March Books

March was another month where I didn't do a good job writing down the books I read. I think I only read two though, but I started a Serious Book, which has consumed my reading time. Without further ado...

Seed - Rob Ziegler. Set in a near future post apocalyptic America, global climate change has destroyed the fabric of society. What remains is held together by a bioengineered seed called Satori, produced by a single company. You can probably guess what happens next. I thought this book was ok, but not particularly novel or exciting.

The Domesday Book - Connie Willis. I really liked this book. In the not so distant future, historians study their topics by going back in time and observing them first hand. Kivrin is a medievalist who is going back to study the reconstruction after the Black Death. Unfortunately, the calculations are a little off, and she ends up too early and must deal with the plague itself. The time travel plays a relatively minor role in the story - anyone who enjoys historical fiction would enjoy this too! Highly recommend.

I think I only finished a measly two books in March!

February Roundup

Well, I have been remarkably bad at blogging the books I've read this year. So here is a brief recap of what i remember reading in February (March to follow later):

"Zero Day" by Mark Russinovich - First off, the author of this book is best known for his series "Windows Internals", a guide to how the Windows operating system works under the hood. So it was perfectly natural that he should write a computer security themed techno-thriller featuring someone who looks remarkably like him. The bad guys in the story unleash a variety of computer attacks that could cripple the US economy, and it is up to our plucky hero and his improbably hot love interest to save the day. There are actually some pretty accurate technical points in the book, but it is mostly brain candy.

"Hounded" and "Hexed" by Kevin Hearne - These are the first two books in the Iron Druid Chronicles, which follow the adventures of a 2000 year old druid (who still looks 23) who owns an occult bookshop in modern Tempe, AZ. He gets involved in a variety of mishaps and adventures involving the local werewolves, witches, faeries, and minor deities. These books are pure brain candy, but are a lot more entertaining than they should be by any critical analysis. I enjoyed them quite a bit - exciting fantasy adventures in a unique setting, with some great characters.

The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis

Well.  I had to start this book twice because I just couldn't get in to it.  Then somewhere in the middle I couldn't put it down.  That crescendo faded fast and finishing it became slow and laborious.  I must be missing something.  It has gotten great reviews and the endorsement of Oprah, so it must be good, right?

The story centers around Hattie Shepherd who as a young 15 year old girl flees from Georgia to Philadelphia hoping for a chance at a better life.  However, that didn't go as planned.  She ends up marrying a man who is nothing but disappointing.  Her first two babies (twins) die of pneumonia in 1925 leaving Hattie a hard and bitter woman.  She gives birth to nine more babies and proves to be a cruel and seemingly unloving mother.  The chapters of the book chronicle her children and how their parents, particularly their mother, has made an impact.  Some of of the story telling is from Hattie's point of view, and some from her children.  I think that is what is going anyway?

I was not so crazy about the story line or the writing style.  I found it to be disjointed and it ended as if the author just got tired of writing.  I looked more than once to see if the Acknowledgments had some sort of conclusion.  No luck.  Maybe you will like it more than me but it isn't one I will re-read or recommend.  (241 pages)

The Scarlet Thread by France Rivers

Yes, I know, another Francine Rivers book.  But I have been wanting to read it and so I did!  It is a very fast read - 431 pages and it took only two days.  I liked it - it is light reading but nice.

The book weaves two women's stories together - told in tandem.  Although the stories of these women are centuries apart, they face the same issues with life and the men they love.  There is heartache, death, love, and all that makes for a good romance.  However, since Rivers is a Christian author, the women's commitment to God is center.  Both women come to the realization of their faith after tragic circumstances and there lays the heart of the story.

That's all - quick and easy read - and enjoyable.

Inside the Kingdom; Kings, Clerics, Modernists, Terrorists and the Struggle for Saudi Arabia by Robert Lacey

Well, this book was way our of the normal reading I do and I have to say I liked it!  I bought this book for Dad but since he is so ensconced with Churchill, I read it before he did.  It is a fascinating look from an insiders view of Saudi Arabia.

