From: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com (aml-list-digest) To: aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Subject: aml-list-digest V1 #536 Reply-To: aml-list Sender: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Errors-To: owner-aml-list-digest@lists.xmission.com Precedence: bulk aml-list-digest Tuesday, December 4 2001 Volume 01 : Number 536 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 09:53:46 -0700 From: Terry L Jeffress Subject: Re: [AML] Neal A. Maxwell's AML awards On Fri, Nov 30, 2001 at 04:43:51PM -0500, Debra Brown wrote: > [MOD: I believe Elder Maxwell received an award from AML at one point. Can > someone confirm?] >From the AML-Awards Archive (http://www.aml-online.org/awards/r/Maxwell_Neal_A.html): 1983: Sermon: Special Commendation for Sustained Excellence 1999: Devotional Literature: _One More Strain of Praise_ - -- Terry L Jeffress | If a book is not worth re-reading, it is not South Jordan, UT | worth reading. -- Samuel Johnson - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2001 10:09:03 -0700 From: margaret young Subject: [AML] Good Mormon Writers (was: Point of View) I think Brady Udall rivals David Foster Wallace. I think Phyllis Barber, at her best, is outstanding. "J. Scott Bronson" wrote: > On Fri, 23 Nov 2001 13:02:04 -0700 "Eric R. Samuelsen" > writes: > > > Point is: we've got some great stuff our people have written. But > > where's the Mormon David Foster Wallace or Dave Eggers? Because > > there's a market for it. > > That's my next project after the God's Army novel I am currently working > on. I think it'll be fun to do. > > scott > > -- > AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature > - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2001 10:48:57 -0700 From: margaret young Subject: Re: [AML] Bad Personal News Michael, many of us will want to include you and your wife in our prayers and put both your names on temple prayer rolls. We know your name, but we need hers. What is it? - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 11:40:39 -0700 From: "Scott Parkin" Subject: Re: [AML] Konnie Enos Virus? Linda Adams wrote: > ...on further thought, this attachment description fits more with the > Badtrans virus which Jana had this week. But my antivirus software hasn't > come up with anything saying I had that one. My bad. I did get it (the post, not the virus) from Jana, and realized that after I had sent the previous note. But this raises an excellent point--if you're using a mail program that automatically saves and opens attached files, consider turning that option off and manually saving your attachments so you can look at them. That's how I stopped Jana's allegedly nude picture from infecting my computer (interesting metaphor there that I won't get into at this point). Of course I also have the latest version of Norton Antivirus running (an absolute necessity if you're Internet active). Scott Parkin - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2001 11:52:44 -0700 From: "Todd Petersen" Subject: Re: [AML] Harry Potter Movie Just a brief response to part of Jonathan's post. I'm not so sure that Harry Potter's audience is primarily those who have already read the books. That might be part of it, meaning that the people fronting the 125 million plus 2.5 million for the series rights surely want to tap a ready-made audience. However, I think that another big purpose for the movie (from the studio's point of view) is to hook the next generation of Harry Potter readers. The news during the opening was sporting all kind of 4-7 year old kis who couldn't really read through that kind of stuff, and these kids were "Harry Potter Harry Potter Harry Potter," through the roof. Still, I'm not arguing if these books are good are not. I've never read them, and probably won't for a while, given that I have lots of other things in line to read. In any case, this thing is a marketing machine gone amuck. It doesn't matter if the product is good. Kids couldn't refuse the books anymore even if they wanted to. There are a lot of people who are reading these books so they won't get left out of conversations. It's become a social phenomenon--and no one wants to be the outcast who hasn't read THE BOOKS OF THE CENTURY. One last thing, once Led Zeppelin starts writing songs with Harry Potter characters in them, maybe I'll close Tolkein and push Rowling a little closet to the top of my list. - -- Todd Robert Petersen - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 11:58:31 -0700 From: Christopher Bigelow Subject: RE: [AML] Harry Potter