A Glimpse of Starlight

I honestly can’t believe that it’s time to write my end-of-the-month book recap again.  Where did November go?  Well, here we go: three books I read this month. {Also, soon I’ll be posting a new page with a (nearly) complete list of all the books I’ve read in the past five-ish years, so be on the look-out for it!}

1) Slaves of Soccoro ~ John Flanagan.  Book four in his Brotherband Chronicles, the companion series to his famous Ranger’s Apprentice, SoS has its strong and weak points.  The main weak point was that it feels a little same-old, same-old — they chase an enemy, sneak into port, cause a disturbance in the city, and cleverly escape from the harbor after a suspenseful sea battle.  I’m not saying that this is a bad plot line, but he’s used it before in recent books, and I wish there was a bit of a change-up.  The main strong pint was the inclusion of a certain Araluen.  Seeing a beloved friend from the old series step into this new series was a treat, and it wasn’t forced or unrealistic.  I could truly see it happening.  Plus, we haven’t seen Sorroco before, so I enjoyed hearing about the various markets and cultural differences.  In all, it wasn’t Flanagan’s best book, but I’m really looking forward to the next one, “where the worlds of Brotherband Chronicles and Ranger’s Apprentice collide”.  Oh man.

2) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ~ Robert Louis Stevenson. What RLS does so well is use the setting to impact the mood of the story.  He doesn’t use much description, but the little that he does is enough.  The fact that almost everything happens at night in dark, confined spaces creates a creepy, unsettling feel, without him ever having to say it outright.  And, yes, while it was eerie and rather depressing, I think it is a powerful portrayal of human nature.  We all have a Mr. Hyde in us, and some ultimately let him win.  It reminded me of how grateful I should to to God, for giving me the power to defeat my own Mr. (Mrs., perhaps?) Hyde.  The book was shorter than most classics, but it had just the right pace and moved very quickly.  If you’re looking for a short yet suspenseful read, this is it.

3) The Weight of Glory ~ C. S. Lewis.  Ah, Lewis.  He never fails to inspire, challenge, and convict me, and this collection of his essays doesn’t disappoint. The first essay, “The Weight of Glory”, is indescribable.  It discusses glory — what it is, and how it applies to us Christians.  It’s simply beautiful, and I could prove it with a myriad of incredible quotes, but I don’t want to spoil it for you.  “Learning in War-Time” discusses why education is important regardless of what’s going on in the world, “Why I am Not a Pacifist,” outlines, obviously, why he doesn’t believe in pacifism, and “Transposition”,  probably my least favorite, delves into the phenomenon of speaking with tongues and how to view it biblically. Those three were a bit hard for me to get into, but these last five were fantastic.   “Is Theology Poetry?” is his answer to the question, “Does Theology offer us, at best, only that kind of truth which, according to some critics, poetry offers us?”.  “The Inner Ring” is especially relevant to teens, I feel, as he talks about our desires to fit in and find an exclusive group.  “Membership” is his call for us to fellowship with other Christians and not forsake meeting together.  “On Forgiveness” was particularly powerful, and it opened my eyes to lies I have been believing both on how God forgives me and how I should forgive others.  Lastly, “The Slip of the Tongue” candidly reveals his own fear of becoming too focused on temporal things and how we all put boundaries on how far we’ll go for God.

Have you read any of these?  And what have you been reading recently?