Reading Reflections 2017

You know my life is busy when I'm not reading. I have to be super busy not to be able to read. (Or I have to think I'm too busy to read. It's one of the two.) From October - December of 2017 the only thing I managed to read were books aloud to the kids and I was playing major catch up in my Chronological Bible in order to complete reading the Bible though by the end of the year.

You can see my 2017 Reading List here. I link reviews to titles and one thing you'll quickly notice is that while I read a little, I wrote even less. The sad thing to me is that I have a bad memory when it comes to books and writing out my thoughts on them helps to solidify stories and information. For that reason, I am sorry that I dropped book blogging because there is likely much more information lost than in year's past. While I hope to correct that this year, one never knows how life will go! Meanwhile, I thought I'd take a quick moment to record my favorite reads of 2017.

As I mentioned earlier this week, this past fall our family went to Prince Edward Island on vacation and so the large chunk of my 2017 reading was focused on the works of Lucy Maud Montgomery. A huge treat and treasure was picking up a copy of After Many Years: Twenty-One "Long-Lost" Stories by Montgomery. If I had to pick a favorite of my Montgomery-related reads, I'd have to pick this After Many Years because it was fresh, new and therefore especially fun!

As a bonus, I purchased my copy of After Many Years at the site of Maud's Cavendish Home and it is stamped as such.

The book I feel most accomplished for having read (or, uh, finished) was Atlas Shrugged and I made a very short blog post about that! Atlas Shrugged was tremendously fulfilling but a great deal of work! I can honestly say I enjoyed it and that I'm glad to have read it. Also, I'm glad it's over.

I'm still a huge fan of D.E. Stevenson books and still devour everyone that I can lay my hands on. This year I was blessed to read three different titles by this delightful author. If I had to choose a favorite I guess I'd say I most enjoyed Celia's House.

One of the most interesting books I read this past year was most definitely Upstairs at the White House: My Life with the First Ladies, by J.B. West.

I picked this up during one of Amazon's Deal of the Day offers on the Kindle and I'm SO glad that I did. This title is absolutely fascinating. If you want to get a better picture of what the life of any random First Lady is like, then this is the book for you. West served as Chief Usher at the White House for decades and he recounts his experiences with six of our nation's First Ladies. What I love is that he didn't write this book to "dish" on any one particular First Lady but to explain an institution. It's fabulously well done. Take a trip down memory lane with this one and enjoy the ride!

This past year was probably the year I learned the valuable importance of the read aloud book for me, the mother. If the only book I get to spend time with is the one that I also will be sharing with my kids, I want to make that read aloud a particularly good one! (I can see some of you smiling and nodding your heads even now!) Once upon a time I was browsing the bookshelves at Powell's up in Portland. A dad approached me to ask if I had read the Swallows and Amazons series yet. He raved for a few minutes about how he had read them aloud to his kids and absolutely loved them. His sales pitch sold me and I purchased a couple of the titles.

Fast forward to 2017 and it looked like the reading level would be appropriate for almost all of our kids (ages 3- 11 now!) and so I pulled Swallows and Amazons off the shelf and read it aloud.

And. we. loved. it.

This twelve book series is set in between the World Wars and is set in the Lake District in England. Published in the 1930's, these books were the Harry Potter series of their day and they deserve another go 'round. It follows the adventures of four siblings and their explorations as they sail and camp and make friends with the locals on their holidays. We read the first book and immediately chased that book down with the second, Swallowdale. I loved these books so much that I think I have to declare them my top favorite books read in 2017! They are wonderful! Oh, and the kids liked them too. However, they did request a break before we move onto the third book in the series so I've complied with the request. Just you wait though because the moment I am "allowed" to go back in the world of the Swallows, I'll be there in a heartbeat! Also, I'm pretty sure I want to spend the rest of my life in the Lake District in England.

That pretty much summarizes my reading year. What about yours? If you've written up an end of the year reflection post, I'd love to see it! Leave the link in the comment section and I'll go visitin' my old book blogging buddies and catch up a bit!

Happy New Year to you all! I really have missed you!

Arch Enemy, by Frank Beddor

ArchEnemy is the third and final book in the Looking Glass Wars (and I'm glad). I read the first two books a few years back, (as mentioned), but wasn't motivated then to finish the story. In my recent re-reading of the series I felt like reading to the conclusion and, ultimately, I'm glad I did. We recently took a two week trip to South Korea and that's a mighty long plane ride. I was looking for books to take on the Kindle and decided to take the plunge and order this title to read on the flight.

