Very Naughty Children

1) The Week In Geek challenged us to read a chapter from a classic book and write a short review. Ok, so what do I choose? It wouldn't be any fun to choose something that I had read before or an author of whom I am at least somewhat aware of their work. Oh no, that would be too easy. So what possessed me to read the first chapter of E. Nesbit's "The Phoenix and The Carpet"? One thing I should have realized by the title is that this was a story meant for children. Perhaps it is the time in which it was written or it's very British style that made it not translate well for me. For one thing the children were all so very, very naughty as is usually the case with stories like this. Look at the four children in "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe". They too were very, very naughty. Perhaps this is meant to give them a certain charm that could make an adult like myself smirk at my own impishness as a youth if it weren't for the fact they are so darn proper about everything. All the exclamations of "Oh so sorry" and such just don't sit well for me. I am not reminded of a British Dennis the Menace, but instead come off as being very stuffy and not very charming. I couldn't wait for this chapter to be done and cannot say I will read any more. Who is this lady anyway?

2) I wouldn't say I am intimidated by classic literature. Difficulty in literature doesn't scare me since I probably would give up on the book with a sigh of "oh well!" and call it a day. I mostly want to understand what would make someone consider one book a classic over another? I attempted to read books like The Scarlet Letter, Ulysses, and Moby Dick usually getting frustrated for one reason or another. Out of all honesty I finished Ulysses, but couldn't tell you a damn thing what I read. It still sits by my bed stand begging for me to try again. Then there is Germinal by Zola which, for whatever reason, I have to force myself to even get halfway through though I find the work to be quite readable. I am not sure what books I would recommend. Just because I like them doesn't mean others will. Jules Verne "Journey To The Center Of The Earth" is a good if not plodding read. Conan Doyle's "Hound Of The Baskervilles" was entertaining, but I would have enjoyed it a lot more if I hadn't seen the movie first.

Reading Test

Hat tip to Geek Monkey for this one

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Dedicated Reader You are always trying to find the time to get back to your book. You are convinced that the world would be a much better place if only everyone read more.
Book Snob
Literate Good Citizen
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
http://www.gotoquiz.com/what_kind_of_reader_are_you">What Kind of Reader Are You? http://www.gotoquiz.com/">Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

More Crap

Yet another memoir has been proven to be a heaping pile of crap. This time it is about a couple meeting in a Nazi concentration camp. This is just one more in a long line of people making up stories, becoming famous for the lives they didn't live, then (suprise! suprise!) turn out to have made the whole thing up. About a year ago another such book was about to come out about a woman who grew up on the streets selling drugs of mixed spanish/indian heritage. There was one problem, she was a white girl from a rich suburb. And few people remember the story of JT Leroy who wrote a novel about being a young male prostitute at a truck stop. The problem, it was written by a woman who never lived such a life. And would it be any real shock that Oprah supported this book? Nope, she does have a habit of shouting hooray for someone without knowing where they come from. Seriously, how does she have any credibility left?

R.I.P. Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Farewell Alex
You lived as an exiled from Russia for writing honestly about the hardships of life in the Soviet Union. Looks like you got the last laugh by being able to finish out your last days in the home country. I'd like to commemorate your passing by reading one of my favorite books. But I cannot find it. I'll have to settle to read "The Cancer Ward" until I can get a new copy. Darn it all!

Jesus For President: A Review

Jesus for President: Politics for Ordinary Radicals by Shane Claiborne

My review

rating: 2 of 5 stars
If you have read Shane's first book you are getting much of the same. The positive of the book is it did make me ask about how I am using my time and finances. How do I look at the war? Treat the poor? etc. It has convicted me in a good sense and I am glad about that. Hopefully it'll reform my heart closer to God's will.



Now for the negative. A lot of his ideas to solve problems for helping the poor, to me, don't sound like they are really helping the poor. In creating a very temporary fix that in the long run does them no good. Feeding the poor is good. In my mind getting them off the streets for good whether through drug councelling, job placement, etc. is even better. They hand free pizza out to the homeless so they can continue to live on the street. That just seems wrong to me. Sure they got to feed them, but at the end of the day they are still homeless without prospects. Hey, I might be wrong. Plus there seems to be a lot of patting themselves on the back, but not nearly as much on their own backs. The desing of the book is great, but all the added little tidbits were a tad destracting. All in all it was a decent book. I'd have given it three stars, but the negative outweighed the positive. It still did teach me a few things.


View all my reviews.

A Year Of Biblical Living

After reading this article I find myself wanting to read his book more.

