December 2024 Reads!

This month I had a mix of great books, mediocre books, and duds. My favorite nonfiction read this month was probably Planet Narnia, while my favorite fiction read was probably Fawkes.

Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport

Digital Minimalism challenges the reader to take a 30-day break from social media to re-evaluate both leisure time and technology use. Newport coaches the reader in using time meaningfully, providing statistics about social media use and better alternatives to passive scrolling.

This book changed my entire outlook on social media and technology time in general. Instead of viewing technology as a "why not do it?" situation, I have started to see it as a "why should I?" situation. But Newport's book isn't just a collection of do's and don'ts. He explains why people should return to building and creating with their hands instead of only staring at a screen. Instead of only deleting technology use, he recommends incorporating new hobbies instead: for example, develop a new skill every six weeks. The book provides a positive outlook on how life can be more meaningful without technology addiction, from improved social skills to spending time developing one's craft.

Each chapter in the application section helpfully provides practical steps the reader can take in order to have a healthier relationship with technology. Moreover, Newport provides the reasoning for these steps, offering real-life stories and statistics behind them. This book was the encouragement I needed to dumb down my phone, corral social media into a tiny slot of my day, and re-examine my life productivity. Definitely a read everybody should pick up! 

5 stars!

Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by E. Randolph Richards and Brandon J. O'Brien

Misreading Scripture With Western Eyes exposes the presuppositions with which many Americans or Europeans view the Bible. The authors take readers into an increasingly deep dive through Western ways of viewing the world and how these might not always be the way the Scripture was meant to be interpreted. They also provide many helpful examples from their own experiences living in other cultures.

This book very helpfully opened my eyes to ways I might be putting my own cultural values on Scripture. The authors prod their readers to think more carefully and self-reflect while reading the Bible, reminding us that of our own biases. I appreciated how they went from more shallow differences to deep cultural issues that are core to the American or Western identity. The examples from Indonesian culture were also beneficial to provide real-life issues that might arise from cultural miscommunication.

However, the authors could have done a better job of citing their sources. Sometimes it seemed they were pulling too many examples from their experiences and not enough from actual ancient Israelite sources to show that the culture was indeed a certain way. 

This book is an excellent challenge for American or European believers who need to be reminded of their own cultural biases. Many of us sit in the trap of America-centric Scripture readings; while this source could have been more scholarly, it offers a great starting place for believers to examine themselves and beware of taking verses out of context. 

3 stars

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe tells the story of four children who discover the wintry world of Narnia in a wardrobe. However, when Edmund betrays the others to the cruel White Witch, he risks both his life and the fate of Narnia. 

This book is a charming read, perfect for a cozy winter day. Lewis develops strong Christian themes, especially with Aslan as a Christ figure. Moreover, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe also seems to relate to the idea of the world being made new, in the Jovial spirit that Michael Ward mentions in Planet Narnia. After all, the children watch Narnia going from winter to spring, with much merriment and celebration. The book truly shows the joy of Christ.

Lewis had many examples of the life of Christ throughout the book. The coming of Father Christmas signals Aslan's advent. Aslan also mirrors Christ in how he sacrifices his life for Edmund and rises from the dead.

While Lewis's writing sometimes involves too much telling, the story has good pacing for a children's novel. The characters realistically interact with each other; though Lewis had no children himself, he accurately writes sibling relationships. Their character growth was also well-done.

Five stars!

Prairie Edge by Conor Kerr

Prairie Edge tells the story of Grey and Ezzy, two members of the Métis nation of Alberta, and their quest for social justice as they release bison in the city of Edmonton. Ezzy has feelings for Grey, but she, focused on destroying the colonialist, capitalist world that she so despises, hardly sees him. However, when a crime is committed, one of them must suffer the blame...

This book felt as if it were written by a middle-schooler. It is certainly nothing like the crime-thriller it advertises itself as. Very little of it is about crime—it is mostly a socialist manifesto. There was very little nuance in the story. Readers are expected to sympathize with a pair of lawless young people who think that, somehow, releasing bison into a public park will make a difference in their world. Both characters are so wrapped up in being angry at the world that I had to roll my eyes sometimes at their whining. The book read like a propaganda piece for the Socialist Party of Canada. The author draws black-and-white lines: poor people saints, rich people evil. Métis good, white people bad. In fact, the writing makes it very clear that nobody possesses any moral righteousness other than goody-goody Grey and perhaps Ezzy. None of the characters seem very complex. The message did not seem very complex either. The author feels like he is preaching at the reader, which is generally a poor tactic if you want people to enjoy your writing. I do not mind reading books of different viewpoints, and I would even be sympathetic to the plight of the characters if the book was not sopping with socialism and the typical Millennial/Gen. Z fury at society. 