The author (I think he is British) has either lived in or been a part of the kingdom for thirty years.  In this writing, he depicts the nation in it's most recent years - beginning in the late 70's up to the publishing of this book in 2009 - which I believe is banned in Saudi.  (I would be surprised if it isn't.)  Lacey explains and peels back the layers of the culture, the beginnings of the jihadist ideology, and addresses the issues women face there even now.  It is written in a rather personal style rather than an accounting of dates, facts and nameless figures.  Instead he gives personal stories, details of interviews, photographs and important for me, a glossary of names and Arabic terms.  There are so many citizens that want to turn the clock back to the time of Mohammed and this book helps explains the why and how as well as the consequences of that mission. 

It is a very interesting read and I would recommend it.

Mark of the Lion Series by Francine Rivers

This series of books was a gift from Alex and Erin for Christmas.  Erin has read and enjoyed them and she knew I would love them as well - and I did!  Thank you both - I buzzed through all three books in no time!  Francine Rivers is a well know Christian fiction author that appeals to a bit more to a female audience... a little romance involved!

Book One - "A Voice in the Wind"
This book takes you back to the first century in Jerusalem, Rome and Ephesus.  The story begins with the destruction of Jerusalem where the main character Hadassah, a young Jewish girl, is captured by the Roman army and sold into slavery.  Even though Hadassah is the main character, the author goes to great lengths developing the whole "cast" - mainly the rich merchant family, the Valeriens who are Hadassah's owners as well as a German gladiator named Atretus.  The dark side of the Roman Empire is explored  and the gladiator scenes make you sick.  Hadassah ends up having tremendous influence on the Valeriens as she begins to reveal that she is one of the new followers of Jesus - a Christian.  There is a tragic end to the book though and you can't wait to get to Book Two!

Book Two - "Echo in the Darkness"
The story starts right up where book one left off but with the adult Valerian children Marcus and Julia, being more involved in the plot.  Where the first book focused mainly on Hadassah and her struggle to stand for her faith, the second book deals mainly with conflicts surrounding the Valerian family and their responses to the sacrificial price that Hadassah paid.  Fortunately, God has not given up on them. When Julia falls ill, there is a strange woman hidden in veils who assists the young doctor at his shop in the poor part of town.  Hmm... who could it be?  There are marriages gone wrong, murder, sexual tension, mystery, and secret identities...everything that makes for a good read is in book two!

Book Three - "As Sure as the Dawn"
This book picks up the thread of Atretes again and now the story is exclusively from his perspective. The other characters  Hadassah and the Valerians are referred to only in passing. The story starts in Ephesus and then follows Atretes and a woman named Rizpah (who was briefly mentioned in Book One) as they journey north to Germania in search of Atretes' family.  Again, more turns and twists that are sometimes obvious and then others that leave you totally guessing the outcome.  This story is a real battle between good and evil - but proving the power of God prevails in all things.

The whole series reflects God's love, persistent calling of His children, forgiveness and redemption.  I totally enjoyed the series and highly recommend all three books.  Each book is long - nearly 500 pages, but they are fast reads and I was sad when they were done.

Life Among Giants by Bill Roorbach

First off, Thank you to Meredith and Michael for this wonderful Christmas gift!  It was a great read and thoroughly enjoyable!  But I read it over two months ago and I can't remember all the details.  I just know I loved it.  The main character, Lizard, and his wacky sister are witness to his parents mysterious murders and the whole book revolves around finding the killer and making sense of the action.  It is funny, entertaining, a bit of mystery and intrigue and well... you know, I think I better do a cut and paste from Amazon!

"At seventeen, David “Lizard” Hochmeyer is nearly seven feet tall, a star quarterback, and Princeton-bound. His future seems all but assured until his parents are mysteriously murdered, leaving Lizard and his older sister, Kate, adrift and alone. Sylphide, the world’s greatest ballerina, lives across the pond from their Connecticut home, in a mansion the size of a museum, and it turns out that her rock star husband’s own disasters have intersected with Lizard’s—and Kate’s—in the most intimate and surprising ways.

Over the decades that follow, Lizard and Kate are obsessed with uncovering the motives behind the deaths, returning time and again to their father’s missing briefcase, his shady business dealings and shaky finances, and to Sylphide, who has threaded her way into Lizard’s and Kate’s lives much more 

deeply than either had ever realized. From the football fields of Princeton to a stint with the NFL, from elaborate dances at the mansion to the seductions lying in wait for Lizard, and ultimately to the upscale restaurant he opens in his hometown, it only takes Lizard a lifetime to piece it all together."