Father Brown

I am a sucker for lists. Whenever someone puts out a top 100 anything I always make it a try to listen to, read, or watch everything that is one the list. Admittedly I tend to skip the ones I already know or just have no interest with. When I came upon the Top 50 Crime Writers To Read Before You Die I was pretty intrigued. I am a total mystery fan. The first novel I read on my own was Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None" and have been hooked ever since. I have to admit I was suprised to see the first writer listed was G.K. Chesterton. Not so much for his talent or genious, he was an Inkling after all, but for the fact he is very overtly religious in his writing. He doesn't mince words nor try to hide below ground his ethic. In fact, it wouldn't suprise me if his most well known character, Father Brown, weren't his alter ego like Kilgore Trout is to Kurt Vonnegut. Very often this kindly priest uses faith, wisdom, and an uncanny understanding of the fallen nature of man to solve his crimes. Many times within a few minutes of the crime being committed, but for the sake of narrative they allow the search for the criminal continue. Primarily Chesterton wrote short stories so you won't even begin to get a good idea as to who this character is until after reading several stories. They are written more like a person telling annecdotes of an old friend which at times I found tiresome. I also notice how much like many crime writers they tend to cheat by not revealing information until the end that you'd have no way of ever knowing. Other times he followed a typical formula that made easy for me to figure out who did it. I am curious to read more of his stories to get a bigger picture not only of the little priest and Chesterton as well. A man of wit and intelligience that influenced C.S. Lewis. Also, I noticed that the priest never actually does any real work. He's always on vacation or travelling somewhere.

The Complete Father Brown Stories

Aslan Reigns Supreme!

You just can't keep a good lion down. In spite of the juggernaut Harry Potter has become and all the merchandise they have managed to squeeze out to poor unsuspecting parents (a chocolate frog about the size of a bite sized chocolate bar is about $3.00!) it looks like Aslan has pimp slapped some sense into Harry and taken his rightful place in the number one spot.

Auralia's Colors: A Review

Jeff Overstreet - Auralia's Colors

I am sorry Jeff. I really tried to like your book more than I did. I really wanted to like it more. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Was it a decently written book? Yes. Was it a better than average written first book? I'd say so. Will I read the next book? Sadly, I am a huge book snob. I am also a writer. So I tend to look at many books I read as a writer. I can recognize brilliant writing and praise it, but I also become very critical when I see things being done in the same old way. First for the positive:

1) I was entertained. It kept my attention and wanted me to finish the book. I didn't feel pissed off after i read it. I didn't feel like I got ripped off from buying the book. I was entertained. I kind of hope it'll be optioned for a movie.

2) A few parts of the book caught me by suprise. Anytime I can read a book and say to myself "Didn't see that coming" is a good thing and doesn't happen all that much.

Now the negative:

1) I felt like I read the story before. I don't see this as him trying to rip a story off, but I do see a lot of fantasy writers taking the same story and re-telling it. The nobody who is secretly meant for greatness. The tirent imposing his will on the lessers. Etc. The characters were of a typical archtype and I am getting a little bored with it. This is why I rarely read sci-fi or fantasy anymore because I know what to expect. The minute they say someone has disapeared from a time long ago you know sooner or later that person will show up eventually.

2) A friend of mine and I used to have a description for anything we read where it felt like a lot of hands had gotten into a piece of work and the language felt unnatural or over stated. We called it workshopped. We'd share a poem we read of someone elses and ask, "Is it just me or does that poem/story/whatever feel workshopped to you?" So many of metaphors felt overboard that it detracted from the story. They were almost too poetic to feel like they came from the authors true voice. And the cleverness of the creatures (fangbear, wyrm, vawn, etc.) was a bit much. Especially when I wasn't given an adequate description of them.

As I said Jeff, I like you and what you are trying to do. For a first book it's well done. Please keep writing. I think ultimately your work will become actualized.

And To Keep Going With A Trend...

It seems the idea of Christians and movies has been getting more and more press lately. Here are a few more takes on the subject.

Religion and Ethics News Weekly has a report called God and Hollywood. Apparently in spite of the fact that Passion Of The Christ earned major bucks and Hollywood's promise to capitilize on the trend little has happened as a result. Most of the movies produced were either uninspired or straight to dvd crap.

This is an older post from Looking Closer, but I had completely forgotten about it. Can you guys name 20 recent films that portray Christians in a positive light? A few on his list, as usual, suprised me. Though he seemed to have left off The Big Kahuna. At least now when we see a Christian on TV they aren't only as a psychotic wacko.

Looking Closer also looks at the top ten most redeeming films of the past year.

