the bar and books

Ty is currently taking his final bar exam. When I say final...I mean never again will he ever take a bar exam. This is his third and definitely his last. It has taken a lot out of him working, being a dad, and studying and we will be so glad when it is over. While he has been studying the past couple months, I have been reading up a storm. I don't think I have ever read quite this much and the books have been pretty heavy too. Mostly historical with a little bit of fiction, but all of them have really made me think a lot more than the lighter fiction I have read in the past. So here is my list of the past few months:

The Ladies' Auxiliary by Tova Mirvis
I loved how this book made me think about our LDS culture and the traps we fall into being so closely knit in so many ways. It is so easy to become judgmental and rigid in what our view of acceptable is.

1000 White Women by Jim Fergus
This was probably my least favorite because it was so far fetched, but it was still an interesting read and again made me think about prejudices and the sad decisions Americans have made throughout the years in the name of progress.

Gods and Generals by Jeff Shaara
This was a hard book to get into, but I was glad that I made it all the way through. It was frustrating to know the eventual outcome of the Civil War and to read about the ignorant decisions and careless mistakes that cost so many lives.

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin
I loved this book. It is remarkable what one man can do even though it is overwhelming to think of what we are facing in the Middle East. It is also overwhelming to think of more costly mistakes we as Americans are continuing to make at the expense of our own citizen's lives.

The Heretic's Daughterby Kathleen Kent
I thought this book was very interesting and well written. It once again shed light on a disturbing time in our nation's past (though the United States wasn't exactly a nation yet) and made me think more about how we need to question authority when we know justice is being ignored.

The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara
I enjoyed this book much more than its prequel and loved learning more about the men who fought for what they believe in and the pivotal moment in the war when things started to make sense again.

Gifts from the Sea by Anne Morrow Lindbergh
This was a very sweet little book and very applicable to my life right now. I loved reading the thoughts and insights a mother was having over 50 years ago and realizing that the two of us are not that different.

Fire in the Bones by Michael Wilcox
Still working on this one. It is a slower read, but still fascinating learning about the life of William Tyndale and the conviction he had in translating a bible that English speaking people could read for themselves.