I have not written in a while. I have decided this post will be a reflection of what I have been doing.
As is often the case with me, I have been reading a great deal. I always enjoy reading reviews of books, so I will review the literature I have been reading.
My first review will be of The Angels Walking Trilogy, by Karen Kingsbury. Ms. Kingsbury is a very talented author. Every one of her many books that I have read is a page-turner. However, her books are not what I consider old friends who make me feel good. They are more like the codependent friend who calls me at 2AM with their drama. Her characters suffer more than any real person I know of! The characters of Angels Walking are no exception.
This series focuses on the lives of two young couples. Each book begins and ends in a meeting of heavenly warriors, sent on the task to intervene in the affairs of men for the sake of a child yet to be born. This child will grow up to be a great teacher and evangelist. For this reason, the stakes are high.
When the angels are on earth, they interact in human form, sometimes as police officers, sometimes as neighborhood people. The human characters believe they are interacting with other humans.
More than any other books by this author, I feel the salvation message was very clear. I liked that the main characters who were not believers in the beginning came to salvation in the course of the story (some of them were already believers). I also like the themes of purity and the sanctity of life that ran through the series. Ms. Kingsbury's values line up with scripture, and I appreciate that. It's great reading a book with the right message.
This series also had a lot of exciting twists and turns, taking the characters from Florida to Los Angeles to Africa.
As for what I didn't completely relate to or agree with. First of all, the book constantly talks about people from Los Angeles feeling they have no need for God. My point of view is that this is not a Los Angeles problem, but a whole world problem. Being from the Los Angeles area myself, I know many, many churches, Christians and ministries in LA and surrounding areas. All the great revivals of the 20th century happened in Southern California. People forget that. This author did.
I am not sure I agree with the author's view of the Sovereignty of God. Several times in the story, it referred to things not going as the angels planned, even to the point of human life lost prematurely. I believe God has more power than that. I can't claim to know or understand everything about the workings of God, but I know His counsels stand. If it is not God's time to call a believer home yet, they won't be called home. We're not left to the mercy of angels bungling the plan. I believe the author's point was that there was a battle going on in the spiritual realm. I completely agree with her on this.
I do believe angels sometimes come in human form, but I believe they much more often work behind the scenes.
These books were similar to (but more spiritual than) the TV show "Touched by an Angel."
In conclusion, I enjoyed this series a lot, especially how everything all came together at the end. I had wanted to read this trilogy for a while, but wanted to wait until all three were written!
My favorite books about angels, demons, spiritual warfare, etc are "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" by Frank Peretti. If you're looking for a deeper theological read that is still exciting fiction, I'd recommend these two before the Angels Walking Series.
I have also recently read (for the umpteenth time) "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott, and it's sequel "Little Men". These books are truly old friends that I enjoy returning to.
I first read "Little Women" at age twelve. Like the central character, Jo March, I wanted to be an author, so I was hooked at the first chapter. This book is a coming of age story. It is set in Civil War era Massachusetts (written shortly after, in 1868). The feelings, experiences and adventures in this book are timeless. The story follows four sisters in their journey to womanhood. It chronicles their triumphs, failures, joys, sorrows and loves.
SPOILER ALERT: Every time I read this book, I truly find myself hoping Beth doesn't die. The chapter that makes me cry the hardest is when Jo and Beth go to the seaside and Jo discovers Beth is dying. At that point Beth has given up the fight and accepted her impending death.
SPOILER ALERT: The first time I read this book, I still thought Jo would marry Teddy (Laurie), even after she had rejected his proposal. I was shocked when Laurie married Amy. However, after reading this book numerous times, I can see how there is subtle foreshadowing that Amy will end up with him.
Little Men, the sequel, is a sweet, mostly fun book. There are a lot of little life lessons in there, such as self-control, forgiveness, and ambition. As most of the main characters are between ten and twelve years old, this is not quite a "coming of age" tale.
I'll end with a different sort of review. I have also re-watched the three Chronicles of Narnia movies (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe [2005], Prince Caspian [2008], and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader [2010]). I own these movies, but hadn't watched them in several years.
My husband and I are fans of the CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. Earlier lsst year, we enjoyed listening to the audio books on a long trip. I have read the books numerous times.
As for the movies...both last decade and now, I enjoyed the casting, the score, and the scenery of the movies. I'm going to review the movies individually.
