Thursday, April 30, 2009

The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks




Title:
The Reformed Vampire Support Group by Catherine Jinks

Pages:
362.

How it was obtained:
New at Barnes and Noble.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf:
0 days.

Days spent reading it:
4 days.

Why I read it:
I was drawn to the cover (I know, I know). But I was also interested in reading another book by Catherine Jinks that sounded interesting, but it was quite a bit longer. I figured I'd try out her writing to see if I liked it with the shorter book.

Brief review:
The Reformed Vampire Support Group was a pleasant read. It was not the greatest book I ever read, but it was fairly original, told as a fun narrative, and full of great sarcasm and wit. I enjoyed reading it.

The story is a blend of comedy (filled with Vampires who don't drink human blood, instead they fang hamsters), mystery (a vampire is killed in the first few chapters, who killed him and why drives the story), and vampire lore (they DO sleep during the daylight hours, but they are not super-strong or particularly cool). I liked how it blended vampire lore and at the same time tried to make its own lore. Jinks wrote this book with some great twists on who vampires are and what they do.

There were a few parts of the story that bothered me. The storytelling gets interrupted by the fact that the vampires sleep during the day. At two points the vampire telling the story from a first person point of view has to shift to a narrative role to recount what happened during the day. I found these shifts awkward, and not as well written as the rest of the novel. Also, the first half chapter of the book is written from a 3rd person P.O.V. but then it shifts to a 1st person, I did not understand why Jinks did not just start from the 1st person. But these are minor flaws in what I thought was a great story. Worth reading if you want a quick, light read that makes fun of the vampire genre more than anything else. As a youth pastor, I also thought there were some great points made in the book about resisting temptation, walking according to the flesh, and overcoming with the help of strong community. But that was just my take on some of the themes in the book. Interesting to me, maybe not to other people.

All in all, The Reformed Vampire Support Group will deliver some chuckles, gives a fun story, and was worth reading. I'm sure a sequel will come out if this book is even slightly successful. There were plenty of fun characters to work with and their quirkiness is worth exploring in additional books. This is one book that didn't suck. (I couldn't help myself! I needed one great vampire pun).

Favorite quote: "If being a vampire were easy, there wouldn't have to be a Reformed Vampire Support Group." (there were a lot of funny passages and dialogue, but I could not find any of them that made sense alone when trying to make this review, so you get this little gem)

Stars:
4.5 out of 5.

Final Word:
Fangtastic.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

The Road by Cormac McCarthy




Title:
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Pages:
287.

How it was obtained:
Purchased at Borders.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf:
None.

Days spent reading it:
1 day.

Why I read it:
I heard that The Road was a post-apocalyptic book and that it was stark and good. That's all I need to convince me to read a book.

Brief review:
I am scared to write this review because I know I cannot communicate how unbelievable I think The Road is. Cormac McCarthy may easily be one of my favorite authors ever, and I've only read this one book of his. Reading McCarthy was an experience I will not soon forget. People say he's like a cross between Hemingway and Faulkner. He's sparse with some details and conversations like Hemingway, and you feel like there's something more there. And yet, at the same time his words are almost poetic and describe the scene and situation with a beauty that I have found unmatched in the books I have read. Faulkner is often described sort of like this from what I've read about him. I have only read one Faulkner book, so I'm no expert. The writing was smooth, deep, beautiful, and powerful. At the same time there are moments in The Road that are deeply disturbing and unbelievably dark. I loved it.

The short synopsis is that The Road is about a man and his son (never named) who make their way to the West coast along a road (duh!). However they do it after an apocalyptic event, which leaves humanity in shambles. There are evil men on the road. They hunt for people to enslave and sometimes to eat. It's a stark world. But the man and boy push on bravely despite the fact that they are slowly starving and have few prospects for long term sustainability. The hope of reaching their destination is what drives them forward in the midst of great despair. They encounter hardship, loss, and unbelievable evil in their journey. But they also inspire the reader to have great hope in the power of love and loyalty. The boy is a great foil to all of the evil around him. He is loving and caring even to people he does not know. He shows great compassion and trust when the world outside has never shown him these traits. He obviously gets these lessons from his father who is jaded, but tries to teach his son how to have hope and love even in the darkest situation.

