My friend, Lori, is urban and hip. She's also a strong believer and homeschooling Mom. We love to sit and visit while our girls swim in their pool. She was not raised in the church like I was and so she brings a perspective that I don't have. She is very deliberate in the way she lives and is not afraid to set her own course. She truly seeks to live by Scripture. So, I almost always try her recommendations on movies and books. Books, she's batting 1000, movies, she's batting .500. She recommended the movie "Babel", which I thought was awful. I couldn't deal with the Japanese girl. However, her book recommendations are almost always great. Her recent contribution to my education? "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini. This book is by an Afghani that describes life in pre-Taliban and mid-Taliban Afghanistan. The book is incredibly well-written. It opens up life in a part of the world I've never understood or cared to understand. Another recommendation..."The Namesake" by Jhumpa L...? I can't remember the last name. It explores the perils of first-generation immigrants raising second-generation American children.

I am currently attempting to slog my way through Tolstoy's "War and Peace". It's one of my life goals...to read all the classics. The story is actually pretty good when it deals with the Rostov family, however, the war with Napoleon gets long. I must admit though it is giving me a more clear picture of why Napoleon was despised by the European royalty. I loved "Anna Karenina" by Tolstoy. If I had my life to do over I just might major in Russian Studies. I find them fascinating.