The Poisonwood Bible

The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an amazing story that takes my breath away as I finish its final pages. I'm awestruck by the last 2 chapters. Wonderfully written, this story shares a wide range of depth and perspectives of life of an American missionary family in Africa (specifically the Congo circa 1960). The story is told, with creativity and thoughtfulness, from the respective viewpoints of all the main, female characters. This approach yields many perspectives on the events recorded. I loved this book. It is not perfect, but is darned close. I recommend it to all, a wonderful tale, laden with real Truth.

"When I want to take God at his word exactly, I take a peek out of the window at His Creation. Because that, darling, He makes fresh for us every day, without a lot of dubious middle managers."

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excellent book!

The New Testament: A Historical Introduction to the Early Christian Writings by Bart D. Ehrman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Finally! After starting this book over two years ago, and after several pauses in the reading, i've finished it!

This is an extremely well written and researched book that I recommend to anyone interested in the history of what is considered to be the Christian New Testament. The historical and literary methods used by Dr. Ehrman are fascinating. I am left amazed by the vast number and significance of facts and history related to the Early Christian writings that are never discussed in the dominant "Christian" culture. It is baffling to me that these topics are seemingly never considered by people who claim to base their life upon the Christian scriptures. At any rate, this is an excellent introduction to the topic for anyone with the intellectual integrity and courage to deal with it.

I highly recommend this book with 6 out of 5 stars!

ps. this is an academic book which deals with the history of the early Christian literature in an objective, scholarly manner. It does not express opinions of the author, other than related to historical and textual criticism methods, etc. It is NOT to be put in the same category of some of Dr. Ehrman's other more "popular" books in which he clearly offers his opinions about matters of theology, faith, and philosophy.

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East of Eden by John Steinbeck

East of Eden by John Steinbeck
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have wanted to read this book ever since seeing the movie years ago, and especially after a dear friend's book club read it last year as one of their selections. I recently saw the movie again on TMC and decided it was time to pick up the book and go for it. It was a well rewarded venture.

The first two thirds of the book are back-story for the characters and the families involved. Steinbeck's writing style is not the best I've read, and the early part of the book was somewhat tedious. But my efforts were richly paid off as I entered the last third of the story. The richness of the characters and the dynamics of their interactions with each other, the events around them, and even with themselves, drew me into the story such that I found it difficult to put the book down for the last 150 pages. The characters are real and complex, and I felt more human, finding parts of myself in many of them, whether protagonist, or antagonist, or secondary. The ending was very moving, and there are many unexpected twists and turns along the way that make this tale so much richer than a simple parable of good and evil, black and white. Compared to the more simplistic biblical story from which this story is based, I found East of Eden to contain more Truth and Reality than the biblical version. Really good stuff! I highly recommend this book, and encourage staying with it to the end. An excellent story.

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great quote from "East of Eden"

I'm on page 413 of "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck and found the following passage:

“In uncertainty I am certain that underneath their topmost layers of frailty men want to be good and want to be loved. Indeed, most of their vices are attempted shortcuts to love. When a man comes to die, no matter what his talents and influence and genius, if he dies unloved his life must be a failure to him and his dying a cold horror. It seems to me that if you or I must choose between two courses of thought or action, we should remember our dying and try so to live that our death brings no pleasure to the world."

"We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the neverending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue is immortal. Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is.”

enjoying this story :) Kate creeps me out tho!