books.2004

2004

Hey Nostradomus, Douglas Coupland
cynical, hopeful, pertinent as usual. narrative conducted by four
separate individuals, one speaks from the afterlife recounting the
days up to the school shooting she was killed in. worthy read, has a
pulse on the status quo and captures human’s hope/lessness:
vision for a world in need of redemption

Letters for a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
apparently a classic for wanna be writers (like me). some great
advice. can read in one or two sittings.

Pontius Pilate, Paul L. Maier
the man who brought us a Skeleton in God’s Closet and Flames of
Rome does it again. sometimes dry, full of fascinating history, worth
reading to get inside Pilate’s head – one of the most amazing
biblical subtexts. i sympathize with Pilate and after reading the book
have much hope for the man. Flames of Rome is still Maier’s best
book

A Refutation of Moral Relativism: Interviews with an Aboslutist
a must read. love that the narrative style is conducted through
fictional interviews – an approach i love to take in writing (working
on the same narrative style as well.) Fiction/ non-ficition/
philisophical

Lilith, George MacDonald
a hero of C.S. Lewis. i thought it would be much better, kind of slow,
style a bit boring, but huge for understanding the seeds of Lewis and
Tolkein. love the ideas, love the form, wish it were more
literary.

How to win the Culture War, Peter Kreeft
once again amazing and challenging. a quick read. non fiction.
definitely shows up on my quotes list. a challenge to us to fulfil our
destinies and become saints (want to read his follow up book about
sainthood).

Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
same as above – i see repeated themes, thoughts in your work, buddy.
you’re amazing, but maybe you should branch out?

Listening to God, Joyce Hugget
non fiction. a book on contemplative and listening prayer. exciting
for me to read as i embark on my journey of listening to God as i
pray. first half of book are best. i just loaned (11/05) it to my
friend Steve, excited to hear what he thinks.

Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton

ANDREW’S TOP PICK – highly recommended, plan
to read it for the rest of my life. when the world asks, ‘why
the apple?’ he asks, ‘why the garden?’ quickly
becoming one of my most respected literary/philosophical/ intellectual
heroes. i want everyone to read it, but don’t want to lend it
out. must purchase and give away. challenges me to live a life of joy,
dignity, and honesty, without being one of the ‘cruel,
thin’ christians he was so terrified of. non-fiction, his
account of discovering what had already been discovered, the orthodox
Christian faith. i might become a catholic. jim martens, should read
this book, it might once for all convince him to embrace Catholicism
as he’s threatened to do; perhaps I’ll join him.

Happiness, Will Fergusun
formerly known as Generica, a book by an edmontonian, won a prize for
humor. premise is good, funny, not that great by book’s end. wished it
took a few more twists and turns. worth checking out at least. go
edmonton!

Coraline, Neil Gaiman
a children’s thriller, a la C.S Lewis, minus rich and meaningful
spiritual truths. fun. soon to be an animated feature, voiced by the
go to child star, Dakota Fanning.

Negotiating with the Dead, Margaret Atwood
a great book about writing from a writer.

The God of Small Things, Arundhati Roy.
beautifully constructed language, a heart breaking book, very lyrical
and poetic. ending disappoints somewhat, though i should have seen it
coming. A book of feeling and pain, little redemption, but you desire
it for the characters.

The Davinci Code, Dan Brown.
I was curious about all the hype. A fan of treasure hunts, Europe, and
intrigue, I especially enjoyed the book at first: fast paced,
suspense, and action. Fun but also a bit bothersome, especially the
bizarre statement that bookmarks the entire novel, something like
‘everything in this book is true.’ I threw the paperback
against the wall as a theological statement, but am glad I read it.
Brown, if he cares to, could finance a few more conspiracies. Should
make for an exciting movie event.

1984, George Orwell.
Finally read it. Good, surprisingly pertinent for today. Haunting
ending, a bit slow.

Heart of Darkness. Joseph Conrad.
Finally read it. A reference point for conversation with Steve. Don’t
recommend reading it down a winding road for 2 plus hours. A saturated
book. “The horror” truly haunts. Frustrating, grating, and tough work,
on purpose.

Jacob I Have Loved. Katherine Patterson
Chris’ recommend. Well written, sad but redeeming. A bright point for
young adult fiction. Chris introduced it to me; he’s got the pulse on
fiction for pre/teens.

Cry the Beloved Country, Alan Paton.
An amazing title, and important book (Oprah thinks so!) A book from
another time that just might be timeless. I like how dialogue is
presented (without quotation marks). Sobering and hopeful.

Lullaby, Chuck Pahlinuk.
Another cynical, sarcastic, funny, witty, fast paced novel. Like with
Coupland, I’ve read some of these characters before, but they are
enjoyable. He lands necessary blows. There is hope for the human race:
imagine Jesus is a bloodhound on your trail. He will find us. Sin
mixed with honesty: sobering and refreshing.

My God and I, Luis Smeades
Thought provoking, grim, motivational. Calvinism frightens me a bit:
so much emphasis on the mind and matter – what about the soul and the
mystical? Without knowing it, the book motivates me to have the mind
of Christ and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Madam Secretary. Madeleine Albright.
Finally, I got my hands on the book. Unfortunately I did not finish it
yet (got to the peace talks between Netenyahu and Arafat). So far
fascinating, if not exhaustive. Makes me want to be right there in the
middle of such politics. Quite a story, from a woman who is a personal
role model.

