Late July

Well, for June. This is a late post for June.

You may be thinking, “Did he read any books in June"? I mean, July is almost over and there has not been a peep about books: good, bad, nor ugly.” The answer is, “Yep.” I did read some books and this post was delayed for good reason. The first two weeks of July I was on vacation with my wife and kids. We went back to Michigan to visit family, catch up with some friends, eat ice cream, swim in the lake, and have a great time. We put over 4,000 miles on the van in two weeks. It was a hoot.

So, now to the books.

My kids like these books about cats, called Warriors. My seven year old has read four of them already. I figured I would give it a try, so I read the first one. Warriors: Into the Wild by Erin Hunter. I see why my kids like them, and they are ok. Predictable and kind of silly at times. A house cat choose to leave and live….in the wild! There are gangs of cats, four of them, and they fight one another when they cross territorial lines, but oh no! the Shadow Clan is up to no good! And Tiger Paw, Fire Paw, Sand Paw, Ice Paw, Water Paw, Dirt Paw, and Sky Paw, and Leaf Paw, and Tree Paw, Pee Paw and Paw Paw all have to join together to protect the Thunder Clan!!!

Another book that is aimed at kids is The Song of the Stone Tiger by Glenn McCarty. Thomas is 11, and he just moved with his family to live with his Aunt in North Carolina because his mother is sick. Out in the mountains he finds a stone tiger. Thomas figures out that the stone tiger comes alive when he sings to it, but something is not right with Shalomar. It is a good story, my kids liked it, especially my nine year old.

I had heard that H is for Hawk is a good, more recent, memoir. Helen MacDonald writes beautifully, but the memoir itself is rather tedious. For MacDonald, every event is an end of the world event for her life. I am sure phrases like “my world came undone” or “everything unraveled” occurs too many times to actually give weight to certain events. Macdonald wouldn’t be so sad if she wasn’t so selfish. Forgiveness of sins, hope in the resurrection of the dead, and a faithful church would fill the void in her heart and mind that she attempted to fill with a hawk.

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka is famous. I am sure we all read it in school, but I wanted to reread it. Gregor wakes up and realizes he has been transformed into a giant beetle? How cool. Then the story moves on, and well, not so cool. This novella is interesting and worth the read, and deserves a reread. It is an unsettling book, but in a thought provoking way.

Robert McCammon’s historic fiction series about a detective from the colony of New York is a great deal of fun. Mix Sherlock Holmes with James Bond, then make him American, and throw him into a whole lot of trouble. Freedom of the Mask is the sixth in the series. At the end of the fifth book, our hero, Matthew Corbett was on a ship for London, and this entire book takes place in London. Mixed up in the crime of an even bigger city than New York, Matthew gets into harrowing situations that left me staying awake at night to see what happens. McCammon sure does his research well, and the story is expansive.

A friend of mine suggested that I read Chaos: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties by Tom O’Neill. This is a fascinating book of investigative journalism. In one sense, the history is rather shocking. To find out that Charles Manson was connected with the federal government and Hollywood stars and politicians was unnerving, and yet at the same time…kind of expected. What evil isn’t our government tied up with? I am glad to know that God knows the truth of all things, and the Judge of all the earth will do what is right, and He will not let anyone off the hook.

Freedom by Jonathan Franzen is a long satire about what people think makes them free in reality makes them slaves. Lots of sex in this one. Blech. Franzen understands people, their motives and their minds. He shows the vacuous side of liberals and conservatives in a humorous ways, and yet Franzen does not offer an alternative. Franzen does not seem to care for the church at all, but there is one Man who can actually set people free, and He said, “consider the birds…”

Tessa Harris has written a series about an American physician, Dr. Silkstone, in England who finds himself solving murders. In The Devil’s Breath, the third book, Harris weaves in real historic events and people and entangles her fiction with truth. In the 18th century a deadly fog falls of the English countryside and many are dying from simply breathing it in. For real, it happened. Who knew? Dr. Silkstone must find a cause and a cure for the deadly fog and at the same time deal with a murderer, and a devilish plot to keep him away from the woman he loves.

And finally, I read the novella The Mist by Stephen King. A fog rolls into a New England town…and its deadly fog. Not the same as in The Devil’s Breath above, because this fog kills because of what is hidden in it: monsters from another realm. David and his son, along with a host of other people are trapped in a small grocery store while the thick fog closes in and monsters show up and people die and can David protect his son and make it out? The movie version, directed by Frank Darabont who also directed other Stephen King adaptations, The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, is a well done film. I think I liked the movie The Mist better than the book. Gasp!

Well, there you have it. The books from June in late July. Which reminds me of a song from Shakey Graves (language warning in the opening of the video),