Reading material

Someone lent me this book and I finished it now.  Cane River tells the true stories of a black family through the 19th century, starting with slavery and tracing many heart breaks and changes.  I had to cry often and hard.  I would recommend it as a valuable book, Oprah book selection not withstanding. 


On Amazon, this is the first and most helpful review:

I do not generally like Oprah Books. So when Cane River was chosen as a group read for my reading group, I was very reluctant to read it. I could not have been more wrong. A beautifully written family saga, Cane River was one of the best books I have read in recent years. Putting one strongly in mind of the book Roots by Alex Haley, this book is a novelization of the family history of Lalita Tademy. Told through the eyes of four women, all born into slavery, it shows the strength and courage of people who survive through the frequent upheavals thrust upon them.
We are introduced to the matriarch of the family Elisabeth, a slave from Virginia sold into a new plantation and taken from her husband and children. Here begins the story of the Cane River women, Suzette, Philomene and Emily. I was compelled to read every detail of their lives from slavery to freedom. I shared their heartbreak, joy, suffering and triumph, on the journey to freedom. The book paints a long lasting impression of the power of love and family. A book I will think of for a long time to come. I highly recommend you read this unforgettable book.

This explains why the person who lent me this book also most definitely wants it returned.  Of course, I promptly lost it on the subway in Toronto and had to buy another one at the Bay Street Indigo store.

Talking about big book stores in Toronto:  they also, (not just in Edmonton),  keep nothing by Martin Luther on hand.  I present you with the proof:

Under biographies there was a book by Martin Marty.  There were also no books by Concordia Publishing House (I think there was a little arch book type thing), no Treasury of Daily Prayer, etc..  I think there was something to do with Bo Giertz.  I searched both the Bay Street store and the Young Street store. 

There were, however, plenty of soft colored teapots and tea cups available for Mother's Day.  They don't know what mothers need.  (Not another tea pot).  I want to be put in charge of ordering.

The other thing I read was Pres. Barry's  "The Unchanging Feast", which P.T. McCain had recommended on Cranach.  http://wy.lcms.org/lhp/Other/unchangingfeast.pdf    Between that reading, Preus' "Fire and the Staff", L.P.'s critiques, attending various services, my own thoughts on church and worship are percolating.