What I've Been Reading...

I'm already starting to forget some of these books, so it's high time I did a "What I've Been Reading" post.

Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks is based on the true story of a tiny village in England in 1666.  When the plague visits their quiet town, they make a pact to stay together in their village rather than infect the surrounding area.  A neighboring town brings them food/goods at a designated spot in exchange for their vow to not spread the disease.  The book is slow at times, but still worth the read.  As well as describing this distinct place and time in history, there are elements of faith, love, morality, witchcraft, sacrifice, and healing.

I just finished Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, which I believe is Jamie Ford's first novel.  I don't know what it is with me and books about WWII and/or Asian culture, but this one has both.  I had a hard time getting into the story, but about 3/4 of the way though, I really wanted to finish it.  The story is based on Henry's life, a Chinese boy raised in the US in the 1940's.  He meets a Japanese girl at school who becomes his best friend and later love interest, which is not an option for his traditional Chinese family as Japan is "the enemy." The story oscillates between Henry's life in the 1940's and his life 40 years later.  If you cut out 1/3 of the book, the story would be great.  The title suits the story well as the love story weaved throughout is truly bittersweet.

   I haven't read a Tim Keller book yet that I wouldn't recommend, and Counterfeit Gods is no exception.  I read it for book club, and appreciated it so much more after the discussion.  Before the meeting, it wasn't my favorite Keller book (still isn't), but I gleaned so much from the discussion, and I think I would glean even more from the book if I read it slower and more intentionally.  As the cover explains, it is about "The empty promises of money, sex, and power, and the only hope that matters."

Okay, so I'm not QUITE done with Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, but I'm close.  This book made my list of "books I didn't finish" at one point, but this translation is SO much more reader friendly.  The ladies from our church in Maryland have been studying it under the direction of Barbara Coleman.  As I always advise new ladies attending our church, "If Barbara Coleman is leading a study, go if at all humanly possible."  I am taking my own advice and traveling from PA to MD for a few of the meetings this month.  I arranged it so I could work during the day (in MD) and then have dinner with friends from church before going to the study and driving home.  Long day, but SO worth it.  Read this book.  Read it with a group so you will have accountability and learn together from this amazing allegory.

The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins is unlike anything else I'm reviewing here.  I DEVOURED this series.  Honestly, it sounded corny  and science fiction-y to me, but a friend recommended it, so I thought I would try the first one, and I was hooked!  I finished The Hunger Games before vacation and read the second one, Catching Fire on the plane (it's a PERFECT travel read).  I finished the third, Mockingjay, about two days after I got home.  Really well written, emotional, action packed.  Add this to your list.

I want to love One Thousand Gifts.  So many of you reviewed it and recommended it.  I won it on Sara's blog (which you should check out if you haven't.  She's awesome).  I was drawn in by Ann Voskamp's unique writing style, but after a chapter or two, I found it flowery and annoying.  I thought her message was fabulous, perhaps even life changing.  The importance of thankfulness is something we all take for granted, and Ann teaches us how to find joy in the mundane through nurturing an attitude of thankfulness.  Not just trying to be more thankful, but actively, intentionally, practicing and looking for the gifts God lavishly gives to each of his children.  He loves us more than we could ask or imagine.  I had a hard time getting through it, but I am glad I read it.

What I've been reading...

If you read Kristen's blog, then you will have seen all of these books before.  Based on her recommendations, I've been doing some summer reading......




Loving Frank is a novel based on the love affair between Frank Lloyd Wright and Mamah Cheney.  Nancy Horan does quite a bit of research into their lives and weaves fact with fiction (her perceptions of their feelings, motives, etc).  I liked this one....didn't love it.  It isn't graphic, but my moral red flag goes up whenever I read about an affair.  As Kristen suggests, do not google anything about FLW if you don't know anything about his life.  It would really spoil the ending.









Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay was definitely a worthwhile read.  It is a heartbreaking but gripping story.  It is historical fiction based on the Vélodrome d'Hiver round up in Paris back in 1942 where thousands of Jew's were killed.  

I heard a lot about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, so I decided to read this (even though thrillers are not usually a genre I migrate towards).  I read all 600 pages in a little over a week.  Truly a gripping story.  The synopsis on the back compared it to Silence of the Lambs.  I agree.  Great story, well written, has a plot (not senseless violence).  However, it is not for the faint of heart.  I haven't decided if I will read the other two books in Stieg Larsson's trilogy or not.  I think the next one deals with sex trafficking, and I'm not sure I could handle that in graphic detail.

  

It took me a while to get into Winter Garden, a novel by Kristin Hannah, but after I did, I LOVED it!  Add this one to your reading list.  There is a bit of historical fiction mixed in with a look into how complicated relationships can be and how our perceptions are not always accurate.

What I've been reading...

This post was deleted by blogger, so I'm reposting it...sorry if you are reading it for the second time.

Why not read a children's classic just to mix things up a bit?  I read Heidi during my last weeks of pregnancy and during my hospital stay.  It is sweet...sometimes nauseatingly sweet.  It's predictable and drags at times, but it was light and perfect for that time in my life.

As one girl in my book club commented, "You could tell me this book was written in 1832, and I would believe you." Sinclair Ferguson writes with the sage wisdom of classic Biblical scholars, yet has a wit and style that makes it readable. The Pundit's Folly is a study of life according to Ecclesiastes. It is convicting, encouraging (if you are a Christian), and engaging. I recommend this one.

I can't say enough about Unbroken.  My friend, Krista, predicted in March that it would be the best book she'd read all year.  She has good taste, so that was enough to convince me to read it.  IT WAS FABULOUS!  Hillenbrand spent 7 years doing research for this book, and she does a superb job of recounting this amazing World War II story.  Krista's review is great, so I'm going to link you to her blog rather than writing a synopsis of my own.  READ THIS ONE!!!

I probably would rate this book higher if I hadn't read Unbroken first. In Night, Elie Wiesel tells his story of life and torture as a young Jew in Auschwitz. Through the atrocities he experienced, he began to question his faith and ultimately rejects God. Unlike memoirs like Unbroken and The Hiding Place, there is no redemption. Night is a concise and well written account of the horrors of genocide that occurred in WWII, but as our book club discussion leader pointed out, remembering is not enough. The problem is sin, and no amount of education, preaching, or law making is going to change that we are all sinners and are capable of horrible things. Certainly an excellent book, but if you are only going to read one WWII story this year, pick Unbroken

What I've been reading...

One of my resolutions for the coming year (not that I really make any), is to keep up with posting books I read.  I do these posts on occasion, and I know I forget some each time.  I really want to keep track of what I've read and my opinions (since my memory is so short lived).  So, once again, here's what I've been reading......

                                    If you like books about Asian culture, The Calligrapher's Daughter is a good one to read.  Novels written about this part of the world are rarely favorites of mine, and this one was no exception.  I enjoyed the story, but it is not one I would say you must read in 2011.

 A dear friend sent me The Council of Dads for Christmas.  Bruce Feiler finds out he has a large, cancerous tumor on his leg.  Faced with the prospect of dying and leaving his wife and twin 3 yo daughters behind, he develops the council of dads, a group of men from various stages of his life that he tags with the job of being surrogate dads for his girls.  Each one is meant to portray some characteristic of Bruce that he wants to pass on to his daughters.  I enjoyed this book a lot.  It was humorous, thought provoking and sweet.

 Some ladies from my church did When God Interrupts as a study.  This is a great book for when God's plan doesn't match up with your plan.  M. Craig Barnes unpacks how seemingly "bad" things can bring growth and lead us closer to God......to a better life than we thought possible.

