I have always wondered if reading more makes you less inclined towards being surprised.

The more an individual delves into fiction and its allies – comprising of thrillers and mysteries to drama and socio-political sagas, the more one becomes attuned to the various tones an author is likely to adapt to as he moves with his story.

More often, the language usage too becmes predictable and in time it becomes difficult to segregate authors with style and well, most authors. I often read in many blogs and articles that provide tips for wannabe authors and writers – “The purpose of writing is not to create something new (which is very rare). It is in fact, taking in all you knwo into a mixer grinder and preparing the best possible coriander chutney that has all possible flavours and spices known to you.”

The idea is to create an amalgamation of the best you know (from borrowed sources of course – whether consciously or unconsciously) and create a supposedly ‘new’ style.

But is it possible to isolate oneself and create an entirely different and rare piece that is not an ensemble or a major chunk of which is on one’s own intellect?

Because we spend our learning years delving into classics and allowing them to influence us (and that is the only way of growing, learning and amassing knowledge – which in many ways moulds our personality, our ideoloiges, our tastes and our notions), it is often possible that what you create on your own is a concoction of all those ingredients that you already digested as a child or a voracious reader.

Another argument can be framed thus: All that is to be done has already be done by most masters. From Shakespeare to Grisham – best sellers and classics are full of all plots and situations that can ever be framed by the human mind. Right?

Wrong.

It is this gridlock that gives one a chance to go beyond the obvious by looking at what already has been done, use one’s brain to find out li’l nuances from within the lines, be conscious of what you are reading and analyzing it.

Jhumpa Lahiri never fails to give me goosebumps – no matter how many times I have already read her stories and novel. Her stories take from the mundane existence of most human beings and paint the canvas to unfold an extraordinary Sistine Chapel. Its her eye for looking beyond the ‘mundane’ that makes life and its description in words a celebration.

Nicholas Sparks, inspite of sticking to the miniscule genre of love and relationships (is it? Becuase to the tired human brain all possible plots have been conjured up) has been successful in churning out 14+ best sellers (4 of which have made box office cash registers ringing in and two more are already being filmed).

There are a lot many authors that inspite of sticking to the same genre weave magic and never fail to surprise us.

Look for surprise and depth when you read for growth and upliftment! And you will be adding mounds of expertise and detail to your own eyes – that appreciate words and whatever lies between the lines.

Of course, when you are tired and just need a quick fix – the time tested thrillers and erotic storylines will always be there.

Siddhartha

Genre: Thriller

Year of Publication: 1989

A black girl is raped by two drunken rednecks. The town reacts with horror until the girl’s father takes justice into his own hands. He kills the two whites on their way to jail. For days the nation sits spellbound as the defence lawyer struggles to save his client’s life and then his own.

Download Link

http://ifile.it/quxt15e

Our clothes dryer started making this hideous noise and, as a result, this past weekend we had to take our clothes to a nice, local laundrette not too far away. 

On the wall at the laundrette there happens to be a shelfless rack just small enough to fit books!  It was a good spot and a perfect place to “wild release” two books. 

The books I chose to leave behind were Vince Flynn’s Act of Treason and Jennifer Cruisie’s Faking It.  Both were part of  my U.S.-Only Under-100 Bookbox of Mysteries, Suspense, Thrillers & Horrors.  A bit of a challenge as all  book titles added to the box had to have less than 100 books registered at Bookcrossing.com.

Still in the wild release spirit, Wyg surprised me by leaving The Partner by John Grisham on a bench located outside of a Petco and a dentistry business.

~ Wysi

Coming soon…

a list of books owned by our library which may appeal to you if you enjoy Grisham

John Grisham Collection (Free Ebooks)

John Grisham is a novelist and a former politician and lawyer. He is known as a novelist who has a theme of law and justice. Until 2008, he wrote the book has sold more than 235 million copies.

1. The Summons
2. The Rainmaker
3. The Partner
4. The Firm
5. The Broker
6. A Painted House
7. The Appeal

John Grisham is a master of suspense.  In his novels he sets the scenes, develops the characters, and then simply and methodically doles out gems of tension until the unexpected (and sometimes expected) climax. So one would imagine a work of nonfiction by him to be a brilliant narrative woven not from his imagination, but from the truth as he is able to discern it.

