Book 47: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Title: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett  

Pages: 983

How it was obtained: I picked it up for a quarter at the library.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: 2 years.

Days spent reading it: 9 days.

Why I read it: I think my dad first recommended this book years and years ago. And while Oprah's recommendation created a buzz around this book, I don't read books because Oprah says so. I was interested in the epic scale of the building of a cathedral in medieval Britain.

Brief review: Here is an epic book about life, death, struggles, victory, revenge, and love. The core of the story revolves around the building of a new cathedral in Kingsbridge, England. Follett has created wonderful characters and has a compelling plot. There are many ups and downs throughout the novel for our protagonists, but the general direction is always up for the heroes. While Follett definitely gives the characters adversity, the reader always has a suspicion that the good guys will overcome. Progress will always be made. But even this predictability is alright because the depth of the characters changes with each new trial.

At first I thought I loved this book. But as I got towards the end, I realized that I am fundamentally at odds with a number of Follett's main ideas. I realize that the church in this time period was messed up. But in this book, one gets the idea that the church then (and today by inference) was only interested in the power it could gain for itself. True spirituality is completely missing from most of the Christian characters. The exception happens to be one of the main characters. Prior Philip is always written in a positive, if slightly naïve, light. We come to love Prior Philip, and I think perhaps Follett did too, which is why Philip stays pure, even in the midst of the rest of a corrupt system.

My other problem with this book is Follett's depiction of love. He seems very antagonistic to how the church has defined marriage. Marriage is only a technicality that the church enforces, in his view. In fact, Follett points out the church's "hypocrisy" about love multiple times stating that the monks could enforce marriages, but have no idea what true love was because they themselves could not marry. The truth is Follett's idea of love is often superficial. His characters are attracted to each other, have sex, and are in love. Little else is said about their "loving" relationship. His characters do sacrifice for love's sake, but are always regretting or whining about that sacrifice. I could go on, but I won't.

My last word on this book is this: I would have highly recommended this book to anyone until I started hitting the numerous adult situations that are in this book. There is a lot of sex going on in this book, and Follett sometimes goes out of his way to describe what is going on to the finest detail. Completely unnecessary and unwanted, but it ties into his view of what love and marriage are.

Even with that, The Pillars of the Earth is an epic book. It is a compelling historical novel that is difficult to put down. I would recommend it with the above caveats about its content and themes.

Favorite quote: In both cases, weakness and scruples had defeated strength and ruthlessness.

Stars: 4 out of 5.

Final Word: Grandiose.

Max by James Patterson

Title: Max: A Maximum Ride Novel by James Patterson

Pages: 309

How it was obtained: I bought it with Susan.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: 6 months.

Days spent reading it: 2 days.

Why I read it: It is the next book in the apparently unending Maximum Ride series.

Brief review: This fifth installment of the Maximum Ride series goes back to the heart of the first few books. It's style and content were more akin to the origins of the series. It was definitely an improvement over the last two books (Saving the World…, and The Final Warning), but it still does not quite recapture the magic of the first two books. I guess we can't have everything.

The best part about this book, the EXCESSIVE talk about Global Warming has been dropped. Max and her flock still deal with environmental issues, but it's not as blatant or forced as it was in books 3 and 4. On the down side, I think Patterson still cannot quite figure out who his antagonist is in this series. Is it a faceless corporation? Or do we have a specific mastermind behind the scenes? And as he struggles to find a main antagonist he struggles with the henchmen that have been changing in the last few books as well. He just cannot seem to find the right kind of bad people because he keeps creating and discarding them. Although you won't hear me complaining that he did not bring back "The Uber-director" from The Final Warning (he was just plain silly). But I believe that if this series is going to change from mediocre to great, Patterson must find an antagonist worthy of Max and her flock. They are such great characters, there has to be an equally great foil to oppose them.

This book almost makes me believe that this series could get better. I am almost convinced, but it just was not quite as great as I was hoping. Actually, I thought it was going to conclude the series, but it definitely did not do that. There is plenty of space to continue this series for a long, long time. Let's just hope it keeps getting better and not getting worse like The Final Warning.

Favorite quote: "It's a real, living creature, and according to our telepath, it's full of rage and a desire to kill." We all looked around for a minute until we realized that the 'telepath' was Angel. Well, 'telepath' sounds better than 'creepy little mind-reading kid,' so I was cool with it.

Stars: 3.5 out of 5.

Final Word: Better.

Book 46: Servants of the Servant by Don Howell, Jr.

Title: Servants of the Servant: A Biblical Theology of Leadership by Don Howell, Jr.

Pages: 307

How it was obtained: I bought it from the bookstore when I was at CIU.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: 5 years.