ArchEnemy picks up where Seeing Redd takes off. A neighboring king has managed to suppress imagination in Wonderland, thus throwing a wrench in both Alyss and her wicked aunt Redd's schemes to maintain their queendom. Alyss and Redd are in a dead heat to see who will ultimately defeat the other. Throw in the turmoil with the neighboring kingdom and there are more epic battles to be had then ever before.

That's about as an exciting description as I can give this book.

ArchEnemy needed to be the last book in this series. Please don't get me wrong, I absolutely loved the first title, The Looking Glass Wars (linked to recent review) but the other two titles feel more like a grab towards an action movie to me and after awhile one gets tired of the endless nastiness and battle scenes. I get it already - Redd is a horrible person with the nasty ability to use black imagination to terrorize everyone in sight (and out of sight). Alyss is the struggling brave warrior princess who is learning to govern a queendom. The idea for the characters and the story are both very, very fun but it felt like the books were a progression of longer more intense battle scenes. That's just not my thing. While I'm glad to know how the story "ends" (as far as the trilogy goes) I'm feeling rather done by book three.

It's been a long time since I've read any fantasy or adventure books and  reading these was something I wanted to do. I feel like I've successfully scratched that itch and am ready to move onto a different genre for awhile. It's fun to dive into an alternative world now and again and read something more unique than my norm and for that reason I'm glad I read The Looking Glass Wars trilogy. By no means do I regret it, but its time to read something else. It's not likely I'm going to ever re-read the entire series of these books, but as I've mentioned, The Looking Glass Wars: Book 1 can stand alone and I can totally see myself pulling that one off the shelf at some point in the future. Frank Beddor had a very compelling, unique storyline to deliver and overall I'd say he delivered well. I'm just not as into battle scenes as he is and so I grew weary way before he did.

One extra little thought that I had when reading ArchEnemy was that it's very Steampunk. The descriptions of the character's wardrobes and weapons painted a very Steampunk feel in my mind and so if you have a Steampunk friend who likes to read, they might find this story extra compelling. Just a thought!

If you ever have a chance to read the first title, The Looking Glass Wars, I'd highly recommend it. The rest of the series is a "take-it-or-leave-it" in my opinion.

Other posts of interest:

• Review of The Looking Glass Wars: Book 1
• Review of Seeing Redd (Book 2)

The Search for the Delicious, by Natalie Babbitt

I think The Search for the Delicious, by Natalie Babbitt, is a book that can stand to be read continually throughout your whole life. Perhaps my children will have the chance to do so as we've started them out on this story young. I only discovered this book for myself back in 2012. I fell in love with it instantly, re-reading it again in 2013. Usually a quick re-read of a book makes me feel a little bit weary of it but not so with this title! Each time I read it, I like it more. I've been biding my time waiting until I thought the kids were old enough to catch some of the humor in the book before sharing it with them. I felt like the time might be right and so we spent the last few weeks reading it.

The Search for the Delicious is a short book that tells of young Gaylen's adventures as the King's Messenger. Gaylen is sent out from the castle to poll the kingdom in order to find out how people would define the word 'delicious.' The Prime Minister has been writing a dictionary and when he presents his definition of the word the king disagrees with him and the queen disagrees with the king. No harmony can be found in the palace and so the locals must be polled. Will people say apples are the most delicious? Or corn? Wheat? Fish? Whatever item receives the most votes will be listed as the definition for the word.

This idea of polling the audience sounds good in theory but the problem is that no two people can seem to agree on what is delicious. With the help of a villain who convinces the people that the king means to cause trouble with this question, the land is filled with confusion and the threat of war looms over people's heads. There is hope of averting a war but it is going to take the help of some creatures that some believe only to be mythical: a woldweller, some dwarves, and a beautiful mermaid. As Gaylen makes his way around the countryside he is faced with a great many challenges, one of them is whether or not to believe in fairytales.

This story is pure genius. The first time I read The Search for the Delicious I didn't discern any deep meaning; it was pure entertainment and sheer delight. The second time I read it I clued into the importance of reading and understanding the purpose behind fairy tales. This time I ached only for my kids to appreciate the delicate, subtle humor of Babbitt. I'm afraid to report that she's so subtle with her humor that it went over their heads. Not that this was a loss because my kids were still left to enjoy the story for story sake which they did! (I, alone, snickered my way through beautifully crafted sentences.) In the end though, we all enjoyed it which was the point. My kids, ages 9, 7 and 5 all claimed to have enjoyed it very much. (The three year old sat silently by and grinned. But I don't think that means anything.)

