Oldskool: A Postscript

Did you ever have a Game Genie for your NES? We only had that one, not the one for the super NES, but dude it was awesome! I know I know, the cheater in me keeps rearing it's ugly head. So. That's all.

Oldskool

I have been strangely nostalgic today. I busted out the old Super NES and played Super Mario All Stars with M. He mostly thought it was cool that someone else could jump as much as he usually does on a given day. So I battled Bowser only to find that the princess was in another castle, while M jumped around in front of me and I tried not to die.

I also found this list, which is fun. I'm compelled to mention that these are the games I loved playing: Super Mario World, All Stars (with the original Super Mario Bros. 1-3 including the Lost Levels), Mario Kart, Out of this World, Mortal Kombat, F-Zero, Peter Pan, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Zoop, Toy Story, Aladdin, etc. I think most of my memories include my sister and my cousin. I remember driving all the way to Clovis to visit, and then S and I would just play video games the whole time. So fun!

On a related and earlier note, how about this list? How old was I when I played these games, like 9? Do you remember playing Duck Hunt on the original NES, with that plastic gun? How about Burgertime? And Bubble Bobble, Donkey Kong, Paperboy, Tetris, Dr. Mario, and Joe & Mac? Did you ever have a Power Pad and play World Class Track Meet? We used to always cheat on that one when it was time for the long jump. We'd just step off the pad and then tap our foot to land. So honest. I never played The Legend of Zelda, or Contra, but those are two of Ryan's favorites. I know I know, I missed out! I do remember playing Goonies II at my friend's house, and always getting stuck. Ah, the memories.

I haven't played anything much past the Super NES, although we did have a Nintendo 64 later on. I think the only game I played on there was Super Mario 64, Star Fox 64, (with the Rumble Pak), and Mario Kart 64. But since then I haven't played, or really even wanted to play. Until...I got hooked on Dance Dance Revolution at a friend's house! Now I'm thinking that a purchase might be in order. Should I get a Wii? Or an XBox 360? Maybe you all need to give me advice on the matter. Tell me what you think.

Conclusion? Clearly I have admitted how much I must've played Nintendo over the course of my 27 years. A simple list of games that I remember turned into this entire post. Yikes. I wonder how many hours total I spent in front of my own or somebody else's TV trying to beat games.

And seriously, I want your input about what to buy. Pronto.

In Rainbows

Radiohead has a new album coming out. You can get it either by download in October or physically in-your-hand in December. Check out this article that discusses how they're sticking it to the man.

Can I tell you how excited I am? No. Can I tell you how upset I will be if I don't finally see them live when they go on tour next year? Yes: Angry. So, I WILL be going. In fact, I'm little ashamed to publicly admit that I've never been to Radiohead live. I will feel less shame once I have my ticket in hand, and am wearing proper attire.

List of music you should be listening to if you value my opinion and feel like doing what I say.

• Wincing the Night Away by The Shins
• Chutes Too Narrow by The Shins
  
• Bloc Party by Bloc Party
• Funeral by Arcade Fire
• Misery is a Butterfly by Blonde Redhead
• Decemberunderground by AFI
• Final Straw by Snow Patrol
• Day is Done by Brad Mehldau
• Greatest Hits by The Cars
• OK Computer by Radiohead
• Hail to the Thief by Radiohead
• Orange Rhyming Dictionary by Jets to Brazil
• Sam's Town by The Killers
• Commit This to Memory by Motion City Soundtrack
• lots of Muse, Pat Metheny, Pink Floyd, more Radiohead, Sting, Tori Amos, Talking Heads, etc.

So there you go, another list that proves that I'm more interested in myself than writing anything that might actually be interesting for all of you. "Thai food, feminist prose, and angry girl music of the indie rock persuasion."

From H's Blog

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME: (first pet & current car): Sox Altima

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie): Vanilla Molasses Crinkles

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name): K-Mil

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal): Teal Cat

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME: (middle name, city where you were born): Lyn Provo

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first): Milke

7. SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink): The Orange Water

8. NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers): Ray Dominic

9. STRIPPER NAME: ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy): Shi Kit Kat

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ): Lyn Dominic

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter): Keck Kalamazoo

12. SPY NAME: (your favorite season/holiday, flower): Halloween Apple Blossom

13. CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”): Blueberry Pantsy

14. HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree): Banana Bread Cottonwood

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”): The Reading Thunderstorm Tour

So there you go. I hadn't heard most of these, but my favorite is "Blueberry Pantsy", by far.

