"The Stand" by Stephen King
My rating: *****
I was realizing yesterday (and times prior to that) that I had REALLY fallen off the map with this blog, and I missed it. So here we are. Back again. At least (hopefully) for the summer until my life gets crazy again when school starts back up in the fall. :-)
Being a rather big fan of the TV show LOST, The Stand is a book I have wanted to read for a long time since it had a large impact on the writers of the show. And as you can see, it's a HUGE book - 1100+ pages - the longest I've ever read in my life! It was well worth the time, though. As I got toward the end (**spoiler-ish warning**) I tried to anticipate how it would all turn out. As I read the last words, "Life was such a wheel that no man could stand upon it for long. And it always, at the end, came round to the same place again," I couldn't help but think about a scene from LOST where Jacob and the Man in Black (MIB) are sitting on the beach, chatting as if they are old friends. They see ships off in the distance approaching the island, and the MIB says to Jacob, "They come. They fight. They destroy. They corrupt. It always ends the same." Jacob replies by saying, "It only ends once. Anything that happens before that is just progress." At the end of the show, whether you liked or disliked the ending, they're all together...they learned how to live together. And that was the most important thing - to not give in to the MIB's temptation to end it how it always ends. So it is with The Stand. The dark man will always be out there with his smooth talk, trying to persuade people to join his side - and he WILL get people on his side, but there is also always Mother Abigail, inviting people to follow her. At the end of the day, the power of good and being together trump evil. Every time.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Saturday, May 22, 2010
Someday my Prince will come....
Book 20: "Marry Him: The Case for Settling For Mr. Good Enough" by Lori Gottlieb
My rating: *****
I started with a different book this week, but then I got a call from the library that some books I had on hold were in at the library (this being one of them). So I started it Thursday night thinking I'd read it on the side with my other one, but I got so into this that I finished it in a day and a half. This is what I learned:
Hi, I’m Amanda. I’m 24, single, like long walks on the beach and am a proponent of world peace. I’m looking for a man who is tall, dark, handsome, never has bad days, always dotes on me, sees past my flaws and accepts me for who I am, spends all of his free time with me, connects with me on a deep emotional level, and likes all the same things I do.
Honestly, it made me want to vomit writing that, but Lori Gottlieb’s point is that this is often the exact mindset of single women when it comes to what they’re looking for in a husband (even though they may not vocalize it). Pretty ridiculous, eh? I agree.
I had heard of this book from a married friend of mine who read it and loved it. Being a single woman I, of course, had to read it. And really I was nothing short of amazed. While I didn’t see myself in all of the descriptions she gave of single women, I could see myself bordering dangerously on being irrational when it comes to what I should be looking for in a husband vs. what I want in a husband. I think as a society (even in Christian circles) our view of romantic relationships is more influenced by Hollywood than what we’d like to realize.
I’m going to approach this from the Christian viewpoint because, well…that’s what I am so it would make sense. As a single woman in the post-collegiate world I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the age-old adage, “Love will find you when you stop looking.” Or something along those lines. That’s a piece of advice that I take with a grain of salt because, although I know those people mean well, it’s pretty ludicrous advice (especially when the advice typically comes from a married person anyways). Because really, what single person who wants to be married is ever going to stop looking? You’d be hard-pressed to find one. And this whole idea that love will find you when you stop looking or least except it might sound nice and spiritual, but it’s exactly the idea of pretty much every single romantic comedy Hollywood spits out. So while it may sound nice, it’s rather impractical and unrealistic.
What I learned from this book is to be realistic in my approach to finding a mate rather than being idealistic. Most women have a “type” of man they imagine they’ll end up with – the outrageously good looking, well built, blonde hair, blue eyes type. But are those the things that really make a good husband? Not in a million years. I have to discern between the things I need in a husband vs. the things I want. The things I need are consequently not the superficial attributes that women so often judge a man by (isn’t athletic enough, doesn’t look like Brad Pitt, has a receding hairline, too hairy, is too much of a morning person, etc.). They are, rather, the very same internal qualities that I desire him to value me by. So if I want a man who values me for my internal qualities why should I discount him for superficial qualities I might not initially find “attractive?”
More than anything I want to get married and have a family (not read as a desperate plea – just the reality of my life). But I can’t hold so tightly to a rigid checklist of what “The One” is supposed to be like otherwise I’ll pass up the man who is good enough while in pursuit of the elusive Prince Charming who doesn’t exist.
