I've been meaning to read this book for years, but never got the chance. I'm glad I finally did because I absolutely loved it. It's definitely being added to my favorite book list, because it's terrific.
Blue Like Jazz is basically Miller's thoughts on God and Christianity and his story on how it has impacted his life. What I loved about this book is that I understood every single word. Everything he has felt or described, I have felt at some point in time. I feel like he was writing this just for me. It was terrific. It wasn't like reading a book where someone is preaching about God and how you should live your life. Miller is open and honest and very down to earth.
I would highly recommend this book to any young Christian, anyone working with young Christians or anyone struggling with their faith. Heck, I recommend this book to anyone who considers themself a Christian. It's a fairly quick and easy read. I'm already planning on going back and re-reading it pretty soon.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
I know, I know, everyone in the world is reading The Lost Symbol right now. But I just couldn't help my curiosity. I really liked Angels and Demons, and The Da Vinci Code wasn't bad (definitley didn't live up to the hype though; A&D was way better).
It wasn't bad. I'm kind of thinking about re-reading A&D now, to see if it's as good as I remember, because I was a little critical of The Lost Symbol. The writing was pretty good, but at times felt like The Da Vinci Code all over again. Also, I felt like Dan Brown is just too freaking smart for his own good. There is so much information in this book that it can get a little dense. This definitely isn't light reading by any means. It's hard to be riveted to a novel when half the time you feel like the content is way above your head. Sometimes the random explanations and pieces of historical information, etc. were interesting, other times it felt like Brown was just trying to show off how much he knows about all this stuff, and how much research he has done.
However, if you can wade through the copious amounts of historical context, the plot itself was interesting. For first time Robert Langdon finds himself in the middle of an investigation on US soil, right in the heart of the country, in fact. The entire story takes place in the course of 1 night in Washington, DC. The mythology this time is centered around the Masons and all the stories surrounding their history.
For the most part I did enjoy this novel, and it only took me about 2 weeks to read it, so it's not that hard to read. but you have to have patience with it. I never got to the point where I couldn't put it down, even though I was interested. And, I didn't get really interested unil about 100 pages or so into the novel. But if you like Brown's style then you'll probably enjoy this book.
It wasn't bad. I'm kind of thinking about re-reading A&D now, to see if it's as good as I remember, because I was a little critical of The Lost Symbol. The writing was pretty good, but at times felt like The Da Vinci Code all over again. Also, I felt like Dan Brown is just too freaking smart for his own good. There is so much information in this book that it can get a little dense. This definitely isn't light reading by any means. It's hard to be riveted to a novel when half the time you feel like the content is way above your head. Sometimes the random explanations and pieces of historical information, etc. were interesting, other times it felt like Brown was just trying to show off how much he knows about all this stuff, and how much research he has done.
However, if you can wade through the copious amounts of historical context, the plot itself was interesting. For first time Robert Langdon finds himself in the middle of an investigation on US soil, right in the heart of the country, in fact. The entire story takes place in the course of 1 night in Washington, DC. The mythology this time is centered around the Masons and all the stories surrounding their history.
For the most part I did enjoy this novel, and it only took me about 2 weeks to read it, so it's not that hard to read. but you have to have patience with it. I never got to the point where I couldn't put it down, even though I was interested. And, I didn't get really interested unil about 100 pages or so into the novel. But if you like Brown's style then you'll probably enjoy this book.
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
The Naked Gospel by Andrew Farley
I saw this book at work and it sparked my curiousity so I had to buy it and read it. It was a really fast read, I finished it in less than a week only reading it during my breaks at work.
I'm not sure that I agree with everything Farley said in his book, but he did make some really interesting points. I think in some ways he takes part of the old testament too literally, but as I said, he does make some really good points where the Old Testament laws are concerned. It's made me curious enough to try to read through Hebrews sometime soon and decide what exactly I think it's saying.
