Book List of 2014 (14/30)

     This year was a bit of an odd one for me. It was light on classics, heavy on Lewis, and included quite few trilogies. I found with PA school that it was a bit harder to fit in the time to as much read as I’d like, but I still read some real gems. As I’ve done in the past, my five favorites of the year are bolded below. As always, feel free to leave suggestions for what I should read this year in the comments.

The Lunar Chronicles: Cinder, Scarlet, Cress, Glitches, The Queen's Army, and The Little Android (Marissa Meyer) -I'm always a sucker for fairy tale retellings, so it was not hard for me to enjoy this sci-fi/fairy tale crossover series. What's not to love about a Cinderella that's a cyborg, a Rapunzel who's a computer whiz trapped on a satellite, or an evil queen who rules the moon? If you think I'm joking, I'm not. I actually have really enjoyed this series. There's even a short story spinoff about a Little Mermaid-like robot. I think the stories are well-written and the concept is pulled off well, rather than feeling forced, and there's even intelligent political and social commentary. Even though I have some idea of where the stories are going because I know the original tales so well, I still feel pulled along and anxious to see what will happen next. The last two books won't come out until this year, and I'm hopeful they will end as well as they've begun.

This is Portland: The City You've Heard You Should Like (Alexander Barrett) -I saw this book at Powell's and the few sections I read there entertained me enough that I bought it. It's a rather tongue-in-cheek description of Portland from a recent transplant to the city. While sometimes a smidge exaggerated, the descriptions and commentary were usually spot on and hilarious. Locals will enjoy it, and everyone else will wish they lived in Portland.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll) –I read this one just to finally read it. I was never a big fan of the film adaptations I’d watched as a child, but I was curious about the original. I’m glad now that I’ve read it at last, but I feel like it barely made an impression on me because I don’t remember much. Perhaps someday I’ll read it again and find it more memorable.

The House of Seven Gables (Nathaniel Hawthorne) –Years ago my grandmother bought me this book, but it wasn’t until this year that I finally read it. Man o’malley I’m glad I did. I think it took me a little while to really get into it, but I loved it. Of course, it probably helped that I’m living in Salem now and could actually visit the real House of the Seven Gables (and I did just that this October), but I can easily understand how the story of Phoebe and Holgrave and the whole Pyncheon family became a classic. It has all the eeriness and spookiness of a mystery or horror novel, but with romance, humor, redemption, and moral lessons all thrown in. It was one of my favorites this year, and Phoebe and Holgrave will always have a special place in my heart.

God is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas (Dietrich Bonhoeffer) –Many of the passages overlapped with my daily devotional from Bonhoeffer, but it was still a worthwhile read. The subtitle is quite accurate, as this is not a typical Advent devotional. It does not explicitly follow the Christmas story, but rather begins with a passage from Bonhoeffer’s writings (either published works or private letters) that relates to Christmas and then ties in a Bible verse or passage that fits his passage. It also continued until Epiphany, rather than just ending on Christmas day. I liked it. 

Forbidden (Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee) –I have rather enjoyed much of Ted Dekker's previous works, and I was excited for this one. I found the premise intriguing (all emotions except fear have been eradicated from the earth by a virus, leaving people “alive” but not truly living) and I enjoyed the book quite a bit. I meant to finish the rest of the trilogy but just didn’t get around to it. Maybe this year.

Book Lust (Nancy Pearl) –If you’re looking for some suggestions of good books to read, but don’t even know where to begin, Book Lust is a pretty good start. Ms. Pearl does a great job of offering suggestions based on themes, so you can probably find a book or two to fit your mood and interests. She also gives most of the books a quick little review so you can get a good idea of whether or not you’d be interested.

Ruins (Dan Wells) -I had high hopes for this final book in the Partials trilogy after reading Partials and Fragments, but, sadly, I felt this fell to the same trap of recent trilogies like The Hunger Games and Divergent. Too much was added and changed in the third book, and while I feel like the author might have been trying for gritty realism, I think he just made things unnecessarily complicated and depressing. It did not live up to its fairly clever premise. Alright, but a bit of a disappointment.

The Maze Runner series (James Dashner) -This was a bit similar to the Partials series in that it too had a clever premise, but the execution was not always the greatest. The first two books were well-done and intriguing, but the third book seemed to struggle a bit to tie everything together. I felt like Dashner's vision was perhaps a bit more realistic than Wells', but he also seemed to revel in particularly realistic and graphic descriptions of death, and there were plenty of those. I still enjoyed this series, but it wasn't my favorite of all time or something like that.