Movie <<>> I've only made it to about first base with Harry Potter, so I'm still nearly a virgin. (I've read just the first few chapters of the first book--until somewhere in Diagon Alley--to my 6-year-old, but he hasn't quite latched on yet, so we've stopped. As with Disneyland, I refuse to experience something aimed primarily at kids without a kid actually in tow to help me appreciate it vicariously.) However, we did go see the movie, and I agree with Katie's statement above. As an old Dungeons & Dragons and fantasy fan, this movie came across to me as throwing all kinds of familiar fantasy elements together into a stew. It had some interesting visuals and moments, but mostly it was about as compelling to me as stew. I wasn't impressed with the forced storytelling--for instance, Snape was a standard-issue red herring, and what I've seen of Voldemort so far is less convincing than Darth Vader. The movie really fell apart for me when they went down the trapdoor. That chess thing was dumb--why did the red-headed kid have to stay on the playing piece? If everyone knew about the magic mirror's properties and it was insignificant enough to gather dust in a storeroom, why was it considered an effective guard for the stone, and why would Quirrell have let himself be trapped by it? I agree that the way Harry beat Quirrell by touching him with the power of his mother's love was gag-eriffic. Maybe these things are handled better in the book. The movie wasn't unwatchable or anything. I'd give it a C+. Essentially the movie lays bare the skeleton of Rowling's story without the flesh of her reportedly magical prose. While her elephant may have had some remarkable new color or texture on the outside, the skeleton revealed by the movie is decidedly unremarkable. I hope the book pulls it off better, when we eventually get around to reading it. (I ordered the audio version of book one for Christmas, so maybe we'll just listen to it together instead of me reading it.) From what I've read so far of Rowling, however, she's not as fresh and original as Roald Dahl. Chris Bigelow - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2001 13:14:49 -0600 From: Linda Adams Subject: Re: [AML] Harry Potter Books At 07:41 PM 11/30/01, you wrote: >Say what you will about Rowling's adverbs. What she has done is phenomenal. >She has crafted something so magical that even reluctant readers are drawn >in. And what she's written is NOTHING like the proliferating horror series >of yesteryear. It is also nothing like the Babysitter's Club. Or the >American Girls books. Or Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. AMEN. Thank you for saying what I couldn't quite articulate after reading D. Michael's post. I love the Harry Potter books for their own merit, and frankly haven't read any better writing in this genre since the Chronicles of Narnia. To each his own. However, *especially* compared against the other popular children's series of the day: Goosebumps, Babysitters' Club, et al., the quality of J.K. Rowling's writing blows them away. I have suffered through reads of all the series listed above and then some, so that I am aware of what my children are reading. And believe me: it *has* been suffering... I find nothing inherently wrong with these series, and have allowed my children to read them after I preview them (and they like them), but give me more Harry Potter any day. Rowling raises the bar of literary expectation in her field. Trust me. ...With older series, such as Nancy Drew and the Boxcar Children, the originals are decently crafted. But the current "modernized" incarnations of these series are NOT, often written by someone else. It's the quality difference between the original Scooby Doo cartoon and all the following Scrappy Doo Mysteries garbage. (And you could not force me to read all 100+ Babysitters' Club books. I'd rather pluck every hair off my body individually with tweezers.) Linda Adams adamszoo@sprintmail.com http://home.sprintmail.com/~adamszoo - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 10:33:45 -0700 From: rwilliams Subject: [AML] "Great" Books (was: Harry Potter Books) It's finals week for me, and I probably should be writing my papers. But I thought I'd just make one comment here, since I see a potentially interesting thread developing. Robbin writes, >So back to the Harry Potter books. They are either great, or they aren't. >They just can't be not great in general, but maybe great as YA. That's not >giving enough credit to the world of literature for young people--which has >come along way since the days of Little