The "The End"

Thank you to everyone who has read my blog and a big thanks to those who have commented (especially Gay). While I've enjoyed writing for this blog and I've learned a lot in the process, I've decided I would like to start focussing on other writing excercises. This will be my last post.

Enjoy your reading!
Nate

“The Last Olympian”, written by Rick Riordan as the conclusion to the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series is an excellent capstone for the story.

Some of my previous frustrations remain and some new ones have risen. The attitudes and lack of maturity of the gods still bothered me in this book, but they were consistent with the rest of the series. Several places throughout the book it becomes clear that certain groups were not going to be willing to work together and this was very frustrating, but it did serve the needs of the book.

I didn’t really like the way Percy’s character grew in this final book, as I prefer heroes who learn humility and the advantage/necessity of working with and depending on others. There were some elements of this as Percy progressed to become the hero, but he didn’t have to grow in this way as much as I would prefer. Also along these line, the “advantage” he takes upon himself to help in battles, while intriguing, is less interesting than if he could have facilitated the ending without the “advantage”.

Still, “The Last Olympian” is definitely worth reading. This final book had a consistent theme of sacrifice and collaboration which made it enjoyable to read. I felt that all of the characters grew and that the ending was believable. I thought the “blessing” that Clarisse received from her father was pretty cool. I liked how the story played out, and I felt the author’s choices of characters and themes in the ending were excellent.

“This Last Olympian” by Rick Riordan is definitely worth reading, and the resolution of the plot is enjoyable enough to make this entire easy-read series one that I’d say is worth the time spent.

“The Battle of the Labyrinth”, book four in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, is another enjoyable adventure rich in Greek mythology, with exciting new characters, places, plot twists and abilities being discovered by Percy and his friends.

I’m getting way too far behind in my “book reports”, I’m so going to limit my focus on this book to one thing in order to save time. The introduction of the tame and loveable hellhound, Mrs. O’Leary stood out to me. I dislike it when fantasy stories create “evil” species or races, and so the addition of a “good” version of a typically evil and frightening hell hound brought depth to the Olympian world that had been lacking. This is a good example of how this book grew and matured the series in preparation for the final addition, “The Last Olympian”.

I enjoyed Rick Riordan’s third book in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series, “The Titan’s Curse”, but it was riddled with some dissatisfying elements. A favorite character is mostly absent in this book. A death of a major character is assumed and is integral to the plot of the series, but the death is not actually confirmed until the next book (and even then the revelation lacks the drama and power that the suspense has built). Annabeth’s stories of her family seem to be shown to be untrue, but no clear reason for the fabrications is ever presented. Also, it becomes clear that there are two storyline threads in this book; One with pieces that will need to be addressed before the end of the book and one with pieces that aren’t intended to be addressed until a “different” book (an unfortunate but common occurrence in stories that are intended to span several volumes). Elements such as these detract from what makes the novel good, but the novel maintains interest and is enjoyable despite these frustrating additions.

All negative opinions aside, “The Titan’s Curse” was a pleasant, easy read that moved the series forward nicely. Riordan does a good job of introducing new elements of mythology and intertwining them with the existing story, and the result is another exciting adventure enriched with elements from Greek mythology.

“The Sea of Monsters”, book two in the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series by Rick Riordan, significantly improves upon the original. With this book Riordan begins to draw on the rich mythological histories behind his characters and the depth that these histories bring to the story makes it much more interesting and enjoyable. The introduction of Tyson begins the process of changing Percy from an annoying, self-centered narrator to a likeable hero, and Tyson ends up being not only a key part of this book, but also a key-factor in the value and enjoyment of the series (I would argue that the character of Tyson is the most important in the series, because of the effect he has on Percy). Riordan makes use of existing mysteries and places (such as the Bermuda Triangle) in this book, thereby successfully inserting the reader into the story. The ending of “The Sea of Monsters” is surprising and unexpected, and Riordan does an excellent job of misdirection while revealing his ending, keeping it exciting and changing right up to the end. This book should win an award for “Most Improved Sequel”.

“The Sea of Monsters” still falls a bit short of being great, mainly because the gods and monsters throughout the book do not act as though they’ve been around for thousands of years, but it is definitely a book worth reading. Anyone who made it through the first book should at least reward their effort by reading the second.

“The Lightning Thief”, the first book in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan is not an outstanding book, but it is the first book in an otherwise good series.

I didn’t enjoy the way this book was written. First person and rude (very reminiscent of “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Slinger) is a writing style that I don’t really enjoy, especially since frequently some things I like are referred to as being a great torture.

The story itself is flat. Some of the places visited are real, some are not; some are from mythology, and some places are just made up, but all of the places seem to lack history. The highlights came from mythological elements being presented, like when Percy learns that being the son of Poseidon means he can communicate with equine-ish animals, but these elements are not used frequently enough. In fact the greatest strength this book has is that it is a good idea, that the gods (and other things) from Greek Mythology are real and some of us are their children, but the idea just isn’t exploited enough in this book.

Probably my least favorite part of this book is that in the end a murder is committed and is written as though it should be funny. It is a tasteless ending that further diminishes the value of the story.

Sadly, I probably prefer the movie to the book (they are significantly different) and I’m not that fond of the movie. Still, it is worth reading “The Lightning Thief” so that you can read the rest of the series.

War and Peace – Leo Tolstoy

“War and Peace”, the four volume epic by Leo Tolstoy, is told as a story that is enhanced (for the most part) with historical commentary; the time period being in the early 1800’s in Russia during the wars fought alongside and against Napoleon. This book has a great deal of positive and negative characteristics, and most valuably serves as an introduction to the history, pride and culture of the Russian people.

I’ll begin with some comments on the translation by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky, published by Alfred A. Knope, as it is excellent. Everything Russian has been translated to English, and everything not appears in its original language with the translation in the footnotes. This made the transition between the languages relatively painless (although the translators had much more confidence in my ability to remember previously translated phrases than was warranted). Historical endnotes are scattered throughout to improve the understanding of certain colloquialisms and references. Having begun and failed to finish other translations of Tolstoy’s masterpiece, I highly recommend that anyone wanting to read this book seek out this version in particular (even if you are fluent in French and German). Pevear and Volokhonsky should be congratulated for putting a difficult novel in a very accessible form.

Tolstoy’s format of mixing historical commentary, personal beliefs and fiction for presenting his story is fantastic when it works and painful when it doesn’t. In the first two volumes, the historical commentary serves as a nice enhancement that only rarely detracts from moving the story forward. In the third volume, the historical commentary almost brings the story to a halt, and it is laborious to get through the slow pace of the commentary on the different perspectives and politics of different battles in the French-Russian war of 1812. The fourth volume improves upon moving the story forward, until you reach the epilogue.

