The Genesis Factor

This is a fundamental rule of reading:  A book must be understood on its own terms before it can be evaluated.

The Genesis Factor by David Helm and Jon Dennis attempts to provide a framework by which Genesis and indeed the whole bible can be understood as it is to bible-believing Christians.  The authors do this by taking us slowly through the first three chapters of Genesis and unveiling the truths that may not be noticeable to first-time readers.

I don't really know what I was expecting from this book as it was a bit of an impulse buy but at the end of the day I'm glad it's in my library.  This is a book primarily for people who asking the big questions in life (who am I?  where did I come from?  is there a god?  if he really did create the universe then why does he want to know me?) and what to know what kind of answers the bible has to give.

David and Jon do a good job of breaking down the context and literary style of Genesis so what is left is original meaning.  This is not a scientific book, as Genesis is not a scientific book.  What it does get to is the truth in the text and how Genesis is the start of a complete and consistent message displayed through the whole bible, the focus of which is Jesus.

What I like about this book is that it isn't heavy handed.  The authors aren't trying to shove anything down readers throats.  While they make it clear what they believe, they also relate to other opposing thinkers and theories and encourage readers not to accept every word they say but discover for themselves whether the bible is relevant by reading the entire thing themselves.  They are not trying to convert people, but they are trying to start a conversation and they are providing answers in an easy to read way.

All in all the book flows well, and is an excellent starting place as it contains the full text of the first three chapters of Genesis.  It has definitely opened my eyes as well and enabled me to understand Genesis better.  It just goes to show, you're never done learning.

Four stars.

Just Do Something

"We walk into the future in a God-glorifying confidence, not because the future is known to us but because it is known to God.  And that's all we need to know.  Worry about the future is not simply a character tic, it is the sin of unbelief, an indication that our hearts are not resting on the promises of God."

For me, this quote sums up the book.  Encouraging, admonishing and truthful.  It reminds me of the promises that my God makes to be faithful to me so I can lead a life without fear or anxiety.
Easier said that done, thus this is a book I will have to return to again.

Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung is divided into ten easy to read (if slightly repetitive) chapters.  It is DeYoung mission to deprogram the mindset so many of us have where we wait around seeking God's specific guidance, thinking ourselves to be spiritual, instead of using our God-given minds to get out there and lead godly lives.

DeYoung starts out general and uses scripture to address the actualities of Gods will and how it affects our lives.  He also includes many practical examples of where the problems lay in treating God like a magic 8 ball and culminates in very practical specific advice about two of our trickiest decisions (job seeking and getting married).

By the end of the book readers will have a clear biblical understanding about what it really means to live in God's will and know how to please God with the way we live our lives and make decisions.

There were a couple of negatives, one of them being that the book was quite repetitive but that can be a positiver depending on how you look at it.  Hard-headed readers might need the repetitiveness.

Another issue that I had with the book was that when it came to the end with the practical advice for getting married, it left single women who want to get married but can't find anyone up the creek without a paddle.  DeYoung has lots to say to young men who put off asking out girls or getting married and rests the delay squarely on their shoulders but little to say for women.  The piece of advice I think is missing is that if there is no looming marriage proposal hanging on the horizon, don't just sit around waiting for it.  Go on camps, get involved in ministry, do what you want with the many opportunities you have before you as a single woman and pray that God will either send you a suitable husband or give you satisfaction in Him if singleness is what he has in mind for you.

On the whole though this is a very helpful book.  One that I would recommend everyone read, especially all school leavers/ uni students.  Four stars.

