The Best Christmas Pageant Ever

I decided to read a quick Christmas classic that I had never read before... The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. I was definitely pleased and very amused. It was short (which I love) and a great telling about the Christmas Story. A family of wild children who terrorize everyone they meet and do horrible pranks to their schoolmates and teachers end up becoming the main characters in the local church Christmas Pageant. The six Herdman's play Mary, Joseph, the Angel of the Lord, and the three Wise Men. They had actually never heard of the Christmas Story before and through rehearsals and their own surprising interest in learning more about it, they put on a Christmas Pageant that no one will forget, giving it their own special twists and interpretation.

I fully enjoyed this short children's story. I imagine it would also be a great read aloud for young and older kids alike. I see Emma really liking his story later on and may plan on reading it to her at Christmas times.

Angels and Demons

Angels and Demons was a book I just couldn't put down. It is written, of course, by Dan Brown, the author of The DaVinci Code. The main character of DaVinci Code is Robert Langdon and Angels and Demons is the first book that he wrote about this character. I actually liked this one just as much and maybe more so than DaVinci Code. It was very fast-paced and a great mystery, full of puzzles. I really enjoy these books and would like to read some of his others later on, such as Deception Point.

The basic premise of this book is about an ancient organization, called the Illuminati that seems to have resurfaced to attack Christianity, with the Catholic Church as its main target. Langdon is paired up with a female character for much of the story, Vittoria Vetra. I liked her presence in the story. She is smart and interesting. Anyway, these two are in somewhat of a race against time to save the Catholic Church from utter destruction. That's the plot in an extremely condensed nutshell. Overall, I found the story to be very enjoyable and a great read, particularly for those who enjoyed DaVinci Code.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The End (Book the Thirteenth)

I have been awaiting this final chapter in the Unfortunate Series for a while now and I am pleased to announce that it satisfied my expectations. This will be a difficult book to review without giving away secrets, so I will keep it brief (as I know several family members who have yet to read it).

I've always enjoyed reading about the emotional growth of the Baudelaire children and this book is only evidence of their continued maturing; and this is particularly shown in the responsibility given them at the end of The End. I'm sad to be done with the Series because I really felt like I knew these characters well and wish that I could meet them. :)

Overall, I was pleased with the ending. Stupidly (given the nature of the Series) I actually still thought there would be more happiness at the end than there was - however, I didn't come away feeling sad or distressed regarding the outcome, but content. I guess that's all I could have asked for. I'm giving this book 5/5 stars - but more as I look at the whole series in its completion, not just this book alone.

The Screwtape Letters

(out of 5)
This book was much different than anything I have read before. This clever compilation of letters written by C.S. Lewis is full of truths that I found intriguing as well as frightening. It is supposed to be letters written by a devil named Screwtape being given to his nephew/apprentice devil, Wormwood. It is a look into the possible thoughts and motives of Satan and how he may try to ensare us away from Christianity. There are various "lessons" that can be pulled from the readings; I marked a couple that particularly stood out to me and I'll mention them here:

In one letter, Screwtape tries to explain to Wormwood the kind of prayers they would want their "patients" to become accumstomed to. This devil wants people to pray with the belief that the bodily position makes no difference. In other words, that kneeling is not neccessary. If praying is to be done he says it should not be done with "moving lips and bended knees" but merely as an indulging in "a sense of supplication". This backwards sense of looking at how we know we should live was powerful to read, because it makes me realize my own traps that I easily fall into and if I really have a devil assigned to me as his patient, he is probably aware of them all and tries to persuade me to rationalize myself into them.

In another letter, I found the following quote rather frightening, but definitely true: In the words of Screwtape, "It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their cumulative effect is to edge the man away from the Light and into the Nothing. Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed, the safest road to Hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts."

