Saturday, April 16, 2016
Catherine, Called Birdy
by Karen Cushman
First read in September 2006.
I don't know what I was thinking last time. I put this sucker on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
First read in September 2006.
I don't know what I was thinking last time. I put this sucker on my shelf.
LibraryThing link
Labels: OnMyShelf
Saturday, April 09, 2016
This is Awkward
by Sammy Rhodes
This is also an amusing little book by a campus minister, child of divorce, husband, father, and internet celebrity. He made me feel old, because I didn't get all of his pop-culture references. I was able to get the point of the book, however. We all have those moments of awkwardness, when we're painfully aware of how limited and imperfect we are. We usually try to hide it the best we can. But Pastor Rhodes points out that these moments of awkwardness can also be moments of honesty and moments of connection to God who loves us even at our most awkward.
Check it out.
LibraryThing link
This is also an amusing little book by a campus minister, child of divorce, husband, father, and internet celebrity. He made me feel old, because I didn't get all of his pop-culture references. I was able to get the point of the book, however. We all have those moments of awkwardness, when we're painfully aware of how limited and imperfect we are. We usually try to hide it the best we can. But Pastor Rhodes points out that these moments of awkwardness can also be moments of honesty and moments of connection to God who loves us even at our most awkward.
Check it out.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut
Friday, April 01, 2016
Wicked
by Gregory Maguire
I'm not a fan of the Oz books. I've read a couple, but they didn't impress me enough to read the series. So why did I grab this volume, a re-imagining of the Wicked With of the West? I have to confess that I succumbed to advertising. When the musical came to town, years back, the simple graphic of the green woman smirking under the brow of her hat grabbed my attention. I heard a bit about the story and the idea of the young witch, Elphaba, going to boarding school with Glinda, the Good Witch, intrigued me. It was a low level intrigue, of course, so instead of seeing the play or at least hunting down a copy of the book, I merely grabbed a copy for $1 at the book sale.
Anyway, the book. I found the beginning rather unpleasant--dark and dismal. The characters weren't all that interesting or sympathetic. But the story took off for me in the second section and I was drawn in by the milieu. But then, at the end, I again didn't care for where the plot and characters were going. I think the main problem was that Wicked is an exploration of the nature and definition of evil. For me, as a Christian, evil is no big mystery. 1) We're bad, God's good. 2) Jesus saved us, God forgives us. 3) We try to be good. 4) If we fail--especially in those grey areas, go back to 2).
It is worth checking out, however.
LibraryThing link
I'm not a fan of the Oz books. I've read a couple, but they didn't impress me enough to read the series. So why did I grab this volume, a re-imagining of the Wicked With of the West? I have to confess that I succumbed to advertising. When the musical came to town, years back, the simple graphic of the green woman smirking under the brow of her hat grabbed my attention. I heard a bit about the story and the idea of the young witch, Elphaba, going to boarding school with Glinda, the Good Witch, intrigued me. It was a low level intrigue, of course, so instead of seeing the play or at least hunting down a copy of the book, I merely grabbed a copy for $1 at the book sale.
Anyway, the book. I found the beginning rather unpleasant--dark and dismal. The characters weren't all that interesting or sympathetic. But the story took off for me in the second section and I was drawn in by the milieu. But then, at the end, I again didn't care for where the plot and characters were going. I think the main problem was that Wicked is an exploration of the nature and definition of evil. For me, as a Christian, evil is no big mystery. 1) We're bad, God's good. 2) Jesus saved us, God forgives us. 3) We try to be good. 4) If we fail--especially in those grey areas, go back to 2).
It is worth checking out, however.
LibraryThing link
Labels: CheckItOut, Oz
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