I believe The Road will be considered true literature and read in schools in the years to come. It was a gem that I hoped would be good, but did not expect to be as good as it was. It was perhaps my favorite book I have read in the last year, and definitely near the top of my top 10 books ever. I started it at 10 pm, trying to finish a little while Susan finished up a book of hers. I did not stop until almost 3 am when I finished it. I felt compelled to finish the story in one sitting, and I would definitely recommend that kind of experience to the reader if possible. There are no chapter breaks, only occasional hard paragraph breaks through the text. It is one continuous story, which is part of the driving force of this book.

I loved The Road, but must warn potential readers there are some harsh realities of evil depicted in this book. They are not glorified, but there were some very ugly moments in the book. Not for the faint of heart, but worth the read. Because in the midst of great despair there is a story of great hope as well. Just wonderful. I think there are many great Christian themes presented in this book, even if not intentionally Christian (although perhaps?). Depravity, sinfulness, hope, redemption, love, and justice all show up, just to name a few. This is a book that provokes thought and reflection. There is a great depth to the themes that are presented, and I can easily say it is worth reading and then taking time to reflect on the themes McCarthy writes about. I highly recommend.

Favorite quote: He thought each memory recalled must do some violence to its origins. As in a party game. Say the word and pass it on. So be sparing. What you alter in the remembering has yet a reality, known or not.

Stars:
5 out of 5.

Final Word:
Beautiful.

25 Books Done...

I am amazed that I have finished 25 of the books on this list within about 6 months of starting. I thought, for whatever reason, that I could get through almost the whole list in 6 months. I don't know why, that was obviously a stretch for my skills. Susan probably could have done it. But now I'm impressed at how far I have gotten. But my new goal is to finish all of the books within a year of starting. I think I can do it if I pick up the pace just slightly (although some of the books at the end of the list are ridiculously long).

Anyways, I have allowed myself to buy a few books to celebrate. That clause was in the rules, at 25 books I could get a handful of new ones and add them along the way. So I have about 7 books that I'll be adding to the list, but I won't number them with the original list.

The Patrick Challenge by the numbers so far....

Original List:
25 books finished from my list.
1 book by audio.
8474 pages read.
3.58 average stars.

Additional Books:
9 other books finished.
1728 pages read.
4.39 average stars.

Totals:
34 books.
10202 pages.
3.98 average stars.

Saturday, April 25, 2009

Book 25: Gracias! A Latin American Journal by Henri J. M. Nouwen




Title:
Gracias! A Latin American Journal by Henri J. M. Nouwen

Pages:
188.

How it was obtained:
I picked up Gracias from Half.com.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf:
9 months.

Days spent reading it:
3 days.

Why I read it:
There are multiple steps in why I read Gracias! First, I love Henri Nouwen's writings. Second, I read a few excerpts from Gracias! in a Henri Nouwen collection and found some of his reflections interesting. Third, our youth group went on a short term missions trip to Peru, and Gracias! is about Nouwen's time in Lima, Peru. So it seemed like a great fit for me.

Brief review:
Gracias! was a little harder to read than I was anticipating. It's one thing to read a coherent book on a particular topic, it's quite another to read the journal writings of a person as they are developing some of those thoughts.

Henri Nouwen is a Roman Catholic priest who was a successful professor at Yale and Notre Dame. He gave up the academic life and started searching for a different type of ministry. So he went to South America for about 6 months. 3 months in Bolivia for language study, 3 months in Lima, Peru as an exploratory trip to see if he would like to serve there for a longer period of time. Nouwen's insight into human behavior, including his own, is invaluable. He is very open and vulnerable in his writings, which is what draws me to him. However, these journal entries are not a systematic thought about anything in particular. So there are occasional glimpses of great insight. But its in the midst of the mundane of everyday life.

Was it thought provoking? Yes. Was it sometimes boring? Yes. Did it have interesting insights about life and how we live it? Definitely. Am I glad I read it? Mostly. Would I recommend it to others? Not unless they were die-hard Nouwen fans. Check out his other works first, and if you really want to fill in other parts of his life, then pick this journal up to read about his time in South America.

I had one interesting thought after reading this journal. Nouwen ministered in Latin America when Liberation Theology was flourishing. It was getting huge. And Nouwen listened to some lectures by Gustavo Gutierrez, a founding theologian of Liberation Theology. What struck me was this, Liberation Theology has some similar elements to the current Emergent Movement. I am not saying they are synonymous, but simply that they have some similar elements. I also don't think these things are necessarily bad, perhaps the Emergent Movement is taking some of the good from Liberation.

