Biography, Autobiography, Memoir discussion
What Are You Reading Now (anything goes) 2022
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Koren, the author said she had chosen the name to attract attention. Who can blame her? If the author did anything her mother didn't like, the mother would accuse the daughter in bringing cancer to her
Koren wrote: "Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "Karin wrote: "Koren wrote: "I see. I think I would like to check it out and see what people are saying, although I might be offended by anyone dissing my Donny, John or ..."Good to know.
Gordon Lightfoot was amazing. I got to see him in concert once when a British/Australian/Chilean friend invited me to go with her Yes, she had 3 passports but was born & raised in Chili, an anglophone who obviously spoke Spanish as well.
Darya Silman wrote: "Koren, the author said she had chosen the name to attract attention. Who can blame her? If the author did anything her mother didn't like, the mother would accuse the daughter in bringing cancer to..."Can you file this one under 'Mommie Dearest'?
Watchman Nee: Sufferer for China by Bob LaurentBiography of the Chinese preacher. A simple biography but I found a little dry and the sidebars a bit annoying. It's part of a series of Heroes of Faith. Like many evangelists, he was imprisoned for his faith under the Communist regime. However the books he wrote were quite influential and his work was instrumental to establish the indigenous churches in China.
I think I would prefer to read his actual work because hearing it second hand in a biography written by American Christians seems a bit removed - the author didn't really get into the details how big a thing to convert to what was seen as a foreigners religion was at the time and the depths of suffering he and his family faced.
Selina wrote: "Watchman Nee: Sufferer for China by Bob LaurentBiography of the Chinese preacher. A simple biography but I found a little dry and the sidebars a bit annoying. It's part of a serie..."
Yes, I agree with your second paragraph. I haven't yet read anything by Watchman Nee, but eventually I want to due to his large influence, etc.
Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family by Jennifer LinJennifer's Christian chinese family went back five generations to the first convert in Fuzhou and her grandparent's brother-in-law was Watchman Nee.
This definitely is the book to read if you want to know how churches began in China and how they coped under Mao. I couldn't put it down. Also the things they suffered were given detail in this book.
I think after centuries of warlords and feuding and corrupt dynasties, not to mention foreign invasions, the communists found it easy to take over plus there was a huge peasant population in China at the time and they were really starved for any say in the new republic, so what happened with the Cultural revolution seemed inevitable. The horror was it was so violent. However things seem to be getting better now and it really did get the churches out of the whole foreigner missionaries pet cause mindset to become something truly chinese for chinese (and also separate from the state, which everyone knows is athiest)
So I think in all, christianity and those who stayed faithful in China were really tested. Now the number of christian believers in China may soon outnumber those in the US.
The only thing missing from this account is Jennifer's own story (her own family lives in the US where she was born - her dad married an Italian American) it was more about researching her families past, and growing up in the US she had no idea what they endured until after the 'Bamboo Curtain' was raised.
Selina wrote: "Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family by Jennifer LinJennifer's Christian chinese family went back five generations to the first convert in Fuz..."
Due to the much larger population in China there are already more Christians in China than in the US--what's more, they are less likely to be nominal Christians since it's illegal. The percentage is smaller, though--22 percent of Americans go to church every week (but more than 60 percent of Americans say they are Christian) whereas less than 20 percent of people in China are.
The big problems in China and Japan arose when the Jesuits went there. There have been Christians in India for 2000 years, mostly in the South (Orthodox, not Catholic, of course), but Protestantism has taken hold there now as well. Christianity is now the biggiest religion in 3 of the northern states. At least some of the converts used to be Sikhs but many used to be Hindus.
Karin wrote: "Selina wrote: "Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family by Jennifer LinJennifer's Christian chinese family went back five generations to the first..."
Why, what happened with the Jesuits? I heard they were bad news..but I don't really know much about them.
The American Association of Patriots Presents: How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety
Zachary Auburn
2/5 stars
I saw this book and thought that this might be quite funny but after a few pages it started to drag and the jokes got old. However, it was a short read so no harm, no foul.
Koren wrote: "Darya Silman wrote: "I almost finished I'm Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy. What can I say about her mom? What a manipulative... bad person!"I've seen that book and I'm inter..."
I’ve read that too was very shocking worth the read though
Selina wrote: "Karin wrote: "Selina wrote: "Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family by Jennifer LinJennifer's Christian chinese family went back five generation..."
I am rusty on the details now, but it had to do with cultural snobbery and also some things with Roman Catholicism, etc. Very early Christians weren't always like that, but as prevalent philosophies in society change and also religion/denominations change these things can happen. Usually the most egalitarian Christian outreaches occur in new groups where women and men and laity can teach, etc etc.
I just got this book from the library and hope to get to it before Christmas.
Twisted Twenty-Six
Janet Evanovich
3/5 stars
Stephanie Plum is back and now and has to look after her Grandma Mazur who decided to marry a local mobster who dies soon after the wedding. The problem with that, is that her dead husband supposedly has the keys to a large fortune, and his mobster associates think she now has the keys. Plum has to keep an eye on her grandma because the mob wants that money, and she is a target. I still get a kick out of these characters plus her books are a fast read!
Mod
Been quite a while since I read that one, but I remember it was very interesting.
Koren wrote: "Deity World wrote: "Currently reading On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft"Been quite a while since I read that one, but I remember it was very interesting."
Yes loved it just started reading his books for first time
I just got Betty: The Helen Betty Osborne Story in the mail and read it in just a few minutes. I was expecting a biography, not a graphic novel. It was good, though, as far as it went.