It is precisely because this book is just so enjoyable that we will revisit it again in the future, many times over! I'm certainly not tired of reading it and can only still highly recommend it to you. Seek this one out! It's worth every minute of your time.

Related posts:

• 2012 first reaction to The Search for the Delicious
• 2013 review of The Search for the Delicious

Seeing Redd, by Frank Beddor

As mentioned last week, I dove headfirst into Seeing Redd, the sequel to The Looking Glass Wars (linked to thoughts), because it was so interesting and exciting that I wanted to keep the story going. I have read Seeing Redd before but it has been a few years. When I reviewed The Looking Glass Wars back in 2007 I pretty much only used exclamation points when talking about it. Seeing Redd was quite a different matter. I didn't care for it as much and I gave a pretty good set of reasons as to why. Fast forward to 2016 and all I remembered about the story was that I had some hesitations which caused me never to chase after the third book in the trilogy, ArchEnemy.

This time my reading of Seeing Redd was completely different. I think perhaps the reason I could relax more with was because I didn't expect much from it, while the first time I engaged with high expectations. This story picks up right where The Looking Glass Wars left off, with Redd throwing herself into earth, experiencing some time away from Wonderland in the world as we know it. She amasses an army of dark characters in our world, intending to take them back to Wonderland for the purpose of reclaiming the throne from her pesky niece, Alyss Heart. The entirety of this book focuses on Redd's attempt to reclaim the crown and Alyss re-intregration into a Wonderland world. Throw in a side plot with Hatter Madigan and there is plenty of action, mystery, and intrigue to keep the story afloat.

One of my original complaints about Seeing Redd was that it felt that Beddor was writing more in the interest of creating a screen play than he was in telling a unique story. I think that criticism still holds true. I also said that the book made me picture X-Men in my mind's eye as I was imagining what the characters looked and acted like and I found it somewhat amusing that the first reviewer Amazon lists lobs the same complaint in Beddor's direction. Apparently I am not alone in thinking that Beddor is more about the movie than the book. I did some online sleuthing to see if anything ever came of the movie idea and it would seem that while Beddor would have loved it, the success of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland probably means that The Looking Glass Wars will never make it to the big screen as the storyline shares some similarities. Beddor does still hope for a television series though and I suppose that's not too far fetched. Still, as a reader, I want to be told a story for the sheer enjoyment of story and not because someone is hoping to make it big in Hollywood. The pleasure is in the telling and the hearing first and it bothers me still that Beddor focuses so much on the visual aspect of his tale.

That aside, I did enjoy Seeing Redd this time around. I didn't care much for Redd's excursion in our world. She's just too sadistic and nasty and when you pair her up with "bad guys" as we might know them, I found her doubly creepy. She's bad enough in Wonderland but on earth she's terrifying to the extreme! Once she makes her way back into Wonderland I find things much more tolerable. Conservative readers should know she meets up with some nasty characters on earth who delight in killing people. Just like in The Looking Glass Wars, Beddor doesn't skimp on battle details although I didn't think there was anything grosser than the last book's decapitations. (Truly, this is a story better left on the page in my opinion. I wouldn't want to see it played out on the screen.) Do be prepared for violence but, again, it's on the level of The Lord of the Rings. If you can handle that, you can handle this.

Seeing Redd does have more mature elements in it which I mentioned in my 2007 review. There is nothing explicit in the least but there are romantic relationships which are beginning to bud and some which are being remembered. Due to that factor, I will absolutely delay handing this book over to my 9 year old. He can wait a few years. The great thing, as I've mentioned previously, is that The Looking Glass Wars really can stand alone as its own book. There's no absolute need to read on in the series if you don't want to or feel you aren't ready for it.

As for me, I'm bound and determined to get through the series this time. I feel a bit entrenched in it and so ordered ArchEnemy for my Kindle. We shall see how that pans out. I'll let you know!

Additional posts of interest:

• 2007 exclamations about The Looking Glass Wars
• 2007 review of Seeing Redd
• 2016 review of The Looking Glass Wars

The Four Feathers, by A.E.W. Mason

This past month my in-town book club chose to read The Four Feathers, by A. E. W. Mason. I was glad of it because I had never read it and was very curious. I've linked the title to the $0.99 edition which is available on the Kindle which I would also like to note as being the cheapest, fastest way to get a hold of it. I liked the book so much though that now I'm on the lookout for a beautiful hardbound edition.

The Four Feathers was published in 1902. Although Mason wrote many novels (and plays) it is considered that this is his finest. Interesting to note, Mason was a contemporary of Anthony Hope who wrote The Prisoner of Zenda. (Linked to my review.) It was apparently a great time in history for adventure stories and these two titles most definitely ought to be enjoyed by a modern reading audience!