I read a lot about Tom Davis on other blogs.  The topic of human trafficking has become a hot button topic, and I was curious about this author who writes novels based on his own experience working with victims of these horrors.  Priceless: A Novel on the Edge of the World was my introduction to Davis's writing.  The writing is mediocre at best, but the story is gripping.  I think I will read another of Davis's books, but this one didn't measure up to the hype my expectations.

 I am still mulling over Extraordinary Relationships: A New Way of Thinking About Human Interactions by Roberta Gilbert, MD.  This is truly not your typical relationships book.  It is based on the theories of Dr. Murray Bowen (1913-1990), and I don't think it is stretching to say this book is life changing.  I didn't agree with everything in it, but it has certainly changed the way I think about myself, my motivations, my interactions, and how changing MYSELF changes and deepens my relationships with others.  The Family Systems Theory, pioneered by Bowen, offers practical advice and shocking insight into how families shape who we are and how deepening our family relationships impacts our maturity and ability to relate to others in all spheres of life.

 I've developed a love for reading in recent years, but I have read very few plays......even Shakespeare.  A Man for All Seasons was a book club selection.  A morality play based on a standoff between King Henry VIII, and Sir Thomas More.  Henry wants More's official approval of divorce, but More's strict ethical and religious code will not let him waffle.  A quick read (it is a play after all), this was a nice change of pace in genre from my regular reading...and I even learned a little history in the process.

 Not your typical Grisham novel, Skipping Christmas has many modern parallels to the classic tale of Scrooge.  It is light, quick, and enjoyable.  Grisham's characters are exaggerated to make us think about our holiday traditions

I grabbed Stuart Little off our shelf for a quick read before getting a new stash from the library.  What a delightful children's fantasy.  I think Adeline may enjoy this in between Little House novels.

What I've been reading

 

One of my favorite books is by Havel Kimmel, so when I came across The Solace of Leaving Early at the library, I decided to pick it up.  This was an okay read, but not nearly as enjoyable as Zippy.  Some of the conversations were witty, but I was not drawn in by the characters or their story.  The ending ties everything up in a neat little package, but it is a bit too convenient.  Read Zippy...skip this one.   

I heard good things about The Help at our book club selection meeting.  When it was on the shelf at the beach house during our family vacation, I decided to read it.  I was quickly absorbed into the characters and their story.  Stockett's novel takes place in the South during the 1950's.  "The Help" are not slaves, but they are black women, who are still victims of prejudice and sometimes persecution, working in the homes of white women.  The story volleys from the perspectives of three women, two black and one white.  It is funny, sad, disturbing, and thought provoking.  I highly recommend you add this to your reading list.








Snow Flower and the Secret Fan kicked off our book club in September after not meeting through the summer.  I liked (but didn't love) this book.  If you like Asian culture, you will be fascinated by the ancient "art" of foot binding.  Lisa See certainly has a gift for character development, but there was little hope or joy in the lives of the Chinese people depicted in her novel.

I finally read it!!!.....after Patrick's review, I decided it was time to add Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged to my list.   The time was right since I had a three hour drive (each way) by myself for a beach trip with my girlfriends.  I got through about 600 pages via audiobook.  It took me a few hundred pages, but then I really got into it.  If you enjoy politics, you should read it.  It is criticized by both liberals and conservatives....which is one reason it is so fun to discuss.  I found myself agreeing with some of her political leanings, but thought little of her view of morality.  Challenge yourself and read this one.

I was told that a good comedy read was anything "Jeeves."  I made it through most of Carry On, Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse.  It was enjoyable but redundant.  Each chapter was an individual conundrum or social faux pas that needed to be solved.  It was creative and witty at times, but I don't think I'll pick up any more of these... 

What I've Been Reading

My friend, Lisa, had Silence by Shusaku Endo on her reading list for this year.  I'm not sure if I want to recommend this one or not (Lisa loved it if that changes anything).  I found myself thinking about it for days afterward.  It was certainly not a book I couldn't put down, and yet it was complex and thought provoking.  It describes persecution of the Christian church in Japan.  The ending surprised me.....that's always nice.

