Archive for the ‘Religion’ Category
Monday, March 26th, 2007
Hardcover, 453 pages, 2006
Rating: 9/10
Reason for Reading: I like a good thriller, and the fact that it was set somewhere that I don’t often read about (Spain) was also a motivator.
Synopsis: Inspector Jefe Javier Falcón is investigating an unusual murder, in which the body has been stripped of all means of identification in a very professional manner, when the town of Seville, Spain, is sent into a panic from a massive explosion. It looks like a terrorist attack, but Falcón is about to discover that nothing is as it seems in a world where mind games matter as much as, if not more than, the horrible physical realities they inflict upon innocent lives.
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Posted in Fiction, Suspense, Thriller, Religion, Politics | No Comments »
Friday, October 8th, 2004
Mass-market, 367 pages, 1990
Rating: 9/10
Reason for Reading: A lovely woman in the States was nice enough to send me an entire box of books a few years ago, which included this one. It’s a title that seems to come up when people mention getting their feet wet before a full-fledged dive into the fantasy/sci-fi genres.
Synopsis: The Apocalypse is due on Saturday, but Crowley, one of Satan’s own sent to cause chaos on Earth, has somehow lost the Antichrist. Aziraphale, sent from Heaven, has developed an odd relationship with Crowley over the centuries, seeing as how they’re among the few non-humans around, which means he’s developed a bit of tolerance for Crowley’s bad behaviours while rubbing a bit of his goodness off on Crowley. And neither of them is quite sure that they want the human race to come to an end - heaven doesn’t have any rock music, after all, and they don’t quite see the point of fancy cars and cell phones in hell. But there’s not much you can do when faced with the will of God and Satan…is there?
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Posted in Fiction, Humour, Religion, Fantasy | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 14th, 2004
Hardcover (available in trade), 147 pages, 2004
Rating: 7/10
Reason for Reading: It was featured in Time Magazine, and since the author is from Toronto, I thought it might be worth checking out.
Synopsis: A collection of seven short stories that trace the formative years of Mark Berman (and his family), who immigrated to Canada from Russia when he was six years old. The Bermans must try to earn a living in a new culture, in a country they don’t yet understand, while Mark faces growing up - not so much as an outsider, but as someone deeply enclosed in his Russian-Jewish roots, whether he’d like to be or not.
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Posted in Fiction, Contemporary, Short Stories, Culture, Religion | No Comments »
Saturday, August 14th, 2004
Hardcover (available in trade), 373 pages (incl. 54 pages of notes/bibliography), 2003
Rating: 9/10
Reason for Reading: I’m fascinated by how the Renaissance was a time for such dramatic strides in so many areas seemingly all at once, and Michelangelo’s works are definitely a favourite of mine.
Synopsis: Michelangelo and the Pope’s Ceiling analyzes all of the troubles that ailed Michelangelo in his four years of painting the Sistine Chapel for the religious leader of his time, Pope Julius II. Michelangelo was forced by the pope to paint the ceiling, despite how Michelangelo considered himself a sculptor rather than a painter, as well as various issues with his family, a lack of money, a rivalry with the young up-and-coming painter named Raphael, an expected completion date that moved ever further away, and war being waged outside of the city. This is an account of how Michelangelo dealt with all of the obstacles to paint one of the most magnificicent artistic endeavors the world has ever seen.
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Posted in Historical, Non-Fiction, Religion, Politics, Art | No Comments »
Friday, July 23rd, 2004
Hardcover (available in trade), 343 pages, 2003
Rating: 9/10
Reason for Reading: A buzz book.
Synopsis: In Reading Lolita, Nafisi chronicles her life in Iran as a university professor during a time of war and repression. In order to have a chance to speak more freely about English literature, she starts up a small discussion group with seven of her female students, which quickly moves from books to a more personal look at how reading affects them and their lives in an atmosphere where their thoughts must be hidden from the public eye.
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Posted in Non-Fiction, Biography, Culture, Religion, Literary Criticism | No Comments »
Thursday, May 20th, 2004
Hardcover (available in trade), 148 pages, 1975
Rating: 8/10
Reason for Reading: I was looking for a simple how-to book on meditation.
Synopsis: Hanh, a zen master, explains meditation techniques that keep the mind focused on the current moment. Through short anecdotes and instructions on breathing techniques, Hanh shows the reader how to live in the current moment instead of dwelling on the past or future.
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Posted in Non-Fiction, Religion, Self-Help, Health | No Comments »
Monday, May 10th, 2004
Hardcover (available in trade), 306 pages, 2004
Rating: 9/10
Reason for Reading: I’ve had a couple of Armstrong’s books on my to-be-read list for a while now, but I somehow ended up reading this brand-new one first. And, I won’t lie to you, it looked much less intimidating than the 500 pages of A History of God.
Synopsis: This is an autobiography that focuses on Armstrong’s life when she left her convent after seven years, at the age of 23. She expresses her confusion, disoriention and fear of the ‘real world’ after being a secluded nun, battles depression and seizures, and tries to come to terms with her changing ideas of God. Armstrong maps the long journey driven by both love for and hatred of religion that brought her to writing her popular books on a wide variety of religions.
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Posted in Non-Fiction, Biography, Religion | No Comments »
Tuesday, December 30th, 2003
Hardcover (available in trade), 456 pages, 2002
Rating: 9/10
Reason for Reading: A buzz book; I read Lives of the Saints for a high school English class and enjoyed it.
Synopsis: A fictionalized account of the life of Jesus, told by four people - Yihuda, Miryam, his mother, and Simon, a Syrian shepherd. This isn’t the widely accepted Jesus from the Bible, however - Testament is presented as the ‘true’ story of Jesus, working with the idea that the Bible may be full of misconstrued stories that passed through generations before being written down.
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Posted in Fiction, Award Winner / Nominee, Historical, Religion | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 7th, 2003
Hardcover (available in mass market), 454 pages, 2003
Rating: 9/10
Reason for Reading: One of 2003’s big (if not biggest) buzz books.
Synopsis: Robert Langdon, a symbologist, is called to the scene of a murder in the Louvre after disturbing codes are found on and around the dead body. With the help of Sophie Neveu, the two must race to prove Langdon’s innocence by cracking the codes that are somehow tied in with Leonardo Da Vinci’s works and a secret society.
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Posted in Fiction, Thriller, Mystery, Religion | No Comments »