After a Thorough Review...

About a year ago I received the first of many emails detailing how Philip Pullman's book The Golden Compass was being made into a movie and that it was written to convince children not to believe in God and to forward the email to everyone I knew so that they would stop their kids from reading it and make libraries take it off their shelves and stop the movie from being made.

Hmm, first of all, the only one of those goals that actually sounded feasible was the first one. Second, I knew good God-fearing people that had read this book that were, somehow, not atheists after finishing it. Instead of forwarding the email on, I decided to read the book first before passing judgement.

Well it took me a seriously long time to get it done, but I finally finished the book tonight, researched the intentions of the author, etc. and had to come report my findings. First let me say that if Philip Pullman had written this book to turn kids into atheists, he did a really poor job of it. There are many things in the book (witches, souls that live outside the body, etc.) that I don't believe in, but remember, it's a fantasy book. It's not supposed to be real. There are definitely some weird ideas in the book, but nothing that would even suggest to me that God doesn't exist, let alone convince me of it. After reading up a bit on some Philip Pullman interviews (where he is said to have admitted to trying to turn readers into little atheists) I find it more plausible that his aim was, as he stated, to show how when churches become too intertwined with political power, bad things can often result. This has happened throughout our own history, so I don't think it's such a stretch to imagine it happening in a fantasy world.

In the end, the book was interesting, not amazing, but a good story, although be forewarned, it's a trilogy and the "end" of the book was not a very good end if you don't plan on reading them all. I was glad that I gave it a chance though, since it preaches about as much religion as Harry Potter.

Lisa Wingate overhaul

After reading on Maren's blog that Lisa Wingate continued her Tending Roses stories...I went and checked a few out! My library doesn't have Drenched in Light, so that will be my next purchase. If anyone has read it, let me know how it is!

Good Hope Road

The tornado that levels the town of Poetry, Missouri, does more than change the topography of the small town; it changes lives. Jenilee, a 21-year-old with no real future, helps her elderly neighbor, Eudora, who is grateful for her rescue from the cellar of her demolished home, although perplexed by the identity and generosity of her savior. Jenilee has been the object of scorn because of her family's poverty and the abuse she's suffered at the hands of her father. Now Eudora and the rest of the town are in for yet more surprises as Jenilee makes herself useful at the armory, helping the injured and creating a wall of the photos and lost documents she has recovered so that the rightful owners can preserve treasured memories in the face of destruction. Jenilee's courage helps Eudora realize that she, too, can change.

**I really enjoyed this book. It gives a great perspective of those that live in smaller, gossipy-type towns and how destruction can change lives and bring everyone together.

The Language of Sycamores

This is a continuation of Kate's sister Karen. She has just lost her job and there is a possibility that her cancer has come back. She is struggling until she goes back to the farm. She realizes that the things she has given up for her job weren't worth it.

**I enjoyed reading it and seeing what choices she makes. They also meet some long lost family members that they never knew from the Good Hope Road book.

A Thousand Voices

Dell Jordan has spent the last two years after graduating from high school in Europe. Her adopted family has hopes of her going to Juilliard to study music, but Dell has reached an impasse. She needs to understand her past before she can envision her future. At 13, after living a life of poverty, she was adopted by Karen and James. She is raised with love in Kansas City, yet feels isolated, always thinking of herself as the odd one out with her Native American features. So she sets out to the Kiamichi Mountains of Oklahoma, where she was born, looking for her Choctaw roots. Arriving, by chance, during a festival, Dell finds what she was looking for—people who look like her celebrating their rich cultural heritage, making her proud of who she is and the people she comes from.

**This was a great book. She has always been the outcast and it's nice that she was able to meet her ancestors and people that she is like. I wish that the ending was more finished...yes, maybe a bit like Cinderella...oh well!

Holy Books Batman!

Aaron being gone last weekend combined with my already increased reading pace means I have about a bajillion books to post on, so they will be excessively short reviews I hope. Here are some of the ones I remember in no particular order.
These Three Remain was the 3rd in a series that tells the Pride & Prejudice story from Darcy's point of view. They had been mildly interesting (mostly to know more about Georgianna) but this last one was painful to get through and I skipped a lot. Darcy was ridiculously lovesick at all times, but I'd already started the series...









The third Fablehaven was much better. An interesting story with new characters, etc. It actually gave a bit of closure to a few things while still leaving a gaping hole for the next book to fill. I read it in 2 days.













The Land of Elyon books are some I've seen for awhile but never read, so I started them. The first was fine. Fairly short and simple, not overly engaging, etc. I started the second and realized it was a lot like the first and resolved to not read any further in the series, but the 2nd & 3rd books are tied together, so I read that one too. Then I found out there's only 1 more, so I'll most likely be reading it next.



Here is a book I really didn't want to read (for book club) but chose to go for it anyway. I like books where the problems are solved by the end of the book (or at least most are) which means I don't usually read true stories. Sue me, but I want to be entertained, not taught usually. This was an amazing true story about a man who failed while trying to climb K-2 (A ridiculously tall, hard mountain in Pakistan) and ended up finding his way in life. He now builds school for children (most notably girls in an almost 100% Islamic society) in Pakistan and Afghanistan. It starts in 1993 and continues up until 2006 I think. It was AMAZING and really really interesting. It totally kept me going and you will be stunned by the amount of change 1 dedicated man can make happen. It also gives a very different view on Islam, the Middle East, and even a bit on the Taliban than we are currently getting in the media. Don't worry, it's not promoting the Taliban or anything, it's just very interesting to see how they got their footing in these countries and the ways that one man is able to deal with them in a peaceful manner. I know this wasn't short, but go read this book. It's the most worth it out of all of these!

This is another book club one. It's a pioneer story a bit like A Lantern in Her Hand for those that have read that, although it's quite a bit more shocking. I don't think I would necessarily label it as a "dirty" book, but it is written as a woman's absolutely personal journal and things like "the marriage bed" and other topics find their way more frequently than you would expect into this woman's writings.








I had heard that these were supposed to be like the next Harry Potter books, but I'm sorry to say they fall far short. They are about a boy who learns he can do magic and gets sent to a magic school, but they don't seem to be as well thought out as the Potter books where everything ties together in the end. I'm not sure why people are after
Charlie Bone and it all ends up fairly confusing and ordinary as far as writing style.

The Poisonwood Bible

It took me three different times checking this book out from the library before I was finally able to finish it. Through no fault of the book's, mind you- it was just my crazy life. I finally had enough time to sit down and finish reading it last week. Once I got into it, I couldn't put it down. It's a really interesting story about a family of Baptist missionaries who go to the Belgian Congo right before its fight for independence in the 60's. It's a very captivating and thought provoking book.

On a different note, I bought this book for Jake for Father's day. We heard Dave's radio show a couple of times during our big drive in May, and his sister is really into his system. It's a very common-sense method of managing your money. Nothing he says is really all that new, but the way he says it really drove home fore me why money management is so important. It's inspiring us to make some changes and do what we can right now.