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

Tamar's Trouble

Remember what I said in an earlier post about Christian fiction? Well, I have only found one modern Christian author I like and that was only one book.  Granted the book was one of the best I have ever read and I highly recommend it to anyone who will listen (Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers).  Please listen - you will not be disappointed.  But enough about a book I have already read...

So another book I got for Christmas this past year was another Rivers book.  It is a set of novels called A Lineage of Grace.  Each of the five novels tell the story of some woman in the lineage of Christ.  They offer an imagained fuller account of their lives based on the sparse Biblical renderings.  With Drew's permission, I will review each of these as though they were separate novels in their own right.  First up is Unveiled the story of Tamar.  For the Biblical account of Tamar (the one married to Judah's sons, not the sister of Judah) you can go to Genesis 38. As for Rivers' retelling of her story, I come down on the side that she was faithful to the Biblical account, which is good in my book. 
The best part of reading Rivers' version is the historical emotional context you gain from her.  The book of Genesis, by its very nature as a historical account, leaves out much of the emotion and cultural context of the actions of the major players.  More than once whilst reading Unveiled, I found myself pondering the deeper emotion Tamar must have felt and the way God truly worked a miracle through Tamar's actions.  I have always been kinda weirded out by the story in Genesis, but the historical, cultural backround really helped to paint a picture expressing Tamar's devotion to her new family in a culture only offering her shame and derision.  I found myself remembering the promise to come to Judah later in Genesis, "the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from beneath his feet until Shiloh comes," and thinking how narrowly Judah missed the hope of promise by the way he dealt with Tamar.
For those reasons, this is a good book to read.  I would never tell anyone to shirk God's account of Tamar, but I do feel that once one has grasped all there is in the Biblical account, Rivers' story is a good companion.  To that end, the book includes a study of sorts to dig deeper into the Word above all Words.  For that I am appreciative to Mrs. Rivers and look forward to reading the other stories in her book on the family of Christ.

Review: 5.5 out of 7

-L

It counts when it's during this year!

Leah thought I might be cheating because I read a book that I read last year. I think that if I've read it during this year then it should count. When you're reading epics it's going to take a few times of reading through the books to capture everything. Robert Jordan, Tad Williams, and Glen Cook are all exhaustive. However, the Glen Cook books that were read this year were new, but that doesn't mean that I won't go back and re-read the first few this year. I guess that I really like reading the books that I've read 10,000 times.

That brings me to this latest book. I just finished reading I Am Legend by Richard Matheson which I read a couple years ago after the movie came out. It's a short book about the end of civilization as we know it. Fancy that, I've been reading a lot of post-apocalyptic books. ;-) Robert Neville is the last man alive, but he's not alone.....

The book is a great little read. It's to the point. And nothing like the movie. This isn't a movie review site, but I cannot believe that a director/producer cannot figure out how to do a movie based strictly off of this book! I guess there's a fear that it's going to be too bleak, or too quiet, but viewers have shown that they can enjoy movies like that(see that crazy Tom Hanks movie where he's on an island). The book keeps you interested from beginning to end even when Robert is out doing simple scavenging. Matheson did a good job of bring your attention to the book, and then not allowing the book to get drawn out.

Rating: 7 CB's - The Boogey Man, Wolfman, and Dracula all have the same thing in common with Robert Neville. Thank you Matheson for naming aptly.