What are you reading?

[Maokun]

I decided to take a break from srs business and started to read The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya novel. It's been really funny.

[Htom Sirveaux]

From those I listed above, I've started reading The Bird's Nest because it's the shortest and because I loved The Haunting of Hill [color="Blue"]House[/color]. This is shaping up to be very good indeed.

[rocklobster]

I have recently finished Sir Thursday, the fourth book in the Keys of the Kingdom series. I am now working on book 5, Lady Friday.

[uc pseudonym]

I'm still reading A Feast for Crows periodically, but I'm not driven to complete it given that it will be an indeterminate amount of time before the next book. Meanwhile I have nearly finished two other books.

Christian America and the Kingdom of God by Richard Hughes

I can't really say too much about this book without breaking our rules on political and theological debate. In general terms, I think it's a book many people would benefit from reading, but the biblical hermeneutic the author uses will probably be offputting to many.

One element of the book is non-controversial, so I'll elaborate a bit on it here. He gives a variety of results from surveys, demonstrating that Americans have been incredibly ignorant about the Bible basically as long as survey data exists. This is true even for those who self-identify as Christian, and even in periods of great cultural religiosity. His point is that most people culturally identify as Christian, but follow only a basically secular ideology.

Message aside, here are some fun statistics:
- Consistently in large polls, less than 50% of Americans can name one of the four Gospels.
- 75% believe "God helps those who help themselves" is from the Bible.
- 10% of Americans believe Joan of Arc was Noah's wife.

As significantly lighter reading:

Dave Barry's History of the Millenium (so far) by Dave Barry

I haven't read Dave Barry in eight years, so it's interesting to come back to him now and ponder humor styles. Though I rarely smile and never laugh while reading his book, I still appreciate some of the efforts at humor, especially the art of the aptly chosen non-sequitur. In the future I will probably not read his other books, but at least I have learned valuable facts such as that "Napoleon met his Waterloo at the Battle of Bunker Hill."

[familygibbs]

I have been reading a book by D.A. Carson called "How Long O Lord?: Reflections on evil and suffering". Heavy stuff, but very good for any Christian who wants to put evil and suffering into perspective.

[ich1990]

“The Untold Story of the New Testament Church” by Frank Viola

For many years I have been unable to make much sense out of the New Testament letters. Whereas the Old Testament is arranged fairly logically by genre and chronology, “Romans” through “Jude” was a confusing muddle in my mind. Dozens of people, dozens of churches, and multiple time frames worked together with locations that had different names depending on what language and culture referenced them to achieve a nigh perfect befuddlement. Alas, rather than put in the effort of sorting it all out, I read “Acts of the Apostles” when I wanted a narrative and treated the letters as random pieces of an arcane puzzle. Thankfully upon the completion of this short guide I was able to end this unhappy state of affairs.

“The Untold Story...” is a fairly successful attempt at integrating the early church letters into the narrative of “Acts of the Apostles” while adding a little bit of cultural background for clarity. For all it claims of being a story, however, it really isn't. It is a series of glorified prologues and epilogues, one for each of the letters, wrought from pieces of “Acts...”, the occasional extra-biblical source, and something Viola calls “mirror reading”. This “mirror reading” is pretty much exactly what it sounds like. Viola reads each of the NT letters and attempts to infer from it what the conditions of the early church were like. For instance, when Paul talks to the Roman Christians about how to deal with eating meat sacrificed to idols, Viola infers that the Roman Christians are having internal conflicts due to the issue of people eating meat that has been sacrificed to idols. I didn't particularly care for these additions because they were very repetitive and didn't add anything new or necessary to my knowledge of the letter.

While there certainly isn't a lot of meat to this book (even with the unnecessary extrapolations), I did find it to be a valuable resource when it came down to doing what it was supposed to do: putting the birth of the Christian Church (as told in the New Testament) into a time oriented sequence with a consistent naming schema. It doesn't aim to add much of anything outside of what is spoken of in the Scriptures, but it achieves its limited goals admirably. I especially recommended this book to new Christians who might be tempted to read the NT letters sequentially, as they appear in the Bible. Don't, use this guide instead. 9/10

Message aside, here are some fun statistics:
- Consistently in large polls, less than 50%]That is significantly worse than I imagined.

