Since Adam has been born my time for reading (and watching an entire movie uninterrupted) has been rare, BUT I have managed to finish a few. So here are my reviews.
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This first one is probably pretty familiar to all of you. I'm very likely THE LAST person to read it. :oP
THE SHACK by William P. Young has been getting a lot of hype. I tend to be skeptical of hype. It also was generating pretty strong feelings for and against it--and I decided I wouldn't say things about it until I had read it for myself.I enjoyed many aspects of it...but it wasn't one I couldn't put down. I liked the beginning and the end (though it was a heartbreaking story)...and I agree with the majority of what Young says about God and His nature. The middle just felt full of philosophical tangents--some I agreed with, some I'm still not sure. Regardless of the finer points where my theology differed from the author's, the message that God loves us and is able to use A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G that comes our way for our good and His glory was very evident.
Ever since PBS broadcast Jane Austen's PERSUASION last spring, this book has been on my reading list. I've read Pride & Prejudice multiple times due to teaching it, and worked my way through Sense & Sensibility and Emma in recent years, but have never read PERSUASION.Last year for my birthday, my brother-in-law got me a boxed set of Austen films, among them PBS's PERSUASION and I've lost track of how many times I've watched it since. Knowing that I typically love the book as much or more than the film, I finally picked this little book up at my local library and read it.
LOVED IT! I'm beginning to think that Anne Elliot may just be my favorite Austen heroine.
This past Monday I started another Jodi Picoult novel, CHANGE OF HEART. I finished it at 11:30pm Thursday night. (Adam woke up at 12:30 and 5:30 so I'm suddenly remembering why I don't stay up late anymore--if I can help it.)Anyway, it's a typical Picoult read, though that is entirely a complement. Shay Bourne is a man who has been handed the death penalty for a double murder: a cop and his young stepdaughter. While the widow is left to grieve, she also gives birth to a baby girl within a month of losing her family. This little girl grows up to have a failing heart and the odds of finding a viable donor are bleak...until the man convicted of murdering the father and older sister she never knew decides that HE wants to give her his heart after he is put to death.
I won't give any more of the story away other than to say that it is a tale of love, of redemption, and faith. Rather than tell you what to believe, Picoult challenges you to do the thinking. And boy...does she know how to craft a twist! :o)
The last review is of a movie that Pete and I got through netflix recently. SEVEN POUNDS is a tale of a young man (played by Will Smith) who is on a mission. What that mission is isn't apparent right away, but it's not hard to sense his determination and inner turmoil. He is portrayed one minute as a man in control, and suicidal the next.Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson and Barry Pepper round out the rest of the main characters and were well suited for their roles. I can't really say what those roles were because that would totally ruin it for the rest of you.
10 comments:
I can't believe I'm discussing books with you, but I actually have had more time to read since I've moved here. My thoughts about The Shack were similar to yours.. it just got too theological for me at times. I actually read both "A Painted House" and "My Sister's Keeper" last year. I really liked "A Painted House"... well-written. "My Sister's Keeper" was my first Picoult. I thought it was okay, but it seemed like one of those books where the author just wanted to get me to cry, which I'm not a big fan of. And, Seven Pounds is next on our Netflix queue. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Thank you! I am on my last disc of listening to Candle in the Darkness. You won't regret picking it off the shelf!
I have wondered about The Shack too.
Is Seven Pounds pretty good? I couldn't quite tell from what you said, but I would consider buying it as a Father's Day gift...we don't rent movies...we borrow or buy when worth it. :)
Our Stephen was hired last summer at a local Christian bookstare. The Shack was a best seller and the owner encourages his employees to read those. STeve did. When the boss asked for his take on his, Steve was hesitant to say (new boss syndrome). Steve said, "Well, I like his writing style," and the boss said, "But....?" STeve said someting like, "...But I think he takes a very buddy-buddy view of God to the point it reduces God's majesty and holiness/" His boss appreciated the honest perspective.
I can't wait to read Change of Heart. Quite a hook of a review you wrote for it. I am not usually one for fiction, but I'm coming around.
Have you seen the move Slumdog Millionaire? It's gripping, sad,
graphic, funny in places (ie enough comic relief to keep you from turning it off) but I wouldn't let the kids get any view of it. It entails much of the violence and sex trade in India while the main plot is about a guy from the slums who wins the game show and is accused and tortured for susspicion of cheating. Anyway, rent it if you haven't.
I wanted to add something here for those of you that read comments.
WARNING!!! Contains spoiler material regarding SEVEN POUNDS!!!
I can sympathize with the main character and his consuming guilt for causing (accidentally) the deaths of his fiance and 6 others, but I don't believe that means he should end his own life! Granted he chooses a "noble" way of leaving this world--I'm not sure I want to call it noble though. Sacrificial, yes.
I just wish the movie didn't convey that we can somehow atone for past mistakes on our own--I believe there is only One who can truly atone for our sins. In other words, suicide does not equal atonement.
Hi Krista, this is my first time visiting your blog, and I am loving it. Found you through a comment you left on Annette's blog. I wanted to thank you for posting these reviews. There are so many books out there, it can be difficult to find ones that are really worth the time. Oh, and I'm so curious about The Queen... it looked so interesting in the previews, but I had forgotten about it. Now I can't wait to check it out. Thanks!
I was just preparing myself to do a reviews list. Thanks for your thoughts. I have read some of these but may pick up a few others based on your recommendations. Keep 'em comin'!
Persuasion is my FAVORITE J.A. novel! I was in a JA class in college. We read them all, discussed them,and watched the movies. Persuasion always came out as my favorite-though I think it's one of her least well-known/commercialized. Thanks for ALL of the reviews.
I too, had forgotten about "The Queen" but had heard such good things about it initially. I added it to my list!
I also enjoyed "Persuasion" when I read it last year. It was my last Austen book that I'd failed to read.
I too "enjoyed" Seven Pounds. I think the movie was supposed to lead you to the conclusion that he was selfless in his final act. However, with my world view I found the movie entirely tragic. I was really a great example how those who don't have a relationship with the Lord ultimately have no hope for the guilt they may try to atone for or cope with. It made me so thankful that I can be freed from living a life filled with guilt, on whatever level, and wish that for everyone else.
Change of Heart and The Shack are both on my reading list that I hope to start on vacation in two weeks. Thanks for the sneak peek and reviews!
I read the Shack last summer and could hardly put it down. It touched something very deep in the core of my being. I am aware of the controversy, but I have looked up, read, and listened to everything I could find about the author online. I was very moved by his personal story behind the writing of the book.
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