C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church Review

C. S. Lewis and the Catholic Church
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In picking up a book like this, the most obvious question is "why read it?" The most obvious answer is given in the title: to explore Lewis's views of, and relation to the Catholic Church. I picked up the book with that idea in mind, but instantly discovered a much wider appeal. More interesting than Pearce's attempt to answer that question are the many byways he treads to get there. What impressed me was his skill as a researcher: in turning over stones to find things others have overlooked, in drawing odd, if plausible parallels between things that seem disconnected, in tracing some of the rich streams that fed Lewis's imagination and flowed into his works. In particular, Pearce looks at The Pilgrim's Regress and The Great Divorce, two widely-read works of fiction, and Mere Christianity, Lewis's most popular nonfiction work. Pearce probes into the "troubles" of Lewis's native Belfast and the later atmosphere of inquiry and debate at Oxford, following him from an atheist to a convert and well-known Chrstian apologist. Would that road have eventually led to Rome? he asks. Why or why not? One can only speculate, and Pearce imaginatively considers the question. Interestingly, he notes, the Anglicans of Lewis's own denomination less and less read him, while he is becoming more and more popular among two other groups: Catholics and Evangelical Protestants. A Catholic convert himself, Pearce naturally leans towards the former readers, but it would be unfortunate if the latter group missed this book by an author in so many ways in sympathy with them, and which sheds so much light on what both groups find in common in an author they both love.
For more on Lewis' relationship to the Catholic Church see my interview with Richard Purtill, author of C.S. Lewis' Case for the Christian Faith (available through Amazon) at Ignatius.com in the Ignatius Insight online magazine.

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There are many Protestants and Catholics who have been deeply affected and spirituality changed by the writings of C.S. Lewis, including many converts to Catholicism who credit C.S. Lewis for playing a significant role in their conversion. But the ironic and perplexing fact is that Lewis himself, while "Catholic" in many aspects of his faith and devotion, never became a Roman Catholic. Many have wondered why. Joseph Pearce, highly regarded literary biographer and great admirer of Lewis, is the ideal writer to try to answer that question. The relationship of Lewis to the Roman Catholic Church is an important and intriguing topic of interest to both Catholics and Protestants. Pearce delves into all the issues, questions, and factors regarding this puzzling question. He gives a broad and detailed analysis of the historical, biographical, theological, and literary pieces of this puzzle.His findings set forth the objective shape of Lewis's theological and spiritual works in their relation to the Catholic Church. This well-written book brings new insights into a great Christian writer, and it should spark lively discussion among Lewis readers and bring about a better understanding of the spiritual beliefs of C.S. Lewis.

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Prayers from a Mother's Heart Review

Prayers from a Mother's Heart
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This book is a wonderful collection of prayers you will want to read and look at day after day. I actually got it to give as a gift to my Mother for her birthday. I found myself going back to the store to buy myself a copy and some kleenex to give along with my Mom's book : ) Children will never know how much a Mother loves and what it all means until they themselves become a parent. My Mother and I were always close, and now that I have kids of my own...our bond is even stronger. This book looks into a Mother's heart and shows the love it is filled with for her children.

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A beautiful collection of prayers author Ruth Bell Graham arranged.

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The Books at the Wake: A Study of Literary Allusions in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake Review

The Books at the Wake: A Study of Literary Allusions in James Joyce's Finnegans Wake
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Atherton's book is "absotively" wonderful. Appreciating the Wake certainly requires this book. Numerous linguistic influences on Joyce from various authors are catalogued. Particularly interesting is the lengthy analysis of Lewis Carroll's literary influence on Joyce:
1. Carroll is presumably the undisputed inventor of the portmanteau word - a word packed with multiple meanings. Carroll was content to have dual meaning but Joyce packed as many meanings as possible into his words.
2. Carroll (like Joyce) worked with successive alterations of one letter in a word - meat, meet, mate, maze, etc. Sections of the Wake which obliquely referenced Carroll would routinely incorporate this technique.
3. Alice served as an alterego for Joyce's heroine ALP, where "Wonderlawn" is code for the Garden of Eden.
In short, Joyce found much in Carroll's work that (in the case of the portmanteau word, to his surprise) neatly "dovetallied" with his own "work in progress". The Books at the Wake is a fascinating and well-written collection of many more such analyses (Shakespeare, Blake, Vico, etc.).