- 75% believe "God helps those who help themselves" is from the Bible.

Obviously if it is about God then it must be from the Bible. It certainly couldn't be from pagan mythology...

- 10% of Americans believe Joan of Arc was Noah's wife.

I would be very interested to know how this question was asked. If, say, the Joan of Arc question was of the true/false type, then it could just mean that ~20% of the people who answered the poll guessed randomly. That wouldn't be too shocking. If it was, say, a fill in the blank question, then I would be worried. Very worried.

[the_wolfs_howl]

Finished The Shadow Rising. F-I-N-A-L-L-Y It finally picked up towards the end and got exciting, and Perrin is by far the awesomest character ever.

Now I've started Children of Dune by Frank Herbert. It's lovely, remembering all the things I love about these books - the political intrigue, the barely-understandable conversations, the large amount of quotable lines. Plus, I like the writing and plot a lot more than Wheel of Time's.

[bigsleepj]

I'm still reading Le Carré's The Honourable Schoolboy, which is turning out to be quite a beast, but hopefully would be well worth it.

[Yamamaya]

One Kings Way Book two of the Hammer and the Cross series by Harry Harrison.

This is basically an alternate history book where a group of more civilized Vikings called the Way rule over England. Their leader is a Saxon named Shef.

I'll try to write up a summary later.

[Maokun]

- 10% of Americans believe Joan of Arc was Noah's wife.

I had been thinking of changing my avatar for a while but this finally made me decide.

I just started reading Mere Christianty which I had neglected to read before. It's shaping to be as good as most people agree, though several of the his claims in the few chapters re totally irrelevant for a self-proclaimed amoral person. Although, in all fairness, there's simply no ground for an amoral person to demand proof from a Christian so the whole argument would be moot.

[ich1990]

“Hood” by Stephen R. Lawhead

I have been a fan of Stephen R. Lawhead ever since I was given a handful of his books as an adolescent. My favorite of those writings, The Pendragon Trilogy, was a Christian retelling of the Arthurian and Atlantian myths, based on Lawhead's own historical scholarship. This scholarship, bolstered by Lawhead's collection of ancient one-of-a-kind books of history and mythology, allowed him to dodge all of the tired Arthurian tropes and messy love triangles and produce a unique and fantastic take on the old stories. With “Hood”, the first book in the King Raven Trilogy, Lawhead has performed a similar renovation, this time with the legend of Robin Hood.

On initial read, this book may come as a shock to people used to the “traditional” or Disney Robin Hood stories. Instead of an English locale (Nottingham, Sherwood, et al.), this edition of the story is set in Wales during the Norman invasion in the 1060's. While that may seem to be an odd choice at first, it works surprisingly well; after the initial adjustment period, I am sure most readers will agree that the setting is one of the strongest parts of the novel. For those still not convinced, Lawhead gives a reasonable (if brief) historical argument for his choice at the end of the novel.

Lawhead's greatest strength has always been his ability to transport the reader across ages and continents using his thorough knowledge of the details of ancient life and culture. That skill is shown here in full force. From his use of slightly antiquated vocabulary, to his subtle sprinklings of French and Latin (showing the linguistic barriers of the age), to the (readily detailed) meals his characters consume, the details are flawless –at least they seemed that way to this dilettante historian. Lawhead also does an admirable job including overt Christianity without being preachy, devolving into using stereotypes (the Religion is used for both good and ill), or violating the historical setting. Overall he is substantially more tactful in “Hood” than he was in The Pendragon Trilogy.