The story of the trial, conviction, sentence of death – and eventual exoneration – of Ron Williamson for the murder of Debbie Carter in Ada, Oklahoma is a story with all the elements of a fascinating novel.  As Grisham says in the Author’s Note: “Not in my most creative moment could I conjure up a story as rich and as layered as Ron’s.”

Unfortunately, The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town reads more like a well written appellate brief rather than the ‘non-fiction novel’ that it could have been.

Grisham starts the book – perhaps attempting to emulate Capote’s classic beginning of In Cold Blood – with a walk through Ada, the small town of the book’s title.  But the description is (excuse the pun) rather pedestrian.  And then, within the first chapter Grisham introduces almost all the characters in a confusing, overly broad outline which does little to draw the reader in.

Despite the bad beginning, the story that follows is fascinating and one that must be told.  It is a tale of small town prosecutors and cops who fabricate evidence, ignore reality (and the real killer) and ruin the life of Ron Williamson – a mentally fragile ex-baseball star and former hometown hero — and his acquaintance and co-defendant Dennis Fritz. Grisham’s descriptions of Williamson’s deteriorating mental health, the sham of his trial, the horror of living on Death Row, and the pain suffered by him and his family (who are unable to help him get the help he needs) is, unfortunately, not unique in our criminal justice system.  Williamson and Fritz were eventually exonerated and Williamson released from Death Row to join the 123 other men and women in America who have been wrongfully convicted, sentenced to death, and then exonerated since 1973.  Grisham’s outrage at the injustice of Williamson’s case shows in his many rather sarcastic asides.  But it is an outrage that is clearly genuine —  and if Grisham’s celebrity helps to ensure that more Americans learn of how innocent men end up on death row, then his failure to write a literary masterpiece can be forgiven.

As many of you know, I am a huge (H-U-G-E) John Grisham Fan.  His newest release came out last week and I have yet to get my hands on it.(One of Santa’s elfs told me that I am getting it for Christmas!)  This post is dedicated to Mr. Grisham.

Dear John,

You are one brilliant author.  Yes I know that A Painted House, Bleachers and Playing For Pizza were all novels you wrote to give your legal functioning brain a way to play so I won’t hold it against you that these were my least favorite novels from the ink of your pen. (your laptop)  Like most of your millions of fans, I personally believe A Time To Kill is still your best work ever!  I remember the first time I read the events leading up to little Tonya’s traumatic misfortune.  I literally put the book down because I was so angry and did not pick it back up for a while.  Once I returned to its pages, It was absolutely the best!!

WIth 23 books(and I am quite sure a bit more!) under your belt, I am wondering if you will ever tire of writing one day.  I pray not.  While I could spend the rest of this letter praising you for being a unique and very gifted and talented author, I would rather just let you know that someday I would just like to go have a beer with you and pick your brain for a little while.  I often wonder why so many people are drawn to the characters you create within your stories.  The frightful reality is(and this is one reader’s opinion) that we all see ourselves in the truth of those characters.  Albeit sometimes bigoted, racist, cruel, loving, compassionate, vengeful, genuine and hurtful.  Many authors have the ability to place their reader within the story by the characters but very few novelist cause their readers to become proactive.

So thank you Mr. Grisham for being the best of human beings.(even with all your flaws..I have them too.)  Thanks for sharing your talent with the world.  Thank you for simply writing.  Life on this planet is but a vapor as they say…Thanks for writing books that last.  Your talent is only overshadowed by your integrity.

Hope to meet you one day,

JZ

While I didn’t specifically request a review copy, I managed to snag an ARC of John Grisham’s latest book, Ford County, which is his first collection of short stories.  I wonder if they’re spanning his career so far, or something he’s done recently, or something he did early on in his career.  With my big list of books waiting to be read, it’ll probably be a while before I get to Ford County, but I’ll be doing some research then to see what’s up with this premiere short story collection from such a bestselling novelist.

