2 thoughts on “what’s on the bookshelf”

1. Moldy-Wan ;-) January 9, 2009 at 10:15 pm

   I read Under the Banner of Heaven four years ago when it was first published. Awesome book. Krakuer did his homework well well when he wrote this one. My Mormon friends hated it–and him–but Krakuer pulled no punches.

   If you like that one, I recommend “Leaving the Saints” by Martha Beck, author of Expecting Adam (possibly the most awesome book you’ll ever read about a young couple having and raising a child with Down’s syndrome).

   In Leaving the Saints, Beck tells a gut-wrenching first person tale of the typical life Krakuer can only report on in third person. Seriously, Leaving the Saints fills in all the blanks Krakuer could not because he was an outsider. Add it to your list of future reads, it’s well worth it.

   I had a run-in with a couple of the Mormon church elders when I was in Salt Lake City in 2005 for a deaf convention. I went to visit their historical site that the main Mormon Temple is located on. They took issue with me bringing my hearing dog Baron onto the grounds, as they “only allow seeing eye dogs for the blind.”

   Very strange people with odd mannerisms and dress. Much more idiosyncratic than Amish and Mennonite farmers (who seem like mainstream Americans by comparison). It felt like interacting with the space aliens that Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith hung with in MIB. They actually seemed to think I’d cower in fear of their authority, based on the strange expression on their faces when they stared at me and their surprised expression when I said “Stuff it! Go call the police if you don’t like my dog” when I turned to walk away.

   Bad enough my parents were Catholics. (My apologies if I just insulted anyone here.) I’m sure glad they weren’t Latter Day Saints!
   L&K,
   Moldy-Wan ~;-)
2. Rach January 14, 2009 at 1:14 pm

   I just finished reading ‘A thousand splendid suns’…it was both moving and sad, but I loved it!!! Really, he couldnt have had a better follow-up from the Kite Runner. I hope you enjoy it!!