For all its merits, however, I must regretfully say that “Hood” is not a perfect book. The plot is quite slow and focuses largely on political intrigue to drive the story onward. The mid point of the book is especially languid, with Bran (Raven Hud) lying injured and somewhat delirious for an entire winter. This section is quite crucial to his character development, but seems dragged out. Being a book about thievery, conquest, and guerrilla warfare, it is surprising how little action actually happens.

Nonetheless, this book is highly recommended to fans of non-romance historical fiction or those looking for something new out of the the well-worn Celtic legend. It is a bit slow, certainly, and you will likely have to read several hundred pages before it even begins to sound like the Robin Hood mythos you know, but give it a try. Patience is requisite, but unless you are opposed to the genre it will be worth your time, especially considering its sequel... 8/10




“Scarlet” by Stephen R. Lawhead

This is the second book in the King Raven Trilogy, preceded by “Hood” and followed by “Tuck”. All of my compliments concerning the first volume in the trilogy still apply to “Scarlet”. More importantly, virtually all of the complaints I had with “Hood” are addressed in “Scarlet”. Gone are many of the over long passages of political intrigue and welcome are the occasional bow fights and hangings. Far from making “Scarlet” into unthinking action novel, these changes push the story into more balanced territory.

Another advantage “Scarlet” has gained over “Hood” is this volume's narrator, William Scatlocke (or Will Scarlet). Scarlet is as likable a character as one could hope for, and seeing things from his perspective is an upgrade, I think, from the much less homely Bran.

Unfortunately, Scarlet's first person perspective adds a bit of confusion. For instance, most of the book is written in first person and past tense, as Scarlet's memoirs. Once the story reaches the present time period (in which Scarlet finishes his memoir), however, Scarlet continues (as narrator) to speak in first person and past tense. Instead of being merely being a narrator in his own story, he becomes the narrator of the story in which he is living! Additionally, there are chunks of third person, present tense narrative scattered throughout Scarlet's tales. Instead of these pieces being set during the same time as Scarlet is telling his tales (as one would expect), they are set during the time of Scarlet's stories. I found this all to be needlessly confusing.

“Scarlet” is a substantial step up from the first volume in the trilogy, but fails to be perfect. If you went ahead and made your way through “Hood”, go ahead and reward yourself with “Scarlet”. This series remains recommended to most readers of fantasy, legends, and adventure books. 9/10



“The Day I Swapped My Dad for two Goldfish” by Neil Gaiman and Dave Mckean

“The Day I Swapped...” is yet another superb illustrated kids book from the duo that created the “The Wolves in the Walls”. As its brethren likewise attest, “The Day I Swapped...” shows admirable skill from both the writer and the illustrator. The story, while not as interesting as “The Wolves...” is well crafted and shows excellent attention to details, such as in the brother and sister interactions. The art is, like usual, quite beautiful and fits the atmosphere of the story perfectly.

If you want a children's book but are worried about “The Wolves...” being a bit more then your child can handle, look no further than this volume. Even if you consider yourself an adult, it wouldn't be a waste of time to take five minutes and look this one over. 9/10

[Maokun]

I, for one, feel really thankful for your thoughtful and detailed (not to mention superbly well written) reviews and analyses. I had not heard of this Lawhead person before, but now I'm very interested. Thanks again!

[ShiroiHikari]

I finished Tess of the d'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy a few days ago. Some of the prose in it is fantastic, and the story is gripping, but very, very depressing. Overall, a great read, though.

[Yamamaya]

[quote="ich1990 (post: 1341469)"][b]“Hoodâ€

[MasterDias]

You will not find yourself struggling through his books due to a massive amount of historical details.

Really? He seemed a bit...wordy...to me.
Although, the only thing I've finished from him was his Patrick novelization, so I'm not an expert on his works.

[AngelicTotoro]

'Dead Man's Folly' -Agatha Christie.
I've already finished, 'Why Didn't They Ask Evens?' 'Appointment With Death' and 'Murder In Retrospect' all last week.

[ich1990]

I, for one, feel really thankful for your thoughtful and detailed (not to mention superbly well written) reviews and analyses. I had not heard of this Lawhead person before, but now I'm very interested. Thanks again!

