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My brother Nathan and i are engaged in an email discussion about religion and spirituality.  We have pages and pages of conversation, and i’m sure there’s a blog post or few in there somewhere.  Eventually.  But one of the things he suggested i do is read this book, Irresistible Revolution.  He promised it wasn’t an evangelical book, but was a cool example of someone doing Christianity in a different way.

It may not have been evangelical, but it was a bit preachy at times.  The author’s intended audience is people who are already Christians and are searching for more meaning in their Christianity.  If this describes you, it was a very inspiring book.  It is even inspired me, a nonbeliever, that i should be doing more for my community.

Basically, this kid grew up in what has become a traditional, white, suburban, protestant church.  He finds this kind of Christianity getting stale and wants to go out and actually help the poor himself.  And he does.  He goes to the downtown parks at night and meets the homeless folks and befriends them.  He goes to Calcutta and works alongside Mother Theresa.  He founds The Simple Way, a community-sharing organization in Philadelphia.

The way he describes his journey is very moving.  He touches on some themes i have seen explored elsewhere, about how typical Christians today are often aloof when it comes to the true challenges and suffering of the very needy.  No doubt about it, the world would be a better place if people embodied more of the principles of how Jesus lived.

It’s been awhile since i read the book, and i’m just now getting around to writing about it, but i have two criticisms that i can recall:

• Jesus is my president.  During the last presidential election, Shane wrote-in a candidate - Jesus.  He has buttons that say “Jesus is My President”.  I don’t understand this.  You may want to live more like Jesus, but we still live in a human world, a world where some form of government exists in all cultures.  Even in a tribal culture, they have clan chiefs and ways of disciplining each other and making rules for the society.  Jesus can’t be your president, and i daresay he wouldn’t want the job.
• Let’s just end the war and show everyone God’s love.  I hate the war, and i don’t know why we’re in Iraq.  I can concede, though, that it is a delicate situation.  Consider that Iran is trying to get nuclear weapons.  What happens if they get them?  Iran is an Islamic state.  There is reason to be scared that they would lob a nuclear weapon at the US.  Why might they do that?  Because we are infidels.  Anyway, we have a vested interest in preventing them from obtaining nuclear weaponry.  What scares me is that if we “just end the war and show everyone God’s love,” then NYC will be obliterated.  What scares me more is that there will be Christians who are happy about it, because it would mean the end of the world and Jesus’ return is imminent.

Those are two things that stuck with me after i finished Irresistible Revolution.  The good stories stuck with me, too, and i will be making an effort to do more in my community.  I can do (and secular organizations are already doing) a lot of good things in the world without a religious motivation.

I’m really behind on book reviews.  To be honest, i only like writing reviews for books that really grabbed me, or where i had something to say.  So instead of full-blown reviews, i’m going to summarize thoughts from several books i’ve read over the last few months.

The Dresden Files, by Jim Butcher Entertaining, light reading.  I have read the first two so far, and have books 3 & 4 ready and waiting.  It’s not my usual fare, and i probably won’t go much further than the four books i already have (i think there are 8-10 books so far).  Good stories, good monsters, thin characters, fairly predictable.

My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Piccoult Piccoult always throws a host of issues together in her books, and this was no exception.  The core issue is about a child who was conceived specifically to be a blood donor for her sick sister, who had been diagnosed with lieukemia at age four.  How far should that go?  Where do you draw the line on what you ask one child to do for another?  Do you even ask?

A Song of Ice and Fire, by George R. R. Martin (4+ book series) This is my favorite series of all time.  It’s epic fantasy, and the story is huge, complex, yet wonderfully interwoven.  The characters are all delicious shades of gray.  The setting is another world, 17th century-ish, with lords and ladies, kings and queens, the struggle for power, plots and intrigues, prophecy and fulfillment, swordfights and sex, and dragons.  It will be 7 books before it’s done.

Infected by Scott Sigler Recommended by a bridge buddy, this isn’t the kind of book i would normally pick up.  Think Invasion of the Body Snatchers mingled with Alien merged with Stephanie Meyer’s The Host.  It was a page-turner!

