Book Reviews

Authors and literature that have shaped my understanding and my outlook:

Agatha Christie: Her murder mysteries are entertaining, but her autobiography is honest, amusing, and profound.

I like living. I have sometimes been wildly despairing, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow, but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.

C. S. Lewis: A brilliant man. It is evident that every phrase within his books and every word of advice comes from personal struggle and experience. He saw the world: its beauty, its pain, its compromise, and the subtle humor in living.

Paul: He's smart, passionate, and genuinely in love with Jesus Christ. I have a feeling he and C. S. Lewis would have had some interesting discussions were they not hindered by the timeline.

The Book of John: Less narrative, more spiritual. Its metaphors present such a wealth of understanding. God uses them to make profound connections. He teaches me again and again.

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and will be in you. (14:16-17)

Jane Eyre: contemplating the balance of passion verses reason never grows old. Eyre is an extremely well-developed character and the novel values internal conflict far more than plot development, even though it spans a lifetime.

The Picture of Dorian Gray: presents a moral and ethical discussion in the most subtle, creative of ways. Every time I read it, I am left speechless, deep in thought.

A Tale of Two Cities: The best demonstration of selfless love ever presented in literary format.

It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.

The Awakening: What is empowerment? When we stand at odds with society, how can we overcome? Is suicide evidence of true enlightenment or of cowardice?

The Poisonwood Bible: I questioned the sincerity of my faith and the motives of my heart. Corruption of the heart is sometimes more pronounced within a facade of Christianity.

Listen. To live is to be marked. To live is to change, to acquire the words of a story, and that is the only celebration we mortals really know. In perfect stillness, frankly, I’ve only found sorrow.

Watership Down: I would have never expected a book about the lives of rabbits to pull at my heart strings or immerse me so completely in the story.

My Sister's Keeper: In an effort to save the life of their ailing child, a family genetically configures their next daughter to provide necessary transfusions. But at what cost? And could they ever truly love their youngest child as much as the one they'd created her to save? Intriguing ethical conundrum.

Atonement: You know what they say about assumptions. Briony's life long battle for relief from the guilt that has consumed her and destroyed others is moving and thought-provoking.