New Mormon Books

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/

In the first paragraph of Mormonism in Transition, Alexander recalls two problems that he confronted when he began work on the book. One was the torrent of sources - magazines, diaries, minutes, letters, and the like the period 1890 to 1930 presented him with. The second problem was less practical, and therefore, for our purposes, more interesting. Alexander notes that “there was no narrative base from which to began.” …overall, [he] concludes that the sheer “scope” of the period lacked conceptual clarity until he found some threads with which to pull it tight. And those threads are rationalization, organization, clarification, explication. This was the period, according to Alexander, in which the Church was standardized.

Revisiting: Mormonism in Transition: a history of the Latter-day Saints, 1890-1930
By: matt b.
Juvenile Instructor, June 18, 2009
http://www.juvenileinstructor.org/revisiting-mormonism-in-transition-a-history-of-the-latter-day-saints-1890-1930/

So now I have read the book. I did not like it very much. Most of my religious reading is unashamedly of Mormonism, by Mormons, for Mormons. There is a directness to this commentary that appeals to me. As I read the book, I felt that I was not Robinson’s intended audience. It seemed like he was writing about interfaith dialog, by a Mormon, for Evangelicals. It was almost like I was reading a book that belonged to somebody else.

Okay, So I Read ‘How Wide the Divide?’
By Eric Nielson
Blogger of Jared, June 26th, 2009.
http://www.bloggerofjared.com/2009/06/26/okay-so-i-read-how-wide-the-divide/

I got the cover for Methods of Madness today. Seeing a cover for the first time is one of those Big Moments on the path to the publication of new book. It’s thrilling, and a little scary.

Covered
by Stephanie Black
Six LDS Writers and a Frog, June 24, 2009
http://sixldswriters.blogspot.com/2009/06/covered.html

David Ebershoff takes two distinct narratives, adds faux-historical documents, letters, and Wikipedia entries, and comes up with a completely engrossing look at the history of polygamy in America. This is a case of a hugely ambitious idea - multiple narrators, different time periods, the blending of history and fiction - that absolutely gets it right. I was grabbed by the first page, and by the end of the 500+ page novel didn’t want it to end.

Review & Blog Tour - The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff
By Elizabeth
As Usual, I Need More Bookshelves, June 10, 2009
http://needmoreshelves.blogspot.com/2009/06/review-blog-tour-19th-wife-by-david.html

Read more…

If I could give this more than 5 stars, I would. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I have to admit that I have never read any books by John Bytheway, but have listened to his talks. I thought this was wonderfulo book on becoming better wives and helping our husband’s become better as well.

Behind Every Good Man: Helping Your Husband Take the Spiritual Lead in the Home Behind Every Good Man: Helping Your Husband Take the Spiritual Lead in the Home by John Bytheway: My Review
By Sal
Sal’s Book Review, June 9, 2009
http://salsbooks.blogspot.com/2009/06/behind-every-good-man-helping-your.html

The Actor and The Housewife is somewhat fanciful, definitely romantic and at times, well the only word that comes to mind is perky. Though I would be the last one found browsing the romance aisles, I’d have to say what really peaked my interest was the synopsis of the book.

The Actor and The Housewife - Shannon Hale
By Bev
Merry Weather, June 8, 2009

Any argument about the freshness of Hale’s ideas seems closed. While the Salt Lake City mother of two considers her just-published book, The Actor and the Housewife , her best, it’s also her riskiest work in terms of subject matter.

Books: Shannon Hale’s risky new title
Utah writer tackles affectionate, Platonic friendship.
By Ben Fulton
The Salt Lake Tribune, June 11, 2009
http://www.sltrib.com/features/ci_12569920

Latter-day Saints may be fielding a lot of questions about their religion this summer, thanks to Shannon Hale’s new book “The Actor and the Housewife.” This award-winning author is one of the first nationally published novelists to feature a Mormon as the main character.

The claim that Hales is “one of the first nationally published novelists to feature a Mormon as the main character” has no basis in fact.

Writer’s challenge: infusing religion
By Michelle Lehnardt
Deseret News
Saturday, Jun. 13, 2009
http://www.mormontimes.com/mormon_voices/mormon_experience/?id=9167

“The Actor and the Housewife is an entertaining romantic drama with depth, emotion and humour; I couldn’t put it down!”

Book Review – The Actor and the Housewife (ARC)
By Bobbie Crawford-McCoy
Book Reviews by Bobbie, June 17, 2009
http://bookreviewsbybobbie.wordpress.com/2009/06/17/book-review-the-actor-and-the-housewife-arc/

What happens when your not-so-secret celebrity crush walks right into real life and changes everything? Mormon housewife Becky Jack — seven months pregnant with her fourth child — is about to find out when she meets celebrity hearththrob Felix Callahan.

On the Bookshelf
By Kathy Kirby
Muncie IN Star Press, June 21, 2009
http://www.thestarpress.com/article/20090621/LIFESTYLE/906210303

I picked up this book last Sunday morning, since I wanted something to read during the hour between dropping my daughter off and the beginning of her dance recital. Once I started reading, I didn’t want to stop. I finished before I went to bed that night, in spite of a packed day. I can’t remember the last time I was sneaking in a few pages while my husband drove us to a family activity.

Review: The Actor and the Housewife by Shannon Hale
By Laura
I’m Booking It, June 18, 2009.
http://imbookingit.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/the-actor-and-the-housewife/

Elissa Wall with the help of Lisa Pulitzer does a good job painting the FLDS as a very repressive people with some very controlling behaviors and Warren Jeffs as a scum ball. I have never had the respect that my wife BiV has for fundamentalists and her romanticized view that they are just good religious people trying to live the “principle.” Wall reinforced my viewpoint that living polygamy is almost impossible due to the selfish behavior of the participants to control one another.

He Said: Book Review: Stolen Innocence
By Dr. B.
He Said/She Said, June 8, 2009
http://said-he-she.blogspot.com/2009/06/he-said-book-review-stolen-innocence.html

I wanted to see what Bushman had to say on these issues, as well as address some assertions by others regarding Joseph’s possibly nefarious motives for polygamy.

Bushman’s Take on Polygamy
By Mormon Heretic
Mormon Matters, June 20, 2009
http://mormonmatters.org/2009/06/20/bushmans-take-on-polygamy/

The book hooked me from the first page and I couldn’t put it down. I had to see how the hero and heroine would get together… I was coming close to the end, with maybe ten pages left and I seriously wondered to myself, “how is she going to wrap this up in such a short time.” The answer was, she didn’t… Betsy Brannon Green had become a cliffhanger writer and I didn’t like it.

My Apology to Betsy Brannon Green
by Julie Coulter Bellon
Six LDS Writers and A Frog, June 18, 2009
http://sixldswriters.blogspot.com/2009/06/my-apology-to-betsy-brannon-green.html