If you're a believer struggling with some of the more institutionalized beliefs of Christianity you might find this book interesting. Even though you may not agree with everything Farley says (and like I said, I'm not sure I do) it will make you think.
I'm not sure that I agree with everything Farley said in his book, but he did make some really interesting points. I think in some ways he takes part of the old testament too literally, but as I said, he does make some really good points where the Old Testament laws are concerned. It's made me curious enough to try to read through Hebrews sometime soon and decide what exactly I think it's saying.
If you're a believer struggling with some of the more institutionalized beliefs of Christianity you might find this book interesting. Even though you may not agree with everything Farley says (and like I said, I'm not sure I do) it will make you think.
The Vampire Diares, The Return: Nightfall by LJ Smith
This book was the first of a new series in the Vampire Diaries saga, which picks up shortly after Dark Reunion left off. However, this novel was not nearly as good as the first few books of the series.
I think the thing that bothered me the most about this book was the lack of consistency. The original series was written in the early 90s, and takes place in the early 90s. This book was just published over the summer and instead of taking place in the same year as the previous book, it's written as if it takes place this year. There's reference to video cell phones, a new century and of things that wouldn't have been referenced in the early 90s. Even though there's nearly 17 years between the publishing of these books, the most recent one should still take place in the same time period in order to be consistent.
The other thing that bothered me was that this book was much more fantastical than the previous books. I know they're all dealing with vampires and such, but this one was really out there and didn't seem as realistic as the first novels did. The writing also didn't seem quite as good this time around. I'm hoping maybe things will improve with the next book in the series, but I'm not getting my hopes up. If you really like the series, I recommend not reading this book, it might ruin things for you.
I think the thing that bothered me the most about this book was the lack of consistency. The original series was written in the early 90s, and takes place in the early 90s. This book was just published over the summer and instead of taking place in the same year as the previous book, it's written as if it takes place this year. There's reference to video cell phones, a new century and of things that wouldn't have been referenced in the early 90s. Even though there's nearly 17 years between the publishing of these books, the most recent one should still take place in the same time period in order to be consistent.
The other thing that bothered me was that this book was much more fantastical than the previous books. I know they're all dealing with vampires and such, but this one was really out there and didn't seem as realistic as the first novels did. The writing also didn't seem quite as good this time around. I'm hoping maybe things will improve with the next book in the series, but I'm not getting my hopes up. If you really like the series, I recommend not reading this book, it might ruin things for you.
The Vampire Diaries: The Fury and Dark Reunion by LJ Smith
I don't want to say too much about these two stories in the Vampire Diaries saga, as it might give away too much if you haven't read the first two books yet. The Fury picks up right where The Struggle left off, with everyone dealing with the fallout from the events of that book. Then Dark Reunion picks up several months after The Fury and is told mostly from Bonnie's point of view (one of Elena's best friends).
While The Fury fit in easily with the first two books of the series, Dark Reunion felt like an almost completely separate story, and is the only one with a time lapse in between. I felt like The Fury was the end of the interesting story; Dark Reunion just wasn't as good. However, if you've read the first book (or two books if you have separate volumes and not the combined version) I recommend reading this one as well, as The Fury ties up the loose ends from the first two.
While The Fury fit in easily with the first two books of the series, Dark Reunion felt like an almost completely separate story, and is the only one with a time lapse in between. I felt like The Fury was the end of the interesting story; Dark Reunion just wasn't as good. However, if you've read the first book (or two books if you have separate volumes and not the combined version) I recommend reading this one as well, as The Fury ties up the loose ends from the first two.
The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening and The Strugge by LJ Smith
Once again I've fallen into the trap of pop culture. I watched the first episode of the new CW series and was curious enough that I picked up the books and read the entire series before the next episode.
This book actually contained the first two books of the series, The Awakening and The Struggle. And after reading the books it's apparent that the series is only loosely based on the books, as there are a lot of differences between the two. I think it might actually be more interesting if they followed the books a little closer. There's a lot of good stuff that happens in the book that hasn't in the series. I realized we're only 3 episodes in, but there are some things, such as how Elena and Stefan finally get together that are much more interesting in the book.
