Two More Good Books

These two books are completely different from each other. The first is a novel written as a diary, and the second is about amateur astronomy. I read more non-fiction than fiction, mostly because I get caught up in fiction. I also find that fiction often affects me in many ways. I realized this when I read Wuthering Heights the first time. I've discovered I need to mix in some light-hearted fiction. Anyway, here are two books for today.

These is My Words was written by Nancy Turner. It is written in journal form and tells the story of a woman pioneer (Sarah Prine) in Arizona in the late 1800s. It was a very quick read. I especially enjoyed it since my ancestors were pioneers, some in Arizona, at the same time. It was interesting to read more about the settlement of Arizona.

My only complaint was that I felt that the main character had a few too many things happen to her. Now, I know that pioneers had difficult lives. I have one ancestor who had a lot happen to her, but this book really seems to push it. It went from one disaster to another. That being said, Sarah deals with this things well, and comes out ahead. I have very rarely read historical fiction where I felt that the characters were realistic, but Sarah came a lot closer to that than most.

An older woman that I visit teach in my ward (congregation) recommended it to me. She is part of a book group with a number of the older women in the ward. I guess I'm too young to be a part of it. :) (FYI, visiting teaching is something our Church does. The women in the ward visit each other each month to talk about the gospel, chat about our families and interests, and get to know each other better. As I've gotten older, I've seen the benefits of visiting teaching and I'm glad we do it.)

The other book is Celestial Delights by Francis Reddy and Greg Walz-Chojnacki. This is a wonderful book for someone just starting out with amateur astronomy, or who just needs all of this great information in one place. It covers the best astronomical events through 2010. Between this book and spaceweather.com, I've finally been able to keep track of meteor showers, the phases of the moon, appearances of Mercury, and a variety of other events.

The only problem that comes up now is that I love earth science and astronomy and I've got to teach my children about biology, chemistry, and physics too. :)