My rating: *****
I started with a different book this week, but then I got a call from the library that some books I had on hold were in at the library (this being one of them). So I started it Thursday night thinking I'd read it on the side with my other one, but I got so into this that I finished it in a day and a half. This is what I learned:
Hi, I’m Amanda. I’m 24, single, like long walks on the beach and am a proponent of world peace. I’m looking for a man who is tall, dark, handsome, never has bad days, always dotes on me, sees past my flaws and accepts me for who I am, spends all of his free time with me, connects with me on a deep emotional level, and likes all the same things I do.
Honestly, it made me want to vomit writing that, but Lori Gottlieb’s point is that this is often the exact mindset of single women when it comes to what they’re looking for in a husband (even though they may not vocalize it). Pretty ridiculous, eh? I agree.
I had heard of this book from a married friend of mine who read it and loved it. Being a single woman I, of course, had to read it. And really I was nothing short of amazed. While I didn’t see myself in all of the descriptions she gave of single women, I could see myself bordering dangerously on being irrational when it comes to what I should be looking for in a husband vs. what I want in a husband. I think as a society (even in Christian circles) our view of romantic relationships is more influenced by Hollywood than what we’d like to realize.
I’m going to approach this from the Christian viewpoint because, well…that’s what I am so it would make sense. As a single woman in the post-collegiate world I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the age-old adage, “Love will find you when you stop looking.” Or something along those lines. That’s a piece of advice that I take with a grain of salt because, although I know those people mean well, it’s pretty ludicrous advice (especially when the advice typically comes from a married person anyways). Because really, what single person who wants to be married is ever going to stop looking? You’d be hard-pressed to find one. And this whole idea that love will find you when you stop looking or least except it might sound nice and spiritual, but it’s exactly the idea of pretty much every single romantic comedy Hollywood spits out. So while it may sound nice, it’s rather impractical and unrealistic.
What I learned from this book is to be realistic in my approach to finding a mate rather than being idealistic. Most women have a “type” of man they imagine they’ll end up with – the outrageously good looking, well built, blonde hair, blue eyes type. But are those the things that really make a good husband? Not in a million years. I have to discern between the things I need in a husband vs. the things I want. The things I need are consequently not the superficial attributes that women so often judge a man by (isn’t athletic enough, doesn’t look like Brad Pitt, has a receding hairline, too hairy, is too much of a morning person, etc.). They are, rather, the very same internal qualities that I desire him to value me by. So if I want a man who values me for my internal qualities why should I discount him for superficial qualities I might not initially find “attractive?”
More than anything I want to get married and have a family (not read as a desperate plea – just the reality of my life). But I can’t hold so tightly to a rigid checklist of what “The One” is supposed to be like otherwise I’ll pass up the man who is good enough while in pursuit of the elusive Prince Charming who doesn’t exist.
Friday, May 14, 2010
Book 19: The Doctor's Wife by Elizabeth Brundage
My rating: *
This book began much better than it ended. From the first few pages I was hooked because it sounded like it was going to be a really good thriller with some kind of amazing plot.
How wrong I was. How very wrong.
The 4 main characters - Michael and Annie Knowles and Simon and Lydia Haas - are all, for the most part, cardboard and unlikable. I never felt as if I should be rooting for any of these characters. Michael is an OB/GYN who moonlights at a local abortion clinic. (Thi...more This book began much better than it ended. From the first few pages I was hooked because it sounded like it was going to be a really good thriller with some kind of amazing plot.
How wrong I was. How very wrong.
The 4 main characters - Michael and Annie Knowles and Simon and Lydia Haas - are all, for the most part, cardboard and unlikable. I never felt as if I should be rooting for any of these characters. Michael is an OB/GYN who moonlights at a local abortion clinic. (This never made sense to me. Why in the world would an OB doctor also perform abortions? That just seemed very conflicting to me.) His wife, Annie, is an alleged "feminist" and a journalism professor at a women's college. Simon is a sleazy, emo painter who also teachers at the women's college. And Lydia is the much younger wife of Simon the painter who's mentally a few fries short of a Happy Meal and a right-wing, conservative nut.
Annie is the typical not-happily-married-but-appears-happily-married-until-sleazy-man-hits-on-her-and-makes-her-feel-alive-again wife. Michael is a workaholic, and she rarely sees him and neither do their kids. So it only makes sense that she would have a secret love affair with Simon because he's an honorable man, and he brings out the best in her. After all, he KNOWS her. But only in the sense that he's explored every inch of her body in the confines of a drab motel room. I also had a hard time buying into this relationship because if Annie was such a hardcore feminist, it seemed to me that she wouldn't give herself to some man to be used for his animalistic fantasies. I thought feminists had more dignity than that.