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In Finnegans Wake Joyce uses world lit­erature, great and small, sacred and pro­fane, as one of the most important and frequent of his sources. Setting out to ex­plore these literary allusions, Mr. Atherton sheds a great deal of light upon other as­pects of Joyce's work. Entire chapters are devoted to such major figures as Swift and Lewis Carroll, while less important influences are grouped together under such headings as "The Irish Writers" and "The Fathers of the Church." He also sur­veys the various interpretations of Finnegans Wake, and makes use of the Letters of James Joyce and the manuscript of Fin­negans Wake in the British Museum.

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Savvy Senior Singles: Navigating the Singles World from Age 50 and Beyond Review

Savvy Senior Singles: Navigating the Singles World from Age 50 and Beyond
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As I Licensed Professional Counselor and Licensed Substance Abuse Treatment Practitioner, I have heard the cries of many who have not followed the advice in the Savvy Senior Singles book. Some haven't pursued their dreams; some have lived in fear, others added another person to their lives without wisdom, or never thought they would get a sexually transmitted disease. Samantha Landy devotes chapters to each of these situations. At the end of each chapter is a "Points to Ponder" page which highlights the main points. Many survivors have sat with me and sobbed because they have no idea where anything is or whom to contact. Readers who complete the Living Network in this book will provide tremendous help to surviving family members and eliminate this problem. Married or single, if you're age 50 or older, you will profit from reading Savvy Senior Singles.
Yvonne Ortega, LPC, LSATP

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Who likes being called a Senior Citizen?Not many. Even though the reality of age may demand the description, there is a more accurate way to speak of many older people who find themselves alone.Author Samantha Landy prefers the phrase Savvy Senior singles for those who are mature but still very much young at heart and living without a partner. Her practical insights give you the nudge needed to live a successfully fulfilling second-half of life.This optimistic but practical view of life addresses issues that affect your emotional, physical, spiritual, and financial health.

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The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity Review

The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of Christianity
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"The gospel narratives leave us with a powerful icon of the deep and pure soul love between Mary Magdalene and Jesus..a deep and mystical bond between them, stronger than physical life or death,(which) becomes profoundly engendering to the whole subsequent unfolding of Christianity" ( C. Bourgeault 2008 The Wisdom Jesus). Picking up themes from earlier work which are at the heart of her teaching and Thomas Keating's, and further exploring her own almost life long interest in Mary Magdalene, this book, takes us on a journey through an imaginal ( not the same as imagined) consideration of the relationship between Jesus and Mary. The Rev. Bourgeault takes us on a journey, informed by faith, experience and a sparkling intellect through an ages old consideration of the relationship between eros and agape. Before taking us on this journey with her, she first visits what we know of Mary in history referring to the bible as well as the gnostic gospels (but not the Pistis Sophia or the Jesus Sophia) and very logically in very human terms points to the evidence that the relationship was deeply personal, intimate and loving and that Mary most likely had her own .spiritual gifts. Rev. Bourgeault tells us that the meaning of Mary is not as sophia incarnate, that the recovery of Magdalene is not a recovery of Sophia, the feminine divine. There is only one ordering principle,not a masculine and a feminine,she says with compelling clarity. The real meaning of Mary Magdalene to Christianity is in her human being..in her being the first Christian..the first to understand and model Jesus' transparency ( not as God but as Human (sic))There is obviously much more experience, thought and revelation to be shared than could be accommodated in these few pages. There is no question that The Rev. Bourgeault's voice is an authentic one on the subject of Mary Magdalene..she tells us she has been drawn to Mary Magdalene for more than 40 years. Readers and students interested in further exploration or deeper understanding of the themes in this book might also want to read, or re read, Wisdom Jesus and Love is Stronger than Death. Her bibilographies are always a treasure trove and a work of hers cited in this book is well worth a read for further background on eros as divine love (Spring 1999 issue of Gnosis..available through Field Books, San Francisco) Sardello also speaks very movingly to the transformative power of the sacred in relationship, to the emanation of a third and sacred presence from such relationships, in Chapter six of his book, Silence. Athough a very different kind of book, oustide the garden wall of wisdom teaching for contemplatives, Jane Norton's "The Mary Magdalene Within" is a plain English version of the imaginal relationship Bourgeault conveys in her book which may make what Bourgeault is saying here more accessible to you. Reread..a few times. ..and do explore other sources, especially those she recommends.
It is possible that some of what the Rev. Bourgeault asks us to consider may be rough going.( mostly things mentioned in passing and not developed)but she is only asking us to consider and not for the sake of persuasion but to provoke a search for clarity within ourselves.