Mod
3 stars
Just some very short stories on strange ways people have died. Most are just a paragraph or two. Some were interesting and you wished there would have been more detail. About halfway they all started to sound the same. A lot of it is just people stabbing another person or themselves.
Food Culture in the Pacific Islands by Roger HaydenA bit academic and sometimes repetitive, but interesting overview nevertheless.
Apparently mutton flaps are banned in Fiji, KFC is gourmet prized food in the Cook Islands, and cassava has replaced Taro as the main staple in the Islands.
High end gourmet celebrity chefs cater to rich tourists while the locals can't afford to eat out or good quality food - cheap eats and convenience trumps over nutrition. Also, being fat is a status symbol though Tongans are now told to lose weight.
This book is part of series of food cultures around the world but my library doesn't have the others...I'd love to read all of them and be a vicarious gastronome. I suppose I must be content with watching old tv shows of Anthony Bourdain eat his way round the world.
Making my way through the chronicles of narnia and Anne rice vampire chronicles
I'm reading Shanghai Faithful: Betrayal and Forgiveness in a Chinese Christian Family and I am quite sure I saw it first in this group. I started it last night.
Mod
3 stars
Maybe because I prefer nonfiction, I didn't really enjoy this book. I kept thinking it was really stupid and then when I got to the end I really wished I had quit it before the 50 page rule (If I'm not into a book by 50 pages I can quit). I kept going because by the time I got to 50 pages I was a third of the way into it and kept thinking there would be a logical conclusion. But no. So if you go into this thinking it is just a fantasy and could never happen in real life and it's just a cute little Christmas story, then you might enjoy it. Personally, I kept thinking sooner or later it was going to end up as a dream, but it didn't.
In her book Writers and Their Notebooks editor Diana Raab recruited several authors to discuss how keeping a journal influenced their published writing.My review:
https://mypointbeing.com/2022/12/16/w...
The Color of Lightning
Paulette Jiles
3.5/5 stars
Set in 1863 at the end of the Civil War, Jiles tells the story of Britt Johnson, a former slave whose is looking for his wife and children after an Indian raid and Samuel Hammond, a Quaker who works for the Office of Indian Affairs who is to educate the Native Americans (Kiowas) and try to change their lifestyles and incorporate them into living among the rest of the population. I have read at least one other of her books and found this one and her other one very well done!
Julie wrote: "The Color of Lightning
Paulette Jiles
3.5/5 stars
Set in 1863 at the end of the Civil War, Jiles tells the story of Britt Jo..."
I'm a fan of Jiles' writing, but this wasn't one of my favourites. I've read six of her novels and this was one of the two I gave 3 stars to even though it has one of the highest average ratings.
Karin wrote: "Julie wrote: "The Color of Lightning
Paulette Jiles
3.5/5 stars
Set in 1863 at the end of the Civil War, Jiles tells the sto..."I've read her book News Of The World which I liked better but I would like to read more of her books!
Julie wrote: "Karin wrote: "Julie wrote: "The Color of Lightning
Paulette Jiles
3.5/5 stars
Set in 1863 at the end of the Civil War, Jiles..."
New of the World is one of the books I gave 4 stars to. The first book I ever read by her was Enemy Women which is one of my favourites by her. It's quite different than either of these, and was my first foray into women prisoners of the civil war, etc.
Kinetic House-Tree-Person Drawings: K-H-T-P: An Interpretative ManualCharles Manson and the Killing of Shorty Shea
Language of Evil
Who Killed Christopher Goodman? Based on a True Crime
Born to Kill, by Glenn Shirley5 stars!
A very good, very tense, very concise read about the search for Billy Cook and the Mosser family that covered an enormous area of the USA and finally ended in Mexico. Gave a clear picture of what kind of person Billy Cook was and why he did what he did. The courtroom scenes focused on essentials and didn't belabor what we already knew about the case after following Cook all over the country in those hijacked cars. It would be hard to improve upon the writing quality. Well worth seeking out.
The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Elaine AronThis has been floating around for a while and mentioned in several books I'd been reading lately, as the original HSP designation.
I have to say that I found it useful especially regarding how an HSP copes in the workplace. Many organisations are directly opposing how an HSP best works in their culture.
Mod
4 stars
Fiction based on a true story. The story revolves around Lale, who tattoos the numbers on Holocaust prisoners' arms. One day he sees a woman, Gita, and it is love at first sight. The rest of the book is mostly Lale's determination to see his beloved. I felt this was more romance than a true picture of what the internment camps were like. It reminded me vaguely of Hogan's Heroes. At the end of the book are a few pictures of the real Lale and Gita and a follow-up on how their lives turned out after the camp, which was a little sad.
Im currently reading The Kicking Goals Journal with my kids as we all love soccer and Sam Kerrhttps://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
Zaidy's War: Four Armies, Three Continents, Two Brothers. One Man's Impossible Story of Endurance by Martin Bodek (Zaidy's grandson).
A horrifying story of two brothers; one survived in Auschwitz and Buchenwald, and another was forced to serve first in the German Army, then in a Russian war camp
Biography, Autobiography, Memoir
Books mentioned in this topic
Zaidy's War: Four Armies, Three Continents, Two Brothers. One Man's Impossible Story of Endurance (other topics)The Tattooist of Auschwitz (other topics)
The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You (other topics)
Born to Kill (other topics)
Kinetic House-Tree-Person Drawings: K-H-T-P: An Interpretative Manual (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Paulette Jiles (other topics)Paulette Jiles (other topics)
Paulette Jiles (other topics)
Paulette Jiles (other topics)
Diana Raab (other topics)
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I've seen that book and I'm interested, but what a horrible name for a book!