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe: Georgie Henley shines as Lucy Pevencie. My opinion is she is the best cast actor in the whole film. She's absolutely adorable. The story takes an interesting liberty. It begins with the London Blitz in World War II. The Pevencie family must vacate their house, but Edmund runs back in to rescue a photograph of their father (who is off fighting). Peter runs in after Edmund, and both are almost killed when the window crashes in on them. Peter loses his temper at Edmund, who just looks sad. This establishes Edmund as hurting and missing his father. This is not how he is in the book. In the book, Edmund is more the nasty little brother. The movie tried to give him more psychological reason for his later treason. I prefer the book, because it gives the analogy of total depravity. Also, this early scene establishes conflict between the two brothers. I find Peter's character in the movie quite disappointing. In the book, he is noble and good. In the movie, he is sarcastic and mean...less likable than Edmund, really. I felt Susan had a bit of a bad attitude too. The movie disappointed me in these things, but overall, I still love it. The coronation scene is a wonderful climax to the story. The very best part of this movie is a bonus scene that takes place a few seconds into the ending credits. Lucy is approaching the Wardrobe, hoping to get back to Narnia. She is stopped by the professor, who says "I don't think you'll get back in that way. You see, I've already tried." You can see the longing in his eyes. An understanding passes between Lucy and the professorand she asks, "Will we ever go back?" He replies, "I expect so--but it will probably happen when you're not looking for it. All I'm saying is to keep your eyes open." Smiling, they join hands and walk away. Behind them, Alan's outline can be seen in the wardrobe, and the audience can hear Him roar. This scene is very powerful. Aslan represents Christ. He is always there. Even when we don't see.
Prince Caspian. I felt this movie was very sarcastic. I hated the way Peter treated Caspian. That is in no way based on the book. I guess the producer's idea was to demonstrate how Peter would feel after being a king, then having to be a normal kid in high school. I think he's a little jealous of Caspian too. I like Edmund and Lucy's development. Lucy is learning to follow Aslan by faith. Edmund is very humble. Susan's little flirtation with Caspian is not based on the book, and didn't seem to fit, but I think it was put in to be interesting. Susan has sort of a blah personality in both films, so it was hard to relate to her.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This is my very favorite of the seven books. I think this was the kindest, gentlest movie of the three. The sarcasm is way down. Perhaps that is because Peter and Susan are barely in it. Or maybe because this movie had a different producer. Edmund, Lucy and their cousin Eustice are drawn into Narnia through a picture of a ship. This movie has a lot out of order from the book, and a lot of extra stuff. Still, I felt it captured the essence of it well.
If you have read all my ramblings, I thank you. If you know these books or movies, give me your opinions.
As is often the case with me, I have been reading a great deal. I always enjoy reading reviews of books, so I will review the literature I have been reading.
My first review will be of The Angels Walking Trilogy, by Karen Kingsbury. Ms. Kingsbury is a very talented author. Every one of her many books that I have read is a page-turner. However, her books are not what I consider old friends who make me feel good. They are more like the codependent friend who calls me at 2AM with their drama. Her characters suffer more than any real person I know of! The characters of Angels Walking are no exception.
This series focuses on the lives of two young couples. Each book begins and ends in a meeting of heavenly warriors, sent on the task to intervene in the affairs of men for the sake of a child yet to be born. This child will grow up to be a great teacher and evangelist. For this reason, the stakes are high.
When the angels are on earth, they interact in human form, sometimes as police officers, sometimes as neighborhood people. The human characters believe they are interacting with other humans.
More than any other books by this author, I feel the salvation message was very clear. I liked that the main characters who were not believers in the beginning came to salvation in the course of the story (some of them were already believers). I also like the themes of purity and the sanctity of life that ran through the series. Ms. Kingsbury's values line up with scripture, and I appreciate that. It's great reading a book with the right message.
This series also had a lot of exciting twists and turns, taking the characters from Florida to Los Angeles to Africa.
As for what I didn't completely relate to or agree with. First of all, the book constantly talks about people from Los Angeles feeling they have no need for God. My point of view is that this is not a Los Angeles problem, but a whole world problem. Being from the Los Angeles area myself, I know many, many churches, Christians and ministries in LA and surrounding areas. All the great revivals of the 20th century happened in Southern California. People forget that. This author did.
I am not sure I agree with the author's view of the Sovereignty of God. Several times in the story, it referred to things not going as the angels planned, even to the point of human life lost prematurely. I believe God has more power than that. I can't claim to know or understand everything about the workings of God, but I know His counsels stand. If it is not God's time to call a believer home yet, they won't be called home. We're not left to the mercy of angels bungling the plan. I believe the author's point was that there was a battle going on in the spiritual realm. I completely agree with her on this.
I do believe angels sometimes come in human form, but I believe they much more often work behind the scenes.
These books were similar to (but more spiritual than) the TV show "Touched by an Angel."
In conclusion, I enjoyed this series a lot, especially how everything all came together at the end. I had wanted to read this trilogy for a while, but wanted to wait until all three were written!
