Tuesday, September 05, 2006

Recently Read Books


"Life of Pi," by Yann Martel

This book was interesting to read. I"m part of a book club at the local library. Not that I've ever been able to attend a meeting yet, but I'm at least a reading member. This book had some funny lines, some very questionable theology, and I left wondering if Pi made up the whole story, OR if things really happened as people at the end of the book. Not entirely sure. Here's a review of it that I found on-line. It's not a bad read. Check it out.


Kit's Law by Donna Morrissey.

This overview sums up this book fairly well
Overview:
Kit Pitman is fourteen and lives in a ramshackle cottage on the outer banks of Newfoundland, where isolation is all she knows. The only visitors are fogbound fishermen and an occasional young man brought ashore to keep the bloodlines clean. But Kit's isolation is compounded by the mystery that surrounds her family and her illegitimate birth. Her mother, Josie, is mentally retarded and often runs wild among the clapboard houses that dot the shore. Meanwhile, her grandmother Lizzie staunchly guards them both from the disapproving glances pious townsfolk cast their way. But when Lizzie dies suddenly, Kit and her childlike mother are left vulnerable to life's harsh realities and to unexpected dangers that repeatedly threaten to break them apart.

It's not the type of book that I normally read. I found it fascinating to follow Kit's growth as she matured. She found a "peace" of sorts by the end of the book. Unfortunately, it wasn't a peace found in God, in fact, religion was seen in a fairly negative light in this book. But somehow her story was fascinating.


Outgrowing the Ingrown Church by C. John Miller
Now this book is a GOOD book. Talks about how people (primarily pastors) can change what they are doing, and what their focus is, and influence their congregations for the glory of God. How pastors can put the gospel message into everything they do.

I'll write more on this book at another time, in a separate post as it deserves to be properly chatted about. :) In the meantime, here's one review and another review and one last one here.

2 comments:

Islandsparrow said...

I really enjoyed Life of Pi - and I believed the story at the end. It was a fascinating exploration of the nature of faith don't you think? It was interesting to me to talk with others who read - and find out who believed in the story and who didn't.

And my pastor husband is rereading Outgrowing the Ingrown Church for about the 5th time. He finds it so helpful for our church situation.

Thanks for all your encouraging words on my blog lately - it's been good to get to know you!

Annette said...

I actually made it to the book club yesterday. Boy...was it ever fun! We reviewed two books "life of Pi" and "mythsprings". Of the five of us, two couldn't finish life of pi. Found it too gruesome for their taste. One didn't know what to believe. And the last two (me and the leader) found the book to be fascinating, and probably an imaginative way of telling about people relationships in hard situations.

thanks for coming over.