A Little Old Time Detective Novel

I am chronically late to the party.  Whatever the party may be, I am one of those procrastinating, walking in 5-20 minutes late kind of people.  This is never more true in my life than in literature and film.  It takes a long time for me to get around to watching the "it" movie or reading the besteller.  So long, in fact, that I often don't get around to it.   
I am currently refusing to buy any more books until I have cleared away many of the books on my "to read" shelf.
These two realities in my life are leading to great new discoveries...and for that I am happy.
The discovery this week: Wilkie Collins.  As part of my Classics Challenge, I decided to read The Moonstone, A Romance.  The subtitle of the book seems a misnomer for most of the book, but I guess is fitting for the ending.  Part of the beauty of the story is it could be called The Moonstone, A Mystery or The Moonstone, A Character Study just as easily.  The romance is definitely in the background (it can get a little soapy every once in a while); but it really is a detective story (of the English sort).
Whilst reading this one, I found myself guessing at the resolution endlessly, changing my decision of whodunnit at many turns.  The gift of Wilkie Collins is the sleight of hand created by the numerous narrators and the red herrings placed throughout.  What emerges while reading is a layered storyline of mystery upon mystery, but you start questioning if they really are mysteries or character quirks.  It is truly something to behold...like an old time Lost for the generation of the 1850's (mind you I never have gotten around to watching Lost, but I am told it is maddening in it's mysterious storylines). 
The multiple narrators charged with telling all they personally know of events is delightful.  Collins employed the right narrators at the right time and devoted more pages to the ones he must have known the reader would like better.  My favorite narrator (the dead-wife-despising house-steward) begins and sums up the book.  He gets what he calls "detective fever" as the pages fly by, but his fatal flaw preventing him from actually solving any mystery is a constitutional "superiority to reason."  He implores the reader on many an occasion to avoid it, once stating: "Cultivate a superiority to reason, and see how you pare the claws of all the sensible people when they try to scatch you for your own good."  He is also entirely loveable for his unadulterated devotion to the book Robinson Crusoe.  It is his bible, his prophet, his comforter.  Collins did not create an entire cast of characters with odd personality traits, but the few characters he created are memorable. 

Rating: 5.75 out of 7

-L

Crazy Love

I have been slowly working my way through Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God over the last week or so.  The book describes a Christian life that is crazy to the world, but inspired by a crazy love from God.  I used to go to Francis Chan's church and always enjoyed the way he taught his sermons with passion, with realism, and with a fervent heart set on waking up the congregants to their complacency.  This book is the outflow of Chan's ministry to his local community.  It challenges the believer and the lukewarm to wake up and take the words of Christ seriously, to consider thier lives in light of the Word of God. 

As you can see these are things you really ought to read for yourselves, instead of me distilling them down for you.  But I will share one of the things that impacted me most while reading: a new perspective of stress and worry.  Here's a small note:

Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it's ok to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance. They declare our tendency to forget that we are forgiven , that our lives here are brief, that we are headed to a place where we won't be lonely, afraid, or hurt ever again, and that in the context of God's strength, our problems are small indeed. 

He goes on to give one of his great parables to expand on this thought, but what this says is what is at the heart of this book. It tells of the greatness of our God, the greatness of His love for us, and what most Christians give Him in return (half-hearted, faith-failing 15 minutes of devotion). 

Overall, the book is a great read, even for the Christian who already has it "figured out."  If you find this Christian, please point him out to me, I would like to see what that really looks like.

Rating: 5.5 out of 7

-L  

Robert Louis Stevenson - Two-For

It's good to have something different every once in a while. This week I decided to bounce back a few years and go with a couple classics from Robert Louis Stevenson. When I went to our bookshelf, I had every intent to pick up James Fenimore Cooper(guess I was interested in three name authors) and read Last of the Mohicans, but that didn't last. Cooper didn't fair to well. He's very text-bookish and I don't really feel like that at the moment. Stevenson wasn't, and I found both of the books I read VERY enjoyable.

