Ron’s #50: A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens

Reading this will be a new Christmas tradition for me. I love the writing, the suspense, and the redemption found in its pages. If you haven’t read it, I highly suggest it for you. You will see that it is different than you remember.

I love the opening line: “Marley was dead.” This sets the tone for the book. It is much different than versions with Muppets or Mickey Mouse.

If you like audiobooks, this is currently free on Christian Audio.com for the month of December. I suggest downloading this excellent version and listening to it in the upcoming week.

Ron’s #49: The Summons by John Grisham

My guilty pleasure is reading John Grisham novels on vacation. Don’t judge me.

This was one of his weakest ones so far. The story tells of a young attorney (don’t they all?) who finds three million dollars cash in his recently deceased father’s office. He spends three hundred pages trying to figure out where it came from. When the big reveal happens, there is little fanfare.

Grisham has the usual cavalcade of stock characters, unrealistic dialogue, and semi-predictable plotlines, but who cares? It makes for great reading at the beach. If ever you hear that I’m teaching Grisham in my classes at school, please hold an intervention for me.

Ron’s #48: Frenchtown Summer by Robert Cormier

Robert Cormier made me a reader.

When I was in 8^th or 9^th grade, I had to read Robert Cormier’s The Chocolate War for school. Up until that time, I don’t remember reading much for fun. There was something about the story and characters that made me view reading differently. Jerry Renault was an outsider asking himself, “Do I dare disturb the universe?” and that spoke to me about the power of books. Since then, I’ve read most—not all—of Cormier’s books.

Frenchtown Summer tells of Eugene and his small town Frenchtown, a blue-collar New England town with familiar faces, ghosts, and isolation. The narrative describes this world through descriptive poetry, a vivid and memorable picture of 1960s innocence and coming-of-age. It is as powerful as Sandra Cisneros’s The House on Mango Street; in fact, this often felt a bit too similar to her story.

The was a good read, and another reminder of how one author introduced me to the joy of reading. I’m glad that Cormier disturbed my universe years ago.

JRF's #44: Marine! The Life of Chesty Puller by Burke Davis

 

Every night during Boot Camp, after everyone is snuggled into their racks, Marine Corps Recruits end their long day by uniformly saying, "Good Night Chesty, where ever you are!"  Lewis "Chesty" Puller embodies the esprit de corps of the USMC.  Any Marine worth his salt wants to be like Chesty Puller.

"They are in front of us, behind us, and we are flanked on both sides by an enemy that outnumbers us 29:1. They can't get away from us now!" - Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC When the Marines were cut off behind enemy lines and the Army had written the 1st Marine Division off as being lost because they were surrounded by 22 enemy divisions. The Marines made it out inflicting the highest casualty ratio on an enemy in history and destroying 7 entire enemy divisions in the process. An enemy division is 16500+ men while a Marine division is 12500 men.

As a Chaplain working with the Marines, reading this biography was insightful and inspirational.  Obviously, from a military standpoint, there is much to admire about Lt. General Puller.  Dropping out of Military College to enlist during the First World War, Puller fought his way through the conflicts in Haiti, Nicaragua, China, World War II and the Korean War to become the most decorated Marine in history.  In addition he fought his way through the ranks to retire as a three star general.  If he had not been forced to retire early (for not keeping his mouth shut about the incompetency of the Air Force during the Korean War) he undoubtedly would have earned a fourth star.

"Our Country won't go on forever, if we stay soft as we are now. There won't be any AMERICA because some foreign soldiery will invade us and take our women and breed a hardier race!" -Lt. Gen. Lewis B. "Chesty" Puller, USMC

His wartime achievements are noteworthy, however it was the intangible things that made him great.  He was a man of uncompromising character and faithfulness - remaining loyal to his wife (and her to him) through all those long years of fighting.  He had the ability to inspire men to joyfully follow him into the valley of the shadow of death, many of them never to return.  He knew that direct, firm, commanding authority did not have to be and should not be in conflict with compassionate, selfless leadership.  He sowed the seeds of honor, courage, and commitment into his character daily so that when the feces hit the oscilating ventilator he could respond wisely without hesitation.