The epilogue has several chapters of story that tie up the novel nicely. Unfortunately, this story is surrounded by hundreds of pages (small type) of Leo Tolstoy’s essay on determinism. Similar to Ayn Rands endless essay on objectivism in part 3 of “Altas Shrugged”, this essay feels awkwardly placed in the epilogue and makes finishing the book tedious, because even once the story has been completed there are 50 pages of essay to get through. This essay serves for nothing other than to show that Tolstoy is very strong proponent of determinism. While this essay is well written, it detracts from an otherwise enjoyable novel.

The story itself is enjoyable, with a vast number of characters that represent very different personalities and very accessible main characters that grow and make mistakes and become mature adults as we read. In fact this is initially the hardest thing about reading the book: getting used to all the Russian sounding names ( I’m still not positive I have all the Maryas straight). I do, however, take some exception to how some characters seem to be abandoned by Tolstoy. For Example, Sonya, the loveable and loyal orphaned niece of the Rostovs, is a character that endears herself early in the book, but by the end her story goes nowhere and the story ends without any sort of resolution to her affairs. It’s as though Tolstoy just couldn’t find a way to give her a good ending, so he just gave up on her and moved her to the background. The greatest achievement of this work, however, is it’s endearment of the Russian culture.

I loved how this novel pulled me into Russian culture and revealed a side of the people to which I’ve never been exposed. Like Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” which presents a rich and lovely view of Afghanistan before the Taliban, “War and Peace” presents a pleasant and homey view of Russian life in the early 19th century that makes it seem as though Russia would be a nice place to live, and like Charles Dickens’ in “David Copperfield”, Tolstoy’s writing style makes you feel like you are pleasantly moving along with the lives of the characters, with no huge climaxes or lulls, but just a consistent narrative of the interesting parts of their daily lives.
Perhaps the greatest value of this book was exposed when I was watching the Olympics in February. Being a child who grew up at the end of the “Cold War” between the USSR and the United States, I have almost always looked on the Russian people with a tinge of fear and a feeling of pride (the bad, you-lost-we-won, gloating kind of pride). After reading this book I was watching the opening ceremonies for the Vancouver Olympics, and when the Russian athletes appeared I saw a people I loved and felt a connection with; a people with whom I would like to spend time and become friends. There is probably no greater value in a work of literature than to bridge a gap between “opposing” cultures in this way.

Noel’s Miracle – G. Philip Ungricht

“Noel’s Miracle” written by an acquaintance of mine, G. Philip Ungricht is a heartwarming story, but lacks a certain degree of believability. This is the story of a man who loves Christmas and the story of Jesus Christ’s birth that it represents, and how his passion for Christmas changes the lives of those around him, especially the life of his treating physician. While I enjoyed this book (and laughed & cried while reading it), the story had several areas that needed refining as the believability of the story. Also, the occasional richness of the medical terminology, though adding to the authenticity of the storyline, actually detracted from the book, making it feel like we’d briefly stepped into a prime time medical drama rather than advancing the plot. Ungricht’s work, “Noel’s Miracle”, being only 163 reasonably-large-print pages, is a story worth taking the time to read, but it could use some further refinement for it to reach its potential of being a story you want to read every Christmas.

Managing to Stay Out of Court: How to Avoid the 8 Deadly Sins of Mismanagement – Jathan Janove, Esq.

The book “Managing to Stay Out of Court: How to Avoid the 8 Deadly Sins of Mismanagment” by Jathan Janove, Esq. is an interesting look at management from the perspective of someone who has gleaned his information from lawsuits. In the end he basically recommends honesty, openness, communication and respect as being the best management style, especially if you don’t want to get sued for firing someone who isn’t performing well enough for the needs of the business. This book is worth reading just for the stories that Janove relates from his career, some of which are quite eye opening.

For example, his story about a suit regarding untruthfully good reviews was very revealing to me. A terminated employee sued his former employer (and won) because his reviews had always claimed he was doing a good job, and when he was terminated he argued that he now was no longer able to get a job at the level he had been previous employed because his employer had lied to him about what the expectations were for accomplishing that sort of job. It reminded me that “lying to be nice” is just a way to avoid potential confrontation, and is fact a terrible way to treat people who report to you in the workplace. I suspect it’s a bad habit in the rest of life as well.

Dune - Frank Herbert

“Dune” by Frank Herbert is a very compelling science-fiction classic that probably deserves its acclaim of “Science Fiction’s Supreme Masterpiece”, but that is more because science fiction is often not very compelling than because of this work’s value. This book can be long and tedious, and occasionally lacks clarity, but all in all it is an interesting story.

This book develops slowly. The extreme detail that Frank Herbert put into this work is impressive, but occasionally the detail seems to get a little muddled and it becomes difficult to understand. I would have gladly sacrificed some detail for clarity at these times.

I did love the premise of the story that in times long past mankind had outlawed “thinking machines” (computers). The lack of fancy computers and robots made the space travel and other futuristic experiences seem more authentic.

I also enjoyed the idea that a sacred mystic organization would send “missionaries” to a planet’s indigenous population in order to create religions with “Messiah” prophecies which future generations of the mystic society could fulfill. I find it difficult to suspend my disbelief that this would ever successfully be carried out and remain undetected by any organizations other than the mystic one even after centuries, but it was interesting to see all the pieces of the ancient plan fall together.

One statement in the book bothered me. Paul, the “messiah” and protagonist of the book, at one time flaunts his power over an antagonist and explains that “the power to destroy a thing is the absolute control over it.” I strongly disagree with this statement. Destructive power is easy compared to constructive power, and represents much less control. The power to destroy a beautiful vase is nothing compared to the power to create it, and all control is lost in the former case whereas the latter retains control indefinitely. The power to preserve the vase is also greater and represents more control than the power to destroy it. I find the idea than destructive power is absolute control to be just plain wrong, and the statement diminishes Paul as a protagonist whom you want to succeed. That said, from reviews I’ve read about later books in the Dune series where it seems Paul becomes the antagonist, it is entirely possible that this statement was set in place on purpose by Herbert to foreshadow Paul’s descent from protagony.

I definitely recommend “Dune” by Frank Herbert if you enjoy highly detailed literature and you are a fan of science fiction. However, if either of these criteria do not fit you, I suspect you will find the book tedious, and the storyline not interesting enough to sustain your interest throughout the read.

