I normally try to avoid hearing what other people think about a book before reviewing it—but in the case of Why I’m a Mormon, someone else’s reaction was the reason I wanted to read it. I was in a Deseret Book store in Bountiful when a man picked up a copy from the display table, noted Democratic Sen. Harry Reid was one of the 53 essayists, and said in a loud voice, “Harry Reid, huh? I wonder what he has to say for himself!” He got laughs from the other patrons. Everybody understood. What was a leader from the party of abortion and gay marriage doing in an LDS book? From that moment, I couldn’t wait to get a copy. On the flip side, the glares I got while reading it at a Salt Lake City Beans & Brews are a story for another day.