Kelsey on Squeeze Play by Hugh Kelsey This huge monstrosity is actually four books, and i made it through the first one, which is about simple squeezes, including the trump squeeze and criss-cross squeeze.  It is pretty fascinating stuff for me, since i eventually want to master all of it.  Luckily for me, there is more of this book to read.  Unluckily, there were only 20 quiz hands at the end of the section.

Are You There, God, It’s Me Margaret by Judy Blume When i was 11 read this book, it seemed deviant and wicked and mysterious.  I loved Margaret and thought she was my soul in print.  So i was surprised when i picked this book up again for book club and found it a flimsy, short book, and that the characters and plot really didn’t have much substance.  All the bits and pieces i remembered were there, but when i was young, i had projected so much meaning onto them!

A History of God by Karen Armstrong I only made it partially through this book.  It’s pretty dry.  There is some fascinating stuff in there, if you can get past the monotone writing.  Which i obviously can’t, since i have tried to read this book half a dozen times and always get bored.

Practical Magic, by Alice Hoffman I didn’t care for this book.  The characters weren’t deep, and morphed into each other at times.  Entertaining enough, i guess, but it’s not a book that kept me coming back for more.

The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss An amazing book.  This fits into the category of epic fantasy, and is a wonderful story of a magician’s young protoge.  Yet it’s so much more than that.  It’s the first of a series, and we don’t know how big this story will be.

Jacqueline Carey is the author of some of my favorite books, the Kushiel’s Legacy series.  The Sundering is another series from her, consisting of two books, Banewreaker and Godslayer.

The Sundering was a little hard to get into.  The names were odd, and there is a lot of history that you have to absorb in order to understand what is going on.  But don’t worry, if you don’t get it during the first explanation, things are restated for you in various ways.  It gets a little repetitive in places.

The Sundering is basically an alternate telling of Lord of the Rings.  The characters and the world are completely different, but much of it is obviously meant to be compared to Lord of the Rings or other fantasy.  The key difference is that good and evil are not black and white.  In a few ways, i like this version better, because there are so many shades of gray.  In The Sundering, you hear both sides of the story, and the “darker” side is actually given more stage time.  Imagine if Sauron didn’t really want war, but was being forced to defend himself because the forces for good were giving him no choice.  Except that their propaganda says he’s the bad guy.  That’s what is happening in The Sundering.

The number of similarities in the two series borders on ridiculous, which means it must be completely intentional.  Here’s a list of the major likenesses.

• Lord Satoris = Lord Sauron.  The big evil meanie who is orchestrating everything.
• Malthius = Gandalf.  He is a wise old guy with special powers.  He even disappears into the bowels of the earth and resurfaces.  When he resurfaces, he is changed and he is dressed all in white.
• Aracus Altoris = Aragorn son of Arathorn.  Aracus is often referred to as a “son of Altoris.”  Even the alliteration is the same.
• Aracus is betrothed to Cerelinde (aka Arwen).  It is the first known union between a man and an Ellylon.
• Ellylon = Elves.  They have the exact same features such as beauty and immortality.
• Rivenlost = Rivendell.  Rivenlost isn’t actually a place, but rather refers to a collection of the Ellylon.
• The Three = The Nine.  Satoris has only 3 “mini-bosses”, while Sauron had 9.  They aren’t nearly as scary in The Sundering.
• Malthius’ Company = the Fellowship of the Ring.  This is a band of 7 people representing different races.  In their company is one Dani, who is The Bearer.
• The Bearer = The Ring Bearer.  In The Sunderer, the Bearer is bearing the Water of Life, not a ring.  He and only he can carry it, and the others are helping him on his quest.
• The Bearer gets separated from the rest of his company.  He has one remaining sturdy companion, who is one of the folk from his homeland.
• The goal of the Bearer is to go deep into enemy territory (Darhaven=Mordor) and use the Water of Life to quench the marrow-fire.  (Basically, going to the middle of a big volcano in the hardest possible place to reach.)

I liked it, but i found myself hoping for a different outcome.  The dark side perspective is told very well, and i was rooting for them, even though i knew how it would have to end.  (I have the same problem whenever i watch Titanic - i hope the boat won’t sink this time.)

The Book Thief was a beautiful story about a beautiful little girl with a beautiful heart.

