A Reading Challenge for the end 2012

The Hobbit

The Hobbit will be in the movie theater's on the 14th December 2012.  Are you up to reading the Hobbit either for the first time or the hundredth time before the movie arrives?   Perhaps you are like me and haven't read it for 30 years.  I am going to try and get it read before the movie comes out.  I invite you to join me in the challenge.

My introduction to The Hobbit was the 1977 Warner Brothers animation film directed by Jules Bass.  I fell in love with story immediately.  I first read the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings when I was a teenager.  They were wonderful adventures that took me far away from my small country town.  Gandalf has always been my  favorite character.  Ian McKellen has played the character wonderfully.

When The Lord of the Rings trilogy came out in the movies, I re-read each book prior to the movie.  It was a good memory refresher and helped me keep up with what was going on in the movie.

Following the release of The Return of the King I decided to embark on a bit more J.R.R. Tolkien reading.  I decided to tackle The Silmarillion and The Children of Hurin.  Both of them are very good books.  The Silmarillion is basically the story of how Middle-Earth all began from its creation down to the end of The Return of the King.  I must admit that it is difficult reading but very rewarding.

For those who don't know.  The Hobbit is being divided into three movies.

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey  - 14 December 2012
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - 13 December 2013
The Hobbit: There and Back Again  - This third film is partially based on the Hobbit as well as the appendices in the back of "The Return of the King" that expand the story of Middle-Earth.  - 17 July 2014

I'm really looking forward to the three movies.

Take the Survey!

I have included a survey, on the left side bar, for you to take regarding the challenge to read the Hobbit.  Take the survey and see the results that others have posted.

My Reading List for 2012

It is now October and less than three months left before the year is over.  How many books have you read in 2012?  I have listed my books below.  My comments below each book are not meant to be a critic but some of my thoughts on the book.

January

I'm glad I bought this on Kindle so I only wasted $5.00.  There are a number of false doctrines in there.  The author said that she saw the Universe from its inception by God.  She said, she knew and understood everything that was ever created or will be created.

This is a direct contradiction to what God said to Moses.  "And, behold, thou art my son; wherefore look, and I will show the the workmanship of my hands; but not all, for my works are without end, and also my words, for they never cease.  Wherefore, no man can behold all my works, except he behold all my glory; and no man can behold all my glory, and afterwards remain in the flesh on the earth."  Moses 1:4-5

She also talked about re-incarnation, although she didn't give any kind of doctrinal reference.  It is basically written like a penguin novel.  Based on the content, I wonder how much is truth and how much is her own ideas/beliefs thrown in.

February

I bought this on Kindle.  It was a very good book.  Maybe not for all you English majors out there!  It talks about the symbolism of numbers.  I found the history of numbers and their meaning quite fascinating, dating back to Gnostic and Pythagorean theories.  You find your standard symbolism such as 12 representing perfection in governmental rule or 40 being a time of probation, testing or trial.  This was well worth the purchase.

March

This book talks about the Tree of life in historical records from many different societies.  It is a very good book if you like history books.  I happen to really like history so I enjoyed it.  It is amazing how many ancient civilizations have had this story in their culture.

I have it in hardback.

Most of you wouldn't be too interested in this book as it is an IT book.  I had this given to me so I thought I would have a read.  Cloud computing isn't ready for prime time with all of its security issues but I believe it will soon overcome that.  Most people with smart phones or tablets are already using cloud computing.  Some big business has made the move but I think it still has some time to develop.  In addition, our network speeds need to catch-up before the technology is really viable for large information stores.

Could go either way...

 April

I liked this book.  It had a lot of good information about symbolism in scripture.  It is basically a compilation of other peoples work into a dictionary form.  I bought it on iBooks.

May

Okay, I know, this is just not very interesting to most.  I found it fascinating how companies like Sears and AOL quickly became obsolete as new technologies developed.  I guess the lesson here is for companies like Microsoft and Apple.  There is always someone trying to make something better than what we currently have.  It's always hard staying on top with everyone trying to do one better on you.  Very good for us as consumers as we get better products but it is very difficult for companies trying to keep on top of things.  I guess a changing of the guard isn't always bad.

June

I really like this book.  I have a goal to make some of the hard cheeses.  So far, I have made Queso Fresco and Ricotta.  They were both delicious.  The Queso Fresco is a Latin American cheese.  I made it and used it in some enchilada's. Yum!!  The Ricotta was used in a lasagna.  I'll share my cheese making experience with you on a  future blog.

This was an interesting and very comprehensive read on starting your own creamery.  I don't think I'll be doing that anytime soon.  I still have bad memories of getting up to milk the cows at 4:00 am every morning and then again after school. LOL!

Brought back too many bad memories!

July

I bought this on Deseret Bookshelf.  It is not a very long book.  I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone interested in this particular subject of life after death.  However, I didn't find it to be anything new in terms of information or approach on the subject.  It is a compilation from many talks he has already given on the subject.  It felt like it was rushed in compiling it and doesn't really fit with his other books.

Feeling kinda blah about it...

August

This has to be my favorite book of the year.  I found so much useful information.  Did you know that there are varieties of lettuce that grow in the winter, in the snow!  There is a load of information in this book and I would recommend it to any gardener out there.  I always wondered how our ancestors survived during the winter.  I was sure it wasn't solely on deer or buffalo jerky! :-)

September

I read this but haven't had the time to do anything with it.  Perhaps in the Autumn after we get a few vegetables.  Also, I'm waiting on a part for my pressure cooker so I can only cold pack at the moment.  I will be doing a batch of homemade sweet chili sauce in the next month or so.  I may write a blog on it to show you how as you do not need a pressure cooker.

I would like to build one of these to start drying the Chili's I am growing.  Dried Poblano Chili's are used to make my enchilada sauce.  I'm interested in some other foods as well. The plans are not too complicated so it is a matter of trying to get the time.

The jury is still out on this one.  I have to see if it works first...

Well, that is my reading list so far.  Generally, my reading is full of classical literature.  I haven't read one classic this year.  Looks like The Hobbit will be my only classic.  Happy Reading!