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Mary Magdalene is one of the most influential symbols in the history of Christianity—yet, if you look in the Bible, you'll find only a handful of verses that speak of her. How did she become such a compelling saint in the face of such paltry evidence? In her effort to answer that question, Cynthia Bourgeault examines the Bible, church tradition, art, legend, and newly discovered texts to see what's there. She then applies her own reasoning and intuition, informed by the wisdom of the ages-old Christian contemplative tradition. What emerges is a radical view of Mary Magdalene as Jesus's most important disciple, the one he considered to understand his teaching best. That teaching was characterized by a nondualistic approach to the world and by a deep understanding of the value of the feminine. Cynthia shows how an understanding of Mary Magdalene can revitalize contemporary Christianity, how Christians and others can, through her, find their way to Jesus's original teachings and apply them to their modern lives.

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Feasting on the Word, Year A,: Season After Pentecost 2 (Propers 17-reign of Christ) Review

Feasting on the Word, Year A,: Season After Pentecost 2 (Propers 17-reign of Christ)
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Very intelligent, thought provoking and inspiring as one prepares to preach the Scriptures week after week.
One of the best I have seen in a long time.

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With this twelve-volume series, Westminster John Knox Press offers one of the most extensive and well-respected resources for preaching on the market today. The twelve volumes cover all of the Sundays in the three-year lectionary cycle, along with moveable occasions. The page layout is truly unique. For each lectionary text, preachers will find brief essays--one each on the exegetical, theological, pastoral, and homiletical challenges of the text. Each volume also contains an indexof biblical passages so that nonlectionary preachers may make use of it.

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Echoes from an Empty Sky: the Origins of the Buddhist Doctrine of the Two Truths Review

Echoes from an Empty Sky: the Origins of the Buddhist Doctrine of the Two Truths
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Written by the head of the Voice of America's Tibetan Broadcast Service to Tibet and South Asia, Echoes From An Empty Sky: The Origins Of The Buddhist Doctrine Of The Two Truths is a technical and spiritual evaluation of the fundamental Buddhist doctrine of two truths - conventional truth and ultimate truth - portrayed not as strict constructs of language, but rather as realities which language strives to accurately portray. The first truth referred to the true statements that the Buddha made; the second referred to the sorts of objects in the world. Sections discuss "Ancient Indian Speculation on Language and Reality", "Early Buddhist Views on Language, Truth, and Interpretation", "The Buddha's Word", and the two truths themselves especially in context of the Vaibhasika School and the Sravaka Schools. A scholarly study of Buddhist scripture, tenets, philosophy, and contextual reference, Echoes From An Empty Sky is especially recommended for intermediate to advanced Buddhist Studies reference shelves and supplemental reading lists.


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The doctrine of the two truths--conventional and ultimate--evolved as early Buddhists struggled to reconcile apparent contradictions within the collected sayings of the Buddha.Understood as a teaching on reality as opposed to merely a linguistic distinction.

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American Confusion from Vietnam to Kosovo: Coping with Chaos in High Places Review

American Confusion from Vietnam to Kosovo: Coping with Chaos in High Places
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Taylor portrays the dynamics of confusion in large organizations quite
accurately, and has tested his model by forecasting events in the
Balkans. One of those forecasts, that conflict would not end with the
cessation of the US/NATO bombing of Serbia in 1999, seems amply borne
out. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in
understanding the complexities of geopolitics from a fresh perspective.


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CA$HVERTISING: How to Use More than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone Review

CA$HVERTISING: How to Use More than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone
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I have developed several hundred websites over the last decade, optimized them for Google, and have literally made millions for my clients. I'm always looking for a new edge in advertising, for myself and for my clients.
Ca$hvertising offers that edge. I was skeptical when I noticed that the book had only five-star ratings, I wondered if the reviews were fake. By the time I was halfway through the second chapter, I realized that this book absolutely delivered.
Whether your focus is on print ads, or in web promotion like myself, Ca$hvertising breaks down WHY people respond to certain ads. Once the author explains why people buy, he offers ideas on how you can make those people your customers. Whitman explains exactly how you can tap into the desires that all humans are naturally born with. These aren't theories or assumptions, he backs these techniques up with concrete psychological studies.
The second chapter, on the 17 principles of consumer psychology, is worth its weight in gold. All humans are born with a built-in set of desires, and the author explains exactly how you can tap into them. While most of the book is geared towards print advertising, I found that a great deal of it could be applied towards internet marketing. Plus, the guy is downright funny, and the book is written in a conversational tone that makes you forget that you're actually learning something.
Let me cut to the chase. Every day that you don't own this book, you're losing money. Buy this book today, and it will teach you how to persuade people to pay for your product or service.

