Tuesday, January 29, 2002
Prince Caspian
by C.S. Lewis
I didn't intend to read two Narnia books in a row, but I was trying to stay awake last night and it was either find a fast, easy read or vegetate in front of a TV screen. My book collection is better than my video collection, so I ended up reading about Prince Caspian. The book was good, as I would expect from Mr. Lewis, but I found it to be much less impressive than the other three Narnia books that I've read. The plot isn't too thrilling or surprising, and the characters are all rather plain, except for Reepicheep, the brave and slightly arrogant mouse. Maybe it was because of my weariness, but this book seemed very much like a typical sequel -- an imitation of the original, lacking its luster and fire. But when you imitate a great work, the result is still worth checking out.
LibraryThing link
I didn't intend to read two Narnia books in a row, but I was trying to stay awake last night and it was either find a fast, easy read or vegetate in front of a TV screen. My book collection is better than my video collection, so I ended up reading about Prince Caspian. The book was good, as I would expect from Mr. Lewis, but I found it to be much less impressive than the other three Narnia books that I've read. The plot isn't too thrilling or surprising, and the characters are all rather plain, except for Reepicheep, the brave and slightly arrogant mouse. Maybe it was because of my weariness, but this book seemed very much like a typical sequel -- an imitation of the original, lacking its luster and fire. But when you imitate a great work, the result is still worth checking out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, Chronicles of Narnia, CSLewis
Saturday, January 26, 2002
The Horse and His Boy
by C.S. Lewis
"An orphaned boy and a kidnapped horse gallop for Narnia ... and freedom." So goes the blurb on the back cover of this, the third chronicle of the mythic kingdom of Narnia. In case you haven't been following my reviews, I thought the first two chronicles were great. Mr. Lewis had clothed great Christian truths in rich, colorful fantasy and wove a tale that struck a chord deep within my heart. This third book does the same, but with a different twist. The tale takes place outside of the kingdom of Narnia and we meet characters who for various reasons set out for that fabled kingdom of the North. The Christian truths embroidered here focus more on the individual, how they seek out the kingdom of Heaven, sometimes in complete ignorance, and how the King finds them. Overall, I found the book slightly less delightful then The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe -- I thought the Tashbaan culture was dissed a bit too much in comparison to that of the Northern countries -- but it's still a worthy tale to keep on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
"An orphaned boy and a kidnapped horse gallop for Narnia ... and freedom." So goes the blurb on the back cover of this, the third chronicle of the mythic kingdom of Narnia. In case you haven't been following my reviews, I thought the first two chronicles were great. Mr. Lewis had clothed great Christian truths in rich, colorful fantasy and wove a tale that struck a chord deep within my heart. This third book does the same, but with a different twist. The tale takes place outside of the kingdom of Narnia and we meet characters who for various reasons set out for that fabled kingdom of the North. The Christian truths embroidered here focus more on the individual, how they seek out the kingdom of Heaven, sometimes in complete ignorance, and how the King finds them. Overall, I found the book slightly less delightful then The Magician's Nephew and The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe -- I thought the Tashbaan culture was dissed a bit too much in comparison to that of the Northern countries -- but it's still a worthy tale to keep on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: Chronicles of Narnia, CSLewis, OnMyShelf
Monday, January 21, 2002
Nisei Daughter
by Monica Sone
Do you ever see the Hand of God in the mundane parts of your life? I mean, have you ever seen things come together so perfectly that you suspect there's a conspiracy afoot? Getting this book was one of those moments for me. You've probably heard of the Japanese internment, in which all of the people of Japanese descent living on the west coast of the United States were forced to move to concentration camps located inland. You've probably heard that it was a gross injustice fueled by racism. Well, I think so, too, but I happened to be privy to a conversation where an honorable, loving and (as far as I can tell) non-prejudiced woman whom was living in Seattle at that time put forth her opinion that the event was a justifiable war-time security measure. In