Thank you for your kind words. I glad you were able to get some use out of my reviews.

I am also a big of fan of Lawhead's novels. I've read the Paradise War Series, the Celtic Crusades series, and the King Raven series. His historical details are impressive and they do not become burdensome. You will not find yourself struggling through his books due to a massive amount of historical details.(I have read books like this before which are very difficult to get through. An example would be some of Steven Pressfield's later works.)

Wait till you read Tuck. It was a very satisfying ending to the King Raven triology.

Excellent. I was beginning to think I was the only fan. I have read the Pendragon Trilogy (favorite), Grail (least favorite), Byzantium (very good adventure novel though not realistic), and the Dragon King Trilogy (interesting although standard fantasy). I look forward to Tuck, although it will probably have to wait while I go through some books I have sitting around at home.

Really? He seemed a bit...wordy...to me.
Although, the only thing I've finished from him was his Patrick novelization, so I'm not an expert on his works.

I think Lawhead is quite wordy (especially when describing food), but as Yamamaya said, he takes care to avoid drowning the story with historical details. That said, I have not read "Patrick", but both amazon reviewers and most of my friends think that it is one of the worst books Lawhead has written. That may have had some bearing on your experience.

[GeneD]

[quote="ich1990 (post: 1341469)"][b]“Hoodâ€

[That Dude]

Hey Ichi have you ever read the Empyrion Saga or Dream Thief by Lawhead? I'd recommend them as well. They are actually sci-fi, these books were the ones that got me into Lawhead.

[the_wolfs_howl]

I'm about three-fourths of the way through Children of Dune, loving it! I actually felt emotionally attached to Leto and Ghanima for one chapter, which is saying something because it's practically impossible to feel close to any of the characters in the Dune books.

And I've just got the Conclusion left of the something-something of Dramatic Writing, which is a very un-helpful book about writing plays. Except for the first chapter, about premise, all the stuff in it was stuff that's said much better and in greater detail in other writing books. The author is very good at explaining why a certain thing is necessary in a story, but not very good at all at explaining how to go about achieving these things. Also, he almost seems to be talking down the reader at times, though that might just be my imagination.

And I've started Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. Awesome book! I started it because I really liked the movie, and I'm very pleased with it so far. It's the perfect book-lover's book, with characters who revere books as much as I do, and with quotes from a different book at the beginning of each chapter. And even though I know what's up with the whole "Silvertongue" thing and I know who Dustfinger is, it's still exciting to approach the story from a different angle.


As for Lawhead, I don't think too much of him. I've only read the Dragon King Trilogy and the first book of the Song of Albion trilogy, so maybe I haven't seen him at his best, but I really don't like his writing. I'm not talking about the content, just the way his writing sounds in the mind. It just seems...boring, somehow. Normally, the events in Albion would be enough to get my heart racing, but the writing just made it seem sluggish and tiresome. I can say, though, that I like how he integrates Christian beliefs into his stories.

...*prepares to get shot down by Lawhead fans*

[ich1990]

Hey Ichi have you ever read the Empyrion Saga or Dream Thief by Lawhead? I'd recommend them as well. They are actually sci-fi, these books were the ones that got me into Lawhead.

I was aware he wrote sci-fi before he found his niche in fantasy, but I never tried reading any. I guess I assumed that they would be inferior because they were his early novels. If you recommend them, though, perhaps I should give one a try. Which do you think is the best?

It just seems...boring, somehow. Normally, the events in Albion would be enough to get my heart racing, but the writing just made it seem sluggish and tiresome. I can say, though, that I like how he integrates Christian beliefs into his stories.

...*prepares to get shot down by Lawhead fans*

I won't shoot. Lawhead definitely has a distinct writing style and I can see how you could be put off by it. I happen to be someone who really enjoys it, however, and consider his originality (in writing cadence and flair at least) to be an asset. Something to decide for yourself, I guess.