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Listen to the Wind Speak from the Heart Review

Listen to the Wind Speak from the Heart
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Thank you Thunderhands for a powerful spiritual book that speaks to my heart exactly when I need it, as I need it to. Everyone should own a copy of this book simply because as you open the book to any given page as the Creator wills, you find the message you need to hear. Thoughtfully written from Thunderhand's years of being blanketed by the Spirit, one is entirely blessed by its content, wisdom and guidance.

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I don't consider this a self help book, but more of a "Spirit Help" book of counsel or thoughts for consideration.The title is self explanatory in a way. However the term "listening to the wind" is from the Native American tradition, as is speaking from the heart, or the one eye of the heart (Chante Ista). My view of listening to the wind is listening to what nature, the universe, and your higher self is telling you, or maybe telling you to pass on to others. Speaking from the heart is conveying the messages you get from listening to the wind. It can also mean speaking straight and not with a forked tongue.You travel the road of life and you write about things, and maybe these things will strike a chord with others. I leave it to Great Spirit as to whether or not this is meaningful for you. My intention is that some kind of healing will take place from the thoughts that I am offering for consideration. I believe in the old ways where a counsel of elders would sit around a campfire and speak their thoughts. Take it in that spirit. So no table of contents, open the book to any page or read in any order.

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Speaking of Teaching: Lessons from History Review

Speaking of Teaching: Lessons from History
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Gabriel Moran again shows how, to the attentive reader, to situate the teaching-learning enterprise within its personal, societal and, for lack of a better word, cosmic perspective. He may no longer be in the popular forefront of contemporary religious education, but that is a great loss for those new to the field as they base their designs on sandy soil. Would that Moran become again a mentor to all those engaged in showing all of us how to raise the questions embedded in the depths of our human experiences, questions the developing answers to which, will anchor each person's quest for meaning, truth, beauty and love. Joseph Forgue; Oklahoma City, OK

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Speaking of Teaching: Lessons from History focuses on teaching as a fundamental act of all human beings, viewing the question of teaching through the lens of five famous thinkers and two contemporary problems. Moran argues that teaching is not given the attention that it deserves and proposes to situate school teaching in the context of many forms of teaching. Tracing the history of the idea of teaching from Socrates to Wittgenstein in the first several chapters, this book also examines the intricacies of teaching morality and religion, showcasing society's ambivalence about teaching.

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Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text With Exercises Review

Legal Writing in Plain English: A Text With Exercises
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Bryan A. Garner is leading what might be a Quixotic charge to make lawyers write clear, clean, unambiguous and even interesting prose. This book is a recent addition to the Garner arsenal, which includes the excellent The Winning Brief and A Dictionary of Modern Legal Usage. The anonymous writer from New York who slams Garner is wrong. He claims that traditional legal drafting has stood the test of time and is readily understood by judges, who ultimately have to interpret it. If the writing were clear to begin with, the parties wouldn't get to a judge. They'd likely settle. And that writer ignores the fact that there are thousands, perhaps millions, of legal decisions over contract disputes, almost all arising from documents that were "traditionally drafted." And different judges can decide differently about the meaning of a clause. That writer askes rhetorically whether Garner would insist that mathematicians use prose to make their work clear to laypeople. The rhetoric ignores the fact that mathematics is its own language. Legal writing is written in English, the same English used to buy groceries, talk lovingly to your spouse, and complain to the doctor about what ails you. There is no valid reason a contract should be beyond the comprehension of a layperson, other than lawyers' need to feel like they're elevated professionals with a grip on arcana. And the writer's praise of "Notwithstanding anything to the contrary" as an incantatory phrase in contracts overlooks an obvious improvement: "DESPITE anything in this agreement to the contrary . . . ." Garner is a brilliant, insightful teacher who cares deeply about the language and its highest and best use. We know what happens with legalese: litigation and contention and noncomprehension. Give plain English a try, with Garner as your guide to Aquinas's trinity of wholeness, harmony, radiance, and of course clarity clarity clarity.