the course of the discussion, she had mentioned this book and I had scribbled down the title, knowing that I would probably never have enough interest in the specifics of the event to pick it up. Well, time passed and I was picking over the remnants of the King County Library book sale. Nothing looked good and I feared that I would leave the sale empty handed, save for whatever volumes my wife manged to find. As I scanned the titles, however, my eye happened to catch Nisei Daughter. A surprising coincidence and since I was empty handed, I decided to risk 50ยข and pick it up. (Of course, I then managed to find two other minor acquisitions, but I digress...) It was another great find. It touches many of my interests in history: it's local, first person, set in the early 20th century and deals with immigration and cultural issues. It's a good book to share with my daughters as they learn about history. And it's just an engaging, well written book. So, this "accidental" find is now firmly entrenched on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Do you ever see the Hand of God in the mundane parts of your life? I mean, have you ever seen things come together so perfectly that you suspect there's a conspiracy afoot? Getting this book was one of those moments for me. You've probably heard of the Japanese internment, in which all of the people of Japanese descent living on the west coast of the United States were forced to move to concentration camps located inland. You've probably heard that it was a gross injustice fueled by racism. Well, I think so, too, but I happened to be privy to a conversation where an honorable, loving and (as far as I can tell) non-prejudiced woman whom was living in Seattle at that time put forth her opinion that the event was a justifiable war-time security measure. In the course of the discussion, she had mentioned this book and I had scribbled down the title, knowing that I would probably never have enough interest in the specifics of the event to pick it up. Well, time passed and I was picking over the remnants of the King County Library book sale. Nothing looked good and I feared that I would leave the sale empty handed, save for whatever volumes my wife manged to find. As I scanned the titles, however, my eye happened to catch Nisei Daughter. A surprising coincidence and since I was empty handed, I decided to risk 50ยข and pick it up. (Of course, I then managed to find two other minor acquisitions, but I digress...) It was another great find. It touches many of my interests in history: it's local, first person, set in the early 20th century and deals with immigration and cultural issues. It's a good book to share with my daughters as they learn about history. And it's just an engaging, well written book. So, this "accidental" find is now firmly entrenched on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf
Saturday, January 19, 2002
The Innocents Abroad, Volume 1
by Mark Twain
Occasionally I get tempted enough to read a real classic. In this case the temptation arose from PBS. Years ago, I saw part of a TV movie based on this book, an account of a European trip taken by Mr. Clemens (the real name of Mark Twain, for those of you who haven't had high school English) in 1867. I told myself then that I should either see the whole movie or read the book. Then, a few weeks ago, I saw a bit of Ken Burns' documentary on Mark Twain and decided it was time to crack open The Innocents Abroad. So I went down to the library and reserved it on the computer. Days passed, I got notice that my book was in and I went down to the neighborhood branch and came home with... a videotape of the TV movie. Guess I didn't look at the computer too closely. Well, I enjoyed the film in its entirety, noting a few scenes which seemed to be modern inventions, and then returned to the library to get the right item. I almost succeeded. I managed to check out Volume one of The Innocents Abroad. SIGH! Well, Volume 1, at least is great. I found out that a great deal of the teleplay has been altered. I can't fuss too much over it, because I'm sure Brooke Adams is more interesting too watch than whomever they might get to play the man who actually hung out with Mr. Clemens and the doctor on their excursion. But like almost any cinematic adaption, the book (or at least its foremost volume) is far superior. I love seeing the world through another's eyes and Mr. Clemens is a master of describing what he sees -- praising the magnificent and mocking the overblown. (We may sometimes disagree on what deserves praise or criticism, but I have a high degree of tolerance for my opponents if they're entertaining enough.) If I ever mange to find this at a library sale, I will definitely put it on my shelf. Assuming volume two doesn't degenerate into wothless dreck...
UPDATE: It didn't.