The Four Feathers tells the story of British officer, Harry Faversham. Harry is engaged to be married to a young lady by the beautiful name of Ethne when his regiment is called to Egypt to help suppress an uprising. Harry doesn't want to go to Egypt. He has always been a sensitive soul and loathes and fears the idea of entering into battle and watching people be injured, maimed or killed. He can't seem to muster the courage to put himself in harm's way and so he resigns from his commission. As a result of his cowardly resignation, three men from his regiment send him three white feathers. Henry opens the package containing the feathers in front of Ethne who then learns of his cowardice. Upon hearing what he had done, Ethne presents him with a fourth feather and calls off their engagement. Feversham is sufficiently shamed and - after informing his father and a close friend of what all had occurred - disappears from society. Privately, Faversham decides to seek opportunities by which he will be able to ask each of the four individuals who presented him with the feathers to take them back, thus restoring his honor. This is a tale of bravery, courage, love, hardship, adventure and honor.

The book was interesting from the perspective of that the way a reader would view different characters. Your thoughts and opinions about any number of individuals were apt to change while progressing through the story. I liked Harry and then I didn't. Then I liked him again. I admired other characters, but there were also times when I abhorred them. The only constant was that I did not care for Ethne (despite her beautiful name). I found her to be rather callous and self-centered much of the time. I wasn't able to attend book club for the discussion but it is my understanding that the generous consensus was that no one cared for Ethne very much. Others also expressed that their feelings changed towards various characters as they read along.

The other nice aspect of this book is that there is a main plot and then a variety of subplots which manage to keep a tight reign on the reader's interest levels. New details and facts, thoughts and ideas are revealed as the story unfolds. My only complaint about the book is really that it started off rather slow (for me at any rate). The first few chapters were a struggle to get into but by the middle of the tale I was completely hooked and breezed my way to the end.

I'm having a hard time finding much information or discussion about the book online. Even Wikipedia is brief in its description (gasp). Readers on Goodreads give it 3.84 stars out of 5. I'd give it 5 myself, despite its slow beginnings. Some readers noted that they didn't understand quite why it was labeled an "adventure" story as they found it to be more a study of feelings. I can see why they would say that. Much of the story is told by way of explaining a character or a situation and by sharing what they were thinking or feeling in any given moment. I understand too that because this book pretty much documents thought processes, it is a hard book to make into a movie. Critics seem to agree that there is not a faithful movie adaptation of the book to be found. (The 2002 version with Heath Ledger looks to be avoided at all costs.) After hearing other people's experiences with the films, I think I will leave The Four Feathers to my imagination.

Although I don't feel very equipped to discuss this title - based on the fact that I can't find much online of the history of the book or A.E.W. Mason online - I'll bring this "review" to a close. I would be curious to learn more about it and probably the one and only way that will ever occur is if modern readers pick his books up and become interested in them once again. This novel is really quite brilliant in explaining the inner workings of the mind and how the way a person is thinking has great influence over their actions. If that sounds too brainy for you, I'll refer you again to the books classification as being a "romantic adventure story." The best book is the one that entertains you thoroughly while making you think a little as well. This is one of those "best books" and if you find yourself with an opportunity to read it, do!

Note: The Kindle edition that I have linked to above ($0.99) includes several other of Mason's works which I plan to fully enjoy.

King Solomon's Mines, by H. Rider Haggard

After reading Sky's introductory post for this past month's book club read, I was ready to dive on into King Solomon's Mines. However, I took my own sweet time getting around to it, completing it just yesterday. If Sky piqued my interest in it, C.S. Lewis solidified it.

Before reading King Solomon's Mines I was reading Live Like A Narnian and in the back of the book, author Joe Rigney noted that Haggard's book was one of Lewis' favorite as a child. Lewis wrote both about the book and the movie version of it in his essay On Stories (available for free online) and I'll share what he said about it in just a minute. I tried not to pay attention to Lewis' thoughts until I had read the book for myself.

First, let's discuss the story itself.

In this book we follow along with three men - Allan Quatermain, Sir Henry Curtis, and Captain Good - as they seek treasure in Solomon's "lost" mines and also the missing brother of Sir Henry. They traverse the desert in Africa with the help of a few good (tribes)men and have quite a few spectacular adventures finding what they are looking for.

