confessions of a former miss-know-it-all

Friday, January 14, 2011

Better Education for Utah's Kids

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Me

A work in progress. Thank goodness.

Me

Me
With Dalt at a cotillion party

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Blogs I Like

  • The Exponent
    Grandma and My Last Temple Adventure

My old blog- moving back to Utah from Brookline

  • Road Trip 2005
    19 years ago

Good Reads

Ashley's bookshelf: read
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Angle of Repose
5 of 5 stars
Angle of Repose
by Wallace Stegner
Possibly the best piece of fiction I have read.
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Crossing to Safety
5 of 5 stars
Crossing to Safety
by Wallace Stegner
Just finished this book last night. Why did I wait so long to read it? Saw myself in one of the characters..which was painful. I was envious as I read many parts of this book, because Stegner is such a genius. I was jealous of his gift....
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Twilight
2 of 5 stars
Twilight
by Stephenie Meyer
I liked the movie well enough..good eye candy. And was the only person on the planet who had not read the book. I was disappointed. It was like reading a script of The Young And The Restless. It's one thing to sit through it..it's anoth...
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The Lost Symbol
2 of 5 stars
The Lost Symbol
by Dan Brown
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And Still We Rise: The Trials and Triumphs of Twelve Gifted Inner-City Students
4 of 5 stars
And Still We Rise: The Trials and Triumphs of Twelve Gifted Inner-City Students
by Miles Corwin
While the author's style was a little redundant at times, the subject matter and characters in this book were fresh and uncensored. Seeing the senior year of high school in a gang and drug ridden neighborhood in east L.A. through the eyes ...
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The Da Vinci Code
3 of 5 stars
The Da Vinci Code
by Dan Brown
When I initially read this book five years ago, I would have given it an A++. Question an organized religion...are you kidding? I was unaware of most or all aspects of the Catholic faith, and it felt like being a peeping Tom inside of a s...
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Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic
4 of 5 stars
Expecting Adam: A True Story of Birth, Rebirth, and Everyday Magic
by Martha N. Beck
Honest. Even if some of the honesty exists only within the Author. An excellent writer. A fast read. Worth it.
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Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution
4 of 5 stars
Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution
by Natalie S. Bober
The true first lady of The United States. Ahead of her time in so many ways. A very quick read and a wonderful look at one of my heroines.
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Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples
5 of 5 stars
Getting the Love You Want: A Guide for Couples
by Harville Hendrix
The reason that Gavin and I are still married. Life saving. A deep look at why we are attracted to who we are, and why it's supposed to be so gut-wrenchingly hard at times. A wake-up call for those in a marriage on auto-pilot. Loved it.
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Outliers
5 of 5 stars
Outliers
by Malcolm Gladwell
There is a reason why so-called random things happen...phew! A quick and easy read. Inspiring. Definitely a must-read.
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Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
4 of 5 stars
Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything
by Steven D. Levitt
It's been a while since I've read this. I need to go back and re-read it. A bit controversial in some points I remember..like the discussion about abortion having the upside that it prevents future criminals from being born and therefore ...
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An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
5 of 5 stars
An Insider's View of Mormon Origins
by Grant H. Palmer
A must read for anyone who is a Latter-day Saint.
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Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World
5 of 5 stars
Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer, a Man Who Would Cure the World
by Tracy Kidder
Inspiring. A great read. Highly recommend it. Changed my life in a way. A human, realistic and motivational read for sure.
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Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time
5 of 5 stars
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson
A little long..but worth it. Inspiring story. I definitely recommend.
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Eat, Pray, Love
3 of 5 stars
Eat, Pray, Love
by Elizabeth Gilbert
Couldn't finish it. Enough already lady.
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The Kite Runner
5 of 5 stars
The Kite Runner
by Khaled Hosseini
Excellent read. Disturbing in some parts. But shockingly real. A trip around the world in a quick read.
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Under the Banner of Heaven
5 of 5 stars
Under the Banner of Heaven
by Jon Krakauer
Truth is stranger than fiction. A quick read that is told with sympathy, and without judgement. Highly recommend!
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The Count of Monte Cristo
5 of 5 stars
The Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexandre Dumas
One of my favorite books. Good verses evil, and the battle for redemption. A must-read.
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To Kill a Mockingbird
5 of 5 stars
To Kill a Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
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Wuthering Heights
5 of 5 stars
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
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Les Misérables
5 of 5 stars
Les Misérables
by Victor Hugo
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Gone With the Wind
4 of 5 stars
Gone With the Wind
by Margaret Mitchell
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Tuesdays with Morrie
4 of 5 stars
Tuesdays with Morrie
by Mitch Albom
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Siddhartha
4 of 5 stars
Siddhartha
by Hermann Hesse
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The Scarlet Letter
4 of 5 stars
The Scarlet Letter
by Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Uncle Tom's Cabin
5 of 5 stars
Uncle Tom's Cabin
by Harriet Beecher Stowe
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The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
2 of 5 stars
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
by C.S. Lewis
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Memoirs of a Geisha
3 of 5 stars
Memoirs of a Geisha
by Arthur Golden
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The Red Tent
4 of 5 stars
The Red Tent
by Anita Diamant
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The Glass Castle
5 of 5 stars
The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls
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The Prophet
4 of 5 stars
The Prophet
by Khalil Gibran
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The Secret Life of Bees
3 of 5 stars
The Secret Life of Bees
by Sue Monk Kidd
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Mere Christianity
3 of 5 stars
Mere Christianity
by C.S. Lewis
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The God of Small Things
4 of 5 stars
The God of Small Things
by Arundhati Roy
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The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
5 of 5 stars
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
by Benjamin Franklin
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The Chosen
5 of 5 stars
The Chosen
by Chaim Potok
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The Screwtape Letters
3 of 5 stars
The Screwtape Letters
by C.S. Lewis
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The Giving Tree
2 of 5 stars
The Giving Tree
by Shel Silverstein
Why is it that depending on the mood I am in, or perhaps how much sleep I have had, I either love this book or hate it? Lately it bugs me more often than not. I used to think that this book's message was the bounds of a mother's love and ...
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Where the Sidewalk Ends
4 of 5 stars
Where the Sidewalk Ends
by Shel Silverstein
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Oh, the Places You'll Go!
5 of 5 stars
Oh, the Places You'll Go!
by Dr. Seuss
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The Education of Little Tree
5 of 5 stars
The Education of Little Tree
by Forrest Carter
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John Adams
5 of 5 stars
John Adams
by David McCullough
One of the best books I have read. A voracious journal-er, whose main stumbling block was his own sense of inadequacy, John Adams was one of the most complex characters in our nation's history. Passionately believing in his own set of ide...
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Living History
4 of 5 stars
Living History
by Hillary Rodham Clinton
Read this book in my younger days when anything written by a liberal was basically on par with cheap drugstore porn. Was thankfully confused when I found myself impressed with Hillary Clinton, against what I thought was my better judgement...
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The God Delusion
5 of 5 stars
The God Delusion
by Richard Dawkins
For religious and non-religious alike..this is a must read. He has a nice sense of humor, but his dry English wit can seem a bit callous and unsympathetic. His reasoning is sound and his dialogue is the type of kindling that will jump sta...
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1776
5 of 5 stars
1776
by David McCullough
We were the underdogs. And if you ever thought that it was divine providence that led George Washington's ragged group of men to overcome the odds and claim America as their own, you doubt it while reading this book.