2 thoughts

I had a Stepford moment today at the gym while ellipticalling (and rocking out to Arcade Fire), when I looked over at 5 or 6 other ellipticallers: all in a row, moving in unison and to the beat of my music on my iPod. Yikes. I think it doesn't say much about my sanity that I'm so easily scared. I imagine that things are breaking the laws of physics all the time, too. I see something out of the corner of my eye and think it's someone flying, like on Heroes. What am I thinking?

I'm breaking out the Halloween box today. Take that R! I don't have to wait until October 1st, I'm a fall birthday. So I get to blame my Halloween obsession on some type of intangible connection with my season of birth, and maybe on being a Virgo, if that applies. Regardless, a-decorating I shall go. I also shall make a trip to the Safeway for some canned pumpkin with which to make Pumpkin Cookies with Brown Butter Icing, or Pumpkin Bread, or Pumpkin Cheesecake, or other delectable treats. It's time, people! I don't care if the high today is 98. It's fall. Let it be spoken, let it be done.

Heroes

Don't forget all you Heroes fans: season 2 starts Monday September 24 at 9pm! (cheesy announcer voice)

P. S. (I may or may not have gotten hooked on yet another show.)

Jesus Camp

R and I viewed the documentary "Jesus Camp" on Friday. There's a lot of things to think/talk about after seeing it, but I have to separate them into two sets of reactions: did I like it as a film, and what is my reaction to their beliefs?

As a FILM: It's a little sensationalistic with the scary music at times, but for the most part I really enjoyed it as a whole. What they do is very intriguing, and what they believe is very polarizing, so I was interested the whole time while watching it. However, the end result put a negative light on their beliefs, but if you watch the film with director's commentary the feel is different. They speak of the three main child characters with affection and a pretty unbiased interest in their zeal. But if that was their intent for the film without the commentary, then it was lost on me. It seemed that the point of the film was to show how very strange and very conservative these folks are.

There was a good dialogue going back and forth between Becky Fischer (a Pentecostal children's pastor who runs the camp in the movie) and Mike Papantonio (a Christian and a radio talk show host). I think this was one of the best decisions they could have made. The two sides, both of them believing Christians, made a nice clean framework for a complicated issue. In my opinion, this is the most well made documentary I've seen, along with Fahrenheit 9/11.

As a FAITH: The line between politics and religion seemed entirely blurred, both for the pastor and those in the congregation. In the Mormon church there is no official taking of political sides, even if the majority of members are conservatives. But here I found it a little unnerving to hear unflinching talk of abortion over the pulpit, praise of George W. Bush, etc. (Maybe it's because I've heard my share of conservative assumptions when people in the Church talk to each other. I'm not offended, and I've only had liberal views for a few years, but I always think to myself when someone assumes that I'm also a libertarian, "Um, have we ever even talked about anything more than 'how old is your kid' and 'oh, mine is 2'? Maybe we should get to know each other a little better." But this is another post entirely...) Anyways, it was a little hard to hear this type of thing again, mingled in with religion. I had to wonder if there were people in the Pentecostal faith who had liberal political views and struggled with their belief because of all the conservative folks.

On the other hand, I thought their commitment to their faith was admirable. The little girl who passed out fliers and approached a woman while she was bowling, was particularly interesting. But I had to wonder how much of it was that she was a child immersed in a very demanding culture. I worried less about her (because she was older and had more freedom to make her own decisions, and would find out sooner or later in life what she really believed) and more about the younger children. They are encouraged to speak in tongues and have revelatory trances, but what about their desire to please their pastor, or their parents? Did this play into their spiritual experiences when they are so young and less able to know what faith in Christ means?

On the other hand, it's definitely okay to teach your children what you believe to be true. So am I worried just because I believe the Mormon church to be true? I keep remembering one particular scene where the kids were listening to a sermon about abortion and then were waiting for red lengths of tape with "life" written on them so they could put them on their mouths. There was one little girl who must have been between 5-6, and she was touching her mouth while she watched other kids getting theirs. She just wanted a sticker! I found it a little disturbing.

