J's Pages

This one is another, lesser sequel. It's fine waiting room material, but I think it's only psychological momentum that will make me read the next volume. I didn't find A Feast for Crows all that much fun to read. A number of the regular POV characters from this series are absent in this volume. This was a choice by Mr. Martin to keep the book a reasonable size, and the missing characters will be telling their stories in the next installment. The problem is, almost all of my favorites fall into that category. So it was a slog to read through those sections about characters I don't really like. (Though Mr. Martin did do a good job of adding some depth and internal conflict to one of those.) The overall saga progressed, but it really seemed to drag.

LibraryThing link

Labels: GeorgeRRMartin, SongOfIceAndFire, WaitingRoomMaterial

// posted by John @ 8:09 PM 0 Comments

In this one, Jonathan Waterman followed the Colorado River from its headwaters to its end. (I can't say "to the sea" because the Colorado actually ran dry before reaching the ocean.) He recounts the journey, interwoven with anecdotes from historical expeditions along the Colorado, the history of attempts to use water from the river, descriptions of the surrounding ecosystems, and musings of his mother's death. 

Having lived in well watered places all of my life, Running Dry was a depressing peek into another world. This book has a very environmental tone, as one might expect from a National Geographic publication. The outlook for the Colorado River basin is not pleasant. One thing that struck me was that the villain of this book was not just the big business utilities. Instead, the threat to the river was the needs and wants of millions of little people--homeowners, ranchers, fares, fishermen, tourists, and power customers.

Good message, but it's still just waiting room material for me.
LibraryThing link

Labels: WaitingRoomMaterial

// posted by John @ 8:00 PM 0 Comments

In the first paragraph of this volume of the Concordia Commentary, Dr. Saleska tells us that the word the Greeks use for "maker" is the same one they use for "poet". So with the idea set that God is the "poet of Heaven and Earth" (if we may so translate the creeds) he delves into a look at poetry: Why we write it, why is it in the Bible, how do we read it. Stuff like that. He then gets to digging into the Psalms. He formats his commentary into two sections. First he looks at the psalm from it's original perspective. Then he touches on how Christians might understand the text in light of Jesus and his life, death, and resurrection. What I found most notable, however, is the way Dr. Saleska translates the text. He doesn't necessarily follow the standard translations, but opts for a rougher, more literal translation. He reasons that the poetry of the Psalms is more emotional and that the broken sentences and standalone phrases you get with a more literal translations better expresses those gut wrenching feelings which fill the psalter.

It's one for my shelf.
LibraryThing link

Labels: ConcordiaCommentary, OnMyShelf, TimothySaleska

// posted by John @ 9:46 PM 0 Comments