Church Done Right

Calvin College is a pretty conservative college, from what I understand.  As I have read more about it though, it does seem to be on a path on some issues.  Indeed, being affliated with the Christian Reformed Church, one would believe that there is a spirit of "ever reforming."  It is not an inclusive college when it comes to LGTB matters and so still needs some prayer and work on that issue, and I pray that the college and the denomination will be open to the Word of God and Christ's teachings and that one day both will become inclusive and accepting, as God calls us to be.  But we are all on a path, aren't we?
It surprised me that Gary D. Schimdt teaches at Calvin, I mean, I don't know the guy, but I love his work and I see God's Spirit and Love in what he writes.  But maybe he is trying to reform from within?  Or maybe he is also on the path, like all of us.
Orbiting Jupiter was fantastic.  Just really, really, really good.  A short little book.   It was neat to see Coach Swieteck is still around.

Stories

are so powerful.  I guess that is one of the reasons why I am passionate about librarians defining their work as a service. That's why I like language like "patron" instead of "customer."  I just feel like we, those who work in libraries are in a service profession.  A relational profession.  One in which we need to be ready, as I often say, to "open a vein" to serve our community.

Long has my motto been, "It's better to burn out than rust away." And when I read a book like Mara's Stories:  Glimmers in the Darkness, I know I am right.

Here is the remarkable Gary D. Schmidt, although there is no D. on the cover, serving all of us, by sharing tales from the Jewish tradition as if they were told from a concentration camp prisoner to those around her, in the evenings, after another day of hell has passed.

These are beautiful and horrifying and hopeful and heart-breaking.  And the author talks about their origin at the end of the book, which makes it all even more  powerful.  Once again, a must-read for all.

And as a librarian, I need to make sure that as many people as possible have the experience of hearing stories such as these. 

But Not for Me...

Beautiful song.  What Came from the Stars is by one of my most favorite authors, Gary D. Schmidt, but man...I really didn't understand this book.  I think it is just too intelligent for me.  I listened to it and think that maybe, if I had read it, I would have been able to tell the characters apart a little better.  The book takes place in two worlds.  The parts that are in our world, well I really did like those.  But the other worldly part was just way too much for me.  If you like high fantasy, you will like this though.

So Many Songs

about trouble.  Here, here, here, and I am sure that there are more.   Those are all great songs, but non really compare to the greatness of the book Trouble by the incredible Gary D. Schmidt.
Incredible.  I know I seem to say that about a lot of books lately, but that's because I have just discovered some really incredible authors. These books are totally out of my usual go-to-i-like-this-kind-of-book box.  That's what reading and reading and reading did to me.  Before I started writing this blog, I never would have picked up a book like Here Lies the Librarian, Tiltawhirl John, Graceling, The Orange Houses and so many more.
In Trouble we meet the Smith family from Massachusetts, the very definition of WASPs.  But not in a stereotypical way.  Schmidt is an incredible author and I don't think he is capable of resorting to stereotyping in his writing.  I was sure that the family would be cold and heartless, but no, they really weren't.  They were real people.

I don't want to recap what happens, just read the goodreads summary, but right after that, read the book. Incredible.

A MUST-READ

Now I know, I know, I KNOW I say this a lot.  But seriously, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy is a must-read for everyone.   That cover over there is terrible.  Terrible.  The one under it is much better. Still, no cover could be good enough for this book.  It is just unreal and fantastic.  And I have no idea what kind of experience Gary D. Schmidt, who is one of my new most favorite writers, has with churches and working in church, but man, man, man he was right on with this one.  Right on!  Unreal!  Here is a great quote, "The congregation, Minister, will tell you what it thinks and what it wants you to think."  When I first typed that in, and I am sure this was a Freudian slip, I capitalized the word congregation.  Because some congregations (or at least some people in them) think that they are holier than God.  I am not saying that the church I served was like that.  It was a lovely, lovely place.  But there were a couple of folks who could have said that very sentence right there.  I am pretty sure they did, actually.

LBATBB introduced me to the horror of what happened on Malaga Island.  I had never heard of this island or the people who lived there and were forced to leave because of the color of their skin.  This is the story of a young boy who really stands up against a whole town.  It made me cry several times.  We should be ashamed, ashamed of the way that we have treated one another.  And the way we still treat one another.  

This is an incredible, incredible story.  Read it.  Now.

Those Presbyterians....

When I read The Wednesday Wars I couldn't help but wonder if the author, Gary D. Schmidt is a Presbyterian.  He really knows them well!  I say that with all love and respect, as you know.  :)
So I read Okay for Now and loved that.  I had to read this one, in which Doug from OFN is a minor character.  TWW takes place before Doug moves to Marysville from Long Island and doesn't really feature Doug as much as his tough brother, who is a source of misery for Holling Hoodhood, the only WASP in his class and therefore the only kid who has to stay behind on Wednesday afternoons instead of going to religious education classes at the local Roman Catholic Church or synagogue.
The backdrop for this story is the Vietnam War and wow, there is a lot of powerful stuff here.  When kids come in looking for historical fiction, the tendency is for them to look for books on the American Revolutionary or Civil War and to a lesser extent, WW2, but this is one that I will push and push along with with Shooting the Moon and Countdown, One Crazy Summer and others that are from less written about time periods in history.
There is so much in this book.  The dynamic between Holling and his father, his sister's trip out west, so much more.  It is so neat to see the way that Holling develops in the book.  And it even made me want to read Shakespeare!  Fantastic book.  It also taught me what a jerk Mickey Mantle was!

Something Special

Okay for Now as a book that I tried to read many times before but I just couldn't get into it.  This time I had to read it for work and I was dreading it so much because of all of my failed attempts.  Once I made it through the first chapter, however, I fell in love with Doug and the whole book.  It is set in the tiny town of Marysvile, NY in 1968 and 1969.  Doug is the youngest son of a sweet mom and an abusive dad.  He also has two older brothers, one at war in Vietnam and another a trouble maker who reminded me a lot of the older brother in Troublemaker.  There is just so much in this book.  It is about families and growing up and finding yourself and it is very much about the times in which the book is set.  A fantastic story.