John Grisham has delivered an amusing new collection of short stories in his latest book Ford County.  I have to confess that I am not the biggest fan of story collections (except for when done by the master, Stephen King).  However, Grisham’s collection wisely does not drag on.  The stories often include the lawyers that we have come to expect from the author, but always are weaved with the Southern charm and wit that he has shown us in novels such as Bleachers and Playing for Pizza.  Standouts include the final story “Funny Boy” about a gay son of a wealthy family returning home to die of AIDS in the late 1980.  Poignant and written with such a soft realism, this one steers aways from larger than life characters but hits its mark depicting human fear.  “Casino” calls to mind the human justice that karma can bring when an average joe busts a new casino owned by a moral no-good (aptly given the surname Leach) who has taken up with his very recently ex wife.

No last minute jury tampering here, just a meander through the South, well worth the time.

November is one of the biggest times of  year for publishers.  It’s when they roll out their heavy hitters for the holidays hoping that this household names will be the most profitable best-sellers of the year. 

In the past few weeks greats like John Irving, Philip Roth, Jonathan Lethem and Patricia Cornwell have all released titles. Michael Crichton, who died a year ago, has a new book coming out. And of course the Sarah Palin memoir, Going Rogue , along with two books critical of Palin, Going Rouge and Sarah from Alaska, are expected to create a big stir this season.

All this news would bode well for bookstores if it wasn’t for the online price wars heating up between Amazon, Target and Wal-Mart. All three eager to increase their online share of the market have listed 10 upcoming best sellers for just $9.

The price hurts neither the author or publisher but with books retailing at $35 bookstores will be unable to compete with their online rivals. Even the online sites take a loss on these books at $9. They are called ‘loss leaders’ and are a way to entice customers into the store in the hope they will purchase more making up for the deep discount of the one item.

Traditional booksellers are viewing this as an obvious effort to drive buyers away and have appealed to the U.S. Department of Justice about the online sellers’ “predatory pricing.” Authors are rallying behind the American Booksellers Association names such as Stephen King and John Grisham, amongst others, have stood up against the online price wars. 

Though they stand to make substantial profits from the online book wars they also understand that traditional bookstores stock many more titles than say Wal-Mart or Cosco. Bookstores also carry older and lesser known titles.  It’s simply good business to keep the doors open to retails who stock and trade in your product.

So, having worked intimately in the book world, will online sites push traditional retails out of business ? Am I afraid for the future of the book? Not in the least. 

There is a falsehood floating around that people do not read. Nothing could be farther from the truth.  During this economic downturn books sales slumped slightly but remained constant, doors remain open and books fly off the shelves. U.S. Publishers expect to net $10 billion this year and that ’s just adult and children’s trade books. Not bad for a slow year.

People have been predicting the death of the book for a long time and the numbers simply do not bear that out. Maybe we’ve all just become addicted to the smell of pulp paper or love having something handy nearby to prop open a window. I know if I got rid of my books I would have to actually buy two side tables and a coffee table.

Maybe it’s because books are pleasure items not necessities.  In the same way we buy things that make us happy we purchase books for the same reason.  They are joy and we will stop buy books the day we stop buying chocolate, jewelry and Ben and Jerry’s.

Oh guarda, interviene anche John Grisham, sia sul prezzo dei libri che sugli ebook. In questa intervista, sostiene che il prezzo pieno è indispensabile per editori, librai e scrittori: “Se un libro nuovo viene venduto a nove dollari, viene seriamente svalutato”. E gli ebook? Peggio che andar di notte: “se metà di noi leggesse on line, distruggeremmo librerie ed editori”.

Mi consolo con King. Non solo proseguendo nella lettura di quel libro straordinario che è The Dome. Ma immaginando come potrà essere il suo vampiro americano, in arrivo a marzo 2010. A fumetti.

I’ve seen a lot of John Grisham’s blockbuster movies, but I’ve never been inspired to read his books…until now.  This week saw the debut of, Ford County, Grisham’s short story collection based on the fictional Ford County in Mississippi.

I’m hoping his fiction will give me some clues to my past.

While Grisham’s collection is based on a fictional location, turns out that there once was an actual Ford, Mississippi right in Jackson county where my Ford ancestors lived. On the website that gives some information about the now defunct town, there is mention of a black church which really stoked my curiosity.  My great grandfather, James Ford was a minister at St. James, a black church in Ocean Springs.  I’m looking forward to finding out how far apart the former Ford town was from Ocean Springs where my Ford relatives lived.  I’m looking forward to combing through Grisham’s fictional stories for any hints about the real life town.