Reading this book was very inspiring. As weird as it seems that reading about the likely thought process and schemes of the devil and his associates would be inspiring, it truly makes you take a second and third look at how you are living and whether you would be a "patient" worth tampering with in the the eyes of one of Satan's henchman. This book was a quick and easy read with incredible writing. It wasn't quite as entertaining as other novels as I have read, for it didn't have a gripping plot by any means; but the clever correspondence and writing style makes this a worthwhile read. Sticking with tradition, I once again give this 4 out of 5 stars.

A Long Hiatus

So, it seems like it has been centuries since I posted a book review. The truth is, that I am still reading Eragon. Oh, good grief. You may be wondering why I haven't finished it after 3 1/2 months of reading it. Well, the obvious answer is that I am not reading very regularly, if at all. I am only about 100 pages in. I guess I am not in the mood for it. This does not bode well for me ever finishing it. I think I may start reading something else (and someday go back to try to read it again, I suppose), but I wanted to receive some suggestions. Considering my track record, a smaller book may be better... at least not something that is over 300 pages long. I don't do well with longer books, except Harry Potter... somehow I have completed reading all of those. It is a miracle. So, please... what should I read?

The Hiding Place

(out of 5)
This was quite a jump in genres and subject matter from what I was previously reading. In fact, I've been in a children's literature rut for quite some time. It was nice to read something more adult. The Hiding Place was an incredible story of faith through trials. The trials of Corrie ten Boom and her family are particularly horrific - much greater than any trials I have faced myself. This autobiography reads like a gripping novel, but is unique in that you get to view life in Nazi Germany through the eyes of a faith-driven Christian woman and her inspiring sister, Betsie. It's refreshing to have God and faith be a central theme to these true life events. I especially enjoyed the pace of this story; the first half of the book is devoted to their life growing up (through flashbacks) and then working and serving through the invasion of Holland, their hometown. Corrie and her family sacrifice and risk their lives to help protect the Jewish community by caring for them and providing them a hiding place. The second half of the book then delves into Corrie's experiences, thoughts, and hopes, while suffering, yet with the help of her sister's example, optimistically surviving through prison life and Ravensbruck, a concentration camp in Germany. As tragic and heartwrenching as stories of the Holocaust can be, this book was inspiring and uplifting, and so thoughtfully written you will come away with numerous quotes to live by.

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Penultimate Peril (Book the Twelfth)

(out of 5)
Whew! I must admit, I feel a bit relieved to have finished this 12th book of the series. It's all I've been reading for the last few months, and has thus been a long time coming to finally complete it to this point. I'm definitely ready for a break till the 13th book is released, but also anxious for its arrival.

Like I said before, it takes a little while for the mystery of this journey to begin to unravel, but once it does, it is an intriguing story that is difficult to put down. It is particularly clever how the 'author', Lemony Snicket, becomes a character in the story as well, which seems to be one the most interesting mysteries of all! I look forward to really learning who Lemony Snicket is, why he is researching the Baudelaire story, and where he is now.

The evolution of Sunny Baudelaire really seemed to hit me during Book 12. She has grown so much since the first book, where we first meet the biting, babbling (seemingly meaningless noises, if not for her siblings translation) Sunny Baudelaire. She now often speaks profound sentences, such as "The last safe place is safe no more". I was also proud to see her move on from biting to her ever-increasing skill of gourmet cooking (a talent which has surprisingly come in quite handy during many sticky situtations). What a talented young lady she has become!

It was quite a surprising twist at the end of this book! The Baudelaires definitely seem to be crossing the line between "volunteer" and "villian". It's hard to say whether they are becoming more treacherous than noble. For this reason and others I anxiously await Book the 13th, entitled, The End, which is scheduled to be released Friday the 13th of October 2006.

Here are some other amusing links to articles and audio that delve more into the life of "Lemony Snicket" and his Series of Unfortunate Events:

• NPR interview with Daniel Handler

• CBS, The Early Show, interview with Daniel Handler

• Lemony Snicket's Homepage