You should definitely add this one to your reading list...and then call me so we can discuss it.  "In his compelling new book, Radical, David Platt delivers a powerful picture of the church in America today that, on key points, stands in sharp contrast to what the Bible shows us about the person and purpose of Jesus Christ. David challenges Christians to wake up, trade in false values rooted in the American dream, and embrace the notion that each of us is blessed by God for a global purpose—to make Christ’s glory known to all the nations! This is a must-read for every believer!”
—Wess Stafford, president and CEO, Compassion Intl.

One point that stuck out to me was if you make more than $50,000 a year, you make more than 99% of the people in this world.  99%!!!  What are we doing with the awesome responsibility God has given us with our wealth?  I found this book challenging, but not in an everyone should sell everything and move to Africa tomorrow kind of way. 

I just finished a Dorothy Sayers mystery, The Nine Tailors.  It was good, but again, not one I couldn't put down.  I figured out "who done it" earlier than I normally do in mysteries.  Just like Sherlock Holmes, this is just fun-to-read detective work without any horror or real terror in it.

My friend, Krista (who writes excellent book reviews, BTW), recommended Half Broke Horses.  Since I read Jeanette Walls' childhood memoir, The Glass Castle and loved it, I thought I may enjoy this one too.  I did!  Wow.  Walls tells the story of her grandmother's life.  I was absorbed in this story.  Get this one!






Brave New World was suggested by our book club selection committee last year, and Patrick insisted recommended that I read it.  It is a science fiction novel written in the 1930's.  It is uncanny how some of the concepts parallel our society today.  Basically, Aldous Huxley creates a society engineered for "happiness."  There is always prosperity, people are content, and they are programmed to love everything and everyone around them.  There is no free will, no room for passion or true love (because that could lead to heartache).  Apathy, self-absorption, and mindless activities are all pieces that prevail in this society....sound familiar?  Great book to get you thinking...or for a discussion.

A Case for Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged"

(by Patrick, on the eve of the RPCB Women’s Book Club 2010-11 selection meeting)

                First, the negatives:  1)  The length.  I “read” Atlas Shrugged in 2008 by listening to it on audio while driving to and from work.  It had the feel of a 200, maybe 300 page book.  So I was flabbergasted when Lynn brought home AS in the flesh -- a 600-page, small-print tome (she almost capitulated to my entreaties to read it).  2)  What you’ve heard is true.  Objectivism, Rand’s system of ethics which is illustrated by AS, is antithetical to Christianity, and to Western Civilization, for that matter.  Whittaker Chambers, ex-communist, reviewing AS for National Review in 1957, pulled no punches, saying Rand’s “shrillness is without reprieve,” hearing it in the echoes of the worst totalitarian regimes of the 20^th century.  Rand, through AS’s heroine Dagny Taggart, exalts promiscuity, one reason why AS is met by some aversion in Christian circles.  (But, book club, if you can stomach “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” surely you can stomach Atlas Shrugged.)  

