The Phantom Tollbooth

Author: Norton Juster
Genre: children's fiction
Publication info: Random House, 1961
Pages: 256

My sister basically told me I had to read this book. Frankly, I'm surprised I had gone this long without reading it. I remember hearing my sisters talking about it when we were kids, I remember watching an animated adaptation of it, and I remember looking at pictures from excerpts in the Childcraft books we always enjoyed at home. But for one reason or another, I had never read the actual book. Well, now I have, thanks to my sister's prodding.

Why did I wait so long? This book is a blast. I may have mentioned before that I enjoy offbeat fantasies—the sort of stories like Coraline and Everlost that have fantastical elements but don't really fit into the mainstream. The Phantom Tollbooth is one of those (but because of the nature of the category, it is still unique).

It's the story of a boy named Milo. He's a sad kid, though not so much sad as uninterested in life. Then a mysterious package arrives containing a kit for building a tollbooth. This tollbooth is a gateway to a strange land, a land where abstract ideas are literal. Milo travels through two rival kingdoms: first Dictionopolis, where people sell words in the marketplace and feast on half-baked ideas; then Digitopolis, where numbers are the commodity people work in mines for. The only hope for this land in chaos is to rescue the sisters Rhyme and Reason, and Milo resolves to do just that. But it's not going to be easy.

It's a funny little book (the half-baked ideas were one of my favorite parts) that will probably make you laugh, or at least chuckle. It's aimed at kids, but I think adults could enjoy it just as much. It will make you think about the way you think. True, it is strongly driven by a moral message, which can be annoying sometimes in literature, but the uniqueness of the idea makes that less of a problem.

I can't believe I missed out on this book all these years.

Selected Books

The Pilgrim's Regress / Prayer: Letters to Malcolm / Reflections on the Psalms / The Abolition of Man / Till We Have Faces
Author: C. S. Lewis
Genre: all sorts
Publication info: HarperCollins, 2002
Pages: 623

This was one of the many books I bought during my stay in the British Isles. You know I can't resist a C. S. Lewis title, so five titles in one is impossible to resist. What attracted me mainly was Till We Have Faces, Lewis's final and favorite work of fiction. It helped also that four out of the five books included were ones I didn't own nor had read (The Abolition of Man being the exception).

I won't bother to summarize each book individually, but I will say that I enjoyed them all. They made me think; they made me feel; they made me wonder. The Pilgrim's Regress was Lewis's first work of fiction. It's an interesting allegory that documents a man's journey into Christianity. It's a pretty interesting story, but it does have its flaws (such as sexism, which Lewis is often accused of). I also had a hard time understanding what each allegorical element represents. If I had lived in Lewis's time, maybe I would have understood better.

Prayer and Reflections are both fascinating theological treatises. Although I would be lying if I said I always understood what Lewis means, I will say that he definitely makes me think about things. Even if I don't always agree with specific doctrines he believes in, I think he makes some excellent points. You'll just have to read the books to see for yourself.

But of all the books in this collection, Till We Have Faces is definitely my favorite. It's a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche (you don't need to know the original myth—in fact, Lewis summarizes it in the introduction). Even so, it is actually the story of Orual, Psyche's half-sister. Orual is ugly and unloved, while Psyche is exactly the opposite, but still they enjoy the closest relationship sisters can have. All is well until Ungit, the goddess of the land, demands a human sacrifice, and Psyche is to be the victim. What happens as a result transforms both of them in ways they could not have imagined.

I remember reading The Chronicles of Narnia and finding The Last Battle to be particularly mind-blowing. Till We Have Faces had the same effect on me. At the end, I felt that I had come to the conclusion of a long journey and that I had changed as a person. I can see why this book was Lewis's favorite. His writing, I think, is much more masterful and well-crafted than in the Narnia books. It's a shame that this book is not as well known among his millions of fans. If you enjoy C. S. Lewis's work, I recommend this to you, and if you aren't familiar with him yet, perhaps this book would be a good introduction.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

Author: Susanna Clarke
Genre: fantasy, alternate history, historical fiction, social comedy—you name it
Publication info: Bloomsbury Publishing, 2004
Pages: 1006 (in paperback; the hardcover edition is less than 800)

Best book I have read in a long time. It's also the only book I have read in a long time, but never mind that. This is a really, really good book. It ranks easily among my favorites now. One of the critics called it the kind of book you live in for weeks. I think that accurately describes my experience.

Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell takes place mainly during the Napoleonic Wars (one of the most entertaining aspects of the book is the way Clarke imitates writing styles of the period). To be a magician is a reputable career in England, although the "practical" magicians have long since died out, and all that are left are the "theoretical" ones, the magical scholars. One society of such magicians in York, however, discover a man who claims to be a practical magician. This man is Mr Norrell. At the risk of giving up their status as magicians, the society invites Mr Norrell to prove himself.

So he does. Magic has returned to England.

Norrell then moves to London, where he hopes to get in favor with the government so he can help the country in the war against France. What follows is some hilarious social comedy reminiscent of Jane Austen's novels. The first part of the book moves pretty slowly, but I found it too dang funny to put down. And little by little, the plot does thicken.

Eventually there comes along a young man named Jonathan Strange, who discovers by accident that he is a very able magician himself. He becomes Norrell's pupil, and the two rise to fame in the country. However, certain philosophical differences threaten to drive them apart. Strange becomes increasingly interested in a historical figure called the Raven King, the founder of English magic, while Norrell prefers the man to be forgotten completely.

