The Mormon People

For such a large religious group with members all over the world, Mormonism is really a small community. So when I heard through the grapevine that my favorite local indie bookstore One More Page Books would host a book signing and Q&A about the latest historical analysis of my church, I wanted to be sure to be there. Matthew Bowman, author of The Mormon People: The Making of an American Faith, is a local congregant and religious historian, a combination sure to make for an interesting evening.

I showed up a little late because of other obligations, and I was shocked to see how full the bookstore was. I honestly expected to see mostly people I know from church and maybe a few curious patrons who decided to stay and see what all the fuss was about. Instead I found the store filled with people—mostly strangers with no ties to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints—who had heard that a Mormon with a doctorate in American religious history from Georgetown University would be answering questions about the seemingly mysterious history of the Mormon church.

And Matt didn't disappoint. He answered every question thrown at him and was incredibly honest about the "middle class religion" that "changes more" than its members like to admit. He talked about the difference between secret and sacred temple worship and what the current GOP race might mean for the church. I appreciated Matt's perspective and look forward to reading his book.

Tour de Nerd Fighting Through the Ages

I attended the rock-star event of YA lit last month, and I've been excited to post about it ever since. So here it is: my thoughts on the Green Brothers' Tour de Nerd Fighting DC stop.

It was great to see so many teenagers excited to talk books and sing songs about science. Back in October 2008, I went to another John Green book signing, and at that time I thought the crowd was crazy, but let's look at a side-by-side comparison of the events.

October 2008	January 2012
Four years ago, Anderson's Bookshop, my hometown indie bookstore in Naperville, IL, was packed with about 200 people who come to the Chicago leg of John's first post-Brotherhood 2.0 book tour. I was amazed by the sheer number of people who couldn't wait to see their favorite vlog brother in person.	What a difference a few years and a few hundred internet videos can make. Thanks to the DC indie bookstore Politics and Prose, the ballroom at the Bethesda Hyatt Regency Hotel was filled to capacity with about 2,000 people. I kid you not, there were ticket scalpers in front of the hotel.
I sat in the second row of the book signing, where John read about black Santas and distorted perceptions of others. I even got a chance to chat with John earlier that day while he signed in-store copies of his book.	I showed up to event two hours early and had to wait in line even though I had ordered my book and ticket months in advance. And I still had a pretty crappy view of John reading about books based on video games and how death gives us perspective. That was as close as I got to John.
I brought my sister Gwen to the signing.	John brought his brother Hank to the signing.

Two vastly different experiences that really weren't that different at all. Both book signings celebrated reading and learning. Both events explored what makes the teenage years such a time of growth and self discovery. And both 2008 John Green and 2012 John Green really know how to get a crowd excited about books.

Unfortunate--yet funny--grammatical error

It's been a rough day, but when I saw this in my email, I couldn't help but laugh.

Yes, you are reading that as it was sent: "Grammar Girl's 101 Words Every High School Graduate Need to Know." A blatant grammatical error in a promotion for a grammar book. Luckily, the actual book and every other promotion I have seen for it has the correct subject/verb agreement.

I have great respect for the writers' organization that sent this email, and in all the years I have seen information from them, this is the worst error I have ever caught. I am also very familiar with Mignon Fogarty's work and know that she is a true grammar guru.

This just goes to show that even the best of us make silly mistakes when it comes to grammar. So don't be so hard on yourself or on others. Mistakes happen, people forgive and forget them, and we try our damnedest never to look so foolish again.

Getting Back in the Game

I never expected my blog hiatus to last this long, but that's what happens when you get sick, end up in the ER, four days later go in for emergency surgery, and then have a bad reaction to the pain medication that leaves you with blurry vision and unable to read or write for almost a week. Yeah, so the past two weeks have been really exciting.

But thanks for some totally amazing friends and a whirlwind visit from my mom, I'm pretty much better now. No missing limbs, no adverse affects, only no gallbladder.

My grad school applications are all in now, so that has freed up some time and a lot of stress. Also, our big conference at work ended (thankfully a few hours before I started getting sick). And even coming into tax season isn't that big a deal for me as I have a fantastic taxman and only one more form to send him before everything's ready to file.

Spring is just around the corner, and I can't wait to get back in the game.

Forced Blog Hiatus

Not that going internetless is always a bad thing, but I'm still without a connection even though I was supposed to be back online almost a month ago. This has just given me more time to fret about grad school apps and catch up on Dexter and spend a little more time at the gym. Thank heavens I have a smart phone or I'd feel totally cut off from the world. How sad is that?

Thinking back, I hardly remember a time without internet. As early as first grade, I would dial directly into the library computers to put books on hold, and when this new thing called "electronic mail" came out, my fifth-grade science teacher found us some keyboard pals in Georgia. While texting and wireless internet are commonplace now, it was something I grew up only seeing on Star Trek. Which makes me feel rather old--and more than a bit nerdy.

Back to the point. I know I've woefully neglected my "Upcoming Books" reading list, and I haven't posted any pictures since early November. Unfortunately, you can't expect to see too much from me in the next month. Maybe a book review if I can find anything in the mess of my home library, and there will probably be highlights from next week's Tour de Nerdfighting stop in DC. But I still need to finish unpacking and submit my grad school app essays. So the sporadic blogging continues into the new year.