When I first started reading these books I thought I was going to hate them, mostly because I hated Elena's character at first. When the series first starts she's selfish, snobby, stuck-up and self-centered and only wants Stefan for the challenge. As the series progresses though she becomes much more generous and caring.
Another thing I found interesting as I read these books was just how much Stephenie Meyer borrowed from this series when writing Twilight. The early relationship between Elena and Stefan is so similar to Bella and Edward because Stefan tries to avoid Elena and even acts harshly, despite his attraction to her. This doesn't change until Stefan has to rescue Elena from an incident involving another character, coincidentally named Tyler. There are many other things I found similar between the two series, but won't go into here.
Overall this wasn't a bad book. It's not the best book I've read, but it was interesting and a quick read. It was compelling enough that it was hard to put down once I started reading, and I continued reading through the whole series fairly quickly. If you enjoyed the Twilight books you'll probably enjoy this, which was a forerunner to the Meyer series, although I think Meyer's writing is a little more polished than Smith's.
This book actually contained the first two books of the series, The Awakening and The Struggle. And after reading the books it's apparent that the series is only loosely based on the books, as there are a lot of differences between the two. I think it might actually be more interesting if they followed the books a little closer. There's a lot of good stuff that happens in the book that hasn't in the series. I realized we're only 3 episodes in, but there are some things, such as how Elena and Stefan finally get together that are much more interesting in the book.
When I first started reading these books I thought I was going to hate them, mostly because I hated Elena's character at first. When the series first starts she's selfish, snobby, stuck-up and self-centered and only wants Stefan for the challenge. As the series progresses though she becomes much more generous and caring.
Another thing I found interesting as I read these books was just how much Stephenie Meyer borrowed from this series when writing Twilight. The early relationship between Elena and Stefan is so similar to Bella and Edward because Stefan tries to avoid Elena and even acts harshly, despite his attraction to her. This doesn't change until Stefan has to rescue Elena from an incident involving another character, coincidentally named Tyler. There are many other things I found similar between the two series, but won't go into here.
Overall this wasn't a bad book. It's not the best book I've read, but it was interesting and a quick read. It was compelling enough that it was hard to put down once I started reading, and I continued reading through the whole series fairly quickly. If you enjoyed the Twilight books you'll probably enjoy this, which was a forerunner to the Meyer series, although I think Meyer's writing is a little more polished than Smith's.
Friday, September 18, 2009
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
One of my all-time favorite books is The Time Traveler's Wife, so naturally when I heard the author, Audrey Niffenegger, would be coming out with a new novel at the end of September I got really excited. I was even more excited when I got my hands on an advanced copy of said novel. (Sometimes I really love my job!)
I loved this book almost immediately; I loved the almost gothic feel and the characters were interesting and quirky. As a big fan of almost anything supernatural, I also enjoyed the ghost-story aspect of this book. Overall it was interesting and well told ... until the end.
As much as I love Audrey Niffenegger's writing style, I must say that I didn't really love the ending of this novel. It felt a little rushed and awkward to me. It was great right up until the very last chapter, then I just felt kinda meh, this is how it ends? It was a little disappointing, although I'm not sure it completely ruined the book. I would recommend at least giving it a try, perhaps you'll view the ending differently from me.
I loved this book almost immediately; I loved the almost gothic feel and the characters were interesting and quirky. As a big fan of almost anything supernatural, I also enjoyed the ghost-story aspect of this book. Overall it was interesting and well told ... until the end.
As much as I love Audrey Niffenegger's writing style, I must say that I didn't really love the ending of this novel. It felt a little rushed and awkward to me. It was great right up until the very last chapter, then I just felt kinda meh, this is how it ends? It was a little disappointing, although I'm not sure it completely ruined the book. I would recommend at least giving it a try, perhaps you'll view the ending differently from me.
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