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Admirably clear, concise, down-to-earth, and powerful-unfortunately, these adjectives rarely describe legal writing, whether in the form of briefs, opinions, contracts, or statutes. In Legal Writing in Plain English, Bryan A. Garner provides lawyers, judges, paralegals, law students, and legal scholars sound advice and practical tools for improving their written work. The book encourages legal writers to challenge conventions and offers valuable insights into the writing process: how to organize ideas, create and refine prose, and improve editing skills. In essence, it teaches straight thinking—a skill inseparable from good writing.Replete with common sense and wit, the book draws on real-life writing samples that Garner has gathered through more than a decade of teaching in the field. Trenchant advice covers all types of legal materials, from analytical and persuasive writing to legal drafting. Meanwhile, Garner explores important aspects of document design. Basic, intermediate, and advanced exercises in each section reinforce the book's principles. (An answer key to basic exercises is included in the book; answers to intermediate and advanced exercises are provided in a separate Instructor's Manual, free of charge to instructors.) Appendixes include a comprehensive punctuation guide with advice and examples, and four model documents.Today more than ever before, legal professionals cannot afford to ignore the trend toward clear language shorn of jargon. Clients demand it, and courts reward it. Despite the age-old tradition of poor writing in law, Legal Writing in Plain English shows how legal writers can unshackle themselves.Legal Writing in Plain English includes:*Tips on generating thoughts, organizing them, and creating outlines.*Sound advice on expressing your ideas clearly and powerfully.*Dozens of real-life writing examples to illustrate writing problems and solutions.*Exercises to reinforce principles of good writing (also available on the Internet).*Helpful guidance on page layout.*A punctuation guide that shows the correct uses of every punctuation mark.*Model legal documents that demonstrate the power of plain English.

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A Walk Across America Review

A Walk Across America
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Peter Jenkins story of his 1973-1975 walk from New York to New Orleans is one of those books that you just can not put done once you have started. You will find yourself thinking about the book when you should be doing other things and you can't wait to pick it up again. When I finished reading the book I wanted more. I even purchased the old April 1977 National Geographic Magazine to read his article that he wrote for them and see even more of the pictures of his journey. Luckly, Jenkins journey does not stop in New Orleans, his walk continues and so do his books: The Walk West, The Road Unseen, Close Friends, and Across China.
Peter Jenkins says, "I started out searching for myself and my country and found both." The story would have been good enough just hearing about the trip, the things that he saw, how he survived, and the companionship of his faithful dog; but what make the book great is the people. The people that he meets, how they accept him, and in some cases don't. It is the sociology as well as the adventure that make this one of the best books I ever read for pleasure.

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Twenty-five years ago, a disillusioned young man set out on a walk across America. This is the book he wrote about that journey -- a classic account of the reawakening of his faith in himself and his country.

"I started out searching for myself and my country," Peter Jenkins writes, "and found both." In this timeless classic, Jenkins describes how disillusionment with society in the 1970s drove him out onto the road on a walk across America. His experiences remain as sharp and telling today as they were twenty-five years ago -- from the timeless secrets of life, learned from a mountain-dwelling hermit, to the stir he caused by staying with a black family in North Carolina, to his hours of intense labor in Southern mills. Many, many miles later, he learned lessons about his country and himself that resonate to this day -- and will inspire a new generation to get out, hit the road and explore.


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Wind, Sand and Stars Review

Wind, Sand and Stars
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Antoine de Saint-Exupery was one of the most interesting figures of 20th century literature. He wrote The Little Prince, a children's book that sold 200,000 copies in the U.S. alone in one year several years ago, and was also the author of several novels and memoirs, all relating to flying, of which this is one. The author was MIA over his beloved France while flying for the Free French Air Force in 1944 (after having to argue to be allowed to fly in combat; he was considered a national treasure). It appears the site of the wreck was discovered in the water just off the Riviera a couple of years ago, though no one's certain.
Wind, Sand and Stars is a recounting of several episodes in Saint-Exupery's life as a pilot, told to illustrate his view of the world, and especially his opinions of what makes life worth living, and who we are or should be. He was a wonderfully insightful individual, and his prose and ideas are the sort of thing you'll carry with you for years. I would highly recommend this book.