Treasure Island (Puffin Classics) was the first book by Stevenson that I read this week. I know that most of the last couple generations will think of The Pirates of the Caribbean when they hear pirate, treasure, booty, and pieces of eight. It's unfortunate b/c this is an excellent classic for one to read at any age. It's a great adventure story told from the point of view of a young man(or teenager, I guess there's a small spread). Treasure Island is incredibly well written and keeps you moving from one point to the next without any real boring gaps. I do believe that the only thing I would have done differently is REMEMBER TO STAY AWAY FROM ONE-LEGGED SAILORS! Just don't give any ground.. tsk tsk.

Next book for the week was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. It's a little shorter than Treasure Island, and helped supplement some pages for the week. Where I felt that TI was well written, Jekyll & Hyde was just brilliant. I am not a great writer, but I can see great writing when I need to. Stevenson uses punctuation in a manner that is sorely missed in this day and age. It is a agreeable to me. The story itself is also good; it isn't overshadowed by the punctuation. It wasn't what I was expecting though. Whenever I think of Jekyll & Hyde I see a normal doctor and a monster. You do have both of those, but the monster is somewhat short on stature..... makes up with it on hatred though. It's told from the perspective of a lawyer and through a few letters from Jekyll himself. It's a little abrupt though. Beware of doctors that hide themselves in their cabinet, act erratically, and end up disappearing. It's not good for business, or your health.

"Mr Utterson, The Lawyer, was a man of rugged countenance, that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty and embarrassed in discourse; backward sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary, and yet somehow lovable." 

Rating for Treasure Island: 8.5
Rating for Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde: 7.5(10 on punctuation)

-D

Next on the horizon: A fantasy book from Christmas that I received from my Aunt Nell, and a book from booksneeze that I need to review.

Life of Pi

It was my first clue that atheists are my brothers and sisters of a different faith, and every word they speak speaks of faith.  Like me, they go as far as the legs of reason will carry them - then they leap. - Pi Patel

I tried to be really clever and type the pi symbol in my title.  I say tried because you can see the result. 
This week's book for me was Life of Pi by Yann Martel.  I have heard good things about it from different sectors, and Stacie brought it over one day for me to read.  It has been sitting in the office for a while and I had never even looked at the bookleaf to figure out what it was about.  The bookleaf is intriguing in it's complete vagueness.  Don't worry about having to find a copy to read it, here it is in it's entirety:

A Boy
A Tiger
And the vast Pacific Ocean

This is a novel of such rare and wonderous storytelling that is may, as one character claims, make you believe in God. 

Can a reader reasonably ask for anything more?

This struck me because I already believe in God and wandered what story other than the one I have already heard could make a believer out of an atheist.  It also struck me because I LOVE when I don't know anything about what I am about to experience (be it movies, music, or books).  I love a good surprise!

Did I find what I was looking for while reading this book?  Yes and no.
I did think the story was remarkable, well told, even if it was a little tedious toward the end (although I do think this too was an author's device).  Did it make me a believer?  No.  I already have a knowledge and faith in a well-defined God, not the/an undefined god of this book.  The story plays well into the fate/hand of God  ideas of many stories that have gone before (e.g. he never would have been prepared for that if he hadn't done this), but stops short somewhere along the way.  I was also put off by the multi-god religion the main character builds for himself, especially considering they are mutually exclusive faiths. 
I did enjoy the air of mystery the book jacket provided.  Each page truly was an adventure until a little past two-thirds in.  By this time, I was done with the surprising story and was ready for the denoument.  Just get there already!  The first part of the book was what I found most intriguing over all.  If you are a person who likes to start a book and then lay it down, this could be a candidate.  Just read the first half and you will have lots to chew on. 

In regards to the athiest-turning claim of the book jacket, there are some great quotes in the first section of the book.  One is at the top of the post, but there really could have been a few more. 