Son (Lois Lowry) –I thought this was a decent end to Lowry’s Giver series. In this fourth book she brought together all the stories of the previous three books, and I thought she did it in a way that felt natural, not contrived. I still think The Giver is probably the strongest of the series, but I liked this one.

The Selection Series (Kiera Class) -What do you get when you cross YA fiction with The Bachelor and The West Wing, or some other political drama? You get The Selection Series. That may or may not sound appealing based on who you are, but I liked the books. I feel like Class could have easily succumbed to the stereotypical plotlines that come with the story of a girl who might be selected by a prince to be his wife, but I thought she made the characters feel real and honest, with growth across the books. She even had some solid political commentary. My only negative might be that parts of the ending seemed convenient, but I still liked this.  

Hyperbole and a Half (Allie Brosh) –I loved this book so much. If you’ve never read Allie’s blog, you really should. Allie pretty much just tells stories from her life and accompanies them with funny and odd little drawings she makes in Paint, and the result is almost always hilarious magic. The book is basically the same (it even includes some of her old posts) and it was so hard to put it down. I had to force myself to savor each chapter. Allie is not only frank and honest about the funny exploits of her life, but also the hard ones. Her two-part tale of her struggle with depression should probably be a must-read for anyone in the medical field (or really anyone in general) and her tale of diving into her inner demons is one of the most honest secular accounts of the human condition that I have ever read. Despite the childlike drawings, Allie’s book (and language) is not for children, but she still well-worth the read for adults.

Waiter Rant (The Waiter) –Working in a food service industry, I was curious to compare my experiences being a barista with the waiter’s experiences. There were definitely some similarities, though I can tell you that, unlike waiters, people do not stay baristas because of the huge tips. I definitely recognized some of my own customers (both the good and the bad) in the waiter’s stories, and I kind of loved that he included a list of how to be a good/bad customer at the end of the book. Overall I’d say the book was alright, but not great. If you never work in a service industry though, perhaps you should read it just to understand a bit more about the life of those who wait on you.

The Everyman's Library Collection of Poems (Emily Dickinson) –I did a report on Emily Dickinson when I was in the 6th grade and I was not impressed. I thought she was bleak and depressing and confusing. Obviously I did not appreciate poetry as an 11-year-old. Thankfully I've grown out of that and I loved these. Sure, some still seemed a bit odd or confusing to me, but then there were those that you had to read slowly and just savor, or read over and over again and wonder how someone could have so vividly described what you yourself have felt. So good. 

Hatchet (Gary Paulsen) and My Side of the Mountain (Jean Craighead George) –I sort of read Hatchet by mistake. I actually thought it was My Side of the Mountain, which a friend had recommended to me. They’re both tales of young boys surviving in the woods on their own, though in Hatchet the boy ends up in the woods as a result of a plane crash, not by choice. I think I might have absolutely loved these books if I'd read them when I was younger, but I still enjoyed them as an adult. It's actually probably a good thing that I didn't read this when I was younger or I might have just run away from home to try living in the woods by myself. 

Outbreak: Plagues that Changed History (Bryn Barnard) –I do so enjoy when I can read a book that combines my love of medicine with my love of history. This book might not be for everyone, but I found it fascinating to see how much simple things, like the spread of an illness, could have such a huge impact on the course of world history. The section on smallpox was fairly difficult to read, but it’s an important thing to understand what horrors we’ve committed in the past so we don’t repeat them in the future.

Think Like a Freak (Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner) –I pretty much love anything the Levitt and Dubner write, as is probably very obvious from previous years’ posts, and this book is no exception. It’s different from their previous two books in that it’s almost an instruction manual of how to approach problems and think differently, but I liked it mucho. The chapter comparing King Solomon and David Lee Roth was particularly good. I highly recommend this.

An Abundance of Katherines (John Green) –I enjoyed this book, but I wasn’t amazed by it. I thought it was well-written and interesting, and I loved the fact that Green used footnotes (seriously, footnotes in more novels would make me so happy), but it wasn’t a book that I was dying to keep reading.

Losers Like Us (Daniel Hochhalter) –As I did last year, I must again admit my opinion of a book is biased because I know the author. However, even if I had never met “Hoho” before, I still think this would be one of my favorite books of the year. Mixing in his own personal story of “loserdom,” Hochhalter provides a study on each of the 12 disciples, showing each of their failings, from pride to betrayal to doubt to bigotry to simply being “nobodies.” Rather than being depressing, this book shows again and again how encouraging it is that Jesus didn’t come to call “perfect” people, but instead chose the losers of the world to be his closest friends, and eventually the very people who would carry his message to the world. I feel like this book is both a call to recognize our own shortcomings and also feel the hope of knowing that we are loved and called to follow the one who may have himself been seen as the biggest “loser,” but is truly the king and savior of the world. I’d recommend it all, though the chapters on “Doubting” Thomas and Judas (yes, the betrayer) were especially good and thought-provoking.