Monique, my 4th cousin and family research partner is the one who told me about both Grisham’s Ford County and the defunct Ford town in Mississippi. She sent me an email about the former on Wednesday, the same day the book was released.  Later that day, my parents came over to babysit and my mom was armed with a thick copy of one of John Grisham’s novels.  Mom’s always trying to get me to read Grisham and other thriller writers, but I always turn her down.  So when I pointed to the thick book in the crook of her arm and asked her if it was the latest Grisham and if I could have a look,  she was shocked. She didn’t even know there was a new Grisham, she said entreating me to tell her the plot. She beamed like an evangelist with a new convert when I told her I was buying Grisham’s new book this weekend. I didn’t have the heart to tell her I wasn’t investing in the thrill, just looking for clues.

What are you reading?

I am reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

Why that book?

I am reading it because the title intrigued me, and because it was highly recommended by a friend.

What’s it about?

It’s a bit along the lines of 84 Charing Cross Road in that it is in the form of letters. It is set in 1946 in England. Juliet was a writer of witty newspaper columns during the war, and these have been successfully published. She receives a letter from one Dawsey Adams in Guernsey as he has acquired a book she once owned and he wants her help to find more on the same subject, and that is the start of an ongoing correspondence. Dawsey is a member of the Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and soon other members write to Juliet too, telling about themselves and their stories of their lives under German occupation during the war.

Has it lived up to your expectations?

It is definitely living up to my expectations; I always want to read just one more letter!

Would you recommend it to others?

I have already recommended it to some friends and I think my copy will be doing the rounds as soon as I finish it. It is funny, warm, interesting and well-written – what more can you want? A book to enjoy!

If you’re interested in finding out more about this book, click here.

Br Sean Keefe

What are you reading?

The Summons by John Grisham

Why that book?

I have enjoyed other books by the same author.

What’s it about?

Death of a father and trying to figure out where 3 million dollars came from.

Has it lived up to your expectations?

Finished it last night and the ending was a little weaker than I wanted.

Would you recommend it to others?

Good for light reading where one does not have to do much thinking.

If you’d like to know more about this book, click here.

Thankyou, Mrs Crossman and Br Sean, for sharing your reading with us.

John Grisham is the latest big selling heavyweight to comment on the price war that could see books discounted to crazy levels in the US. Speaking on NBC’s Today Show, the author revealed that he believed the battle between Target, Wal-Mart and Amazon seriously devalued the book.

While low, low book prices might seem like they are great for the consumer – and they surely are in the sort term – the long term effect of such drastic drops is the problem. One of the things that worries me most about the book industry is that it doesn’t have the same money-making elements as say, live performances for musicians or cinema screenings for films, a book is always a book. Whether it’s online or in your hand it’s taken someone a long time to make it, but your experience of enjoying it is limited to its form.

Unless authors start capitalizing on their stories by increasing product placement and merchandising options, or maybe charging for public appearances, you can’t help wondering where the money to finance print runs will come from if book prices are brutally slashed.

Finally The Trib starts to do something worthwhile. Sorry if I missed this a few days ago. This is a great article about the larger issue facing some small independent businesses. Ahem.

And (soft segue) if you didn’t see john Grisham’s appearance on THE TODAY SHOW this morning here are the quotables about the DISCOUNTING price wars:  “A disaster” “short-term” “short-sighted” “a book is WORTH $24 – this devalues the book.”

Further reading: CHEAP: The High Cost of Discount Culture by Ellen Ruppel Shell

and

BIG-BOX SWINDLE: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America’s Independent Businesses by Stacy Mitchell

We, of course, have both in stock.

I stayed up too late last night finishing a book. Both Mrs. Poolman and I read for pleasure, she more than I. Mrs. P can knock of a standard paperback book in a single off day.

The book I was reading, The Time Traveler’s Wife, was not my typical fare. I tend to lean more towards action fiction and historical non-fiction. I enjoy authors like John Sandford, James Patterson, W.E.B. Griffin, Tom Clancy, Vince Flynn, John Grisham and Patricia Cornwell. I also have a spot in my heart for Andrew Greely. On the non-fiction side, I consume history, especially military history. And if it flies and shoots, I’m all over it.

