The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama
Having gained greater insight into Sarah Palin, I thought I would balance it by learning the innermost thoughts of the other youngster on the presidential ballot. I have discovered that he is a good writer. He has an easy-going narrative-style of writing, which makes the reading easier on someone who doesn't care much for politics. At times, he can be a bit wordy, but just as I am on the verge of falling asleep, he will insert an interesting story or conversation that may or may not have anything to do with the point he is trying to make.
The book contains a lot of Senator Obama's observations about life in the Senate, politics, and government. He observes some of the weaknesses of the US constitution and government, but balances it with the fact that our system is one of the few that has withstood the test of time. He also acknowledges the strengths and weaknesses of both Republicans and Democrats, which creates the illusion that he is writing from a bipartisan standpoint, despite the fact that he specifically states several times in the book that he is a democrat. However, I appreciated his acknowledgement of the weaknesses in his own party. It makes me feel that he is not blind, and that he believes no one is perfect.
One thing I found lacking was his proposition for solving the problems he observes. I would find it much easier to believe in his "Audacious Hope" if provided a clear-cut suggestion for solving the problems. Granted, political candidates for the presidency have to walk a fine line. They must promise things to gain votes, but not too much or they will lose the votes on the extreme ends of the spectrum. Therefore I can't blame him for not providing a solution to the problems he mentions.
My last point in regards to this book has to do with technicalities. Unfortunately, I have been somewhat flummoxed lately and did not have the presence of mind to write down a quote or even just a page number of the passages that I found somewhat contradictory. In one chapter, he indicates that the changes taking place in our country are bad. I found that confusing, in light of the fact that his election campaign has centered around change ("Obama for Change"). In another chapter, he mentions that he authored or coauthored hundreds of bills and voted on them, yet I know that he has come under attack from the conservative end of the spectrum for failing to vote yes or no on an issue. I understand that on this topic, one need only look to the voting records to verify the information, which I have not done.
To sum it all up, I would recommend this book to anyone who is trying to figure out which Democrat they like better, anyone who is interested in one man's thoughts on politics, and anyone who wants to understand why their friends are voting for Obama. I would not recommend this book to someone who is trying to figure out what Obama believes, or to anyone who wants to use this book to figure out whether to vote for McCain or Obama. I would view this book sort of as a memoir rather than anything else.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Adam
Adam, by Ted Dekker
We got this book at the store several months ago, and one had a damaged cover. So, it sat on our counter for a while. While idly waiting for UPS and Fed Ex to arrive so I would have something to unpack, I opened it up.
After we had to send the damaged one back to the publisher, I went for some time without knowing the end of the story. I finally went to the library and found it, and devoured it.
The book is a thriller, so like all thrillers, you can't put it down. It is about an FBI agent who is hunting a serial killer. The killer kills the FBI agent at about chapter four. Now, you might ask, "What kind of book kills the main character on page 42?" Well, the main character dies, and is revived with CPR and a defibrillator. Through out the book, he is tortured by his experience after death, and by the simultaneous knowledge that he cannot remember anything, including the face of the killer. So, he kills himself a few more times to see if he can trigger the memory. I say that flippantly, but it really is quite intriguing. I know that I, for one, would never have thought to kill my main character at all, much less more than once. And it is done in such a way as to be believable, something that could happen with only a tiny stretch of the imagination.
In the end, the book is about more than just a serial killer. It is about whether or not there is life after death, whether this world is all there is out there, and what is the real role of established religion in our lives?
And of course, there are a few hair raising scenes that, to put it simply and g-rated, "kicked butt."
I liked it. Ted Dekker's book Blink of an Eye (see my post: http://megcanread.blogspot.com/2008/04/blink-of-eye.html ) was better, in my opinion, but only because I prefer a mix of romance and thriller and philosophy, whereas this book was just straight up thriller. Don't get me wrong, there's a great romance between the main character and his wife, and there's philosophy as well. But those weren't the focus. The focus was as a thriller.
Still, I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes the thriller genre, anyone interested in a gripping story, and anyone interested in FBI agents, life and death experiences, spiritual topics, or the inner workings of a criminal mind.
We got this book at the store several months ago, and one had a damaged cover. So, it sat on our counter for a while. While idly waiting for UPS and Fed Ex to arrive so I would have something to unpack, I opened it up.
After we had to send the damaged one back to the publisher, I went for some time without knowing the end of the story. I finally went to the library and found it, and devoured it.