Liesel is a young girl in Nazi Germany.  Her mother sends her and her brother to live with a foster family in the town of Molching.  On the way there, though, her brother dies.  At the funeral, Liesel steals her first book, The Gravedigger’s Handbook.  It is the first of several books that she steals in the course of her life.

Liesel’s new parents love her dearly, though they have different ways of expressing it.  Her Mama is always complaining about her, but her Papa sits up with her when she has nightmares and teaches her to read.  She develops the love of words that prompts her to steal more books.

When the Jewish son of one of Papa’s war buddies shows up on their doorstep, they take him in and hide him in their basement.  Liesel and Max form a strong bond, and at its core is a shared love of words.

One thing that makes this book interesting is that it is told from the point of view of Death, who reluctantly collects souls all around the globe as people die.  Death makes for an interesting narrator, and he’s always spoiling his own stories by telling you what’s going to happen before he gets around to that part of the story.

I bawled at least half a dozen times while reading The Book Thief.  It was very good, but in a way that makes your heart heavy.  I liked the portrayal of life for the common people in Nazi Germany.  The ones who don’t really hate anyone, but are forced to say certain things and act a certain way out of fear.  I’m glad i read it.

In the 4th quarter of 2008, my mom and i agreed to do a mini book club.  I recommended a book, The Host by Stephanie Meyer, and she recommended a book, The Shack.

I have finally gotten around to reading The Shack. Soon after our deal, my mom read it and told me i wouldn’t like it and that i was off the hook for having to read it.  But, a deal is a deal, and after all, it was the best selling book of 2008.

While camping with his children, a father’s youngest daughter is kidnapped by a serial killer.  The book takes us through the horrifying events of the search and finding the place where she was killed: a shack in the middle of the woods.

Three years later, the family is still having a hard time, and especially the father, who is angry at God.  One day he receives a note in his mailbox from God that they should meet, at the shack.  The father decides, what the hell, and goes alone one weekend when the rest of the family is away.  He finds that God is actually there: God the Father (showing himself as a big black woman named Papa), God the Son (Jesus, who is in typical carpenter form) and God the Holy Spirit (presenting as a flower child type young woman).  Our dear dad gets to talk to them, ask questions, walk on water, see his daughter, and basically has a weekend of rediscovering himself and God.

Mom was right, i didn’t really care for the book.  It did however remind me of the attraction of christianity.  Papa just loves all her children, even if they’ve lost their way.  In one of my letters from grandma, she told me that she wasn’t worried about me going to hell, because that isn’t how i works: if people have not accepted christ, then they are judged by the kind of life they have lived.  And those are nice thoughts.  Does anyone know if or where that is written in the bible?

Personally, i already know i will be judged by the kind of life i have lived - by me, while i’m still alive and living it, and by others, who interact with me now and who will remember me when i’m dead.

Our book club’s selection for February was To Kill a Mockingbird.  The first and only time i read this book was in middle school.  I remembered the name Boo Radley.  I remembered asking my dad what the phrase “Jem was four years my senior” meant, as my 11-year old self had never heard such fancy language.  (Dad wouldn’t tell me).  I remembered liking the book.  But that’s about all i remembered.

I liked the book this time, too.  A lot.  Jem and Scout’s adventures in Maycomb as they slowly grew up were fun to read about.  The courtroom scenes when Tom was on trial were as good as any of the modern courtroom thrillers.  And, look at how far we’ve come.  This setting was the 1930s, and a black man was convicted when he was obviously innocent, just because a white girl pointed a finger.  It may be fiction, but it is representative of the times.  80 years later, a black man is President of this country.

There were a lot of great quotes from this book.  But one that moved me was in the final few pages:

A boy trudged down the sidewalk dragging a fishing pole behind him. A man stood waiting with his hands on his hips. Summertime, and his children played in the front yard with their friend, enacting a strange little drama of their own invention. It was fall, and his children fought on the sidewalk in front of Mrs. Dubose’s. . . . Fall, and his children trotted to and fro around the corner, the day’s woes and triumphs on their faces. They stopped at an oak tree, delighted, puzzled, apprehensive. Winter, and his children shivered at the front gate, silhouetted against a blazing house. Winter, and a man walked into the street, dropped his glasses, and shot a dog. Summer, and he watched his children’s heart break. Autumn again, and Boo’s children needed him. Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough.