All of that is just a way of setting up that I really enjoyed The Time Traveler’s Wife. I have always been intrigued with the fictional treatments of time travel, starting with HG Wells’ The Time Machine and working on up through Michael Crichton’s Timeline (another really outstanding time-travel book, by the way). Before reading it,  I suspected The Time Traveler’s Wife was a literary version of a “chick flick.” You know what I mean – a movie that deals mostly with relationships and emotions and one of the endearing characters dies at the end, usually of a long lingering illness. (See Steel Magnolias, Terms of Endearment, Fried Green Tomatoes, and others.) While The Time Traveler’s Wife does have many of those characteristics (I won’t spoil it by being more specific.) those are balanced out by the fact that it is still an interesting, well written story that moves along.

The story is about Henry and Clare. Henry has a genetic abnormality that causes him to involuntarily travel in time. One moment he is here, and the next, he is stark naked in another place and time. The author, Audrey Niffengger, avoids the cliché of many time-travel authors by not inserting her  character into any historical settings. This is not a story in which the protagonist performs any great or historical acts. Henry’s time travels are much more personal.

Very early on, Henry and Clare meet. Clare is a stranger to Henry, but Clare has known Henry all her life. An older Henry was repeatedly transported back in time to Clare’s childhood. So when they meet, Henry is Clare’s long-time visitor and friend, while Henry has yet to meet Clare in his “real life.” The book develops their relationship, more or less following the chronological pace of Henry’s “real life.” There are lots of adventures and a couple of mysteries.

All told, it was a good book and I’m really glad I read it. It is definitely worth the effort. We didn’t see the movie when it was at the theaters. I’m looking forward to it’s release on DVD in a few months.

Hey everyone,

I just got back from a week-long vacation in the Outer Banks of North Carolina and boy did I have a blast. For those of you tweeps who’ve already seen this on Twitter, I really don’t mean to boast but I can’t get over the place where I stayed. Check out this view from the back porch:

It really doesn’t get any better than that! I can’t tell you how many hours I sat there and soaked in the hot tub. But I can say that, in that time, I was able to catch up on my reading. I’ve been on a legal kick lately so I turned to John Grisham and read both The Brethren and The Broker. I have no idea why these both sit at 3/5 ☆s on Amazon’s reviews. Grisham’s books, in my opinion, are not crafted to be works of art; they are designed to provide escapist entertainment. And, in that respect, they worked for me. When not reading or playing a round of Wii golf (I’m far better in the virtual world) I had the great fortune of having a wonderful experience fishing with some friends of mine. I say that it was a wonderful experience because I actually caught something (a rarity for me) and I have photographic evidence to prove it:

Yeah, this little guy is nothing to boast about but I’m the frontman of a rock band. What do you expect? I was just proud that I caught him within 30 seconds (no joke!) of casting. Regrettably, I did not continue to have that kind of luck. But I was able to brag that I had the first bite

This was a day-long trip and, as you can see, it got a little colder outside. With the drop in temperature though came a spike of luck. It’s a little difficult to make out in this picture, but I’m actually holding a small shark! Trust me, reeling him in was a lot more difficult than you might think. This was, by far, my coolest catch!

I hope you won’t mind me reliving a bit of my trip here. I had planned on sharing some news with you about some cool things concerning a’tris I found in my inbox and on my answering machine upon my return; but, as I sat to write this, I found my mind wandering and thought I might as well trace its movement in this post.

Do you have any vacations planned of your own? What did you do for Halloween while I was away? Drop me a line in the comment section and let me know what you’re up to!

Hope this finds you feeling healthy! -Mason

I think I have communicated that I love to read fiction books, mainly of the suspense and fantasy genres. Recently, I finished two works that fall in both genres. The first was John Grisham’s new novel, The Associate, and the second was Black, authored by Ted Dekker.

With regards to my love for suspense-crime novels, one of my favourite authors has been John Grisham. I have actually read all of his books, all 22 so far, though I have just found out today that he has a new book coming out tomorrow – Ford County. I guess it’s hard to keep up with the current output of books in the modern age.

My interest in Grisham’s novels started back in 9th grade (age 14) when I did a book report on A Time To Kill (though I actually hated to read back then, but book reports were required). And now, at age 30, I have just finished The Associate.

