Monthly Archives: July 2013

Jackie’s Favorite Adult Fiction

Posted on by
7

opus2

So, it’s no secret that I’m a YA junkie, but I still have adult novels that I adore (like, head-over-heels-feeling-giddy-and-lightheaded adore):

Peace Like a River by Leif Enger
This is the story of Reuben Land, who– along with his father and sister– set out on a journey to find Reuben’s outlaw brother Davy.  Filled with his sister Swede’s hilarious epic poetry and his father’s deep faith, this story is some of the most beautiful prose I’ve ever read.
Recommended for: anyone who loves literary fiction, parents, folks from the Midwest, readers looking for a masterful roadtrip book

The Last Unicorn by Peter Beagle
If you click here, you can read my desperate plea for people to read this incredible grown-up fairytale.
Recommended for: people who want the meat of fantasy, not the candybar version (i.e. vampire lit), people who love incredible writing, people who just plain-and-simple love story

The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This book is richer than chocolate.  It has magic and competition and romance– and it avoids all cliches.  It is a sensory extravaganza.
Recommended for: people who love Harry Potter and are ready for magic from a grown-up perspective, anyone who values great imagery

C.S. Lewis’s space trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hiddeous Strength
In general, I’m not a big sci fi fan.  But then there’s C.S. Lewis sci fi, a whole different breed.  It’s like mixing deep thoughts, deep theology, and deep space into a hearty stew.  Each book is better than the one that came before it, so don’t stop reading!
Recommended for: fans of C.S. Lewis, deep thinkers, people who love theology, readers who love rich writing

East of Eden by John Steinbeck
Forget Grapes of Wrath– this is Steinbeck’s magnum opus.  This is the story of Adam Trask, his brother Charles, and Adam’s sons Aron and Cal.  It’s a re-telling of the story of Cain and Abel, mixed with Steinbeck’s own history, and it is brilliant.
Recommended for: people who enjoy generational stories, theologians, connoisseurs of fine writing 

Rosie by Anne Lamott
I wanted to add another contemporary writer to this list, and Anne Lamott is one of the best out there.  While I think her truest forte is in memoir writing, she still writes incredible fiction.  Rosie is the first book of a trilogy, but it can also stand alone.  It’s the story of Elizabeth Ferguson and her daughter Rosie while Elizabeth is sinking into alcoholism.  It is great.
Recommended for: people who want to laugh and have their heart broken by the same book, readers who want incredible characters and great writing, fans of Anne Lamott’s memoir

The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis
A work of “theological fantasy” from the best of the best.  A fascinating look at heaven and hell, which uses Dante, Augstine, Milton, and Bunyan as sources.  Brilliant.
Recommended for: Christian thinkers, non-Christian thinkers

Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
I have to admit here that I’ve only read the 500-page abridged version, but it was fantastic.  What an incredibly well-written story of grace.  I gobbled this one up!
Recommended for: anyone who loves the classics, anyone who loves grace

I also recommend the following:
The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath
Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis
Exodus by Leon Uris
Attachments by Rainbow Rowell
The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

Redeemer

Posted on by
2

I am being mentored at my workplace, and Monica, my brilliant mentor, said to me the other week, “If we are being conformed into the likeness of our Redeemer, then we should be little redeemers.”

I like that idea.  I think.

Remember John Coffey in The Green Mile?  How he could siphon illness and even death from people with his touch– and then would expel it from his mouth like ashes?

Sometimes I wish I could do that for the readers of this blog.  Just steal your suffering away.

Reminds me of the verse from Galatians 3: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (emphasis mine).

I love that RESCUE is God’s work, and I will count it an honor if he grants that I be used as a tool in that work.

cross2

Most Intimidating Books

Posted on by
17

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme over at The Broke and the Bookish.  Today’s topic is

TOP TEN MOST INTIMIDATING BOOKS (due to size, content, hype, etc.).

10. Persuasion by Jane Austen | In general, any “manners” book is intimidating to me.  This one is all about waiting, and I actually ended up liking it– though I have never re-read it … or any other Austen book.  (Does that make me a bad English major?  Just wait– there’s a bigger confession on its way.)

9. Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling | Sheer numbers, baby.

potter3

8. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo | … aaaaaaaand numbers again.  I read the 500-paged abridged version though and thought it was masterful!

7. Sophie’s World by Jostein Gaarder | Essentially a philosophy textbook disguised as a novel.  Still, it was amazing.  Then again, I’m not sure that I could spout back much to you about Aristotle and Plato.  But I trust it’s in my head somewhere!

6. Beatrice and Virgil by Yann Martel | The premise is a little overwhelming: a writer … who meets a taxidermist … who is writing a play about a monkey and a donkey … in the Holocaust.  As I’ve said before, only Yann Martel could pull that off so perfectly.

5. Meditations by Rene Descartes | I love philosophy– maybe because in my OCD hey-day it was a little too dangerous for me.  I wasn’t sure I’d be able to understand and follow this work by Descartes … but I loved it.  It was a must-read as research for my novel.

4. The Casual Vacancy by J.K. Rowling | After the world fell desperately in love with Harry, Ron, and Hermione, I think we were all a little worried about Jo Rowling’s venture into the adult world.  And let me tell you, although this book has incredible writing, the content matter is harsh and depressing.

3. Exodus by Leon Uris | I can still remember Mrs. Grams promoting this book from the front of my 11th-grade English class.  It was the story of the Jewish nation, and it looked ginormous— which it is, at around 600 pages.  I didn’t choose it for that particular assignment, but I decided I would read it over the summer.  And I did.  Once each summer for the next 3-4 summers.  It’s incredible.

2. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck | It’s supposed to be one of his best (though I would argue that East of Eden is his magnum opus), and you’re supposed to like it … and I just didn’t.  At least, at first.  But as I journeyed across the country with Tom Joad, somehow I came to love him.

1. Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien | English geeks everywhere unite around this book.  I knew I was supposed to love it … and again, I didn’t.  And with this one (confession time!), I never did grow to love it.  It was a painful, torturous reading that I only slogged through because it was assigned reading for class.  I never read the second or third books.  After I read a biography of Tolkien, though, I came to a real appreciation for The Lord of the Rings.  And that’s where I remain to this day: appreciative, but not a fan.  Commence hateful comments. 🙂