This story was first published in 1895 and was well-received by the public. Billboards and advertisements around London called it, "The Most Amazing Book Ever Written!" (Almost makes authors and potential authors a bit green with envy, doesn't it?) It is notable for being the first African adventure published in the English language and it is credited with creating a new category of book: the "lost world" genre. (Kipling's The Man Who Would Be King also falling into this genre.) Not bad for a book that was written as a result of a five shilling wager against his brother who bet that Haggard couldn't write a book half as good as Treasure Island, eh?! Publishers had trouble keeping up with the public demand for more copies. I think that's a sound win.

Modern readers of this book will, of course, notice how completely politically uncorrect this book is. Haggard describes elephant hunts that just about make one's stomach turn. He notes the love of ivory tusks which is sure to raise the hackles of more than one reader these days. Also, he addresses the African natives in terminology which we no longer use and which I found off putting at best. However, when you consider the fact that Haggard had traveled Africa extensively and had a great respect for Africans you might soften up a bit. While there is room to howl about vocabulary and labels, you also must quickly consider that Haggard did two things in this book which were unique to the time this book was written:

1. He made some of the Africans people of distinction and addressed them as "gentleman." He made them intelligent and not - as was common for the time - barbaric. He elevated their status, giving some of them prime roles into the story which was then unusual.

2. Also of interest, he created a biracial romantic relationship between a white man and a black woman. This had never been done before and is worthy of note.

This to say that King Solomon's Mines expresses much less racism than other books of the day and even "broke the mold" to some degree.

Now, the 1950 version of the movie is supposed to be a fairly good adaptation and I'm looking forward to seeing it although I think C.S. Lewis has greatly dampened my enthusiasm for it. Interested in hearing his take? Here you go:

"I was once taken to see a film version of King Solomon's Mines. Of its many sins —not least the introduction of a totally irrelevant young woman in shorts who accompanied the three adventurers wherever they went—only one here concerns us. At the end of Haggard's book, as everyone remembers, the heroes are awaiting death entombed in a rock chamber and surrounded by the mummified kings of that land. The maker of the film version, however, apparently thought this tame. He substituted a subterranean volcanic eruption, and then went one better by adding an earthquake. Perhaps we should not blame him. Perhaps the scene in the original was not 'cinematic' and the man was right, by the canons of his own art, in altering it. But it would have been better not to have chosen in the first place a story which could be adapted to the screen only by being ruined. Ruined, at least, for me. No doubt if sheer excitement is all you want from a story, and if increase of dangers increases excitement, then a rapidly changing series of two risks (that of being burned alive and that of being crushed to bits) would be better than the single prolonged danger of starving to death in a cave. But that is just the point. There must be a pleasure in such stories distinct from mere excitement or I should not feel that I had been cheated in being given the earthquake instead of Haggard's actual scene. What I lose is the whole sense of the deathly (quite a different thing from simple danger of death)—the cold, the silence, and the surrounding faces of the ancient, the crowned and sceptred, dead. You may, if you please, say that Rider Haggard's effect is quite as 'crude* or 'vulgar' or 'sensational' as that which the film substituted for it. I am not at present discussing that. The point is that it is extremely different. The one lays a hushing spell on the imagination; the other excites a rapid flutter of the nerves. In reading that chapter of the book curiosity or suspense about the escape of the heroes from their death-trap makes a very minor part of one's experience. The trap I remember for ever: how they got out I have long since forgotten." C.S. Lewis, On Stories

I'll probably see the movie anyway. But I don't think I'm going to like the ending very much.

I am very glad that Sky chose this book for us to read last month. It's definitely a tale that will stick with me and I look forward to passing it along to my own kids when they are some bit older. For a moment in time, the pleasure of this book is mine and I'm happy.

If you didn't get around to reading it this past month, put it on your reading list and find some time for it in the future. It's a pretty engaging read.

Turn Right at Machu Picchu, by Mark Adams

Do you all remember Heather? She's the other gal from my church who reads and is practically my TWIN (except she isn't) when it comes to the way we think, read and don't camp outdoors. (I bet she doesn't like slugs. I haven't asked her but I just bet she doesn't!) At any rate, I had a review copy of Turn Right at Machu Picchu sitting on my desk that she expressed an interest in reading it. So, I handed it over and figured I'd wait to read it and see if she liked it and she did! Below are Heather's thoughts on said book.

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I’ve been on an adventure book kick recently. I haven’t really done much soul searching to find out why this is, but my guess is that it’s something I tend to be a little schizophrenic about. On the one hand I hold the type of people who go backpacking in the wilderness for a month in great awe and there is even a little piece of me that wishes to be the woman who would do it. On the other hand there is the real me who hates being dirty, is terrified of insects and heights and being cold, and has never taken the miracle of indoor plumbing for granted. I’m left to satisfy my inner adventurer by vicarious reading. I’ve been frantically checking out books about far off places and long road trips and hikes across America. So Mark Adams’s Turn Right at Machu Pichu fitted in quite nicely with my recent craze.

