What I Read

Candace Salima has suggested we write about what we read and why.

A few years ago, after adding a larger living room to our house, we decided to rearrange some of the other rooms. Since we had books stashed in kids' rooms, in the basement, in our bedroom, in a bookcase in the living room, in boxes in the garage, and under couches and beds, we decided to build shelves and make our original living into our library and house all of the books in one place. Of course, I fantasized that the books would be organized similar to real libraries--silly me--at least most of the books are in a central location.

My kids love books. One of their favorite "rewards" is to go to the thrift store and fill a bag with "previously loved" books. I love books, too. I buy books through the book clubs at my kids' school, from Amazon, at bookstores, at Walmart, and wherever I can find books I want to read. I love to go to the bookstore and just "smell" all the books. I love to handle them in my hands and touch the pages. I recently walked through a bookstore in Denver, CO that's 3 stories high and filled with so many books my eyes popped out of my head. Yes, we love books.

Since my library is filled with picture books (I've read at least a million picture books through the years), easy readers, chapter books, middle grade novels, and young adult novels, that's what I read a lot. I loved Princess Academy (Shannon Hale) and Stargirl (Jerry Spinelli).

We do have a section in the library dedicated to my husband's passion--LDS doctrinal books--but I don't select books from that section as often as I should. However, I am currently reading The Third Thousand Years (Cleon Skousen) as an accompaniment to my Old Testament study and have found this series to be quite enlightening and helpful as I attempt to digest the stories of the ancient prophets. But, I still gravitate toward fiction.

I also have shelves for my adult fiction choices which tend to be LDS fiction. I'm currently reading Ghost of a Chance (Kerry Lynn Blair) and am loving it. I love the voice of the main character, Samantha Shade. Blair's humor is woven throughout the story and it makes me want to meet the author in person because she must be one funny woman. I am enjoying this book very much.

I read LDS fiction because I do not want to wade through trash and profanity to try to find the story. I want to be entertained. I want to learn. I want to see characters with my values. I want to feel the spiritual growth of the characters. I want to think about something differently. I generally feel "safe" in choosing an LDS fiction book. I have come to expect certain standards from the publishers of LDS books and I know what I'm getting. I don't have to worry that I'll be spiritually offended.

I believe the quality of LDS fiction has increased greatly and we will continue to see more growth from LDS authors. I love to read books by people I "know" and admire. I also want to see the market grow and flourish.

I read LDS fiction for many reasons, but the main reason is because I enjoy it.