Days spent reading it: Read on and off for 5 years.

Why I read it: Dr. Howell was a professor of mine at Columbia International University. I really respected him, and looked forward to reading his book. Parts of this book were assigned in some of the classes that I was taking during seminary and I thought that they were good chapters.

Brief review: Servants of the Servant is a book about Biblical Leadership. In this book, Don Howell develops a biblical theology of leadership by creating leadership profiles of OT and NT leaders. Howell does a good job of taking the biblical text and drawing out practical applications about leadership. These leadership profiles are a core strength of this book. I especially like how each chapter ends with a one-page summary of the key elements of leadership that are developed in a particular character's life. In addition to these profiles, Howell also looks at the life and ministry of Jesus with an extended treatment. While I thought these chapters on Jesus' ministry were well researched and would probably be considered the heart of the book, they did not interest me as much as the leader profiles. Perhaps I liked the simple patterns of the profile chapters over the longer evaluation of Jesus' ministry and teachings.

Overall I thought this book was well done. The chapters are simple enough for a layperson to understand except for the first two chapters, which are word studies in Hebrew and Greek. However, it is clear that this is a work for the academy. There are copious footnotes and details for this to be a solid resource at the college and seminary level.

I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to learn what leadership looks like when developed through a Biblical Theology paradigm. Pastors and those in ministry could certainly profit from many of the leadership profiles that are included in this book. This book might be a bit heavy for the average person, but the time spent is well worth it.

Favorite quote: "Samson's adult life fails to fulfill the promises of his youth as he egregiously violates all three regulations of the Nazarite. Pious parents, a happy youth, early impulses of the Spirit, and a special identity do not guarantee spiritual success in later life. No lasting redemptive fruit survives his demolition activities."

Stars: 4 out of 5.

Final Word: Solid.

The Last Colony by John Scalzi

Title: The Last Colony by John Scalzi

Pages: 320

How it was obtained: I bought it on my new Kindle!!!!

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: 1 week.

Days spent reading it: 2 days.

Why I read it: It is the next book in the Old Man's War series.

Brief review: The Last Colony is the continuation of the story that began in Old Man's War. I have enjoyed the series so far. I love how John Scalzi writes. He has great plot and characters.  And he's funny, which is always wonderful.

In Scalzi's stories, humans are not the only sentient beings in the universe. They are actually a small portion of the universe's population. And all of these alien races are fighting for every scrap of world out there. In order to stop the fighting a coalition has formed. No more colonizing planets, in essence a freeze on colonizing is declared. Anyone who resists is destroyed. So, being stubborn like we are, the humans decide they will not kow-tow to alien forces. The humans plan to establish a colony on a planet called Roanoke. And in a smooth move, when the colonists warp to their new home, they realize that they have been warped to an entirely different planet. The colonists find out they are a part of the galactic power struggle and have been put in hiding to embarrass the coalition. That's when the story really takes off as Roanoke colony pushes the universe to the brink of war. Always fun to read about!

I enjoyed the book a lot. It was not quite as original as Old Man's War or The Ghost Brigade, but it was enjoyable. I look forward to reading more of Scalzi's work. He has a great imagination and is definitely a Sci-Fi author to keep watching.

Favorite quote: "Neither Jane nor I were under the illusion that we could create universal harmony through dodgeball, of course. That's a little much to rest on the shoulders of a game played with a bouncy red ball."

Stars: 4 out of 5.

Final Word: Engaging.

Book 45: The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

Title: The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien

Pages: 365

How it was obtained: I borrowed it from my parents. The cool part is that I found the original receipt in the back of the book. One of my parents (dad?) paid $11.39 at Walden Book on September 17, 1977 (the year it was released). This is a first edition hard back I have in my hands.

Time spent on the "to read" shelf: A few years. I think I bummed it from my parents when I got married, 5 years ago.

Days spent reading it: 5 days.

Why I read it: I liked The Lord of the Rings (who doesn't?), and my parents had this lying around the house. So I snagged it and figured I would read it one day.

Brief review: This is a difficult book to review. For starters, it is not a novel. It is more in line with ancient epic mythologies. Think Homer or Ovid. So reading it was a beast. Not that exciting. But it is a comprehensive overview of the complex world that Tolkien created. This book tells the tale of the world from its creation up through the events recorded in the LOTR.

The problem is that each tale is told in a very archaic language (thee, thou, etc.). I mean it really feels like you've broken open the 1611 King James Bible, only it is about elves and dwarves. It is hard to explain, but Tolkien makes you think you have picked up a classical tale of the olden days. Too bad it is told as dry as toast.