The book is a thriller, so like all thrillers, you can't put it down. It is about an FBI agent who is hunting a serial killer. The killer kills the FBI agent at about chapter four. Now, you might ask, "What kind of book kills the main character on page 42?" Well, the main character dies, and is revived with CPR and a defibrillator. Through out the book, he is tortured by his experience after death, and by the simultaneous knowledge that he cannot remember anything, including the face of the killer. So, he kills himself a few more times to see if he can trigger the memory. I say that flippantly, but it really is quite intriguing. I know that I, for one, would never have thought to kill my main character at all, much less more than once. And it is done in such a way as to be believable, something that could happen with only a tiny stretch of the imagination.
In the end, the book is about more than just a serial killer. It is about whether or not there is life after death, whether this world is all there is out there, and what is the real role of established religion in our lives?
And of course, there are a few hair raising scenes that, to put it simply and g-rated, "kicked butt."
I liked it. Ted Dekker's book Blink of an Eye (see my post: http://megcanread.blogspot.com/2008/04/blink-of-eye.html ) was better, in my opinion, but only because I prefer a mix of romance and thriller and philosophy, whereas this book was just straight up thriller. Don't get me wrong, there's a great romance between the main character and his wife, and there's philosophy as well. But those weren't the focus. The focus was as a thriller.
Still, I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes the thriller genre, anyone interested in a gripping story, and anyone interested in FBI agents, life and death experiences, spiritual topics, or the inner workings of a criminal mind.
Scarlet
Scarlet, by Stephen R. Lawhead
This book is #2 in a trilogy. For my review of #1, go here: http://megcanread.blogspot.com/2008/05/hood.html
This book does not pick up directly where Hood left off. Instead, we start up with a new character, William Scatlocke, more commonly known as Will Scarlet. Will is in prison, but we do not know why or how he came to be there. He is telling his story to a monk, who is dutifully writing everything down. Interspersed through the story, are a handful of little chapters so that the reader can have a glimpse of the world outside the prison, and be privy to things that Will, our narrator, is not privy to.
I must admit that for a good portion of the book I read dutifully. It was interesting, but not exciting. I was drawn into the story mostly because I had read the first book and felt a loyalty to the characters, a sort of duty that compelled me to follow their story. At a certain point, however, I began to realize the kind of plot the book was beginning to take. I realized just how much I knew that the other characters did not know. I read every night until my eyelids fell (some nights earlier than other nights) but when I reached near the 3/4 mark, I read all the way to the end in one sitting, regardless of whether or not I had to work the next day.
I think it is important to note the way in which Will Scarlet leaves his prison. He does not escape, but is rescued, or in some ways, one could say he was redeemed. But I can not go too deep into detail because it would ruin the suspense for you, should you decide to read it. But the tender strength and poise of the man doing the rescuing contrasted with the frailty of a man who has been in prison with a wound and a death sentence for 5 months and has several newly broken fingers is a skillfully written scene. Every so often, one can come across a movie in which one of the actors in some skillful way manages to create chemistry with his scene partner AND with you the audience despite it being a movie and not a live show. Those kinds of movies are the ones that become blockbusters. Somehow, this author has managed to create a scene in which the characters are able to create chemistry between each other and you the audience, without even being brought to life by an actor. That is the phenomenal-ness of this scene.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who doesn't believe the scene could be that good, to anyone who likes the story of Robin Hood but is getting tired of it being done in the same way all the time, and to anyone who likes Medieval fiction.
This book is #2 in a trilogy. For my review of #1, go here: http://megcanread.blogspot.com/2008/05/hood.html
This book does not pick up directly where Hood left off. Instead, we start up with a new character, William Scatlocke, more commonly known as Will Scarlet. Will is in prison, but we do not know why or how he came to be there. He is telling his story to a monk, who is dutifully writing everything down. Interspersed through the story, are a handful of little chapters so that the reader can have a glimpse of the world outside the prison, and be privy to things that Will, our narrator, is not privy to.
I must admit that for a good portion of the book I read dutifully. It was interesting, but not exciting. I was drawn into the story mostly because I had read the first book and felt a loyalty to the characters, a sort of duty that compelled me to follow their story. At a certain point, however, I began to realize the kind of plot the book was beginning to take. I realized just how much I knew that the other characters did not know. I read every night until my eyelids fell (some nights earlier than other nights) but when I reached near the 3/4 mark, I read all the way to the end in one sitting, regardless of whether or not I had to work the next day.