And again from Looking Closer... A list of 100 Writers Of Faith.

Art Spiegelman & Returning To A Former World

I have just returned to a world I have not been to in ages. I can't remember the last time I had been there or even peaked over the fence into the yard entering that world. The world I returned to is the literary world of readings and discussions. There was a time in my past where a week didn't go by where I attended an open mic poetry reading, or some local author event or other, sitting with other like minded individuals wanting to draw from the experience of the author hoping someday that would be us standing up there reading from our newest work. With the exception of going to see Michael Palin read, which was purely for entertainment, I can't tell you the last time I've gone to something like this. Man I missed it. At that time it became a bit of an idol for me. I loved being the guy who was ahead of the curve about music, books, art, etc. I loved being the guy people came to for an explanation about the movie Memento. Not anymore. I know longer know what bands are coming out or who has a new novel or whatever. A part of me is glad.

All that to say I stepped back into the world to listen to attend a lecture by Art Spiegelman:

This isn't my first experience with Spiegelman as I went to a showing of the original artwork for the graphic novels Maus. There were a few things that disapointed me:

1) He wasn't giving autographs because of logistical issues. Right, ok fine, I have a feeling like it was more because he didn't want to, but no big deal.

2) He hardly talked about Maus. This disapointment was quickly pushed aside.

He instead talked about the creation of the comic form and how it influenced him. I admit as much as a comic fan as I was during my childhood I didn't know there was a whole world of underground comic books. There is a wonderful streaming video of the event. Enjoy.

Warming about the vid.... there were some naughty pictures in it. not many, but they were there. Watch with caution.

Tony Campolo: Red Letter Christians

As far as Tony Campolo's newest book is concerned:

Think I read this book before...

...I'm really not sure, but it sounds so familiar...

...Why does this book remind me of something I've read before?

Seriously, this is the fourth time I have read this book! He has written very similar books at least 4 times before, not including the other books he wrote that touch on similar topics. My feelings about the red letter christians are simple. Do we really need yet another Christian "movement" in this world? And to base one only off the red letters of Christ's words seems a bit shoddy to me. Sure it seemd to work for Tolstoy and Jefferson to take out the parts of the Bible that made them uncomfortable. Quite frankly, I'd rather be a Full Bible Christian. Or better yet, just Christian. And here is a vid of Campolo talking to Colbert on the subject.

Fear Not The Scroll

I really dropped the ball on this one. I have been having a very bad habit lately of saying I'll blog about something, but not getting to it til several months later. It was so long ago that I planned on blogging about Kerouac's "The Scroll" I had to search like crazy to find the original post. Here it goes:

I expected another Kubla Khan, a dreamy psychotic half-understandable stream of conscience fit that would make James Joyce cry. I was wrong. The book is quite readable and in its way a fascinating story. One question I usually ask when reading anything is whether I can believe it or not. So many books, even ones claiming to be about the authors life, have the tendency to not ring true. I believed every word he wrote. What also suprised me was his strong desire to find God. I didn't realize how much he wanted to love and belief in something bigger than himself. For all the crossing and recrossing the country he could have settled down anywhere. For some reason he could not bring himself to do it. Why? Was it easier for him to run from all the questions and desires he held inside? Perhaps. The trip was unromantic in spite of every persons desire to put it on a romantic pedestal. You cannot ignore the heartache, the alcohol induced numbness, and this persons inability to settle down. One problem, as one reviewer put it, is that the book can be exhausting because there are no paragraph breaks helping to tell you when to stop. If you do decide to read it here's one piece of advice how to get through it. Much like Jack's travells just keep going until something stops you. Anything at all like running out of gas or needing to pick up supplies. You can always start the journey again tomorrow. One more thing, always pick up hitchikers.

Here's a vid of Kerouac discussing "On The Road".

Congrats Doris Lessing

I have never read any of Doris Lessing's books, but now I think I am going to have to.

One Book

Because I have been superpoking Jenn on Facebook she tagged me to do this meme. And since the most common answer I'd give would be The Bible I'll instead tell you my second choice. Plus, just for Jenn (or anyone who may be interested in reading them), a whole bunch of poems by Rumi.

1. One Book That Changed Your Life:
Messy Spirituality by Mike Yaconelli - Taught me it is ok for me to get it wrong once in a while and I will not always get it.

2. One Book You Have Read More Than Once:
Too Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee - Loved it since highschool. In fact, it could easily go up in number one as well.

3. One Book You'd Want On A Desert Island:
Probably an anthology of sorts. There is one of the worlds famous speaches. It's over a thousand pages long so it would keep me occupied for a while.

