Comments on: What We Might Be Missing

By: Heather H

Heather H — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 12:53:07 +0000

Thanks for the link Kristen. My husband just ran the Hartford Marathon two weeks ago. Good times! Congratulations to him (and you too, it’s truly a team effort to get all that training in when you have kids involved.)

You captured the dilemma very well sar, “what means justify the ends.” I guess it will be different for everybody. Why are we reading, what do we hope to gain from the experience? Some of the earlier comments about possibly separating them may be a good idea for RS sponsored groups, one month literature, one month something church-y, then people could sign on for what they really want.

This has been a great discussion and I do appreciate the links so that I can hopefully encourage some of my friends to think a little deeper about why they make the choices they do, and expand their realm a bit.

By: sar

sar — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:49:10 +0000

I was appointed the figurehead position as president of our RS book club, so I’m really enjoying these comments. Thanks!

I think it is interesting, however, that we feel that we have to have non-RS book clubs in order to read literature. My impression (and I am by no means in the know) was that the enrichment groups (like book clubs) were formed in order to simplify our lives by counting things we were already doing (book clubs, walking groups, etc) as apart of enrichment, but now it’s like we have to have two book clubs, one sacred and one secular.

That said, I think the big problem for most book club members it separating the message and the medium of a text and trying to decide what means justify the ends.

By: Amy Sorensen

Amy Sorensen — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 21:11:05 +0000

I’m even later than Kristen but I couldn’t resist adding my opinion. In my mind, it has to do with why you read in the first place. I don’t necessarily read literature to gain a stronger testimony or to feel the Spirit. At least not in a direct way—I read because I like the way good literature makes me feel and because books are opportunities to experience lives other than my own. Indirectly, my soul IS fed by reading, because I am reminded of the incredible creativity of the human soul. A well-written description of something hard, painful, or even evil is not, in my mind, bad; for me, “bad” writing is poor writing, no matter the topic. It also has to do with the intent of the author. Read some of Sharon Olds’ poems, in which she discusses, fairly frankly, sexuality, for example. Her intent is not, in my opinion, to stimulate or titilate. Instead, it is to share in an artistic medium an experience many of us can relate to, and by doing that it makes the experience more valuable for everyone. A pornographic treatment of that exact same experience has a far different intent.

Anyway—I wanted to say thanks for the links, they are both excellent!

By: Kristen

Kristen — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 01:48:31 +0000

I’m jumping in super late due to hubby running the Indianapolis marathon on Saturday.

I have to say that Heather, I agree with you. Our ward book clubs fail for the same reason. Me and one other person read the books, everyone else thinks they’re “evil.” My inner thoughts tell me, “What about all the sex, gore, violence, and lustful stuff in the B of M?”

My FAVORITE commentator/critic on this very topic is Orson Scott Card. Read The Problem of Evil in fiction here at this link. It was a lecture given in 1980 that answers this question perfectly without giving a list of books that we should and shouldn’t read.

Happy Reading (if you haven’t already read it)

http://www.nauvoo.com/library/card-talk.html

By: Emily C

Emily C — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 01:44:17 +0000

I live in Wymount, at BYU (married housing), and got around this problem simply by having an unofficial book club. I announce it by flyers and word-of-mouth, and I’m pretty lucky in that most of the women have college educations, are young, and ready to accept a challenging read.

Although, when I let someone else pick a book–and it turned out to be “Mr. Darcy’s Daughters”, I decided to take control and have more literature (albeit I’m careful to avoid gratuitous violence, sex, or crude language) and less fluff.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 15:41:13 +0000

Heather, I didn’t feel judged by what you said in your article–you made very good points, and I feel pretty good about my reasons and my level of openness. Darlene, I really like how you distinguish between the portrayal of evil and forcing the reader to experience it. Right now I’m reading a book that looks like the heroine will be making a string of poor decisions, but the author’s style is so subtle that I’m not worried about having to *experience* the bad as I read.

By: Darlene Young

Darlene Young — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 02:12:09 +0000

For me I think the deciding factor is whether a book PORTRAYS evil or whether it forces me to EXPERIENCE it. The first I can learn from. The second makes it pornography. I’m endlessly amazed at the women who refuse to read a classic that portrays evil (and the subsequent consequences of it) but don’t bat an eye at things like Thornbirds and other steamy chic-type romances. You can’t tell me that, at least for some of those women, those novels aren’t pornographic.

By: Heather H.

Heather H. — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 16:32:44 +0000

Thanks for your comments everyone. I really like the Van Gessel quote as well, thanks for including it Melissa. He put well what I really want to say to other sisters and women. I realize that what I really hoped for in this discussion is to encourage more women to be open-minded about their choices. I can’t force my standard on anyone, of course, but I wanted people to share how reading others’ perspectives has benefited them, and I believe many of us have.

And Emily M. thanks for voicing your feelings about what offends the spirit. I know we all have different levels of sensitivity, and it’s good to be reminded that we do need to let our spirit be the guide. And Wendy, I agree that we should not judge. In rereading my initial post I fear I may have sounded judgmental of those who will not read things I feel perfectly fine about. I try not to do that. There are many times I have felt like Dalene though, that some friends really miss out.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 13:19:15 +0000

I love the Van Gessel quote above.

I also really relate with what Emily M (#4) said. I am definitely on the more conservative side of what I like to read. It’s not because I claim any “higher plane” or greater spiritual sensitivity. That doesn’t mean some things don’t affect my spirit. I trust my book club to not judge me a prude when I decline to finish or start some of the books they choose. I have a different threshhold . . . it’s just how it is.

For me, a little language isn’t my sensitivity, but other things are. I definitely enjoy reading about other lifestyles, points of view, values, or religious beliefs. There are, however, some subjects that literally bring on anxiety symptoms because of my former line of work, and I won’t read them. I’ve seen enough. Also, like Dalene suggested, there are other subjects or themes that I, too, prefer to not read graphic details about.

I would say, like I suggested above, that I hope others will not judge me for refusing to read some things, just as I will not judge them for reading them.

By: Dalene

Dalene — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 03:48:01 +0000

One of my favorite things I got from “Reading Lolita in Tehran” was an explanation for something I’ve felt, but never really articulated. One of the virtues of fiction is that it teaches us understanding for the experiences of others that are different from our own. And isn’t that kind of part of the whole point of being here? Of being Christian?

I had an experience in which I chose one of my all-time favorite books, “Anna Karenina.” Someone refused to read it because she thought it was about adultery. That is her right, but I felt badly for her because the book in no way glamourized adultry, in fact it illustrated what can be the consequences of that kind of deceit. But the book is also about so much more than just adultry. I still believe she really missed out.

That said, I do believe we need to be wise in choosing. You can read good works of literature that entertain and that bring about an understanding of other people, places, choices, lifestyles, etc. But I also like to be wary of details that are gratuitous. I’ve made a few choices I’ve regretted. But overall I find my willingness to pick up a book and walk in someone else’s shoes and see things from their eyes has helped open my heart as well as my mind and helped me become a better person.