Proof of Heaven

This book was interesting. Not good and not bad. Well, maybe a little bad. Eben Alexander is a neurosurgeon who ends up in a coma due to a rare disease. He was supposed to die. When he miraculously woke up, he was supposed to be brain dead. The fact that he came back to normal brain functionality after being in a coma with bacterial meningitis for 7 days is remarkable. That's probably more proof of heaven than his near death experience (NDE).

This book is supposed to be Dr. Alexanders counter argument to the scientists of the world who think NDEs are bogus and not true. The end of his book gets a little too scientific for laypeople, but I think that's his point, so that's not what bothered me.

I give this a 2 out of 5 stars. And I believe in heaven! The biggest frustration with the book is the same frustration I have with American Christianity as a whole - the lack of an understanding of what REAL Christianity is. Unless you believe in the God of the bible, you're making your own Christianity, which in a word is idolatry. If you pick and choose what parts of the bible you think are true, you are creating your own God.

I'm not saying that NDEs aren't real. I'm not saying that God can't use their often times incorrect theology to bring people to Himself. However, I know that God himself says not all people will go to heaven. The God of the bible says that just because you are a "good person" doesn't mean you get eternal life. There is only one good person - Jesus. And unless you put your faith in Him, there is no heaven for you. So, I get wary of NDEs that communicate that all people are in heaven. You see your loved one in your NDE and they tell you "it's going to be okay". That is a true statement for those people who love and follow Christ, but not if they don't.

I would recommend this book as a research tool if you are wanting to learn more about NDEs. But not if you're just looking for a good book.

The House Girl

Wow, what a great book! The story is great, the writing is great, the narration is great - just about everything is great.

The House Girl has two narrators - Josephine, a slave during the 1800s and Lina Sparrow, a lawyer today. I love when books weave two completely different people's lives together in a unique way and Conklin has beautifully done just that. Like all the good authors who do this narration style well, the reader cares about both stories. One story is not more important or compelling than the other.

The one disappointing thing about the novel was the lack of authentic slave accents. I am continually struck by how many authors don't use true accents. I wrote a little bit about this in my review for The Kitchen House, which did a better job than The House Girl. I know accents make books a little more difficult to read, but the payoff is well worth it. I found the novel less believable without the accents. The voices narrating weren't as distinct and as such, Josephine was not as developed as a character as she could have been.

I love the plot of this book. Lina Sparrow, a junior lawyer, is researching to find a face to represent a slavery reparation case. She works all the time and lives with her widowed artist father. Josephine is a house slave who due to her mistress (also an artist) getting ill, decides to run. Lina is looking for a descendant of Josephine while Josephine is just looking to live.

The House Girl is a great book and I highly recommend it!

The Other Boleyn Girl

I have heard a ton about Philippa Gregory. The first novel of hers I read, The White Queen, left a lot to be desired. Since The Other Boleyn Girl is the book I continue to hear about, I decided to take another chance...and it was worth it. It is very well written. Gregory has written very good transitions between fact and fiction. I learned a lot about the era and about the Boleyn's without even knowing I was learning history. It was a book that was difficult to put down and sad when it ended.

However...the book is very racy, so reader beware. Usually one thinks of Victorian/Tudor England as modest; but in reality, it was anything but. The sexual details in this book are quite bold. Not too much, but close.

The Other Boleyn Girl has redeemed this author for me and while I can't say that I'll definitely read more of her work, I enjoyed this one a lot and maybe once I get through my very long "to read" list, another Philippa Gregory might be just the thing.

Wave

I've decided to read more books on the best seller lists. I came across Wave and it looked interesting.
I read it in a few hours and it was just okay. While it was really interesting and educational to hear a first hand account of the tsunami in Sri Lanka, on the whole, I found the book lacking. It felt more like a book she wrote for therapy and while there is nothing bad with that, the way it was done left me skimming. She bounces all over the place and her memories of before the tidal wave are a little boring if you don't know the people and the places. Overall, a 2.75 out of 5 stars and not a book I'd highly recommend.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette?

Bernadette is a stay at home mom who wears many hats. And by that I mean her hats look different to different people. She was a prominent figure in her past. A disappointment in her present. And found in her future. And found is figurative and literal - she rediscovers something about herself, but it takes her disappearing to do it.

Where'd You Go, Bernadette is about a woman who moves her family from LA to Seattle and finds that she doesn't like it. Her 15-year-old daughter is really her only friend, besides her husband who works too many hours.

While the story is wonderful, what makes this book fantastic is the form and narration. The 15-year-old narrates it and the book is mostly letters, emails, and other correspondence of different people who have intersected the life of Bernadette.

I enjoyed this book immensely and would recommend it!

Orange is the New Black

Let me confess: I really enjoy reading and watching movies about prison. There is a strange sense of awe and wonder and intrigue about prison culture. Ever since I went to a minimum security women's prison as an undergrad, I've had this odd fascination.

So when I saw that this was on a best seller list, I picked it up quickly. It was not at all what I expected and that was a good thing. Most prison books I've read or movies I've seen are meant to shock and awe you as the reader/watcher. You are meant to feel sickened and creeped out. This was not that kind of a book.

It wasn't an expose' on how depraved prisoners are. Prison (at least Kerman's experience) was not as perverted as you think it will be. I kept waiting for the rape scene and I was thrilled that it didn't happen. While some prisons are terrible and dangerous places, I love that she gives a kinder and more gentle portrayal of her fellow inmates.  It was really an expose' on how poorly they are treated and how the system doesn't prepare them for life outside of prison.

It was a good book and well written. I liked it and would recommend it - particularly for book clubs as it would illicit great discussion of the justice system.

A Wind in the Door

This is the second book in the A Wrinkle in Time series. And while I thought A Wrinkle in Time was magical, A Wind in the Door was not. The story got old, tedious, and boring. I lost interest in the characters and what happens to them. The plot didn't move fast enough so I ended up not really caring about how the book ends. I give this one 2 out of 5 stars. Let's hope her next in the series makes up for it.