I think it is important to note the way in which Will Scarlet leaves his prison. He does not escape, but is rescued, or in some ways, one could say he was redeemed. But I can not go too deep into detail because it would ruin the suspense for you, should you decide to read it. But the tender strength and poise of the man doing the rescuing contrasted with the frailty of a man who has been in prison with a wound and a death sentence for 5 months and has several newly broken fingers is a skillfully written scene. Every so often, one can come across a movie in which one of the actors in some skillful way manages to create chemistry with his scene partner AND with you the audience despite it being a movie and not a live show. Those kinds of movies are the ones that become blockbusters. Somehow, this author has managed to create a scene in which the characters are able to create chemistry between each other and you the audience, without even being brought to life by an actor. That is the phenomenal-ness of this scene.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who doesn't believe the scene could be that good, to anyone who likes the story of Robin Hood but is getting tired of it being done in the same way all the time, and to anyone who likes Medieval fiction.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Sarah
Sarah, by Kaylene Johnson
This is a biography of Sarah Palin. It is the only political biography we carry in the bookstore, and it is not because Tom is endorsing a political figure. We carry it because it is a good book.
The reason the book is good, is that it was written and published before McCain announced his VP choice. The book has no agenda other than to tell the story of Sarah Palin's journey from a fisherman's wife to the governor of Alaska.
Unlike many biographies of political candidates out there today, the author of this book does not draw her information from sources like Wikipedia or Google. In case anyone noticed, those are bad places to gather information. She cited public records, and newspapers for the events that happened, but rarely quoted from the newspapers, which in my opinion prevents the possibility of appearing to put a spin on things (because we all know there's no neutral newspaper). However, the author draws much of her information from interviews with the Palins, with people involved in the campaign for governor, and with public officials involved in both sides of the scandals Sarah Palin went up against.
The book has opened my eyes to a life that today's media won't elaborate on. Now that I know a deeper story behind Sarah Palin's life, I understand why the liberal media is afraid to delve too deeply into the topic of this conservative Alaskan woman. The book quotes Mrs. Palin as saying, "The only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick," and it seems to me that the media is afraid of what that pit bull will start growling at if she becomes Vice President. I do not intend to sway you one way or the other with this writing, however, I will not deny I am totally biased against most news institutions, because they are totally biased towards their particular candidate-of-the-week. If they hate her, common sense tells me to lend an ear to the enemy of my enemy.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in Alaskan history, anyone interested in the role of Sarah Palin in Alaskan government, anyone interested in finding out the details of her previous executive experiences (yes, she DOES have experience!), anyone interested in juicy Alaskan scandals, and anyone interested in the status and potential role of American oil.
This is a biography of Sarah Palin. It is the only political biography we carry in the bookstore, and it is not because Tom is endorsing a political figure. We carry it because it is a good book.
The reason the book is good, is that it was written and published before McCain announced his VP choice. The book has no agenda other than to tell the story of Sarah Palin's journey from a fisherman's wife to the governor of Alaska.
Unlike many biographies of political candidates out there today, the author of this book does not draw her information from sources like Wikipedia or Google. In case anyone noticed, those are bad places to gather information. She cited public records, and newspapers for the events that happened, but rarely quoted from the newspapers, which in my opinion prevents the possibility of appearing to put a spin on things (because we all know there's no neutral newspaper). However, the author draws much of her information from interviews with the Palins, with people involved in the campaign for governor, and with public officials involved in both sides of the scandals Sarah Palin went up against.
The book has opened my eyes to a life that today's media won't elaborate on. Now that I know a deeper story behind Sarah Palin's life, I understand why the liberal media is afraid to delve too deeply into the topic of this conservative Alaskan woman. The book quotes Mrs. Palin as saying, "The only difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull is lipstick," and it seems to me that the media is afraid of what that pit bull will start growling at if she becomes Vice President. I do not intend to sway you one way or the other with this writing, however, I will not deny I am totally biased against most news institutions, because they are totally biased towards their particular candidate-of-the-week. If they hate her, common sense tells me to lend an ear to the enemy of my enemy.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in Alaskan history, anyone interested in the role of Sarah Palin in Alaskan government, anyone interested in finding out the details of her previous executive experiences (yes, she DOES have experience!), anyone interested in juicy Alaskan scandals, and anyone interested in the status and potential role of American oil.
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