Parenting Beyond Belief - edited by Dale McGowan

If God didn’t exist, I would probably be an atheist.

This thought occurred to me several times as I read this collection of essays. “Parenting Beyond Belief” edited by Dale McGowan is a book that I found mostly interesting, but I don’t really recommend it.

I was excited to read this book in the interest of understanding how a system of morality is obtained and taught to children without including belief in God or some other higher authority. This book does contain information about this, but is much more evangelical of atheism than I was hoping.

I did like a few things. For example, the contrasting essays on Santa Claus covered many interesting points in favor and against establishing a belief in your children that you believe to be false. Having come from a family where Santa Claus was not taught as anything other than fiction (and having subsequently felt that I had lost out on a rite of childhood), I appreciated the differing perspectives on the subject. I also liked the chapter on Darwin’s Origin of Species. Darwin’s opus has been vilified in so many ways that I’ve never had the chance to see it as the fruit of a man who was passionate to discover and explain the world as he was able to observe it. Subjects such as these were definitely interesting to read and explore.

However, in the end, I didn’t really enjoy reading “Parenting Beyond Belief.” While it was interesting to get a perspective on morality of those who do not believe in a personable and responsive deity, it often times felt more like reading the boastings of arrogant men and women, rather than reading the caring words of people who actually had compassion for the welfare of their fellow parents. I was hoping for the latter.

The Chronicles of Narnia - C.S. Lewis

I enjoyed rereading the Chronicles of Narnia series. While as a series it is fairly disjunct, there are parts of it that I love. Most of those parts include Aslan.

I love how Aslan is written in these books as he encompasses so many of my feelings for God: The grandeur and the intimacy; Being loving and personal, but full of infinite wisdom and knowledge. Like a friend you trust that occasionally will be so brutally honest that you are cut to your soul and feel an exposed, burning pain worse than any you’ve known, but once you’ve healed you realize that a persistent nagging pain is gone and that the scar the cut left behind is as valuable to you as your life. This is what I feel about Aslan as I read him in the books, and he seems to be an excellent allegorical figuration of my feelings about God.

It’s interesting to contrast these feelings with those from the notoriously “anti-Narnian” series by Philip Pullman, the “His Dark Materials” trilogy. There isn’t a single character in “His Dark Materials” that doesn’t at some point succeed in making me feel frustrated, hopeless and cynical, with the possible exception of the polar bear king, Iorek Byrnison. I like the “His Dark Materials” series, but an uplifting tail it isn’t.

My recommendation is to read “The Chronicles of Narnia”, and probably reread the series once ever decade or so, if for no other reason than to be able to relive in print some of your feelings for your Heavenly Father. My apologies to all the atheists (and other humanist types) who don’t choose to regard those feelings as valuable.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling

“Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” by J. K. Rowling is an outstanding second offering in the heptilogy of Harry Potter. Though this book is a sequel, it has a very unique story line that builds nicely on the first. The characters mature in this second book into much more unique and three-dimensional elements, which further enrich the story and the world that we explore with Harry. If you liked the first book, you will like the second.

First some plot items I like in this book. I loved the flying car. The way it plays such a major role in the book is just fun, but it makes me disappointed that after this book it isn’t heard from again. I would have loved to at least have found its remains and had a brief eulogy, say, in book seven? I also like the crucial role that Ron’s wand plays throughout the book. On top of that you add mandrakes, giant pumpkins, freaky spiders, parsel-tongue and so many other items that make this second edition in the study of the “science” of magic very enjoyable.

In addition the characters all get a dose of richness in this second novel. Each character is unique and fully emotive in the text. Hagrid is simple of speech but incredibly good hearted and brilliant with magical creatures. Gilderoy Lockhart is conceited and fairly incompetent, but extremely cunning. Tom Riddle is unscrupulously motivated to better his abilities regardless of the expense of others, an obsession that thoroughly lays the foundation for his future exploits. Harry is good-hearted, insecure and full of the self-important poor judgment that I remember having when I was twelve. Dumbledore matures significantly in this book, from the kind-but-extremely-eccentric headmaster of the first book to a competent and loving grandfather figure. Severus Snape’s actions in this book are a little harsher than I would expect given his motivation (as revealed in book seven), but not unreasonable. Character after character is unique and consistent in the way they use words, in the way the circumstances affect them emotionally and in the actions that they choose. If you read “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” for no other reason, then read it just to observe the beautifully crafted characters.

This second novel in the Harry Potter series builds and matures from the first into a very pleasant reading experience. The bottom line is that if you enjoyed reading the first book, then the depth and colors of the plot and characters in “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” will enhance your appreciation of J. K. Rowling’s expressive and clear style of writing, and you will thoroughly enjoy this book.

The Five Love Languanges by Gary Chapman

I enjoyed reading “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman and I highly recommend it as your next “self-help” style book. The ideas presented by the book are original and insightful, and have proven to be of great worth to me. This book is so good, in fact, that it deserves a place in everyone’s library.

First some history on why I chose to read this book. It was given to me probably 6 or 7 years ago by someone I am close to, but after discussing the book with this someone it seemed to me that they wanted me to read this so that I would see a justification for them cheating on their spouse. I wanted nothing to do with the book from that point on. It is likely that I still would not have read the book, but the someone passed away this past year, and I was able to finally “forgive” the book for being (to me) a symbol of their disloyalty to their spouse. Having read the book I can see that there is certainly no way anyone can justify using the principles of the book as reasons to cheat.

The ideas of this book are probably the only truly original ideas in improving relationships that I’ve read since reading “Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus” by John Gray, which is interesting in part because they share the same copyright date (1992). The ideas presented revolve around the five “love languages,” which are Acts of Service, Physical Touch, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts and Words of Affirmation. All five are presented as having some importance, but the author claims that everyone has one of these “languages” that is their primary need in a relationship. These languages are prefaced by a description of the “falling in love” experience and why it seems to go away. The author argues that “falling in love” is a wonderful experience that serves to bring people together and cause the propagation of mankind but is mostly accomplished without conscious choices, whereas loving someone beyond the 2 years or so that the “in love” feeling lasts is a constant choice. This assessment is very well supported by the author as well as by my own experience in my eleven years of marriage. Also, the chapter on finding the love languages of your children provides a great framework for seeking to show affection to your kids in ways that they will be most open to accepting. My wife and I still discuss the ideas in this chapter on children’s love languages regularly.

