Booklist: November 2011

Overall, November was a very productive month for reading. While more can ALWAYS be read, I finished some books that need to be completed and started (and completed) others that have sat on my shelf for awhile. And November's list is definitely an improvement over October's pathetic list. At that rambling to say: I'm pleased!

I've wanted to read about Martin Luther for sometime. I've felt woefully ignorant. Sure, I've read about him in church history and world history, but I had never read a biography of Luther. Years ago, I purchased a children's book about Luther. What a delight it was finally to read it! Especially over Reformation Day. Now that I've finished it, I'm contemplating the Reformation curriculum I would design for my children using this text.

Having read Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians, I was intrigued and concerned (having heard other's comments) about his series on Egyptian mythology. Perhaps I'll blog about it a little more fully later. For now, suffice it to say, it is not as good as Percy Jackson and has some other serious issues. Yet, it *is* well-written; a quality that is severely lacking in much of children's/young adult fiction today.

Spinach. Whole-wheat bread. Vitamins. Many of us think of these foods and supplements as "health nut" items. We consume our processed foods; we eat carbohydrates like they are going out of style. And cup after cup of caffeinated, corn-syrup-sweetened drinks are drunk. It's gross, yeah? I've never been a health guru... but Mary Frost's book has opened my eyes to our nutrition-deficient food. Not all of Frost ideas are worthwhile, however. "Mother Nature" is referenced several times, etc. Despite these flaws, I plan on purchasing a copy of her book for reference in the future.

The older I become, the more politics interests me. As a Christian, I believe that my faith affects all areas of my life (not just Sunday), and I will give account to God for my decisions. (1 Corinthians 10:31; Romans 14:12) With this in mind, I want to be very careful for whom I cast my vote. Reading Ron Paul's The Revolution was a genuine pleasure. Rarely have I encountered a politician who is willing to express himself frankly and not merely express empty platitudes and "good" rhetoric. I'll definitely be sharing quotations from his book soon. :) Ron Paul believes in the rule of Constitutional law as the Founders understood it; I believe I've found my candidate.

I first heard about The Hitchhiker's Guide in college. Several of my friends LOVED this book. And it's taken me years to read it. Douglas Adams is an atheist, and his work reflects it. (As we would expect.) In that respect, it is highly disappointing. That being said (the warning delivered), God did give Adams a wonderful sense of humor. His book is deliciously random, utterly hilarious, and delightfully British. However, I cannot recommend it to young adults without parental consent.

November 2011
Martin Luther - The Great Reformer by J.A. Morrison
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Going Back to the Basics of Human Health by Mary Frost
The Revolution by Ron Paul
*The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

*Not for children. A strongly atheistic worldview. To be read only with discernment.