What are you reading in May?

I just finished Russia and the Restored Gospel. I really enjoyed reading the stories of the Russian members and their conversions, but the writing wasn't that great. It was too repetitive in parts, and there wasn't enough to link it together. I also liked reading about life in Russia during the Gorbachev reforms.

I've just requested Princess of the Midnight Ball from another library, so I should be able to start that in a couple of days. (Jessica Day George is Mormon, if the connection wasn't clear.)

cmbohn, have you read the articles in BYU Studies about Russians visiting the Stockholm temple during the communist era?

I've started Grant Hardy's Understanding the Book of Mormon. If the rest of it is anywhere near as good as the first chapter, this will be one amazing book.

Regarding Mormons in Russia, I thought that Thomas F. Rogers' A Call to Russia was pretty good.

No, I haven't read either of those! I will have to look for them.

>4 cmbohn:

Here are links to the two articles, both published in 2000:

"A Gathering Place: Russian Week at the Stockholm Sweden Temple"

"Vignettes of Temple-Bound Russians"

The second article is by Thomas F. Rogers, so it may cover some of the same material as A Call to Russia.

so far I have read:
Brotherly Love by Susan Law Corpany (Not bad)
The Rise of Zion by Chad Daybell (good but I don’t care if I read the rest of the series)
Push On (Unfinished Business, Vol. 3) by Susan Law Corpany (not as good as brotherly love)
Devils Food Cake by Josi S. Kilpack (a great mystery)
And I am in the middle of:
The Legend of the Lamp by Tina Monson (an obvious rip off of 39 clues or is it the other way around)

I just finished with Defender of the Faith: the B H Roberts story by Truman Madsen. It was interesting. Roberts had a messed up early life. His stories of crossing the plains were great. But the writing was not my style so I didn't finish.

I am Not a Serial Killer unexpectedly came in for me on Friday. (I put it on hold several weeks ago, then more or less forgot about it.) Anyway, I read it over the weekend and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it, since I've never been a horror fan. (I only picked it up because I'm a big fan of the a weekly writing podcast co-hosted by Wells, and I'd heard him talk so much about the book that I figured I had to at least give it a shot.)

I guess I should ask the original poster, do you want to know what we're reading about Mormons, by Mormons, or anything we're reading at all?

I was wondering especially about church related stuff or books written by LDS, even if they are not church related. But if you are reading something entirely different that you are loving, I'd be happy to hear about that too.

I'm reading To Draw Closer to God right now and really enjoying it. I like to read books like this im small portions, so I can think about them and absorb the ideas. I love President Eyring and his style is really good.

I also finished The Princess of the Midnight Ball by Jessica Day George. It's pretty much the story of the 12 Dancing Princesses, but I love fairy tales, so I'm happy with that. It's good, but it's not her very best. I loved Dragon Slippers even more. But it's definitely fun for fans of fairy tales.

I've been listening to Shannon Hale's The Actor and the Housewife. I've read everything else she's written and this is the only novel I've come across where she has a Mormon character. The book explores the idea of platonic friendships with the opposite sex while married. It's funny, but I'm not sure how I feel about the whole topic. Haven't finished the book yet, so I don't know how it ends.

tjsjohanna - I can point you to some interesting online discussions of the book when you finish--I'll be interested to hear your reactions to the ending.

I really enjoyed Princess of the Midnight Ball and I'll have to see if I can get my hands on the sequel, Princess of Glass. (It's newly published, so it may be difficult to get a copy from the library.)

Katya0133 - finally finished The Actor and the Housewife. Overall, I really enjoyed it. I listened to the audio version, which I highly recommend. I still have conflicted feelings about friendships with the opposite sex. Some of the basic reasons Becky had for not feeling at risk - like being madly in love with her husband, for instance - seem tenuous. What real life marriage doesn't have rough patches? In those moments I think it would be VERY easy to turn to that best friend with whom you are NOT living and so are not mad at. Towards the end of the novel I quit thinking in such global terms and just enjoyed the story of Becky and Felix. While the ending was disappointing from a standpoint of wanting everything to turn out "happily ever after", I also kindof liked it. It was unexpected. Although, if I ever felt about a man the way Becky felt about Felix, I would say I was in love. I don't expect fireworks from kisses!!