I am very grateful that I was able to read “The Five Love Languages” right after it was read by my wife. Being able to discuss this book together has lead to several positive revelations in our marriage. For example, I enjoy some extravocational activities that take a lot of time away from home to accomplish. In times that I’ve participated in these activities my wife has been frustrated and felt that I was choosing these activities because I didn’t like her and didn’t want to be around her. From this, we assumed that if I just spent more time at home she would feel better, but even as my time with her increased, she did not feel more loved. I abandoned the extravocational activities altogether, and even limited my work hours for a time, and it seemed that things were getting worse. This was extremely frustrating for both of us. It seemed that when I was away that all she wanted was for me to be home, but when I was home it seemed that all she wanted was for me to leave her alone. After reading the different descriptions of the love languages, we both have come to the conclusion that what she wants is NOT quality time, but rather acts of service. She was frustrated when I was trying to spend quality time with her, because what she really wanted was for me to help with the sweeping, the dishes, the laundry, cleaning toilets, vacuuming, yard work, changing diapers, kids’ baths – all things I was neglecting so that I could spend more time with her. I’ve been focusing on doing service to show my affection since this discovery, and it has made a big difference in both her feelings about my desire to participate in activities outside the home, as well as my own frustrations because now I understand how I can prioritize my time when I’m home to help her feel that I do love her. I’ve also finally been able to accept that when she does acts of service for me, it is not because she thinks I am incompetent or unwilling to do the tasks, but rather she is just showing her affection in a way that is natural to her. These changes in my attitude and perception may seem simple and obvious, but to me they were life changing.

This is a book that should be available to you on a bookshelf in your home. It is not a thorough psychological explanation of the concepts that are presented, but the book is very well organized for understanding the concepts, and the examples given lend a great deal of support from the author’s experiences that are easy to read and digest. This book can be valuable to everyone regardless of experience, religion or state of relationship if you are willing to contemplate and apply the principles that are given.

“The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman, is a book you should read and own. The concepts in the book give some of the best advice on showing love that I’ve ever come across, and it is full of truly original and well supported ideas on how to improve your relationship with your loved ones, be it spouse, children or anyone else. In my own experience I’ve found the book to be an extremely valuable resource that I continue to reference for ideas for showing affection to my wife in ways she will most appreciate it, and I’ve even been adapting the ideas at work to help make the “attaboys” more personal and enjoyable for my team members. You should take the opportunity to read this book; it will help you by revealing more choices for how you can show your love more effectively in your relationships.

The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger

I’ll try to keep this review brief, because I really did not enjoy reading this book. There are a few things, in retrospect, that I find redeeming about “The Catcher in the Rye” by J. D. Salinger, including that it does a good job putting you inside the mind of a person exhibiting traits consistent with mental disorder. With that in mind, this book is controversial enough (and short enough) that you should probably read it and form your own opinion.

I did not find this book to be pleasant reading. The number one reason I found reading this book to be laborious was due to the frequent use of “the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” (Exodus 20:7). Having to navigate through the text while trying to deal with the frequent betrayal of the third commandment made it difficult to relax and just read. I may have been able to get past that if the story was interesting, but it is rather boring and uninspiring. The characters all seem to be angry or hypocritical or both, without much difference between the characters. Granted, this may be on purpose because of the perspective of the narrator of the book. This leads to some qualities that, having completed my reading, I’ve determined that I liked.

“The Catcher in the Rye” is written from the perspective of Holden Caulfield, who appears in the text to be suffering from manic depression. This was the most interesting part of the book, and it didn’t really spark my interest until after I had finished reading. Even the use of God’s name in vain, along with other mild to moderate language used in the book exhibits as a symptom of the mental disorder. If “The Catcher in the Rye” has any real value, it may be in being able to see many of the traits of manic depression in a believable context.

A hidden gem in this book comes in the form of a teacher quoting Wilhem Stekel in the 24th chapter as he tries to communicate his concern as to the path Holden is taking in his life. The quote is, “the mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.” This quote is embedded in the middle of one of the best arguments for pursuing education and the value of applying yourself therein that I have read, which culminates in the words “…nine times out of ten [brilliant and creative men who are educated and scholarly] have more humility than the unscholarly thinker.” This thought that knowledge in the mind of a brilliant thinker will mature into humility is an idea that has great merit, and certainly deserves contemplation. This is, at least, a good reason to read the 24th chapter.

There are also other reasonable arguments for why you should read this book. It does give an interesting perspective of the culture of New York in the 1950’s. Also, the narration of the story is very fractured, almost like reading many short stories along the central story’s path, but it always maintains forward momentum, which is different than other books I’ve read. If the main plot was interesting this bird-walking narrative style probably could have made the novel quite compelling. The lack of conclusion to the story would usually ruin a book, but in this case it fits the book well, which is another aspect that could have been quite compelling if the story was enjoyable. Furthermore, Holden’s contrast in feelings for his siblings compared to his feelings towards the rest of the world is actually very interesting, and again would be great support for a decent plot. I don’t know that these are great reasons to read the book, but they at least make the time spent reading not seem completely wasted.

I don’t recommend “The Catcher in the Rye” as a must read, but its notoriety alone probably makes it a book you should read. While you will probably not enjoy the book if your background is similar to mine, there are some aspects of the book that make it unique and interesting enough to warrant spending the time to read it.

One word of caution, however: If you want to express a negative opinion of the book, don’t do so without reading it first.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling

"Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone" by J. K. Rowling is a book I highly recommend, especially if, like me, it’s been 7 or 8 years since you’ve been through the text. I have a few grievances with the book, make no mistake, but this book is definitely entertaining, with complicated and contrasting characters and personable heroes in a rich, multilayered environment of discovery and mystery. If you haven’t read this book, you should read it.

I originally included a section here on why having a book about magic is not evil, but it doesn’t really fit in this review. I’ve included the text in a post-script if you would like to read it.

Allow me to vent for a moment. This book is actually called “Harry Potter and the PHILOSPHER’S Stone.” Why do we have the version we have? The philosopher’s stone is an actual legend (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosopher%27s_stone) and Nicolas Flamel was an actual person tied to the legend (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolas_Flamel). The “sorcerer’s” stone isn’t anything. I know, it’s not really a big deal, but I just wish the “American” version wasn’t the less interesting version, that’s all. Don’t get me wrong, some of the changes between the two books do improve the readability (http://www.hp-lexicon.org/about/books/ps/differences-ps.html), my issue is just with the substitution of “sorcerer” for “philosopher”. It also begs the question: in the movie, did they shoot two separate scenes for every section that included the phrase “sorcerer’s stone”? Do Britain’s see a different movie than I do? Does this British version come in a format that you can watch in the US? So many unanswered questions!!! (Alright, so in today’s wiki-age there’s no such thing as an unanswered question: see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Potter_and_the_Philosopher under “Filming”.)