When an Army captain asked him for the direction of the line of retreat, Col Puller called his Tank Commander, gave them the Army position, and ordered: "If they start to pull back from that line, even one foot, I want you to open fire on them." Turning to the captain, he replied "Does that answer your question? We're here to fight." At Koto-ri in Korea - Chesty Puller at Koto-ri in Korea

I'm sure there was some bias to this book, as it rarely had anything negative to say about Puller.  But if only half of it was true, Chesty would still be the fiercest warrior and combat officer our country has ever produced.  As long as the Marine Corps keeps Chesty as their measuring stick, the USMC will remain America's elite fighting force.

Oorah!

"No officer's life is worth more than that of any man in his ranks.  He may have more effect on the fighting, but if he does his duty, so far as I can see, he must be up front to see what is actually going on with his troops.  They'd find a replacement for me soon enough if I got hit.  I've never seen a Marine outfit fall apart for lack of any one man.  I don't want you to go up under the guns just for show.  It's only the idiots and the green kids who think they're bullet-proof.  But if you don't show some courage, your officers won't show it either, and the kids will hang back.  It's that kind of an outfit that always has trouble."

Mark's #51 - Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

Mere Christianity is widely recognized as a classic of the Christian faith.  Lewis appeals to a broad range of Christian traditions, from theological conservative to liberal.  Originally given as radio addresses during WWII and a few years following, C.S. Lewis tried to explain and defend the basics of the Christian faith. I have read this book more times than any other book outside of the Bible (perhaps five or six times now).  On this reading I realized two things; First, I can see where much of my own thinking and preaching has been deeply influenced by Lewis in general, and Mere Christianity in particular.  Second, as I grow in my own understanding of theology, I realize more and more where I disagree sharply with some of Lewis' thoughts on Christianity.  For example, Lewis' philosophical and apologetic reliance on his view of 'free will' is much more arminian in thinking than mine.  In addition, Lewis seems to presuppose the validity of human evolution, as well as a kind of universalism through salvation of adherents of other religions if they are sincere (something he also implies in The Last Battle in The Chronicles of Narnia Series).

Some have even argued that Lewis is very much like Rob Bell in these areas.  However, these are not focal points or even essential teachings of Lewis (whereas it seems that Bell is doing just this, or at least capitalizing financially on these issues).  Furthermore, there is much to be gained from Lewis' thinking and apologetics.  Therefore I would continue to encourage believers and non-believers alike to read carefully through this classic book.

Mark's #50 - 11/22/63: A Novel by Stephen King

In my generation, the pivotal date (so far) in history is 9/11/01, but for the previous generation that date was 11/22/63.  Similarly, perhaps the most asked question of both those dates has been, "where were you when you found out about..."  But what if the past could be changed?  If so, should it be changed?  How do we know if those changes will be for the better or the worse?  Those are the questions of every author who has delved into the tricky realm of time travel.  With these in mind, Stephen King brings his masterful storytelling ability in this great 849 tome.

How do I summarize an 849 page book, with all of it's intricacies, plot twists, mystery, and surprises in a short review? I don't.   What I will say is that this is a great peace of fiction, my favorite this year.  It has been a very long time since I've read any of Kings work.  What I realized in this reading is that King is not just an author who can crank out a massive amount of suspense/horror thrillers. King is also a brilliant storyteller who uses all sorts of literary devices Ron could go on and on about.

It's hard to describe, but reading this book felt fuller and more immersive than most novels I've read... Like the difference between watching a black and white tv and watching the latest Pixar 3D film.  There is a lot going on in the book on many levels, yet, it wasn't confusing or hard to follow at all.

I don't want to give away the plot because I want you to read the book... but I will give one hint:

The past is obdurate.

*Note: Obviously King doesn't write this book from the perspective of a Christian worldview. Readers should be cautioned about some occasional scenes of sexual impropriety.  While not explicit, the first time this happens, there's more details than necessary, and there are several other quick references to the act throughout the remainder of the book.