The Princess and the Goblin and The Day Boy and the Night Girl (George MacDonald) -I used to love The Princess and the Goblin in my childhood, but it's been oh so many years since I read it. I probably would not have read it again this year if I had  not read The Day Boy and the Night Girl for the first time on a whim and been inspired to read more MacDonald. I loved them both. It's easy to see how his fairy tales inspired so many authors after him, like C. S. Lewis himself (there are certainly similarities between the goblin's attack and MacDonald's tale and the Green Witch's plan in "The Silver Chair"). So many deep messages are hidden in these stories "for children," especially in "The Princess and the Goblin." I loved them, and I want to read more.

Mere Christianity (C. S. Lewis) –Although I’ve certainly read selections from this before, I’d never read all of Mere Christianity until this year. I can see why it’s a Christian classic. I love that Lewis tried to write, clearly and concisely, the beliefs that are central to all Christians, no matter their denomination. I think he succeeded. Much has already been said about this book, so I will just say that it’s a book I can see myself reading again and again over the years, and always finding something new. Muy Bueno.

The Great Divorce (C. S. Lewis) –I’d read this book for the first time about 4 years ago, but it seemed fitting to read it again. Classic Lewis. He has a knack, as I’ll gush over in the next entry, for using story and metaphor to communicate a message. The imagery from this book has remained with me long after I’ve forgotten some of the words, and I continue to mull over some of the ideas he raises about heaven and hell.

The Chronicles of Narnia (C. S. Lewis) –This one is a bit of a cheat since I didn’t actually finish the entire series in 2014 (I just finished the last two today), but wow. It’s been a long time since I’ve read this series, possibly 10 years or so for some of the books, but I don’t think I’ll wait so long again. I’m struggling to find a concise summary. I feel like I have so much I could say about each book. I suppose I must say that while there are some people who dismiss these stories as mere fairy tales for children (and in a way that’s accurate), what truth and beauty there can be in fairy tales! There are certainly some messages which are too obvious to be missed (and some have almost mocked Lewis for being heavy-handed with his symbolism), but I find that, now that I’m older, I catch the images I’d missed before and find deeper levels of meaning in the ones I’d always seen. As Aslan grew with Lucy, so these stories have grown with me. I think each book, even The Horse and His Boy which is possibly the weakest, brought me to tears at least once. Not to say that these stories are all deep metaphors and tears. Lewis writes with such a joy and playfulness, and describes the history and places and characters with such loving detail, that you cannot but help but be drawn in to his magical land. There is plenty of laughter and excitement, and the gaiety only makes the darker moments that much more profound. I can say nothing more than that I’d recommend this series to all, young or old.

The Four Loves (C. S. Lewis) –I’d read this before for an introductory literature class in college and remembered enjoying it, but felt I hadn’t spent enough time in it. When I decided to write an Advent post on love, I thought it’d be good to check it out again. Well, I didn’t finish reading it all in time to use it for my post, but I still loved it and I’m glad I reread it. The chapters on Friendship and Charity were probably my favorites, but I liked them all, even if I didn’t agree with everything Lewis had to say.

The Reason for God (Timothy Keller) –I feel like one could simply call this book a more modern version of Mere Christianity, but I feel like that would do Keller an injustice and make it sound like he’s simply rehashing old ideas. Keller was certainly influenced by Lewis, and his book certainly does a similarly good job of clearly delineating the central beliefs of Christianity, but it is his own work. I think it’s more specifically directed towards those who having questions and doubts about Christianity, and I think he does a wonderful job of addressing those. There are some very difficult questions that he raises, and I found his answers both challenging and convincing. I really liked this book, and plan to read more by Keller in the future.

The Story of B (Daniel Quinn) –I will admit from the beginning that I’m still working through my feelings on this book. Purely as a fiction novel it was very well-written and intriguing, difficult to put down. As a means of communicating the author’s views of the world, I was sometimes torn between being challenged to admit that his ideas seemed to have merit and value, and wanting to throw the book across the room when I came across beliefs (particularly regarding his thoughts on Christianity) that I felt were flat out lies. It was hard for me to get through at times, and it certainly made me angry at times, but it has also made me think and consider other views. I may not agree with them all, but I’m glad to have been challenged.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow (Washington Irving) –This book was not what I expected. This may be because most of my knowledge about the story came from the Johnny Depp film adaptation, which is The Legend of Sleepy Hollow only in name.  I read this during October, preparing myself for a spooky tale, and instead found a short satire of a puffed up and superstitious teacher who wanted to marry a girl only for her wealth, and who was chased from the town by a clever ploy. I found it enjoyable, but not legendary.