Believe it or not, this is actually the first time I’ve read “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, and I’ve never actually read any of the other books in the Harry Potter series. That’s not to say I don’t know the text; all of the books have been read to me in their entirety by my wife, Britt. However, this being the first time that I’ve read the text myself made the reading an interesting experience, and made the story seem very fresh. Knowing how the entire series transpires and resolves makes the wonderful Easter eggs throughout the book more interesting (like the mention of Serious Black in the first chapter). The biggest strength of the book is the dynamic range in the personalities of its characters, but a close second is the setting of Hogwarts. This setting allows for a very natural introduction and exposition of many magical ideas, and allows for a nearly unlimited number of contrasting plot developments. The end is exciting and riveting, but I do have to say that I prefer the movie’s rendering of the ultimate foiling of the villain to that of the book; the book’s version just seems much…wetter. Harry Potter is an unlikely and endearing hero, and his friends contrast him so perfectly that the story ends up demonstrating many valuable life-lessons, like the value of teamwork, integrity and courage. A telling mark of an enduring book is its ability to be interesting the second time you read the story, and this is a quality that exists very solidly in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.”

Needless to say, I highly recommend the book. Despite my frustrations with the removal of “Philosopher’s Stone” from the American version, I find the book to be well written, interesting and very entertaining. If you haven’t read this book, you should borrow a copy today from your friend who keeps bugging you to read it. The book is good enough that you won’t even mind that smug I-told-you-so look on their face.

P.S.
I’d like to put in a plug for why the use of magic in a story plot is NOT evil. I certainly understand why magic can seem inappropriate when you try to mesh it into a spiritual context. Magic can certainly be presented as the antithesis of the power of God. When we see Jesus Christ use the power of God in the scriptures, it often seems like magic, but Christ makes it clear that he is doing the will of the Father and not his own will, and he often attributes the ability for the power to work to a trait (namely faith) in the receiver of the power. This fits the best definition I’ve heard for the ability to wield God’s power: It is the ability to serve others. Contrast this with magic, which is usually depicted as being mastered by an individual so that it can be forced to do their will. Likewise, incantations are the antithesis to prayer. Prayer is an act of seeking to communicate with a supernatural superior, and thereafter trying to learn what answers have come from the supplication. Again, the expectation is that no matter what is prayed for, the answer will be according to God’s will, not according to the will of the party who is praying. Incantations, on the other hand, are repetitive phrases that can force the supernatural power to submit to the one saying the incantation. I could go on, but I think it is clear why some seem to think that magic and religion collide so viciously; it is because some would have you believe that they are competing for legitimacy.

There are two ideas, then, as to what magic power is. One idea is that for magic to exist, God could not, and therefore to suggest that magic exists is to suggest that God does not exist. The other idea is that to study magic is to seek power from those who oppose God. This is not how it magic treated in “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”.

In this book, magic is just a cool version of science. Some examples? Herbology, the study of magical plants and their uses, is akin to many ways we study plants in the real world, just more interesting. Aloe Vera soothes your skin (boring); magical plants can make you breathe underwater (cool). Potions is magical chemistry. Mix the wrong chemicals in the real world and your explosion will likely kill you (scary, dangerous); Add porcupine quills before taking your cauldron of the fire and the explosion will be painful, amusing and immediately reversible (funny, poor old Neville, why is Snape so mean?). In “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, magic is treated as a source of power (akin to electricity) that taps into both the supernatural and emotional world around us, and Hogwarts school is dedicated to the science of how to use this source of power. Magic, then, is a mixture of science with imagination, and adding imagination to science is interesting, entertaining and valuable. It is NOT evil.

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

“Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand was a very difficult book to read, because it is not an interesting narrative whose purpose is to weave a story and suspend the conclusion for the entertainment of the reader, but is rather a very, very, very long parable designed to effectively prove the validity of a philosophy, namely objectivism. While Ayn Rand did an extremely good job of presenting her philosophy in “Atlas Shrugged” and wrapping it in a narrative that was often compelling, her book fails to be great fiction and should rather be read for non-fictional purposes as a means for understanding the intricate details of the application of objectivism. As a parable, “Atlas Shrugged” is very compelling and applicable in today’s political climate. While I don’t recommend “Atlas Shrugged” as a great novel, I do recommend you read this book if you feel that the wealthy business owners are robbing their workers of compensation that is the laborers’ entitlement.

Yes, you can.

“Atlas Shrugged” is a science fiction novel that follows the American political system through a collapse due to introduction of “emergency” laws that bring a socialistic system of rule, during which the opposition to these “emergency” laws is not to fight them, but to stop producing commodities that can be seized by those in power. People are divided into producers, competent laborers and moochers (also called rotters, leeches, looters and other names). Generally, producers create things (ore from a mine, crops from a farm, well-crafted art, realistic philosophies, scientific break-throughs), competent laborers work hard and successfully for these producers to enable there production and wealth (and are well compensated for their efforts) and the moochers try to manipulate moral codes to shame the producers and competent laborers into giving the moochers a portion of their wealth for reasons that only manipulated moral codes justify. Politicians in this book are universally in the category of the moocher (one of the leading moochers is even named Wesley Mooch). Successful and competent businessmen are producers. Dishonest and scheming businessmen are moochers. Competent laborers are highly valued by the producers and feared/despised by the moochers. This classification stems from the basic tenets of objectivism, which is, according Ayn Rand:
1) “Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.” – You can’t master science by pretending the laws of nature don’t exist.
2) “You can’t eat your cake and have it too” – You can’t consume something and expect it to still be there.
3) “Man is an end in himself” – Seeking your own survival as a rational being is the most basic virtue.
4) “Give me liberty or give me death” – Trading value for value by mutual consent is good; Forcing the exchange of goods with threat of force is bad. Redistributing wealth is evil.

As a novel, “Atlas Shrugged” starts with promise but ends up being boring and long. The story itself seems to grind to a halt in part three of the book and the reader must trudge through endless pages of essays on objectivism to come to the somewhat anticlimactic conclusion. If you boiled out all of the essays and made the novel to contain just the story, it wouldn’t be considered a great story.

