books in august

Bridget Jones's Diary, by Helen Fielding

This was the ultimate summer read.  Not only was it so lighthearted and funny and honest that I wanted to immediate write a book just like this one, it was the perfect way to pass the time while my family and I were on vacation in Annapolis.  Pure, sugary entertainment.  The movie was a good adaptation (I'd seen it before I read the book), and the casting was spot on.  I love that Mark Darcy is based on Colin Firth's portrayal of Mr Darcy in the P&P miniseries, and the movie has Colin Firth in that role.  It's all too perfect.  A little more sentimental than the book, but still so perfect.

Helen Fielding's writing style here is so approachable and funny.  I wish I would have thought of it first - segmented journal entries, beginning with an update on calories, cigarettes smoked, weight, and whatever else Bridget's keeping track of that week.  I should have written this book.  

Perelandra, by CS Lewis

Such a different book from the other one I read this month.  I struggled with Lewis's first book in his Space Trilogy (Out of the Silent Planet, which I wrote about two years ago - oy), and this one started little better.  His imagination creates literal worlds, and it takes half of a book to give the reader that setting.  The plot doesn't take off till you get a feel for your surroundings.  Is this to the detriment of the story itself?  Probably not.  We're just not used to having to stick with something that reads a little more... classically.  I've got to exercise that muscle a bit more.  By reading something tedious.

Halfway through, though, this book is anything but tedious.  All I'm going to say is the scene with the frogs.  True horror.  The Un-Man, as Ransom names the villain of this adventure, is truly horrifying.  He's reminiscent of Dracula to me... and I cannot really explain why.  I just know I felt the same terror and dread reading about his mutilation of this beautiful world of Lewis's imagination as I did about the vampire's activity.  Sheer evil.

No matter what Lewis writes, he rewards you for walking through his world, no matter how long the journey may have taken.  Please take this journey.  You won't be sorry.

books in june

The Shack, by Wm. P. Young

Oh, The Shack.  Although I was rereading it to discuss with a friend, I realized about halfway through that I had never finished it when it was assigned for my Triune God class at college.  Sorry, Dr Hirt!  But I aced the term paper, so....

The story was better than I remember it being, to be honest.  I empathize with Mack (the main character) more now that I have a daughter.  That section was truly heartbreaking, and caused me to ask some of those same questions he struggles through (e.g.: "Is God a good father?").  But the writing is still awful, the dialogue trite, and the characterization of God not necessarily accurate or helpful.  It's interesting, in its way, but ultimately, just not great.  Young brings up a great topic for discussion - the nature of the Triune God - but as far as the portrayal of God Himself, it often falls into the two main heresies surrounding that doctrine: either the Persons of the Godhead are too one (to the point of being indistinct), or too three (to the point of being too distinct and separate).  God is three in one.  The more we try to put this mystery into words, the more we try to rationalize, the farther I think we get from the truth.  Truly.

I also think, unintentional though it may be, the author falls into other heretical ideas.  It's probably for the sake of story, plot development, characterization, etc, but the fact remains that God the Father was not on the cross; there is a hierarchy within the Godhead; and the Bible is the reliable and necessary source of truth.  I don't appreciate the treatment of church and/or religion as a manmade god, either.  The church is the body and the bride of Christ.  All who claim Christ are not all His, obviously, and the church is full of fallen human beings who misrepresent Him all the time.  But we are called to structure and order and relationship with one another as well as on an individual basis with God.  

Are these points nitpicky?  Is it really just semantics?  As a work of fiction, can we gloss over these seemingly little details?  I suggest (firmly) no.  While I appreciate the portrayal of God in the way He will reach down into our lives, radically change our hearts, and demonstrate His nearness, I think it's closer to the heart of God to believe truth about who He is above a heartwarming and imaginative, but ultimately dishonest, dream sequence.  

Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer, by CS Lewis

This was such a timely read.  Written by Lewis in the format of letters to a fictional friend "Malcolm", this book answers many of the questions raised by Wm. P. Young in The Shack.  Jack's main discussion point is the way we relate to God, and how God relates to us.  Hence the "Chiefly on Prayer" subtitle.  In some ways, he supports the conclusions of The Shack: "We must lay before Him what is in us; not what ought to be in us."  God not only invites, but requires us to be honest with Him - in our moments of joy and especially in our times of despair.  He emphasizes the importance of communing with other believers through worship services, daily life, and the Lord's Supper; church is the way God relates to His people.  

The biggest, most important quote of the book in my eyes is, "Every idea of Him we form, He must in mercy shatter."  We as believers need to daily surrender our idea of who God is unto Him to be destroyed and built up in truth.  What a risky business is this faith!  

i'm stuck

Here I am on my day off.

I just finished twenty pages of one book,

and here I am watching The Breakfast Club.

I'm stuck.

I'm in the middle of these two books, and I'm bored out of my mind.

Yet - 

despite the fact that I have seven+ recently purchased books sitting on my shelf

taunting me - 

I cannot move past them just yet.  

So I read twenty pages at a time.

Inching along.

Prolonging my fictive misery.

Blech.  

What do I do?

Move on?

Power through?

Stop whining and do something active?

Please advise me.

Here are the two books I'm stuck in.

The Soloist, by Steve Lopez

It's the good and true story of a journalist who meets a Julliard-educated homeless man playing a violin with two strings.  

He befriends this man, writes an article, and begins a journey with him.  

Mental health, 

classical music, 

the state of the homeless in Los Angeles, 

and the unsteady friendship between two men make for an interesting read, right?  

Wrong.  

Sure, the content is fantastic, but Mr Lopez's writing style is... bland.

Knowing him to be a journalist, and this to be his own story, I was anticipating something more along the lines of a Tuesdays with Morrie a la Mitch Albom.

With Lopez, I'm hardly engaged.

There was a movie based on this book a few years back, starring Robert Downey Jr and Jamie Foxx.

Even when I saw it in theatres, the premise was so good, but the movie was slow.

Not as slow as this book.

Egghhhhh 170 pages left.

  

Death Comes to Pemberley, by P.D. James

It's a natural choice.  The sequel to Austen's classic Pride and Prejudice.  

I ought to love everything about it.

But I don't.

P.D. James may be a brilliant crime writer and important person in literature.

But, for all I know, this book doesn't work.

The vivid personalities Austen introduced to the world fall lifeless (no pun intended) under James's pen.

I may only be fifty pages in, so perhaps I've got to give her a break and a chance, but I don't want to.

Meh.  Another I want to finish, but I'm so bored!

The Devil Wears Prada

The Devil Wears Prada, by Lauren Weisberger

Such a fun, fluff summer read!  As I was already a fan of the movie, I was delighted to find that the book was not all that different.  

**************Some spoilers ahead detailing differences between book & movie - STOP now and read the book if you want to be surprised! **************

Though decently written with vivid descriptions, the language (lottttttsssssss of F-words) was a little disappointing.  

She doesn't ever sleep with Christian in Paris.  YAY for the morality of the character, but I do wish Weisberger had spent more time developing that little flirtatious relationship.  It was fun.  :)

The story is told from Andrea's point of view, which causes the reader to commiserate a bit more with her character.  Unlike in the movie, Anne Hathaway's portrayal of Andy makes you want to hate her just a bit when she becomes absorbed in Miranda Priestly's world.  The novel's Andy, because we the readers are privy to her thoughts, is much more likable.  

Her boyfriend, named Alex - not Nate - is a saint.  He teaches at an underprivileged urban school, typically goes above and beyond in the classroom and extracurricularly, and is something of a frustrating character for that very reason.  He's as much a workaholic as Andy is.  Perhaps that's due to her lifestyle, and the changes therefore in their relationship.  Hmm.  Regardless.  He's not brooding; he's not a chef; and he's more manly, I think, than Adrien Grenier's Nate.