LibraryThing link
Occasionally I get tempted enough to read a real classic. In this case the temptation arose from PBS. Years ago, I saw part of a TV movie based on this book, an account of a European trip taken by Mr. Clemens (the real name of Mark Twain, for those of you who haven't had high school English) in 1867. I told myself then that I should either see the whole movie or read the book. Then, a few weeks ago, I saw a bit of Ken Burns' documentary on Mark Twain and decided it was time to crack open The Innocents Abroad. So I went down to the library and reserved it on the computer. Days passed, I got notice that my book was in and I went down to the neighborhood branch and came home with... a videotape of the TV movie. Guess I didn't look at the computer too closely. Well, I enjoyed the film in its entirety, noting a few scenes which seemed to be modern inventions, and then returned to the library to get the right item. I almost succeeded. I managed to check out Volume one of The Innocents Abroad. SIGH! Well, Volume 1, at least is great. I found out that a great deal of the teleplay has been altered. I can't fuss too much over it, because I'm sure Brooke Adams is more interesting too watch than whomever they might get to play the man who actually hung out with Mr. Clemens and the doctor on their excursion. But like almost any cinematic adaption, the book (or at least its foremost volume) is far superior. I love seeing the world through another's eyes and Mr. Clemens is a master of describing what he sees -- praising the magnificent and mocking the overblown. (We may sometimes disagree on what deserves praise or criticism, but I have a high degree of tolerance for my opponents if they're entertaining enough.) If I ever mange to find this at a library sale, I will definitely put it on my shelf. Assuming volume two doesn't degenerate into wothless dreck...
UPDATE: It didn't.
LibraryThing link
Wednesday, January 16, 2002
The Ringworld Engineers
by Larry Niven
This is a sequel to Niven's book Ringworld. I like it. It's good.
Check it out.
LibraryThing link
This is a sequel to Niven's book Ringworld. I like it. It's good.
Check it out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, LarryNiven
Saturday, January 12, 2002
The Church Before Christianity
by Wes Howard-Brook
Theological books by authors with whom I have theological disagreements can be quite unsettling. I can be going along, getting into what's being said when all of a sudden the author makes some statement that totally turns me off. Or in other cases, the author starts off by saying the "wrong" thing and I spend the rest of the book discounting what she or he has to say. Mr. Howard-Brook's tome kind of straddled the line in that respect. He admitted to being a "flaming liberal" (my phrase, not his) up front, and while that made me wary about what he had to say in the rest of the book, I had a great deal of respect for his plain declaration of where he was at. I was very intrigued by his topic -- a look at what the apostles intended the church to be as opposed to what has evolved over the centuries. But every time I started getting into his historical analysis, some phrase or concept would remind me that I disagreed with his view of history and scripture and I would have to reconsider his conclusions. Anyway, while I might agree with him that our churches today have gone astray from the original game plan, I'm not at all convinced that he's on the right track for reformation. (And of course, I must also admit that maybe there was no game plan in scripture for how to operate a congregation, outside of a few general guidelines.) Anyway, I'll rate this as waiting room material, though if you're looking for alternatives to the religious status quo, Wes Howard-Brook's voice is one that should also be heard.
LibraryThing link
Theological books by authors with whom I have theological disagreements can be quite unsettling. I can be going along, getting into what's being said when all of a sudden the author makes some statement that totally turns me off. Or in other cases, the author starts off by saying the "wrong" thing and I spend the rest of the book discounting what she or he has to say. Mr. Howard-Brook's tome kind of straddled the line in that respect. He admitted to being a "flaming liberal" (my phrase, not his) up front, and while that made me wary about what he had to say in the rest of the book, I had a great deal of respect for his plain declaration of where he was at. I was very intrigued by his topic -- a look at what the apostles intended the church to be as opposed to what has evolved over the centuries. But every time I started getting into his historical analysis, some phrase or concept would remind me that I disagreed with his view of history and scripture and I would have to reconsider his conclusions. Anyway, while I might agree with him that our churches today have gone astray from the original game plan, I'm not at all convinced that he's on the right track for reformation. (And of course, I must also admit that maybe there was no game plan in scripture for how to operate a congregation, outside of a few general guidelines.) Anyway, I'll rate this as waiting room material, though if you're looking for alternatives to the religious status quo, Wes Howard-Brook's voice is one that should also be heard.