[Yamamaya]

As for Lawhead's writing style, some people are going to like it, others are not. It's all a matter of taste.

Also I would recommend you read at least the first book of the Celtic Crusades(the two sequels aren't nearly as good.) His description of the fall of Jerusalem to the hands of the Crusaders is breathtakingly violent. It truly describes the horrors that actually occurred at the end of the First Crusade.

One of the things I find refreshing about Lawhead's work is his use of Christianity. In most Medieval Historical Fiction it seams that Christian is either dealt with in a very negative fashion or the prose as a whole is apathetic towards religion. Lawhead is one of the few that presents Christianity in a positive light while exposing the darker underbelly of the Catholic Church's power structure during the Middle Ages.

I only read the first book of the Dragon King Chronicles and found it rather amateurish which is understandable since it was his first book. Still, the characters were very sterotypical and the symbolism was a bit too blatant rather than well developed.

[That Dude]

I was aware he wrote sci-fi before he found his niche in fantasy, but I never tried reading any. I guess I assumed that they would be inferior because they were his early novels. If you recommend them, though, perhaps I should give one a try. Which do you think is the best?

They are definitely rougher style-wise because they are earlier works but I'd definitely recommend reading the Empyrion Saga. It's very interesting how things play out in the two books in the series. I won't spoil it or anything, but it had some nice twists that got my attention.

[Derek_Is_Me]

I'm reading anything I want to right now. XP

[the_wolfs_howl]

Finished Children of Dune by Frank Herbert. What a doozy of an ending! You know, I think something clicked when I neared the end of this book. The Dune books have a lot of stuff about humans with prescience becoming "prophets" and basically "gods" that form religions around themselves so they can control the Empire that way. There are obvious similarities to Islam, and I just realized how our perceptions of the God we serve alter the way we look at everything else in the universe. I'm not going to go off on a big tangent right now, but it really got me thinking.

I'm now halfway through Inkheart, and I think I like it more with every chapter. It's exciting, and I like how Meggie is honest about being scared to be in a real adventure for once. Too often, the heroes of a story seem to be so brave they're not even scared when their lives are in danger. Meggie seems like a real person because of her fear, and that doesn't make her a coward at all.

I've also started The Living by Annie Dillard. Dillard is one of my favorite authors; I really like her style, but I've only read her essays and autobiographical writings before, so this novel is branching out into new territory. I can already see her style coming out, but it's very interesting to see how she handles characters outside herself for once. The novel's about a family who makes their way west in the 1850s, but since I'm only two chapters in, I can't really say what course the story's going to take.

[rocklobster]

Just finished Joshua and the CHildren.

[mysngoeshere56]

I finished Frankenstein the other night. I thought it was awesome.

[ich1990]

“Real Estate Riches” by Dolf de Roos

I am far from an expert in real estate, and I can't claim to have made a fortune in it as de Roos can (although I suspect his income is greatly supplemented by selling this book, which is part of the bestselling Rich Dad, Poor Dad series, and doing seminars). I did, however, grow up working with and for my father's real estate investing business. This practical experience (limited though it may be) means more to me then de Roos' talk, therefore I feel qualified to label “Real Estate Riches” as one-third snake oil and one-third quality information, with the remainder being comprised of de Roos eating his words in light of the most recent recession.

Where de Roos is most accurate is in the basics, such as some of his “Golden Rules”. These are fairly common sense things that are worth mentioning such as “always buy from a motivated seller” and “be counter-cyclical”. Elsewhere, he drops to mere salesmanship, such as when he passionately argues that investors should use the maximum amount of mortgage debt possible – and never pay it off. In this part, he makes a good case of the benefits of such a position but completely glosses over the dangers of highly leveraged positions (dangers that have become all too apparent during the recent recession).

