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A collection of delightful Christmas stories from the talented Connie Willis-- some of them are heartwarming, others are creepy or a bit disturbing, but all of them will entertain you-- and the best will you leave you wondering just a bit. Willis is a big fan of Christmas, and has a great deal of respect for all the drama and power of the original Christmas story, and the stories collected here are unique and strange and wonderful.

A few of my favorite stories in this collection: the titular "Miracle", which plays out like some of Willis' other screwball romantic comedies; the wonderful story "Inn", where one choir member is the only person not too busy with Christmas to notice a strange homeless couple in the snow outside the church, and discovers that the young couple is really Joseph and a very pregnant Mary, lost (in time as well as space) on their way to Bethlehem; "Cat's Paw" presents a fascinating Christmas mystery; "Newsletter" is a humorous parody of the Christmas letters so many people send, and includes a possible invasion by aliens who are making people behave nicer than usual; and the last story, "Epiphany", is a wonderful story of three unlikely modern wise men-- a Presbyterian pastor, his atheist friend, and a former English teacher-- who are inspired to "go west", despite their own doubts and fears for their own sanity, in search of Christ, who has returned, but not in the way most would expect.

Willis also provides, as a "gift" to the reader, some recommendations-- twelve things to read, and twelve to watch. Some I'm familiar with, and some I will have to check out sometime soon. Her stories seem are gift enough, but I find it delightful that Willis wants to share with her readers some of her own favorites, and recognizes how wonderful it is to discover new authors, and how we frequently do that through the work of authors we already love.

Title:	Miracle and Other Christmas Stories
Author:	Connie Willis
Date published:	1999
Genre:	Short Story
Number of pages:	298
Notes:	Second reading.

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A delightful collection of full-color, full-size Sunday comics from the hilarious and heart-warming comic strip, "Rose is Rose." Brady depicts the adventures of a loving family-- Rose, Jimbo, their son Pasquale, and their cat Peekaboo, too. This is a world where imagination comes to life-- at any moment, Rose may turn into her alter ego, or Rose and Jimbo may revert to their child selves; at night, Pasquale explores the universe in his dream ship, and he is always protected by his guardian angel, who sometimes appears in child guise, and sometimes in full warrior mode.

The artwork is wonderful, and the colors are vibrant. Some of my favorite strips in this collection are the ones that begin in black and white and show color returning to the world-- the contrast makes the vitality and warmth of the colors even more clear. I laughed out loud several times reading through these. It is also delightful to see Brady's depiction of a healthy, happy family who love one another and provide ample space for exploration and imagination.

Title:	Rose is Rose in Loving Color : A Collection of Sunday Rose is Rose Comics
Author:	Pat Brady
Date published:	1999
Genre:	Humor
Series:	Rose is Rose
Number of pages:	128

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I've been enjoying Joss Whedon's X-Men so much, I thought I'd like to read some more comic books. When I was looking for something to read, this book caught my eye because of Neil Gaiman's name, and the concept of the book was intriguing enough to keep me looking at it. This book is a what-if, or alternate history: what if all the great Marvel heroes appeared in the 1600s instead of in our day and age? It's delightful to see these familiar characters drawn wearing period costume that is often uncannily similar to their modern outfits. It's also a fascinating idea-- these heroes have a difficult enough time in an age like our own; how would they fare in the world of the Inquisition, when those who were different were executed? It is a telling fact that the X-Men of this time are called "witchbreed."

Gaiman eventually does provide a reason for the appearance of these "marvels and heroes" before their time-- something or someone has punched through time and disrupted its flow, causing the heroes to show up now instead of centuries later. This both gives the story depth and provides a crisis that the heroes must deal with, lest this time singularity rip a hole in the cosmos and destroy the galaxy.

It is very entertaining to meet the different heroes and hear the variations of their origin stories-- for instance, the Fantastic Four were sailing on a ship to the new world and struck by some phenomenon in the Bermuda Triangle area. Gaiman also adds another interesting character, Virginia Dare-- the first person of European descent born in the Americas, at the colony of Roanoke. In some cases, to those like me who are not intimately familiar with all the many Marvel characters, it may not immediately be obvious who the different players are-- and it is entertaining to discover them later.

I found the story very engaging, and I liked the bigger revelations about certain characters. I was slightly disappointed with the ending, but that is in part because of what it may do to future stories (and I think there is a sequel coming, although it may not be written by Gaiman)-- it seems that the ending might make any further stories about these characters feel more trivial, less real; although, perhaps that is a silly concern on my part, since it is all an alternate history of fantastic, unreal characters to begin with.

Title:	Marvel 1602
Author:	Neil Gaiman, artwork by Andy Kubert
Date published:	2005
Genre:	Graphic Novel
Number of pages:	248

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This book deals somewhat with Yancey's own wounding by the church, and most of the pages are dedicated to the people that Yancey believes helped him to survive, and even thrive, as a Christian. In each case, he provides biographical data, and his own interactions with these people-- whether he has met them (which he has, in many cases), or how their writing or work have affected him. It is a book that takes a while to read, because there is so much to digest and take in, but it is well worth the time.

The book is made up of 13 chapters, and each one focusses on a different person (or people, in the case of Tolstoy & Dostoevsky, who are paired together). Each person provides different kinds of lessons and encouragement.

• Martin Luther King, Jr. - the courage to make moral choices, despite being a flawed person
• G. K. Chesterton - the joyous, energetic outlook of the prolific journalist and author
• Dr. Paul Brand - a physician who studied pain and made great progress working with leprosy patients
• Dr. Robert Coles - an insightful psychologist who studied the poor and downtrodden, among others
• Leo Tolstoy and Feodor Dostoevsky - two Russian authors who understood the human psyche and could portray it so well, and who grasped different parts of the gospel; Tolstoy understood the call to perfection in spite of human flawedness, while Dostoevsky understood grace.
• Mahatma Ghandhi - one man who accomplished amazing things, often more than armies could do; while not a believer, Ghandhi adopted principles from the life of Jesus, and lived more like him than most believers did.
• Dr. C. Everett Koop - a Surgeon General who did his best at his job, remained upright in a corrupt political world, and alienated many because of the stands he took
• John Donne - the poet and pastor who dealt with death and faith honestly in the meditations he wrote when he thought he was dying
• Annie Dillard - the contemporary author who observes the things around her so carefully, and can see such horror and splendor in the world of nature.
• Frederick Buechner - the author who wrote sermons and theological works that read more like novels and memoirs
• Shusako Endo - the Japanese author who experienced alienation in so many ways, and instead of the martyrs and heroes of the faith, identified more with the Japanese Christians who renounced their faith in order to survive
• Henri Nouwen - the priest and professor who gave up worldly success in exchange for "downard mobility" and "inward mobility", choosing poverty and life in a community of the kind of people society does not value

Many of the people Yancey writes about are authors, so the topic of writing and what it means to be a writer comes up more than once, in interesting ways and with different insights. At the end of each chapter, Yancey also provides suggestions for books to read as a starting point to find out more about each of these amazing people.

Title:	Soul Survivor: How My Faith Survived the Church
Author:	Philip Yancey
Date published:	2001
Genre:	Spiritual Biography
Number of pages:	336
Notes:	Read over a couple of months.