Another glaring absurdity in this book was the stereotypical ways the author portrayed those who are of the pro-life persuasion. Because we all know that everyone who is opposed to abortion is a radical freak who leaves bloody dolls in mailboxes, leaves bombs in abortion clinics, and claims they're doing it all in the name of Jesus. Sure there are some people out there like that, but let's not use the same brush to paint everyone.
This was one of those books that I honestly didn't really want to finish. Maybe I shouldn't have, but once I start a book I finish it. That's just what I do. This book was just very 2-dimensional and too full of the author's agenda. Oh, and the ending was lame.
My rating: *
This book began much better than it ended. From the first few pages I was hooked because it sounded like it was going to be a really good thriller with some kind of amazing plot.
How wrong I was. How very wrong.
The 4 main characters - Michael and Annie Knowles and Simon and Lydia Haas - are all, for the most part, cardboard and unlikable. I never felt as if I should be rooting for any of these characters. Michael is an OB/GYN who moonlights at a local abortion clinic. (Thi...more This book began much better than it ended. From the first few pages I was hooked because it sounded like it was going to be a really good thriller with some kind of amazing plot.
How wrong I was. How very wrong.
The 4 main characters - Michael and Annie Knowles and Simon and Lydia Haas - are all, for the most part, cardboard and unlikable. I never felt as if I should be rooting for any of these characters. Michael is an OB/GYN who moonlights at a local abortion clinic. (This never made sense to me. Why in the world would an OB doctor also perform abortions? That just seemed very conflicting to me.) His wife, Annie, is an alleged "feminist" and a journalism professor at a women's college. Simon is a sleazy, emo painter who also teachers at the women's college. And Lydia is the much younger wife of Simon the painter who's mentally a few fries short of a Happy Meal and a right-wing, conservative nut.
Annie is the typical not-happily-married-but-appears-happily-married-until-sleazy-man-hits-on-her-and-makes-her-feel-alive-again wife. Michael is a workaholic, and she rarely sees him and neither do their kids. So it only makes sense that she would have a secret love affair with Simon because he's an honorable man, and he brings out the best in her. After all, he KNOWS her. But only in the sense that he's explored every inch of her body in the confines of a drab motel room. I also had a hard time buying into this relationship because if Annie was such a hardcore feminist, it seemed to me that she wouldn't give herself to some man to be used for his animalistic fantasies. I thought feminists had more dignity than that.
Another glaring absurdity in this book was the stereotypical ways the author portrayed those who are of the pro-life persuasion. Because we all know that everyone who is opposed to abortion is a radical freak who leaves bloody dolls in mailboxes, leaves bombs in abortion clinics, and claims they're doing it all in the name of Jesus. Sure there are some people out there like that, but let's not use the same brush to paint everyone.
This was one of those books that I honestly didn't really want to finish. Maybe I shouldn't have, but once I start a book I finish it. That's just what I do. This book was just very 2-dimensional and too full of the author's agenda. Oh, and the ending was lame.
"But that's the price we have to pay for stability"
Book 18: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
My rating: **** 1/2
AWESOME book!! Different than 1984 yet similar in some ways.
My rating: **** 1/2
AWESOME book!! Different than 1984 yet similar in some ways.
Sunday, May 2, 2010
How can it be that the Eternal One is contained in a form that we can see with our eyes and hold in our arms?
Book 17: Sixth Covenant (A.D. Chronicles #6) by Brock and Bodie Thoene
My rating: ****1/2
After just finishing this book, I feel...sad. My heart aches for these fictional people. Call me crazy. Maybe it's mostly because, while this is a fictionalized retelling, these things ACTUALLY happened. Maybe not exactly this way, but they happened nonetheless.
Kings Herod in his old age became more and more troubled by dreams and visions that some coming king was going to usurp his throne. He had a reason to be afraid - he wasn't the rightful one to sit in his throne. He wasn't a Jew, but he proclaimed himself the king of the Jews. Rumors were spreading to Jerusalem that a baby had been born who was the true King. A visit from a group of astrologers who sought to worship this same baby only confirmed Herod's nightmares. The joy of the people of Bethlehem over the birth of the Messiah was trampled by Herod's murderous paranoia.
