A book recommendation and manners

Hiya - it's been a while since I've done a personal post. I have actually been racking my brain trying to think of what to write about. It seems like life is pretty quiet these days and I mainly spend my time waiting. Waiting for my husband's next visit home. Waiting for the next ultrasound (on the 10th! We'll find out the gender!!). Waiting for the dog's ear infection to clear up. Nothing too exciting to write about.

But I realized last night, 4 hours into a "20 minute" reading session before bed, that I should share about the book I'm reading. I came to this book a little late; it's been out for a while. A friend of mine recommended it to me years ago when she was reading it for book club, and I picked it up to look at but never did read it. Now my book club is reading it (yeah, I'm sticking with the book club) and I have been gobbling it.

The book is The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver. Now here's why I didn't read it years ago. I'm not a particularly religious person, and it seems at first glance to be all about religion. Not that I don't respect other people's religions, it just isn't an interest of mine. Also, I had never read any of Kingsolver's books, and had an assumption, based on nothing substantial, that they were chick lit.

So now that I am reading the book that I made so many judgments on, I am so glad I was 'forced' to read it for my book club! The book IS about religion, but it's not at all proselytizing; it's really about a clash of religions, and how fanatics can go too far and be too closed-minded. And while it is primarily about women, it's by no means light and fluffy chick lit. It is totally captivating.

Just to give my review some cred, I read about 4 books a week, and have gone through thousands in my life so far. There are certain books that stand out for me among those thousands, and this is going to be one of them, I can tell. Give it a chance and you will be hooked!

My other topic for today is a little rant about manners.

We posted an ad on Kijiji because, in the process of emptying the office to become nursery and tidying things up around here (did I mention we got hardwood put in upstairs? Chaos ensued! But it's nice now), we have an office chair to get rid of and one of those floor mats that protects carpet. The chair is a few years old but in perfect condition and has all the adjustments and ergonomic qualities you'd ever want. We're asking $65 for the pair which is a pretty good deal for someone, I think. Anyway, what's making me growl is that we've gotten a few emails about it that are completely lacking in any kind of social decorum. Here's the sum content of the first email I got:

35???

That's it. How many things are wrong with that? Way. Too. Many. Grr. The next email I received (from a different person) reads:

when can i come see it call me (phone #)

Arghhhh! Really. How hard is it to add a greeting, for goodness' sake? Or to sign a missive with your name? To use at least some punctuation, make some effort towards grammar or politeness? I'm just waiting for the number to be long distance, and then I'm really going to lose it. ;)

Am I asking too much of the standard Kijiji user? Is this listing somehow a magnet for the uncouth?

Sigh. I was one of the many who read Miss Manners and Ann Landers daily as I grew up. My parents instilled a strong belief in courtesy and respect for others in me. I know I'm not a perfect writer, but I do make an effort to use English with some regard to the rules of spelling, grammar and punctuation.

And I'm feeling like a dying breed here.