Certain characters are combined in the movie.  Stanley Tucci's character Nigel plays a relatively insignificant role in the book - maybe five whole sentences in the entire 375 page novel - but combined with the characters James and Jeffy of the book, Nigel comes to life on screen.  

Miranda's British, and Emily's not.

Lily, Andy's best friend, is pretty trampy.  The story weaves her story into Andy's... mainly due to the drama Lily causes.  It's Lily's alcoholism that brings about the climax of the story.

The novel ends dramatically differently than the movie.  There is no mutual respect between Miranda and Andy.  They have a significant falling-out, actually.  But this falling-out causes Andrea to receive several consequential job offers.  

**************End of spoilers!**************

Easy-peasy summer reading.  So much fun.  If you liked the movie, you will LOVE the book.  And I guarantee that you will feel like you need Prada and Gucci products after this one.  I don't even know what such brands look like, except in my imagination... but I want them.

Out of the Silent Planet

Out of the Silent Planet, by CS Lewis

So maybe it's been seven months since my last book review... maybe I've been exhausted and watching too much Friends and sleeping and moving from house to house. 

Regardless.  This rather short novel took me a shameful amount of time to read.  My mind needed to be reoriented to read A) fiction, and B) sci-fi.  I really take for granted the fact that genres must be read differently, and I've been reading non-fiction like it's my job.  

Supposedly, this trilogy was born of a discussion between Jack and his friend Tolkien, lamenting the state of contemporary fiction.  Sigh, Jack.  Glad you're not around to see what they're putting out nowadays.

It's almost not necessary to comment on Jack's lush and imaginative descriptions.  I so appreciate the way he paints a scene into the reader's mind... even if the scene is so other.  I got lost in Malacandra.  

I'll be honest, this book started strong for me, got sleepy in the middle parts, and then it was all made worth it with the conversation/interrogation between Oyarsa and Ransom at the end.  Read it.  You'll see.

Unseduced and Unshaken

Unseduced and Unshaken: The Place of Dignity in a Young Woman's Choices, by Rosalie de Rosset

I never read new books... which is part of the reason I was drawn to this one in the first place.  I was first drawn to it because of its assertion that young women need to read the classics; however, it calls for much more than that.  Dr de Rosset (a professor of my mom's at Moody) wrote this "collection of essays [as] a thoughtful provocation to speak well, read often, make choices that reflect the character of God, and even to establish a theology of play or leisure."

This book touches on topics that all Christians, not just young Christian women, need to tackle.  It demands a return to critical thinking, holy leisure, discipleship one generation to the next - and in that, a love and understanding of tradition - as well as what it truly means to be a "formidably self-possessed young woman with a fully realized, detailed moral sensibility", as one critic says of the character Jane Eyre.  

This is not a typical self-help, Christian how-to for women.  It is a serious, well-researched work whose author pulls no punches.  Unseduced and Unshaken is surprisingly as much an advocate for the rights of the all too silent women in the Church as it is a directive for them.  We have a high calling as women.  Are we living up to our potential in furthering the kingdom, or are we content with the quietness and mediocrity of our lives?  Are we all right with the mediocrity of our women's Bible studies that are too often watered down biblical truths packaged for blithe, unthinking women who care little for being challenged with harder theology?  Do we see Mary of Bethany sitting serenely at the feet of her Rabbi, or do we see her in passionate discussion?  Asking hard questions, learning what it means to truly follow Him?  

Everyone needs to read this book.