So the bottom line is that it's a great film. It brings up all kinds of interesting questions about faith, reason, politics, freedom, and how to separate them or not separate them. I highly recommend it and welcome any and all comments about what people think after they see it. Happy viewing!

Hockety Pockety Wockety?

M and I are experiencing The Sword and the Stone together for the first time. Hooray for the library right across the street. Don't hold your breath for R to be taking a trip down memory lane with this movie though. He claims that this movie is lame and that he even thought so when he was a kid. I however love it! For some reason it just makes me happy. And silly. There are lots of silly things in this one. M, who is now getting a sense of humor of his own, is even giggling at things before I pave the way with my own giggles. Happy viewing any parents of 2-year-olds.

An Atypical Exchange

It is the third day of sickness at our house. The croup has struck M for the first time, and his cough sounds horrible! He's my little barking seal. I have to say that I'm glad he didn't get it when he was younger or I would've been more unnerved. His case isn't that bad though, and he seems to be running around like usual for the most part. We're basically running two humidifiers throughout the apartment 24/7.

Because of this ailment we haven't gone to the gym or most other places, since M starts coughing a lot in the air-conditioned, and therefore drier, car. So we've both had a little bit of cabin fever. This results in more-than-usual excitement over mundane things:

M, yelling at the top of his lungs: Bianins! (this means "vitamins")
me: Okay, let's get vitamins!
M, still yelling: Bianins! Bianins! 2 Bianins!
me, dispensing, well, vitamins: Yes, we have 2 vitamins.
M: 3 bianins?!
me: No, just 2 vitamins, here you go.
M, mouth full of vitamins: More bianins?
me: No, we just have 2 vitamins.
M runs off to play with his vacuum.

later that day...

M, saying a bunch of gibberish with real words at the end: gibber gibber blah, with cowors?!!! (the last word is "colors")
me: Do you want to take a bath with colors?
M: Naked a cowors?!!
me: Yes, we're naked in the bath, and we're taking a bath with colors.
M: Cowors!! Cowors!!

So there you go. Lots of enthusiasm for lots of things. This is what comes from having croup at the same time it's 111 degrees outside: you never leave the house and end up bouncing off the walls because of baths with colors in the water and some vitamins.

Finally, a virtual onramp to the information superhighway of my very own.

After much ado, there is now a cheap and slow internet connection available at the house. Remember when things used to actually plug into the wall? That's what this literal connection entails. It's just plain weird. Still, it's worth it to be able to do really productive things like how right now I should be sleeping, but instead I was playing Bejeweled 2 just for fun.

I'm going to a jewelry party tomorrow night at my sis-in-law's house. I've gotten a little carried away with my self-proclaimed catering of said event and made 5 kinds of cookies. They're from new recipes that I've been wanting to try, but haven't had the excuse to use yet. I also threw in a pan of cheesecake brownies for good measure.

In case there are any foodies out there this is the list: lime-glazed cookies, lemon-glazed cookies, cheesecake brownies, checkerboard cookies, linzer cookies, and two-tone peanut butter thins. I think it's a nice rounded out palette of flavors, thanks to my obsessing over the "menu".(However, the linzer cookies aren't very pretty after my poor attempt to roll them nicely this afternoon, so I'm thinking of trying another recipe instead called apricot almond ruglach. They mostly look like little crescent rolls, but they're cookies. These recipes are largely from a book by Nick Malgieri called Cookies Unlimited. I highly recommend it if you ever want some unique recipes for baking therapy.) In other cookie news, I tried some cookies at a small little bakery across the street from the gym. The best of them was some kind of pecan cinnamon-sugar shortbread yumminess that I'm dying to eat again. But anyways, that's enough of my baking nerdiness.

M and I went to the doctor today: he has croup! It's been over 110 degrees most days this week so I wasn't wild about having to go outside to get in the car. But if you heard the barking cough this kid had today, you would've braved the weather too. M did really well, and didn't even cry! It may have had something to do with how we talked all the way there about what would happen at the doctor's office. My poor little sensitive guy. He's got my genes after all, even if he does have blond hair. And blue eyes.

I started a new journal a few days ago. It's for Things M Says. As I think of all the funny things M does say and then admire him again at the end of the day while I write them, I realize that I'm quite baby hungry, but scared that I might irreversibly screw up my little people if I have another one too soon. I've snapped at M a few times in the last few days, and it feels terrible. It's a good thing that I can apologize and he's so accommodating at the forgiveness.