The Gospel of Matthew records Herod's order that all baby boys under the age of 2 were to be slaughtered. That's something I've read a number of times but never really thought about. Until now. Reading this scene was horrible. I can't imagine how it's possible for someone to be that heartless - heartless enough to kill innocent children. All because he was afraid one of those boys was going to grow up and take his throne. If I could go back in time and punch Herod in the face I would. I can't imagine what it would've been like as a mother. To be minding your own business when Roman soldiers come barging into your house and slaughter your kids before your eyes. To have your children ripped from your arms and watch the life leave their eyes. It's hard to not wonder why in the world God would let something like that happen. But then again maybe it's foreshadowing of what was to come. Of what God Himself would have to suffer as His Son suffered and died for the sins of the world.
My rating: ****1/2
After just finishing this book, I feel...sad. My heart aches for these fictional people. Call me crazy. Maybe it's mostly because, while this is a fictionalized retelling, these things ACTUALLY happened. Maybe not exactly this way, but they happened nonetheless.
Kings Herod in his old age became more and more troubled by dreams and visions that some coming king was going to usurp his throne. He had a reason to be afraid - he wasn't the rightful one to sit in his throne. He wasn't a Jew, but he proclaimed himself the king of the Jews. Rumors were spreading to Jerusalem that a baby had been born who was the true King. A visit from a group of astrologers who sought to worship this same baby only confirmed Herod's nightmares. The joy of the people of Bethlehem over the birth of the Messiah was trampled by Herod's murderous paranoia.
The Gospel of Matthew records Herod's order that all baby boys under the age of 2 were to be slaughtered. That's something I've read a number of times but never really thought about. Until now. Reading this scene was horrible. I can't imagine how it's possible for someone to be that heartless - heartless enough to kill innocent children. All because he was afraid one of those boys was going to grow up and take his throne. If I could go back in time and punch Herod in the face I would. I can't imagine what it would've been like as a mother. To be minding your own business when Roman soldiers come barging into your house and slaughter your kids before your eyes. To have your children ripped from your arms and watch the life leave their eyes. It's hard to not wonder why in the world God would let something like that happen. But then again maybe it's foreshadowing of what was to come. Of what God Himself would have to suffer as His Son suffered and died for the sins of the world.
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Maybe He will change everything. Put the world back right. Restore our innocence.
Book 16: Fifth Seal (A.D. Chronicles #5) by Brock and Bodie Thoene
My rating: ****
"Here he comes! Such shoulders. He'll carry his father's beams, I warrant. A strong one he'll be. Push! No wonder you had such a hard time. There you go, Mary! Look at those big hands. Must be a boy with such hands. They're wide-open. See? He's reaching out to the world. Once more - yes, that's it! Now push. Harder. One more time! And...there! Yes! A son, Mary! A baby boy!"
You know what blows my mind? Jesus' birth. I hadn't really ever thought about the details surrounding the entire ordeal until reading these books. He was born like any other baby. Jesus. Immanuel. God with us was BORN. The even crazier thing would've been being a Jew living during this time. Crazy in the sense that all of this was not even close to what they were expecting and hoping for. I mean, they lived daily at the whims of a crazy man, King Herod, who was the self-proclaimed "King of the Jews." He was so crazy that he didn't think twice about having anyone killed who threatened his throne - even his own 2 sons who he had strangled to death. It was against the law to speak against Herod - punishable by death and most like crucifixion at that. The Jews were anxiously awaiting the Messiah - the One who would come and overthrow Roman rule and drive Herod from his tyrannical reign (much like Judah Maccabee when he drove Antiachus Epiphanes out, cleansed the temple, and reestablished traditional Jewish worship). They were waiting for a triumphant king to ride in and save them, but what they got was a baby born in a stable to a nobody couple. God always has other (better) plans. But even though He came as a baby, Jesus did indeed come to change everything and put the world back right.
My rating: ****
"Here he comes! Such shoulders. He'll carry his father's beams, I warrant. A strong one he'll be. Push! No wonder you had such a hard time. There you go, Mary! Look at those big hands. Must be a boy with such hands. They're wide-open. See? He's reaching out to the world. Once more - yes, that's it! Now push. Harder. One more time! And...there! Yes! A son, Mary! A baby boy!"