Men in the Off Hours. Anne Carson.
Reading through it. No longer a library book, but one that I own. Such
a talented poet. Inspiring if not erudite and cryptic. A level of
writing to aspire to.

Earth Against your Cheek. Linda Siebenga.
The first line drew me right in: ‘the smell of rain is the smell of
earth.’ A perfect description. Read it on return to Canada. Renewed in
me a desire to connect with God, honestly engage the world, and
identified for me my need to write and read poetry.

The Five People You Meet in Heaven. Mitch Albom.
Read in one sitting (4 hours). Fast moving. Enjoyed how the narrative
unfolded: much character development conveyed through flashbacks to
specific birthdays. Some highlights, the washing of the child in the
river over the stones of his life the most impacting. The wisdom of
the world seems rather foolish.

Something Beautiful for God. Malcolm Muggeridge.
The second time I read the book. I am thankful for finding it at the
Pilgrim in Calgary (one of those books that fell off the shelf). A
semi-biography of Mother Teresa’s life. Totally humbling, inspiring,
disillusioning, and unsettling. Muggeridge’s sceptical intellect and
struggle to believe is perfectly counter-balanced and finally
outweighed by Mother Teresa’s confident belief in her Lord and total
surrender to His will in her love for the poor. Encouraging to me to
see how a scribe can be used to relay truth and be changed in the
process. “…there is a prayer of St Augustine, a fellow communicator
who once called himself, as I must, a vendor of words, that I often
say over, and did on this occasion, kneeling beside Mother Teresa:
‘Let me offer you in sacrifice the service of my thoughts and my
tongue, but first give me what I may offer you’” – one of my favourite
lines belonging to Muggeridge that is written in the book.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Magician’s Nephew (1955). C.S.
Lewis.
I’m not sure I read all these or that the series was read to me as a
child. I think Wardrobe was. I am enjoying the subtle narrative touch
of Lewis. So far am a fan of his prose fiction. His space trilogy is
magnificent. Aslan is so beautifully realized. He makes me love Jesus
more and want to welcome all of him into my life: his personality, his
ways, his discipline. I love the line, “creatures, I give you
yourselves.” Thank you God for our person-hood.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Horse and His Boy (1954). C.S.
Lewis.
I want to be brave and good and true. I love, “Child…I am telling you
your story, not hers. No one is told any story but their own.” Lewis’
great accomplishment is to make God more harsh and gentle, noble and
sincere than we are used to. He makes us more unfamiliar with Christ
than we expect ourselves to be, and therefore who God is suddenly
becomes fresh, magical, and full of wonder again. I enjoy the
character development Bree undergoes, how the great lion so expertly
humbles pride, kills destructive and unattractive behavior, and
protects the dignity of person in the process.

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (1951). C.S. Lewis

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
(1952). C.S. Lewis.
Eustace’s transformation from child to dragon to child again is a
helpful picture to understand how despicable we are. Heartbreaking to
me that Lucy and Edmund will never return to Narnia again. A brilliant
ending with the revelation that Aslan exists in another world, by
another name. Narnia is a good device for children everywhere: a way
to introduce the gospel in a way that can be understood. I love Lucy’s
ability to see Aslan and respond to him, also touched by Aslan’s
description of her as ‘dear heart’.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair (1953). C.S. Lewis.

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Last Battle (1956). C.S. Lewis.
A wonderful ending to the series. Love the description of how the
deeper inside the characters move into the real Narnia, the bigger it
gets, just as the one who is greater than the whole world, once was
found inside another stable.

Wild at Heart, John Eldredge.
read this over the Christmas break on a beach in Thailand. Right time
for me to read them. I love his line: ‘let people feel the
weight of who you are and then let them deal with it’. As
I’ve read through my journal, I read that I basically wrote that
I’m afraid of this very thing. what a challenge to me. I also
love his, ‘don’t ask what the world needs, ask yourself
what you love and then do it, because the world needs people who do
what they love.’ One reason I think I enjoyed it as I did, is
because I had read almost every book and seen almost every film that
he alludes to. Thought it would be a load of crap, but found he is a
fine writer, has a relevant perspective. Writes in the ‘spirit’ of
Yancey.

The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood.
Fitting that I read this book between Eldredge’s on the beach over
break. Atwood describes things so masterfully. Her description of the
boiled egg was so satisfying to read. Impressed at her fearlessness to
explore and use language that fits and unsettles. Uses expletives for
meaning and effect. No word seems wasted.

Waking the Dead, John Eldredge.
Breezed through this one. Don’t think I’ll read Eldredge for awhile,
have had my fill for now. But, do enjoy his emphasis on community:
fellowships, groups that are intimate, committed, and are mobile. His
emphasis on the new covenant is so significant: good hearts cleansed
and set apart to be whole, a message the church needs to really hear
and believe and live. Cool to read and witness God’s love and
gentleness and generosity to someone through their writing. Overall,
the books were validating and confirmed things I have been learning in
my experience and walk with God, so I was ready to listen and didn’t
feel like I was ‘learning’ so much as I was agreeing. A writer that
gives me hope for contemporary Christian writing.