Resolutions - an update

I think it was last year (or the year before?), that I noted some New Year's resolutions. Not being big on resolutions in general, I tried to keep it simple.

I think I did fairly well, if I recall. But I wanted to let you know that I'm still truckin'.

I'm still trying to read more, but I think I've broken my own personal record already this year. It's the end of March and I already have several titles under my belt.

Note: we have a LOT of books. So rather than going out and buying more stuff that looks interesting, I'm shopping our own bookshelves.

Here's what I've finished so far this year:

1) The last half of The Chronicles of Narnia, by C. S. Lewis
I started this (again) last year, and for some reason, came to a stop mid-way through Prince Caspian. So I picked it up in January and polished off not only Prince Caspian, but Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair and The Last Battle.

If you have not read this, then you seriously need to ask yourself what you are doing with your life. And please, don't consider the movies as substitutes. There is SO much richness to the way that Lewis writes about his characters, their adventures, and timeless truths. Oy!

2) Complications: A Surgeon's Notes on an Imperfect Science, by Atul Gawande
This was a personal challenge for me, being someone who just about faints when driving by a hospital, much less when reading stories from inside the operating room. But I was immediately taken in by a "behind the scenes" look at the medical world.

I'm looking forward to reading some of Gawande's other works, also about practicing medicine: The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right, and Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance. But since we don't own them, I'll be saving those for later.

3) The Last Templar, by Raymond Khoury
Very "DaVinci Code" like in it's plot, but a page-turner nonetheless. Though I will say that I identified the "bad guy" the moment he was introduced. It was still a quick read and better than wasting time in front of the TV, which I have a strong tendency to do.

4) Deception Point, by Dan Brown
And speaking of DaVinci Code....

Yes, this is by the same guy. Totally different plot context, as in, it has nothing to do with Italy or the Holy Grail. But it's still an action/adventure story, with more twists and turns than are necessary. A quick read, and fairly entertaining. Though it's just a bit far-fetched...though I'm not sure he knows how to do anything other than far-fetched....

5) The Preservationist, by David Maine
Very interesting indeed. Amar hadn't read this one yet, so I gave it a try. It's a completely different look at a story most of us grew up singing songs about: Noah's ark.

But Maine writes it as a compilation of several first-person accounts, with a lot of artistic liberty to elaborate on what daily life must have been like at that time, what it took to pull this massive project off, and how this family unit survived and interacted with each other.

Also, not a book for kiddos. It's not that kind of Noah's ark story. But, if you're looking to challenge the way that you read some of the "classic" stories in the Bible, this will definitely do it. If you do happen to pick it up, let me know what you think about it. I'd be curious to know.



So that, my friends, is my progress to date. I'm off to shop another bookshelf...if you have any suggestions, let me know!