The Picture in the House; The Rats in the Walls; The Call of Cthulhu; Pickman’s Model; The Case of Charles Dexter Ward; The Shadow Over Innsmouth; The Dunwich Horror (H. P. Lovecraft) –I’d certainly heard of Cthulhu before last year, but I’d never read any H. P. Lovecraft. I’m glad that changed. I wish I could write reviews for each story, but I haven’t the time, so I will say that a) I can see Hawthorne’s influence on Lovecraft, b) I loved recognizing the MA towns mentioned in the stories, c) one or two stories may have been a tad predictable, but most were genuinely spooky and wonderful, and d) I’m glad to finally understand a bit more of the Cthulhu mythos. My favorites thus far might be The Rats in the Walls, The Shadow Over Innsmouth, and Pickman’s Model, but I look forward to reading more in the future.

Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy (Eric Metaxas) -This was my big book of the year. I almost thought I wouldn't finish in time, but I just barely made it, though I was dragging by the end because I knew what was coming. I’ve been meaning to read some of Bonhoeffer’s books (not just selections) for a long time, and finally getting a fuller understanding of his life, works, and death have only increased that desire. I could probably speak at length now about how much respect I have for this man, and for the love he showed to the church and to his country, for his boldness at speaking out against injustice, and for his courage to always hope and work for a better world, but I don’t think this is the place. I will simply say that I loved this book and how it provided so much detail to help me understand the times and situations that inspired Bonhoeffer’s words and actions. My only negative comment would be that the author seemed to almost glorify Bonhoeffer, to the point where he made him flawless. It is no bad thing, I think, to admit the flaws of a heroic person, because knowing they too had faults can make it easier to follow in their footsteps.

Bonus round! I did reviews of a couple films/miniseries that I watched this year, just because.

John Adams (miniseries) –This was such an excellent miniseries. I thought I knew about the founding of the U.S., but there's so much more to the story than what is taught in school. I feel like I understand the motivations and actions of the founding fathers more and, while I'm still not convinced revolution was the best choice, it still made me feel a bit patriotic. It also made me curious about whether our country could have done better had John Adams had more than one term in office, but that's something we'll never know. All in all this was moving, well-acted, well-paced, and thoroughly interesting. I'd recommend it to just about anyone.

Midnight’s Children (film) –As one could probably expect when the author of the original novel is involved in writing the screenplay, this film stuck pretty close to the original source material. Obviously some changes had to be made since so much of the novel takes place in Saleem’s head or is rather mystical, but I thought the film did a really good job of conveying the heart of the story. The film was also well-acted, and flat-out beautiful at times. Some of the social commentary was missing, but all in all it was a very good film. Last note for families: It's probably not a great choice for little kids watch this. They won’t understand much of it, and there’s some questionable material.

Romeo & Juliet (2013) –I’ll start by saying I thought this was a very good film adaptation of this play. It was lovely, well-acted, and it didn’t feel like you were just watching a play on screen. I loved the casting of Paul Giamatti as the priest too. He was my favorite. However, I just cannot like this story. I know it’s supposed to be a great romance, and a classic, and blah, blah, blah, but I sort of hate it. Yes, the writing is wonderful and in many ways it is a classic and excellent tragedy. I’ll admit that. There are a few points that ruin it for me, but the two biggest are their ages and the amount of time they actually spend together. Romeo’s age isn’t specified, though he’s young, but Juliet is 13! 13! I was rather an idiot when I was 13, and I don’t think she’s much smarter. Secondly, it takes these two just a few minutes to “fall in love” and the whole thing takes place over the course of 5 days. In fact, I figure they spend a grand total of 9-10 hours together, conscious, over the whole course of their relationship, and that’s assuming they don’t sleep at all on their wedding night. It’s worse than a bad chick flick. Call me cruel or unfeeling, but I don’t think they’re inspirational lovers; I think they’re children with raging hormones and brains that haven’t finished developing, surrounded by adults too blinded by prejudices and their own desires to give them any guidance. The best part of this adaptation, by far, was when the priest slapped Romeo for being an ungrateful, melodramatic fool. I think I cheered. In conclusion, if the story is taken as social commentary on the dangers and stupidity of feuds, I think it does its job well, but as a "classic romance," I think it's ridiculous.