Mark Adams is pursuing an interest in Hiram Bingham, Yale professor who allegedly discovered Machu Pichu in 1911 and may be the inspiration for the adventurer Indiana Jones. Adams, like me oddly enough, is someone who read and wrote about adventures all the time. Adams, unlike me, got paid to do this. He wrote for magazines like Outside and The National Geographic, and had been itching for an adventure of his own. So, when the 100th anniversary of Bingham’s discovery drew near and when Adams is alerted to the existence of a map that may prove Bingham’s claim to discovery to be false, he decides to hire a guide and follow the same route Bingham took in 1911.

Mark Adams’s guide happens to be John Leivers, an Australian in his late 50s introduced to the reader early on as: “Extremely fit; dressed as if ready to clamber up the Matterhorn though it was a cloudless, seventy degree day; and about as unattached as a man could be in the twenty-first century. He had no wife, no children, no permanent mailing address, just a cell phone and a Gmail account.”[1] The interaction of this colorful character and the author who admits, “The last time I’d slept in a tent was in 1978, when my father brought an imitation teepee home from Sears and set it up in our backyard,”[2] would make for a great read by itself. Both of these men come from such disparate backgrounds and even the differences between American English and Australian English is hard for them to overcome, but they do overcome it. And it is just funny. I found myself laughing out loud a lot.

The obvious reason to read this book, however, is if you find travel to exotic locations at all interesting. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t. Whether you would actually do such a thing doesn’t really matter. The idea at least holds an appeal. Mark Adams’s career as a writer for adventure magazines makes him the perfect person to write this story. His writing is particularly descriptive and drove me onto Google a couple of times hoping to get a taste of the experience. The interactions with the local people were very entertaining. The best story was of Adams’s interaction with two children who didn’t know where New York was, didn’t know where America was, but were curious if it was true that Michael Jackson had died. I can’t do justice to how funny that particular anecdote was, so I guess you’ll just have to read it yourself.

Something else I appreciate about the book is how Adams weaves the story of Hiram Bingham’s adventure with his own and even goes further back in time and mixes in some of Peru’s fascinating history. This was particularly helpful to me as I had only heard the name of Hiram Bingham and could probably not place him in his historical context. It would be a stretch to say I even knew he had anything to do with Machu Pichu. Also, I had no idea how interesting Peruvian history was! I plan on doing a little reading up on it now.

For more conservative readers, some of John Leivers’s language is pretty earthy, and naturally if you are going for this long of a hike there will be some talk of bodily functions. I found myself quite pleasantly surprised at how circumspect Mark Adams was. I know I shouldn’t be because this is a non-fiction book so how gross can one get, right? Well, I won’t get on a rant about “books these days,” but sometimes they do, and this one didn’t. Also, the last bit of the book dwells quite a bit on Incan theology….philosophy?...religion? Apparently right now Peru is a Catholic country officially. However, sacrifices are still made to the mountains and a sort of syncretism has cropped up between Peru’s Catholicism and the ancient Incan religion. And naturally, I disagreed with this syncretism, but the book isn’t being proscriptive here, just descriptive.

Anyway, I’m glad I read it, and found Mark Adams’s writing to be humorous and informative. I plan on exploring some more of his works along with some books on Peruvian history. I recommend it wholeheartedly.

[1] Adams, Mark Turn Right at Machu Pichu (New York: Dutton, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc, 2011) pg. 1

[2] Ibid. 2

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Now I simply have to read this book instead of just "have" to. What about you?

Thanks, Heather, for sharing your thoughts on it!

Thanks to Penguin Group for sending a copy of this book my/our way!

Enter if You Dare!

How do I describe this? Morbid fascination and summertime fun/curiosity.

For some reason, I've always been intrigued by Ripley's Believe it or Not. I can remember, back when I was younger, wondering what it would be like to go through one of their famous museums. I remember the first (and so far the only!) Ripley's I was able to go to - the one in San Fransisco. (Somehow, I find that strangely fitting.)

Whenever a new Ripley's book comes out, I'm always curious. So in the spirit of summer fun and craziness - (fyi - this might be as crazy as I actually get) - I give you Ripley's Believe It or Not! Enter If You Dare!