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This book was written by a woman who knows that life is not easy, and that pain and death are part of life. Somehow, God can be more present in those times than otherwise – and it is a way to know Him more deeply. Townsend talks about God's deep love extending over the entire world, and that because His does, our hearts too should be open to those around us, both near and unknown. If I desire to be more like Jesus, I must share in His suffering – and God suffers with all those who suffer. It is incomprehensible, but true at least on some levels. Townsend quotes C.S. Lewis, who says 'no event has so corroborated my faith in the next world as Williams did by dying. When the idea of death and the idea of Williams thus met in my mind, it was the idea of death that was changed.' She also addresses the idea that from the most broken and dark places comes the brightest light, giving an example of a poor Thai village that lived much in darkness yet produced beautiful tapestries and clothes worthy of royalty. 'Apathy is a luxury in which I dare not indulge' (p72).

Townsend also brings balance to this topic, talking about how love must come from the knowledge of being the Beloved – finding strength in His love to continue loving even though it takes energy. 'No matter what another man does to us we will never, under any circumstances, seek anything but his good' (p84) speaking about agape love. The last chapter is titled 'costly caring', and she addresses the issue of carrying one another's burdens, even in a literal sense sometimes. This is possible, uncomfortable, hard but sometimes a special gift that God gives. This is book which addresses the problem of pain in some day-to-day ways.

Title:	Suffering Without Pretending
Author:	Anne J. Townsend
Date published:	1979
Genre:	Christian Autobiography
Number of pages:	96
Notes:	Borrowed from Jude's office

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Because this is such a popular book, I was on the waiting list in the library system for about month. And in this particular library system there were possibly 80 copies of the book.. Even though it's popular, is is worth reading. Gladwell writes well and comprehensibly, introducing scientific information and ideas in ways that are understandable for the average Joe Schmoe. Ideas are made tangible through many studies and stories. The basic idea is that humans often know things without being able to explain why.

Experts can train themselves so they have a better understanding of how to classify their knowledge and how to explain what they know and why. But those of us who aren't experts in a field, if given the opportunity to explain our reasons, would confuse everyone involved and probably change our opinions. One good way of understanding this is the human face – we can understand emotion without identifying it. For example, the face can't hide thoughts – if i am lying to you, there will be a hint of that shown on my face at one point, even if just for a second or less.

Another concept is thin-slicing -- being able to take a little piece of conversation or interaction and predict. John Gottman has studied couples for a long time and came up with 20 or so emotions and ways of interacting, like stonewalling, contempt, criticism... He has studied and become an expert at how negative and positive emotions look and sound, and now can listen to a couple for fifteen minutes or less at another dinner table and predict with high probability of being right whether they will stay together. If you know what to look for, it is present in all the interactions of a couple – or in the way doctors treat their patients, or in just a few questions to determine if someone is truly in danger of a heart attack.

Knowing when to trust one's instinct and when not to is also important – because if we have associations with certain types of people or certain environments, that will color our thinking too. This is a very interesting read – I would like to put into practice some of the tips and ways of thinking (or not thinking) about life.

Title:	Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking
Author:	Malcom Gladwell
Date published:	2005
Genre:	nonfiction, popular science
Number of pages:	254
Notes:	Very popular book, but worthwhile anyway..!

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The first book I have ever read by McKillip. It will definitely not be my last. Would like to read this book again - slowly - to savor and catch more of the underlying meaning and ideas that are beautifully hidden. McKillip creates a fantasy world where magic is part of the weave of society and the environment. A princes (Sidonie) is sent to marry a prince (Ronan) in another kingdom (Serre), where odd things are known to happen almost commonly. Ronan interacts with Brume the witch, who sends him on a quest to find the firebird who is beautiful, gold, bird, woman, and so captivating that all those who hear its beautiful song lose their hearts.

McKillip uses common magic characters like witch, ogre, talking animals, things that appear one way but are another – but uses them to describe people as well, and not just those who are truly magic. For instance, one man is an ogre because of his spitefulness and anger, which is an interesting crossing of lines. Many people have some form of power or magic, and it is used well and poorly and to affect others for good or evil. Things only possible in a fantasy world happen beautifully and characters that seem disconnected suddenly find themselves needing and affecting each other. McKillip's work is both refreshing and captivating, like the song of the firebird.

Title:	In The Forests of Serre
Author:	Patricia McKillip
Date published:	2003
Genre:	Fantasy
Number of pages:	295
Notes:	Recommended by Lark

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This is the first-written and most famous of the Narnia books. It's not my favorite of the Chronicles, in part because of its popularity; it bothers me a little bit that so many people have only read this book, and not any of the other Chronicles of Narnia (they are missing out on so much!). However, I have to admit that it is actually worth their time; they should at least read this one, even if they don't get around to the others. It is actually better, and deeper than I remembered.

I seemed to pay better attention to the details of the book this time through; perhaps that is because I knew I would be discussing it with others, and maybe also because I'm imagining the movie and wondering how they will handle certain things.

One detail I thought was odd was the narrator's insistence on the wisdom of not shutting a wardrobe door on oneself-- it's mentioned more than once, and seems to be one way of differentiating the common sense that both Lucy and Peter have, but which Edmund is notably lacking. Wardrobes are a bit less common these days, or at least in the States, so it seems like an odd concern, although I imagine there might not be a latch or door knob on the inside of one, so it would be easy to get stuck if you unwisely let the door latch when you are inside... It's a small point, but it struck me as rather odd.

I also paid more attention to the whole scene of Aslan's sacrifice for Edmund. I don't know if I've never really noticed it before (it seems so obvious that I must have, but I don't distinctly remember), but the parallels with Christ's death and resurrection are pretty detailed. For instance, Lucy & Susan are the only ones who sense Aslan's mood and follow him, and then walk with him as he goes back to the Stone Table, and then watch the whole scene from the safety of the woods-- just as the women were the ones who were actually present at the crucifixion, while the men were off hiding. (Why is that? Were male disciples considered more dangerous? Did the authorities not even consider the possibility that women would also be followers?) Likewise, the Witch's party jeers and taunts Aslan, calling him "puss" and such-- just as the Roman soldiers taunted Christ. One interesting difference here is that the dark creatures of Narnia are well aware of Aslan's strength and powers (although they underestimate the depth of those powers), and are afraid of him until they have thoroughly bound him. I think that in Christ's case, the soldiers, at least when they were taunting and manhandling him, did not believe he had any power over them. I also noticed Jadis calling Aslan a fool, and saying that once she has killed him, she will then kill Edmund and cement her rule over all of Narnia. This struck a chord with me, because so often the wisdom of God is foolishness to us; it is not logical, according to the rules we know-- because we are not acquainted with the "deeper magic from before the dawn of time".

Some of the descriptions are very colorful, and will be exciting to see on the big screen in the theater-- in particular the resurrection of Aslan, and then when Aslan breathes new life into all the creatures the White Witch has turned into statues. When Lucy & Susan are staring out at the sea and Cair Paravel, before they know Aslan has come back, in addition to the returning light and color, there is also one star still visible, above the horizon; I think it must be the daystar, which is a symbol of Christ, and of his return.

Title:	The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe
Author:	C. S. Lewis
Date published:	1950
Genre:	Fantasy / Young Adult
Series:	Chronicles of Narnia
Number of pages:	186
Notes:	Repeat reading. Read and discussed with community group.

