Minder - Book Review

I don't read nearly as much fiction as I used to, but occasionally I will see a book on Amazon for free that I think to myself, "hmm.  That sounds interesting."  Minder was one of those books.

I was drawn into this book for a few reasons:  One, it was free.  It is no longer free, but it was listed with the free books for a short time.  That can easily draw me in.

A second reason I was drawn into this book was the basic premise, as shared through the book's description on Amazon.  It reads:

Oh, Parents. If you knew what was inside that security blanket, you'd never throw it away. Childhood is governed from a sacred place within the trees, lit by fireflies, and overseen by ancient souls devoted to the sanctity of youth. Some kids are lucky enough to visit this place, but mortal danger arises for Sophia, who arrives uninvited. Readers are carried through a whimsical, often nail-biting adventure as brother and sister confront every parent's worst nightmare. Dragons and fairies are alive and well in this old-world tale, where scary things happen to children who ignore their Minders.
P.S. Childhood ends at 30. And this book proves it.

Parallel worlds and children travelling there is one of my favorite story ideas.  I don't think that it was C.S. Lewis who originally thought of the idea, but it was definitely through his storytelling in the Chronicles of Narnia that opened up my mind to the wonderful idea of another place. Minder follows this basic idea through to a whole world of creatures and personalities that only children can get to.

Third, this book pulled me in because of the positive reviews.  I always check some reviews on Amazon before purchasing a book.  (Even if it is free.)  This book had great reviews.  I don't believe that there was one negative review, at least when I was checking it out.  Many times on Amazon, books get negative reviews simply because of poor spelling and bad grammar, most likely one of the pitfalls of self-publishing.  This book seemed quite well written.  In fact, that idea is related to my final point that I would like to make.

Finally, this book captured my attention because of the author's writing ability.  I found myself not wanting to put this book down.  It captured my attention right at the very beginning and held it throughout the rest of the book.  It had a nice pace and a good rhythm to the storytelling.

I must say that the overall story wasn't quite the Chronicles of Narnia Caliber, but it was still enjoyable.

Peter and the Star Catchers (review)

I love reading to my two boys.  I read to them nearly every night, when I have the chance.  I try to go the whole nine yards too, including different voices for each character.  Peter and the Starcatchers has been a great book to read to them.

It is the story behind the story of Peter Pan.  I know, I know, Peter Pan... But I am telling you it is a really good book!  It is written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, and they do an amazing job of breathing new life into these well known characters and letting us get to know a little more about them.  I mean, who hasn't wondered about Captain Hook's history?

It was fun going through the book as you see these different characters being revealed and the aspects of the traditional story begin falling into place.  I don't want to go into detail because I don't want to ruin the story for you.

If you enjoy reading to your kids, then I want to recommend this book.  My boys loved it and immediately upon its completion made me go to the Library to get book 2.

If you have any questions about this book, please feel free to e-mail me, I might be able to give you a little more detail.

Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!

Here is a reading of my favorite Seuss book: Marvin K. Mooney
(Read by me!)
(I just learned that this book was released the year that I was born!)


And here are some of my favorite quotes:

Family Vacations and book reading.

I am currently on my family vacation.

Every year my wife's side of the family takes a little vacation. They always get some sort of cabin or vacation home... something big enough for all of us... and we get together for a few days.

I usually spend the spare moments of this vacation catching up on my reading.

I just finished the book Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer. It was a really good book. The first few chapters were the best chapters that I have ever read on the sovereignty of God. At least they were the best that I can remember reading. Maybe I will write an official "review" of this book in a few days.

Since I finished that book, I started reading The Sovereignty of God by A.W. Pink. (Why is it that so many of my favorite authors go by their initials and their last name? C.S. Lewis, A.W. Tozer, J.C. Ryle, A.W. Pink, J.I. Packer, R.A. Torrey, etc. Hey, I should start doing that!) I just read the first chapter and thought that it was pretty good. He makes a point right at the beginning of the book that I thought was really relevant:

Almost all doctrinal error is, really, Truth perverted, Truth wrongly divided, Truth disproportionately held and taught. The fairest face on earth, with the most comely features, would soon become ugly and unsightly, if one member continued growing while the others remained undeveloped. Beauty is, primarily, a matter of proportion. This it is with the Word of God: its beauty and blessedness are best perceived when its manifold wisdom is exhibited in its true proportions. Here is where so many have failed in the past.

Those words struck a sure chord in my mind. I believe that the issues that I have run into, both with other people and within my own mind, have been issues of disproportion. Specifically when tackling the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. I think that is why I love to read books from both perspectives. I love to be convicted and driven on by those books which lay out my responsibility to obey God's commands, but I also love the reassurance that comes from reading about the sovereignty of God.

