Our Local Library

One way that Tokyo is different from Taiwan is the plentiful English language reading material. Initially, I bought books from Amazon or the occasional bookstore here and there, but then 4-5 months ago a Book Off opened down the street. They are a Japanese used book chain, but since our neighborhood is full of foreigners, it wasn't long before they had a sizeable English language section. Not as big as the English only bookstores, but generally newer books, more turnover, and much cheaper. Especially, for some reason, the English books, which I think the staff is not quite sure what to do with. Also, we soon discovered that one weekend a month the English books are half-off, (although the signs that advertise this are all in Japanese), which means that a lot of the paperbacks and kids books are only a dollar. So, for the first time, I started buying books as a consumption item. Anything you want to do in Tokyo costs. With transportation, food, admission fees, you're lucky if you can leave the house as a family for less than $30-$50. Movies cost $2o per person, or so I hear. Even hiking or going to the beach, usually considered free, will put you out $30 just getting there and back. So books seem like a great deal in comparison. Even if you are only going to read them once and then sell them back. It sort of feels like a pay library. Once I got a whole stack of kids books, so Miriam would have something to practice with. Although I have been the one who gets most of the practice. This is also how we have kept up with books to read Miriam at night. After all, we finish something every week or so, and so I have probably already read her 15-20 books. Anyway, so I went yesterday and here is my haul. The first four Harry Potter books, The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, and By the Shores of Silver Lake by Laura Ingalls Wilder. I also go Tipping Point and Blink by Malcolm Gladwell, who writes for the New Yorker, which look interesting. All for $14. Last time I got Flow by Mihaly Czisentmihalyi, which I am now reading and enjoying. Other previous finds include Hiking and Hot Springs in the Pacific Northwest, Surfing Indonesia, and Fundamentals of Kayak Navigation for future adventures.

The Hobbit

I wasn't planning on reading it to her for a while, but then we read everything else. So I let her choose if she wanted to read The Hobbit or something else, and she chose The Hobbit. Although some of it is scary, like the Gollum part, and the Warg part we are coming up to, but she will love Beorn and his ponies. And for some one who has read it often as I have, I read all four books once a year or so from the end of elementary school through middle school, or so, I am really enjoying it. I am finding I am getting some stuff I probably missed, like the inter-personal dynamics and more subtle characterization. I am already several chapters ahead of Miriam, but have forced myself to stop, so we can enjoy it together.

Book of Mormon Survey

A friend of mine sent me this survey about attitudes towards the Book of Mormon. Always good to encourage scholarship about Mormonism. It is pretty interesting and only takes maybe 15 minutes.

http://nelsonseawright.bookofmormon.sgizmo.com/

You can test your knowledge of scriptures at the end, identify which standard work a passage comes from, or who the speaker of a certain passage is. Harder than you'd think.

Boy Scouts of America in Japan

So, I am 2nd counselor in the young men's presidency and one of four assistant scoutmasters for our stake wide troop. It is the exact same calling I had in California and I like it a lot. But there are some unique Japan challenges. They just sort of assume that you have things like a lake at your disposal. The swimming requirements assume you have things that I have yet to see in Tokyo, or anywhere nearby. A deep, uncrowded pool/lake to do lifesaving exercises. Someplace where you can demonstrate safe use of an axe. There are campsites in Japan, but usually they don't allow axes or open fires. And who has an axe or camp saw? Yesterday we went swimming to pass of some stuff for their second class rank so we could have our steak and cake party. First hassle was finding enough swim caps for everyone. We got two and just decided to share. (Our young men's president had a long discussion with the lifeguard about why the people not swimming would also need swim caps.) It's fun though. I am looking forward to summer and doing some more hiking and backpacking.