My favorite books about angels, demons, spiritual warfare, etc are "This Present Darkness" and "Piercing the Darkness" by Frank Peretti. If you're looking for a deeper theological read that is still exciting fiction, I'd recommend these two before the Angels Walking Series.
I have also recently read (for the umpteenth time) "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott, and it's sequel "Little Men". These books are truly old friends that I enjoy returning to.
I first read "Little Women" at age twelve. Like the central character, Jo March, I wanted to be an author, so I was hooked at the first chapter. This book is a coming of age story. It is set in Civil War era Massachusetts (written shortly after, in 1868). The feelings, experiences and adventures in this book are timeless. The story follows four sisters in their journey to womanhood. It chronicles their triumphs, failures, joys, sorrows and loves.
SPOILER ALERT: Every time I read this book, I truly find myself hoping Beth doesn't die. The chapter that makes me cry the hardest is when Jo and Beth go to the seaside and Jo discovers Beth is dying. At that point Beth has given up the fight and accepted her impending death.
SPOILER ALERT: The first time I read this book, I still thought Jo would marry Teddy (Laurie), even after she had rejected his proposal. I was shocked when Laurie married Amy. However, after reading this book numerous times, I can see how there is subtle foreshadowing that Amy will end up with him.
Little Men, the sequel, is a sweet, mostly fun book. There are a lot of little life lessons in there, such as self-control, forgiveness, and ambition. As most of the main characters are between ten and twelve years old, this is not quite a "coming of age" tale.
I'll end with a different sort of review. I have also re-watched the three Chronicles of Narnia movies (The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe [2005], Prince Caspian [2008], and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader [2010]). I own these movies, but hadn't watched them in several years.
My husband and I are fans of the CS Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. Earlier lsst year, we enjoyed listening to the audio books on a long trip. I have read the books numerous times.
As for the movies...both last decade and now, I enjoyed the casting, the score, and the scenery of the movies. I'm going to review the movies individually.
The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe: Georgie Henley shines as Lucy Pevencie. My opinion is she is the best cast actor in the whole film. She's absolutely adorable. The story takes an interesting liberty. It begins with the London Blitz in World War II. The Pevencie family must vacate their house, but Edmund runs back in to rescue a photograph of their father (who is off fighting). Peter runs in after Edmund, and both are almost killed when the window crashes in on them. Peter loses his temper at Edmund, who just looks sad. This establishes Edmund as hurting and missing his father. This is not how he is in the book. In the book, Edmund is more the nasty little brother. The movie tried to give him more psychological reason for his later treason. I prefer the book, because it gives the analogy of total depravity. Also, this early scene establishes conflict between the two brothers. I find Peter's character in the movie quite disappointing. In the book, he is noble and good. In the movie, he is sarcastic and mean...less likable than Edmund, really. I felt Susan had a bit of a bad attitude too. The movie disappointed me in these things, but overall, I still love it. The coronation scene is a wonderful climax to the story. The very best part of this movie is a bonus scene that takes place a few seconds into the ending credits. Lucy is approaching the Wardrobe, hoping to get back to Narnia. She is stopped by the professor, who says "I don't think you'll get back in that way. You see, I've already tried." You can see the longing in his eyes. An understanding passes between Lucy and the professorand she asks, "Will we ever go back?" He replies, "I expect so--but it will probably happen when you're not looking for it. All I'm saying is to keep your eyes open." Smiling, they join hands and walk away. Behind them, Alan's outline can be seen in the wardrobe, and the audience can hear Him roar. This scene is very powerful. Aslan represents Christ. He is always there. Even when we don't see.
Prince Caspian. I felt this movie was very sarcastic. I hated the way Peter treated Caspian. That is in no way based on the book. I guess the producer's idea was to demonstrate how Peter would feel after being a king, then having to be a normal kid in high school. I think he's a little jealous of Caspian too. I like Edmund and Lucy's development. Lucy is learning to follow Aslan by faith. Edmund is very humble. Susan's little flirtation with Caspian is not based on the book, and didn't seem to fit, but I think it was put in to be interesting. Susan has sort of a blah personality in both films, so it was hard to relate to her.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. This is my very favorite of the seven books. I think this was the kindest, gentlest movie of the three. The sarcasm is way down. Perhaps that is because Peter and Susan are barely in it. Or maybe because this movie had a different producer. Edmund, Lucy and their cousin Eustice are drawn into Narnia through a picture of a ship. This movie has a lot out of order from the book, and a lot of extra stuff. Still, I felt it captured the essence of it well.
If you have read all my ramblings, I thank you. If you know these books or movies, give me your opinions.