Normally I would say that this book is one sided and biased to the point of not being much use to those who are just beginning to learn about real estate investing. Ironically, however, since the real estate market has entered its most recent decline this book has become much more useful; many of its errors have become obvious to even the most inexperienced. If a prospective reader already has some knowledge of this field, and therefore is able to carve the useful bits out of the showmanship, I recommend “Real Estate Riches” -- if only as a reminder of the basics. Aside from that, this volume is only really valuable as an inspiration tool to remind the investor why s/he is in this market when the rainy days come and as a bag of ideas to sift through in search of a good one. It is possible to make a career out of real estate investing, I have seen it done. Just be wary when taking de Roos' word for it. 6/10




“Retire Rich and Retire Young” by Robert Kiyosaki

I continue to hear good things about the Rich Dad, Poor Dad series of financial books, so I decided to read another despite my disappointment with “Real Estate Riches”. This time I chose one written by the series founder himself, Kiyosaki. In many ways this book is an improvement over “Real Estate Riches”. Most significantly, it is much more realistic about the risk associated with financially leveraged positions. After reading de Roos claim that a substantial dip in the housing market was virtually impossible, it was refreshing to read Kiyosaki not only acknowledge that it could happen but advise leveraging finances cautiously or even focus on building other types of leverages.

The aim of “Retire Rich...” is quite different then I expected. This volume is heavily focused on the psychology of wealth building rather than the specifics. In order to do something extraordinary like winning a marathon, one has to win in the mind before they can win in the body. Kiyosa argues (and I agree) that it is similar when investing. In order to do something extraordinary like retiring rich and young, one has to think extraordinarily. This book attempts to help the investor see from that different point of view, usually by quoting the wisdom of his fictitious Rich Dad and contrasting it with his Poor Dad. The psychology is interesting and generally helpful.

Unfortunately, “Retire Rich...” has some very weak chapters following the psychology section. The worst is in the stock and options trading chapter(s). For options, he gives just enough of an introduction to be dangerous. Options can make unbelievable amounts of money in little time with little capital, but they can lose an investor's money even faster. When he suggests that options are useful as hedges or “insurance” for paper assets, I agree with him. When Kiyosaki claims that he does not worry about money any more because he can go and sell a few options and make five grand in five minutes, however, he is distorting the truth at best and lying at worst. I know people who have studied and practiced options trading for a dozen years --true professionals-- who still struggle to make a living by trading options. This market eats newbies alive. To be fair, the options chapter does have a disclaimer, but I am worried Kyosaki's cheer leading is enough to make people ignore it.

The biggest downside to this book, however, is that, like most finance books, it is a commercial enterprise. That is, the focus is on selling more books and more products then it is on actually helping people retire early and rich. Don't misunderstand, it does contain some good information and some fascinating psychology, but it also contains dozens of “product placements” and shameless self promotions. For instance, one of the items this book recommends the most (it is mentioned at least every chapter) is a board game that Kyosaki has designed. It costs $200. Kyosaki's seminars are also highly lauded in “Retire Rich...”. They cost $5000 dollars. Ultimately, I recommend being wary when an investor makes his fortune selling books about investing rather than actually investing.

According to my own experience, “Retire Rich...” is an interesting mix of good psychology, good advice, bad advice, and lots of self promotion --with a dose of Objectivism tossed in for kicks. I recommend it on the condition that it is taken with a grain of salt and that the reader trusts the psychology it promotes more than the products. 7/10

[the_wolfs_howl]

Inkheart's trundling right along, and The Living is getting harder and harder for me to put my finger on what the point is. The first family's story was told and wrapped up with the death of the father, and now I'm on a different guy's life story. Apparently, this novel is looking at various families in the area, perhaps to show the differences and similarities in different walks of life in this setting. Dillard has an odd way of writing this novel; she hardly ever writes direct dialogue, and whenever she does she almost always switches back to indirect after a line or two. And she lists what happens in their lives with a strange detachedness, as if the reader is watching these people through a fogged glass, and everything's cold and distant. I've never read anything quite like this, and I can't decide yet whether I like it or not.

[Shao Feng-Li]

Just finished To Kill a Mockingbird

Very good book, but I still can't remember what the title has to do with the story... XD