LifePundit

Terry Pratchett, Worth a Listen or Read

I'm probably the last person to have discovered the author Terry Pratchett, but in case you haven't, you've missed out. This is not an ad because I'm too lazy to put in the code, though I am trying a new widgety thing but it helps the author, not me. I had to zoom turn off my pop-up blocker and zoom-in to see the pages in the book. I hope it's helpful and doesn't just clutter up my blog.

Lily and I listen to his books on my iPod. I get them through Audible.com, which is a subscription service.

I bought my iPod in order to listen to books through NetLibrary. A friend who is on our library's board told me about how all I had to do was use the library website and I could download books for free to my iPod. So, since Lily and I love to listen to books while we commute to school, etc., I thought this was great. I went out and bought an iPod over a year ago.

Guess what. NetLibrary is partially funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the books on NetLibrary can't be loaded onto an iPod (the most widely used audio format device, though I'm sure that's now how a proper geek would say it; how much sense does that make?). You have to use some kind of Microsoft product, not that I'm paranoid or anything about Bill Gates taking over the world.

So, I bought some kind of $20 U.K. software online that will download the NetLibrary books and then record them on your iPod. It takes about half the time it would take to listen to the whole book and it sounds like you have mice, so I would set it up to convert the books at night. It said it was legal but it sounds marginal to me.

Is a monopoly legal? Market manipulations? But I digress. This was supposed to be about Terry Pratchett.

Anyway, that was not a clean solution (no chapter marks so it was hard to navigate the book), plus all that downloading and transposing was awkward and time consuming and squeaky so I was looking for something that would work with my iPod. The books on iTunes are too expensive. That's when I tried Audible. I get two books a month and it couldn't be easier.

And that's when I discovered the author Terry Pratchett. I'm not sure I understand his Discworld series, but his series about the teenage witch, Tiffany Aching, is sort of like Harry Potter but much, much funnier.

Brendan Wignall, Oxford Times
  "Terry Pratchett is simply the best humorous writer of the 20th century."  

I'm too tired to write a review so I'll just point you in the right direction. You can read all the reviews on Amazon or Audible. Though they are kid's books, I enjoyed them as much if not more than Lily.

We started with -- and I recommend you start with -- Wee Free Men. The guy who reads on Audible is great. I'd put in the Audible link but I'd have to sign out on Audible and I don't remember my password. Here's the Amazon link.

Next in the series is Hat Full of Sky. Amazon link.

Then The Wintersmith. Amazon link.

Unfortunately, that's the end of the Tiffany stories (so far). So we branched out and are listening to Witches Abroad. I am laughing out loud. So funny and so clever.

Like many children, Lily reads the same books over and over again. She likes to listen to the same books over and over again, too. I've listened to these along with her -- and they get funnier and funnier. Perhaps Terry Pratchett is an acquired taste. If so, I've acquired it.

How to Feed Your Soul

How do you keep your soul fed? If I'm not reading or involved in a Bible study, I tend to drift. My current bible study group is more academic than soul-feeding, so I've been feeling a little starved there. I was using some materials by Joyce Meyer, but her recent financial scandals (they may not be scandalous to others, but they are to me) have put up a stumbling block up for me. When I read a devotional about how you need to be sure you have balance in your life, I can't help but think about just how balanced is a $30,000 conference table? And I'm praying for Joyce, because I believe she is a gifted and chosen minister of God, but I also believe that she has fallen into a snare and rather than cut herself loose, she has brought in PR people to cover it over.

Joyce, you don't need PR people to talk about the photo ops where you actually touched the people in developing countries. You need Christians who'll tell you the truth. If you want to talk about PR, you need to do what Tylenol did when their product was poisoned. Announce that there's a problem and you're fixing the problem, not tell us all that there is no problem. You touched those people. Yet you've turned whatever you did into nothing more than a photo op, regardless of whatever you did. How many would that conference table have fed?

A dear friend has recommended a book, and I'm getting it along with a related devotional book. I'm excited about getting started on something else by one of my favorite authors, Dallas Willard. While I have nothing against trying to sell books, I've turned off my Amazon links because they were cluttering up my posts and confusing people. The books are Hearing God by Dallas Willard and the Hearing God Throughout the Year devotional book, also by Dallas Willard.

The Golden Compass

You've probably already gotten the e-mail. The Golden Compass, a book written by atheist author Philip Pullman, has been turned into a movie. Christians moms are sending word to each other about this movie, and the e-mails and responses I've received are earnest and thought-provoking. You can read about the author and the e-mails on Snopes.

