarding their subject? Have they studied the work in the original Hebrew or Greek, or at least used reliable translations? What is their stance on redaction and biblical criticism in general? Even though I didn’t expect Crowther to fall within the larger field of biblical critics and be able to answer affirmative to my above questions, I was hoping for something a little more than what I got.

Title: How to Understand the Book of Ezekiel: The Latter-day Warnings by Duane S. Crowther
By Dallas Robbins
Confetti Book Reviews, 30/06/09
http://www.confettiantiques.com/book-reviews/title-how-to-understand-the-book-of-ezekiel-the-latter-day-warnings-by-duane-s-crowther/

As each of us goes about our daily business at the office, store, and elsewhere, it is likely that we will rub shoulders with a Mormon at one time or another. Heck, sometimes they even show up right at the front door. During these encounters, the conversation can at times be confusing at best. While Christians and Mormons may use some of the same words, the theological meaning each side places on these words are often oceans apart. In order to be better prepared for these occasions, I’d encourage you to educate yourself on the history, theology, and practices of the Mormon Church.

Book Review – The Mormon Mirage by Latayne C. Scott
By Shaun Tabatt
Bible Geek Gone Wild, June 30, 2009.
http://biblegeekgonewild.com/?p=1778

This was a fascinating book and a good introduction to the issues surrounding such polygamous sects. It’s also a little violent for tweens, but ought to be fine for older teens.

That said, I also think that it’s written in such a way that it distances this cult—The Chosen Ones—from the sources of most of these polygamous sects in the West, which has historically been the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

You don’t want to be chosen
By Kel Munger
Sacramento News & Review, June 30, 2009.
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/bibliolatry/blogs?date=2009-06-01

Yes, I did it. I read Twilight. I blame peer pressure.

weekly book review: twilight, by stephenie meyer
Pretty to Think So, June 18, 2009
http://somewherenevertravelled.blogspot.com/2009/06/weekly-book-review-twilight-by.html

“It’s not what I expected.” That’s the first response I keep hearing from readers of the actor and the housewife. I wondered if the title or jacket was misleading, or the jacket text. Or all. They may be. But as I’ve listened to these readers, I’ve come to realize that, at least in part, it’s something more ephemeral than all that: this book doesn’t have a genre.

This is what Shannon Hale says about her newest book The Actor and the Housewife and this is exactly the response I had when reading it.

The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale (and Shannon Singing . . . Karaoke?!)
By Natasha
Maw Books Blog, June 29, 2009.
http://blog.mawbooks.com/2009/06/29/the-actor-and-the-housewife-by-shannon-hale/

When I was beginning to write seriously, I attended several writing groups. Some didn’t critique the writers’ work. Those who did usually were attended by writers whose work made me quite uncomfortable. I didn’t fit into the Christian group because my beliefs weren’t exactly in line with theirs. However, over the period of about a year I’d gathered the names of five other LDS women who wrote. It came to me as inspiration from Heavenly Father that I was to get them together in a sisterhood of LDS women writers. We met as strangers one night in October, 1986, and two hours later, we were sisters. The organization evolved from there, and has assisted many hundreds of women to magnify their writing talents, whether for publication or not, as they desired. I never dreamed I would be so heavily involved in ANWA for so long as this.

Interview With Marsha Ward
By Teri Rodeman
LDS Forever Friends Book Nook, 29 June 2009.
http://terirodeman.blogspot.com/2009/06/interview-with-marsha-ward.html

I had my “reconversion” to the Book of Mormon (to use the word I have chosen for the experiences of life-long Mormons) when I was a missionary in Hawaii in 1956. Yes, I had read the book and studied passages for talks, but I had not been brought to Christ by it.

Eugene England’s “Reconversion” to the Book of Mormon
By Jared
LDS Alive in Christ, June 29th, 2009.
http://www.ldsaliveinchrist.com/2009/06/eugene-englands-reconversion-to-the-book-of-mormon/

After all the time that I’ve spent covering the “Twilight” beat for MTV, I was extremely honored to be asked to attend Summer School in Forks: A “Twilight” Symposium, a real-life fan event that allowed Twilighters to attend classes, go to a prom and enjoy field trips around the real-life town that Meyer immortalized by making it home to her beloved characters.

‘Twilight’ World Comes To Life In Forks, Washington.
Summer School in the small Washington town features ‘Twilight’ classes, field trips and prom.
By Larry Carroll
MTV Movie News, Jun 29 2009.
http://www.mtv.com/movies/news/articles/1614969/story.jhtml

Humor books do not usually get my attention. That is, until I read Kersten Campbell’s Confessions of a Completely Insane Mother. Kersten has made me a believer of the importance of laughing through some of life’s miserable experiences. Kersten was willing to take some time with me and to share her perspective on motherhood, writing, and . . . humor.

Interview with Humorist Kersten Campbell
By C.S. Bezas, BellaOnline’s LDS Editor
BellaOnline, 2009.
http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art62240.asp

Williams unveils life among the Chosen (a fictitious theocracy) with spare, evocative writing and an honest sense of character that helps bridge the rift between Kyra’s world and ours. In one scene her family takes her off the compound to buy fabric for her wedding dress, and they stop for lunch at Applebee’s. Everyone gawks at them, and readers, most of us at least, are likely to be jolted by recognizing ourselves among the gawkers.

Tightening the Knot
Reviewed by JESSICA BRUDER
New York Times, June 11, 2009.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/14/books/review/Bruder-t.html