Meanwhile, another threat is on the horizon: a fairy has come to England and is starting to make trouble. Serious trouble. This is one of the most fascinating aspects of the book. Britain has a long folkloric tradition of a land called Faerie. These aren't your fairies from Disney movies; these are people with great powers and few morals. As I read this book, I discovered that Faerie can be a very frightening place. Some parts of the book that explore that magical land are downright creepy. I loved it. If you want to learn about the tradition of Faerie, Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell is a wonderful introduction.

I'd recommend this book to just about anyone. If you like fantasy, read this. If you like England, read this. Heck, if you like books, read this. I grant that it is a tad long, and some people complain that there is a lot of superfluous material in it, but I enjoyed it all too much to be bothered by that. I hope you will too. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell really is a book you can live in for weeks, and when it's done, you might not want to come back.

Boxen

Childhood Chronicles Before Narnia
Authors: C. S. Lewis and W. H. Lewis
Genre: fiction
Publication info: HarperCollins, 2008
Pages: 240

Do you remember what kinds of stories you wrote when you were eight years old? I remember one about staying overnight in a haunted house, and I thought it was pretty clever. Well, this book has put me in my place.

Boxen is a collection of stories that C. S. Lewis, better known as Jack, wrote with his older brother, Warnie. They began when Jack was eight and continued to develop their fictional world over the next several years. These are no ordinary childhood stories. They don't talk about a frog who is trying to get across the road. They tell of a frog who is prime minister of a joint kingdom who struggles with political factions in the country and deals with enemies outside the country. I still can't imagine how two children came up with all this.

As I said, Boxen (the kingdom) is actually made up of two separate kingdoms joined by an alliance. Animal Land is Jack's creation, and India (a fictional version, obviously) is Warnie's. Together the brothers developed a complex political history for this place, complete with opposing parties, significant monarchs, and warfare. I guess that's what happens when all you have for entertainment is listening to your dad talk politics with the neighbors.

The stories in this book come in several forms. There are histories, written in the style of a history textbook. There are actual stories, both short and long. There are even some plays, which I think might even be the most entertaining. Throughout this book also are illustrations produced by the Lewis brothers, including Warnie's very detailed cross-section of a ship. It just blows me away how creative and intelligent these guys were.

Of course, the stories are not without their flaws. They are preserved exactly how the boys wrote them, including all the misspellings. Some of the plots are very odd, and some never get resolved. But it's important to remember that the Lewis boys had no intention to publish this work. They did it for themselves only. And honestly, I find all the mistakes charming.

So if you're a fan of C. S. Lewis and want to know more about what kind of an imagination he and his brother had, definitely check out this book. Aside from the content, it is a beautiful printing, complete with a ribbon bookmark!

Advocate for the Dead

The Story of Joel Brand
Author: Alex Weissberg
Genre: nonfiction, history
Publication info: Andre Deutsch, 1958
Pages: 255

The story of how I got my hands on this book is almost as interesting as the story this book contains.

I returned recently from the study abroad in Great Britain that I mentioned in an earlier post. During our time across the pond, we stayed in a fair share of hostels. If you've never stayed in a hostel or don't know what one is, let me tell you that it's quite an experience. A hostel is almost like a hotel, but it's usually cheaper, and it has a more communal feel. It's a nice option if you're trying to save money while traveling, but I'll just say that next time I go to Europe I'm going to find a decent hotel. But I digress.

One feature of most of the hostels we stayed in was a bookcase filled with a random assortment of books for you to borrow, trade, or maybe even buy. I made a point of scanning the collection of every hostel we visited, knowing full well that I had nothing to trade, having packed as light as I could (and still barely making the weight limit on the airliner).

At one particularly nice hostel in Conwy, Wales (if you ever get the chance to visit that town, I highly recommend it), I was checking out the books in the evening, when I came across a black, unassuming book. Advocate for the Dead was the faded title printed on the spine. Intrigued, I flipped it open, and what was one of the first words I saw? Budapest! If you don't know already, I have a special interest in all things related to Hungary, and I considered it a rare experience to come across a book that actually talks about that oft-forgotten country. But this one seemed to be all about Hungary. I didn't know much else about the book, but I knew that I wanted it.

The only problem was that I didn't have a book to trade for it. I almost decided to forget about it, but a friend from the study abroad group suggested that I go talk to the people at reception. So I did. I asked them what their policy on the books was. They asked me whether the book I wanted was a popular title. I showed it to them, and after one look they told me I could keep it, free of charge. That's the benefit of being interested in a fifty-year-old book.

Okay, so maybe that story isn't too interesting. But the book is good. Joel Brand, whose story this book tells, was a leader of a Jewish underground movement in Budapest. I've already rambled long enough, so I won't go into detail, but I will say that I learned about an aspect of World War II that I never knew before. I also learned that Nazi politics are confusing. Politics in general are confusing, really.

The moral of the story: Look for old books at hostels. And go to Wales.

Note: When I looked for this book on Amazon, all I could find were out-of-print editions that are being sold for a hefty price. Looks like I really struck gold.

The Adventure of English

The Biography of a Language
Author: Melvyn Bragg
Genre: nonfiction
Publication info: Arcade Publishing, 2003
Pages: 322

Melvyn Bragg is a novelist as well as a nonfiction author who has written on a variety of topics. In The Adventure of English he writes not as a linguist but as someone who is keenly interested in the development of the language. So it was interesting to use this book as our history text during our study abroad in Great Britain.