Rating:  4 out of 7

-L

The Classics Challenge

Whilst travelling around the internet in search of like-minded bloggers, I came across a Classics Challenge and I was intrigued.  I signed up and started scanning our shelves to figure out just what would be read for the challenge.  I have settled on the entree option with the bonus.  I have until October to get it finished and I am looking forward to checking off some of the books on my list.  Currently I am thinking of authors with only a couple of titles in mind.  Here is the rundown:
1. Melville
2. Woolf - Mrs. Dalloway
3. Kingsolver - The Poisonwood Bible
4. Forester
5. Collins - The Moonstone
Bonus: Life of Pi

I will not be reading in this order, and I do reserve the right to change my mind at any time.  Any suggestions of other classics I must read?

-L

Mini Review: Stephen King

Reading long series makes it a little tough to give in-depth reviews every time I read the next book. Unfortunately, I think we'll have a little bit of that on here with Jordan, King, Williams, Cook, and Abercrombie. In the next few reviews, I'm going to try to read some out of series books - Defoe, Melville, and maybe some Lovecraft.

Back to the review, The Waste Lands (The Dark Tower, Book 3) takes up where we left off with Roland and the others. It was a very intense read for the series. Of the first three, this one has had the best pace and the greatest desire to read through the entire book without putting it down to do all the normal stuff in life - bathroom, eating, talking. King writes out his characters well.

I do have a couple gripes. Close to the end, the story seems to just leap forward without telling what happens. One moment, the group is split up and the next they're at their destination. And that's right at the moment where some heavy stuff is happening. It felt incomplete. Leah thinks that he'll just tell that story in one of the next books, but it could be a little out of place. My other gripe is how the book ends. I'm all for having a cliffhanger, but this one was way too abrupt. At least give us a little conclusion. I would be beside myself if I was reading these when he was writing them!

Rating: 8 - can't get enough. I'm sad that I have to put it down for a while and read some other books.

-D

To Nook or not to Nook

Thought I might share my thoughts on the Nook. I've read a few of the books I've reviewed on the eBook reader and, through those reads, have gotten enough time with it to get a good feel for it. It'll end up being a pretty decent review (like I've really been that harsh in any of my other reviews). The idea to pick up an eBook reader came up as an idea for Leah's Christmas present, but it ended up being something I wanted.... sorta sounds like a guy.

Leah purchased the Nook for me for our Anniversary, Christmas, Valentines Day present. We had presents planned for our Anniversary, but never followed through. On Christmas, we thought we'd try something new and pick up a present if we saw something we really liked on our Texas trip. That didn't really happen. I guess that when you pick your own gift you end up being a little too picky. We will not be trying that out again. =\ And Valentine's Day was thrown in there just for the heck of it.

Head on over to Barnes & Noble to check out the Nook - They have plenty of pictures and stats that they can throw out to you. I didn't really get a lot of face time with any of the readers, but decided on this one because I liked the looks of it, I could put other eBooks on it, and it did a couple more things than the Kindle did. It's a good size - it doesn't feel too large or too thick. The Nook comes with a rather large selection of eBooks on the Barnes & Noble site. I was surprised that the Amazon collection contains some books that B&N doesn't have and vice-versa. I figured that anything the Kindle had the Nook would have(they have a larger catalog). The prices are pretty good as well - usually it's a little less for the eBook format than the paperback and sometimes a whole lot less. The screen is also very easy to read.

Pros: Looks, Size, Library, Accessibility, Customization, Accessories

Cons: Battery Life(seems a little fast)

Con but not Nooks fault: Formatting - the last book I downloaded from B&N did not utilize the entire screen. About every three page turns equaled one page. That's not annoying, but when 50% of the screen is used it is. I would have expected that B&N would have had everything formatted the same - especially when it's from a book series.

Rating: 9 of 10 - If the battery life appeared the live up to what's specified on the website then I would give it a 10. It has exceeded expectations, and become a permanent fixture in my Library. When I was deciding in investing in the Nook, the worry was that I would not get used to having a book in my hands. That fear's been allayed. I still miss seeing the books on the shelves though.

Note: Ultimately, this was a personal preference. I have one friend with a Kindle, and another friend with a Sony eReader. They enjoy both. I would recommend reading a few reviews before going and buying one sight-unseen. B&N has the nook on display. Try to borrow a Kindle from a friend. Or go over to Borders to check out the Sony.

-D