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An autobiography about the amazing things that God is doing in Mozambique. These two people decided to give their lives to God, and to let Him do whatever He wanted in them. It means that they eventually got to go to Africa – specifically Mozambique, which was/is in some desperate straits. They are charismatic / pentacostal – meaning that they believe the Spirit works and does amazing things. The Bakers started to befriend those who had nothing and nobody to love them - and God met them and came generously upon those who they were getting to know and ministering to and teaching. This is a story of God's faithfulness – that He will always provide enough. He promises to be enough – and people experiencing flooding, famine, and real hunger wanted Jesus more than food, because that is what they all needed and longed for at the deepest level.

Amazing stories – orphans being healed in every sense of the word, seeing visions of Bible stories and heaven without ever hearing them, a few pastors who have prayed and seen the dead live again, people walking and traveling for days to get to their conferences because they spoke the Word of God in power and the Spirit came too, more than 5000 churches in a few years... Things like this can only happen because of God. Astonishing and encouraging.

Title:	There's Always Enough: The Miraculous Move of God in Mozambique
Author:	Heidi and Rolland Baker
Date published:	2003
Genre:	Christian Autobiography
Number of pages:	188
Notes:	Borrowed from Julia

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This book was written as part of the Dungeons & Dragons universe, and the story was apparently developed as a new role-playing module when it was written. The story feels a bit like a rip-off of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings trilogy, with a strange group of different kinds of people going through various lands on a desperate quest. The group is led by a half-elf, Tanis, and includes a dwarf, a knight, a pair of twins--one a burly warrior and the other a sickly, but powerful and mysterious, mage-- and even a kleptomaniac kender, a halfling a bit like a hobbit-- but more playful and immune to fear. Along the way, the group picks up a barbarian pair, Romeo and Juliet type lovers from their tribe, with a mysterious blue crystal staff, and discover that the presumed-mythical dragons actually do exist, and that they are part of an army poised to overrun their land.

The story is fairly interesting, although not as tight as I would like-- there are a lot of threads left hanging at the end, and I hope at least some of them will be resolved in the books that follow in this trilogy (an unfortunate tendency of authors who can't seem to trust to the quality of their writing and characters to make readers want to find and read any sequels). The writing and descriptions tend to be a bit overblown, and sometimes don't quite make sense if you pay too much attention to the writing. In other places, things seem to be needlessly complicated -- for instance, the dragons all have two names, a human name and a dragon name. Their names are interesting, but the complication of having to remember and relate two different names seems unnecessary. The heroes quest doesn't seem to be very direct; it almost seems as if they are wandering all over the land of Krynn, first here, then there, back and forth, and that makes it harder to engage with the book. I suppose, though, that it would be more fitting for a role-playing game, because it would allow you to revisit the same lands and territories.

Some of the plot points seem to hinge on certain religious questions of these lands (the old gods are missing, the priests are 'Seekers' of new gods), and that-- among other things-- made it harder for me to engage with the story. The characters are all fairly interesting (and each, of course, has their own backstory and struggles)-- although they still seem a bit clichéd, perhaps because they are the character types you would play in a game. The book definitely picks up in the last third, when the action gets more dramatic and exciting, and while in some cases it is not quite believable, and in others it is a bit predictable, it still makes for a fun ride.

Title:	Dragons of Autumn Twilight
Author:	Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman
Date published:	1984
Genre:	Fantasy
Series:	Dragonlance Chronicles
Number of pages:	447
Notes:	Recommended by G.

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I was challenged by this book. Barbara decides (with the help of a friend and editor) to see what it's like to make minimum wage and try to live on it. She ends up as a waitress in Florida, a house cleaner in Maine, and an associate at Walmart in Minnesota. These jobs all take physical energy, and most were at least 8 hours a day. She had a hard time finding cheap housing (and didn't always feel safe when she did), finding a reasonable place to work, and getting to know the ropes of that new job (because no job is really 'unskilled'.)

The author, undercover reporter of sorts, brings up issues like what it means to be poor – what sorts of demeaning situations minimum wage workers are often in – kinds of food which are cheap and accessible – what her neighbors were like – the stories of her coworkers who weren't going back to her comfortable life at the end of the month. The gap between the rich and poor continues to widen, and we as Americans aren't doing that much to stop it.

Ehrenreich doesn't really present solutions or ways we might address the issues – but does a good job presenting the problems as real situations for real people who may not survive long without being given rights and wages that actually cover a down payment on an apartment instead of just weekly motels. No room for God or grace in this book, but – it does a good job of accomplishing the original purpose and helping to open the eyes of those who read it.

Title:	Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America
Author:	Barbara Ehrenreich
Date published:	2001
Genre:	Nonfiction
Number of pages:	221
Notes:	Recommended by Amy P., and then John & Jude

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This book definitely fits into the epic category. A novel which takes place over many years and covers the full life span of one individual and all the people he interacts with along the way – but that central individual is not really the center of the action. Adam trask has a twin, named Charles (C & A), and they are always fighting for their father's love. Adam has it and doesn't really want it, and Charles desperately wants it but doesn't really have it. Much later on, Adam has two twins – Caleb and Aron (C & A again), who repeat that same struggle. There are characters in the book which are all shades of good and evil. Some have all of one and can't imagine the other, while others are mixtures and can't figure out how to live well in either category.

This a a good story, and keeps one interested. Not only do you read about the lives of the characters, but also the lives of America before and during World War I. There are chapters interspersed where Steinbeck poetically describes the state of the nation or of California. I enjoyed this book, and also enjoy that Steinbeck can't seem to get away from Biblical references in his books (I've only read two, but that is very true of both.)

Title:	East of Eden
Author:	John Steinbeck
Date published:	1952
Genre:	Historical Fiction
Number of pages:	602
Notes:	Borrowed from Miriam

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The highly-anticipated (at least by me and G.) follow-up to X-Men: Dangerous lived up to my expectations. It deals with the aftermath of the "mutant cure", specifically in the life of Wing, a young flying mutant who was injected with the serum in the last volume. The Fantastic Four also make an appearance, and it was fun to see those characters interacting. But most important and fascinating is Whedon's notion of the Danger Room coming to life-- and what outcome might result from an Artificial Intelligence devoted entirely to violence.

Whedon's writing continues to be subtle and funny-- hinting at more than one traitor in the midst of the X-Men, highlighting the differences between the characters as they are fighting. I love the moment when, after long and involved monologues by a few other characters, Wolverine's one thought is "I really like beer."

Danger is a wonderful character and a great villain; a perfect enemy for the X-Men since she knows their weaknesses so intimately. The plot for her freedom is so carefully and perfectly thought out to take advantage of the X-Men's reactions. The interaction with Xavier is also fascinating with a hint of mystery. This is a character I hope we will get to see again, at some point.

Title:	Astonishing X-Men Volume 2: Dangerous
Author:	Joss Whedon
Date published:	2005
Genre:	Graphic Novel
Series:	Astonishing X-Men
Number of pages:	144

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I am enough of a fan of Joss Whedon's work in any medium to pick up almost anything he writes, so I managed to find the Comic Book section of my local Borders and purchase this volume, which collects the first 6 issues of Whedon's "Astonishing X-Men". It's amazing how easily he is able to weave together so many different plot threads-- particularly the idea that being a mutant is some kind of a disease which can now be cured, a cure which was funded and intended to be used for intergalactic political ends. Added to this are the mixed loyalties of people within and without the X-Men organization, and each character's own problems and memories.