As a linguistics student who has taken a couple classes on the history of English, I found it hard to get into this book. Most of the information wasn’t new to me. The approach, however, is unique. Bragg warns in the introduction that he writes about the English language as if it were a living entity with a mind and will of its own. And that’s exactly what he does. English settles down, gets attacked, fights back, becomes smothered, grows, expands, absorbs. It’s a different way of looking at things, but it can also get pretty tiring with how dramatic he sometimes makes it out to be.

Speaking of dramatic, Bragg does seem to enjoy using an epic style in this book. I wonder if it’s the novelist in him. And it’s not only English itself that gets this treatment. Major players in the development of the language—the Catholic Church, Tyndale, Shakespeare—also get some dramatic (and shamelessly opinionated) descriptions. Not very academic stuff, but I guess it is entertaining.

I do applaud him for taking a global approach to English. American English gets several chapters, including the language brought in by the slaves. Bragg also features Australian English, Caribbean English, and the varied forms that English has taken in Europe and Asia. Pretty ambitious for an amateur linguist, and he does a good job of it, too.

I have to say, though, that I was a little disappointed in Bragg’s emphasis on the vocabulary of English above everything else. Throughout the book he gives lists of words, phrases, and expressions that came from different sources and time periods. His research is impressive and interesting, but a language is much more than the individual words that make it up. A language is also how the words go together, when and why they are used, and many other things. Bragg pays less attention to these other things. I know I can’t expect him to give an in-depth study of every aspect of English throughout its history, but I definitely felt that his look at the language was imbalanced. Of course, there are plenty of other books to make up the difference.

I have been picky in my comments on this book. I blame that on my being a language nerd. That said, I would recommend this book to all of the language nerds out there. If you’re looking for a serious study of English, this probably isn’t the book for you, but if you want to learn more about how our beautiful, crazy, powerful language came to be what it is, give this book a try. Prepare for an adventure.

The Meaning of Everything

The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary
Author: Simon Winchester
Genre: nonfiction, history
Publication info: Oxford University Press, 2003
Pages: 260

In just a few days, I'll be leaving for England. I'm part of a study abroad program that will focus on the English language in its many varieties. As part of our sightseeing, we will visit Oxford, that old and prestigious university, home of the famous Oxford University Press as well as that monumental work, the Oxford English Dictionary.

I knew that the OED was cool, having used it a bit in my schoolwork, but I had no idea before reading this book of what a behemoth project it truly was (and is). Did you know that the first edition took almost seventy years to produce? It began in 1857 with a speech by a member of the Philological Society, in which he detailed the weaknesses of the dictionaries that had been made to that point. A few years later, work began on the dictionary to end all dictionaries—the one that could give the meaning of everything. Not until 1928 was the work of the first edition completed. That's a lot of lexicography!

The Meaning of Everything tells the story of the OED's development, dwelling particularly on the times when the project almost fell apart—an event that happened a surprising number of times. The OED saw several editors come and go, the most important of which was James Murray, the humble yet enthusiastic philologist who oversaw the project for something like forty years. But other, more interesting people factor in as well, such as Frederick Furnivall, the irresponsible ladies' man; Henry Sweet, the rude phonetician who was the inspiration for Henry Higgins in Pygmalion (or My Fair Lady, if you like); and W. C. Minor, the American ex-soldier turned murderer (about whom Winchester has written an entire book, The Professor and the Madman). All of this shows that more goes into the making of a dictionary than you might think.

Simon Winchester is a skilled storyteller with an academic style. He frequently seems to try to cram as much into one sentence as he can, using all the cool punctuation that he can. He also seems to have a special liking for the word "polymathic." If you know what that means (I didn't), then you probably won't have a problem with his style.

If you are interested at all in our fascinating and crazy language that is English, you ought to read this book that tells the story of the language's most authoritative dictionary. A dictionary may seem like a thing of the past to many people, but where would we be without one? I only hope I'll be able to see the third edition of the OED, which, last time I heard, is slated to come out in 2037. My hat goes off to dictionary-makers everywhere.

Life of Pi

Author: Yann Martel
Genre: fiction, adventure
Publication info: Harcourt, 2001
Pages: 326

And finally, novel #5.

What a transition from Angels & Demons. I'll bet the publishers of the two books would never have imagined the same person reading both of them, let alone consecutively. I did it, but it wasn't easy.

Whereas the Dan Brown novel is a fast-paced thriller, Life of Pi is a leisurely, thought-provoking novel. At half the length of the previous book, it took me about twice as long to read. I really had to get my brain warmed up after the numbing (and a bit of dumbing-down) of Angels & Demons. It was so hard at first that I complained vocally about the book for a while.

But enough comparison. Life of Pi is a finely written book. Very imaginative, very cleverly worded, and sometimes very funny. It tells the story of Pi Patel (his full name is Piscine Molitor Patel, which he explains at length), the son of a zookeeper in India. The first part of the book deals with Pi's experiences at the family zoo as well as his keen interest in religion. He ends up practicing three normally incompatible relgions at the same time (leading to a pretty funny standoff with the leaders of each). Life isn't necessarily easy for this boy, but it is rich.