Moreover, the author paints a positive view of societal chaos. Ezzy steals cars as if there are no consequences to society. People worked hard to purchase those vehicles, and the author seems to justify his behavior because he is a poor Métis foster kid. Grey grumbles about having to pay for things as if money grows on trees and is freely available for everyone, and as if goods just pop out of the ground and everybody is happy to share instead of needing to feed their families by selling things. 

The characters in general are simply unlikable. The only people in book I respected were Auntie May and Joe. Auntie May could have had an entire book written about her, that's how sympathetic she was. If the author wanted to discussing the injustices the Métis have faced, perhaps her tale would have been better. After all, her children were brutally ripped away from her. Her telling of that story was the only time in this book I actually cared about a character. 

Grey, meanwhile, was one of those stuck-up, entitled college brats who think they know everything because they have that piece of paper known as a college degree which allows them access to the elites. She spends most of the book complaining about capitalism, even though it is capitalism that allows her to receive an education. As the granddaughter of a woman who endured a socialist regime, I can assure readers that they did not have nice college in Cuba, and they certainly would not have allowed protests the likes of which Grey planned. Moreover, she treats Ezzy like trash, even though he sacrifices his freedom for her. One would hope she could at least return the favor by using her connections to help him find a job once he got out of jail. Instead, she ghosts him, even though it is only through him that she could have maintained her comfortable lifestyle. Her only redeeming quality is the fact that she had the courage to shoot her attacker (who deserved it). Other than that, she remained an obnoxious, childish character.

Ezzy, the deadbeat, was only slightly more likable. With no care for the rules of society, he presumes himself the exception to everything. Obviously, he comes from a difficult background, which makes him a tad more sympathetic than Grey, but he still makes an obscene amount of excuses for why it's all right for him to steal cars and skip paying bus fees. He does become slightly more likable towards the end of the book, as he cleans up his life and learns from Joe. Perhaps his most endearing moment was when he turned himself in for murder to take the place of Grey, who, being the brat she is, did not appreciate it. That part, at least, elicited some pity from me for him, as the poor man was clearly besotted with her even though she seemed to look down on him (of course, an EDUCATED girl with a college degree could never IMAGINE being with a poor foster kid). He behaved most nobly in those scenes. Hopefully he could find his way in life after the events of the book.

Overall, this book was not worth the read. Most of the characters were obnoxious, the plot was pointless, and the over-arching message was that society needs to be destroyed, anybody who doesn't fit Grey's radical agenda is a white supremacist, socialism is great (my abuela would disagree) and it's all right to steal and refuse to pay bus fees so long as you have a tragic enough background to do so. If you want to read a well-written book about Native American perspectives, try The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich—a much better novel with characters who are actually likable.

One star.

The Kill Order by James Dashner

The Kill Order examines the first cases of the Flare on Earth, immediately after the sun flares that have scorched much of the planet. Mark and his friends must try to survive as they are slowly picked off, one by one, by disease and violence from the Cranks. They know that their only hope might be the strange young girl they have discovered, but it will take a great sacrifice for her to reach safety.

Dashner once again writes a thrilling book that will undoubtedly make the reader rage at the utilitarian government of his dystopian world. If I hated the federal overreach in the Maze Runner Trilogy, I despised it even more now. He does an excellent job of exposing people—especially government bigwigs—as wicked social Darwnists who would unleash a deadly virus just for the sake of "the greater good." This book provided some great backstory to the original series while introducing a familiar character.

However, sometimes parts of the story felt predictable. Of course, I knew nearly everyone was going to die, but it would have been nice if Dashner surprised me and allowed at least one of the main characters other than Dee Dee to live. 

