Que Pasa

This time last year I was catching lots of catfish.  I haven't even wet a line yet in 2012.  I've been working a lot.  And when I haven't been at work I've been working a lot.  I'm installing new tile in our house, learning as I go.  I'm only halfway finished.
Trying to do this and also be a good daddy and husband and employee is leaving me exhausted.

In keeping with the 2012 TOTP resolutions, here are the books that I have read so far this year...

The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  The cover has a blurb from some NPR lefty, "This could be one of the most important pieces of fiction since To Kill a Mockingbird..."  A good book, but sorry, this is not going to go down in literary history as one of the most important pieces of fiction.  If it had been published when To Kill a Mockingbird was published, then maybe.  But I don't think it could have or would have been published back then.  Maybe the story could have been published, but it would have had to be written with a very different, more delicate approach.  Harper Lee managed it with her classic.  I'm not so sure that this author could pull it off.  Also, I noticed a continuous flaw in the writing.  As the author gave voice to each of the characters it was obvious that she putting her own 21st century outlook into many of the characters' thoughts.
I did enjoy the book and am looking forward to seeing the movie. 

The Shunning, The Confession, and The Reckoning by Beverly Lewis.  The Heritage of Lancaster County Trilogy.  Interesting, entertaining, easy reads.  I can see why her books are so popular.  I learned a lot about Amish culture that I didn't know before.

The Secret, also by Beverly Lewis.  The first book in another Amish trilogy.  The plot is not as interesting.  I've started the second book in the series, but I'm having a hard time pushing through this one.  The first trilogy I read interested me because I was learning about Amish culture.  This one is kind of bland and predictable.

What Are People For? by Wendell Berry- A collection of essays.  I'm blaming my lack of blogging over the last month on this book.  He says what I would like to say a lot better than I could ever say it.  It was enjoyable to read someone with whom I agree about so much.  He discusses everything from marriage, to church, to farming techniques, economics, education, and politics.  Amen and Amen.

Jaber Crow by Wendell Berry- A novel that has made it's way onto my top 10 list.  I plan on reading everything else by Berry that I can get my hands on.

Massacre at Goliad and After the Bugles by Elmer Kelton- Two novels of the Texas Republic.  As always, great writing from a great Texan writer.  He deals with it in many of his books, but racial tensions between Mexicans and Anglos is a major theme in these books.  He handles it in a much better way than Stockett did in The Help.  In my opinion, our seventh-graders could learn more about Texas history by reading three or four of Kelton's books than they could sitting through a whole year of social studies class.