So what are those elements you ask? 1. Extreme concern for the poor. 2. Reframing salvation in terms of freedom from oppression (closely linked to concern for the poor and oppressed). 3. Ortho-praxis (right action) is emphasized, sometimes over orthodoxy (right doctrine). 4. I don't know if this is simply the Catholic Church, Liberation Theology, Latin American culture, or Nouwen's own observation, but Nouwen was well aware of the fact that ministry must be done in small community and outside of the church walls back in the early 80s. This theme is a huge part of the Emergent movement. Do ministry with the people in their environment, live missionally. It seems that Nouwen was doing this well before it became a buzz word like it is today, almost 30 years later.

Now this is not a hard and fast rule. Both movements have many different strands. And this is clearly not a research paper (although, now that I think about it, it could make a very interesting one), just some observations that I had while reading this book. Do with them what you will.
If you do not know what Liberation theology was (is?) or what the Emergent movement is, don't worry about it. This is just one of my quirky interests.

Favorite quote:
"What moves me most in reflecting on these opportunities is that they lead us to the heart of ministry and mission. The more I think about the meaning of living and acting in the name of Christ, the more I realize that what I have to offer to others is not my intelligence, skill, power, influence, or connections, but my own human brokenness through which the love of God can manifest itself."

Stars:
3 out of 5.

Final Word:
De nada?

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Book 24: The Shaktra by Christopher Pike




Title:
The Shaktra by Christopher Pike

Pages:
334.

How it was obtained:
Christmas present to Susan.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf:
3 years.

Days spent reading it:
3 days.

Why I read it:
After reading Alosha, I almost decided not to continue this trilogy. I was a little disappointed. However, my desire to complete things got the better of me, and I picked up The Shaktra as originally intended.

Brief review:
The Shaktra is the second book in the Alosha trilogy. I was disappointed in the first book, but was quite surprised by the second. I'm not sure what the difference was, but Shaktra exceeded my expectations.

The story moves along a bit quicker I think, and the images in the book are more unique and memorable than in the first book. For instance there are these great creatures in the book called scabs, which are like jellyfish that float in the air and suck the brains out of their victims. That's awesome in my book. Although Pike draws out some of the basic questions of the book through the whole book (like who or what is the Shaktra?), he does move the plot along.

One thing that was kind of odd was how little Pike used some of the main characters from the first book in this book. A troll and leprechaun are constant traveling companions of Ali, but they do very little besides whimper and complain in this book. I mean, come on, you have a freakin' troll in your entourage, use it!

But overall, this book delivers in a way that the first book in the trilogy did not. And for me, that is huge. Most trilogies that start great have trouble in the middle section, this book wobbled a little, but was more solid than its origins.

Favorite quote: "And it was a great treat to hear a troll giggling, because he sounded like he was about to throw up."

Stars:
4 out of 5.

Final Word:
Unexpected.

Friday, April 17, 2009

Book 23: Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov




Title:
Prelude to Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Pages:
528.

How it was obtained:
Christmas gift from Ben and Jen a few years back.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf:
3 years.

Days spent reading it:
5 days.

Why I read it:
I started reading the Foundation novels awhile back, and at some point I asked for them for Christmas. I received this great book, but was unable to read it due to my somewhat strange habit of almost always reading books in the order the author wrote them. Although it is a prequel, Prelude to Foundation is one of the last Foundation novels Asimov wrote. SO I had to get through 5 others before I could even start this one.

Brief review:
Prelude to Foundation is chronologically the first book in the Foundation series. The story centers on the character of Hari Seldon, who is by far one of the better characters Asimov has created. He is memorable, likeable, and unique.

Although Prelude to Foundation is one book, its really a series of short stories as Seldon travels across Trantor fleeing from Imperial power that wants to control Seldon so it can control the future. As I stated in my previous posts, Asimov does great short stories (Foundation, the first book the author wrote in the series, was actually a group of four short stories that were published in a Sci-Fi magazine). He has interesting ideas and fun places to visit. However, in my opinion, Asimov struggles with longer plots. He has trouble bringing a longer book to a satisfying conclusion. So in this book the individual chapters are great, but the overarching plot is shoddy.

In Prelude, we see Seldon in a number of different environments that he explores, then leaves. However, it seems like nothing is really gained at any one location. But the stories in those locations are interesting. In one place all the people have their heads completely free of hair, including their eyebrows. Asimov uses stories like these to discuss culture, anthropology, taboos, and how humans rise or fall to these social forces. Some of the time its interesting. Other times I was bored or tired of being told for the hundredth time how humanity needs to grow out of its prejudices (whether they be gender, social, economic, race, etc. related).