Ransom

Ransom by Lois Duncan is the best book I've read this year (Get it?  Because I've only read to books?  Anyway...)
The thing to remember about Ransom is that it was originally published in 1966 so some of the conversational language does feel a little old fashioned.  If it was in a modern book perhaps you might roll your eyes and sigh, but when you remember when it's set there's something nice and comforting about the language.  I enjoy reading someone say "Oh gosh," instead of "Oh *&%$!".
I think the first chapter of Ransom reveals Lois Duncan's skills as a writer and story teller.  The first chapter is when we are introduced to each of the five character that are kidnapped.  As the focus jumps between characters you don't feel confused but instead you feel as if you know something of all of them.  Within the first few pages they all have a feel about them, you care about them and are interested in them.
Jesse is shy and aloof, Dexter is rude and independent, Glenn is charming and proud, Marianne is feisty and stubborn, and Bruce is kind and trusting.  Already I know I'm going to read to the end.
Ransom is not just the story of a kidnapping.  It's not just a thriller for a thriller's sake.  It's a story about individuals and families and what happens when people with different values and morals are thrust together in a life threatening situation.  There is an unsensationalised truth that runs through the entire story.
I enjoyed reading this story so much because it reminds me of all that reading I did as a young teen and how I fell in love with reading and writing.  I plan now to go back and read all of Lois Duncan's young adult fiction again as in a modern world where almost anything can get published it's nice to remind yourself of what good writing is and get lost in some really excellent stories.
Five stars.

Uglies

Let me take a deep breath before I begin so this review doesn't turn into a long boring rant about everything I was disappointed with (yes, I'm sorry to say there was much disappointment).

Okay, so as I have mentioned in a previous post I had heard good things about the Uglies series and so downloaded the sample on my eReader and loved it.  I was so frustrated I couldn't start reading the rest right away, but I quickly went on Booko to find the cheapest print copy and order it ASAP.  The first few chapters sets up an intriging dystopian world where everyone is born ugly.  At the age of twelve they leave their Pretty parents and live in boarding schools to wait for the day they turn sixteen and get the 'operation' and go to live in what's known as NewPrettyTown.
The book follows Tally as she deals with her best friend Peris getting the operation before she does.  She misses him so much and he didn't write to her like he promised so she sneaks into NewPrettyTown to see him.

What ensues is a wonderful adventure as Tally tries to reach him, only to suspect he doesn't really want to see her, and then has to escape in a terrific way, setting off fire alarms and jumping of a roof with a bungee jacket on.  On her escape Tally discovers another Ugly girl trying to get away.  So, at the end of this sample I was left with so many questions... what has happened to Peris? Will him and Tally eve be friends again?  What will happen to Tally for causing such a scene?  Who is this new girl and why is she trying to get into NewPrettyTown?

And then the book goes on for a while of Tally and her new friend (Shay) just hanging out.   First fifteen pages good, next hundred and fifty.... boring as bat poo.  I'm sorry to say it but I couldn't help myself feeling like I was watching some low budget pre-teen attempt at drama on the ABC.  It wasn't until I got a third of the way through the book that something interesting happened.  And even that wasn't all that interesting.
The last hundred pages or so to get better, and the last fifteen or twenty are very good.  But everything in the middle is just absolute rubbish.

I hate to say that it feels thrown together and not thought through, because for all I know the author spent a lot of time sweating through all the details and polishing it to perfection.  But I just can't see it.  Every plot twist or major decision seems forced. There are moments that just don't make any sense.  For example, Tally all of a sudden feels sick at one point when she sees how many trees have been chopped down.  But why?  She doesn't ever show a strong love of nature preceding this and it doesn't fit in with her supposedly shallow character that just cares about being pretty.  There's lots of little moments like that.

The thing I really hate about this book is that a romance is thrown in just for good measure.  It's very forced and completely unbelievable.  If at the end of the series these two people end up together it will be ridiculous.  You'll know what I mean if you read it.

I could go on and on with all the things I didn't like but will stop and just say that mostly I didn't.  But what did I like about it?  The idea behind the whole world is very good, and I actually liked the ending.  But the ending is only a couple of pages long.  So, I like the premise, I like the start and I like the end.  But you can pretty much chuck out everything in between.

In the back of my book there was also the first chapter of Pretties and of Leviathan.  After reading both of those I have pretty much decided I will never read Scott Westerfeld again.  Sorry Scott.  Perhaps younger readers will have a better time with these books, I really didn't.

One star.