My favorite chapter, if you've time for nothing more, is entitled "Mindful or Mindless: a Theology of Play".  This is the section that compares stories like Titanic to Casablanca.  Superficial, hasty, but passionate romance versus authentic, deep, but composed romance.  Scandal versus honor.  Sex versus love.  There is more to what she has to say here: developing a philosophy of leisure, fasting from media, reevaluating the music we listen to.  Her several paragraphs on hymnic worship and tradition are particularly weighty.  Read what she says at the end of the chapter:

What I am suggesting to you today is that you remember the best of what was and include that best with the best of what is, or you will break the link in a historical legacy given to us by God.  This means that popular culture can have a thoughtful place in your life, but should not dominate you by the very definition of popular.  This means that it would serve you well to have at least a portion of your experience the classics in music, art, theology, and literature - those things that have been with us for generations.  That understanding will then help you look at today's music, art, and literature critically, helping you to choose and enjoy the best of it.  Having gone through the process of changing your diet, you will find yourself unable to go back to junk food.

The teacher (and fellow young woman believer) in me craves to go through this book with our youth group girls.  To consider why Twilight is not up to snuff.  To consider the dangers of reading cheap fiction.  To consider the movies we watch, and their portrayals of women and romance.  To consider what we do with our free time, whether we are in fact rotting our brains.  To consider what the role of women is in God's plan, and how we can follow Him in that. 

I ask that we as women raise the standard that's been set for us by the world and our churches - in dress, demeanor, critical thinking, and our pursuits.  It's time we take ourselves seriously.

The Help

The Help, by Kathryn Stockett

I realize I'm about a year or two late in reading this gem, but I must admit I have an aversion to reading the "trendy" ones.  So I had to wait.  And, since I picked it up at the airport when I had finished the only book I brought on our trip to Jersey, I guess you could say I was almost forced into reading it now.  But what a glad and unexpected incident!  

This book, as I'm sure you know, discusses at length the racial segregation of the South during the 1960s.  This topic is near and dear to my heart, having grown up at Camp Beechpoint, ministering to and with a primarily African American population.  Racism didn't (and doesn't) make sense to me, honestly.  So, in reading this book, it was tough for me to remember it is set in the '60s.  Not all that long ago.  That was the foremost tragedy to me.  Beyond that, that this tragedy still occurs to a large degree in our country.  Perhaps not to the same extent, and not protected by law, but the culture is still there.  That hurts my heart. 

I loved the theme of reconciliation.  It's an important one.  The book signed for Skeeter by the hundreds of black churchgoers who applauded her stand, the work she did to give them a voice... made me cry.  More so than any other part of the book, I think.  I loved the relationships.  I loved the anecdotes.  

The movie is on its way from Netflix, and I am excited to see faces and voices set to these vibrant and boisterous characters.  They practically leapt off the page at me, anyway.  

If you haven't read this one yet, please do yourself a favor and pick it up.  It's one you certainly won't regret as a gratuitous summer read.  

Sold

Sold, by Patricia McCormick

Oy.  This one was a rough read.  Not because it wasn't well written; nor because it wasn't excellently researched.  This is heartbreaking stuff, as you can imagine: Sold tells the story of a young Nepali girl bought by a man from the city who promises her a job as a maid, and in turn sells her to a brothel.  It's easy to forget (or completely overlook the fact) that this story is modern, current, but the sex slave trade is a real and massive problem.

This is book is juvenile fiction, despite the heavy and sometimes graphic content, and it ought to be.  The sooner children learn about the world in which they live (in which young girls are still sold into prostitution, and this goes on largely unchecked), the better.  

The Anglo Files

The Anglo Files, by Sarah Lyall

Oh my goodness, what a delightful read!  The subtitle reads, A field guide to the British, and it is just that: everything you wished someone had told you about the Brits before being immersed in their culture.  Lyall is an American journalist living in London with her Brit husband and two daughters.  Her descriptions are vivid, hilarious, and thought-provoking.

Some topics covered in depth:

• Cricket as metaphor
• Meaning behind the bad food
• Princess Di and the emotional revolution she began
• Loving animals more openly than other people
• The connection between repressed feelings and drinking
• Euphemisms
• Hereditary titles and the House of Lords
• Weather, and speaking about the weather

If you have any interest whatsoever in the British tradition, nation, culture, or identifying yourself as an anglophile, this book is for you!