I am not an expert on the X-Men at all, and mostly only know about them from the movies and the PlayStation games (which are quite good). So, it was fascinating to find out more about the characters I'd heard of, as well as meeting new ones (to me), such as the enigmatic Emma Frost and the very appealing Shadowcat (and, of course, the delightful interplay between them). Also interesting is the emotional reaction to the "cure" by the different characters-- such as Beast, who no longer looks human and who is tormented by the possibility of regaining his humanity and losing his fur.

Well-written and beautifully drawn. Plenty of witty dialog to amuse, along with and fascinating plot that leaves you wanting more at the end of the volume.

Title:	Astonishing X-Men Volume 1: Gifted
Author:	Joss Whedon; artwork by John Cassaday
Date published:	2004
Genre:	Graphic Novel
Number of pages:	152
Notes:	Repeat reading.

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A truly wonderful book. Lily Owens grows up with the horrible knowledge that it is her fault her mother is no longer with her. Her father is bitter and abuses her (because she always reminds him of his wife, and he has no other way to deal with his pain). They have a housemaid, Rosaleen, who is black, which is important because the book takes place in South Carolina during the time the Civil Rights Act is enacted. Some unexpected events happen, and the two of them run away to a town whose name was written on the back of a picture from Lily's mother. The picture is of a black Madonna. Throughout the story there are images of womanhood and femininity and what it means to love and receive love.

Lily and Rosaleen end up 'coincidentally' with three sisters (August, May, and June) who keep bees, make all sorts of honey and wax products, and who live life fully - in some ways. May, the youngest sister feels life intensely – almost like she cannot separate the pain of the world from herself. To deal with the immensity of pain her sisters come up with the idea of a wailing wall in which she can stick notes that she writes about the pain. That idea is beautiful to me – that sometimes we have problems too big for us, and we can just put them in the wall or give them to God and He'll take care of them (since He already is...).

Truth is interspersed throughout the novel – not a preachy sort of truth, but ideas you read and go 'hmm' because they resonate in your soul. Truth can be simple, obvious, or profound - and sometimes all three at once. Running away is not the answer, but sometimes to stand against evil you have to run away to get strong enough.

Title:	The Secret Life of Bees
Author:	Sue Monk Kidd
Date published:	2002
Genre:	Historical Fiction
Number of pages:	302
Notes:	Recommended by Mel

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Julia Cameron's "artist's way" is a twelve-week workbook that aims at recovering, or discovering, your creativity. This book has been around for long enough-- and successful enough-- that some of its fixtures have become familiar to artists who are not acquainted with the book itself-- namely, the "morning pages" (write 3 pages every morning-- it doesn't matter what about, just write) and the "artist date" (take the time to do something fun and frivolous, to feed your creative side).

In some ways, working through this book was a very challenging and time-consuming experience. For each chapter there are tasks, and it would take a great deal of commitment to do all of them, plus morning pages and artist dates each week, which I never quite managed (although often our failures are as enlightening than our successes, if not more so). The book wasn't exactly what I expected; most of the content and the exercises are more about becoming a healthy person, and having good, healthy attitudes about art and creativity--which, certainly, are important. I thought there would be more in the way of artistic assignments to get you started, doing something in whatever media you like to work, or trying new ones (that might be the case in a few instances, although saying so might be a bit of a stretch). Perhaps the book just aims to get you in a place where you are willing and able to make the time for yourself to be creative, and to follow through on your own ideas and dreams (and there are some tools and helps towards this); but you still have to take the actual steps yourself.

There is also a spiritual component to Cameron's views on art; she challenges her readers to think of their "higher power" as a creative being, and one who values creativity-- and who gives us dreams and abilities for a reason, and wants to see us flourishing. Sometimes, with the language Cameron uses, it's difficult to tell what kind of background she is coming from-- what she says tends to sound a bit like New Age stuff, but this might be a result of trying to write it in terms that will be acceptable to people of a wide variety of beliefs. Also, I've been exposed to a lot of views and theories about art, and I'm not sure how much stock I put in her view... but I have to admit, her vision may be one that is more likely to encourage and stimulate acts of artistic creation, so it may be a pragmatic one in some ways.

This is an interesting and challenging book, and there is a lot of value here. It is worth going through, and probably worth doing more than once.

Title:	The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity
Author:	Julia Cameron
Date published:	1992
Genre:	Nonfiction / Creativity / Spirituality
Number of pages:	229
Notes:	Worked through over 12 weeks with 3 others.

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Charles Wallace, Meg, and Calvin get to be part of another adventure involving creatures who are very 'other' and not of this world. They go on journeys to very large places and very small places. But it is not so much the size that matters – many creatures can kythe, or communicate with each other silently, despite obvious differences. This kything is more of a communion than the talking that humans use. Wonderful ideas of communing, being part of the great song, knowing someone enough to love them as they are and thus name them.

Naming!! This concept continues to affect my view of life and the ways that I interact with people. Seeking to Name others is to call them to be truly themselves. When we are confident of who we are (especially in Christ), we can be more free to Name others without fear.

Title:	A Wind in the Door
Author:	Madeleine L'Engle
Date published:	1973
Genre:	Children's Fiction
Series:	Time Quartet
Number of pages:	203
Notes:	A repeat reading

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We follow the adventures of Digory and Polly, as they stumble into other worlds, and through their adventures we learn about the creation of Narnia and the origin of the White Witch. I grew up reading the Narnia books with my family, and we always read them in chronological order-- that is to say, in the history-of-Narnia order, not the order that Lewis wrote the books. So, when we read through all the chronicles, we always started with The Magician's Nephew. It may not be my favorite of the Narnia books, but there is plenty that is fascinating here-- one dying world, another being born; a creation story, and a garden that seems somewhat familiar, complete with a tree bearing the silver apples of life.

There is plenty here that is fascinating, and worth thinking about or discussing with others. This time through, I thought more about Lewis' treatment of magic (it is bad, and its practitioners-- namely, Uncle Andrew and Queen Jadis-- are evil, to varying degrees); this was on my mind, in part, because of the outcry against Harry Potter from certain quarters, while the same people have no problem with magical fantasy from Tolkien or Lewis. It bothers me that they never articulate what the problem is, or the difference between the books which are acceptable or not.

It is also fun to be reminded that Lewis believed in the possibility of other worlds-- it is something that comes up in the Narnia books and his space trilogy, but I think he mentions the possibility in his non-fiction writings, as well. In most of the Narnia books, it is easy to think that there is only Narnia and Earth, but here Digory and Polly get to Narnia by way of pools in the quiet wood between the worlds-- and there are hundreds of pools, which suggests there are far more worlds than we ever get to explore or read about.

The creation imagery is particularly wonderful. It seems especially appropriate and wonderful that Aslan creates Narnia with a song-- and, for a while, different parts of that creation (most notably the stars) participate in the music of creation. This creative power is so strong that anything will grow in the new soil of Narnia-- a lamp post, from a broken off part of a lamp; gold and silver trees from the coins in Uncle Andrews' pockets; and even a toffee tree, from the children's candy.