It’s a defining moment for Scout.  Seeing something from aother’s perspective.  Losing some of her innocence.  But still having faith in people.

I gave it my best shot, i really did.  But you are simply too big of a book.  I made it about 15% of the way into you before i had to give up.  It took me a month to get that far.  Usually i devour books, but while i was reading you, Middlemarch, i no longer loved reading.  I couldn’t force myself to read.  I would find something else to do in order to avoid further delve into Elliot’s world.

And so, as a new month begins, i just have to give up.  There are other books to read, other worlds to explore.  There are books i look forward to reading instead of avoiding.  I gave it a good faith effort, i promise.  But Middlemarch, you were just over my head.

The Uglies trilogy can be found in the Teen section of the bookstore or the library.  However, i found them extremely entertaining.

The setting is a few hundred years into the future, and society has evolved into a sort of utopia.  There are distinct phases in your life.  You are a littlie from age 0-11.  At age 12 you go to a type of boarding school for four years, and these are known as your ugly years.  At age 16 you get to undergo an operation where you are turned pretty.  When you’re pretty, you get to party for a few years.  There is another operation as you enter middle age, and you become a middle pretty.  A third and final operation occurs before old age, and you become a crumblie.

Technology and government has evolved to a point where the society is completely self-contained.  Everything that is used is recycled.  Nothing costs money.  Everyone pitches in during their middle pretty days and is a functioning member of society.

But of course, there is a problem with how this all works.  It turns out the government is also doing a little brain surgery while doing the cosmetic surgery.  There are a few rebels who live in the woods, refusing to undergo the operation to become pretty, and struggling against the big government entity.

Our heroine is Tally, a teenager who has spent years wanting nothing other than to finally be pretty.  She gets caught up with the rebels, and after a series of hoverboarding and bungee-jumping stunts, she discovers the secret of the surgery.  And now she has to find a way to save herself, and her friends.

I think these books have a lot of good stuff in them, and not just for teens.

This book blew my socks off.

I feel like the first three books were just building the backstory for this incredible ending.  If you’ve read my reviews, you’ll know i didn’t care much for Eclipse, and New Moon left me feeling like i wouldn’t like how the story ended.

Ahem.  I absolutely loved how the story ended.

*** Spoilers below ***

More than that, the writing improved dramatically to my mind.  Bella GREW UP.  She was no longer the insecure teenager who “reasons” through everything in her head and comes to irrational conclusions.  And nothing in the story was predictable, as it had been in the earlier books.

The pregnancy, the switch to Jacob’s perspective, Jake’s imprinting, the turning of Bella as a necessity to save her life, the relationships between the werewolves and vampires, the confrontation with the Volturi… everything was just so extremely satisfying.  From now on i will recommend this series to others.  I may preface it with “just get through the first three books, and then the fun really begins!” but i will recommend it regardless.

Eclipse is the third installment of the Twilight series.   Spoilers will be included in this post.

As with the second book, New Moon, i was not too impressed with the writing.  I’m also not sure what the writer wants me as the reader to think.  Am i supposed to prefer Jacob to Edward?  Something tells me that no, i’m supposed to be in love with Edward like everyone else.  I think i’m supposed to get that the love she has for Edward is the forever kind of love, and her love for Jacob is just mortal.  But, as a reader, i am a bit more in love with Jacob at this point.  Is that what i’m supposed to feel?

Given the Jacob thing, I’m also not on board anymore that she should become a vampire.  From what i’ve heard and read, lots of people are waiting and hoping the Edward eventually makes her a vampire so they can be together forever and live happily ever after.  And i did want that for Bella after the first book.  But not anymore.  Now i think she should remain human.  Alas, at the end of Eclipse, while Bella is still human, the plans are all made for the marriage to Edward and the turning of Bella.

So, i’m confused.  I like Jacob better, but up til now the whole series has been about Bella and Edward.  And i do like Edward, i just think everyone would be better off if the girl remained human.  I’ll be extremely interested in how the story ends, but i’m not sure i’ll be happy about it.