Then circumstances in India lead the family to sell their zoo and move to Canada. Only a few of the animals join them on the journey by boat. Sadly, the boat sinks, with Pi as the only survivor. Well, him and a few of the animals, including an adult Bengal tiger. Now Pi must figure out how to survive on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean with a tiger as a companion.

So it's a survival story with a clever twist. And with some deep philosophical implications, as it turns out. I had a hard time with the narrator's musings that took up most of the first part of the book, and the language seemed too clever to be enjoyable, but once the survival part started, I was really hooked. The details are very well done. Sometimes the detail gets to the point of nastiness, but I felt like a stronger person for having gotten through them, just as Pi certainly becomes.

When I reached the end of the book, I felt that I had taken a satisfying journey. Life of Pi raises some questions about religion that at first glance seem basic but are actually quite deep and are treated in a unique way here. Give this book a try if you haven't already. I know it was pretty popular when it came out in 2001, so I'm a little late in saying this, but it's not too late for you to experience the oceanic adventure that is Life of Pi.

Angels & Demons

Author: Dan Brown
Genre: fiction, conspiracy thriller
Publication info: Pocket Books, 2009
Pages: 710

Novel #4.

Dan Brown sure knows how to write 'em, doesn't he? At least when it comes to thrills and suspense. It took me all of two days to read (quite nearly all—I took some time off work to be able to finish it for class). I don't think any Harry Potter book ever had that effect on me.

If you're looking for some thought-provoking fiction, you won't find it here, but if you want a book that will keep you turning pages, you need look no further than Angels & Demons. I know Dan Brown is more famous for his controversial The Da Vinci Code, but this is actually the book that started it all (although the movies have it differently).

Robert Langdon is a symbologist at Harvard (did you know such a profession existed?) who happens to have some expertise in ancient conspiracies. For this reason, he is summoned by the director of CERN, the famed Swiss center of scientific research, to investigate a murder. The murdered man's body has the name "Illuminati" burned into it, a name which turns out to be that of a secret society, long believed to be extinct, of scientists who rebel against the Catholic Church.

One thing leads to another, and soon Langdon and the young, attractive scientist Vittoria Vetra are rushing to Vatican City to stop an unimaginable threat: hidden somewhere in the city is an antimatter bomb that could vaporize everything within a half-mile. It's conclave, the time when the church elects a new pope, and Langdon and Vetra must uncover the secrets of the Illuminati in order to find the bomb before it explodes at midnight. Oh, and the four favorite candidates for the papacy have been kidnapped as well.

It's not exactly heady stuff, but it's pretty exciting. I'll have to admit I got into it. I even had a dream with a similar story just the other night. My dream also had The Beatles in it, who, I'm sorry to say, do not make an appearance in this book.

As you might expect, the book sacrifices some things in order to create suspense, such as character development or even believability. I wanted to laugh out loud at the numerous times Langdon narrowly escapes death. But hey, it's all in good fun, right?

Yes, it's fun, but it's not much more than that. Angels & Demons will give you a thrilling ride once, but it's not the sort of book you'd want to read over and over again. It's more the sort of book you'd buy as a cheap paperback (so you don't have to wait for years on the hold list at the library) and then trade it in at a used bookstore. But I have to hand it to Dan Brown—he's good at what he does.

The Novel

Author: James A. Michener
Genre: fiction
Publication info: Fawcett Crest, 1991
Pages: 435

This was one of the required "textbooks" for my class. If it was required, then why do I review it here? Because it's a novel, for one thing. And not just any novel, but The Novel. And anyway, I make the rules of this blog.

I think James Michener should get an award for the most creative titles in fiction. After all, he's the one that brought us Texas, Alaska, Hawaii, Space, Mexico, and many others. Probably his most creative title was also his first: "Tales of the South Pacific." And here we have The Novel. It sounds a little pretentious (I keep using that word; one of these days I ought to look it up to make sure I'm using it right) until you realize it's not claiming to be The Novel, as in The Great American Novel, but rather it's a story about what kind of work goes into creating and publishing a novel. That's why we had to read it for my class.

It's a story in four parts, each told from the point of view of a different character: Lukas Yoder, a successful author about to finish up his career; Yvonne Marmelle, his editor at Kinetic Press who becomes consumed by her work; Karl Streibert, a snobby critic who struggles to find his own success; and Jane Garland, devoted fan of Yoder's with plenty of money to throw around. Each story is unique, and although they are interconnected, it is sometimes difficult to see how they form a single, cohesive novel. It's not your typical plot structure. At some points I'm not even sure there is a plot structure.

I don't want to be harsh. Michener is obviously a skilled writer, and I think the point of this novel is to show what it takes to be an author (or editor, or critic, or wealthy person). In this respect I found The Novel enlightening. It clearly takes a lot of work and perseverance to be a successful author. Michener would know.

He does have the habit, though, of including a lot of detail about things that don't seem very important to the story. In Yoder's story, it is food, which I didn't mind too much. In Marmelle's, it is her struggling love life, which I was much less curious about than I was about her editing career. In Streibert's—well, I'd rather not remember those details.

Maybe it's just Michener's style, and I'm just not used to it. At any rate, I'll say that the novel is . . . interesting. Not the best I've ever read, but not the worst, either. From what I can tell from the reviews, if you like Michener's work, you'll like this novel. If you don't like him, or if you don't know him, you'll just have to see for yourself.

