Still waiting...

I have been reading two books, sets of books, over the past two months. I have been waiting on a response to my application to the Institutional Review Board, that has to be approved before I can continue on with my research for my dissertation. It feels like this step in the process is taking far too long, but I guess I must be patient. While I wait, I will continue to read.

The two pieces of literature that I am reading could not be any different if I wanted them to be. One is a classic novel of Russian literature the other is the latest in fan fiction.

The first is War and Peace. I once read that a person only had to get past the first 100 pages and then the novel picks up and gets better. I have found this to be very true. The first 100 pages took me a long time to read. I had a hard time getting into it, and a very hard time focusing on it. There is something about a six year old and three year old that makes it hard to read Russian literature. I am very glad that I stuck with it though. I am around page 500 and am thoroughly enjoying the novel. I find myself wondering what is going to happen to each of the characters. As one "Book" or "Chapter" ends and you find yourself in a completely different setting for the next, I have found myself trying to guess what happened with the characters and wondering when I will find out their fate. It is very rewarding to read. I am having a tough time reading some of the sections written in languages that I don't speak, but I think I have the point of what is said as I move on.

The second piece of literature I am reading is something I never really thought I would read. I loved the Harry Potter books and it took me no time to read. Then, I picked up the Twilight series and read through them in a couple of weeks, but did not enjoy them as much as I had Harry Potter. In fact, I thought some parts of the series were poorly written, while I was still captured by the storyline.

The latest in fan fiction that was actually somewhat inspired by the Twilight series is the Fifty Shades series. There are currently three books in the series, and the author is discussing adding a fourth. Before picking up the novels, I had read an article talking about how current literature is setting women's rights back several decades. The article referenced the first book in the series (Fifty Shades of Grey) and mentioned how the leading female character in the book is a slave to the leading male character. It further talked about the negative message that this was sending to our daughters and condemned the series as bad for women's rights. It was only when I was speaking to a friend about the article that I was encouraged to read the books to decide for myself if that was the message portrayed. So, I decided to pick up the first novel and begin the journey through the series. Speaking with friends and acquaintances about the series, I heard many references to the series as "typical romance novels", "mommy porn", "trash" and other terms that would lead one to believe that the entire series was nothing but a continuous sex scene.

As I began reading, I again found it difficult to really get into the first book. I decided I would push on, despite really not having any interest in the series. I will admit that there is a lot of course language, but not any more than what one would hear watching daytime talk shows. The sexual content that people talk about in regards to these books isn't as pervasive as some would like you to believe. The main point of the series is a true love story, with a deep story line. I have to give the disclosure that I have not finished the entire series, but I currently want to finish the series to see how the story ends. It isn't about the "sexual content" and the female character is not a slave. I do not agree with the premise of the relationship, but the storyline of change is intriguing.

I have had a lot on my mind lately. I am having a hard time with some news that I have gotten recently. I have a "niece" who is expecting her second child. My brother and his wife have custody of her first and are taking care of him. She is not married and doesn't really have the mental faculties needed to care for children and really doesn't have any business having sex. At the same time, I know of a couple of families who have recently lost children at different points gestation, and even some who were young children. I am having a hard time understanding why some people who would be great parents have not been able to carry a child to term, and some people who have no business having children continue to have them without even wanting them. I have had to spend a lot of time in prayer about this because it really does bother me. Still, I don't have an answer.

I will keep you all posted on my adventures in War and Peace as well as my doctoral dissertation. Until then, you will find me still waiting....