7.1 [currently reading]

Currently reading:

The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis - still amazed by his brilliance. Reading for fun. 1/2 complete.

The Anglo Files, Sarah Lyall - observations of an American living among Brits, the low-down on the current and traditional society for non-Briton anglophiles like me.  Reading for fun. 1/4 complete.

Why We're Not Emergent, DeYoung and Kluck - arguments against postmodernism in Christianity manifest in churches like Rob Bell's Mars Hill and writers like Brian McLaren.  A call for renewal and revitalization in traditional Christianity.  Reading through with one of our elders and his wife.  1/8 complete.

The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoeffer - a true pastor of the Church and martyr in Nazi Germany.  Reading to discuss with Faith on our weekly coffee dates.  1/32 complete.

The Call, Guinness - a definitive work on a Christian's purpose; a call to a Person rather than a job or place or things.  Reading with Faith.  Just finished.

It's interesting... I hate reading multiple books at once, but such is my schedule.  

Even more interesting, I think, is that they're all nonfiction.  

Rarely, if ever, am I not reading something fictional.  

Especially in the summertime.  

If you have any recommendations for my next fictional read, feel free!

Fifty Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades of Grey, by E L James

No, I'm not reading this.  Nor do I plan to.  

Consider this a friendly-but-urgent warning to stay away from it.

As a blog for literature, and literature-related things, I feel a need to address the fact that we as readers have the power of discretion.  We don't need to buy into the hype of the latest and greatest book; neither do we need to read it to form an educated opinion on the content.

Here's what one blogger has to say about it: I'm not reading Fifty Shades of Grey.

Steer clear, dear friends.

score at the thrift store!

Yes.  

Ok, so the first one is a DVD.

And the last one is a gratuitous summer read.

Judge not: all this for $4!

The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

Phew.  Finished and emotionally drained.  I must say this is the most interesting and compelling novel I've read in far too long.  Thanks, Audrey, for this imaginative and enlightened look on love, relationships and life.  Plus, having already seen the movie, it was delightful to imagine Rachel McAdams in the title role and Eric Bana as Henry.  Perfect.

This is the kind of story I'd wish to write: segmented and careful and closed.  Just with less sex and language, is all.  Had I read it before I was married, the treatment of sex and marriage would have messed with my mind a bit; so with that disclaimer, I cannot recommend it in good conscience to, say, our youth group girls.  As for me, I was entertained, involved, and completely sold on the idea.  Yes thank you more please!

Currently Reading: The Time Traveler's Wife

Currently reading:

The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger

Firstly, I'd like to say: don't judge.  

Yes, I saw the movie (years ago), and yes, I loved it.  And yes, I'm loving the book thus far.  

Set in Chicago/SW Michigan, necessarily written in segmented form... I can't help but enjoy this book.  Definitely a good summer read.  Fluff & goodness.  :)

Will give a fuller review once I'm done later this week.

Freak the Mighty

Freak the Mighty, by Rodman Philbrick

Brief: I read this in 5th or 6th grade and couldn't remember beyond the basic gist of the plot, so I read it on my final day of student teaching.  While the rest of the class read the first three pages.  Oh yes.  READ IT.  You'll be surprised by the depth, the humor, and the innocence. 

The Dark Queen

The Dark Queen, by Susan Carroll

Brief: My favorite genre, so of course I enjoyed it.  The plot is lacking, the writing leaves something to be desired, and some scenes could definitely have been left out or described in much, much less detail.  But.  Catherine de Medici.  Political intrigue.  Magic.  Knights.  Yes, thank you!

The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber

The Ballad of the Whiskey Robber, by Julian Rubinstein

Brief: Such a fun read!  It's nonfiction, but I could barely tell.  This guy robs banks and lives a horrible lifestyle, but you can't help but want to be his friend.  HIGHLY recommend.

(nearly) freebies

Don't you just LOVE finding books for a buck?  I honestly cannot resist.