In the vein of Grisham-esque writing, this novel follows suit as it is set within the life of lawyers and law firms. The young Kyle McAvoy has just graduated from Yale Law School and, full of desire to use his degree for good, he wants to offer public service rather than rough it out in a competitive law firm. Unfortunately, McAvoy is forced into a situation not of his choosing – working massive amounts of hours in a massive law firm. How was he forced? Blackmail. A couple of people enter his life, threatening to release a video tape related to a rape accusation of five years previous when he was in college. McAvoy, thus, finds himself giving every extra moment to finding out who is behind this blackmail.

I like Grisham, as I guess one would imagine knowing that I’ve read all his books. But this was not my favourite novel of his. It wasn’t his worst (I think that belongs to either Skipping Christmas or A Painted House), but it wasn’t his best, at least from my perspective.

The reason why I don’t put it at the top of the list of Grisham books? There wasn’t enough resolve at the end of the book, not enough closure. But I must leave it at that so I don’t give too much away. In all, I will give the book a 6.5 or 7, but, as I said, I wouldn’t declare it his best work.

Next, for the first time, I dipped into a Ted Dekker novel – Black. Many Christians have been drawn into reading Dekker, he now being one of the most popular Christian, suspense-thriller novelists.

I haven’t read too many Christian fiction novels, outside of C.S. Lewis and recently reading through The Last Disciple series (an alternative to Left Behind). But, when visiting the States in September and browsing through the religious section of Barnes & Noble, I picked up some of the Ted Dekker novels, just to see what he had.

Black is one book in what is known as The Circle Trilogy. There are actually four books to this series – Black, Red, White and Green. But, the catch is that Green is known as Book O (zero, that is). Readers are told that Green could stand as both the last book of the series or the first book. I guess this must be a new device of modern trilogy writing. Or maybe it’s an old trick in the book. I’m not that up to date on these things, but I think it quite interesting.

Within the novel I just finished, Black, we find the fate of not just one world, but two worlds, in the hands of young (early 20’s) Thomas Hunter. One of those worlds is basically our present world, meaning 21st century planet Earth. Specifically, Hunter lives in Denver, Colorado, though his travels take him half-way around the world. In this world-like-ours, he is trying to save the planet from a deadly virus, the Raison Strain, that will be released very soon.

The other world?

Every time Thomas Hunter falls asleep in ‘our world’, he finds himself in another world. Specifically he awakes in The Black Forest, which is ruled by the evil Teelah and his minions, the Shataiki. This other world also has another more beautiful part to it – The Green Forest where perfect humans live. Tanis is the firstborn and Elyon is their God. Thus, The Green Forest becomes a picture of life as if the fall of man had never happened, as recorded in Genesis 3.

But, unfortunately, the fall is inevitable even for this world. Tanis, the firstborn, desires to have knowledge of The Histories, information concerning the times and centuries past. Interestingly enough, Thomas Hunter somehow already knows certain bits from The Histories. With such a desire, the evil Teelah cunningly deceives Tanis into eating the fruit and drinking the water of The Black Forest, promising him information from The Histories. Following such, all hell literally breaks loose. Now, Thomas finds himself trying to save this world as well.

As I mentioned, every time Thomas Hunter falls asleep in one world, he wakes up in the next. But there is no time parallel between the two worlds. He might only sleep a few hours in one world, but it could be equivalent to numerous days in the next.

Most can see the parallel between Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia and Dekker’s The Circle Trilogy. The latter is somewhat of a modern version of the former. I’m not too bothered by the similarities, though some might be in the name of literary authenticity. But I know there truly is ‘nothing new under the sun’, as one wise sage said it thousands of years ago.

I think Black was decent, but nothing that has captured me too much. I liked it more at first, but found myself losing interest after the half-way mark. I’m not sure why, but I think it was because another book had caught my interest at the time.

I suppose I will finish out the other three books at some point, but I’m not jumping to purchase the books. My one biggest complaint (though that is a strong word here) is the underlying eschatological belief that seems to come forth in the book – premillenialism. I’m not sure if I am recognising a trend or not, but it seems that most Christian, suspense-thriller writers hold to a premillenial eschatology.