The Host

Author: Stephenie Meyer
Genre: fiction, science fiction, romance
Publication info: Little, Brown and Company, 2008
Pages: 619

Novel #3. I'm very hesitant to write this review.

You may ask, Have I no integrity? Have I lost my taste? Does a grade mean so much to me that I'll stop at nothing? The only answer I can give is an awkward shrug and a shuffling of feet.

Before I am attacked by offended Stephenie Meyer fans, I will say that think this book isn't too bad. I even enjoyed it at times. I was told that people who can't stomach the romance-heavy Twilight novels may find this book more palatable. They may be right, but I'm not going to read Twilight to find out for sure.

The premise of The Host is actually pretty interesting. Earth has been taken over by an alien species, called souls, that live by inhabiting the bodies of other creatures. Meyer isn't the first one to try this idea, but she gives it an interesting twist by telling the story from the point of view not of a human, but of a soul. A soul called Wanderer. She has been on many different planets before this one and therefore has a lot of experience, but she has never come across a challenge such as her human host presents. Her name is Melanie Stryder, and she will just not go away. She keeps showing up in Wanderer's thoughts, to the point where she can influence the soul's feelings and behavior.

Interesting, right? But I have left out a key element that so far has been at the center of every one of Meyer's novels: romance. It is love for a man, it turns out, that is keeping Melanie alive. It is love for a human that leads Wanderer to go against all the norms of her alien society. It is love that Meyer assumes the reader is most interested in. Maybe most of them are, but I came to this book expecting to read a science fiction novel, for that is how the book is marketed. I've read a fair share of science fiction and more or less know what to expect. And while I appreciate Meyer's efforts at shaking things up—her novel is much more character-driven than most science fiction—let's not pretend that this is what it isn't. This is a romance. A science-fictiony romance, but still a romance.

If you like romance, great. You'll probably like this book. I hear it's more tasteful than the Twilight series (although it does have its moments of, shall we say, too much detail). I myself am not totally against romance, but I do have my limits, and The Host flirted with those limits. Although my experience was far from terrible, it's pretty safe to say I've read my last Stephenie Meyer novel.

The Runaway Jury

Author: John Grisham
Genre: fiction, legal thriller
Publication info: Doubleday, 1996
Pages: 401

This is novel #2. I forgot to mention that these all have to be written by authors whose work I've never read before. The Runaway Jury is my first foray into John Grisham fiction. And possibly my last. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I'd intended to read a Grisham novel for a while, I guess to see what all the fuss is about. I normally stay away from books where you can see the author's name from a mile away but you have to be holding the book to be able to read the title. Grisham's books usually fit that description, so I usually ignore them. But sometimes curiosity gets the best of me. And having a class assignment like the one I have definitely speeds up the process.

I also thought this would be an interesting way to learn about how the courtroom works, a subject I know virtually nothing about. I don't know whether I got an accurate depiction with this novel, but at least it held my interest. Most of the time, anyway.

The Runaway Jury is the story of a big lawsuit against a big tobacco company. If successful, the lawsuit could cripple Big Tobacco indefinitely. So both sides of the case gather all the legal weaponry they can.

It begins with the jury. I had no idea that the parties in the lawsuit could have any say in who is selected for the jury, but apparently getting the right jury is one of the surest ways to win the case. To this end, the defense hires consultant Rankin Fitch. I'm not sure what Fitch's actual job description is; he seems to control everything about the case outside of the courtroom. He oversees the careful examination of every potential juror, and throughout the trial he makes sure each member of the jury is leaning the way he wants. He'll do what it takes, even if it's illegal.

But there are a few problems. One is Nicholas Easter, a young man selected for the jury whose background remains a total mystery and who has a powerful influence over the rest of the jurors. The other is a young woman who frequently calls up Fitch with odd predictions about the jury's behavior, and the predictions always come true. She seems to know too much, and her motives are dubious.

It's an interesting story with enough questions to keep you turning pages. Unfortunately, the pacing is pretty slow at times. Just when it starts to get really interesting, the story slows down again—there's a lot of stop-and-go action. I've heard this is a common characteristic of Grisham's novels. It doesn't necessarily kill the story, but it does make it hard to get through.

The fun of the story, for me, came from all the opportunities to figure out what was going on. Sometimes I was right, and other times I was dead wrong. In either case, it was satisfying. I don't know if I'll ever read Grisham again, because of the pacing issue, but I'd still say this novel was pretty good. Maybe you'd like it.

The Shack

Author: William Paul Young
Genre: fiction, Christian
Publication info: Windblown Media, 2007
Pages: 248

The next several books I'll be reviewing will break away from my normal pattern a little bit, if I've been following a pattern at all. But don't panic—I'm doing this for a reason. For a class, no less. If you can believe it, a class I'm taking this term requires me to read some popular novels. Can you believe it? Me read popular novels? Okay, I admit that when I made my reading list, I became secretly excited for some of them. Everyone needs guilty pleasures, right?

Anyway, here's book #1: The Shack.

The title sounds like a horror story, doesn't it? And when you look at the cover from a distance, it looks like a horror story too. But it's not. Far from it, in fact. The Shack is a piece of Christian fiction. It happened to be a bestseller only recently. I first heard about it from a newspaper review. I was intrigued and thought that I might want to read this book when I could get around to it. Of course, I never thought I really would get around to it, but then I took this class, and now we see the result.