Plenty is written through the internet about The Silmarillion. It was published by Tolkien's death by his son Christopher. It is probably very different than Tolkien intended, because he died before he completed it. It has received shaky reviews ever since. People cannot seem to agree—is it a work of genius or is it a bloated mess? I would say somewhere in between.

There are glimpses of wonder in this compilation of stories. I loved some of the last tales in the book. The tale of Beren and Luthien was one of my favorites. But other chapters are just plain dull. The problems are numerous. In a work this ambitious, you never really get to know some of the key players in a satisfactory way. Also, for whatever reason, Tolkien gave many of the important (and related) characters similar names. For example, in one of the major families that is used, we have Fingolfin, Finarfin, Finrod, and Feanor. That gets very confusing when you are introduced to all of them in about 10 pages. I never kept them straight in my head and had to constantly refer to the family chart in the back of the book. Thankfully there is a comprehensive index of names and places that gives a brief synopsis of who or what they are.  Ye olde englishe doth not helpeth the causeth either.

I would not recommend this book to just anyone. And even of Tolkien fans, I would only submit this book to the die-hard fans. There were some good pieces in it, but you had to dig through a whole lot. Not for the faint of heart.

Favorite quote: Long was he at work, and slow at first and barren was his labour. But he that sows lies in the end shall not lack of a harvest, and soon he may rest from toil indeed while others reap and sow in his stead.

Stars: 3 out of 5.

Final Word: Dry.

The Year in Review

I can barely believe that a year ago I began The Patrick Challenge. It started as a plan to work through all those books that have been piling up in my house for years. And now, I only have a handful left. Optimistically, I hope to be done by New Year's. Realistically, maybe February or March. I have 10 books left to go! I just finished the Silmarillion and will post a review of it soon.

Just for fun, I've been compiling statistics of my reading habits. These statistics are for all the books I read this year (which have all been reviewed on this blog), not just the original Patrick Challenge books. Enjoy!

Total Books Read: 66

Books Read Daily (Average): 0.18

Books Read Monthly (Average): 5.5

Total Pages Read: 21,983

Pages Read Daily (Average): 60

Pages Read Monthly (Average): 1,832

Average Stars: 3.9

Average Book Length: 333 pages

Longest Book: A Game of Thrones at 837 pages.

Shortest Book: Knuffle Bunny at 40 pages.

Least Favorite Book Read: The Fourth Hand by John Irving

Favorite Book Read: The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Fun Facts according to Cha-Cha:  

Americans read an average of 11 books a year, while the average Briton gets through eight books. (Crushed those averages this year!)

It takes the average person 7 days to read a 500 page book, but some can do it in 3 days! (Susan can do it in one day, if you leave her alone. Actually Susan tends to only read books in one sitting. I keep telling her she's going to have to change that habit. She doesn't listen.)

Thanks for reading and for celebrating one year of the Patrick Challenge with me! How are your reading lists doing?

Book 44: Forward the Foundation by Isaac Asimov

Title: Forward the Foundation by Isaac Asimov 

Pages: 480

How it was obtained: I bought it on half.com.

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

Days spent reading it: 2 days.

Why I read it: I wanted to finish the last of the Foundation series that Isaac Asimov wrote.

Brief review: This is the seventh and final book in the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. It was finished just before Asimov died in 1992. In the Foundation chronology it comes just after Prelude to Foundation and just before Foundation. It is really a direct sequel to Prelude to Foundation, but more importantly it is a very gratifying conclusion to the series.

Forward the Foundation chronicles the life of Hari Seldon in 10 year increments. At each decade mark something significant has happened to Hari or his plans for psychohistory. I think this book shines because it reads more like four short novels rather than one long novel (which I've commented on about Asimov's writings before). The character of Hari Seldon is fleshed out a little more, as are many of his associates and family members.

Forward the Foundation is a much better conclusion to the series than Foundation and Earth (the last book in the Foundation timeline). It struck me as almost nostalgic. This is good, because I think that the series really struggled during Foundation's Edge and Foundation and Earth. I think Asimov really liked the character of Hari Seldon, and so in Prelude to Foundation and this book, we catch a glimpse of a great character during some crisis moments. These crisis moments are my favorite part about the Foundation series.

This was a fitting ending to a fairly solid series. I think it fleshed out Asimov's vision of Hari Seldon who is sure to be a titan among Science Fiction fans for decades to come. Thanks Isaac, job well done. I would definitely recommend this book to Foundation fans, it was worth it.

Favorite quote: "But together…our power is awesome!" (I know, it makes no sense without context, sorry!)

Stars: 4 out of 5.

Final Word: Gratifying.