How do I come to such a conclusion? Well, as one works their way through the novel, it becomes clear that the world of The Green Forest and The Black Forest is the future of Thomas Hunter’s ‘real world’ (that is, back in Denver). And when the people of The Green Forest refer to The Histories, they frequently speak of a major event of the past known as The Great Deception. Not only that, but The Great Deception in The Histories of this one world corresponds to the release of the Raison Strain in Hunter’s own world. Both represent life-shattering events, one that has already taken place in one world and one that is about to take place at any moment in the other.

I’m not sure if you’re able to pick up on the premillenial eschatology here.

Most premillenialists, especially dispensational premillenialists, believe that there will be a final, evil period on earth known as the Great Tribulation (usually the focus is that this period will be 7 years in length). One of the major teachings about this period is that it is highlighted by evil, cataclysmic events.

So, going back to Dekker’s Black, The Great Deception, which is connected to the release of the deadly Raison Strain in Thomas Hunter’s real world, seems in line with such premillenial eschatological beliefs about a Great Tribulation.

Of course, this isn’t a biggie. I simply note one small ‘quirk’ about the book, at least from my perspective. I’m just not convinced of the premillenial belief, especially that of the dispensational strand.

Still, as I mentioned, I am not sure why it is that most Christian, suspense-thriller novelists seem to be in that eschatological camp. I am saddened by what seems to be a ’scare tactic’ employed by such authors, especially in places like the Left Behind series. I am not sure if that is Dekker’s intent, but, if so, I don’t believe it is the healthiest approach to drawing people to Christ. But that is simply my opinion.

So, this ends my review of two fiction books I have recently read. As I mentioned elsewhere, I am currently reading Dan Brown’s new novel, The Lost Symbol. I have a review coming forth by the end of 2009, but that is for another day.

It’s a great drying day today – very blustery – so I’ve managed to get two lots of laundry done; the second lot is on the washing line at the moment.    We’ve also been to the carpet shop to choose a carpet for the bedroom, visited Ashley’s mother and been to Asda to do a bit of shopping and buy a present for the tenant of my flat in Bournemouth, who’s recently had a baby).    Then finished unpacking and put suitcases away, and continued wading through emails, post and Google Reader. 

As usual, I had my head in a book for a good portion of the holiday, and here is a review of what  I read:

The Chalet Girls Grow Up - Merryn Williams

As a child, I loved Elinor M Brent Dyer’s Chalet School series of books, and read all of them avidly.  I still have my entire collection, and always vowed to re-read them one day.  They were old-fashioned (but in a good way) even when I read them in the late 70s/early 80s, the first one having been published in 1925, but somehow they just captured my imagination.

This book was written in 1998 (not by the original author) and is the story of what happened to many of the characters after the series finished.  It’s a bit of a ‘Marmite’ book (ie love it or hate it) as it is a total departure from the original books and is very much an adult’s read, rather than a children’s book.  I’ve read this book before, and loved it, and just felt like re-reading it.  I’m pleased to report I enjoyed it just as much the second time around.

The Secret River – Kate Grenville

This is my book club read for this month, and is essentially the story of a very poor family in London in the early 1800s, who were transported to Australia as the result of a criminal conviction.    It was well written and easy to read, and I found the stuff about the early settlers in Australia very interesting, having known next to nothing about this period in history previously.

The first third and last third were both great, but it did go off a bit in the middle for me – to the extent that I put it down halfway through, read another book, and then came back to it. 

Loved the ending – not what I expected at all, and all the better for that.

The Cupid Effect – Dorothy Koomson

I’ve read two of Dorothy Koomson’s books previously and enjoyed them.  They are easy-to-read chicklit – but a jolly good example of the genre, in my opinion – a little bit ‘different’. 

I enjoyed this (it’s her first published book) but not as much as the two I’d read before – I couldn’t get to grips with the main character, and found her a bit irritating.  The story is about Ceri, who decides to leave her job and h0me, to follow her dream to become a psychology lecturer at Leeds University, and to essentially make a new start. 

The Last Juror – John Grisham

I’ve loved John Grisham’s books since reading A Time to Kill about 18 years ago, and this had been sitting on my bookshelf for a while. 

It’s set in the Deep South in the early 70s, and as well as having a cracking storyline and some great courtroom drama – one of Grisham’s specialities – it is really evocative of the town it’s set in and of the time, and has some great characters.  Grisham can really paint a picture with words - loved it.