February 2008 Book List
Mar. 6th, 2008 05:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
hestergrayThe Measure of a Lady by Deeanne Gist
This is set during the California gold rush. A young woman and her two teenaged siblings arrive in San Francisco without their father, who died on the ship on the way there. The three of them don't really know what to do because they come from a more refined society and San Francisco is mostly a bunch of dirty tents and dirty men. The only women in town are prostitutes. They get help from a saloon owner who lets them stay in his unused shanty. The young woman is very concerned with being proper, not only because of the way she was brought up, but because she is a Christian. The two siblings get into a lot of trouble. I liked it okay.
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
I've read this one before, but this time I listened to the audio book, read by Fisher Stevens, who I really like. It was just as good as I remembered, maybe even better.
Plato and Platypus Walk Into a Bar... by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein
This was okay. It combines philosophy with humor, sort of telling why jokes are funny. They explain a little thing from philosophy and then tell a couple jokes that illustrate the point.
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
Another book that I love so I listened to the audio book. It was read by the author, which is often a bad idea. In this case, she did pretty good except I thought she talked too fast in some parts. Still, too fast is better than too slow. It really is a great book.
Finding Your Perfect Mate by H. Norman Wright
BOOK OF THE MONTH AWARD
I have to give the award to something, and I can't give it to re-reads. This one was okay. It was another book that Karie loaned to me. I don't like the title because it's so cheesy and embarrassing, but the book had some nice ideas. I didn't agree with everything he said, but I found some things helpful. One interesting thing was his comparison of finding a mate and finding a job. He said that when you're looking for a job, and praying that God will lead you to the right one, that doesn't mean you sit around waiting for it. You send out resumes and fill out applications and make contacts, and yet no one would accuse you of not relying on God to show you what to do. In the same way, he says you don't have to sit around and wait for God to plop someone in your lap. It's okay to use resources like internet dating sites and asking people to set you up on a date, because you're still relying on God to show you the right person. Personally, I've never tried an internet dating site, not because I thought God wouldn't like it, but because it seems so unromantic. These days though, maybe it really is a good way to go, because they way we go about finding a mate is a lot different than the way people used to do it. Anyway, the whole book was rather unromantic and practical, which is probably good for a dreamer like me, but also kind of defeating.
This is set during the California gold rush. A young woman and her two teenaged siblings arrive in San Francisco without their father, who died on the ship on the way there. The three of them don't really know what to do because they come from a more refined society and San Francisco is mostly a bunch of dirty tents and dirty men. The only women in town are prostitutes. They get help from a saloon owner who lets them stay in his unused shanty. The young woman is very concerned with being proper, not only because of the way she was brought up, but because she is a Christian. The two siblings get into a lot of trouble. I liked it okay.
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore
I've read this one before, but this time I listened to the audio book, read by Fisher Stevens, who I really like. It was just as good as I remembered, maybe even better.
Plato and Platypus Walk Into a Bar... by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein
This was okay. It combines philosophy with humor, sort of telling why jokes are funny. They explain a little thing from philosophy and then tell a couple jokes that illustrate the point.
A Girl Named Zippy by Haven Kimmel
Another book that I love so I listened to the audio book. It was read by the author, which is often a bad idea. In this case, she did pretty good except I thought she talked too fast in some parts. Still, too fast is better than too slow. It really is a great book.
Finding Your Perfect Mate by H. Norman Wright
BOOK OF THE MONTH AWARD
I have to give the award to something, and I can't give it to re-reads. This one was okay. It was another book that Karie loaned to me. I don't like the title because it's so cheesy and embarrassing, but the book had some nice ideas. I didn't agree with everything he said, but I found some things helpful. One interesting thing was his comparison of finding a mate and finding a job. He said that when you're looking for a job, and praying that God will lead you to the right one, that doesn't mean you sit around waiting for it. You send out resumes and fill out applications and make contacts, and yet no one would accuse you of not relying on God to show you what to do. In the same way, he says you don't have to sit around and wait for God to plop someone in your lap. It's okay to use resources like internet dating sites and asking people to set you up on a date, because you're still relying on God to show you the right person. Personally, I've never tried an internet dating site, not because I thought God wouldn't like it, but because it seems so unromantic. These days though, maybe it really is a good way to go, because they way we go about finding a mate is a lot different than the way people used to do it. Anyway, the whole book was rather unromantic and practical, which is probably good for a dreamer like me, but also kind of defeating.