                And one can go on.  So why read it?  First, it is widely regarded as one the most important books of the 20^th century.  Second, reading AS, if anything, will contextualize the “Who is John Galt?” bumper stickers that are starting to appear around Bowie (ah…you’re sold!).  But the primary reason (which is behind the latter two) is that AS, for all its “shrillity,” is an effective explication of what I would call extreme libertarianism (though Rand shunned that word).  The economic bent espoused by Rand in AS is apropos today, especially with midterm elections looming.  If you maintain a grain of cultural competency these days, then you are bombarded by a constant stream of statements (some overt and some covert) that illustrate the far left of political philosophy (embodied in a socialist utopia), with the result (I think) that the American populace is pulled by degrees farther and farther to the left of center, where it historically occupied the right of center.  Over the last 80 years, this shift has lead to a monstrous welfare economy, and an implicit, unchallenged assumption that we need the government’s help in all, but especially economic, circumstances.  Now we quietly hand over a large portion of our personal property in taxes, while the government grows larger and more overbearing, the latter illustrated by the fact that, for the first time in history, legislation was just passed that REQUIRES private citizens to spend their own money to purchase a product or face heavy penalties (the “individual mandate” of Obamacare).  Atlas Shrugged offers a still fresh discussion of liberalism’s economic converse. If we must listen to the ramblings of Fool A, then let’s also give Fool B a hearing.  Then we’ll be better able to navigate the middle.  In my limited reading, I haven’t found such a discussion, stated so effectively, anywhere else.  And so the advantage of AS, as I see it, is that it gets us asking questions that have not been asked, by Americans anyway, for a very long time.  It helps us to conceive of a counterpoint to the propaganda we are spoon-fed everyday by a liberal media and culture.  It helps us to conceive of the dignity of conservatism, which is based on the dignity of the individual, while rejecting (as we must do if reading as a mature Christian, or with the guidance of a parent) those elements of Objectivism which are manifestly evil. 

Let me return to my first disclaimer:  if you are put off by the book’s length (and I would have been), then I suggest you read John Galt’s 100-or-so-page monologue toward the end of the book (can’t quote page numbers here…sorry).  This is a concise explanation of Objectivism.  Or do like I did and listen to the novel on audio.  Or, book club, make it your 2011 summer reading. 

Next week:  The Case for Green Eggs and Ham

What I STARTED reading but couldn't finish...

The Pilgrim's Progress is a classic....one I think I should read.  I tried.  I just couldn't get into it.  Allegories are usually not my favorites (although I do love Hinds Feet on High Places).  I could certainly relate to "Christian" as he progresses (hee hee) on his journey.  Maybe another time...

...and while I'm feeling guilty for not finishing a classic....The Cost of Discipleship.  How could I NOT finish this, knowing that Dietrich Bonhoffer wrote it while suffering in a Nazi concentration camp?!?  It just wasn't what I expected, and again, I just couldn't get into it.  To my credit, I started reading it because it was on my friend, Lisa's, reading list for this year, and she didn't finish it either.  Anyone read this?  Love it?

Finally, one that I didn't finish that has NO guilt attached.  I started Confessions of a Shopaholic because a friend recommended it, I was looking for a light summer read, and I wanted to see why it is so popular.  It started out well, but after about a hundred pages of MORE overspending and rationalizing, I'd had enough.  I wasn't looking for life changing, but seriously, SOME plot would have been nice.  I didn't hate it, it just didn't grab me.  If I'm going to read fluff, I at least want to laugh and enjoy it.

What I've been reading...

 

My friend, Krista, recommended The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.  Bryan Mealer  helps William Kamkwamba, write the true story of his life in a VERY poor village in Africa.  When his family can no longer afford to send him to school, he goes to the local library with only a few shelves of books and learns all he can about electricity, physics, circuits, etc.  This is the story of how he changed the world....at least his little corner of it.  The story is inspiring.  It had a few too many details about the actual physics behind his work for me, but some of you (my husband) might love that about it.  Krista's husband is a high school physics teacher, so the lingo in here might be standard talk around the dinner table in her house. 

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde was a book club selection.  It's a classic that I highly recommend reading....great for a discussion.  It is dark but thought provoking as it explores sin and selfishness taken to the extreme.  Basically Dorian Gray makes a bargain that he will remain young and handsome while a painting of him bears the age and illness of his poor moral choices.

Another book club selection that I forgot to write about, Natalie Babbitt's Tuck Everlasting is a quick and worthwhile read.  The Tuck family finds a spring which grants them eternal life.  In the end, this is not such a gift as they are no longer part of the circle of life and ultimately are not really able to LIVE in society.  I actually appreciated this book more after our discussion.