According to Snopes, Pullman stated in a 2003 interview that “my books are about killing God.” He said it himself. I find that a problem.  I chose not to purchase the books when I found out that this was his agenda. I do not know whether or not he succeeds, but there are plenty of other authors out there who have not stated that their purpose is to undermine the basis of Christian belief and until we have read all of those, I’m not sure I need to give this author my money.

Apparently the movie has been sanitized by Hollywood to the point where atheists are offended, so maybe that's a good sign. When Floyd Spence, a former S.C. congressman who is now deceased, didn't have time to research the bill Congress was voting on, he would simply vote the opposite of New York's Bella Abzug (which says something good about her researchers). So, I guess I'm saying the same thing: if the atheists don't like it, it must be okay.

Except I don't think that way because that's not thinking. That's letting other people decide. Maybe their "not enough God-killing" is still too much God-killing for me.

I've checked the book out of the library. I'm really kind of angry about this, because I am not interested in this man or his books, yet I am being forced to become an "expert," at least in my own mind, about this book so I can decide whether Lily will:

1. Not see the movie or read the books;
2. See the movie but not read the books;
3. See the movie and/or read the books and then discuss them with me, or,
4. Read or see the movie/books with no guidance.

There are probably other options, too, such as me protesting in the streets (unlikely) and burning books, or donating them to our church library.

I'll keep you posted. I know you're excited.

Any and all opinions are welcome.

Yuck! Women Want to Read Books About Abusive Heroes

I started wandering around Amazon after a post from Instapundit about how many calories you can get in a breakfast burrito (way more than I could possibly imagine--920) and I ended up on a discussion forum about romance novels that feature abusive male heroes. The forum's title is: Disturbing historical romances with abusive heros (sic). There were 250 posts and the ones I read were from women raving about how many times they have read these books and how they wanted to buy others they have heard about.

Here's one post:

Another poster elsewhere said (author's name deleted because I'm not about to link to it) book (title deleted for the same reason) had a hero who rapes (brutally) and beats the heroine (bloody beating, not just a slap) throughout most of the book. I haven't read it but I am going to purchase it soon just to see.

What is wrong with these people? Doesn't is just make you want to slap them?

I'll Kill the Kid Who Told Lily How "Romeo and Juliet" Ends

One thing I've been looking forward to is introducing Lily to Shakespeare through the Zefferelli version of "Romeo and Juliet" (the one with Olivia Hussey in it). I think in eighth grade would be a good time, because I think that's when I saw it and I was wiped out emotionally for about three months.

That's how a Shakespeare play should hit you. That's how a Shakespeare play will hit you.

Shakespeare shouldn't be labored over and read when kids don't understand the power of what they're reading. They haven't experienced the grand story it tells. It seems foreign, obscure and difficult. I don't think the language needs to be dumbed down (why would you change a word, though you might want to cut "Hamlet" just for the audience's endurance). But a play should be performed. At least for your first introduction.

So imagine my delight when I tell Lily that I'm going to let her see "Romeo and Juliet" next year and how wonderful that will be. "I know how it ends," she says. "A friend told me."

What kind of friend is that?

"Romeo and Juliet" is an introduction to adult stories, where good people can meet bad ends and things can turn out unspeakably wrong. So now they've told her the end. Grrr. I can only hope she'll be so swept up in the story that she will forget what she's been told.

It's hard to balance the things we need to learn with things we need to feel. If I had never heard of Jesus before, my parents would certainly have been neglectful. But can you imagine hearing it all fresh, for the first time, in one piece as an adult?

In my Bible study this morning we went over the beginning of Exodus. We had to read about three chapters a day in preparation. I've read it before. I've seen Charlton Heston in "The Ten Commandments." I loved "The Prince of Egypt." I can't even read about the plagues without seeing the cartoon version in my head. When I was a child and saw "The Ten Commandments," I was afraid to take a shower for fear of the green mist that was the angel of death (shower mist got scary, even though it wasn't green.) My notes in the workbook read, "Story is too familiar." Until we started discussing it, I couldn't find anything fresh.

How do we balance teaching our kids what they need to know against the beauty and stunning impact of a tale freshly told?

I don't know. But I'm going to tell the kid who told Lily about R&J's ending to remember this: No matter where you go, no matter how old you get, there's one thing I want you never to forget. Rosebud was his sled.

Novel idea

It's time. I have hidden from my novel long enough. I should say "novels" because I've started at least two. I've had some short stories published and a couple of plays produced, so for some reason, I believe I'm supposed to write a novel. Novel idea and all that. So sorry.

But how to pick up where I left off? Maybe I shouldn't even try. A different person was working on those stories. I have different stories to tell now, if I haven't blown it by telling them all here....

Maybe I should start over. But there's nothing worse than a writer with a string of failed projects. I read that somewhere. Sounds terrible, doesn't it? A string of failed projects.