I have been thinking about starting a book group (for lack of a better title) that is devoted to reading through the great books of the faith... Books that have been around for a while... That have stood the test of time... That have authors who only use their first and middle initial and then tack on their last name. Those kind of books. I might start it with my church or my family and see where it goes from there. I would especially like to get some men involved, men who want to think deep and tackle tough thoughts...

Anyway, back to the vacation and away from deep thoughts for a moment... For a little leisure reading I just finished reading Peter and the Starcatchers. I know, this sounds a little juvenile, but it was a really good book. I guess that there are a few more in the series, so I am looking forward to picking those up from the library. My mom got me started with these books and now that I am finished with the first one, I can understand why. I think that these might be a good series to read with my boys.

Well, I need to get up from the computer and enjoy a little family time. More later.

M.C. Harmless

The Hobbit - Book Review

Ok, I know that I am a little late with a review of The Hobbit, but I just finished reading this with my boys. Their ages are currently eight and five, and I knew that the 8-year-old could handle this book, but I was a little worried about the 5-year-old. Those worries were soon quenched after I read the first few paragraphs.

Anyway, here is my review...

Summary: (Just in case you don't know this already...) This book is the somewhat autobiographical rendition of the journey of one Hobbit, by the name of Bilbo Baggins. The title that he gave to this book is There and Back Again.

Hobbits, as you know, are comfortable creatures. They enjoy their ale, their pipes, and their many meals each day. Adventures are not a part of their makeup.

This Hobbit finds himself in the middle of an adventure when a wizard, a dwarf king, and eleven other dwarves show up on his doorstep one night. Before he knows what has happened, he finds himself facing trolls, trekking mountains, fighting goblins, killing giant spiders, riding on giant eagles, fleeing wolves, hiding from wood elves, trapped in life-or-death riddle games, and (worse for a hobbit) missing meals. All of this while knowing that at the end of the journey is a dragon and a dwarf treasure.

My Thoughts: In my humble opinion, this book should be moved amongst the classics. I can't tell you how happy I was when I saw that my school has this book on their reading list. I guess that I am not the only one who thinks that it is a must-read. I am telling you, if you have never read this book, might I suggest that you do it.

Tolkien is an amazing writer. In fact, I don't know if you could find a book that is as detailed as this and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The histories that he wrote before he wrote these books just blows my mind. There was a book, called The Silmarillion, that was never meant to be published, of the history of middle earth. The way I understand it, he wrote it to get his facts straight before he started writing the other books.

You could also check out The Essential Tolkien Library for all of the books.

The Castle in the Attic - Book Review

The Castle in the Attic is the first full length book that I read with my boys. It is a book that my mom read to me when I was a kid. She even bought three extra copies of it (with the cover that is shown to the right) for each of her kids.

Summary: A young boy is given a toy castle as a parting gift from nanny, who is moving back to England. The castle is unique, not only because it seems to be made out of stone and has all working parts, but also because the small lead knight comes to life the moment the boy touches him.

The knight, the lady, and the young boy all need to make it back to the knight's homeland to stop an evil wizard. Sounds like all of the proper elements to a good story to me.

My Thoughts: I can remember this book from the first time that my mom read it to me. It was good enough that it stuck in my mind over all of these years, and it must have been good enough for her, because she bought all three of her kids a copy of it.

It is not a Christian book, but it has some good themes in there as far as good vs. evil and how selfishness can hurt others.

I would definitely recommend this book.

The Cricket in Times Square - Book Review

I finished the book, The Cricket in Times Square, a little while ago with my children.

Summary: A cricket makes his way to New York city's Times Square via a picnic basket mishap and a train ride. Once there he makes friends with a true New York mouse, a kind-hearted cat, and a young boy who works in his parents news paper stand. He eventually shows his worth after listening to some music on the radio late at night. He learns that he can memorize any song on the first listen, and then he can reproduce the song with his unique cricket abilities.

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. It was one of the first that I read with my children. It came with Sam's Sonlight Curriculum.

I liked the story line. It kept rolling along at a good pace, and the characters were lovable and memorable. I also didn't get the impression that the author had an agenda when writing this book. So many of the newer authors have some philosophy that they are trying to teach in their writings. Thats alright, I suppose, from time to time, but when I sit down to read a story, I want a story, not a philosophy shrouded in story. This book was just a good story. If there was some hidden agenda, it wasn't noticeable.

The real test is whether or not my boys enjoyed it, and they definitely did. I usually know if they are really enjoying it if they remind me to read to them at night. This book was rated high on their list.

I definitely recommend this book.