The Shack begins with a man named Mackenzie Allen Philips (most often referred to as Mac) receiving a strange note from someone that could possibly be God. The note invites him to come back to "the shack." After seeing Mac's incredulity, we are taken back a couple years to when his daughter Missy was abducted and apparently murdered. The most compelling evidence of murder was found in an isolated the shack—the same shack that someone claiming to be God invites Mac to come back to.

Mack is incredulous some more (and rightfully so), but he does end up going to the shack. And what he finds there surprises the heck out of him (excuse the pun). Without giving too much away, I'll say that at the shack he meets, well, God. That is to say he meets God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost—all three of them. Mac is going to have an unforgettable weekend.

Here Young gets pretty creative. If you are religious, particularly Christian, then prepare to see a very unorthodox depiction of God. It seems almost irreverent, but it's fascinating. I myself am a Christian, and I found it pretty interesting. Sometimes even funny. I particularly liked the idea that God has a sense of humor.

As for the more serious theology of the book, I have mixed feelings. The bulk of the novel is basically a framework for Mac to have discussions with one of the Godhead. Frankly, I'm amazed that one man could come up with so much material. I imagine he had a lot of help. Some of what he says is quite good, quite profound. But other points he makes I don't agree with. (I'm speaking this generally for two reasons: a thorough discussion would take too much space, and I'm way behind on this blog and I read the book too long ago to remember a lot of specifics.) In short, I don't consider this book scripture, and neither should you. But it may be a good vehicle to get you thinking about your relationship with God.

Young does make some good points about the meaning of human suffering. To find out what those points are, well, you know what to do.

Matchless

Author: Jane Candia Coleman
Genre: historical fiction
Publication info: Five Star, 2003
Pages: 247

This is one of those books I probably wouldn't have picked out myself, but it was surprisingly enjoyable. My girlfriend came across it while we were at the library. She read it and loved it and recommended it to me. And I liked it too! Probably not as much as she did, but I still liked it.

Matchless is the story of Augusta Tabor, first wife of H. A. W. Tabor, who was Colorado's "silver king," according to the back cover. It is more or less a true story, based on Augusta Tabor's diaries and correspondence, although the author admits to some creative license.

It is interesting to see the adventures of settling the West through the eyes of a woman, a viewpoint we probably don't get enough of. Augusta's take on things is entirely different from that of Haw, as they call him. She is determined to make the most out of whatever situation she's in, while he is always looking for more, never satisfied. And therein lies the problem.

Ultimately, this novel is less a story about silver mining and taming the frontier of American civilization than it is a story about a failed marriage. And what a spectacular failure it is. The sad part about it is that the failure is largely one-sided. Augusta does all she can to keep the family together, but Haw persists in behaving like a thirteen-year-old in an adult body who ends up with enormous wealth and political sway (why do dumb jerks get so much power so often?). It's a sad story, but it's a rich one.

My one complaint about this book is the spare description. I think I've mentioned before that I am not a fan of extensive description, but I am also not a fan of not enough description. When I read a story or novel, I want a clear sense of where I am. I don't always get that sense in this book. Sometimes the characters go to a place and the narrator describes it as if I'd been there before (in other words, she hardly describes it at all). So it's easy to get disoriented.

But I want to end on a positive note. This book is quite interesting, and I found it easy to immerse myself in it. The novel provides an intriguing look at an interesting period in the country's history.

The Road Less Traveled

A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values and Spiritual Growth
Author: M. Scott Peck, M.D.
Genre: nonfiction
Publication info: Touchstone, 2003 (first published in 1978)
Pages: 315

First one of my professors said this was the most important book he read besides the scriptures. Then a psychologist friend told me that every family should have this volume in their library. Now it's my turn to recommend this book to everyone I know and, by virtue of this blog, to people I don't know.

The Road Less Traveled is psychiatrist's views on life, garnered from years of giving therapy to a wide variety of patients. Dr. Peck treats the subjects of discipline, love, religion, and grace, all with the aim of helping us to achieve greater mental health. Few people, Peck believes, really have good mental health.

A lot of what he says are things you've probably heard before, or at least they should make sense. A disciplined person delays gratification to gain deeper happiness. Real love involves recognizing your beloved as a separate person. Stuff like that. But it's one thing to understand a principle and another to live by it. Our biggest problem, collectively and individually, is laziness, Says Peck. The resistance to change.

Of course, I'm not suggesting that you buy everything Peck says wholesale. I don't agree with all the points he makes. His views on religion may especially rub people the wrong way. But I recommend this book to all because it has important points that would be beneficial to anyone. The sections on discipline and love would probably be the most helpful, but I recommend reading the whole book. If you don't agree with it, fine, but at least you'll have thought about it.

Yes, I wouldn't put this book above actual scripture. But as a book that tries to make its reader a better person, it does a pretty dang good job. I think I've become at least a slightly better person from having read it. Now it's your turn. See if it can make a better person out of you.

The Significance of Insignificant Things

Author: G. David Hunt
Genre: memoir
Publication info: self-published
Pages: 93

I'm going to be a little mean here.

In the Pixar film Ratatouille, renowned chef Auguste Gusteau gives the maxim, "Anyone can cook." To this, Remy, the protagonist, replies, "Yeah, but that doesn't mean anyone should." The same applies to publishing. Anyone can publish, but not necessarily anyone should publish. The Significance of Insignificant Things is proof of that statement.