But along with the creation of Narnia, there is a kind of story that mirrors the Fall. Even before Narnia is created, evil is brought into this new world in the form of Queen Jadis from the dead world Charn, which she helped to destroy. And Jadis was awakened by the willfulness of a little boy, by a simple choice. To make up for this mistake, and to protect Narnia, Aslan sends that boy, Digory, to fetch an apple from a tree in the center of a far-off garden (and there are echoes of Eden here); and in the garden, there is a temptation scene with the witch, Jadis. One of the things that intrigues me most about this part of the story is what Aslan's explanation of the fruit. It is in the nature of the fruit to give life and protection, but if it is not used properly-- if it is stolen, taken without permission or selfishly-- it does not bring joy. In particular, Aslan says that if someone had taken the apple to protect Narnia without being sent for it, it would indeed have protected Narnia, but it would have made Narnia a harsh, cruel land like the world of Charn. This is interesting, because even a good thing, that brings protection and life, when abused can be destructive or cause perversion.

The Magician's Nephew offers plenty to fascinate and entertain. Among other things, Lewis offers a warning-- the world of Charn, and the Deplorable Word that Jadis uses to destroy it, are offered as clear parallels to the path of humans on Earth. But at the same time that we receive this dire warning, we are also given the hope and delight of the new life in the joyous world of Narnia.

Title:	The Magician's Nephew
Author:	C. S. Lewis
Date published:	1955
Genre:	Fantasy / Young Adult
Series:	Chronicles of Narnia
Number of pages:	186
Notes:	Repeat Reading. Read and discussed with community group.

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A romance based on the book of Hosea - with a good man being told by God to love a prostitute, and all that comes from that. The man, named Michael Hosea, is known by all as someone who lives what he believes every day. The woman, named Angel by the first man who used her for himself, hides behind a thick wall because she has nowhere else to go. She is a high commodity, and people bribe the Duchess to get half an hour with her. Michael begins to pursue her hand in marriage, and gets laughed at and scorned many times -- both by her and others. Angel has no hope and this man comes to offer true Hope, but things always get worse for her so she can't let his promise of hope affect her.

Michael does not push her to accept God or even believe in God, but he continues to trust God himself, obey God, and pray for his new wife. He does not fit into any of her categories, and he slowly breaks down her walls so that she starts to feel and remember and hurt about evil things that happened to her.

Names are significant in the Bible, and in this story they are as well. The man's last name is Hosea, like the prophet who heard God and obeyed contrary to all that may have seemed right. The woman is named Angel at eight by the man who owns her, and she never tells anyone her real name. Michael calls her different names -- Amanda as a general name instead of Angel, saying that part of her is dead. He calls her Tirzah, to mean that he desires her and loves her and wants to be with her. He calls her Mara at first because she is so bitter. After she is fully healed by the love of Christ, she is finally able to share the part of her that she has shared with nobody before.

This book is full of pictures of God's love. As humans, we think that we know best, even though God offers so much. God loves us before we know what love is and calls us to live with Him and to know His love -- but we run away in fear and sometimes because we think it is better for God that way, that He doesn't have to love us. But God knows where we have come from and how we are hurt, and he wants us to go back to that pain and let Him show His power to heal and to conquer evil. Angel must go back and deal with Duke, the evil man from her childhood -- and by listening to the Spirit she does something neither of them would expect and is able to ruin him in front of all his clients, as well as learn what it means to be Free. God's love is the only thing that can redeem us and bring us new life -- and give us the chance to be free to choose Him each and every day. Thank you God for this book that reminds us of that.

Title:	Redeeming Love
Author:	Francine Rivers
Date published:	1997
Genre:	Romance, Christian
Number of pages:	464
Notes:	Recommended by Rikki

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Jeeves and Wooster and P. G. Wodehouse are all familiar names, but before now I've never taken the time to read any of Wodehouse's work, or any of the actual stories about Jeeves. This book is really a collection of short stories, and I was a bit surprised and confused when I discovered, half-way through, that not all of them are about Jeeves. Half of the eight stories in this collection are actually narrated by Reggie Philips-- a rather similar kind of character and narrator to Wooster, a chap who tries to help his friends out of jams, but without the assistance of Jeeves. The stories are all quite entertaining, and the tone is light and fun.

Some of the circumstances in these stories are pretty hilarious-- the kind of things you might expect to encounter in a sitcom today. In one case, Reggie is trying to help a friend who's girl has ended their engagement; he decides it would be a good idea to kidnap a child who he thinks is the girl's nephew so his friend can return the child-- but of course, the child is no relation to her and Reggie is stuck taking care of the kid for a few days. Of course, in all of the stories things usually come out right in the end-- although usually in spite of Reggie's help.

Wooster, Jeeves' employer, is the narrator of the Jeeves' stories, and he is usually as clueless as Reggie-- although generally without the bad ideas of how to help people; he relies on Jeeves for all of his ideas. Wooster usually has no idea how to resolve things, and when things go wrong, he tends to despair; but Jeeves always manages to fix things up (and always without any real help from Wooster).

Entertaining, light reading, and worth your time. I plan to read more Jeeves stories and more P. G. Wodehouse.

Title:	My Man Jeeves
Author:	P. G. Wodehouse
Date published:	1931 (original publication; electronic edition 2005)
Genre:	Short Stories
Series:	Jeeves
Number of pages:	139
Notes:	Read electronic edition freely available from Project Gutenberg.

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The ever-delightful, irrepressible Calvin & Hobbes. G. & I found this at a great price-- which I assume was because of the new hardcover complete Calvin & Hobbes that was recently made available. It's a treasure worth owning and reading and re-reading, because even after multiple readings I still find myself chuckling and even laughing out loud.

This collection includes Calvin's first finding Hobbes, his first meeting of Susie Derkins, the neighbor girl he loves to torment, along with several Spaceman Spiff fantasies and plenty of Calvin's crazy schemes, and some wacky and morbid snow art. Watterson's imagination is astounding, and his artistic realization of Calvin & Hobbes, and their many adventures, are always delightful.

Title:	It's a Magical World: A Calvin and Hobbes Collection
Author:	Bill Watterson
Date published:	1996
Genre:	Humor
Series:	Calvin & Hobbes
Number of pages:	165
Notes:	Repeat reading.

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Many have seen the movie by the same name -- but the movie is only half of the book, so there are stories that weren't familiar to me. This is a frame story - with the twist that a character in the outer story gets to be part of the story in the inner story. Bastian Balthazar Bux is a young boy who seems to have nothing going for him -- except his deep love of books. One day he walks into a bookstore he's never been into before and a certain book (same as the title) draws him like a magnet -- so the book goes with him to school and influences his whole day.

Atreyu is a main character in the world Bastian reads about, so Bastian reads about his adventures. Bastian ends up in Atreyu's world, and ends up wanting to stay in the world. He almost does, and because his memories have slowly been fading from him, he almost is stuck. He has to find a reason that he wnats to go back -- and it is the human desire to love and be loved. All humans have that need and desire -- but sometimes it takes us a long time to recognize it and then admit it to ourselves, let alone others.

Each chapter begins with a letter of the alphabet – so there are 26 chapters, plus the prolog and epilog. There is a greater variety of characters than most people could come up with in a month, with interesting twists of some well known species. This is an enjoyable book with plenty of interesting characters and ideas to make you think if you let them. And of course, there are truths to be seen, if you have your eyes open.

