Ally's #47: "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte

This book takes the prize as my favorite of all time. No matter how many times I read it, I'm still touched by the writing, the interactions of the characters, and the personality of Jane Eyre. While there is an element of (unexpected) romance in this book, it appeals to me much more than the superficial tales of Jane Austen.

This book follows the life of Jane Eyre from her childhood to her 20s. We learn that at birth, Jane is orphaned when her parents fall ill and die within a month of each other. As an infant, Jane is taken in and loved by her mother's brother (Mr. Reed), but after his death a few years later, Jane is seen as an unworthy and unwelcome guest in the home of Mrs. Reed, who has three children of her own to raise. In a word, Jane is unloved. What hooked me within the first few chapters were the following questions: will Jane ever find freedom from misery, what kind of person will she become with so tragic a start at life, and what will Mrs. Reed's punishment be for spurning an orphan created in the image of God, and one whom her husband implored her to love as her own upon his death?

Once removed from her aunt's house at age 8, Jane spends the 10 years as a pupil and eventual teacher at a charity run school for orphans, called Lowood. It is at Lowood that she learns discipline, forbearance, and the love of Christ through the examples of another student and teacher. Ready and eager for independence, Jane leaves Lowood at 18 to pursue a position as a governess in the home of a wealthy bachelor, Mr. Rochester.

Jane is as plain of a girl as you can imagine, unremarkable in her features, but with a frankness about her that attracts Mr. Rochester. She is also gifted, intelligent, diligent, submissive, and intriguing. She and Mr. Rochester are kindred spirits, and eventually fall in love. Demons from Mr. Rochester's past interfere with his plans to marry Jane, and she flees from the temptation of living as his mistress rather than his wife. Jane places her future path completely in the Lord's hands when she disappears from Rochester's home, with very little money, no destination in mind, and no family or friends to turn to for help.

As if the sadness of leaving the love of her life behind isn't enough, Jane also has to suffer the elements and nearly starves to death as she searches for employment. She is taken in by a family in mourning, the eldest of which is a clergyman in the area. This is the point of the story where the author begins weaving in twists that soothe Jane's aching heart. It has great redemptive elements to it, and encourages the reader toward maturity, goodness, and faith.

Ally's #46: "Absolutely American" by David Lipsky

As a graduate of a small, private, Christian liberal arts university, the concept of a military academy was wholly unfamiliar to me. My husband, however, attended West Point. In an effort to get to know him better (via that 4-year experience) and to learn more about a place that may very well be in our future, I elected to read "Absolutely American.' As a military spouse, my experience as a professor's wife would be vastly different from what is found in this book. Nonetheless, it offered me thorough insight into the student experience, history and traditions of the academy, and the values that are instilled in every West Point graduate.

David Lipsky spent four years following a cross-section of the West Point class of 2002. He organizes the book into four sections, highlighting the main events in each of the cadets' freshman through senior (or plebe through firstie) years. At first, the book felt disjointed rather than linear because the author would include stories of cadets not in the class of 2002. Eventually, I realized that Lipsky probably chose the anecdotes that best exemplified what he was trying to portray about the academy and the officers it produces, even if they seemed to be misplaced. Perhaps the most moving part of the book was reading about the responses of cadets to the events of September 11th. Their senior year became one consumed by the reality of war and the knowledge of what awaited them immediately following graduation.

As a Southern Californian, I come from a very low-tradition context. West Point, on the other hand, is oozing with tradition. I'm grateful for having read this book, as it has given me an appreciation for the ways in which tradition binds the hearts of cadets to one another and to the Army as a whole.

Drew's #30 -- The Junkie Quatrain by Peter Clines

 

For the first time I feel a little like I'm cheating in my desperate attempt to close out the year with all 52 books.  This one is actually more of a short story the author attached to the end of Ex-Patriots (the second book in what is sure to be a superhero/zombie trilogy).  BUT you can buy it independently as a stand-alone book on Amazon, so here it is.

This isn't the same story as the "ex" series.  It is a sort of zombie story but it's more of a crazed violent not all there human type zompoc.  Again, it takes place in L.A. and again, the style is a non-linear style, and again there are some quirky twists and turns,  ...and again I get the distinct impression that I'm digging in below my reading level...  Not nearly as good as the authors other books (14, the "ex" books) but enjoyable enough.  If it comes withe one of those, you might wanna give it a try, otherwise, you can find something better to do with a couple of hours.