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The Rapture of Canaan Review

The Rapture of Canaan
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Rapture of Canaan is an honestly good book. A highly engrossing tale about an extremely religious commune and the severity of their faith. A novel of sharply-crafted twists and turns and one that will play with your emotions. This is a story of one girl's faith in her church and in God and her struggle to balance freedom within the iron walls of the world in which she lives.
Grandpa Herman, founder of The Church of Fire and Brimstone and God's Almighty Baptizing Wind, has a flock to tend to -- his congregation, where some mimic Herman's steadfast and unnerving faith, and some who occassionally stray from the righteous path. And perhaps the most surprising stray of all is his granddaughter, Ninah. Twelve-year-old Ninah, who finds difficulty in controlling her first adolescent stirrings, manages somehow to twist them and convince herself the things she does with her prayer partner, James, is nothing more than learning about Jesus's love through each other. And once the community finds out, the whole system of the Church is shocked to a halt. "The wages of sin is death," says Grandpa Herman. The story plays out wickedly as the truth of Ninah's transgressions plummets to an end....The rapture has come.
The Rapture of Canaan is a powerful and stunning novel. Shari Reynold's prose is a tapestry of faith, religion, fear, sadness, life and death, all woven to create a picture of a cult-like existence and how it effects those in which it governs. A truly page-turning saga that expresses the all-encompassing love for Jesus and the trials of a girl finding her way. An uplifting and frightening mix. A great read.

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Girl in Hyacinth Blue Review

Girl in Hyacinth Blue
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The concept of this novel, tracing the history of a painting by going back in time chapter by chapter, is just my cup of tea. Susan Vreeland has done an excellent job in transferring this unique notion to paper. I've always enjoyed antiques and wondered about its origination; Girl in Hyacinth Blue was like a dream come true in that respect.
The story begins with math professor, Cornelius Engelbrecht. He was bequeathed a painting from his father, who claims it a masterpiece by the Dutch artist Vermeer. There are no papers to prove this statement; however, the bigger picture is the way Cornelius's father obtained the painting...a way that has haunted him all his life.
Each chapter moves back in time to the previous owner of the painting. Readers follow the painting from the wall of Cornelius's father to the actual inspiration and creation of it. Each vignette houses new sets of characters with the painting as its central core. Slowly, with each turning page, we reveal another part of the painting's history, layer by layer, and what it has meant to the people whose lives it touched.
Girl in Hyacinth Blue made for a wonderful reading experience. I recommend this novel to those who enjoy lovely period pieces or like getting to the bare bones of a story. A very in depth and beautiful premise. I have Susan's next book on my list.

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Lockdown Review

Lockdown
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Lockdown, the newest release from Printz award-winning author Walter Dean Myers, couldn't have come at a better time. Burned out from a succession of novels that each read much like the one before it, lacking voice and pizazz, Lockdown provided a much needed - and much appreciated - change. This journey into the life of a boy who made a mistake and pays for it over and over again is both beautiful and sorrowful.
Reese is a boy you've known: someone who tries his best to stay out of trouble when the story of his life is trouble. A big brother in and out of prison, an addict mom, a microcosm society of hopelessness, this is what Reese grows up with and when that fateful day comes that he makes his own mistake and is sent to juvie, no one's going to let him forget where he comes from - and what little he has to look forward to.
Reese has all kinds of obstacles to navigate at the Progress Center: physical violence, authority figures who alternately beat him down and maintain unrealistic high expectations of him, a crusty old racist in the retirement home he volunteers at, uncertainty about his future when he gets out. But Reese, despite his mistake, is self-aware and concerned for others. But even that gets him into trouble. How do you rescue a smaller kid from getting jumped when one more fight cancels out your early-release?
I was struck and saddened by the way the disciplinary system in Lockdown worked to damage Reese's character rather than heal it because it was so truthfully portrayed. Even so, Reese shines in his interactions with his sister, Icy, and I found myself hoping against fate that good things would happen for him. His optimism under pressure was inspiring.
Walter Dean Myers has one of the most vivid and real voices I have come across in Young Adult literature. I'd like to repeat that sentence three or four times, but I won't. He doesn't rely on dialect or slang to illustrate his setting and characters; instead, there is a natural rhythm to the narration and the dialogue that compelled me into the story, into the time and place and understanding of Reese's world. And yet, it feels subtle, not at all forceful or in-your-face. Myers is a master storyteller and Reese's tale shines under his treatment.
~review by YA Highway, [...]

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