Jane Austen’s name came up frequently on the recent Summer Reading thread–and, indeed, whose better? But a few Consenters didn’t, um, consent, didn’t make hers a unanimous choice for inclusion.

So why do so many of us delight in Austen’s “two inches of ivory,” as she describes her work? Whence cometh this almost universal love? (more…)

Noticing the title of a book in my hands, friend Nancy asked, “Fernet Branca: is that a Mormon name?”

“Yes,” I said. “Fernet is the daughter of Fernell Young, one of BYU’s great quarterback’s, and Annette Oldham Young, erstwhile Pom-Pom Princess, now CEO of Lighthouse Romance Publishers, Inc.”

“Thought as much,” Nancy said.

Of course, BCC readers will recognize Cooking with Fernet Branca as the very successful comic novel by James Hamilton-Patterson, and Fernet Branca as a popular aperitif. But despite my flippant answer, the question Nancy raised about “Mormon names” is a provocative one. Certainly most Mormons have names indistinguishable from those of their non-member neighbors, whether in Taiwan or Tucson, Calgary or Costa Mesa. But every now and then a moniker does raise the question, “Is that a Mormon name?” (more…)

Tobacco came into my life early. We lived with my grandparents during the Depression–my parents, my brothers and I. The women and children in this household were church-going Methodists, the men, Jack Methodists. The small house was cramped, but times were hard; people did what they had to do. Gramps brewed his own beer; Mom worked as a practical nurse; Dad saved money by rolling his own cigarettes. At five, I learned how to operate the little machine that produced his smokes. (more…)