There should probably be no reason for me to want to gross myself out by looking at a picture of a disfigured cat (who has now become a "therapy cat" to help people with disfigurements improve their confidence.) I most certainly don't want to know about pythons discovered in toilet bowls. (I've had a long term fear of sitting down unawares and there being a snake in the pot anyway. TMI? Perhaps. But this is a Ripley's review, after all!) But it is kinda cool to hear about the cat who catches the same bus and rides the same route every single day. (That would be Casper - the friendly cat? - in England.)

There's a funny horse who got her head stuck in a tree trunk. (She was freed with a chainsaw and is alive and healthy today, in case you were wondering.) And it's also cool to see the "tiny teen" - a 16 year old girl who is only 23.5 inches tall! Her actual size is included as a full-page fold out inside the book so you can see how far up your leg she actually comes in height. (She is about halfway up my thigh.)

I don't know why I like Ripley's really. There is no justifiable explanation. It's just the curiosity of the thing. DOES the turtle really have two heads?! DOES the kitten really have two faces?! DID American Airlines really save an estimated $40,000 in 1987 by removing one olive from each salad served to first-class passengers?! DID the first class passengers notice and did they suffer because of it!? Questions to ponder, my friends. Questions to ponder.

Ripley's Believe It or Not! Enter If You Dare! is a little more tame than the last Ripley's book I perused. Fascinating still. Especially since in this edition, I finally found out how Siamese twins Chang and Eng Bunker died. (So bizarre to think about!) Maybe that's why I like it. It's just bizarre. It's less serious than the news and more interesting than who Jennifer Anniston is currently with. You see strange and miraculous things from all over the globe. Interesting. It's just interesting.

And I suppose that's all I have to say. If you like Ripley's, then you'll be excited to know that the newest edition of oddities is out.

I will also tell you that although Ripley's had a booth at the Book Expo that featured the most tatooed woman in the world, and although Jennifer offered to go with me to meet her, I took a pass. (Looking at pictures in books is one thing . . .)

Thanks, Ripley's, for entertaining, grossing me out, and making me wonder yet again.

Hood, by Stephen Lawhead

I had to read Hood because Lisa raved about the King Raven trilogy over at 5 Minutes for Books. I typically like the type of books that Lisa likes and I figured this was a safe bet. I was not in the least disappointed. Everything Lisa said about the book was spot on and I loved it!

I've never read anything by Stephen Lawhead before and therefore was completely unfamiliar with his style. This book, published by Thomas Nelson, made me think that it would be a clean read and it was. The main protagonist, Bran, does live a rather loose lifestyle but Lawhead handles the character tastefully enough and gives you just enough information to know that Bran is a coward and a cad. After he has established Bran's less than stellar character, he moves on with the story (which is a twist on Robin Hood) in a completely artful manner and I got lost in the story.

Hood is the first book in a triology so I don't want to discuss the details of the plot too intently. I don't believe this book stands alone and I don't see how I can get around reading the sequels. Nothing is concluded in the first installment but enough is given to the reader to create a curious thirst for more.

Lawhead's style of writing is what makes reading this book so worthwhile. A lot of modern day fiction is irksome to me because it contains so many pop culture references that the books are instantly dated and branded as being meant for the present moment only. Not so with the King Raven triology. Lawhead uses language and paints scenes that draw you in so that you are never jarred out of the story. He writes seemlessly and the work is complex. I'm really very impressed and cannot wait to grab the second book, Scarlet. (I have a feeling that Jonathan is going to read and love this series too.) It's an all around winner with its clean adventurous fun.

I haven't read the original Adventures of Robin Hood which is probably something I shouldn't admit but I can tell you one thing - this book is driving me towards them! Stay tuned for that as I will be exploring the character of Robin Hood in more detail in the very near future.

******

I'm also reading this book as part of the I Read It challenge over at 5 Minutes for Books. Have you read anything we've suggested over there? If so, write up a post about it and let us know!

The Negotiator, by Dee Henderson

Reading this book was, for me, like sitting down and watching an action movie. Bomb threats and explosions, mysterious black roses representing old stalkers, banks and hostages and the whole nine yards. Include a strong - and yet fragile! - female and her male protector for a good romance and, well, I guess you are all set. Honestly this book would make a good screen play.

I don't normally do action/thrillers but I received this book from Brittanie, at Book Lover as part of the book swap I did with Sarah from Library Hospital. Of COURSE I was going to read it! And I'm not sorry that I did. It's written by Christian author Dee Henderson so even though it's suspenseful, it's also very clean. In a lot of ways this book reads like a whodunnit but involves a lot of modern day references and government agencies.