The heroine of the story, the railroad executive named Dagny Taggart, is compelling but fairly disloyal and wishy-washy in her relationships. This is presented as a virtue, because to be loyal would be to deny her true feelings. As a heroine of objectivism I’m sure Dagny Taggart is almost perfect…but as a human hero, her desires shift a bit too frequently to make her trustworthy.

As a parable, “Atlas Shrugged” is exceptional. By placing her philosophy in a very carefully controlled atmosphere she is able to manipulate a very persuasive argument for objectivism. Her characters choices are realistic and usually believable, making the characters themselves seem much more human, which in turn makes the events seem very plausible. Furthermore, the political environment created in the story was so similar to today’s that it was eerie. “Atlas Shrugged” serves objectivism well as a parable.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on the ideas of objectivism other than to say that I find it to be very interesting and to contain a lot of truth, but it is also rather self-promoting and inflammatory. Where Ayn Rand’s essays on objectivism become wearisome is when they start playing games with phrase meanings in order to illicit a response. For example, the “Love of money” in the 6th chapter of Timothy is akin to seeking to get gain without doing the work to produce, i.e. a robber loves money so he lies in wait to steal it. “Love of money” in objectivism is reinterpreted as the virtue of wanting to work hard to produce, akin to the attitudes of the first and second servants (given 5 and 2 talents) in the parable of the talents in Matthew chapter 25. The two ideas actually agree as to what the actual virtue is, so repurposing the phrase to try to create a division is frustrating.

If you want to read good fiction, pass over this novel. If you want to learn more about objectivism and have a chance to compare it and your philosophy, this novel will be a good one for you to read.

A word of warning, however: upon finishing this novel I didn’t want to read anything for several days because I was tired of trying to last through page after page of repetitive essays. No book should make you dislike reading; this one does.

Duwaigunali: Chapter 1

Gaindohi - gain-‘Doe-hee
Chunulay - ’Chew-‘New-lay
Duwaigunali - due-way-guh-‘Nah-lee

The sun was shining pleasantly in the sky as Jackson walked through his fields. He had always enjoyed farming, and this year was especially good for him. His corn was already up to the top of his head, and it still had several months of growing left to do. His wheat was coming in thick and strong, and, as he walked down the evenly spaced rows, the smell of his crops greeted him; a smell of sweet grass and earth. It was a smell that always reminded him of summers as a kid when he had helped his Dad in these same fields.

This has to be the best day that we’ve had yet this summer – thought Jackson – with the warmth of the sun in a cloudless sky, except for a few distant clouds behind the northwest mountains promising to bring some light rain this evening. It might be a good day to just sit outside, and maybe take a nap under a tree after lunch.

Jackson was so content that it took several moments before he realized that a woman was screaming.

It wasn’t a cry of pain or of grief. It was much more like the scream of terror a mother would give if the side of her house was crumbling and she looked out to see a thousand men tearing down her walls. It was a scream that captured that moment of awe in seeing such a sight, along with the realization that everything you’ve depended on for years is being turned to rubble and your safety has forever been compromised.

Jackson ran quickly toward the sound as what he assumed was a cloud cast a shadow briefly across the ground. He ran toward his neighbor’s home and saw in the distance his friend’s mother making the sound and staring at the southern sky behind him; screaming, but not moving.

A deafening roar knocked him to the ground.

The roar wasn’t savage like a beast seeking food nor was it a sound that brought terror at the fearful thought of what could produce the noise, but it was big, deep and loud. It started with a sound that was very similar to waves crashing into the seashore (that is, if you were standing under the waves when they crashed) and then expanded into the sound of a thousand of the lowest notes of the largest ram’s horns. The sound felt like it was taking root in the inside of his chest, vibrating everything including his heart, and then trailing off lower until he wasn’t sure he was hearing the roar anymore, but rather just feeling it in his bones. He felt paralyzed as he lay face down in thick grass, barely able to breathe until the roar stopped. As the mighty sound faded into the distant mountains, he took a deep breath and turned over.

Standing above him, three times the height of a horse, was a monster more fearsome than any childhood story had ever described. Its body was covered in black scales that looked like glassy lava rock, and it was clearly built for strength, with strong, thick shoulders rippling out to strong, thick forelegs that blocked the view of the lower half of its body. A neck as thick as an ancient tree sprung from between the shoulders and two large, thick and powerful looking wings sprouted from somewhere on the monster’s back. Glassy black horns ran down the monster’s neck like an aging mane. The fearsome face looked wise and terrible, with the features appearing like the cross between a lizard and a horse, but with green, piercing eyes that looked too clear to belong to a beast. The fluid lightly streaming from the edges of the eyes gave the creature the look of an ancient bleary-eyed wise man that has lost his mind and now endures the tortures of a paranoid insanity.

It took several moments for Jackson to realize what the beast was, and for good reason. He had never seen a dragon before.

Jackson drew in a breath to scream out his own involuntary cry, but before his fear found voice a dark blue flame burst from the dragon’s mouth and enveloped Jackson and the ground around him. The distant woman’s scream was no longer heard by Jackson, because he could only hear the fire raging across his body. He writhed under the flame as he felt his clothes being consumed from his skin and every inch of his exposed body burning, from the soles of his feet to top of his head, to the crevasses under his fingernails. Jackson gave himself up to the heat and the pain until, after what seemed like several agonizing minutes, the flames stopped. He opened his eyes and looked again into the black dragon’s eyes, but they were now wide with what looked like confusion. The fluid still glistened at the edges of the mystical lizard’s face as it swept forward to Jackson’s pain-weakened form below it, and with a deep inhale the beast pulled back, grunted with a low growling sound and leapt into the sky. As the beast flew off, Jackson noticed that the hindquarters, though not as massive as the monster’s shoulders, were no less muscular and a long tail as thick as the dragon’s neck and equal in length to the rest of the creature’s body trailed behind.

Jackson watched in awe as the dragon swiftly disappeared into the southern horizon. Looking around him he saw nothing but raw, rich, dark dirt for thirty feet in any direction. His arms and hands were cleaner than he’d ever been able to get them in a bath, and the skin was reddening as though he had been rubbing his whole body vigorously with a coarse cloth. A few scars from long-forgotten injuries radiated red and raw.

The pleasant summer breeze suddenly brought him to a realization that his clothes were completely gone. Jackson’s mind stopped trying to make sense of what had happened and flew into a flurry of protective reactions. He stood up and raced to his home, without any thought other than hoping that his departure was not being seen by his friend’s mother.