Lots of new things

A lot has happened in the almost month since I've written. It would seem that, as I indicated in my previous post, I still suck. But, amends are on their way, complete with all kinds of new life changes and digital pictures!

Firstly, R is done with the bar. Woohoo! I know that we don't know if he passed yet, but that's okay. At least he's not still studying and worrying. Also, there's a story to go along with the simple sentence that "the bar is over". I call it "The Stressed Out Days Before the Actual Stressful Two Days that R Actually Took the Bar":

It's the Thursday before the bar (which is the following Tuesday and Wednesday). We get the mail. One is from the Arizona Bar. They haven't received R's proof of graduation from U of M (who had assured him a month prior that they had it taken care of), and so his name was removed from the list of bar applicants and he is welcome to take the bar in February of 2008. They have been little helpers by already signing him up for the February bar. Thanks. We call the Arizona Bar people. We can't call Michigan because it's 7pm there. We call Michigan the next day, and they freak out and call Arizona a bunch of times, only to speak to voice mail. Michigan reassures R that they will fix it. Then they call and say they can't and they're really sorry. R and I cry, and M looks at us curiously as we explain that "we're sad".

We fast and pray that someone in AZ will soften their little heart and take pity on this poor R. In the meantime R checks his email to make sure he's not crazy, but that Michigan really did have his information and sent him an email telling him that they knew the bar application dates and would get his paperwork in. Once he finds it, he feels a little better, gets a little angry, and forwards his Michigan emails to Arizona and his Arizona emails to Michigan.

The weekend drags by, R studies a little bit, mostly out of fear that if he doesn't he'll have to take the bar unprepared and it will be just as awful as not taking the bar at all. Monday comes, we get a call. It's a 602 number! I freak out and run outside to give the phone to R. It's Emily from the Arizona Bar, calling because she read his forwarded email from Michigan and will allow them to fax the missing information and he can take the bar the next day. So basically we cry again because "we're happy", and R drives to Tucson. He takes the bar and comes home Wednesday night. At this point we figure that if he passes, great!, and if not he has the best excuse ever for not passing. Win-win.

So that's the bar story, someone's heart being softened can go a looong way.

Secondly, we have a new apartment. It's in AZ, close to a park and ride area for R, only 30 minutes from other family (a good distance), has 2 pools, 3 huge closets and one regular closet, a larger kitchen with more cabinets than I'm used to, is across the street from the library, and has a general feel of homeyness. It's also within minutes of Target, Walmart, Costco, the Chandler mall, a huge park, 3 grocery stores, and the church building. Church on Sunday, while at the most horrible time of 11-2 (guess what time M takes his nap?), was very fun. I'm hoping we'll like the ward so much that we'll stay even after we outgrow this apartment.

Thirdly, we have a new car. We really loved our little silver Hyundai Accent, but it got totaled. So then we got a check that was worth more than the car was and put it towards a new car that should last us a while, even with one more future child. It's a 2007 Nissan Altima in Dark Slate. It's a little bit fancy, but it looked so much better than the current Civics, Carollas, Accords and Camrys, and cost about the same, that we bought it. My favorite part of the fanciness is the Intelligent Key with pushbutton ignition. I never take my keys out of my purse anymore. The car knows. I can't lock my keys in the car or trunk, even if I tried. It's magic! Basically now we're super cool driving in our new car to our new apartment. Which brings me to...

Fourthly, I got a new phone. Is it hot pink? Yes. Does my new ringtone play "The Final Countdown" when I get a call? Yes. In case you aren't currently as cool as me and watch Arrested Development nonstop, "The Final Countdown" is a song by a Swedish band called Europe that Gob uses in his magic shows on AD.

So, bar, apartment, car, phone. And M is 2 years old (July 7) now and got lots of toys from two different parties, one in AZ and one in CA. The Snake Cake (below, cake courtesy of Ga/Grandma) was in Arizona, and there was a Bird Cake in California (which I drew myself, thank you very much). Hooray for summer! And new things! And cake! And more posts!

I suck.

