Sarah's April Reads

[sk8eeyore.livejournal.com]

Books read this month: 4

Life on the Edge by Jennifer Comeaux
mainemilyhoon recommended this. Though it was a lighter read than I'm used to, and I haven't read many romances before, period, I'm so glad I followed the suggestion! Here's what I wrote on Goodreads (and Jennifer Comeaux hit "like" on it!):

So I didn't know that subtly Christian figure skating romance was an existing subgenre, but I shouldn't be surprised. I totally ate this up.

Jennifer Comeaux is clearly an active, knowledgeable fan of many years' standing. What sold the story for me is that she follows the outline of the 2000-2001 and 2001-2002 competitive seasons, all of which I taped, watched, dissected, and rewatched, and one event (Boston Nationals '01) that I attended myself. So I had no trouble entering into the nostalgic world of this story, and there wasn't a false note in the way she conveys the culture of Olympic-eligible U.S. skating from that era.

All through the book, though, I didn't entirely trust Sergei and kept expecting further revelations about his past. I also wondered if Viktor had some underhanded involvement in the outcome of the Olympics beyond just skating politics as usual. But I thought everything was resolved well, and I certainly want to see where the story goes in subsequent books.

Early Christianity in Contexts: An Exploration Across Cultures and Continents, edited by William Tabbernee
I was asked to write a review of this book for an academic journal. It's a collection of essays by various scholars, covering the growth of Christianity from its earliest days through about 640 in all the regions in which it was known during that time -- not just the Middle East and southeastern Europe, but areas like central Asia and the Roman frontier in Britain, too. It focuses more on evidence that can be gleaned from archeological remains and other artifacts than on the theological topics I'm used to, so I learned a lot.

That Hideous Strength by C.S. Lewis
This book is really special to me; this was my third time reading it, and something different hits me every time.

Mrs. Mike: The Story of Katherine Mary Flannigan by Benedict Freedman
Wow. This is a novel from the '50s on early twentieth century frontier life in the Canadian wilderness (British Columbia and Alberta). The protagonist and narrator, Katherine Mary (Kathy), is funnier and easier to relate to than I was expecting; I really enjoyed her. And her stories really bring the settings and other characters to life -- sometimes in a deeply affecting way. She also doesn't shy from some of the grisly details of frontier life, and I was a bit stunned at certain points...but considering how sensitive I am to that kind of stuff, it's surprising that I wasn't put off continuing with the book; it's a testament to how engrossing the writing is.

Comments

[bluiidmommy.livejournal.com]

I read Perelandra in college (for a class), and really loved it, so after college, I read the whole trilogy. It's such a deep story (with Perelandra being the lightest part), but I should reread it sometime. Lewis is a phenomenal writer; even with the Chronicles of Narnia, I get something new from them every time I read them (though it's been a long time).