When he reached his home, he quickly dressed and, having no further sense of immediate need or purpose, he crashed to the floor as the gravity of what had just transpired came to him with as great a force as had the roar. He laid on the floor of his home weeping with relief and gratitude for his life being spared, and shaking with the terror he hadn’t had time to feel when the dragon was standing over him. He lay that way for several hours as his emotions had time to run their course and he finally relaxed and fell into a light, dreamless sleep.

He awoke to pounding on his door and a voice saying, “Jackson, are you in there! Sir Jackson of Gaindohi! Are you alright?” The voice was distantly familiar, but the last remnants of sleep were still clouding Jackson’s mind. As he opened his eyes he saw his door open and one of the king’s riders enter into his one-room home. The rider’s eyes opened wide as he saw Jackson on the floor. “Are you alright?” he asked with concern in his voice, “are you injured?”

“No, I’m fine,” Jack replied groggily, as he slowly lifted himself from the floor and discovered that his only pains were a kink in his neck and slight ache in the front and back of his head. “What are you doing here?”

The rider, his tone sounding like the conditioned response of a soldier, said, “I’ve been sent by the king to bring you to the castle.”

“Why?”

“Because of the…events that happened earlier,” the rider’s military tone faltered slightly, “He'll want to know what you saw and…how you survived.”

Jackson nodded slowly, grabbed his travelling cloak and walked out his door with the rider, who was looking at him just a bit too intently.

“Is everything alright?” Jack said, causing the rider to look away with a hint of embarrassment.

“Did … it … really breath fire on you?” the rider asked.

Jackson sighed and rubbed his forehead, “yeah, it did.”

“But your hair isn’t burned.”

Jackson ran his fingers through his hair, “no, I guess not.”

“Did it…hurt?”

“Yes … a lot,” Jackson replied, “look, let’s just go see the king. I’m sure he’ll want to hear all of this as well, and right now I’m not really up to talking about it.”

The rider blinked and nodded, and walked over to his horse. As the rider mounted and waited, Jackson went to the stable to saddle his horse, Chunulay, a strong workhorse with a white and brown hide, whose stockiness showed her strength but did not give any hints as to her incredible speed. That being accomplished, Jackson mounted as well and the two riders began to trot towards the center of the kingdom of Duwaigunali, towards the castle of King Robert.

After some time had passed, Jackson asked, “What do you think the king is going to do about all this?”

The rider replied, “Actually, that will probably be up to you.”

“What do you mean?”

The rider stopped his horse and turned to face Jackson. “The king doesn’t want you to come just to tell him the story,” the rider half smiled, “he wants you to renew your service to him.”

Next: Chapter 2

Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuaryby Brandon Mull

I like the Fablehaven series and this fourth installment is a good addition to the set, which (according to the back of the fourth book) will conclude in a fifth book due out sometime next year. “Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary” lacks the full emotional involvement that could catapult Mulls writing into the realm of the classics and suffers from some minor philosophical contradictions, but it is nevertheless an exciting and fresh story with unique characters and an unexpected conclusion.

Mull doesn’t fully develop the emotion of his stories, and this ends up hindering both the story and the speech of some of his characters. For example, in “Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary” chapter 3 should be read before chapter 2. The 3rd chapter of the book (along with pieces of chapter 5) weaves an immensely emotion story that tears at your hopes and bolsters your fears, and makes you anxious to read on for a resolution, desperately hoping that Mull has a way to undo everything that he has done. At least, that’s how you would feel if you hadn’t spoiled it by reading chapter 2, pre-empting the emotional investment you could have made and the wonderful sense of unexpected relief that chapter 2 could have given you (by the way, there is a very similar situation in Book Two: “Rise of the Evening Star”; Chapter 13 should be read before chapter 12). Seth and Kendra’s grandparents also suffer emotionally in the story, often sounding very detached and business-like when they speak to Seth or Kendra, rather than sounding like a grandparent that truly loves and adores their grandchild and therefore can’t help but let that adoration make their communication more intimate. This lack of emotion doesn’t ruin the story by any means, but it is one of the things that keep the books of this series from being books that you are anxious to read again.

The books of the Fablehaven series also suffer from a few contradictions, and this fourth book is no exception. For example, Fairy’s are presented as not being able to be good or bad because they don’t really choose to do good things, and yet some of the fairies make choices that separate them as clearly being more trustworthy and friendly than other fairies. Another contradiction is how deception is treated in the “Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary”. Betrayal and deception are the cornerstone of the evils of the book, and yet the “good” caretakers employ similar deceptive tactics in betraying the trust of some of the creatures on their reserve, justifying the deception and betrayal because of their need and the difficulty of dealing truthfully with the creatures. Honesty and integrity are the most important tenets of the “good” heroes I want to believe in, and if a hero must deceive I anxiously await the moment when all is revealed. A hero willing to permanently deceive others for sake of convenience is not the hero I want to stand behind, and these types of heroes should be presented as characters whose integrity needs to mature. Once again, however, these contradictions are minor annoyances, and don’t detract much from the story.

What makes this book worth reading is the story, and the rich array of characters and creatures that are a part of its world of magic. The creatures are exciting to learn about; some of the dragons introduced in this installment being especially interesting. The ending twist caught me completely off-guard, which hasn’t happened in even some of my favorite books. If anything, my criticisms described in the previous two paragraphs are the result of my love for the story of the Fablehaven series, and the rich magical world in which Mull immerses the reader. The contrast and collaborative possibilities presented in “Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary” that result from the special magical abilities that have been granted to Seth and Kendra are possibly some of my favorites in any book that I’ve read. I am hoping strongly that the conclusion of the series in book five, “Keys to the Demon Prison,” will be inextricably dependent upon some great power that can only be wielded by these two young heroes.

The fourth installment of the Fablehaven series, “Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary” is a book worth reading (after the first, second and third books, naturally). I wish that the stories were a little more refined to my taste, but they are still wonderful stories that are well written. Brandon Mull is an author that I will keep on the list of those whose books I am interested in reading.

All-American Girl

In 1948 the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League was in its sixth year and looked as though it would continue to draw crowds long into the future. The war that had conceived the girls league in 1943 had ended, but the league continued to draw huge crowds to their games. The AAGPBL was doing well enough that it easily supported ten teams.

The Rockford Peaches had a new player that year whose name was Riian, and she was destined to be the star of the team. Early in the year she had a batting average of .324 with only Audrey Wagner anywhere near her in the standings. In runs batted in only Dorothy Shroeder was near Riian’s numbers that year. She and Alice Haylett were the top pitchers of the league, both with almost perfect records and earned run averages under one. Everyone, from the bum on the street to the Wall Street executives, agreed that Riian was the best player in all the AAGPBL.