I haven't written in this here blog in a long time. There are lots of reasons:

1. I have been moving states.
2. I have been living with more people.
3. Those people are grandparents.
4. I have gone on vacation.
5. Those vacationing people are my people, and therefore stay up late a lot, resulting in very little time for me to blog as I need most of my free time for catching up on sleep.
6. M has been sick.
7. I have been sick, twice!
8. R has been studying for the bar, which while stressful is not that interesting to write about. It pretty much sucks the same all the time. It's done at the end of July :)
9. I have been reading Harry Potter.
10. R got in a car accident (not his fault, but an 18-year-old's who apparently only looks one way when attempting to left turn through oncoming traffic), and now we have/get to buy a new car with our $6,200 check they are to give to us shortly. R informed me he wants a Toyota Carolla. My sister T informed me that she looked at a Carolla and a Honda Civic 5 years ago, bought the Civic, and doesn't regret it.
11. We are scouring AZ for an apartment with covered parking, lots of storage, near a gym and a bus stop, a security fence, and located on the second floor so we can store R's bike. Plus lots of other things like a playground, no scorpions, blah blah blah.
12. And finally, specific to this night, I JUST WATCHED HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. Booyah!
    

Some things.

So the last few days have been "fun", if you will. M decided to get a fever, a rash and a sassy new attitude all in a few short days. It's pretty amazing. Then today R comes home and M runs up to him and smiles and eats his dinner willingly. It's like he knows how to set up a good bit for his father. R to M: "Oh, how could Mommy slander your tiny little name? She's just making things up that aren't true." But I had witnesses today! Grandma and Grandpa and Aunt H all witnessed the gnashing of teeth and rending of clothing this afternoon.

Of course I love the little man, and I feel genuinely bad about his little viral infection, but the sassy new attitude is quite the new challenge for me, let me tell you. It's easier to give Tylenol and snuggles than to overlook your cute mini-man throwing a little tantrum. It was easy when he used to be this way, because he would still be very sweet as long as I was calm and tried to distract him. Not so any longer. It didn't matter how calm I was, there was a little fit to be had. It didn't stop for about an hour.

So we learned about "taking some time to calm down", and that sometimes Mommies need to do it too (which this Mommy did later). After M took a forced reading break for 45 minutes, things were good for about an hour. But then it went downhill again (something about "ice cream? ice cream!) I could feel the yelling start to come out and promptly plopped into a chair and explained to M that Mommy needed a break. To his little tiny credit he said "break", thought a little about it, and then started whining again.

I don't think I'll give him back though, or sell him to the highest bidder or anything like that. We read a book before bed and when Emmy kissed Timothy the lamb, M said "Mommy kiss!" and jumped down and ran over to me, making smooching noises. Then he quietly listened to scriptures and even knelt down by himself for prayers for the first time. R thinks M is also a wise little shrimp, and that he knows when he's gone too far. I think it's also that Heavenly Father made them adorable on purpose so that even days like this are worth it.

I'm a peacemaker in society

So I discovered today that my life path number is 11, which according to astrology-numerology.com makes me the abovementioned as well as idealistic, intuitive, avante-garde, a fixer, a mediator, etc. R is also a life path number of 11, but he ends up different than me because he's a Capricorn and I'm a Virgo. For example his Birth Tree is a Fir (the Mysterious), but mine is a Weeping Willow (the Melancholy). I think it's fun to read these things, but maybe that's just because I like mine. I can't fully enjoy it without thinking of the very likely possibility that even if I were to have a reading, a website is a far cry from the "real" thing.

p.s. Has anyone got a story about how they don't fit their astrological/numerological signs at all? I'm curious.

I'm kinda a nerd

May 31st: (Another) Day of Reckoning

So I'm typing here knowing full well that while I have kept off the 10 pounds I already lost by March 1st, I have yet to get those pesky "6 more". I'm about to go and weigh myself for the official number. I predict that I have not gotten all 6 pounds, but a mere 2 with 4 more to go. I'll be right back...

...I was right. Poo. However, I shall keep going. I'm wearing my Motivational Shorts today, which are new and cute and just barely too tight. It will feel excellent in a few weeks when they are more loose on the old waist. More salads, more fruits and veggies, more will-power!

One more solemn post

Why it is better than it was a few days ago:

• R is starting bar review classes tomorrow
  
• I bought 2 new pairs of capris, and (gasp) a pair of shorts
• M has his new brown sandals (thanks to generous grandparents :))
• M has been taking 12-hour nights and 3-hour naps: a better schedule than MI!
  