Golden Books. I also loved the Harry Potter books, and I look forward to reading them to my son when he gets a little older. But I think the term "great" is really what is in question here. What makes a book "great"? If anyone out there has a really good definition, I'm interested in hearing it. Last year at Utah State, I taught an Introduction to Literature class, and we tried to come up with a list of specific things that define "greatness" in literature. After establishing our criteria, I brought out the Yellow Pages, and, much to our chagrin, we all noticed that it too fit our description of "great" literature. I only ask because I'm interested in hearing what a group of "great" writers has to say on the subject :) I must admit up front though, that I'm convinced any definition of bookish greatness will be hazy at best, more the product of what Stanley Fish calls "interpretive communities" than any real objective classification. If you are familiar with Stanley Fish, you can stop reading here, but if you've never heard his arguments, they might be interesting. In attempting to classify "greatness" in literature, one is quite often confronted with claims of "objectivity," as well as accusations of "subjectivity." On the one hand, readers often claim that the "greatness" of the text is based on methodical, precise, even mathematical procedures--and therefore reveals the real value in the text, plainly and unequivocally. Or, on the other hand, readers sometimes argue vociferously that any "greatness" in a text emerges from one's own personal experiences, biases, and, prejudices--an argument that allows every reader to have "their own" equally valid interpretation of the text. The resulting paradigm introduces several problems, particularly when one considers the shakiness of claims toward objectivity and the uselessness of accusations of subjectivity. The evidence against the "definitive" greatness is quite often compelling, even obvious, making the supposed value of the text nearly impossible to substantiate. And, on the flip-side, the basic premise of the subjective interpretation insinuates a kind of anti-social proclivity, as if to say "Fine, you have your definition of greatness, and I have mine, so just go home and stop wasting my time"--an argument that effectively eliminates any attempt toward validating literary criticism and, I would argue, plunges readers headlong into a kind of useless solipsism. Readers frustrated by these arguments will often conclude that the entire debate is a damned nuisance, literally a DAMNED nuisance, since neither side effectively answers the problems of textual interpretation. There is, however, a third option, introduced by Stanley Fish in _Is There a Text in This Class?_ (1980). Fish's argument implies the presence of "interpretive communities" that embody certain preconceived cultural ideas in formulating meaning and value in a text. He asserts that "the opposition between objectivity and subjectivity is a false one because neither exists in the pure form that would give the opposition its point," implying that the entire "objective vs. subjective" paradigm is faulty to begin with. And further that =93we do not have free-standing readers in a relationship of perceptual adequacy or inadequacy to an equally free-standing text. Rather we have readers whose consciousnesses are constituted by a set of conventional notions which when put into operation constitute in turn a conventional, and conventionally seen, object=94 (332). Viewed this way there is really no such thing as a completely objective or subjective stance. Instead, readers ineluctably act as members of a "literary community," participating in a collective construct concerning which meaning is considered valid. As Fish puts it: if the understandings of the people in question are informed by the same notions of what counts as a fact, of what is central, peripheral, and worthy of being noticed--in short, by the same interpretive principles--then agreement between them will be assured, and its source will not be a text that enforces its own perception but a way of perceiving that results in the emergence of those who share it (or those whom it shares) of the same text. (337) Like I said, I think this argument is practically unassailable. So what, then, makes the Harry Potter books (or any other books for that matter) "great?" [John Williams] - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 14:26:27 -0500 From: "Debra Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN Enoch Train Sets Sail for 50 Young Passengers: Excel Entertainment