LibraryThing link
Labels: WaitingRoomMaterial
Tuesday, January 08, 2002
The Chinese Word for Horse and Other Stories
by John Lewis, illustrated by Peter Rigby
I usually don't review the children's books I read because for me, they're like junk mail -- I read them because they're lying around and happen to catch my interest, they're usually very quick to read and rarely offer much food for comment. I make an exception for this one mainly because I bought it myself at a library sale and intended to keep it even if it was rejected by the wife and kids. That rejection, of course, never happened. Anyway, about the book. If you're not familiar with Chinese characters, a number of them seem to have evolved from pictures. For example, in the Chinese character for horse you can make out the four legs, the one for man looks like someone walking, etc. (The character for righteousness is the character for "I" under the character for "lamb", but that's another story.) Anyway, Mr. Lewis has written three short tales involving some of the more obvious characters and Mr. Rigby has done up some marvelous illustrations, subtly changing the character into a more recognizable picture that still evokes the style of Chinese calligraphy. How many characters either I or my children end up learning from this book, I don't know. But I do know we've had quite a good time enjoying the tales and illustrations. As I intended, this one has gone on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
I usually don't review the children's books I read because for me, they're like junk mail -- I read them because they're lying around and happen to catch my interest, they're usually very quick to read and rarely offer much food for comment. I make an exception for this one mainly because I bought it myself at a library sale and intended to keep it even if it was rejected by the wife and kids. That rejection, of course, never happened. Anyway, about the book. If you're not familiar with Chinese characters, a number of them seem to have evolved from pictures. For example, in the Chinese character for horse you can make out the four legs, the one for man looks like someone walking, etc. (The character for righteousness is the character for "I" under the character for "lamb", but that's another story.) Anyway, Mr. Lewis has written three short tales involving some of the more obvious characters and Mr. Rigby has done up some marvelous illustrations, subtly changing the character into a more recognizable picture that still evokes the style of Chinese calligraphy. How many characters either I or my children end up learning from this book, I don't know. But I do know we've had quite a good time enjoying the tales and illustrations. As I intended, this one has gone on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf
Friday, January 04, 2002
Harmony in Conflict
by Richard W. Hartzell
As long as I can remember, I've had an interest in other cultures, real or imagined. Whether I was "exploring strange new worlds" with a science fiction story or hearing of the challenges faced by an overseas missionary, I was fascinated by a different way of seeing things. But of course, this wasn't really exploring much of anything. I enjoyed the exotic trappings, but never really dug deeper to confront the basic beliefs of these cultures, much less challenge my own worldview. Well, as I've gotten older, I've been able to see things a little bit deeper, and this book has become for me a big step in that direction. Mr. Hartzell has resided for a number of years in Taiwan as a student of the culture and as a Chinese language columnist. Harmony in Conflict is the result of his experiences as he attempts to explain the Chinese culture to the wetserner who wants to live and work with the people of China. I was very surprised how alien the Chinese culture really was to me. Before I read this book, I had a tendency to think of people as being pretty much the same underneath all of the cultural trappings. Now I kick myself for not seeing earlier that even some basic concepts as truth, justice and logic vary between peoples. It was such an eye-opener for me that I would recommend it to anyone interested in dealing with people, Chinese or not. (After all, the book made me see my own culture in a new light as well.) Of course, you'll have to find your own copy of the book, because I'm sure my wife will insist I keep ours on our shelf.
LibraryThing link
As long as I can remember, I've had an interest in other cultures, real or imagined. Whether I was "exploring strange new worlds" with a science fiction story or hearing of the challenges faced by an overseas missionary, I was fascinated by a different way of seeing things. But of course, this wasn't really exploring much of anything. I enjoyed the exotic trappings, but never really dug deeper to confront the basic beliefs of these cultures, much less challenge my own worldview. Well, as I've gotten older, I've been able to see things a little bit deeper, and this book has become for me a big step in that direction. Mr. Hartzell has resided for a number of years in Taiwan as a student of the culture and as a Chinese language columnist. Harmony in Conflict is the result of his experiences as he attempts to explain the Chinese culture to the wetserner who wants to live and work with the people of China. I was very surprised how alien the Chinese culture really was to me. Before I read this book, I had a tendency to think of people as being pretty much the same underneath all of the cultural trappings. Now I kick myself for not seeing earlier that even some basic concepts as truth, justice and logic vary between peoples. It was such an eye-opener for me that I would recommend it to anyone interested in dealing with people, Chinese or not. (After all, the book made me see my own culture in a new light as well.) Of course, you'll have to find your own copy of the book, because I'm sure my wife will insist I keep ours on our shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf
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