• I'm going to the Medicaid office today to apply
• I'm calling around for a car repair place to replace our back tires
• I just need a Wal-mart* trip for groceries and hangers (to make me feel super-duper accomplished)
• Jess took some amazing pics of M (and even a couple of M and me together), that shall be posted forthwith
• M liked the nursery in a new ward
  
• M went to the gym's day care today for 45 minutes without crying too hard for too long
  

So it's looking up my friends. I feel like I can just take this one day at a time and eventually settle into loving my new surroundings. (It helps to speculate with R about returning to MI with our kiddos someday for a football game, some cider mill adventuring, and even a trip down to Cedar Point.) (It also helps to think that come November of this year, we won't be gearing up for 5 months of winter. Sorry Ann Arborites :)) So, catch-22.

*Although I have a bit of a moral dilemma when it comes to evil Wal-mart it is overshadowed by our lack of fundage.

AZ for me

So we're here, and I'm all weirded out by not posting to y'all on my own computer. It's just not the same. I'll have to write more later when we figure out the stupid internet connection for our trusty laptop.

Here's a quick rundown of what we've accomplished in the last few days:

• had movers come to our house on Monday to pack everything
• had our car moved from MI to AZ
• flown from MI to AZ with M and very heavy, nearly-bursting luggage in tow
• settled into the basement at R's parent's house
• gotten M to go to bed at 7pm local time and stay in bed until the next morning at 6:45am (even if he did wake up at 5:55)
• seen lots of cousins and family

Here's a quick rundown of what's hanging over my head to get finished:

• put together the real crib so M doesn't have to sleep in the Pack 'n' Play
• call the Medicaid office so we're covered for the summer (M has a 2 year appointment to keep)
• oh yeah, pick a freaking pediatrician
• buy hangers
• buy some pants that fit that aren't long, but capri-ish so I don't die when the heat picks up soon (it's actually only around 80-90 the last few days we've been here)
• buy M some brown sandals and some khakis for church

The stress level has lowered, and I've been lucky enough to score a free gym membership to the gym R's family goes to. (Not as much luck to the men that married into the family.) This is great, because they have lots of good cardio classes every day at 8 or 8:30, and they're just around the corner, and I've been able to work out most of the moving stress by getting, well, moving. More to come after further settling...

Book List: A List of Books

My friend K recently inspired me to return to my journal-writing tendencies, which I had lost a few years ago. I bought some composition books for about 89 cents apiece and labeled them: Books I've Read and Scripture Journal. I figure that between those two and this here blog, I should be trying to keep myself well-documented enough to qualify for adequate family history coverage. But as I wrote in my book journal (basically a paragraph blurb of each book I read as I go, so I will remember more about each one) I got to making a list of books I wanted to read. Then I realized that I got more excited about current and future books if I listed them. Something to look forward to makes the difference for me.

Plus if I list them here, I hope to generate any and all interest in more of you recommending even more books to read. I love the Friend Recommendation, so please feel free to suggest, coerce, and even threaten, depending on how much you like the book you're recommending. And without further ado...

...these are the books I want to read in the near future:

• The Book of Mormon (seriously, I've been slacking, and now it's on my list)
  
• The Doctrine and Covenants (see above)
  
• The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
• Interpreter of Maladies by Jhumpa Lahiri
• Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
  
• The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner
• A Gracious Plenty by Sheri Reynolds
• Stumbling on Happiness by Daniel Gilbert
• A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini
• Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
• Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
  
• Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand
• Democracy In America by Alexis de Tocqueville
• Miss Julia Speaks Her Mind by Ann B. Ross
• Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee
• In the Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez
• The Miracle Life of Edgar Mint by Brady Udall
• Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt
• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
• How to Behave So Your Preschooler Will Too! by Sal Severe (yes you read the last name correctly)
• How To Talk So Your Kids Will Listen and Listen So Your Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish
• What Your Kindergartner Needs to Know: Preparing Your Child for a Lifetime of Learning by E. D. Jr. Hirsch
• The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them by Elaine Aron
• The Universe in a Nutshell by Stephen Hawking

So there you go. A strange list in some ways, but it's true, this is my list.