The lead protagonist in this story is Kate O'Malley, an orphan with a mysterious past. She, along with her adopted O'Malley siblings, all grew up together and each went on to pursue a prestigious career in either law enforcement agencies or as medical personnel. There is a past history with the O'Malleys which unfolds as the book progresses.

I do not intend to offer a spoiler on this book as this is exactly the type of novel that demands such protection. On so many levels. At any rate, I can say that if you like feeling all suspenseful and enjoy a good mystery, this is a good clean book for you to enjoy. If you aren't the type that does suspense then I'd have to say you might still enjoy this book. Nothing about it disturbed me in any great way. I was just tied to the book as I sought the conclusion. It's almost like a guy movie for girls or something. I was riveted to the plot and desperately wanted to find the end of it so I could breathe again. That being said, I probably won't read any of the other books in the O'Malley series but they do exist if you find you just didn't get enough the first go around.

Thanks, Brittanie, for sharing one of your favorite books with me. Let's do it again sometime!

BTW, if you enjoyed being part of the book swap last time, or have any interest in participating in the next one, stay tuned! Sarah and I are planning a winter swap so you'll have another chance to be involved.

Danger in the Shadows, by Dee Henderson

This book restored my faith in Christian writers -- somewhat. HA! Actually, about as much as I'd rather like to say I didn't like it, the truth is that I did!

I don't have a great deal to say about this book. It's the first thing I've ever read by Dee Henderson. It might not be the last, but it will be awhile before I'll read anything else, partly because this was rather suspenseful (and I don't do a LOT of suspense well) and because I have too many other books I want to get to.

I thought Henderson did a nice job of telling her story without jarring me out of it with her use of scripture and a Biblical message. So many Christian authors are very jarring. Many are like watching a bad actor in a stage production of a really good play. They continuously draw you OUT of the story. Henderson, I thought, managed to tell her story in a manner that had me flipping pages in anticipation (and a hopeful relief of the tension!) that was not graphic but held serious content. The story can be as bad as you want it to be, or as good as you want it to be. Make sense? You might have to read it to figure that one out for yourself.

I could see this on the big screen which means that the book doesn't land in my Treasure Pile by any means. It's too modern and floofy to be taken too seriously, literary speaking. But it's fun. And its adventurous. And if you like suspense-- it does the job in a manner that won't leave you suffering needlessly with gorey details. So I liked it. A lot.

Next I will be reading something lighter and happier to ensure a good night's sleep! HA!

Mrs. Pollifax on Safari, by Dorothy Gillman

Sky introduced me to Mrs. Pollifax and I am forever indebted to her for some good times. Dorothy Gillman wrote the series about a grandmother who decides she needs to spice up her life by becoming a spy for the CIA, between 1966 and 2000. I suppose it has the flavor of Christie's Miss. Marple series, but Pollifax knows karate and I don't think Miss Marple does.

The adventures of Mrs. Pollifax begin in The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax(1966)wherein she decides she needs to spice up her life and shows up at CIA headquarters to volunteer as a spy. Mistaken for a tourist at first, they eventually decide that she might very well be of some use for them. Who would expect a grandmother on vacation? She turns out to be an incredible asset to the CIA and apparently they decide to use her services (again and again). I jumped ahead in the series because the library was selling a copy of Safari which I decided was a "must have." The complete list of titles in the series are as follows:

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax (1966)
The Amazing Mrs. Pollifax (1970)
The Elusive Mrs. Pollifax (1971)
A Palm for Mrs. Pollifax (1973)
Mrs. Pollifax on Safari (1976)
Mrs. Pollifax on the China Station (1983)
Mrs. Pollifax and the Hong Kong Buddha (1985)
Mrs. Pollifax and the Golden Triangle (1988)
Mrs. Pollifax and the Whirling Dervish (1990)
Mrs. Pollifax and the Second Thief (1993)
Mrs. Pollifax Pursued (1995)
Mrs. Pollifax and the Lion Killer (1996)
Mrs. Pollifax, Innocent Tourist (1997)
Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled (2000)

Through some online exploration I also discovered two films were made out of the series. The first starred Rosalind Russell and was released in 1971 under the title Mrs. Pollifax - Spy. The second was a CBS television movie starring Angela Lansbury, made in 1999, and simply called The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax. Unfortunately, neither are available for sale in any format at the present time. Personally, I'm not sure which one intrigues me more -- liking both actresses very much. (I might have a harder time believing Angela Lansbury in the role given her Murder She Wrote years.)

Mrs. Pollifax is candy reading, really. Enjoyably clean and entertaining. I look forward to stumbling into another adventure with her in the very near future. (Thanks again, Sky!)