Title:	The Neverending Story
Author:	Michael Ende
Date published:	1997
Genre:	Young Adult, Fantasy
Number of pages:	445

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This is a story written entirely in poems, about a young girl named Billie Jo who lives in the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma. The poems are written simply and straightforwardly – but still with considerable beauty in the images and words. A young girl who's life is changed for the worse by events beyond her control – but she still finds joy in simple pleasures and in being aware of the world around her. Life is not easy, but it is still worth living. She delights in playing the piano and themes related to that play throughout the book. This is a story written with careful attention to form and words, about a girl who takes delight in the arts and finding beauty in the world around her -- a story of hope in the midst..

Title:	Out of the Dust
Author:	Karen Hesse
Date published:	1997
Genre:	Historical Fiction, Poetry
Number of pages:	227
Notes:	Borrowed from Miriam

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I don't know if I have ever read a novelization of a movie before (when I see a movie based on a book, I usually try to read the book first), but I am enough of a fan of Joss Whedon's "Firefly" and "Serenity" that I wanted to read DeCandido's novelization of the movie. It was an enjoyable experience, and this is a story worth experiencing more than once-- of danger and adventure, a young girl experimented on and turned into a fighter and a psychic, an unnamed assassin, and a captain who has lost his faith in God finding something to believe in.

Early on, I wasn't too sure about reading a novelization of a movie that I've already seen-- many of the chapters are almost exact descriptions of scenes in the movie, with the same dialogue and everything, although with some insights into the thoughts of the characters (which is, I suppose, exactly what a novelization of a movie should be). Having all of the dialogue written down is nice, because I missed some of the lines when I saw the movie in the theater-- particularly those lines just after someone says something hilarious, and the entire audience is laughing. Here, some parts of the story are supplemented with history revealed in the TV series, but as the book goes on, there are more and more extra components: lines that didn't make it into the movie, back stories for characters like Mr. Universe, scenes that we didn't get to see-- including the destruction of Haven, which gives even more support to the theory that Book must have once been an Operative himself. The book is written from third-person perspective, but each scene is sort of filtered through a particular character's consciousness, jumping around from person to person for various scenes, which adds some nice variety and insight.

Sometimes, I wasn't sure if the lines or the story would have the same effect if I hadn't seen the movie first, and in particular I'm uncertain whether or not the humor would be conveyed-- many of the lines are so great because of the way the actors deliver them. However, even after seeing the movie twice in the theater, reading the culmination of the story was still an incredibly moving experience.

I love Mal's line at the end, and the insight that all of the characters (but specifically Wash) each love Serenity in their own way.

Love. You can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take a boat in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughtta fall down, tells you she's hurting 'fore she keens. Makes her a home.

Title:	Serenity
Author:	Keith R. A. DeCandido (based on the motion picture screenplay by Joss Whedon)
Date published:	2005
Genre:	Science Fiction
Number of pages:	260

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A book with sweet truth from a man who has sought to live what he shares. Nouwen takes the image of communion – being taken, blessed, broken, and given – to share what the life of a Christian is all about – the life of the Beloved. To be taken or chosen by God and to live in that. To be blessed in all things, because all things can be used to draw us closer to God and to know Him better. To be broken because all of us are, and we need to know that we need the love of God to heal us – also, in our brokenness are we connected to God and others and able to see His strength. To be given to God completely and thus to others, because that is where the joy of life comes from. A simple book with deep truths.

Title:	Life of the Beloved
Author:	Henri Nouwen
Date published:	1992
Genre:	Spiritual
Number of pages:	149
Notes:	Gift from Bill & Renee

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Spinelli is an author I respect, and this book is done well and worth reading. It is written from the perspective of a young boy who lives in Warsaw during World War II. He steals food, runs, and then eats - that is the chain of events that he is used to following and doesn't always know what to do when something unexpected changes the usual plan. An older boy asks his name, and this little boy says 'stopthief' because that's all anyone ever calls him.

An older boy named Uri finds him and takes care of him and tries to keep him safe. Uri decides to call him Misha and makes up Misha's life story. Misha is little and fast, and surviving comes naturally to him – stealing bread and other food from people and stores when necessary. Spinelli tells the story of before, during and after the war through the eyes of a child who does not understand and has never had anyone to explain things to him well. So Misha sees acts of violence and degredation and doesn't know why they are significant or evil – but the reader knows. Misha ends up being moved into the ghetto with his gang of boys (all stealers and later smugglers), and becoming part of a Jewish family. This gives Spinelli opportunity to tell about what conditions were like in Warsaw and in the ghetto – not like a textbook, or with guilt behind it, but as a child would have seen it and become adjusted to certain realities. The brashness of Misha surprises all those around him, but he is never hurt too badly. War happens around him and finally affects all of those closest to him (with the boy who took care of him being gone from the ghetto often and becoming the enemy.) The end speeds through his life quickly – not all the ends are neatly taken care of. In fact, few are. But it is a book about war and the craziness of life which affects every aspect. This is a wonderful book -- hard to read in places because it is about war. It is well written – in terms of action, characters and bringing the past to life.

Title:	Milkweed
Author:	Jerry Spinelli
Date published:	2003
Genre:	Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Number of pages:	208
Notes:	recommended age is 9-12, but that seems too young to me

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The story of Peter Pan is so familiar to most of us-- I grew up with children's books and I think even an audio version of it. After "Finding Neverland" came out, I read an article that said the original Peter Pan is much darker than the versions we are familiar with, and that intrigued me. While there is a very playful quality to the writing of the book, and some of the comments that the narrator makes are quite witty (the writing seems like it would be above most children), Peter himself is not a very admirable character. He is unreliable, conceited, selfish, and proud-- even though he is still somehow admirable to those around him: the Lost Boys follow him unquestioningly, and all of the females (Wendy, Tiger Lily, Tinker Bell) seem to be in love with him.

I've always thought that "Hook" was a fabulous movie, but after reading this I have confirmation-- so many of the lines and phrases, and even the way they chose to continue the story... They did such a great job of choosing passages and lines directly directly from Barrie's original (except for the fact that Captain Hook is still alive), and adapting them to the new story. Even one of my favorite lines from the end of "Hook" is an adaptation from Peter Pan; after Peter saves Tiger Lily and Wendy, he is exhausted and stranded on a rock in the lagoon with the water rising, and he thinks to himself "to die will be an awfully big adventure".

Title:	Peter Pan
Author:	J. M. Barrie
Date published:	1911 (original publication; electronic edition 1991)
Genre:	Fantasy / Children's Literature
Number of pages:	132
Notes:	Read electronic text freely available (in the U.S.) from Project Gutenberg.

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The problem with some science fiction books is that they sound a little silly if you try to describe them, especially to someone who doesn't generally read the genre. This is one of those books. It is about a spaceship piloted by sentient dolphins, with a few humans and a chimp along for the ride. The spaceship Streaker is on the run from several different species of aliens, because they found a mysterious group of ancient spaceships which may be the fabled Progenitors. The earthlings find refuge on a metallic mostly-water world named Kithrup, while the battle over them rages on overhead-- and they continue to find more mysteries as they work to repair their ship and plot a way to escape.