I must admit, when Relationships a Mess Worth Making was selected for a women's study, I would not have been excited EXCEPT that Barbara Coleman recommended it.  She has amazing taste.  I mean, how can a book on "relationships" not be fluffy.  It's not.  It's good.  REAL good.  Timothy Lane and  Paul Tripp, Ted Tripp's (wrote Shepherding a Child's Heart) brother, give great advice...BIBLICAL advice that gives great insight into how we relate and why we do what we do and what we can do about what we do to do it better.  ;o)

 In The Blessing, Gary Smalley and John Trent masterfully tie Christian values to modern psychology. The attributes of "meaningful touch, spoken message, expressing high value, special future and active commitment" are all part of giving a blessing. The book helps us to see that how we were raised has an ABSOLUTE influence on how we are today, without blame-shifting the responsibility on our family.  This book both helps you give a blessing to your children as well as giving practical advice for how to cope if you were not given a blessing in your own childhood.  We did this one as a ladies study, and I found it very insightful.

Randy Paush, a computer science professor at Carnegie Mellon, gives The Last Lecture of his career after being diagnosed with terminal cancer.  He has three small children and a wife of 7 years.  This book is filled with antidotes from his childhood and lessons he's learned while achieving his childhood dreams.  This book is humorous and inspirational.  A worthwhile read.

What I've been reading...

The Story of the Trapp Family Singers was a good but long(ish) read.  It was not a book I couldn't put down, but it was an interesting story none the less.  The beginning is similar to the movie, but Maria Trapp tells their story long after they escape to the US.  Sometimes the perfect harmony and  altruism of this family is unbelievable at best and annoying at worst, but I found it overall to be inspirational. 

Death in Holy Orders was my first P.D. James mystery.  I had to get through the first third before I really got into it.  You really can't predict "who done it" because she gives reason for many people to be suspect.  She has excellent character development, as you feel you know something about the nature of even the most minor characters.  Similar to a Sherlock Holmes mystery, you aren't sitting on the edge of your seat, scared at every turn, but it is fun to read through the process of the investigation and the logic behind the detective's conclusions.  She explores many ways that good and evil interact in our society and human nature.  Without giving anything away, there was one part of the ending that was WAY too contrived, but overall it was a good read.

Never Let Me Go is written by Kazuo Ishiguro (who also wrote Remains of the Day).  I can't really tell you anything about this book because anything I write will be giving something away.  You don't really "get it" for a long time into the book.  I expected to like this book more than I did.  It was recommended by someone for our book club....someone that is well read and has good taste.  Maybe it was too built up in my mind for me to actually enjoy it.  However, when I finished it, I did find myself wishing I had someone to discuss it with....so I guess it really may have been a good book club selection.  Anyone read it?

The Zookeeper's WIfe by Diane Ackerman.  If you can get past all the technical nature writing, there is a wonderful story here.  Ackerman tells the true story of Jan and Antonina Zabiniski, who ran the Warsaw Zoo, and harbored hundreds of Jews, during the Nazi occupation.  Much of it is written using Antonina's diaries.  If you enjoy reading about WWII heros, this glimpse into life in the Warsaw ghetto is certainly worth your time.

You should read The Reason for God (Belief in an Age of Skepticism) by Tim Keller.  Really, you should.  It is a modern day "Mere Christianity," addressing many of the common arguments against Christianity.  The first half is entitled "The Leap of Doubt," and it explores "beefs" people have with Christianity....How could a good God allow suffering?  How can a loving God send people to hell?  Christianity is a straitjacket....are just a few of the chapters.  The second half is "The Reasons for Faith."  In this section, Keller writes about why we all KNOW that God exists, and he gives compelling reasons for why Christianity makes sense.  It is a great book for apologetics, will strengthen your faith, and/or may answer some questions for you if you haven't yet made the decision to give your life to Christ.  This book is well written and easy to read.  One of the best I've read this year...