4. Two Books That Made You Laugh:
A Handful Of Dust by Evelyn Waugh - A commedy of manners. I couldn't stop laughing reading this book. It made looking propper seem so ridiculous.

Come Blow Your Horn by Neil Simon - I was in this play in school. It's just silly.

5. One Book That Made You Cry:
On Parole by Akira Yoshimura - the ending killed me.

6. One Book You Wish You'd Written:
The Wasteland by TS Elliot

7. One Book You Wish Was Never Written
I agree with Jenn

8. Two Books You Are Currently Reading:
Walden by Thoreau
The Collected Poems Of CK Williams

9. One Book You've Been Meaning To Read:
I think Mcormac's No Country For Old Men or Into The Wild.

If you are interested in doing this consider yourself tagged.

Name That Church

About 2 months ago I asked if anyone could name the church mentioned in a book I had just read. Looking back on this book now I am still amazed at the description the author gave. Though I have to admit I cheated a little bit. First off, The Church Of The New Revelation mentioned in the book doesn't exist. Second, the book I read was a sci-fi novel written about 40 years ago. I found it amazing how Robert Heinlein had the insight to describe, for the most part, pretty accurately what would become the modern mega-church movement. With the exception their church was very sexual and had drinking and gambling in the church premises. Though many do have bingo or casino nights. He did describe a huge orginization with tons of money, a powerful leader that few people had the opportunity to meet, and a seeker style service that was about as deep as a dinner plate. With sci-fi writers it makes you wonder if they had any idea what they were writing may someday become true. Why not? They were the first to describe space travel, computers, and satellites (though it was imagined to be powered by a windmill in space). Are we that far off? Is it that far fetched that we may someday become a church based entirely on self-pleasure and entertainment?

Religious Literacy

I am reading a pretty interesting book by Stephen Prothero called Religious Literacy. Check out his sight to get an idea of what he thinks. It's very fair and balanced. Really, it is.

Name That Church

A book I read not too long ago described a church someone visited. It made me wonder if in the world of mega-churches and celebrity pastors would anyone be able to guess the churches name. I am going to give you a summary about their church experience and see if you can guess the church and in what book it was described minus anything which makes it too easy to figure it out. I'll post the answer in the near future.

The church's philosophy is based on self-pleasure. All God wants is for us to be rich and happy. One of the main ways we do this is by giving as much as we can to the church. Another is doing whatever makes us happy. They have an impressively large congregation with several satellite churches. The main church grew out of their seeker style services which tend to involve motivational worship meant to pep up the cruce. This includes dancing, singing, and other forms of entertainment to keep the crowd going. Once at their peak the dynamic leader would come out offering a sermon light on content, but heavvy on promises for the good life. This leader is so dynamic he is the friend of senators and actors, but only a select few chosen people have actually had the opportunity to meet him. Even fewer make it into his inner sanctum for a one on one meeting. The church is known by many, even people who do not necessarily believe. In spite of the controversies surrounding their church and its' leadership it continues to grow and influence all around it.

Can you guys guess where this comes from? I'll post in a bit after I see how close you guys are.

Big Week

There is a lot going on over the next week. First off, it is banned book week. Being a huge fan I am always interested in who and why books are banned. Sometimes they are legitimately questioned while others they are just crap with stupid premises and bad writing that because they have a thing for homoerotic imagery or killing small children in satanic rituals. Seriously, they wouldn't be nearly as famous if it weren't for the fact they write about naughty subjects and some idiot decides to make a big stink over it instead of letting it just die a natural death like it should. Here is a list of past banned books.

Second, this weekend is my churches presbytery which is the governing body of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church. What makes this meeting especially important is that many churches are leaving the PC(USA) in order to join our branch of the denomination. This is a huge deal because it is causing our numbers to grow (the closest EPC church to us is in Maryland) while greatly dwindling the PC(USA) denomination. This can lead to a lot of law suits and bitter fighting (let's pray not). When the EPC was first started my church was one of the first to jump on board forcing us to buy our building at the risk of losing it. Pray for a smooth transition.

Kerouac: The Original Scroll

The picture to the right is the original scroll Jack Kerouac containing the first draft of "On The Road." Having just picked up a copy of The Original Scroll I am a glutton for punishment because there are no paragraph breaks. By the looks of things you can tell he wrote the book in three weeks by the books lay out. I have never read "On The Road" except for the first few pages a number of years ago so I am wondering if I am wasting my time starting here and not reading the original novel. We shall soon see. Silliman found a sight that posted dozens of the original book covers including one designed by Kerouac. Enjoy.