You know what blows my mind? Jesus' birth. I hadn't really ever thought about the details surrounding the entire ordeal until reading these books. He was born like any other baby. Jesus. Immanuel. God with us was BORN. The even crazier thing would've been being a Jew living during this time. Crazy in the sense that all of this was not even close to what they were expecting and hoping for. I mean, they lived daily at the whims of a crazy man, King Herod, who was the self-proclaimed "King of the Jews." He was so crazy that he didn't think twice about having anyone killed who threatened his throne - even his own 2 sons who he had strangled to death. It was against the law to speak against Herod - punishable by death and most like crucifixion at that. The Jews were anxiously awaiting the Messiah - the One who would come and overthrow Roman rule and drive Herod from his tyrannical reign (much like Judah Maccabee when he drove Antiachus Epiphanes out, cleansed the temple, and reestablished traditional Jewish worship). They were waiting for a triumphant king to ride in and save them, but what they got was a baby born in a stable to a nobody couple. God always has other (better) plans. But even though He came as a baby, Jesus did indeed come to change everything and put the world back right.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Was he strong enough to rear the promised Son of David? to be the sort of father who could teach a prince to be the king of Israel?
Book 15: Fourth Dawn (A.D. Chronicles #4) by Brock and Bodie Thoene
My rating: ****
In a LOST-esque turn of events, the 4th book in this series takes a step backward in time. The previous book left off with Jesus restoring sight to blind Manaen and Alexander and Zahav uniting in marriage. Now we're taken 33ish years back in time to before Jesus was born. To before John the Baptist was born. To before Mary and Joseph were even Nazareth's hottest item.
This story centered primarily around Mary and Joseph. They are betrothed and head-over-heels in love with one another when Mary receives an angelic visitor one lonely night in the cow barn. He tells her she is favored by the Most High, and she will carry the Son of David, the Son of God - the Messiah. Strangely (at least to me) she doesn't question this but instead wonders why God would deem her as worthy to carry the promised Messiah. Meanwhile, her father and husband-to-be don't seem very enthusiastic about this news. They think she has concocted a story instead of coming clean about being with another man. Joseph plans to break things off quietly while Mary is away with her mother visiting her aunt (JB's mom). Through the event of her aunt being pregnant, Joseph and Mary's father realize she wasn't making up a story and that she really is carrying the Promised One of Israel. The book ends with them having just gotten married in the midst of rising turmoil in Jerusalem. Herod feels his throne is more threatened with each passing day and has people arrested and killed (mainly crucified) left and right to appease his fear.
I loved reading about the relationship between Mary and Joseph. Once again, these are characters that have always been somewhat cardboard-y in my mind just because there isn't much about them in the Bible. But they were chosen to carry and raise Jesus - our Savior. I don't have first-hand experience in raising a child, but knowing what my friends are going through I know it's not always a picnic. But to then think about raising the Messiah?! I can't think of anything more humbling. But Jesus is God incarnate - Immanuel. A man of constant sorrow who is not unfamiliar with what it's like to be human. The humility of God to clothe Himself in human flesh and be born to sinful human parents is quite possibly the epitome of humility.
My rating: ****
In a LOST-esque turn of events, the 4th book in this series takes a step backward in time. The previous book left off with Jesus restoring sight to blind Manaen and Alexander and Zahav uniting in marriage. Now we're taken 33ish years back in time to before Jesus was born. To before John the Baptist was born. To before Mary and Joseph were even Nazareth's hottest item.
This story centered primarily around Mary and Joseph. They are betrothed and head-over-heels in love with one another when Mary receives an angelic visitor one lonely night in the cow barn. He tells her she is favored by the Most High, and she will carry the Son of David, the Son of God - the Messiah. Strangely (at least to me) she doesn't question this but instead wonders why God would deem her as worthy to carry the promised Messiah. Meanwhile, her father and husband-to-be don't seem very enthusiastic about this news. They think she has concocted a story instead of coming clean about being with another man. Joseph plans to break things off quietly while Mary is away with her mother visiting her aunt (JB's mom). Through the event of her aunt being pregnant, Joseph and Mary's father realize she wasn't making up a story and that she really is carrying the Promised One of Israel. The book ends with them having just gotten married in the midst of rising turmoil in Jerusalem. Herod feels his throne is more threatened with each passing day and has people arrested and killed (mainly crucified) left and right to appease his fear.
I loved reading about the relationship between Mary and Joseph. Once again, these are characters that have always been somewhat cardboard-y in my mind just because there isn't much about them in the Bible. But they were chosen to carry and raise Jesus - our Savior. I don't have first-hand experience in raising a child, but knowing what my friends are going through I know it's not always a picnic. But to then think about raising the Messiah?! I can't think of anything more humbling. But Jesus is God incarnate - Immanuel. A man of constant sorrow who is not unfamiliar with what it's like to be human. The humility of God to clothe Himself in human flesh and be born to sinful human parents is quite possibly the epitome of humility.
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