Books and a brain!

I know that all of you have been waiting for my second post with bated breath! - All two of you! Sometimes I feel that I have had two lives. One before and one after having kids. At one time I felt that I was really smart. My teachers and friends would tell me. I received an owl as a present from a good friend of mine after my senior h.s. English teacher called me a "wise old owl" in class. Even when hubby was in law school I felt smart since I was making A's in subjects like topology and advanced calculus. However as a stay at home mom none of these academic skills were needed. Recently three friends and I started a book club and I rediscovered my brain! Exhilarating! I can't wait to start reading the next book. So many good books and so little time!
I just read "A Mercy" by Toni Morrison and finished "The Shack" by Wm. Paul Young last night. I recommend both. The first book made me count my blessings that I live in this day and time and not back in the 1600's when women were dependent on men. "The Shack" is an interesting book. At a recent Christmas party two women gave me two completely different opinions on the book. One thought it was silly and the other loved it. I agree with the latter opinion. The book is about a man whose 6 year old daughter is abducted and murdered. The man gets an invitation from "papa" (God) to come to the shack where his daughter was killed. The book brings up questions like "Why do bad things happen to good people?' Do people other than Christians go to heaven?" Do we spend most of our time in the past, present, or future?" All very provocative questions and set in the form of a murder mystery. In this book God is not the "old man with a beard" type figure that many people envision but a real surprise! But I guess God's ways are frequently a surprise. Look at Jesus virgin birth to poor parents!
Our next book is "Three Cups of Tea" and then a book called "The Kabul Beauty School" I can't wait!