Book Reviews

Summary: A utopian future that realizes it dystopian potential.

If you are impatiently waiting for the Hunger Games movie, you should pick this up.  It is a trilogy as well, but only this first book is out.  The second book will be released May 1, 2012.

The main character Beatrice, is part of a faction devoted to selflessness.  As she approaches her time of choosing which faction to join (the others are devoted to bravery, knowledge, truth telling and peace) she realizes she is not nearly as selfless as she should be to continue to live with her family’s faction.  The factions were established to keep peace and create the perfect society after the last great war.  However, the tentions between the factions are increasing.

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Takeaway: If theology was taught like this more often, it would not be such a bad word for so much of the church.

I am a fan of Eugene Peterson. I think he is the best living narrative theologian out there. Others write about narrative theology and using story to communicate the gospel. Peterson writes as a pastor and doesn’t just write about theology, but shows us how to read scripture and how to understand the gospel. He does theology.

Tell it Slant is another in Peterson’s recent series of books. I listened to this one on audio as I have the others. Peterson is best, at least for me, on audio. Grover Gardner is a great narrator and give just the right voice to Peterson.

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I am pleased to report that Eleanor and Park By Rainbow Rowell is another book that can be included in a list of books that is redeeming the young adult genre. No vampires. No fights to the death. No flying witches. This story is about two individuals who both have home lives that could be better (that is an understatement for one of them) and yet they find friendship, love and an escape with each other.

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Summary: A young adult coming of age book in a fictional 18th century setting.

Lloyd Alexander is known for his Prydain novels (The High King, Book of Three, etc.), but he has written a number of other books.  Some of my favorites were the Westmark series.  I read them several times as an early teen and was feeling nostalgic and decided to track them down.  They are not available on kindle, so I found an old paperback copy.

Westmark is a fictional monarchy in a world that seems very much like 18th century europe.  It is a relatively small kingdom.  But it has seen better days.  The king, since his daughter disappeared (and presumably died), has become despondent and reclusive.  In the eight years she has been gone, one of the king’s advisors has slowly taken over the kingdom and turned it into a tyranny.

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An Abundance of Katherines is my second John Green novel. SInce I immensely enjoyed The Fault In Our Stars, this novel was recommended to me also. While I liked this novel also, I didn’t feel as strong of an emotional connection to the main characters as I did with The Fault In Our Stars. I did like the characters and I especially liked the friendship between Colin and Hasan but I guess I just didn’t relate to their plight as well.

In the novel, Colin is a child prodigy who isn’t quite reaching his potential and his best friend, Hasan, is a seemingly conservative Muslim. The unlikely friendship of these two boys makes for a fun listen.

Perhaps also I didn’t feel that the story was as believable but only slightly less so. The boys go on a post-graduation road trip and end up staying in a small town for the summer. In that small town, they meet some unique characters and end up figuring out what their lives are about and what they want to do with them.

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Summary: “The World is Not A Wish-Making Factory” (a frequently used line from the book that quite adequately sums up reality.)

The Fault in Our Stars is narrated by Hazel, a 16 year old with cancer. Her cancer is terminal. But she has gained a few years with the help of a (fictional) trial drug that has slowed the growth of the tumors in her lungs. It is only with her ever-present oxygen tank that she still manages to stay alive.

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As a departure from my usual fiction novel, Dad is Fat was a good book and an even funnier book to listen to. Of all the comedians, I enjoy Jim Gaffigan because he is a relatively clean comedian and his topics don’t cause me to cringe.

Since Gaffigan narrated his own book, Dad is Fat came across as a series of stand-up comedy routines or essays on various subjects related to parenting. The reason I liked the book was because there were many times where it validated what I already knew to be true about being a parent. When I heard that the next chapter was going to be “You win, McDonalds”, I knew that I was going to be agreeing with what he was about to be saying.

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This is one of the first reviews I wrote on what eventually became Bookwi.se. I am reposting it because Noisetrade is giving away the MP3 version of the audiobook. It is also available for free as an ebook or an audiobook from Audible.com (see links below)

I am a fan of Chris Anderson’s writing. I really like his first book “The Long Tail“. This second book is good as well. The central idea is that fundamentally the price point of Free is changing the way that we interact.

He believes that free is the common price on digital good, not because all digital good are free or should be free but that most digital goods will be free and the paid versions will support the free in inverse relationship to goods that have atoms. In other words, free goods in the physical world are supported by paid good in a relationship of around 5% or less free to 95% or more paid.

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