Sounds even worse to keep beating your head against the same wall. I think I get to have a fresh start, even though I'm going to tackle the same story.

It's a family story. A mystery (no blood or any foul play, just intrigue). Something I've always wanted to know more about. Like what happened.

So, since the truth is lost (stories die with the people who lived them), I'm going to come up with a truth, like all good fiction; it just won't be THE truth about what happened.

I'm excited but scared. Writing my blogs has made me realize that writing is fun and its own reward. (I am a professional freelance writer, so my usual reward is money, which is a pretty good reward for getting to stay home and do what comes naturally, though I'm not sure that some of the stuff I get paid to write about is all that natural a topic for me.) Blogging has livened up my life. Thanks for reading and for the encouragement. I'm going to keep this up -- and have also started a couple of blogs for my writing -- one directed to goal achievement, and the other for whining. Since I reveal who I really am there, I'm probably not going to link to them here, though I'm not sure why. Probably if you requested the links in a comment I would e-mail them to you. I'm that high security-conscious.

And I've got another goal. I'm going to lose 10 lbs. in 8 weeks. (I need to lose more but I'll do it 10 lbs. at a time. Heck! If I'd quit gaining, that would be progress.) If I reach that goal, I get to go buy myself a killer outfit (complete with jewelry) at Chico's. Or somewhere else if all their clothes are ugly that day.

This Sandwich Generation stuff is tough. Paul went to the ER yesterday morning because he woke up deaf in one ear, which you may not have known, is considered a medical emergency. He's fine and can hear today. The assisted living place called this morning because they were going to send my father to the ER again, he was doing so poorly. I went up there. He'd quit eating and was disoriented, among other things. I made him a pimento cheese sandwich with his favorite kind of pimento cheese and bread from his favorite bakery. He ate it all and it perked him right up. No ER for him! Tomorrow he plans to go to the garden.

My mother didn't know me, though she smiled.

Writing, like reading, is a great escape. I get a month to get organized in my mind, then I'm off.

Books on tape make bad jobs fun

If you don't like what's going on in your life right now, think about getting a book on tape from the library or downloading a book to your iPod. While you're doing things you don't want to do, or perhaps you want to do but don't need to use all of your mind -- jobs such as a painting, sewing or home repair project -- you can escape your life for a little while and live someone else's, all while getting your house in order.

We're big do-it-yourselfers around here. Add too many home decorating TV shows, and you wind up with Big Ideas that can turn into Big Pains. If a team of designers and two amateurs can re-do a room in two days, well then, I can re-do the bedroom -- including painting and sewing new pillows, bedskirt, refinishing chairs, etc. in two days, too, while my husband is on business abroad.

The good news is that I found out that Berber carpet really is easy to clean, even when you spill half a bucket of semi-gloss on it (blot up all you can with the towels you no longer like, and then pour water on it and keep blotting. Eventually you get down to water and you cannot tell that the carpet was ever a deep shade of blue semi-gloss. Really!)

Anyway. Of course I didn't get it done. The good news is that I got all the painting done and some of the sewing, and when my husband walked in the door, he didn't react like some of those people on TV. He surveyed the room and said, "I don't care what it looks like so long as I didn't have to do any of it." I took that to mean that he liked it. I eventually got the other projects done but it took closer to two years than two days to get that room finished. Still, it was worth it.

But this post is supposed to be about books on tape. When I go into different rooms in my house, I remember what book I was listening to when I painted the sunburst on the ceiling, or the harlequins on the wall. I enjoy the book all over again, and the feeling of satisfaction I got while listening and painting.

Books are great to listen to with your children, too. My daughter and I have loved listening to Terry Pratchett's Wee Free Men, A Hatfull of Sky and The Wintersmith. We're currently listening to the Gregor the Overlander series, which are also good though I'm having trouble getting past the giant roaches and rats.

We enjoyed Eragon on a road trip, and I still remember parts of that book when we drive that stretch of Interstate. But best of all, books on tape are a good background diversion for sorting through clutter and cleaning up rooms, cleaning horse tack and even scrapbooking. We just check out of today and into the life in the book. That's a fun trip together.

I wish that they rated books, so I'd know if I could listen to something with a child in the car. There are some authors and storylines that you think will be safe, and then right out of nowhere comes the F-word. Oops! Think I'm going to touch that dial at lightning speed.

Right now I'm listening to Nick Hornby's Long Way Down. Not appropriate for younger ears and barely appropriate for mine. A wonderful book. I wish that he would write more -- and that Carl Hiaasen would, too (his are formulaic but a very funny and fun formula).

Anybody got any recommendations for good books to listen to? Time -- and bad jobs -- pass quickly when you're under the spell of a good story.