The overarching story was a little weak. Once again Asimov oddly ties in his foundation series to his Robots series. I found the connection forced and strange yet again (as I discussed here about Foundation and Earth). But this book was much more readable and more enjoyable than Foundation's Edge or Foundation and Earth. I would recommend it as a worthy successor to the Foundation series, even if its not quite as good as some of the earlier works.

Favorite quote:
"Thalus, Emmer--A sargeant in the armed security forces of the Wye sector of Ancient Trantor. Aside from these totally unremarkable vital statistics, nothing is known of the man except that on one occasion he held the fate of the Galaxy in his fist."

Stars:
4.5 out of 5.

Final Word:
Foundational.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Book 22: Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson




Title:
Peter and the Shadow Thieves by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.

Pages: 557.

How it was obtained:
I got this for Susan as a Christmas present.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf:
3 years.

Days spent reading it:
1 week.

Why I read it:
Susan and I really enjoyed Peter and the Starcatchers, a interesting retelling of the Peter Pan story. So we picked up the sequel as well.

Brief review:
Let me start off by saying that I LOVED Peter and the Starcatchers. I thought it was a brilliant telling of the origins of Peter Pan. Peter and the Shadow Thieves is a continuation of that story.

At times Shadow Thieves is as good, if not better than its predecessor. At other times--not so much. The new enemy introduced, Lord Umbra, is a brilliant addition to the story. He is evil, cunning , and aware of his own power. Tinker Bell (who is introduced at the end of the first book) is also a great addition to the tale.
Captain Hook (another fun character), while still in this book, is relegated to a side-story with the other lost boys.

My biggest complaint about Shadow Thieves: the book is too long. Its dull at points, the story drags in others. I wish writers would learn to cull their works down to more manageable sizes. Has anyone else noticed that books keep getting unneccesarily longer and longer? But the nice thing about Shadow Thieves is that the chapters are blessedly short, a few pages at most. This keeps the story going, even in its slow times.

I enjoy this retelling of Peter Pan. Its more about his early years and its told in a fun way. It was not quite up to the bar set by Peter and the Starcatchers, but it was still fun. Lord Umbra was a great addition to this cast of characters and makes this installment much more interesting than if he was left out.

I would recommend this book to those who enjoy the story of Peter Pan, and especially to those who enjoyed Peter and the Starcatchers. It's young adult, but it has enough going on for a full adult to enjoy.

Favorite quote:
About Captain Hook--"A glimmer of an idea began to glow in his sinister mind, and the more he pondered it, the brighter it grew...Finally, the rage that had engulfed him for days was gone, and the joy of pure evil filled his calloused heart."

Stars:
4 out of 5.

Final Word:
Memorable.

Friday, April 3, 2009

So what have you been reading?

Have you ever been talking to someone you're trying to impress and they ask you "So what have you been reading lately?" And you freeze. Your mind goes blank. Sure, I've been reading a lot of books lately, but none of them seem to be able to surface in your mind.

Well, it happened to me recently. The only book I could remember writing about was Knuffle Bunny. There are 21 good books (some classics) on this list, and I pull out Knuffle Bunny? While I'm not ashamed of Knuffle, its not exactly top-shelf material either. I can just see how that conversation goes:

Person I need to impress (PINTI from here on out): So what have you been reading lately?

Me: Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale.

PINTI: Oh, what's that about.

Me: About a baby who doesn't speak and misses her Knuffle Bunny that she misplaced at the laundromat.

PINTI: Sounds, ummm, interesting.

Me (Becoming desperate, needing to impress): Yeah, it is. Beneath the kid book facade, its an existential piece about how we lose ourselves when we misplace that which is most dear to us. And in that crisis we recognize the wonderful gifts that God has bestowed on us through his guiding hand. You should check it out, it changed my life.

PINTI: Oh, that's sounds so much more interesting. I just thought you were reading a kids picture book.

Me: Well, its easy to make that mistake, but today's authors are getting philosophically deeper and aiming at younger audiences. Our children are the most discerning audience. I mean, try to impress a 3 year old--that can be a tough crowd.

PINTI: Thanks for sharing that. I'll have to check out this Nuffle Bunny.

Me: It's pronounced Kah-nuffle. And your welcome.

Thankfully I pulled out something a little more profound, but if I was stuck with Knuffle, I was going to make it count.

Soooo, what have you been reading lately?