Even though Riian was excelling, the Rockford Peaches were struggling. Early in the season, with only ten wins and a disheartening sixteen losses, they had fallen to the lowest ranks of the league (well behind the Springfield Sallies) and Coach Allington didn’t know what was to be done. Riian was a clear stand out, but the other girls struggled in hitting, pitching and fielding, so it became very difficult to win games when Riian wasn’t on the mound.

Riian loved being the best at what she did. She worked very hard in batting practice so that she could not only hit the ball well, but also gain a lot of control over where the ball would go when she hit it. She’d spent years working on her pitching, so that now it felt like she just had to think and the ball would do what she wanted. Knowing that she had become the best player in the league gave her a wonderful feeling, but she was also very frustrated that her team kept struggling to win games.

It was in the 22nd game of the Rockford Peaches’ season that Riian began to watch the other girls on her team to see if she could determine ways they might be able to improve as a team. After all, these girls were all good ball players; it didn’t make sense that their team would lose so consistently. They were playing the Peoria Redwings on a warm and humid day in the early part of June. Riian watched as the other girls batted, and she noted that her teammate Jenna “Dottie” Kamenshek was doing well, and just needed to swing a little more level and she’d be able to start batting with much more power, accuracy and consistency. Riian got very excited and after the game (which, unfortunately, they lost) she told Jenna what she had seen.

“Could you help me level out my swing?” Jenna asked after Riian had explained her observation, “I would love to start hitting better!”

“Definitely,” Riian promised, and at the very next practice Riian helped Jenna learn the different techniques that would help. Soon, some of the other girls came over and Riian was able to watch each of them and help them improve their batting as well. The whole team became very excited at what they were learning, and Riian found she was really enjoying helping her teammates improve.

The Rockford Peaches won the next five games.

The team was ecstatic! They still struggled when Riian wasn’t pitching, but they were now much better as a team when it came to batting averages and runs batted in. Everyone was thrilled.

Everyone, that is, except Riian. She had been happy to help the other girls get better and winning the games was great, but Jenna had just passed her batting average and RBIs for the season. For the first time that year Riian wasn’t the best batter on the team. In the next few games Riian’s frustration grew as she fell into a slump and didn’t get on base for several games, games which her team lost.

During this time, Riian began to watch some of the other pitchers on the team, and she noticed that Carly “Eleanor” Callow looked very adept at hurling. All she needed was to improve her balance during her windup and perhaps try throwing a couple of new pitches, and Carly could easily be the best pitcher on the team. After the Peaches fourth loss in a row, Riian approached Carly and explained her thoughts in regards to Carly’s pitching.

“Can you show me how to do that?” Carly questioned after Riian had expounded, “I really want to become a better pitcher.”

At the Rockford Peaches’ next practice Riian and Carly began working on pitching techniques, including how to throw curveballs and knuckleballs. Soon the other pitchers on the team were asking Riian to help them as well, and they were all improving.

Once again, the efforts had a tremendous effect on the team’s performance, and they started winning a lot of their games. Throughout the season, their games became some of the most interesting to watch, and members of the crowd were often heard to call the Rockford Peaches the “most talented team in the entire All-American Girls Professional Baseball League.” They did so well, in fact, that they ended the season with the third-best record in the league, having won seventy-four games and lost forty-nine.

Riian, again, was happy but frustrated. She loved that her team was doing so well, but the end of the season had come and she was no longer the best at batting and pitching on her team. Jenna had ended the season with a batting average of .311 and 98 RBIs while Riian had come in second with an average of .310 and with 92 RBIs. Carly had finished the season with a win-loss record of 23-7 and an earned run average of .81, whereas Riian had struggled at the end of the season and had ended with a record of 22-8 and an earned run average of .85. With the playoffs approaching, Riian resolved that she would do everything she could to improve her batting and pitching so that she could have statistics that were better than those of Carly and Jenna.

Riian worked hard. In the post season games, she batted and pitched better than she ever had before. Jenna and Carly watched her improve and sought to improve along with her. The Rockford Peaches dominated the post season as these teammates competed with each other and helped each other refine their skills. They rallied against the Grand Rapids Chicks in the final games and won the league championship!

After the game, Coach Allington helped lead a celebration in honor of the girls’ achievements. Near the end of the festivities, it became time to announce the team’s Most Valuable Player.

“The recipient of this award has been difficult to single out, since we have had several top performers this season.” Coach Allington began.

Riian’s hopes began to rise. She felt certain that she had done the best she possibly could in the post season, and she desperately hoped it would be enough for the award.

“First we considered Carly, who ends the year as our number one pitcher!” At this the girls erupted in applause and cheering. The coach continued, “Her contribution was a major part of our ability to earn this championship, but she is not the one who earns our MVP award tonight!”

The cheers were replaced by a soft, interested whisper among the teammates. Riian, whose heart had sunk slightly at the news that Carly had finished as the top hurler, glanced at Carly and was surprised to see that Carly was looking at her and smiling warmly.

“Next, we considered our best batter of the season, Jenna!” Again the girls applauded joyfully. “But once again she was not the one who we chose.”

The murmur from the girls was much louder this time. Riian was a mix of joy and sorrow now, being happy that Jenna had done so well, but having realized that she was not going to be the best at anything this season. Looking up at Jenna with a fleeting tear of disappointment in her eye, Riian noticed that Jenna, too, was smiling at her. Her eyes widened as her hope rose again. The coach continued.

“Our MVP, however, did much more than have the best stats for our team. Our MVP recognized that she could help her teammates become better, and then dedicated herself to finding ways for them to improve. Our MVP also became one of the very best pitchers and hitters in the league, and without her we would never have reached this championship. Because of her, we are this year’s champions. Our MVP is…”

Coach Allington paused for effect, and the girls were unable to contain their cheers. All eyes were on Riian now, and Riian’s eyes filled with a few more tears that helped clear away their disappointed predecessors.

“RIIAN!”

The cheers were deafening now. Jenna and Carly came over to give Riian a big hug. “I knew he was going to pick you,” confided Jenna, “I just knew it!” “Me, too,” agreed Carly, “I can’t think of anyone who deserves it more than you.”

…

Riian stayed on with the Rockford Peaches for two more incredible seasons before giving up the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League before the 1951 season to raise a family in her hometown. She later taught math and coached the girls’ softball team at the local high school for thirty-one years, and helped lead them to nineteen championship games, of which they won twelve.

Her family always remembers her as being very helpful, and very happy.

The End