I got really into crafting this month. I have a few different projects going on. Hopefully I’ll finish them soon. Between spending most of my free time working on craft projects, and preparing for my Child Sponsorship presentation, I had a lot less time for reading. However, I was able to read a few good books!
Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
This is the third book in the Inheritance Cycle. I reread Eragon and Eldest in previous months, and read this book in an attempt to finally get to the last book in the cycle which Nathan had given me for Christmas. I had read Brisingr once before, and I was amazed how much I had forgotten about the book. I was very glad to reread it. (See more below)
Inheritance by Christopher Paolini
Finally! I made it to the end of the series. I was actually sad when I got to the end of the book. It was a very good set of four books. The scale of this fantasy series is very large, and the author doesn’t touch on everything possible. He definitely sets himself up for other series set in the same world. Although the series is technically “Young Adult,” I feel that it is a good enough read for adults too. There are exciting battles, moral/ethical dilemmas explored, good character development….I can’t decide if I liked the ending or not. I can’t really say anything without revealing important details for potential readers. I guess I’ll say…in some respects, the ending was “too happy,” but looked at in a different light, it was “too sad.” If that isn’t confusing enough for you, I don’t know what else I can say. I definitely recommend the series, though, and I’ll almost definitely read it many more times in my life time. I’m excited to share it with my son when he is old enough.
A Night to Remember by Walter Lord
I borrowed this book from my father-in-law when we visited in March 2011. I hadn’t read it yet, and we are returning to Indiana to visit at the end of May so I decided I had better read it…plus it was the anniversary of the Titanic’s sinking, so it was good timing. The book is a sort of minute by minute account of the last hours on the Titanic. I had never known that there was a ship so close…only a few miles away…that could have helped. The Titanic’s sinking is just a sad example of humankind’s hubris, miscalculation, and selfishness. Very awful indeed. A good read.
Sojourners Magazine – April 2012
Another excellent Sojourners issue. This one was focused on “banking for the rest of us” and how we can avoid the problems caused by big banks and their big profits. The highlight for me, though, was an article entitled The Innocence List. It highlighted the injustice caused by the death penalty, and interviewed members of the “Innocence List,” a list of people in the U.S. who had been sentenced to death with no physical evidence, and later were found to be innocent. One man served on death row for 18 years before being freed in 2002! These are stories that need to be heard by everyone.