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2018

Book Reviews 2018
January 14, 20202018This year, I’ve been on a Brandon Sanderson kick. I have mentioned already the power of his story telling. In what I have already read of Sanderson, it is apparent that he is such a talented world-creator. In The Way of Kings, Sanderson conceives of a world that is dominated, maybe even obsessed, with storms. Everything from their curse words to their currency is influenced by the storm. In Mistborn, as you might have guessed, the theme revolves around the mist. But in a different way, it also is preoccupied with metal. The “magic” in this world comes in the form of specially chosen individuals called “allomancers.” These allomancers can “burn” metal (which they consume, such as gold or copper) which give them special abilities. For example, burning pewter (simply, after ingesting it the allomancer can “burn” it) gives the allomancer the ability of super human strength. Individuals who can burn pewter are called “thugs” because they are the so-called “tanks” of any given crew. While most can only burn one type of metal, certain special individuals can burn all of them. These are called “Mistborn.” In the Final Empire, the Lord Ruler has been the tyrannical dictator since his mysterious “ascension” thousands of years ago. The people are divided into two social groups: the noblemen, who own vast estates and are generally treated very well, and the Skaa, a peasant group of people who are beaten and treated generally very poorly. The main characters of the book are Kelsier, a Mistborn Skaa, who finds Vinn, a Skaa who lives on the street and spends her life stealing to live. The book centers around Kelsier’s vision of revenge by killing the Lord Ruler and releasing the grip of the Nobility upon the Skaa. Overall, this is an imaginative book. It also has a plethora of themes such as racism and social status (e.g., the Skaa are no different than the Nobility but are not treated as such; their skin isn’t even a different color). This is less a political drama and more like an 18th century western where a few outlaws try to exact judgement on the elite. Like the other books I’ve read by Sanderson, this is a must read. Go get it and read it. [...]
January 14, 20202018I read “After the Prophet” last year, but the book is so compelling that I had to read it again. Hazelton is truly a master story teller. I felt like my first read through was inadequate; there were many details that I thought I missed. So I read it again with the goal of gleaning more about this fascinating piece of history. As I said in my review last year, I think this is a book more people need to read. Since reading it, I have asked many people if they know the reason behind the Sunni-Shia split. They shrug as they try to tell me that they knew there was a split but not why. This why question is critical to understanding our Muslim friends both at home and abroad. More are even more confused when I tell them that it started over a broken necklace. Aisha was one of the prophet Muhammad’s most beloved wives. As a gift, he gave her a beautiful necklace. As the caravan was out doing business, Aisha discovered that the necklace had snagged on a tree; because it was missing, she went back to find it. When she returned, the caravan was gone. She stubbornly waited in the harsh desert for them to turn around and rescue her. This would not come; however, a young, strapping Muslim warrior would happen to waltz by and carried Aisha into Medina. This, of course, caused a scandal: the prophet’s wife with a handsome young man? Surely their minds went immediately to the nefarious. Even Ali, Muhammad’s cousin and one of the first converts to Islam after Muhammad, believed foul play on the part of Aisha. Muhammad received a revelation from Allah exonerating Aisha from any wrong doing. However, the damage was done. Factionalism against Ali was already brewing. This would pit Ali against Aisha and her father, Abu Bakr. When Muhammad died, he left no succession plan for the Caliphate. Although Muhammad may have alluded to Ali as his successor, Abu Bakr was able to politically navigate the council that was to determine the next Caliphate to vote for him. In the end, he received the title. It would be a long road for Ali to become Caliphate, and even when he did, it would end it tragedy. He was killed by an assassin’s poisonous blade. His sons, Huysan and Hasan, would go on to attempt to avenge their father’s death. But they were no match for the powerful rulers that sponsored the assassin. Even today, Shi’a Muslims celebrate a holiday called, “Ashura,” which is to commemorate the death of Huysan in particular. This is just a fascinating book. I am not doing the story justice in these few details. Hazelton describes the events with such precision it feels like one is in the Arabian desert or in the heat of battle. Her commentary is both interesting and modern (perhaps too modern in some places). Her understanding of Middle Eastern history is engaging and informative. This is a must read. [...]
January 14, 20202018In many ways, Tara Westover’s memoir reminded me of J.D. Vance’s, “Hillbilly Elegy.” Instead of hillbilly’s and Appalachia, replace these elements with fundamentalist Mormons and Idaho and you have almost a perfect crossover. Almost. Tara Westover grew up in the junkyard in rural Idaho. She did normal activities as a child, but what wasn’t normal was she didn’t attend school. Her father had such a hatred and fear of the government, he did not allow the children to visit the hospital, get a birth certificate, or go to school. Instead, they “homeschooled” their children, which was akin to allowing them to read dated text books. Tara managed to learn what should could. Later in her teens, she was the victim of abuse from her brother and needed a way out. She took the ACT’s to get into Brigham Young University; she was accepted and experienced some of the most savage culture shock of her life. When a slide in her Western Civilization Class had a word she didn’t recognize, she asked the professor what it meant, to their horror. It turns out the word was “Holocaust.” This story is compelling, brilliant, and demonstrates the power of an education. This isn’t so much a spoiler, but if you wouldn’t like to know, cease reading now!: Tara goes on to get her Master’s Degree from Columbia and Ph’D from Cambridge. This is awe inspiring to me. Along the way, much happens that Ms. Westover deals with and, in some ways, is still dealing with. But one thing is for sure: she rests on the fact that through her education, she has put in the blood, sweat, and tears to understand the world better; she has questioned and demanded more of the university system then most people have or ever will; she values her education because she understands what it means when you don’t have good influences that help you attain factual knowledge. It seems to me that more people need to emulate such attributes. I really enjoyed this book. I think it’s one of the best I’ve read this year, so far. [...]