Drew's #29 -- Ex-Patriots by Peter Clines

 

When you have multiple sclerosis,  it's recommended that you challenge your mind daily, reading demanding prose, doing crossword puzzles...  In general things that exercise your brain and stave off inflamation and significantly mitigate the symptoms of M.S.  So if you have M.S., this book will do NOTHING for you, but, like baby shampoo on a bouncy castle slip and slide, it does make the ride down more fun...

Following on the heels of the first-in-the-series, Ex-Heroes, Ex-patriots picks up  at the next logical iteration of the zompoc plus superheroes story:  the ARMY gets involved.  Just as the swollen group of survivors begins to reach critical mass in their expanding compound in L.A., having folded in a steady flow of zompoc survivors and the remnant of the once antagonist gang from the first book.  Seemingly in the nick of time, the compound is discovered by another group of survivors, this one led by a group of super-soldiers (think a bunch of Capt Americas).  But as a contingent of heroes head out to liaise with this new group, it soon becomes clear that things are not as they seem on the new post.

Like the first book, the sequel is told in the non-linear "then/now" style.  And again, the author does a great job of carefully unfolding the details, meticulously preserving the continuity of both books and drawing and later either tying off or teasing out loose ends from both stories.  To much fun to put down...

Drew's #28 -- Ex-Heroes by Peter Clines

 

Imagine, if you will, that the world has fallen to devastating virus that kills and reanimates human beings as mindless, flesh-eating, un-dead corpses...  ...again...  What's that you say?  where's the originality?  2 words:  superhero zombies!  Yep!  Suddenly, a handful of people around the globe find themselves endowed with super-human abilities.  Then, just as these folks are getting used to said abilities and falling into their rolls as vigilantes, crime-fighters, or even super-villains, the zompoc hits.  And the superheroes learn quickly that they are not immune to the zombie infection.  Now humanity, with the help of super-humanity, finds itself fighting for survival in a post zompocolyptic L.A. (not all that different from present-day Hollywood...).  To make matters worse, not everyone's on the same team.  While many of the remaining humans have banded together to fight off the zombie hordes (or "ex's"--short for ex-humans), a rouge L.A. street gang has seized the opportunity to take control of the city.   So the small but determined band of heroes struggle to hold the only known remnants of humanity together against both the quick and the undead.

Told in a non-linear story line ("then" and "now"), the author weaves a comprehensive, page-turning roller-coaster ride of a story laid out in an eclectic mix of humor, violence, irony, and bone-jarring "butt"-kicking.  He does a really good job of maintaining continuity, developing a number of characters, and slowly, deliberately unfolding twists and turns of the story.  Fun, fun, fun...  However, there are a few scenes of gratuitous sex and violence.  I shouldn't be surprised given the genre (pure, unrepentant, delicious pulp fiction) but they do give the nagging impression that there's an outside chance that the author's target audience is young adults and comic nerds...

Please direct your criticisms of the reviewer's taste to the department of I Know You Are But What Am I at www.whateverIhavecancer.com...

Drew's #27 -- The Sex-Lives of Cannibals by J. Martin Troost

 

Some stories are great in their broad observations of a time and/or place but others are delightful in their detail.  This book is the latter of these.  Troost chronicles he and his wife's time on a small atoll in the pacific.  Note here many have spent time on small ISLANDS but few people have actually lived on an ATOLL--let's just say the 7:30 show is COMPLETELY different from the 9:00.  For one thing, an atoll is much smaller.  For another, islands typically receive services such as regular mail, transportation, and general support from a mainland of one sort or another; not necessarily so on an atoll.   But the authors dryly humored, clumsy--in a stranger-in-a-strange-land way, and good-natured relation of the events make this story hilariously interesting.  The best way to think of it, I believe, is to relate it to scuba diving.  Once you've settled into the neato idea of breathing underwater, you start to take your time on small sights as opposed to the reef itself.  As you do this, you'll notice the longer you spend on, say and anemone, the more you will find it teaming with life and notice that there's a lot of interesting stuff on a small piece of real estate.  Great read; highly recommend it!