The scenes are he...
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Pride and Prejudice
5 of 5 stars
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
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The Catcher in the Rye
3 of 5 stars
The Catcher in the Rye
by J.D. Salinger
Much ado about nothing? Hmmm. I think that it was revolutionary for it's time, because no one wrote the truth. This book, and the main character, seem so ordinary today, because we are comfortable with rambling self-reflection. But when...
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The Corrections
5 of 5 stars
The Corrections
by Jonathan Franzen
I used to think that I loved reading non-fiction because I preferred a true tale over fiction. However, when you read an author like Franzen in the book The Corrections, you realize that fiction may be the only real place you can tell the ...
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Freedom
3 of 5 stars
Freedom
by Jonathan Franzen
Is it just because I had such high expectations, after reading The Corrections, that I was disappointed? On the cover of Time, on Oprah, written up in every publication, etc. I mean, how could it be anything but fantastic? It will certai...
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Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life
5 of 5 stars
Loving What Is: Four Questions That Can Change Your Life
by Byron Katie
I give this book five stars because I think that it is a profound idea that Byron Katie is introducing- especially for those who are tormented with the weight of worry about those people and circumstances around them that they feel as thoug...
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On Chesil Beach
4 of 5 stars
On Chesil Beach
by Ian McEwan
On Chesil Beach was an incredibly quick read that grabs you from the start (hello- a virgin on her wedding night set in England in the 1960's), and continues to impress with the vivid details the author paints each scene with, until the ver...
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Me Talk Pretty One Day
5 of 5 stars
Me Talk Pretty One Day
by David Sedaris
I almost wet my pants at times. I think that is the greatest compliment that you can give to an author who is telling a witty and funny little story. He is telling stories from his own life, which are at times terribly painful, yet he doe...
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Naked
5 of 5 stars
Naked
by David Sedaris
Another winner by Sedaris. Every story a gem. Every childhood tragedy and embarrassment turned in to a witty self deprecative look in to his self. Laughed throughout the entire thing, and got teary at a couple of them. I highly recommen...
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Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
5 of 5 stars
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
by David Sedaris
What can I say, I love David Sedaris. Laughing outloud with every darling short story. Amazed by his ability to tell such intimate and sometimes painful stories from his childhood where he can see the insanity but makes no judgement about...
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The Hunger Games
4 of 5 stars
The Hunger Games
by Suzanne Collins
I was surprised that I liked it. Thought that it was going to be just fluff. And there was plenty of that. But plenty of thought provoking themes as well. Great stuff for young adults, and a great way to start a conversation about Ameri...
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The Diary of Mattie Spenser
4 of 5 stars
The Diary of Mattie Spenser
by Sandra Dallas
OK, I was kind of gagging that I had to read this. I mean, haven't I read enough pioneer tales for one life already? How many more sugar coated tales of surviving death by praying could I take?...and then I read this. For what it was, it...
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Inspiring

  • The Pioneer Woman
  • The Bloggess
  • TED
  • Stephen Colbert
  • Seriously So Blessed
  • Oprah
  • ONE campaign
  • New York Times
  • National Library
  • Marriage Confessions
  • John Stewart
  • History
  • Heifer International
  • Dr. Northrup
  • Byron Katie
  • Barack Obama
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