Sunday, January 08, 2006

mini-bookshelf: new stuff

More mini-book reviews as I plow through the pile:

-- True Believer by Nicholas Sparks: came out over the summer but I just got around to reading it now (I got the sequel for Christmas, ergo I had to read this one!). Typical Nicholas Sparks story--boy meets girl, girl meets boy, girl and boy fall in love but there's some obstacle that prevents the love. That's not to say it's not enjoyable and that there aren't a few twists that you don't see coming, which I like. Jeremy is one of those men who expose cons on TV and in the media and has gone to a little NC town (a Sparks trademark) to investigate the appearances of so-called "ghosts" in the local cemetery. While there, he meets Lexie, the local librarian, and the two both, albeit reluctantly, become smitten. Sparks is in his element writing about the South where he grew up and giving us characters we actually care about. Also deals with the matter of believing, not seeing, and the issues of faith, while not directly talking about God (if you want characters that directly talk about God you need to read Richard Paul Evans, who I also highly recommend--his latests is The Sunflower ). Good read, esp. during the winter. There's just something about his books that lends themselves to fall/winter reading. Not sure what it is.

-- Our Oldest Enemy: America's Disastrous Relationship with France by NR Political writer John J. Miller and Mark Molesky. Good book about our misconstrued ideas that France is America's "oldest ally" while really they've been trying to screw us over for about 200 years. Well-written, meticulously documented, well-researched, and funny to boot. The last few chapters on the War on Terror are particularly relevant. Excellent for the poli sci/ history buffs out there (who I know read this!)

More later--still working on the Confessions (I know, I know...) and there are many theological books in the pile, including Scott Hahn's newest, B XVI and Hans Ur Von Balthazar, JP II, and St. John of the Cross. They're coming--really!!

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