A River in Darkness: One Man’s Escape from North Korea

The American Spirit: Who We Are and What We Stand For

The Lost City of the Monkey God

The Innovators: How a Group of Hackers, Geniuses and Geeks Created the Digital Revolution

Even If You Don’t: A Love Story

The Martian

Yes, Chef

Gosnell: The Untold Story of America’s Most Prolific Serial Killer

The Stormlight Archive: The Way of Kings

All-American Murder: The Rise and Fall of Aaron Hernandez, the Superstar Whose Life Ended on Murderers’ Row

The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

The Remains of the Day

The Stormlight Archive: Words of Radiance

The Stormlight Archive: Oathbringer

Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance

Educated

Cork Dork: A Wine-Fueled Adventure Among the Obsessive Sommeliers, Big Bottle Hunters, and Rogue Scientists Who Taught Me to Live for Taste

What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures

After the Prophet: The Epic Story of the Shia-Sunni Split in Islam (2018)

I Contain Multitudes: The Microbes Within Us and a Grander View of Life

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

For We Are Many (Bobiverse #2)

A History of the World in Six Glasses

Jurassic Park

Vanished Smile: The Mysterious Theft of Mona Lisa

North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail

Preaching That Changes Lives

The Feud That Sparked the Renaissance: How Brunelleschi and Ghiberti Changed the Art World

The Cuban Affair

The Rooster Bar

Star Wars: Last Shot: A Han and Lando Novel

When Breath Becomes Air

Only Human (Themis Files #3)

Airframe

Mistborn: The Final Empire

Hell Divers

God Save Texas: A Journey Into the Soul of the Lone Star State

Star Wars: Thrawn: Thrawn (2018)

Ghost in the Wires: My Adventures as the World’s Most Wanted Hacker

PROOF: Finding Freedom through the Intoxicating Joy of Irresistible Grace (2018)

Gut: The Inside Story of Our Body’s Most Underrated Organ

The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After

Redshirts

Springfield Confidential: Jokes, Secrets, and Outright Lies from a Lifetime Writing for The Simpsons

Christianity Considered: A Guide for Skeptics and Seekers

Insurgence: Reclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom

Jurassic Park: The Lost World

The History of Jazz

How to Lose a Marathon: A Starter’s Guide to Finishing in 26.2 Chapters

Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything

Survival Guide for the Soul: How to Flourish Spiritually in a World that Pressures Us to Achieve

Brief Insights on Mastering Bible Study: 80 Expert Insights, Explained in a Single Minute

Star Wars: Thrawn: Alliances

The Bible Unfiltered: Approaching Scripture on Its Own Terms

A Mouse Divided: How Ub Iwerks Became Forgotten, and Walt Disney Became Uncle Walt

The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America

Star Trek: Captain to Captain

The Darkness and the Glory: His Cup and the Glory from Gethsemane to the Ascension (2018)

Mistborn: The Well of Ascension

Mistborn: The Hero of Ages

English History Made Brief, Irreverent, and Pleasurable

Michelangelo: His Epic Life

Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology

Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling (2018)

Dopesick: Dealers, Doctors, and the Drug Company that Addicted America

Grit

What is the Gospel?

The Interdependency: The Collapsing Empire

Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul

The Consequences of Ideas: Understanding the Concepts that Shaped Our World (2018)

On Desperate Ground: The Marines at The Reservoir, the Korean War’s Greatest Battle

The Interdependency: Consuming Fire

The Reckoners: Steelheart

Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions

Firefight: the Reckoners book 2

Ethics and Moral Reasoning: A Student’s guide

Calamity: the Reckoners book 3

Skyward: Skyward

Prey

The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate (2018)

Legion: the Many Lives of Stephen Leeds

Reckoner’s: Mitosis

Tell the Truth: The Whole Gospel Wholly by Grace Communicated Truthfully & Lovingly

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God

The Great Evangelical Recession: 6 Factors That Will Crash the American Church… and How to Prepare

Armada

Knowledge of the Holy

Elantris

Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup

Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

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