Press Release 30Nov01 US UT SLC A2 Enoch Train Sets Sail for 50 Young Passengers Acclaimed Folk Ensemble to Perform in Benefit Concert for Young Skyline High Musicians SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- Eight master musicians, 90 exotic instruments and hundreds of years of folk heritage-that is the formula for Enoch Train, the instrumental Americana folk ensemble whose modern interpretations of folk and hymn tunes were the musical backbone of Sea Trek 2001. Now the ensemble will put their music to work in a benefit concert on December 3 for the Skyline High School Orchestra. Skyline High School's orchestra has been invited to play at the International Band and Orchestra Convention on December 19 in Chicago. They are the first Utah orchestra to be invited to play at that convention. The coveted invitation to that convention comes with a price tag-the students themselves must pay for the trip! Enoch Train will dedicate the proceeds of their December 3 concert to these young musicians who have distinguished themselves by their dedication. The December 3 benefit concert will be held at the Skyline High School auditorium. Music begins at 7:30 p.m. A dinner will begin at 6 p.m. Tickets are $5 for the concert and an additional $3 to attend the 6 p.m. dinner. Tickets are available at the door, or by calling Skyline High at 801-273-2080. Enoch Train will play one number with the Skyline Orchestra and then present a full evening of their trademark folk fusion hymn arrangements which were so popular this summer in Copenhagen, Esbjerg, Gothenburg, Oslo, Glasgow, Liverpool, Hull and Portsmouth. They played with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, on board the Staatsraad Lehmkuhl (the Norwegian tall ship), and in concerts across Northern Europe. Enoch Train's founder, Clive Romney, is an alumnus of Skyline High. In his days there (last century!), Clive was orchestra president, folk club president, and a class officer. Clive is also a long-time friend of Richard Chatelain, the orchestra's conductor. "I couldn't turn down Rich's invitation after all Skyline did to foster my love for and abilities in music," Clive says. "Larry Bird and Donald Ripplinger (previous orchestra and choir leaders) were huge influences in my life and I owe them more than I can ever pay back. So I'll pay it forward." The concert will include tunes from their debut self-titled album and from their recently-released second album, Set Sail. Set Sail features several hymn tunes that were sung at the embarkation of the ships from Albert Dock in Liverpool, ships which carried many of Enoch Train's own ancestors to America. Enoch Train will also perform "We Three Kings", which was honored at the 2001 Pearl Awards as "Holiday Recording of the Year". Enoch Train features Janice Andersen on fiddle and guitar, Daron Bradford on woodwinds, Dave Compton on harmonica, keyboards and guitar, Rich Dixon on guitars, Tom Hewitson on mandolin, guitar and percussion, Rob Honey on bass, Jay Lawrence on drums and percussion, and Clive Romney on mandolin, guitar, accordion, and percussion. To hear samples of Enoch Train's music, go to http://www.enochtrain.com . ### Source: Enoch Train Sets Sail for 50 Young Passengers Excel Entertainment Press Release 30Nov01 A2 >From Mormon-News: Mormon News and Events Forwarding is permitted as long as this footer is included Mormon News items may not be posted to the World Wide Web sites without permission. Please link to our pages instead. For more information see http://www.MormonsToday.com/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 14:27:14 -0500 From: "Debra Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN Elder Groberg devotional broadcast Dec. 4 Features Film: BYU Press Release 1Dec01 US UT Prov D3 Elder John H. Groberg devotional broadcast Dec. 4 PROVO, UTAH -- The Brigham Young University devotional by Elder John H. Groberg of the First Quorum of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints scheduled for Tuesday (Dec. 4) will be broadcast live at 11:05 on KBYU-TV (Channel 11) and the BYU-Television satellite network. The BYU-TV satellite network will also show a live Webcast of the devotional on the Internet at www.byutv.org. The devotional will be rebroadcast Sunday, Dec. 9, on Channel 11 at 6 and 11 a.m. and on BYU-Television at 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. Elder Groberg will speak about his missionary experiences in Polynesia. He will also share highlights from the soon-to-be-released autobiographical film based on his book, "In the Eye of the