I know it's pretentious of me, a no-name blogger, to say something like this. You really have to read this book (even just one page of it) to see what I mean. Or maybe you've read a book like it—fraught with poor organization, riddled with mechanical and usage errors, and breaking virtually every principle of good design imaginable. You may say, perhaps, that I am being too picky here. It is a self-published book, after all. But the fact is that it is published, meaning that it is intended for the public to read. Publication just naturally carries with it some responsibilities.

To be truthful, I didn't expect much out of this book when I started reading it. I chose to read it because I thought there would be interesting life stories in it, and there were. The man had a pretty interesting life. He doesn't tell the stories very well, but I tried not to let that bother me. As poorly written as this book is, I look up to the man for recording his life so that others could learn from it. His family, I'm sure, is especially grateful for this book. I hope I can do the same one day for my descendants.

My only other problem with this book was the issue of significance. The author draws frequently on the theme of the title (and also the subtitle, No Event in Our Lives Is Insignificant to God) by telling about seemingly insignificant occurrences in his life. I get that much, but he usually fails to convince me of how they're actually significant. The "insignificant things" I understand, but their significance I don't always see. I suppose this problem arises from the fact that I don't know the man personally.

I don't exactly recommend this book to you, unless you're related to the author. However, he sets a good example by writing his life history. We all should follow that example. We all have significant things that happen in our life, and our families would benefit from our recording them.

But please, if you plan to publish your memoirs, make sure you get a good editor!

Relentless Pursuit

A Year in the Trenches with Teach For America
Author: Donna Foote
Genre: nonfiction
Publication info: Knopf, 2008
Pages: 338

Teach For America began in 1990 with a mission to end "the nation's greatest injustice"—that is, the achievement gap in education between privileged and underprivileged children. It works by recruiting college graduates, putting them through intensive training over the summer, and then sending them to work for two years in underprivileged schools around the country.

Relentless Pursuit tells the story of four such recruits, or corps members, as they are called. Phillip Gedeon, Hrag Hamalian, Taylor Rifkin, and Rachelle Snyder recently fulfilled their two-year commitment to TFA at Locke High School in Watts, California. If you know anything about Watts (which I didn't until I read this book), you know that it's not exactly one of the top-ten best cities to live in the U.S. And Locke is definitely not the best place to go to school. But these four young college graduates took on the challenge to help the students improve, and this book shows their struggles and triumphs.

I read a review of Relentless Pursuit in the newspaper, right around the time it came out. Already I had been interested TFA and wanted to learn more about it. I thought that perhaps this book could tell me or even show me more than brochures and a Web site could. I was right.

Thanks to this book, I think I understand the TFA experience the best I could without actually doing it myself. And it scares me to death.

Those TFAers, as the author calls them, are some pretty tough cookies. First there is the rigorous selection process, which Foote depicts with intimidating detail. Then there is the summer institute, more commonly known as boot camp, at which the recruits receive their training. And then there is the teaching itself, which is probably the hardest part of all. These young teachers face challenges you wouldn't believe as they try to get their students to achieve more.

They're far from perfect and definitely don't do it without complaining (one of the chapters is titled "What the Hell Am I Doing?"), but I don't see myself doing any better than they did. Far from it, in fact. Now that I have become more familiar with TFA, I really don't know if I'm up to the challenge. But it's better to know that now than later, right?

I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the condition of our nation's education. What TFA teachers do is heroic and inspiring. If you're considering joining the ranks of TFA to make a difference in the world, I'd definitely recommend this book, but I'd also warn you that it may frighten you. Teaching is a serious business. And Teach For America requires some really gutsy people.

Bird by Bird

Author: Anne Lamott
Genre: nonfiction, how-to, inspirational
Publication info: Anchor Books, 1994
Pages: 237

There are a lot of books on writing out there, and I know as well as anyone that you can get so wrapped up in reading such books that you never actually write. But some books on the craft of writing are just classics, and I think this is one of them. I judged that by how often other writers refer to it (for example, Gail Carson Levine highly recommended it when I went to her reading). One day my sister and I were Christmas shopping, and I pulled this book off the shelf and said I was interested in it. I didn't think much of it, but she did, apparently, because guess what I got for Christmas! My thanks go to her.

As it turns out, this book is fantastic.

Someone once said that books on writing can be divided into categories: how-to and inspirational. Notice that I used both terms to describe this book. I did so because, well, it fits into both categories. With the subtitle Some Instructions on Writing and Life, this book has plenty of advice for the learning writer—and it's terrific advice at that—but it doesn't have the rigid structure that how-to books tend to have. In the introduction, Anne Lamott says that the book is a collection of thoughts she gives to her writing classes. And it does feel as though she's just sitting down and having a conversation with you. Her style is highly enjoyable from beginning to end.

And yes, the book is hilarious. She uses some great images to illustrate her points (my favorite dealt with drop-kicking a puppy across the fence every time it piddles on the carpet). I have to warn you, though: as gentle-mannered as she is, Lamott uses some surprisingly coarse language sometimes. You can tell by just looking at the chapter titles. Normally I don't tolerate language like that, but the book was just so dang good that I couldn't help but keep reading. And I think I will be a better writer for having read it.

The Very Persistent Gappers of Frip

Author: George Saunders
Genre: fiction, young reader (?)
Publication info: Villard Books, 2000
Pages: 82

Sounds like a Dr. Seuss title, doesn't it? I wish it were. Not to say this is an awful book—it's actually fairly interesting and creative, but it doesn't quite have the magic of Dr. Seuss.

