“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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The 360 Degree Leader by John C. Maxwell

I have to admit that I haven’t read a lot of leadership books, and so my take on “The 360 Degree Leader” by John C. Maxwell may be a little naïve, but I liked this book and think it is worth reading. I would highly recommend it to anyone who desires to be a leader in any organization.




One of my favorite books on leadership is “The 7 Habits of Highly Successful People” by Steven R. Covey. This book, published in 1989, has many ideas that are so engrained into business now that they have become cliché (e.g. being proactive & synergy) , but one idea that especially struck me was that of the abundance mentality. This idea is that you, a person in a business, a family or other cooperative organization, do not have to take from others in your organization in order to advance, but rather everyone in your organization can advance if they are willing to continue to add value to themselves and to each other.

“The 360 Degree Leader” expands on the abundance mentality by presenting ideas on how a “middle management” leader can support those who lead him, learn and grow alongside his peers and teach & help develop those whom he leads. The principles that John C. Maxwell teaches and evangelizes persuade that by doing everything you can to help others in your organization, while doing your own job well, you will not only improve your organization, but also improve your own influence, leadership skills and eventually your own financial compensation.

The book is written in a very easy to read style that helped it avoid the dry-textbook style I was fearing when I first decided to read it. Maxwell has filled his book with personal, historical and biblical stories that help to support his principles as he presents them, and which make it easy to continue reading.

One of my favorite stories he presents is the account of Nehemiah as a “middle management” leader who is allowed by the ruler to rebuild Jerusalem. This story lead me to think of many biblical accounts, such as Joseph (of Egypt), Daniel, David, Esther and others who had great influence as “middle management” and helped me understand just how important those who lead in the middle can be.

The principle that made the highest impact on me in this book was the idea that a leader should see everyone whom he leads as a “10”. I have a tendency to try and determine the limitations of those I lead and then try to do the best with what is left, instead of embracing the idea that they not only CAN do better, but also WANT to be better than they are. If I’m not willing to believe they can be one of the best producers and leaders in my organization, why on earth would they trust me enough to let me influence their growth? Changing this part of my leadership mentality will probably be the biggest initial growth that this book inspires in sme.

My only real issue with the book is that it feels like John C. Maxwell is not fully focused on what he is trying to teach, and therefore the book doesn’t seem to be as important to him as other things might be. The simple fact that this is one of over 40 books that he has written on many topics, and that his focus seems to be torn between his organizations, his public speaking and the production of his books, makes it seem as though there could be a much more concise and focused version of what he is teaching if he would spend more time and energy distilling and researching the ideas. This isn’t a major problem for the book, just a nagging personal feeling. I’m much more likely to trust insights if they represent a heavy investment of the author, rather than just one of a few dozen concepts that have been fleshed out into a 300+ page book.
However, as I have mentioned above, the principles taught in this book are sound and worth adopting. I think anyone who invests their time in reading this book will easily reap sufficient benefits to make the time worthwhile if they are willing to continue to change themselves and put into practice at least a subset of the principles taught.