Storm." Elder Groberg has been a member of the First Quorum of the Seventy since 1976. He now serves in the presidency of the Utah South Area. Previously he was the executive administrator for several areas of the Church including Hawaii, Tonga, Tahiti, Fiji, Samoa, Micronesia, Nevada, Arizona, the U.S North Central and Northern California Areas. Elder Groberg has served as a Regional Representative for seven years, as president of the Tonga Mission where he also served earlier as a missionary and as a bishop in Idaho Falls, Idaho. After graduating from BYU, he received his Master of Business Administration degree from Indiana University where he also taught. -###- Sources: Elder John H. Groberg devotional broadcast Dec. 4 BYU Press Release 29Nov 01 D3 Elder John H. Groberg at BYU devotional Dec. 4 BYU Press Release 26Nov01 D3 http://www.byu.edu/news/releases/Nov/groberg.htm See also: More about John H. Groberg's "Other Side of Heaven" at Amazon.com "The Other Side of Heaven" is the title of the paperback version of "In the Eye of the Storm" and of the film, which will be released December 14th. >From Mormon-News: Mormon News and Events Forwarding is permitted as long as this footer is included Mormon News items may not be posted to the World Wide Web sites without permission. Please link to our pages instead. For more information see http://www.MormonsToday.com/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 14:25:26 -0500 From: "Debra Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN The Other Side of Heaven: From Book to Movie to Paperback: Deseret Book Press Release 1Dec01 US UT SLC A2 The Other Side of Heaven: From Book to Movie to Paperback SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- The missionary memoirs of Elder John H. Groberg, found in his popular book "In the Eye of the Storm," can now be enjoyed in paperback as "The Other Side of Heaven." "In the Eye of the Storm" has been re-titled "The Other Side of Heaven" for its paperback version available December 10th th coincide with the theatrical release, December 14 locally and December 21 nationally, of the major motion picture based on Elder Groberg's book. The cover art of the paperback release will match the promotional movie poster. This first-person account tells such stories as: The emergency night voyage on a turbulent sea, and the anxious search for the only guiding light into the destination harbor. The boy whose apparently lifeless body was handed to the missionaries with the words, "Here, make him well again -- you have the power." The storm that overturned the boat, throwing the missionaries into the raging sea. The hurricae that hit the little island. The hunger when the usual supply boat failed to show up. And so much more. This account tells the fascinating story of the three years he spent on the islands in the South Pacific amidst a kindly people who had a deep faith in God, a faith that provides a backdrop for Elder Groberg's accounts of miraculous healings, protective warnings, and perilous voyages. This remarkable book paints a vivid picture of missionary life in a society geared to "a different way of thinking." But it is far from being solely a collection of stories. To the experiences it recounts, the author has added observations on the scenes and circumstances that in an inspiring way bring out the gospel principles involved. Given this combination, the total effect of the book is that from the time reader's are introduced to this young missionary through his journey to Tonga they will be engrossed in his story until the end. ### Source: The Other Side of Heaven: From Book to Movie to Paperback Deseret Book Press Release 1Dec01 A2 See also: More about John H. Groberg's "Other Side of Heaven" at Amazon.com "The Other Side of Heaven" is the title of the paperback version of "In the Eye of the Storm" and of the film, which will be released December 14th. >From Mormon-News: Mormon News and Events Forwarding is permitted as long as this footer is included Mormon News items may not be posted to the World Wide Web sites without permission. Please link to our pages instead. For more information see http://www.MormonsToday.com/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 14:57:31 -0700 From: "Jacob Proffitt" Subject: [AML] RE: "Great" Books (was: Harry Potter Books) - ---Original Message From: Major Productions > > As you can probably tell, I like the Harry Potter books. I don't > > think they are great literature. But they just might be great YA > > literature and there is plenty there for adults to appreciate. > > I have to surface