Saturday, October 24, 2009

#40


Title: The Last Battle

Author: C. S. Lewis

Year: 1956


This final book in the Narnia series was intense, and the last chapter made me teary-eyed (in a good way); the Biblical imagery and symbolism, while clearly present throughout the series, couldn't be any more obvious in this Revelation-like conclusion.

Thursday, October 22, 2009

#39


Title: The Silver Chair

Author: C. S. Lewis

Year: 1953


The sixth book in the Narnia series was excellent; I think it rivals the second as my favorite overall, and now there's just the final book to go!

Sunday, October 18, 2009

#38


Title: The Pursuit of God

Author: A. W. Tozer

Year: 1948


I'd wanted to read something spiritual for a while, and since this book is hailed as a Christian classic, I decided to give it a try; while I agree with many of Tozer's ideas, I had a hard time ascribing to some of his beliefs (such as his claim that humans' desire to "shine" is "evil", and other lines that condemn intellectual pursuits), and his blatant attack on the Catholic Church on the second-to-last page seemed inappropriate considering how the rest of the book offered positive suggestions for living, not outright criticism of others.

Saturday, October 17, 2009

#37 B


Title: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Author: C. S. Lewis

Year: 1952

Reepicheep the mouse is one of my very favorite characters; two more books in the series to go!

Thursday, October 15, 2009

#37 A

Title: Prince Caspian

Author: C. S. Lewis

Year: 1951


This fourth installment in The Chronicles of Narnia was much more entertaining than the third, though the second one still remains my favorite thus far.

#36


Title: The Turn of the Screw

Author: Henry James

Year: 1898


This short novel is psychologically deep and very engrossing, but I warn you not to read it before bed; the descriptions of the ghosts were vivid and left a lasting, creepy impression in my head!

Monday, October 5, 2009

#35


Title: Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha

Author: Roddy Doyle

Year: 1993


While I liked the stream-of-consciousness impressions, I had trouble at times believing that a 10-year-old boy narrated some of the language; regardless, the challenges and tragedies of growing up in 1960s Ireland are captured quite well, and the powerful conclusion makes up for some tedious reading moments within the 300-pages of text.