Recent Reads

Crime and Punishment It took me a while to read, but it was well worth it. 4.5 of five thumbs up.


Mormon America - Revised and Updated Edition: The Power and the Promise There was not much new for me here. Perhaps a good intro for those who know little of corporate Mormonism and want to learn more. 3.5 of 5 thumbs up.

Modern Polygamy and Mormon Fundamentalism: The Generations After the Manifesto Well researched and full of information. While Hales's' apologetic bias for Salt Lake orthodox Mormonism slips through occasionally it is not overbearing or intrusive into the many narratives he provides. If you want to learn about fundamentalist polygamist sects, this is the place to go. 4.5 of five thumbs up.

The Angel and Beehive: THE MORMON STRUGGLE WITH ASSIMILATION I have had this sitting in my bookshelf for several years and am mad at myself for finally reading it. Mauss's sociological look at contemporary Mormonism and its place in American culture is fantastic. A must read for any who want to be serious about Mormon studies. 5 of 5 thumbs up.

The Lost Symbol (Robert Langdon, No. 3) Angela and I listened to this on CD as we drove to and from Utah a few weeks ago. Meh. Unlike Da Vince Code and Angels and Demons, which was based on material objects (and loony interpretations of those objects) and partly fictional science, The Lost Symbol is built around a fictional stone symbol and fictional science. Brown's writing style keeps you reading/listening, but the content leaves you feeling stupider and stupider with every word. 3 of five thumbs down.

The Walking Dead, Vol. 1: Days Gone Bye (v. 1) Just finished reading the first 11 volumes (volume 12 comes out in two weeks). The series starts off as a normal zombie story (hero wakes up from coma and discovers the world has been overtaken by zombies). As the story moves into months and years into the events, it becomes much darker, focusing on the loss of humanity and reason that the survivors face. Zombies are no longer the real threat, but rather the threat comes from the living (both friend and foe). Not quite as good as Y: The Last Man, but good nonetheless. Can't wait for the AMC series this fall. 4 of five thumbs up.