here--though I am usually a major list-lurker... Thank you for surfacing! I'm glad you brought this up. > I have to take exception to the above. I am a writer of and > reader of (and, as a former children's librarian, pusher of) > children's lit and it is my very strong opinion that great is great. I used to believe that, too (that great is great). Melissa (who I had the great good fortune to marry) has convinced me otherwise. And I don't mean that as a dabbler in children's lit, either. Some of the best fantasy and science fiction on the market is marketed as Young Adult. Robin McKinley (The Blue Sword and Hero and the Crown), Dianna Wynne Jones, Diane Duane, among others, write some of the best books out there. Some of it very challenging and insightful. One of the best things about J. K. Rowling is that it has sparked an interest in long dormant books by Dianna Wynne Jones (and I'm sure others as well). That said, the problem is that there is no universal definition for great. Does frequent use of -ly words automatically disqualify you from great? Or does that merely represent an adjustment for audience? As an adult, the -ly words interfere with my reading--pulling me out of the story. But for my children, they don't notice all the -lys and might find them necessary to how much they enjoy the books. Maybe I'll experiment a little and start leaving out the -lys as I read to them--see what happens. Hmmm. > And whether or not it is, the fact that Harry Potter speaks > to so many people of all ages is a truly remarkable thing. I absolutely agree. And it is something that I think we need to take a serious look at as people invested in the reading habits of, well, everyone really. It would be very well for us to try to discover *why* these books are so engaging to their target audience. Rip on it all you like, but it does something fundamentally right that we should try very hard to identify and, where possible, emulate. > Decades ago, when I was but a young lass at BYU, there were > condescending references made to "kiddie lit". But it is not > a bastardized (Can I use that word here?) sub-genre. It's the > real thing. I absolutely agree. Melissa had the same experience at BYU. She is very involved in "kiddie lit" and has infected me somewhat as well. There is some great stuff there and one of the joys of raising children is being able to share the great stuff with them. > So back to the Harry Potter books. They are either great, or > they aren't. They just can't be not great in general, but > maybe great as YA. That's not giving enough credit to the > world of literature for young people--which has come along > way since the days of Little Golden Books. I understand what you say, but I want to point out that at the base of your statement is the assumption that there is some hierarchy of genres. When I say something is great YA literature but not great 'literature', I'm not saying that it is not great. As Dave Wolverton likes to point out, literature is itself a genre with specific rules and structures, and doesn't have any more intrinsic value than any other genre. For me, the Harry Potter books could use some editing to take out the heavy handed adverbs and such. So it isn't great for me (very good, and a lovely read and I couldn't put them down, but only with the effort of mentally editing certain elements). To me, Dianna Wynne Jones is infinitely better. But I want to recognize that the very things that bother me, might be a part of what is so right about the books in how they engage young people--i.e. make it great for 'kiddies'. Jacob Proffitt - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 14:52:31 -0700 From: Terry L Jeffress Subject: [AML] Quotation Marks I just started reading _Red Water_ by Judith Freeman, in which she never uses quotation marks around her characters' speech. I don't get this style choice at all. Reasons to use quotation marks - ------------------------------ -- Readers of English literature have come to expect the author to set off dialogue with some sort of special punctuation. To me, quotation marks make the most sense. We get a visual cue about which words came out of the characters' mouths. I can also accept em-dashes (i.e., James Joyce). -- Leaving out the quotation marks works contrary to the reader's expectations and creates a negative reading experience. -- Quotation marks leave no ambiguity. If I want to put a character's unspoken thoughts in the center of a paragraph of dialogue, quotation marks clearly set apart the spoken from the unspoken word. Reasons not to use quotation marks - ---------------------------------- -- I have read one work where I think I understand the author's decision not to use quotation marks: _Angela's Ashes_ by Frank McCourt. I believe that McCourt did not want people to confuse his reconstructed memories of situations with factual situations. If he had used quotation marks, it would appear that four-year-old McCourt had photographically remembered his parent's conversations. By not using quotation marks, he expresses the content of the conversations without committing to word-for-word accuracy. I still had to spend time getting used to this narrative style, which still presented certain ambiguities about whether the main character really spoke aloud or just to himself. -- You want to create an air of superiority over the reader. You believe that you, as an artist, cannot bother with silly conventions and reader expectations. You want your final pages to look like long blocks of exposition that the reader will have to slog through. You believe that you create Literature with every sentence, and that the lowly reader should just accept your artistic decisions without complaint. In other words, an affectation. Choosing not to use quotation marks creates immediate distance between author and reader. Freeman could argue along the same lines as McCourt -- that she does not want to create the idea that she can produce exact quotes about the real-life characters in her historical novel. But _Red Water_ addresses events in the late 1800s, so I don't think that anyone would really believe that she had somehow found exact transcriptions of John D. Lee's pillow-talk with his wives. Besides, I have read numerous historical novels that use quotation marks without ever inferring that I could find documentary evidence of the conversations -- that's history, not fiction. So why would any author make this style choice? - -- Terry L Jeffress | The man who does not read good books has no South Jordan, UT | advantage over the man who can't read them. | -- Mark Twain - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 16:26:40 -0700 From: Terry L Jeffress Subject: [AML] Review Archive Update New Titles Review in November 2001 ================================== 505 The Whipping Boy by J. Scott Bronson reviewed by Andrew R Hall 506 J. Golden by James Arrington reviewed by D. Michael Martindale 507 If I Forget, You Remember by Carol Lynch Williams reviewed by Tracie Laulusa 508 The Shadow Taker by Blaine M. Yorgason reviewed by Jeff Needle 509 Beneath the Surface by Jeni Grossman reviewed by Julia H. Todd 510 I'll Find You by Clair M. Poulson reviewed by Terry L Jeffress 511 One More River to Cross by Margaret Blair Young reviewed by Roy Schmidt 512 Stones by J. Scott Bronson reviewed by Darlene Young 513 Love, Sin and Survival: Three Women in 1930's Utah by LaVon B. Carroll reviewed by Jana Bouck Remy AML-List Review Archive Statistics ================================== Build date: Tuesday, 3 December 2001, 15:59:12 Total reviews: 513 Total reviews this year: 104 Most Prolific Reviewers - ---------------------------------------------------- Needle, Jeff 70 (13.6%) Rasband, R. W. 32 ( 6.2%) Martindale, D. Michael 29 ( 5.7%) Clark, Harlow S. 28 ( 5.5%) Hall, Andrew R 19 ( 3.7%) Parker, Katie 17 ( 3.3%) Parkin, Scott 11 ( 2.1%) Samuelsen, Eric R. 11 ( 2.1%) Parkinson, Benson 11 ( 2.1%) Most Reviewed Authors - ---------------------------------------------------- Card, Orson Scott 33 ( 6.4%) Young, Margaret Blair 12 ( 2.3%) Dutcher, Richard 9 ( 1.8%) Hughes, Dean 9 ( 1.8%) Lund, Gerald N. 9 ( 1.8%) Parkinson, Benson Y. 9 ( 1.8%) Arrington, James 7 ( 1.4%) Most Reviewed Titles - ---------------------------------------------------- Brigham City 7 ( 1.4%) Latter-day Daughters 7 ( 1.4%) MTC, The: Set Apart 7 ( 1.4%) Children of the Promise 6 ( 1.2%) Work and the Glory, The 6 ( 1.2%) Testaments, The 6 ( 1.2%) Most Reviewed Publishers - ---------------------------------------------------- Deseret Book 108 (21.1%) Signature Books 53 (10.3%) Bookcraft 44 ( 8.6%) Covenant Communications 35 ( 6.8%) Aspen Books 22 ( 4.3%) Shadow Mountain 17 ( 3.3%) Tor 16 ( 3.1%) - -- Terry L Jeffress | It is a good rule, after reading a new book, South Jordan, UT | never to allow yourself another new one till you | have read an old one in between. -- C. S. Lewis - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 15:09:38 -0800 From: "Jeff Needle" Subject: Re: [AML] Bad Personal News This is terrible. Please know our prayers and good thoughts will be with you all. - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2001 18:17:56 -0700 From: "Barbara R. Hume" Subject: Re: [AML] Scott BRONSON, _Stones_ At 06:00 PM 12/1/01, you wrote: >While I may believe that I am building the kingdom of God (effecting >change for the better) with my play, Stones," I am perfectly aware that >there may be some who will believe that I am tearing down the kingdom. I >already know of at least a couple of people who hated the show. And I >observed another guy the other night who appeared to be bored completely >out of his gourd. Whatever. I loved the show, Scott. The acting and the script were marvelous, and I was completely involved in every moment. My 13-year-old grandson just sat there after it was over, saying, "Incredible!" and he thanked me several times for taking him to see it. He also said that it was the first time he understood the connection between Abraham's sacrifice of his son and Heavenly Father's sacrifice. When I was at church on Sunday, I was thinking that I wished everyone in the ward could have seen the play--I was still filled with thoughts of it. I tried telling my Sunday School class about it, but almost every line I tried to quote made me choke up. I think that Eric Snider was off in saying that the first part needed closure. To me, it was about those two men coming to a complete willingness to make the sacrifice. One they were ready, the play was over. (But it's a good thing we did know what happened next!) Where did you find that young man? He was amazing! Well, you all were! But the words that you gave them were stunning. When I got home, I had to take five pounds of soggy kleenex out of my purse. What higher tribute do you need? barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 03 Dec 2001 18:21:06 -0700 From: "Barbara R. Hume" Subject: Re: [AML] Marilyn BROWN, _House on the Sound_ (BYU Newsnet) At 12:07 AM 12/3/01, you wrote: >"What sells in Mormon writing is easier to read," Brown said. >"But I wanted to write things that were not quite as >accessible." I would love for Marilyn to expand on this comment. Perhaps I can finally come to understand what literary writers are thinking. . . . . barbara hume - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2001 21:25:58 -0500 From: "Debra Brown" Subject: [AML] Fw: MN A Christmas Message of Love, Hope and Healing: Deseret Book Press Release 1Dec01 US UT SLC A2 A Christmas Message of Love, Hope and Healing SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- When Robert's father suffers a near-fatal injury from an accident on Christmas Eve, the twelve-year-old boy must not only take over the operation of the extensive family orchard, but he also must wrestle to maintain his courage in the face of mounting troubles. This is the setting for "Christmas of the Cherry Snow" (Eagle Gate, $15.95), bestselling author Richard M. Siddoway's newest novel of a family keeping hope in the face of tragedy, and a mother's determination never to give up. Set in the 1950s, "Christmas of the Cherry Snow" takes a nostalgic look back at an innocent time -- when kids were free to be kids, when television was still a novelty, and when Christmas was filled with magic. As Robert and his family struggle to overcome the burdens created by his father's injuries, they take comfort in the spirit of the Christmas season. The tree, with its colorful ornaments and gifts, becomes a symbol of hope. Bu the tree begins loosing its needles and becomes barely more than a stick, causing the family to struggle with its faith. Will those values they've embraced for generations endure even in the face of adversity? "Christmas of the Cherry Snow" is appealing to readers young and old alike. About the Author Richard M. Siddoway has been a professional educator for more than 30 years, and currently serves as a member of the Utah State Legislature. His previous books include "The Christmas Wish," the bestselling novel that later became a made-for-television movie staring Debbie Reynolds and Neal Patrick Harris. He and his wife Janice, the parents of eight children and grandparents of nine, live in Bountiful, Utah. Source: A Christmas Message of Love, Hope and Healing Deseret Book Press Release 1Dec01 US UT SLC A2 >From Mormon-News: Mormon News and Events Forwarding is permitted as long as this footer is included Mormon News items may not be posted to the World Wide Web sites without permission. Please link to our pages instead. For more information see http://www.MormonsToday.com/ - -- AML-List, a mailing list for the discussion of Mormon literature ------------------------------ End of aml-list-digest V1 #536 ******************************