But, the characters were mostly likable; Mark was honestly one of my favorite characters of Dashner's so far, as his survival instinct and yet maintained compassion for others were relatable. However, Dashner once again cannot write women; Trina and Lana were about as flat as Teresa and Brenda were in the original series. I suspect he has stopped trying, as luckily most of the book was fixed around Alec and Mark. Alec was another memorable character, just the sort of man you would need in an apocalypse. Perhaps he was a bit stereotypical—you know, the gritty, former-military type who does whatever it takes to get the job done—but there was comfort in knowing that, as he was well-equipped to protect the group. 

Another excellent read by Dashner! Great book to give to a middle-school aged brother, but I think even high schoolers would enjoy it too!

Three stars.

The Fever Code by James Dashner

The Fever Code details the creation of the Maze. Thomas is taken from his dying mother and given a new name, along with the rest of the Gladers from the original Maze Runner books. They grow up together, becoming close friends even as Dr. Paige, Thomas, Teresa, Aris, and Rachel create the maze and their doom approaches. Thomas, initially cooperating with WICKED's aims, gradually finds himself disillusioned by their lies and inhumanity. However, his plans to rescue his friends are threatened by traitors and the cold strength of WICKED.

This book was not as fast-paced as the others. While the space between the action scenes helped to flesh out characters, sometimes the book felt like a drag. It might have been better suited as a novella or a collection of short stories. There was a lot of dialogue that seemed unnecessary. Moreover, Dashner seems to do a lot of telling rather than showing; oftentimes he's stating that "this happened" or "this is the situation" when he ought to simply show what is occurring and let the reader draw conclusions. It might have made it a better story if I had to actually do some brain work to figure out what was going on. 

That being said, the characters are much better examined with this book. Newt's backstory really broke my heart, as he was my favorite character in the original trilogy and it was simply horrible reading about WICKED murdering his parents and taking him along as a "spare" for their evil experiments. Moreover, despite the fact that I despised Teresa in the original trilogy, Dashner makes her slightly more sympathetic through showing her bond with Thomas (until I ended up hating her by the end for her betrayal). Thomas too shows himself to be a more morally complex character as he initially goes along with WICKED's plans. 

Furthermore, Dashner may have finally accomplished what I've been begging him to do with the last four novels: written a complex female character who isn't all rage or idiocy. Dr. Ava Paige, while a villain, proves herself to be a woman of depth, as she alternates between motherly behavior towards Thomas and Teresa and utilitarianism when she kills her political opponents and seizes power. She's probably the only half-decent female Dashner can write.

This novel made me furious with their world's fictional government, as if I wasn't before after reading the last four books. Dashner, for all his faults in this book, does an excellent job of writing the horrors of utilitarianism:

'The ends justify the means,' Rachel said somewhat bitterly. 'It should be WICKED's official logo. They should have a giant banner draped across the front entrance. The ends justify the means. But I'm in.''Well, it's true, isn't it?' Aris asked. 'If you could save a billion people by killing a million people, shouldn't you do it? You know, hypothetically speaking? If you really had that choice and said no, then aren't you actually killing a billion people? I'd rather kill a million than a billion.' (243)

This entire five-book series could be summarized in a fight against the danger of this sort of thinking. The sort of thinking that justifies lab experiments on children, or sterilizing the "undesirables" of society, or aborting special needs babies, or sending people to gas chambers because it's "for the greater good." For a series for young teens, the Maze Runner books powerfully put forth a strong moral of doing what's right even if it's hard. Wicked is not, in fact, good. It is still wicked even if you think or claim it will save society. Evil is not justified by good results—that is the message of the Maze Runner series and I will applaud Dashner for having the guts to remind our children of this when many people would rather go along with the narrative of the elites that it's all right so long as it's for "the greater good."

Three stars.

Becoming Free Indeed by Jinger Duggar Vuolo

Jinger Duggar Vuolo, former reality TV star of 19 Kids and Counting and Counting On, tells her faith journey from legalism to true belief in Christ as the only source of salvation. Vuolo examines the beliefs of the cultish "Christianity" started by Bill Gothard, how they affected her life, and how they damaged others. She also discusses her own mistaken beliefs that prevented her from seeing God as the gracious, merciful, yet just Father that He is.