In my experience, any book that wins both the Hugo and the Nebula awards is well worth reading-- and this one certainly bears that out. The characters are all so well-fleshed out, including the dolphins and the aliens. Brin has given the dolphins their own mythology, philosophy, and language-- a lovely whistled, poetic language that Brin renders as haiku. The various dolphin names are lovely and seem so appropriate, and the different dolphins show a range of characters-- including the most human dolphin (who ends up as a traitor), and the captain, who is a genius and the most clearly dolphin-like of them. There are also some problems of racism among the dolphins, since certain experimental dolphins with a slightly different DNA make-up are part of the crew, including one dolphin of mysterious heritage who wreaks havoc before the story is over. Even the many alien antagonists are all portrayed as incredibly foreign and different-- not just in their physiology, but in their attitudes and belief-systems.

This book gives a glimpse into an entire society. Brin has imagined a galactic society where races of aliens find and "uplift" to sentience the races that evolve to levels of basic intelligence. Humanity is the odd creature here, having developed without a patron (or perhaps abandoned centuries ago), and lifted themselves up by their proverbial bootstraps to become a space-faring culture. This gives humanity a unique perspective on galactic culture and resources. Brin's vision of this society is thorough and complete, and this is evident in the fact that the many discoveries the starship Streaker happens upon have literally cosmic significance.

This wonderful novel gives a glimpse of a possible future when we might explore the stars and collaborate with other sentient species-- perhaps even ones with whom we currently share our planet. It is also a thought-provoking work about what it means to be sentient, and what kind of responsibility that entails.

Title:	Startide Rising
Author:	David Brin
Date published:	1983
Genre:	Science Fiction
Series:	Uplift
Number of pages:	460
Notes:	Repeat reading.

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This time the three Baudelaire siblings find themselves given to 'Aunt Josephine' who is afraid of anything and everything. Afraid of the stove, the phone, doorknobs -- you name it. She is threatened by Count Olaf, who shows up as someone else for the week, and gives into him quite easily. Includes Lake Lachrymose, leeches, sailboats, a storm, and many other things.

Title:	The Wide Window
Author:	Lemony Snicket
Date published:	2000
Genre:	Children's Lit
Series:	A Series of Unfortunate Events, #3
Number of pages:	214
Notes:	Read in less than an hour (at downtown library!)

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Read this fun book in about an hour one night. Violet, Klaus, and Sunny find themselves with a wonderful man who wants them to call him uncle Monty. He is a herpetologist – meaning he studies snakes and has a large room full of them with a library about them at the back of the room. They get to spend a wonderful week with him, each doing exactly what he or she loves. But then – count olaf shows up as the new assistant and has all the adults fooled until too late. More of what is expected from these books – pessimism, humor and dramatic irony.

Title:	The Reptile Room
Author:	Lemony Snicket
Date published:	1999
Genre:	Children's Lit
Series:	A Series of Unfortunate Events, #2
Number of pages:	190 pages

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This is a well written book, with a fun mixing of present and past with one storyteller throughout. The narrator is slightly unbelievable and unreliable, and becomes more so as he struggles with reality in the present of the story. His only friend (semblence is the best he has) is crake, who is a genius - and doesn't like what humans have done to the earth. So he experiments with what he knows to come up with something that pleases him.

Crake finds a way to splice genes in such as way as to create a sort of human with wonderful characteristics (he believes) from other species -- ritual mating at certain times due to females being obviously in heat, eating only vegitation, no ability to learn hard concepts so can't create violence etc., instant death at 30, quick growing up stage, no shame at being naked, temperature regulated bodies, -- all the things that Crake believes would make the perfect species. And the truth of how that came about is revealed slowly through memories, anecdotes, ponderings, wanderings of the mind. The present story takes maybe a couple of weeks, and the past story starts basically at the beginning and works its way up to the very recent past to mingle with the present in a unique and beautiful way. An enjoyable book. I didn't really like or agree with the ending -- it leaves the reader with many questions. Sometimes questions which can be healthy but didn't seem so in this case. I would probably still recommend to other readers, though.

Title:	Oryx and Crake
Author:	Margaret Atwood
Date published:	2003
Genre:	Fiction
Number of pages:	374
Notes:

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Pride and Prejudice is delightful books worth re-reading every couple of years-- and, apparently, worth making into a movie or mini-series at least every decade or so (and much more frequently, of late). It's the classic story of the man (Mr. Darcy) and woman (Elizabeth Bennett) who despise each other almost as soon as they meet (hate at first sight), both on account of their pride, although with differing motivation. But, of course, in the course of the book, they gradually fall in love, and eventually discover that they are actually perfect for each other.

Because I have read this book many times before, I found myself focusing on more peripheral aspects of the plot, and noticing new things. Of particular interest to me was the villain, Wickham. From the description in the book, it seems clear that, not only does he have good manners and seem "amiable"; he must also be incredibly good-looking, because all of the Bennett sisters (even the more sensible Elizabeth) notice him from across the street and are immediately dying to meet him. I also wondered about his lying, when he first talks to Elizabeth-- does he really believe what he's telling her, or is he just an incredibly good deceiver and manipulator? It made me wonder, a little bit, and made him seem like more of a plot device, like Don John in Much Ado about Nothing-- the wicked villain, who is absolutely evil through and through, but without much apparent motivation.

I was also a little more intrigued by Jane than I usually have been; she's too angelic, too good, and therefore a little unbelievable. But I love the relationship between Jane and Elizabeth; they are equals, and love each other dearly, even though they are fairly different in character, and Elizabeth is a bit more clever and perceptive. I particularly enjoyed the scenes when Eliza teases her; Jane is trying to believe good of everyone, and suggests that perhaps they were simply deceived, but then Elizabeth responds that even if that is the case, they must still think ill of someone, because someone caused the deception.

I think it would be fun if a movie version of Pride and Prejudice actually portrayed Wickham as the most attractive man in the film (but, of course, Darcy is the romantic lead, so they always have to cast someone gorgeous). It would also be interesting if the movie could follow Elizabeth's perspective, so that to the audience, Wickham truly seems like the good guy, and Darcy the proud, selfish villain-- until the truth is revealed to Elizabeth. Of course, it wouldn't be much of a surprise, because most of us already know the story. But familiarity certainly doesn't keep a good story from being entertaining.

Title:	Pride and Prejudice
Author:	Jane Austen
Date published:	1813
Genre:	Fiction
Number of pages:	292
Notes:	Repeat reading.

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The first of many. The three Baudelaire siblings – Violet, Klaus, and Sunny – have all sorts of awful things happen to them, but have each other (most of the time) to help survive and find things to enjoy in life. Pessimistic in such a way that it's funny. Wonderful interjections by the author including definitions of words without condescension and warnings of the sadness to come. It is blatantly, bluntly honest – which is refreshing and enjoyable. Because it doesn't have a happy ending, it seems more realistic than many books (although it also seems too sad to be actually real, it is more like life than most happy-go-lucky books).

Title:	The Bad Beginning
Author:	Lemony Snicket
Date published:	1999
Genre:	Children's Lit
Series:	A Series Of Unfortunate Events, #1
Number of pages:	162 pages

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This is the story of Paul Baümer, a young German soldier in World War one. At the age of twenty, he is familiar with the brutalities of trench warfare, since he signed up with his classmates, after being encouraged (or shamed into it) by talk of patriotism by their teacher. The story follows Paul, and the various men in his unit, as they move up and back to the front lines of the war. Paul also goes home on leave for a brief, painful week, and returns to his unit; eventually, he gets injured, and spends some time in a crowded hospital, before returning to his unit. The book is narrated from Paul's perspective, except for the last paragraph, which is when the silence of the title falls: only after all of Paul's classmates and friends, and finally Paul himself, have also fallen.