This is another book I just sort of came across. At 82 pages and with lots of illustrations (by the popular Lane Smith), it didn't take very long to read. Good thing, too. I'm not as angry as I sound, but the book just didn't turn out to be what I was hoping for.

It's the story of a seaside village named Frip, which consists of three families. The people of the village make their living by selling goat's milk. Once in a while, however, these little burr-like creatures called Gappers come out of the sea and latch onto the goats, frightening them and rendering them unable to provide any milk. It's the children's job to remove the Gappers from the goats. One of these children is a girl named Capable, and one day, the Gappers decide to focus exclusively on her goats. When they do so, she inexplicably loses the respect and sympathy of everyone else in the village.

This little book has its moments. Saunders's style is entertaining once in a while. And the illustrations are, of course, top notch. But the book's quality is overshadowed by an irritating didacticism. The whole thing feels allegorical (for example, the main character's name), although I couldn't tell you what each element represents, and it all seems geared toward teaching a moral to the reader. All of this is fine to some degree, but when you pick up a book expecting to be entertained, but instead the entertainment takes the backseat to teaching a lesson, it's hard not to be annoyed. If I thought the book was funnier, maybe I wouldn't be so bothered.

One more annoyance: Judging by the style of publication, I assume this to be a children's book. But the reason I put a question mark in the heading is I found some of the language a little shocking. I've read plenty of profanity in literature before, and sometimes I'm able to tolerate it or at least ignore it, but in a book of this nature I find it entirely inappropriate. Parents, take note.

Gathering Blue

Author: Lois Lowry
Genre: fiction, young adult
Publication info: Houghton Mifflin, 2000
Pages: 215

Remember The Giver, that Newberry-winner from the 90s? That book that everyone told you to read while you were growing up but you never got around to it until years later? Okay, maybe that's not how it happened for you, but the book somehow got past me until just recently. It's a young-adult book, but it wasn't until my young adulthood that I got around to reading it. (Makes you wonder why they use that label.)

Anyway, Gathering Blue is the sort-of sequel to that captivating book. I say "sort of" because it never refers specifically to anything or anyone in The Giver; only the mood is similar. Like The Giver, it depicts a society very different from our own (or is it?), but while the first book is a kind of dystopian story, this one is more of a post-apocalyptic tale. I hope Lowry doesn't mind that I pigeonhole her novels this way.

Kira, the protagonist of the book, has just bid farewell to her mother, who died of a mysterious illness. Now an orphan, and with a crippled leg that makes her essentially useless in her primitive society, Kira is in danger of being cast out and left for dead. But when she is put on trial before the Council of Guardians, she learns that they have other plans for her. Plans that make use of her remarkable talent for working with thread. Life seems secure from her now, but, as she soon learns, things aren't as good as they seem.

That's the basic idea, anyway. It's a pretty interesting book. Lowry has set up an intriguing, far-from-perfect society with a strange set of mannerisms. Children are routinely called "tykes," husbands "hubbies." And the only indication of a person's age is how many syllables there are in his or her name. Overall, it's perhaps not as interesting as the society in The Giver, but it's still pretty creative.

The ending, I have to say, leaves something to be desired. Many things are solved, many secrets revealed, but still the ending is somehow not completely satisfying. I suppose one reason for this is that at this point Lowry knew she would be writing a third book to tie the other two together. But the book should also be able to stand on its own. For the most part it does, I guess, but some things still leave me wondering. Is it just a trick to get me to read the third book?

The thing is that I probably will.

The Narnian

The Life and Imagination of C. S. Lewis
Author: Alan Jacobs
Genre: nonfiction, biography
Publication info: HarperCollins, 2006 (hardcover in 2005)
Pages: 342 (including notes and index)

C. S. Lewis has long been one of my literary heroes. As a child I enjoyed the Narnia series, a little later I read Out of the Silent Planet, and more recently I devoured some of his famous Christian writings such as The Screwtape Letters, Mere Christianity, and The Great Divorce. Throughout all this reading, I've been fascinated by Lewis's deep thinking and vivid imagination.

But I didn't know very much about him as a person—his life. Enter The Narnian. I picked this book up from a bargain book sale (it ranks among the best five bucks I've ever spent). Finally, around Christmas I got around to reading it.

I have never found a biography so gripping.

True, I haven't read many biographies, but this one had me hooked as I had no idea a biography could. I suppose this is partly due to my already keen fascination with Lewis, but I also must give credit to Alan Jacobs for doing such a stunning job. He admits in the preface that the book is "almost a biography," leaving out "certain details that a responsible biographer would be obliged to include" (what modesty!). Instead, the purpose of this book is to record "the life a mind, the story of an imagination."

It turns out that Lewis's mind and imagination make quite a story. Before reading the book, I knew the guy was smart, but I didn't know that he was actually brilliant until reading it. I can't begin to recount some of the ideas I learned about in this book—they are too deep, and Lewis and Jacobs both put them much better than I could—but I will say that this book made me think. It made me think deeply, about a lot of things. It inspired me. It turned me to introspection. It changed me.

I can't promise that this book will have the same effect on everyone who reads it. But if you have an interest in the works of C. S. Lewis, particularly in the Narnia series, than you would do well to read this book. As the back cover invites, "enter the world of a creative genius."