Vuolo provides a very gracious perspective on Gothard's cult. While she does not shy away from calling him out as a false teacher and potential sex offender, she provides understanding and care for the people still trapped in the legalism of the IBLP world. Moreover, she refreshingly avoids excoriating her parents over the decision to become involved in Gothard's movement. In this way she continues to honor them, while not avoiding the harsh truths of where Gothard's lies led her in her walk with Christ. She also explains the dangerous beliefs in his ideology that might have led her brother to his hypocritical sin. However, she does so in a manner that does not gossip about his highly public sin (since the tabloids have certainly covered it) and shows her love for her brother even as he must repent. Her tone throughout the book remains kind even towards the people who led her to Gothard's deception. If a reader is expecting some sensationalistic tell-all, this book is not the one to read. It is delightfully more focused on preaching the Gospel.

The writing style itself, however, sometimes felt simplistic. Whether it was Vuolo or Williams doing most of the writing, it is certainly neither eloquent nor especially moving. Sometimes Vuolo tiptoes around issues to the point where the writing does not sound very passionate about what she believes. Granted, she may still be suffering from the trauma of having been in a cult; I imagine it would be difficult to discuss these issues. But at times it felt as if it was written to a script. I did appreciate her honesty about the dangers of legalism and her own thinking around it; I'm sure many Christians can relate to having thought these thoughts of performative behavior before.

I also did not particularly enjoy the lauding of John MacArthur's church, since he has his own issues in theology and demonstrating fruit of the Spirit, especially in showing grace to people. It may be that only time will help her to distance herself from a church that is, in my opinion, still under legalistic beliefs (especially regarding mental health or the abuse of women). However, that falls under my own personal biases.

While this book was nothing extraordinary, it does provide encouragement to believers coming out of legalism, and serves as a warning to avoid religious groups based around a mere man and his warped opinions on Scripture.

Two stars.

Planet Narnia by Michael Ward

While C. S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia may seem relatively straightforward, Ward argues that Lewis might have had a method to his children's series. Lewis, a medievalist who wrote an entire book about cosmology, may have incorporated the seven planets into the Narnia books. Ward argues that each Narnia book corresponds to a planet in the medieval universe:

The Magician's Nephew to Venus

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe to Jupiter

The Horse and His Boy to Mercury

Prince Caspian to Mars

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader to Sol

The Silver Chair to Luna

The Last Battle to Saturn

Lewis used the themes of these planets to give each book a distinctive spirit (or donegality) through the plot, description, and even character dialogue. Ward suggests that he used the planets and mythology around them to transmit spiritual truths through literature, rather than merely through argument or debate. Narnia essentially captures many truths from Lewis's book Miracles, albeit in a fantasy format. Therefore, Lewis demonstrated his medieval knowledge and genius by having each book as part of a puzzle that fits together to form the heavens and point to God.

While some might argue that Ward is pulling at straws with his claims about Narnia being written under this system, he merely points out Lewis's word use and plot points that, once seen, clearly point to a medieval cosmology throughout the books. Ward's writing is eloquent and inspiring, and his arguments are orderly and compelling. This book gave me a stronger appreciation for C. S. Lewis than I already had, as I witnessed the true genius behind his children's series. For any Lewis fans who wants to examine his works more deeply, this book is a must-read.

Five stars!

The First Christmas by Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan

The First Christmas takes a new look at the Nativity story by examining the literary and historical context around the accounts in Matthew and Luke. Borg writes about the books as parables rather than factual tales, looking at similarities between them and other historical documents describing Caesar, or Biblical books such as the Prophets. 

The historical context around the language used to describe Christ was the only helpful part of this book. It certainly inspired me to investigate Greek and Roman history more to see what the original historians wrote about their times. Borg does make a compelling case for why Matthew and Luke may have described Christ in such ways—to push back against Rome. However, he does not seem to view the Bible any more highly than mere political treatise.

For any Christian who believes that the Gospels are literal, this book is not for you. Borg begins his argument with the massive assumption that Matthew and Luke's accounts of Jesus' birth are parables, despite the fact that neither of these authors indicated that this is the case. Borg tries to condition the reader to this possibility by arguing that the Enlightenment persuaded us all to insist on a literal telling. However, he himself seems very affected by Enlightenment thought, as he seems to believe that just because a fact cannot be proved empirically or seems "impossible," it therefore must be untrue. 