This book is very bleak. I found it so dark that I had to intersperse my reading of this with something lighter. Horrible brutalities are related in a very matter of fact tone-- and Paul makes it clear that the soldiers must treat things in this way, because if they think about the war too much, they will go mad. They believe, and have to accept, that their survival (while others are blown to bits, or horribly wounded) is merely a matter of chance, so that they learn to be indifferent.

We have almost grown accustomed to it; war is the cause of death like cancer and tuberculosis, like influenza and dysentery. The deaths are merely more frequent, more varied and terrible.

One of the more believable and sympathetic problems Paul faces is his life before the war: when he goes home, it is difficult because his mother is dying of cancer, but also because he is not the same person he was before. He knows that the older soldiers, when the war is done, will go back to whatever trade they had before. But he is young enough that he has nothing to go back to, and can't imagine what he could do after this. He can't think about the war too much while he is on the front lines, or it will paralyze him; but he knows he will have to think about it later.

I can well believe that this is an important book, as a record of terrible things that should never have happened. As hard as it was for me to read this, it is good to be reminded of the atrocities of war, and to remember the horrible things that humans are capable of. It is hard to believe that, after suffering through all of this, Germany could go to war again so soon.

Title:	All Quiet on the Western Front
Author:	Erich Maria Remarque (translated from German by A. W. Wheen)
Date published:	1928
Genre:	Fiction
Number of pages:	256

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Keely, a fourth grader, has always gone along with one of her friends who is bossy and commanding. But one day, she has a reason good enough to stand up to her. It's a classmate Anya, who might be wearing a wig, and might be dying of cancer.

This book deals with questions like 'what is shame?' 'who decides what is acceptable or beautiful?' 'can death take many forms and affect different parts of us?' 'what does it mean to be a friend?' Worthwhile questions while dealing with an issue that some children and adults have to deal with in reality. Addresses a specific experience, so allows the characters and readers to ask universal questions. Also gives an opportunity to redefine courage and strength. This is a quick read, but worth a bit of time.

Title:	Because of Anya
Author:	Margaret Peterson Haddix
Date published:	2002
Genre:	Children's
Number of pages:	114 pages
Notes:	Read in less than an hour at the downtown library

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The basic plot -- some rabbits no longer feel safe in their home warren, so they go on a journey to find a safe place, and they have all sorts of adventures along the way to finding a safe place and then making it truly home. Issues such as leadership development, personalities, loyalty, and what makes relationships work are addressed in experiential ways.

My sister has been trying to get me to read this for quite some time, and it finally happened. When I first read it I didn't get past the first few chapters. This time, though, I really enjoyed it. Promise.

Hazel takes the role of leader, who trusts his friend Fiver, who has 'the sight.' They gather many rabbits around them who are strong, courageous, intelligent, or funny. In the process Hazel gets to learn what it means to lead well, to value each individual, to know what makes 'people' function. This book is very enjoyable, and is called a classic by some. Worth reading and thinking on a bit.

Title:	Watership Down
Author:	Richard Adams
Date published:	1976
Genre:	Fiction
Number of pages:	481 pages
Notes:	recommended by and borrowed from jesika

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A book about a young boy who is an outcast who gets to meet Jesus and have his first friend. There is some real truth in this book, stated simply but honestly. We are all outcasts and desperately need for someone to accept us as we are, and to teach us to accept ourselves and others in that same manner. Beautiful imagery clearly showing that Christ felt our own pain as completely as we do, and He is willing to share it with us -- to love is in that manner and that completely.

Title:	The Boy Who Cried Abba
Author:	Brennan Manning
Date published:	2001
Genre:	Religious
Number of pages:	83 pages
Notes:	recommended by and borrowed from miriam

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This is the amazing story of a Dutch woman and her family during the German occupation of Holland in World War II. The Ten Boom family became part of the Dutch Underground, helping to find places in the country for Jews, and getting ration cards so they could eat and survive. When they ran out of other places, they opened up their own home to people. At some point, they knew their organization was getting too large, that too many people knew about their work, and that eventually they would be discovered-- but even then, they could not stop helping people. So Corrie, along with many members of her family and friends, was sent to prison. Then, with her beloved sister Betsie, she was moved first to a camp for political prisoners, and then finally to the dreadful concentration camp at Ravensbruck. In all of these dreadful circumstances, God supplied her needs and carried the burdens too heavy for her, and made it possible for her to minister to the suffering people around her.

If you were stuck in prison, in horrible living conditions and filth, and someone secretly asked how they could help, what would you ask for first? Corrie asks for a Bible. Only after that does she think to ask for soap, or a needle and thread. The Ten Boom family is simply amazing, with their faith in God and their love for his Word. In the beginning of the book, we get a brief glimpse of Corrie's childhood in this wonderful family; she never realized her family was "poor", because they were always busy taking care of others. Even when her mother was ill and could no longer get around, she still ministered to shut-ins and other people around her. Reading this book, for a while, I got to keep company with wonderful people-- and I found it challenging to my own selfish attitudes, but also profoundly encouraging.

It seems perfect to me that we get this story through Corrie's eyes and memory; it is much easier to identify with her than with her more saintly father and sister. She may seem like a saint, and amazingly courageous woman, but she is well aware of her own faults and weaknesses, and she willingly admits them. She is the one who always asks why, who questions their hardship and suffering; she finds it difficult to love her enemies, and is amazed to discover at different times that, when she is pitying the weak and wounded victims, her father and her sister are praying instead for the people who are inflicting the wounds.

The hiding place of the title is not just a secret room in a house in Holland where Jews hid when the Gestapo came looking for them. It comes from the Psalms: "Thou art my hiding place and my shield", and Corrie returns to this idea more than once. In prison, she makes a friend of the ants in her cell; when they disappear into the crack in the wall, she realizes that

...I too had a hiding place when things were bad. Jesus was this place, the Rock cleft for me.

Later, at Ravensbruck, Betsie reminds her that God's will is their hiding place, as the sisters continue to trust God in the midst of terrible suffering. The Hiding Place is an amazing story of God's grace and power as he cares for the people he loves (those who know him and those who do not), even-- or perhaps especially-- in the midst of terrible suffering.

Title:	The Hiding Place
Author:	Corrie Ten Boom (with John and Elizabeth Sherrill)
Date published:	1971
Genre:	Autobiography
Number of pages:	242

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A well written quick read. This book picks up after the fair tales end, and it's not 'happily ever after.' Ella is engaged to a prince who can't make decisions on his own, has no emotions, vacant eyes, and a handsome face. She has a whole lot to learn about proper etiquette and other such things that princesses are expected to know.

Ella ends up being introduced to a young man about her age, named Jed, who doesn't agree with the way things are in the palace or the kingdom, so they get along fine. She also meets a young girl, named Mary, who is a servant at the castle and takes time to listen to Ella and treat her like a real person and tell her the truth. Ella decides to call off the wedding, and that changes all sorts of things. One good question this book asks is 'what does love look like and feel like?' Since the book begins by saying that 'happily ever after' doesn't necessarily mean true love, Haddix can give a contrast of what love is not. Good questions without easy answers. And that's always good.

Title:	Just Ella
Author:	Margaret Peterson Haddix
Date published:	2001
Genre:	Children's
Number of pages:	185 pages

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