Moreover, he takes an overly simplistic view of Scripture, assuming that it can be either literal or symbolic, but not both. Of course, there are symbolic aspects of the Nativity Story: we could argue that the star over Jesus' birthplace shows the world that a Light has come. But that does not mean that the star did not actually exist; I believe it was St. Augustine who argued that Scripture has four different layers, with the literal and symbolic as two of them. Borg seems unaware of this idea, and it seemed sloppy writing on his part to take the highly WESTERN and ENLIGHTENMENT-influence idea that a text must only have one meaning, and of course it must be the least supernatural meaning. While he is at it, he might as well assume the Resurrection is symbolic too, and that Jesus didn't REALLY die and raise to life, because, of course, that is impossible according to the infallible modern science. 

Borg also does not seem to believe the Bible is inspired, infallible or inerrant. In this way, he seems to differ from most of church history. While I do not claim to be an expert on church history, I think Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox believers through time could agree with me that the Bible was not written by human authors alone, but rather inspired by God. Borg writes as if Matthew and Luke were writing without God's inspiration, and that most of the Bible is made up for "literary purposes" or for transmitting theological truth with little factual truth involved. 

Furthermore, the tone of this book comes across as condescending to anyone who might not fit Borg's postmodern principles. He frequently describes Christians who do not hold to his interpretation of Scripture in rather demeaning terms, as if they are all overly-conservative backwoods hicks. He seems to push the Nativity Story as a political gospel, arguing that the story was written primarily to attack the Roman Empire's notion of having an emperor as deity. Loaded with buzzwords such as "oppression" and "chauvinistic," his book is more attractive to the present-day liberal reader than to any serious Biblical scholar. While his point about Rome winning through victory (while God wins through justice) does soberly remind the reader of falling into political utilitarian thinking (on either side of the aisle), the rest of the book so belittles the Nativity Story with political propaganda that I could hardly be impressed by it. He ends the book with political pleas, which, while I could understand his concerns, left a bad taste in my mouth. If I wanted to read a political treatise on why Christians should stop placing their hope in Republican politicians, I would not have chosen a book titled The First Christmas.

Overall, this book strips the Nativity Story of its supernatural elements and demonstrates a complete lack of research. Borg cites perhaps ten sources at the end of it, and did not seem to have footnotes throughout—I do not know where he was getting his information, but I do believe most of orthodox Christianity would disagree with him. He makes numerous historical claims and does not provide good citations. I would have less issue with this book if he did not claim to be Christian. As it is, no Christian should take it seriously or the authors as supposed Christians seriously. It felt poorly-researched (or at least poorly-cited), ignorant of the supernatural (for authors who write as if they are supposed to be Christians), and leaning towards the heretical. 

One star.

Fawkes by Nadine Brandes

Many may have heard the tale of Guy Fawkes in history, but Brandes spins the events into a new tale featuring magic, adventure, and romance. Thomas Fawkes, the son of Guy Fawkes, has been waiting to receive his mask so that he can harness the power of one of the colors. When his father refuses to give it to him, Thomas hunts him down in London, a city full of dangers amidst the war between the Igniters and Keepers. However, he soon finds himself caught up in a plot to murder King James. All the while, White Light continues to call Thomas...

Brandes yet again writes a stunning novel that combines history and fantasy in a way that intrigues the reader. Her world-building is unique; the idea of Color powers and masks go along quite nicely with the culture around Guy Fawkes day. Brandes also incorporates historical ideas, such as the fighting between Catholics and Protestants, into her fictional Keepers and Igniters (even if she does portray Catholics in a rather bad light). 

The characters are also splendidly-written, as usual. Thomas is quite likable, with powerful character development as he realizes he cannot always generalize about people and pit them against each other. His character arc also provides a strong reminder to Christians today that the goal must be to fight for Christ, not for ourselves (and that our beliefs hardly matter if they are not based on Truth). 

Emma Araben is probably one of my favorite Brandes heroines. Brilliant, powerful, and yet kind, she shines above most modern-day female characters as an excellent role model for young girls. The twist with her background genuinely surprised me and added some interesting historical context as Brandes incorporated the lives of black people in England at that time. Her escape from Henry (I despise that man) was one of the most satisfying moments in the book. 

Brandes writes another great book for young adults that combines two amazing genres into one novel about faith and truth. 

Four stars!